Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 138 The Dragon Appears
Early in the morning, the sky was overcast, and a storm was brewing.

Inside the tranquil retreat, after a night of cultivation, Jiang Chen slowly opened his eyes.

"With ten times the soul power, my first-level cultivation is complete, and I'm only one step away from the second level."

Sensing the changes within himself, a sense of harmony naturally arose, which pleased Jiang Chen greatly.

A lone soul fell into this realm. His soul was severely damaged, leaving only a trace of its essence. After so long, it has finally achieved a preliminary recovery, which is truly something to be happy about.

"My soul ability at the first level doesn't have any powerful abilities. Overall, it's just about strengthening my soul. But once I reach the second level, there will be a qualitative change. It will give rise to telekinesis, allowing me to manipulate objects and truly gain the ability to interfere with the outside world."

"According to some records left by Daoist Baihe, when the souls of Dao Foundation cultivators in this world are sublimated, a power called spiritual consciousness will be generated. It can be released outward and has keen insight. In essence, it is very similar to my second-tier ability, except that it does not seem to have the ability to manipulate objects."

"Under such circumstances, describing my abilities as divine sense is perhaps more appropriate than psychic power."

As these thoughts collided, Jiang Chen felt a surge of anticipation for his soul to advance to the second stage.

His soul ability at the first level is only a support ability and is not considered powerful. In terms of killing power alone, it is actually inferior to the Qi Refining cultivators of this world. However, once he reaches the second level, his soul ability will undergo a qualitative change.

"I already possess a trace of second-tier essence. With some further refinement, it shouldn't be too difficult for my soul to reach the second tier."

"Now I just hope that day will come sooner."

After assessing his own condition and glancing at the wolfsbane flower that had long since been exhausted, Jiang Chen left the quiet room.

"The weather is rather bad today; it looks like it's going to rain."

After glancing at the sky outside and quickly washing up, Jiang Chen didn't continue his cultivation. Instead, he drank tea, read books, and enjoyed some delicious food to relax and relieve his mental fatigue.

However, the leisure time was destined to be short-lived. In the afternoon, Wang Yuan rushed back from outside and brought Jiang Chen some bad news.

"You mean the three ships transporting iron ore have disappeared?"

After listening to Wang Yuan's story, Jiang Chen frowned.

Due to the previous floods and changes in the terrain, the Taiping Sect discovered an iron mine in Qinghe County. With the Qingyuan River nearby, water transport naturally became the best option for transferring the iron ore, which could greatly save manpower and increase efficiency.

However, today, the three ships that the Taiping Sect was normally using to transport iron ore encountered problems.

Of course, these three ships only use ordinary iron ore. Under normal circumstances, neither natural disasters nor man-made calamities would be reported to Jiang Chen; his subordinates would handle them. The main problem is that this incident is too strange.

"Sect Master, according to the descriptions of several survivors, they were sailing normally when a thick fog suddenly rose in the river, causing them to lose their way. They unknowingly approached a large whirlpool, and all three boats were completely swallowed up. Only a few people survived by chance. Others said they saw the figure of a monster circling underwater, which seemed to be a dragon..."

After glancing at Jiang Chen, Wang Yuan's words carried a hint of hesitation.

Although the Qingyuan River has abundant water, it is not the sea. It is really strange that a whirlpool that can swallow three large ships suddenly appeared. It is quite possible that it is a demonic calamity, but to say that this demon is a dragon is a bit of a fantasy.

In fact, at first he suspected that the survivors were exaggerating to shirk responsibility, but after several confirmations, he found that they were telling the truth and that they really did see a dragon.

That's why he hurriedly went to Jiang Chen to report the situation. If it was false, that would be fine, but if it was true, it would be a big problem. Hearing this, Jiang Chen glanced at Wang Yuan.

"A dragon? Are you sure?"

His voice was low, and a solemn expression appeared between Jiang Chen's brows and eyes.

Upon hearing this and seeing Jiang Chen like this, Wang Yuan's heart pounded with anxiety.

"My lord, I'm not sure either. Logically speaking, the Qingyuan River shouldn't be able to produce a true dragon, but I'm afraid..."

With a worried look on his face, Wang Yuan expressed his inner thoughts. Although he didn't know much about the cultivation world, he knew that demons would eat people. Some powerful demons were walking disasters for the human race, not to mention the legendary dragons.

Seeing Wang Yuan like this, Jiang Chen didn't speak immediately. He tapped his slender fingers on the table.

"It's highly unlikely to be a true dragon. If it were a true dragon, even just the slightest unintentional release of its power would be enough to crush the spirit of an ordinary person. Even if they didn't die, they would go insane."

"A true dragon is impossible, but a flood dragon is another story..."

Gazing at the Qingyuan River, Jiang Chen's face showed a thoughtful expression.

For some reason, when Wang Yuan mentioned Dragon Shadow, the first thing he thought of was that Illusionary Mist Serpent. It had swallowed the Fish Dragon Pearl and there was a good chance that it had already transformed into a dragon.

"Dragon species are rare. At least in recent years, we haven't heard of any dragon species appearing in the Qingyuan River. If the real culprit behind the sinking of the three ships is indeed a dragon, then the possibility that it is the Illusionary Mist Serpent is not small."

As the thoughts collided, Jiang Chen's mind drifted away.

Holding the dragon fishing rod, Jiang Chen was naturally very concerned about the matter of dragons. He had made a special inquiry before, but had not found anything. He hadn't even found a single serpent, let alone a real dragon.

"Have the two old men, Black and White, personally lead a group to closely monitor the upstream and downstream areas of the incident site, especially the fog, and try to find out the true nature of that monster."

After a moment's thought, Jiang Chen issued the order.

How can one allow another to sleep soundly beside one's bed? The appearance of a monster resembling a dragon in the vicinity is definitely not a good thing for the Taiping Sect. It is essential to find out the situation of the creature. In addition, if given the opportunity, Jiang Chen would also like to see if there is a chance to capture this dragon.

His reason for having such an idea was mainly due to two things: first, the dragon fishing rod, which was specifically designed to counter dragon species; and second, his soul ability, which was ten times stronger than that of an ordinary person. Once his soul was torn apart, it would be enough for him to unleash a powerful soul attack that could threaten even those who had reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage.

Upon hearing Jiang Chen's words, Wang Yuan immediately bowed and agreed.

"Could it be? The strange fog encountered when the ship sank is no coincidence."

After Wang Yuan left, looking in the direction of Qingyuan River, Jiang Chen thought about it more and more and felt that the strange dragon shadow that appeared was very likely the Illusionary Mist Serpent.

"The Illusionary Mist Serpent was born roughly thirty or forty years ago. For a demon, that's not a long time. Considering the environment, even if it swallowed the Fish-Dragon Pearl and transformed into a dragon, the chances of it establishing a foundation for its Dao are probably not high. It's highly likely that it's still at the Qi Refining level."

With his mind in turmoil, Jiang Chen thought about many things at this moment.

(End of this chapter)