Zombie World: Starting as an apprentice of the Thunder King

The aura emanating from this dragon was terrifying to the extreme, even more profound and powerful than that of the Quanzhen Patriarch he had met in the Quanzhen Sect.

He had only felt this aura from a few people: Qingwei Zhenren, the other two palace masters, and the Quanzhen Patriarch, all of whom were terrifying beings at the Heavenly Master level.

In other words, this dragon's cultivation level is comparable to that of a Celestial Master.

Lin Bei's mind went blank. He stood on the reef, his legs weak, unable to even muster the strength to run.

A dragon at the Celestial Master level could crush him into powder with a single thought, leaving him no chance to escape.

"Brother, what have I done to deserve this? You've already reached such a level of cultivation; if you ate me, how many years would it take to gain more cultivation? You might even regress!"

"Disciples of the Maoshan Sect?" the dragon said coldly. "It's been quite a few years since we've seen anyone from the Maoshan Sect come in."

Lin Bei swallowed hard, forcing himself to steady himself, and cupped his hands in greeting: "Junior Lin Bei, a disciple of Maoshan, greets Senior!"

The dragon's pale golden vertical pupils swept over him, its gaze lingering on his body for a moment before letting out a soft snort: "Pure Yang Dao Body, no wonder those old guys were paying attention to you!"

The dragon opened its mouth and spat out a bead the size of a fist.

The bead was pure white, like jade, and emitted a soft light. It floated in mid-air and slowly drifted to Lin Bei's front.

"This is a water-repelling pearl. Take it and come with me."

Lin Bei took the water-repelling pearl in a daze. The pearl felt warm and smooth to the touch, and a cool sensation spread from his palm throughout his body. Before he could react, the dragon had already turned around and slowly sank into the lake.

"What are you standing there for?" the dragon's voice echoed from the depths. "Don't you want to come down?"

Lin Bei shuddered and, clutching the water-repelling bead, quickly jumped into the lake.

The moment the water-repelling pearl touched the water, a soft light shield enveloped him, isolating him from the lake water. He breathed normally, his body remained completely dry, and he swam with the dragon to the depths of the lake.

The lake bottom was much deeper than Lin Bei had imagined; it took him almost fifteen minutes to reach the bottom.

The lakebed is a wide, flat area covered with various aquatic plants and corals, and schools of fish swim among the rocks, creating a beautiful scene.

The dragon led the way, its enormous body swimming at the bottom of the lake, its scales gleaming with a bluish-black light.

It led Lin Bei through a patch of water plants to a cave carved from bluestone. The cave's stone door was open, and a soft, pearly light shone from within.

"Come in!" The dragon head swam into the cave without turning around.

Lin Bei followed him inside and saw that the cave was extremely spacious, with more than a dozen luminous pearls embedded in the dome, illuminating the entire room.

In the center of the cave was a stone table and several stone benches. In the corner were some jade boxes and porcelain bottles. On the wall hung a painting, which depicted the Maoshan Patriarch riding a crane to ascend to heaven.

The dragon coiled down beside the stone table, its vertical pupils fixed on Lin Bei.

"Are you a disciple of Qingwei's lineage?"

Lin Bei was taken aback for a moment, then quickly nodded: "Master Qingwei is my grandmaster."

The dragon hummed in agreement, its tail tip gently tapping the ground: "Your grandmaster entered here once when he was young. Back then, he was only at the True Person realm. He stayed in the secret realm for three years, and after leaving, he broke through to the Human Master realm. Now he is the head of the Maoshan sect!"

Lin Bei was secretly astonished, never expecting that Master Qingwei had also entered the secret realm in his youth.

The dragon glanced at him, then suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a jade bottle.

The jade bottle is entirely emerald green, about the size of a palm. Through the bottle wall, you can vaguely see three drops of milky white liquid inside, which emits a refreshing fragrance.

"These are three drops of thousand-year-old stalactite!" the dragon's voice was calm. "You take them!"

Lin Bei took the jade bottle, his eyes glazed over. The thousand-year-old stalactite was a legendary treasure, a peerless gem that could allow a cultivator to break through the shackles of a major realm with just a drop. Even Celestial Masters would fight tooth and nail to get their hands on it.

Now... I'm just giving it to him like this? It feels a little unreal!

His hands trembled with excitement, but he quickly calmed down and looked at the dragon with a heart full of doubt: "Senior, why... did you help me?"

The dragon looked at him calmly, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly said, "I owe Maoshan a favor. Three hundred years ago, when I was still a python, I was being chased by a great demon. It was a patriarch of Maoshan who saved me and placed me in this secret realm to cultivate."

"Three hundred years have passed, and I have now gained some cultivation, but I have yet to repay this favor."

"Before his death, the patriarch left a message: 'If any Maoshan disciple enters the secret realm in the future, those with outstanding talent will be given a chance. I have waited for so many years, and you are the first one that I feel is worth helping.'"

"There was originally another one, but that guy was too arrogant, and I couldn't stand him!"

Lin Bei: "...I don't know which guy is so arrogant, ignoring even the dragon!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Bei felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He bowed deeply to the dragon and said, "Thank you, senior. I will certainly live up to your expectations."

The dragon suddenly snorted coldly, "Just don't waste these stalactites!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw Lin Bei open the jade bottle, preparing to swallow the stalactite.

"What are you doing?" The dragon glared at him.

Lin Bei was taken aback: "Of course, you should take it now..."

"I think you're courting death!" the dragon roared, its demonic aura surging out, almost forcing Lin Bei to his knees.

"The energy contained within the thousand-year-old stalactites is terrifying. A single drop from it could rupture your meridians, leaving you utterly destroyed, not even ashes!"

Lin Bei broke out in a cold sweat and quickly put the jade bottle away: "So, what does Senior mean...?"

"Wait until you break through to the True Person realm before consuming it, to use it for your attempt to become a Master of Humanity." The dragon withdrew its demonic aura, its tone returning to calm. "Eating it now would be a waste of its precious resources and a squandering of my good intentions."

"Don't let me end up collecting your corpse from Maoshan!"

Lin Bei's face twitched slightly. What kind of talk was that? Wasn't Shi Jian the one who helped him collect his body?

Lin Bei carefully put the jade bottle into his bundle, then bowed to the dragon again: "This junior has remembered."

The dragon said no more, and with a flick of its tail, a gentle force lifted Lin Bei up: "Go, don't waste time, there are still many opportunities waiting for you in the secret realm."

Lin Bei wanted to ask something more, but then his vision blurred, and he was swept away from the lake by that force, landing on the grass on the shore.

He glanced back at the depths of the lake; the surface was calm, and the dragon had sunk to the bottom and disappeared.

He touched the jade bottle in his bundle, feeling more gratitude than excitement. He bowed deeply towards the lake, then turned and strode away.

Unbeknownst to Lin Bei, shortly after he left, a phantom spirit materialized from the void in the cave at the bottom of the lake. It appeared to be an old Taoist priest with white hair and beard, smiling as he looked at the dragon.

"Old man, you know how to do people a favor."

The dragon rolled its golden vertical pupils: "None of your Maoshan patriarchs are willing to step forward themselves; you insist that I play the villain."

Master Fenglei laughed heartily, his primordial spirit slowly dissipating into the air: "I'll treat you to drinks next time!"

The dragon snorted coldly, flicked its tail, and the stone door of the cave slowly closed, restoring silence to the bottom of the lake.