Longevity Candle

Chapter 81 A Dragon in the Southern Ridge

The Nanling Mountains stretch endlessly, resembling a series of great dragons, crisscrossing each other.

Deep within are endless mountain peaks, ancient trees forming forests, and ancient giant trees standing tall into the sky.

This is an area that ordinary people can hardly set foot in, full of strange flowers and exotic fruits hanging high.

In the distant mountains, illuminated by the moonlight, a divine radiance occasionally flashes, perhaps from slumbering spirits, or perhaps from immortal masters who feed on the rosy clouds and the vital energy of the heavens.

In the distance, a winding river flows through the mountains, its waves surging. Occasionally, giant pythons or alligators emerge from the water, gazing at a distant mountain.

A young man, handsome and ethereal, sat cross-legged atop the mountain, gathering the essence of Yin.

Suddenly, the young man looked up and gazed out of the mountains.

Three ravens fluttered in, and a figure in white, accompanied by a young woman, rode the clouds into the mountains.

He gathered his breath and rode the clouds, ascending in an instant. He bowed and greeted them: "Yu Hua of Nanling greets Immortal Mingya and Immortal Master Taohua. Your Excellency has sent me to guide you."

He did not know Jiang Zhu's name, but he knew the Peach Blossom Sword Technique, so he addressed him as Peach Blossom Immortal Master.

As for Li Qingxuan, she's not worth his time to greet.

"You know me?" The person in the middle looked slightly confused.

The left side of his head also looked suspicious: "Are you trying to lure me in and then murder me?"

The right head said, "How do you know me? When have we met before?"

"Thank you for your trouble." Jiang Zhu bowed in return.

Descending on the clouds, I came to a desolate mountain, beyond which stretched an endless river, its waters murky.

There is a smooth, shiny rock face on the mountain.

“The great spirit is inside. Immortal Crow, Immortal Master Peach Blossom, please.” Immortal Master Jade Flower said politely, then looked at Li Qingxuan and said, “Mortals are not allowed to enter.”

Li Qingxuan wasn't annoyed and stood obediently to the side.

The three-headed crows returned the green lamp to Li Qingxuan, shook their heads, and flew towards the stone wall first.

Ripples spread across the stone wall, like the surface of water.

Jiang Zhu followed closely behind and stepped inside.

Inside the mountain was a hidden paradise, where a radiant pearl shone, illuminating the darkness.

In the magnificent palace, a colossal creature lay atop a small hill piled high with jade corpses. Its head resembled a horse's head with a pair of sharp horns, a long beard, and a snake-like body covered in dark green scales. It had four legs.

His head was enormous, his eyes were like lanterns, and his body was so long that it extended out of the palace and disappeared into a dark passage.

Jiang Zhu bowed and said, "Jiang Zhu from Taoyuan greets the Great Spirit of Nanling."

He sensed the great elf's immense magical power, boundless as an ocean, emanating an ancient aura that suggested he had lived for countless years.

He was older than the white crane couple.

The three heads of the three-headed raven exclaimed in shock, "What a huge serpent!"

Bang

With one claw, it pinned down the three-headed raven, white smoke billowing from its large nostrils, clearly indicating its anger.

"You've called Old Dragon a serpent three thousand times already, can't you come back to your senses at all?"

The old elf glared at him before turning to Jiang Zhu: "Immortal from afar, the old dragon was born in the Southern Ridge. The old hunters who follow the way of Heaven and the mountains call the old dragon a Jiaolong."

"A dragon? Could it be related to the legendary dragon?" Jiang Zhu asked.

“There are two kinds of dragons,” the old dragon said. “One kind is the old dragon, which is born of heaven and earth; the other kind is the dragon-blooded snake. Although they are similar in appearance to the old dragon, they are not the same kind of creatures and belong to the immortal masters.”

"I see," Jiang Zhu said, suddenly realizing.

The old dragon raised his hand, and a golden chair rose from the ground: "Please sit down, I have some questions to ask you."

"Old snake, let go of the old man."

"Go to hell! If you don't let go, I'll peck you!"

"You stinking worm, how dare you suppress me?"

Fortunately, the old dragon's body was dark green, so its expression was not visible. Jiang Zhu rubbed his temples: "Why don't we just throw it out?"

"Jiang Zhu, which side are you on? Come with me to overthrow this stinking worm and let Qing Xuan make us snake soup!" the three heads shouted in unison.

The old dragon exhaled a bubble, enveloping the three-headed raven and isolating it from sound: "Finally, some peace and quiet."

"Old Dragon invited you here because he's curious about something." The old dragon continued the conversation: "More than a hundred years ago, at the beginning of the Ning Kingdom, the Longevity Path and the Heavenly Path entered the world and a great war broke out. In that war, the ancient Candle Illumination appeared."

“Ancient Candlelight? I’ve heard of it.” Jiang Zhu said, “I’m similar to the Three-Headed Dark Raven, I spend most of my time sleeping. I happened to be sleeping at the time, but I only heard about it after I woke up.”

"You don't know the details?" The old dragon was somewhat disappointed.

"If I knew, I probably wouldn't be standing here in front of you unscathed," Jiang Zhu said with a faint smile. "That kind of struggle is not something a leisurely elf like me can participate in."

"Indeed." The old dragon nodded slightly. "Then do you know what other power, besides the ancient Zhuzhao, could have injured Shuntian Dao to the point that it dares not show itself in the world?"

"Dare not show yourself in the world?" Jiang Zhu asked curiously.

"After that battle, Shuntiandao returned to Yunmeng Kingdom, and all the elves who participated went into seclusion and never reappeared."

In the past, they wouldn't have remained silent for so long; they would have at least come back to invite the old crow to join the Way of Heaven.

The old dragon said.

“The Way of Heaven isn’t just about those few elves, is it?” Jiang Zhu asked.

“The Path of Following Heaven is vast, but not every spirit is willing to venture into the mortal realm. Their path differs from the Path of Immortality; they follow the Path of Seeking Heaven,” the old dragon said.

"The Path to Heaven?" Jiang Zhu pondered. "Is it the Heaven I understand?"

“It is the sky above our heads.” The old dragon’s huge eyes held a hint of apprehension: “It is a strange thing, containing the might of heaven, which they call the sky.”

"A strange object?" Jiang Zhu's expression changed slightly. "Is it an item imbued with the aura of heavenly might?"

"No one knows what this object is. No one can say for sure. The old dragon is considered one of the oldest in this land, but this strange object has been shrouding Yunmeng since long before the old dragon was born."

The old dragon said, "It is too ancient. Back then, the Longevity Path was searching for the Candle Illumination and found it. It obtained the so-called essence of heaven and acquired the might of heaven."

"After that, the Way of Following Heaven was born. They no longer pursued the Candlelight and the Shadow, but instead pursued the so-called Heaven. Some spirits used it to break through their lifespan limit and live another life. They became even more determined to seek the Heaven."

"The Path to Heaven," Jiang Zhu murmured. "Was it a celestial wonder that altered the rules of Yunmeng, making the moonlight here so intense?"

"You should say that it was that strange object that created Yunmeng."

The old dragon said, "Once upon a time, a mortal accidentally stole a wisp of its power and proclaimed the divine right of kings. From then on, Yunmeng was born."

"Who is that mortal?" Jiang Zhu asked.

"I don't know." The old dragon shook his head: "Over the long years, names have long been forgotten. Just like that Peach Blossom Sword Demon of your Ning Kingdom, the former Jianghu Sword Immortal Ayan, how many people still remember him?"

“You’re quite well-informed; even they know,” Jiang Zhu said.

"After waking up and listening to a few words, they were the only two mortals in all the long years who had caught the elves' attention."

The old dragon looked outside as he finished speaking: "The little girl you brought will be the third one."

“It seems you already knew my identity,” Jiang Zhu said.

"The Qingjiang spirit mentioned you; he once healed his wounds here," the old dragon said. "He only came here to heal, and Shuntian Dao did not make things difficult for him."

"Where is he now?" Jiang Zhu asked.

"We've gone to the East Sea. Although there are mortal kingdoms in the East Sea, they are too scattered and haven't gathered enough national fortune and dragon energy to harm the spirits," the old dragon said.

"It's good that he went to the East Sea; may he no longer suffer from war." Jiang Zhu said, "Is the reason why the Heavenly Dao doesn't allow the spirits to come because it's worried they'll fight over the celestial treasures?"

The old dragon said, "They welcome the elves to join them on their journey to find the heavens, but they are also worried that some elves are too upright and that they believe they are stealing the power of the heavens and are disrespectful to the heavens, so they want to punish them."

“It seems that this ‘Following Heaven’s Way’ should be renamed ‘Stealing Heaven’s Way’,” Jiang Zhu said.

"To follow the will of Heaven and seek immortality is the original intention of the Way of Following Heaven. However, once one has mastered the might of Heaven and become as powerful as the heavens, some spirits will change and think that they are the heavens themselves."

The old dragon scoffed.

"They want to become the sky?" Jiang Zhu asked in surprise.

"Old Dragon, you can't just say things like that. There's a bit of truth to it." The old dragon paused for a moment and then said, "The rare treasures they found require endless wandering souls as nourishment to sustain themselves."

(End of this chapter)