Jiang Yun and Ao Shun chatted for a while about the customs and conditions of the Western World. When Jiang Yun mentioned the origins of his sect, Ao Shun's regard for him rose several levels, and his attitude became much warmer. Before long, they were addressing each other as brothers.
A single sect had two top-tier Grand Unity Golden Immortals. During the era when the three races had stood in a tripartite balance, the Dragon Race would not have taken this seriously at all. However, after suffering through a great tribulation, the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Races had all been devastated.
Now, the Dragon Race's Primordial Unity Ancestor Zhulong was still suppressing the sea eye beneath the Heavenly Source and could not emerge. There were only a handful of Grand Unity experts left, and among the Four Seas Dragon Palaces, the strongest Dragon King was merely Ao Guang of the East Sea, an Early Taiyi Golden Immortal. They simply could not afford to provoke the other side.
Jiang Yun then spoke about his experiences traveling through the north. Along the way, he had repaired and restored many things, earning quite a bit of merit.
Speaking of merit made Ao Shun green with envy. The entire Dragon Race bore a heavy burden of Heavenly Karma. Aside from Ancestor Minghe's Karma Red Lotus, only merit could dissolve it.
In theory, there were many things the Dragon Race could do to earn merit, such as repairing the earth veins and clearing out the remnants left by ferocious beasts. All of those things could earn them merit.
However, ever since the Dragon Race had withdrawn from the Primordial Desolation Continent, they had relied solely on suppressing the Four Seas to accumulate merit. They would rather let their descendants bear sinful karma than go ashore, remaining active throughout the Four Seas.
One important reason was that they had made too many enemies back then. The Dragon Race had ruled the scaled and aquatic creatures, the Phoenix Race had ruled the birds, and the Qilin Race had ruled the beasts. Their enemies held the advantage on land.
The second reason was that although the Dragon Race had declined, they had accumulated countless treasures while ruling the Primordial Desolation. Those treasures had remained in their sea-based stronghold without being lost, giving them deep reserves. For now, they kept a low profile because they did not want others to notice them. Otherwise, they would never be able to protect those treasures.
From the aura emanating from Ao Shun, Jiang Yun knew that he was at the Golden Immortal Perfection realm. Connecting this with the fact that the entire Dragon Race bore karma, Jiang Yun realized that Ao Shun's cultivation had probably been stuck there, preventing him from breaking through.
I wonder how long his cultivation has been stuck. If I remember correctly, during the Journey to the West era, the cultivation of the Four Seas Dragon Kings was inferior even to Sun Wukong's, right? At that time, Sun Wukong had only been at the Taiyi peak and had yet to enter the Grand Unity realm. The strongest of the Four Seas Dragon Kings must have been at most a Late Grand Unity Golden Immortal. Cultivating while burdened by karma really is slow. Jiang Yun mused secretly.
He then asked tentatively, "Brother Ao Shun, I see that your cultivation has already reached Golden Immortal Perfection. May I ask whether you have been held back by your Racial Karma and are unable to break through?"
"To be honest, Brother Yunya, I have been at Golden Immortal Perfection for more than a hundred thousand years and have never been able to advance. You also know that during the great tribulation of old, our Dragon Race committed immense slaughter. Our cultivation can hardly advance now, and we do not know how long we must suppress the Four Seas before accumulating enough merit to loosen this bottleneck. The younger members of our race are the same. Their cultivation is slow, and we are already suffering from a lack of successors."
"Then have you ever considered allowing some of the more talented youngsters to leave the Dragon Race and seek discipleship under powerful experts? That would free them from the shackles weighing on them. If even a few of them managed to achieve something, they could look after their fellow clansmen in the future."
Jiang Yun was not speaking without reason. In his previous life, Huang Long had become a disciple of Yuanshi's sect. Given Yuqing Yuanshi's personality, he had looked down greatly on those born with fur, horns, scales, or shells. It was difficult to say why he had accepted Huang Long, but the most likely possibility was that the Dragon Race had paid a tremendous price to obtain that master-disciple relationship. Even after accepting him as a disciple, Yuanshi had not treated Huang Long particularly well. The title "Three-Nothing Immortal" said everything.
Not to mention that during the later Journey to the West era, the Western Sea Dragon Palace had sent the Third Prince Little White Dragon to serve as the scripture pilgrim's mount. He had ultimately been conferred the title Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Great Strength Bodhisattva. The Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon host of Buddhism also proved one thing: the Dragon Race had always sent promising younger generations out to seek a bright future, exchanging their future achievements for protection and assistance for the race.
Now that Mount Sumeru had opened its gates and begun accepting disciples ahead of time, if the Dragon Race could establish ties with the Western Teachings early, it would be a considerable source of strength. After all, the Dragon Race had extremely deep reserves. In order to raise someone capable of carrying on the clan's legacy, they surely would not hesitate to spend money and effort.
After hearing Jiang Yun's words, Ao Shun pondered carefully. He felt that this suggestion was well worth trying, given the Dragon Race's current circumstances.
When Old Ancestor Hongjun had become a Saint, Zhulong had already realized that remnants of the old era like them could not escape being purged. If their race could not adapt to the development of the new era, it would have no chance of revival.
Moreover, Jiang Yun had told him that Jieyin and Zhunti had been powerful experts seated on the front-row cushions when they listened to the Dao in Purple Cloud Palace.
Jiang Yun had deliberately told Ao Shun these things. One purpose was to reveal the power behind him, while the other was to lay the groundwork for his current proposal.
"Little brother, your method is indeed excellent. May I ask whether you have anyone to recommend?" After pondering, Ao Shun first affirmed Jiang Yun's idea before asking him.
"I followed my teacher to Purple Cloud Palace to listen to the Dao and happened to meet several cultivators with great divine abilities. They are all close to my teacher and virtuous Dao adepts, so you can rest assured. Three of them were transformed from the primordial spirits of Great God Pangu: the Three Pure Ones who live on Kunlun Mountain—Lord Shangqing Tongtian, Lord Yuqing Yuanshi, and Lord Taiqing Laozi. These three are true descendants of Great God Pangu. The other two are Grand Immortal Zhenyuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain and Ancestor Hong Yun of Huoyun Cave. Grand Immortal Zhenyuanzi is a warm and sincere person, while Ancestor Hong Yun is a renowned good man of the Primordial Desolation who loves forming wholesome ties." Jiang Yun did not conceal anything and sincerely recommended them to Ao Shun. Naturally, he did not leave out his own people.
"Besides the seniors I mentioned, my sect has now opened the gates of Mount Sumeru and is accepting disciples on a broad scale. You can consider us as well. In fact, the other great divine experts may not necessarily be thinking of accepting disciples right now. If you are interested, you may have to wait for the right opportunity."
After hearing his sincere words, Ao Shun was inclined to send the younger members of his race to Mount Sumeru to seek discipleship. However, this matter was of great importance, and he certainly could not decide it alone. It still had to be discussed within the race.
"I will take Brother Yunya's words to heart. Personally, I am quite willing to let the younger members seek discipleship on Mount Sumeru. However, this matter is ultimately too important, and we must discuss it with the others before making a decision. Why don't you stay in my Dragon Palace for a while? I can take you around and show you the sights."
Jiang Yun was quite willing to remain in the Dragon Palace for a while. After all, the Wood Spirit Pearl seemed to be in the outer sea, and he needed to pass through the Dragon Palace's territory to get there. He was unfamiliar with the area, so he could first ask Ao Shun about the situation. He also needed to borrow a passage from him.
Jiang Yun looked troubled. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Brother, I should not refuse your invitation, but I came out this time for the sake of cultivation. I entered the Dragon Palace to visit you because I wanted to ask to borrow a passage to the outer sea in search of a cultivation opportunity."
"The outer sea of the Primordial Desolation is nothing like the inner sea. The inner sea is suppressed by the Dragon Palaces and lies close to land, so it is relatively safe, and the winds and waves are calm. The outer sea is far from land, with deep abysses and vast waters. Its winds are fierce, its waves violent, and its environment complex. It also contains powerful Sea Beasts, making it extremely dangerous. Why don't you stay in the Dragon Palace for a few days? Afterwards, I can arrange for a clansman to guide you there."
After hearing this, Jiang Yun nodded and agreed.
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