This world is extremely similar to Earth in my previous life. Life has evolved to a certain extent, but it lacks one thing.
This thing is both simple and complex.
That is wisdom!
It's hard to explain how wisdom came into being. Human history spans three million years, but only about five thousand years are actually recorded in writing. Compared to the hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary history, that's just a fleeting moment!
In that instant, the tiny blue planet burst forth with dazzling light. Otherwise, it would have remained forever like this world, a beast grinding its teeth and sucking blood.
Dragons are extinct in this world.
The ancient dragon race was driven into the sea of stars by the human race. They were fortunate enough to obtain this world suitable for survival, but it was nothing more than a burial ground.
Even the most powerful civilization will eventually perish, leaving behind only this desolate landscape.
In Jiang Liu's perception, there are ruins of cities and palaces in those mountains and forests, whether underground or in the water. They are very ancient, obviously dilapidated and old, exuding an aura of ancient vicissitudes.
These cities and palaces were undoubtedly built by the Heavenly Dragon Clan. Jiang Liu could still faintly see dragon patterns and carvings among the broken walls and ruins in his divine sense.
Jiang Liu knew that the thousand dragon corpses were frozen, but the planet had two poles, and he didn't know which one it was in, and there were also mountains whose peaks were covered in ice and snow all year round. Any of these could be the burial place of the corpses! The two flew for a full half day, covering hundreds of thousands of miles, passing through several frozen mountains, and then gradually arrived at the polar region.
The polar regions are naturally extremely cold, with the earth frozen and covered in snow everywhere, accompanied by fierce winds, creating a vast expanse of white snow and ice.
"What a powerful dragon aura!" Ao Luan also sensed this aura from afar. As she possessed a dragon's body, she was very sensitive to the aura of dragons.
A moment later, amidst the icy snow, a powerful surge of magical energy emanated from the swirling snow and entered Jiang Liu's sea of consciousness.
Chapter 234 The Dragon's Graveyard (Part 2)
The vast ice field stretches as far as the eye can see!
A massive blizzard swept through the icy wilderness, so fierce that even the soul of a ghost immortal would be blown away and frozen to pieces in such an environment. Only the body of a human immortal could be completely unaffected by such conditions.
Braving the wind and snow, the two of them were both highly skilled, and the endless cold air could not penetrate their bodies.
This icy plain is devoid of any life; only the wind and snow move! As one ventures deeper, traces of dragon activity gradually emerge on the icy plain, followed by towering palaces.
The vast dragon palace, magnificent and splendid, stands tall on the icy plains that even ghosts and immortals can blow away.
A fierce wind howled, seemingly the roar of a dragon.
Dragon Graveyard!
arrive!
This icy plain was the last place where the ancient and prehistoric dragon race survived, and the last glorious place of a powerful race!
"This is the Dragon Tomb!"
Ao Luan tilted her head back, her mouth agape in surprise, a mouthful of blizzard filling her without her even noticing. Before her lay a vast palace, and around its perimeter were towering ice pillars, piercing the sky like mountain peaks, crystal clear and displaying an awe-inspiring sight.
Jiang Liu was still quite surprised, even though he had been prepared.
The icicles stretched endlessly, numbering in the thousands at a glance.
Snowy plains, ice palace, ice pillars.
None of these were unusual; what truly shocked Ao Luan was the corpse sealed within the ice pillar.
The corpse of a dragon!
To Ao Luan's astonishment, he saw that within these massive, mountain-like ice pillars, enormous ancient dragons were frozen!
This is a true dragon, with a body like a giant python, five claws, horns on its head, whiskers, and scales! It is a real dragon! The dragon race, which once roamed the ancient times and dominated among the many powerful creatures of the ancient world!
Since ancient times, the dragon race has been extinct for countless years. In this vast world, dragons are extinct, yet everyone speaks of them, everyone knows their image, but no one has ever seen their true form.
This is the "dragon"!
Jiang Liu knew that in the desolate continent, there was another ancient holy emperor's mount, the Qilin, a sacred beast of the same level as a dragon. Perhaps, that was also the last Qilin in the Yangshen world.
Humanity prospers, all other races perish. If such a powerful race does not perish, how can the weak human race possibly flourish? These former rulers of the vast world are now sealed one by one within ice pillars, lifelike and varied in form, coiled with utmost majesty, as if they have entered a state of permanent solidification.
"A true dragon! I have finally seen a true dragon with my own eyes. These thousand dragon postures are enough to bring my visualization techniques of the Heavenly Dragon Path to their ultimate level..."
Ao Luan said excitedly.
The Heavenly Dragon Path takes visualizing celestial dragons as its fundamental cultivation method, but since there are no dragons in the world, it is impossible to cultivate to the ultimate level. Now, observing the thousands of dragon postures, Ao Luan immediately felt a breakthrough was imminent. Looking at the dragons in the ice pillars, Jiang Liu was also shocked, realizing what majesty and demeanor truly meant.
True dragons possess unparalleled majesty, seemingly in harmony with the Dao. Each dragon's physical body is that of a human immortal; these thousand dragons are a thousand human immortals. Such power is terrifying to contemplate. If these thousand dragons were to be resurrected, they would be enough to sweep across the vast world! Even though they have been dead for countless years, simply contemplating their forms and observing their expressions, having them appear in one's mind, is enough to suppress evil spirits, ward off malevolent thoughts, and prevent the invasion of evil magic!
The dragon's leaping posture after death possessed such power, demonstrating just how formidable it must have been in life.
"Everyone should be like a dragon"—this is the expectation of the strong among humans, hoping that all humankind will be as powerful and self-reliant as dragons.
"These dragons, while not as powerful as the Dragon Kings of the Huai and He rivers, are not far behind. Judging from the strength of the dragons in Journey to the West, they are all at the Earth Immortal level. A thousand Earth Immortals!" Jiang Liu exclaimed repeatedly.
Around the enormous ice palace stood thousands of ice crystal pillars, within which were frozen thousands of giant dragons! Each dragon was an earth immortal.
Ao Luan followed the river towards the center, where a huge ice palace stood amidst a thousand dragon pillars.
Inside the ice palace, there was an enormous dragon, hundreds of feet long and as thick as a huabiao (ornamental column)! Its entire body shimmered with a noble crimson-gold light, and each scale was the size of a washbasin, with various talismans and characters seemingly naturally formed on it.
This dragon is far more powerful than the thousand dragons outside; perhaps, all those thousand dragons combined wouldn't be a match for it. This is the leader of the dragon race, and its aura is very similar to that of the Emperor Heavenly Dragon Armor, its power being equally formidable.
"This dragon has reached the realm of Refining the Spirit and Returning to Emptiness! Is it the Ancestral Dragon, as powerful as the Primordial Dragon?"
Jiang Liu stroked the ice palace, gazing at the enormous dragon corpse inside. He even felt that if this dragon corpse were forged into armor, it would be no weaker than the "Imperial Heavenly Dragon Armor" or the "Buddha's Kasaya." However, he thought that forging it into armor would be a huge waste.
“My Death Star is still lacking the earth vein dragon energy, so I can absorb the dragon energy and integrate it into the Death Star!” In order to refine the “Death Star”, this acquired spiritual treasure, to the level of a supreme treasure, Jiang Liu was not stingy and could integrate all kinds of treasures into it.
Ao Luan stood before the Ancestral Dragon, her eyes unblinking for a long time before finally closing them. Her breath was like a dragon's, and her strength had advanced another hundred times, reaching the realm of shattering the void. Passing through the six tribulations of lightning was now a piece of cake for her.
"Phew! Finally, we've broken through... These dragons were frozen in the Primordial Water Essence Ice. Thousands of years have passed, yet their forms remain immortal. If we break them open, they'll look almost exactly the same as when they died! How many magical artifacts, armors, divine weapons, and magical treasures could be forged from the fresh corpses of thousands of dragons? Even if all the ancient Holy Emperors were reborn together, they wouldn't have such a grand scale," Ao Luan said.
The "Death Star" floated above Jiang Liu's palm as he said, "Since you've broken through, I'll take these dragon corpses. Open..."
Then, a punch was thrown, and the ice palace trembled, but it did not shatter.
"Such hard Xuanbing, shatter for me!" With a smash of the Death Star, the solid Xuanbing could only shatter, revealing the corpse of the Ancestral Dragon inside. Then, the Death Star withdrew, and the powerful corpse of the Ancestral Dragon was taken into the Nine Palaces Grand Formation, then sank into the core, needing time to be slowly absorbed.
To Ao Luan's surprise, the remaining thousand ice crystal pillars rose from the ground and were all collected by the "Death Star".
Looking at the barren ice field, Jiang Liu was also somewhat exhausted. After several consecutive battles and refining the "Alligator Dragon Shell", his primordial spirit was also somewhat depleted.
After collecting the dragon's corpse, Jiang Liu didn't linger any longer and returned to the Great Thousand World with Ao Luan without any major incident.
Chapter 235 Dragon Tooth Rice
In this vast world, in the land of Izumo, at the Hidden Dragon Temple.
At this moment, Jiang Liu and Qingdi sat cross-legged in Qianlong Temple.
"You mean the Qilin was subdued by Hong Yi? Even with the token of the ancient Holy Emperor 'Ji,' you still couldn't subdue him?" Jiang Liu frowned and said.
The Azure Emperor was utterly dejected and sighed deeply, saying, "It seems that taking Hong Yi as your disciple back then was like raising a tiger to cause trouble! That Qilin didn't realize that I had stolen the Limitless Dragon Ring, but unfortunately, after I found the Qilin, it attracted many experts. Even Ba and I together were no match for it. Yuan Qi Shen, Yang Pan, and others were surrounded by many experts, and the Qilin escaped. Now I have received news that the Qilin has been subdued by Hong Yi. Hong Yi is now a literary genius, his writings are renowned, and he has already earned the title of 'quasi-sage.' He even appeared in the world ahead of schedule, and his first chapter is already finished. He also had the opportunity in the Nine Abyss Divine Realm. His strength is not much weaker than ours."
"He is the protagonist of this era. Even if I don't take him as my disciple, he will still grow up, suppress everyone, surpass the Yang God, reach the other shore, and become the strongest in the world. The Qilin is his opportunity. It doesn't matter if we can't seize it!"
That being said, Jiang Liu was very concerned about the Qilin. The Qilin's strength was equivalent to that of an expert who had undergone five or six tribulations, and its blood and qi were enormous, comparable to that of a peak human immortal.
Whether the Qilin is strong or not is secondary; what matters is the name of the Qilin sacred beast.
The Qilin has been a sacred beast and a symbol of national auspiciousness since ancient times, appearing only alongside holy emperors and sages. When there are no sages in the world, the Qilin disappears; when a sage appears, the Qilin also emerges.
If Jiang Liu were to tame a Qilin and make it his mount, his entrance would be no less impressive than a Ferrari supercar in today's society. Zhao Gongming only rides a black tiger, and the Bull Demon King only has a Water-Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast, neither of which can match the Qilin's grandeur.
Now that Qilin is under Hong Yi's control, this is an inevitable trend! Even if Jiang Liu wanted to seize it by force, he could not subdue Qilin's heart. With this in mind, he gave up the idea of forcibly taking Qilin.
"Hong Yi, what do you want?" the Azure Emperor suddenly asked.
"Maintain a distance, neither actively seeking contact nor making enemies. Once he grows up and becomes a protagonist, he'll naturally be at the forefront, facing the powerful figures from beyond the heavens. Moreover, with him around, the pressure on us will be less! My encounter with the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Ancestor at the Dragon's Graveyard might bring forward the arrival of the powerful figures from beyond the heavens. This is Dragon Tooth Rice; cultivate it extensively to strengthen our forces. A great battle is imminent!"
As he spoke, he took out what he had obtained from the "Dragon's Graveyard".
The Azure Emperor looked at the blocks of Yuan Ice in front of him, each containing a sword-shaped grain. This was Dragon Tooth Rice, the food of the ancient dragon race. Each grain of rice was three feet, three inches, and three centimeters long, shaped like a sharp sword.
"This is Dragon Tooth Rice! The spiritual energy it contains is indeed abundant. Even through the Yuan Ice, I can feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth contained within it. This is almost a weakened version of the spiritual root of heaven and earth. Although it cannot compare to the Peaches of Immortality or the Ginseng Fruit, it is almost 100% guaranteed for mortals to succeed in refining essence into qi after consuming it. The mythical history books of the 'Yang God' record that one of the main reasons Pan Huang conquered the Dragon Clan was to obtain the seeds of this Dragon Tooth Rice so that the human race could prosper. Everyone should be like a dragon. Hong Yi made a grand vow, and without this Dragon Tooth Rice, nothing can be accomplished."
The way of the state is the foundation of the great way of heaven and earth. All life needs to eat, and cultivation is another form of eating, drawing spiritual energy from heaven and earth into the body. Therefore, land and food are fundamental, and everything else is secondary.
The reason why the spiritual roots of heaven and earth are so important is that they allow one to directly draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, thereby enhancing one's strength through daily meals. By simply eating, one can achieve the physique of an immortal—how captivating is that?
Even someone with Jiang Liu's immortal-like physique, who eats Dragon Tooth Rice daily, will undoubtedly see significant progress in their cultivation. A mortal, after two or three years of eating Dragon Tooth Rice, could certainly cleanse their body and achieve the physical body of a Martial Saint!
The Supreme Dao's Earthly Essence Pill can enable a person to reach the Martial Saint realm, but the Earthly Essence Pill is extremely precious and cannot be eaten as food!
If someone were to eat only Earth Essence Pills for three meals a day for three years, it would be unimaginable. Even Meng Shenji wouldn't have such a grand scheme.
Not to mention the difficulty in refining elixirs and the significant reduction in efficacy with continuous use, the toxicity from these elixirs is also not easy to eliminate. Therefore, no matter how artificially refined a elixir is, it cannot replace food.
Food is the most important treasure for cultivators, especially at lower levels.
This is the preciousness of the spiritual roots of heaven and earth.
Jiang Liu knew the value of this "Dragon Tooth Rice" and asked, "With your current abilities, how long would it take to harvest it if you were to cultivate it on a large scale using the Millet Path?"
The Azure Emperor broke through a piece of Yuan Ice and took the "Dragon Tooth Rice" in his hand. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth rushed in and gathered between the Azure Emperor's tender hands. Then, the "Dragon Tooth Rice" took root and sprouted at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then quickly grew and bore fruit, eventually growing into a grain with dozens of sharp swords hanging from it.
After careful consideration, the Azure Emperor said, "At such a rate of absorption of spiritual energy, ordinary land would wither in a single season and require three years to recover before it can be planted again. However, this has no effect on me; as long as there is enough spiritual energy, I can harvest!"
Jiang Liu nodded, naturally convinced by the Azure Emperor's words, and said, "The Death Star already possesses the Nine Palaces World. Once it is fully integrated, it can create its own world to cultivate Dragon Tooth Rice, which is the foundation for establishing a power. We should also give some of these seeds to Hong Yi to lend him a hand. The sooner the Dao of Change appears, the better for us."
"Excellent! I will take these seeds! I will encourage some of them to sprout quickly, so that some of my warriors can also rapidly grow to the level of Martial Saint!"
Three days later, the Azure Emperor used the full power of his natal wood spirit to obtain a large amount of "Dragon Tooth Rice", which he then cooked into Dragon Tooth Rice.
The aroma of food filled the Qianlong Temple, wafting for miles.
At this moment, several people were sitting in the Hidden Dragon Temple: the demon ape "Ba," Zen Master Yinsha, the dragon girl Ao Luan, and the monk Jingren. In front of them was a bowl of rice. It was neither porridge nor rice.
Once cooked, a single "dragon tooth rice" rice grain transforms into a viscous liquid, with pearl-like rice grains floating within it. Its fragrance cleanses the pores of the entire body, penetrating deep into the marrow.
Everyone took a deep breath, then froze. The demonic ape "Ba" was the most direct, finishing the rice in one gulp. After smacking his lips and savoring it for a few seconds, he exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of rice is this? It's even better than the Seven Aperture Peaches of Immortality from my Demon God Cave! The Seven Aperture Peaches of Immortality can make one reach the physical body of a Martial Saint, but this can make one reach the physical body of a Human Immortal!"
Chapter 236 The Importance of Food