"Senior Grand-Nephew, which one is mine?"
"I never expected that! I casually mentioned it back then, and you really went and found one for me!"
Tongtian patted Shi Yu's shoulder in satisfaction. This senior grand-nephew really suits my tastes. Then he carefully examined the two mounts.
"Third Martial Uncle, guess which one is yours~"
Shi Yu pointed at the two mounts with a smile, letting Third Martial Uncle make the judgment.
"This carriage is far too ostentatious. It doesn't suit me. It suits Second Brother, who cares so much about appearances. Mine is probably that water buffalo!"
Tongtian stroked his chin and paced back and forth between the Kui Ox and the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage. He walked over to the Kui Ox and patted its head.
The Kui Ox looked at its master and rubbed against Tongtian~
"Correct, Third Martial Uncle!"
"This ox is your mount!"
"Mhm, it's just like Big Brother's ox. They're both prehistoric variants!" Tongtian was clearly very satisfied with his mount.
"Then this magnificent carriage is mine!"
"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Senior Grand-Nephew!"
Just as Yuanshi was about to accept the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage, Shi Yu interrupted him:
"Second Martial Uncle, the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage is a treasure of the Dragon Clan. They said it had a connection with me, then insisted on giving it to me. So I thought, this carriage is the perfect match for you, Second Martial Uncle."
"But I'm worried that the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage may carry Karmic Connections that could affect you, Second Martial Uncle!"
Yuanshi unconsciously stroked his beard, a satisfied look appearing on his face. "Senior Grand-Nephew, since it was a gift from you, and this mount suits me perfectly, I'll accept these Karmic Connections!"
As soon as Yuanshi finished speaking, a meeting concerning the future of the Dragon Clan was taking place in the Azure Dragon Realm, far away at the easternmost edge of Heaven.
Inside a great hall nestled among the mountains, the decorations were extravagantly luxurious. Divine dragons were engraved everywhere, while a gigantic dragon-shaped statue coiled in the center of the hall. Its eyes blazed as it stared ahead, looking completely lifelike.
Beneath the statue sat an old man and a young man. They were the current leaders of the Dragon Clan: Candle Dragon and the Azure Dragon Saint Venerable.
"I guard the easternmost edge of Heaven, and the merit I've gained is enough to protect the Dragon Clan. However, the Karma upon us cannot be eliminated."
The Azure Dragon Saint Venerable sighed heavily. Guarding the easternmost edge of Heaven could barely protect the Dragon Clan, but the Karma weighing upon the Dragon Clan had always troubled him.
"Now that the prehistoric world has produced a Saint, this is a realm even my elder brother, Ancestor Dragon, never reached. In the future, the prehistoric world will surely enter the age of the Saints."
"So our Dragon Clan must establish a connection with the future Saints. With the power of a Saint, perhaps we can cleanse the Karma weighing upon our Dragon Clan."
As the oldest member of the Dragon Clan, Candle Dragon's words carried great authority. The many high-ranking dragons seated below him nodded one after another.
Suddenly, everyone felt the Karma on their bodies lessen slightly. It wasn't much, but it had genuinely dissipated. This proved that Ao Ping and Ao Ren's gamble had succeeded.
Through the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage, they had formed a Karmic Connection with Yuanshi, a future Saint. As Yuanshi had been transformed from Pangu's primordial spirit and naturally possessed immense merit from creating the world, accepting this Karmic Connection had allowed him to cleanse part of the Dragon Clan's Karma.
With Karma weighing upon them, the Dragon Clan found it difficult to advance their cultivation even slightly. Their descendants also had a high chance of dying young. If not for the Dragon Clan's enormous population, they would probably have gone extinct long ago...
But now, they had seen hope. Those who had lived in darkness for years would surely do everything they could to seize even a sliver of light when they saw it.
Time flew by in an instant, and it was once again time for Old Ancestor Hongjun's second lecture.
"Big Brother, Second Brother, we should leave. It's time to listen to the lecture!"
Early in the morning, Tongtian had risen as usual. He wore a scarlet-and-white crane-patterned robe and the Supreme Clarity Lotus Crown. The bearing of the future leader of the Interception Sect was already beginning to show.
"Hahaha, Third Brother, you're still as impatient as ever. Let's set off."
Taiqing wore the Taiji Bagua Robe and the Taiqing Fish Tail Crown, with a Qiankun Sash tied around his waist.
"Since that's the case, let's set off. We can't let those two birds with their scraggly feathers beat us there!"
Yuanshi wore the Jade Clarity Lotus Crown and a pale golden Daoist robe. He possessed an imposing dignity even without displaying anger.
The three of them then went to the place where their mounts were kept. Shi Yu had arrived early to feed the Kui Ox and the Azure Ox. After all, the two of them would be traveling a long distance today, and Kunlun Mountain was not close to the Chaos.
"Young Master, could you change the flavor? I've gotten tired of this flavor of pill ages ago~" The Azure Ox looked at the pills in its bowl with disgust.
"Yeah, I'm tired of them too. Could you make glazed fruit-flavored ones next time? Those are delicious. I love them!" The Kui Ox nodded repeatedly in agreement with the Azure Ox.
"Damn, you two have gotten picky about food?"
"If you keep being picky, I'll make you eat grass for every meal!"
"You won't even get to eat the dregs!"
Shi Yu kicked each of the two picky oxen. These pills had all come from his failed alchemy attempts. Throwing them away would be wasteful, so he might as well feed them to the two oxen.
They were prehistoric variants, so eating pills from failed furnace attempts was no problem. Their hides were thick and their flesh tough, giving them extraordinarily high drug tolerance and resistance.
"Hahaha, disciple!"
"You still have a long way to go on the path of alchemy. You need to practice diligently!" Taiqing walked over to the Azure Ox and untied its rope.
He glanced at the pills Shi Yu had refined. As the greatest alchemy expert in the prehistoric world, he could identify the problem at a glance.
"Master, I think the pills I refined are pretty good. The two oxen both say they taste great!" Shi Yu asked in confusion.
"That's right, Old Master!"
"The pills Young Master refined taste sweet. Kui Ox and I both love them!"
The Kui Ox beside them nodded repeatedly. Although the pills contained little spiritual energy—far less than the first pill it had eaten—their flavor was excellent. Eating them made the ox feel happy and allowed it to forget life's hardships.
"Senior Grand-Nephew~"
"Come and give Third Martial Uncle a few to try~"
Tongtian, who was leading the Kui Ox out, heard this and asked Shi Yu for a gourd of pills. After sampling a few, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Senior Grand-Nephew, these really are quite delicious~"
"They taste better than Big Brother's!"
"Come, Second Brother! You should try the pills our senior grand-nephew refined too!" Tongtian tossed several pills to Yuanshi, who was adjusting the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage.
Looking at the pills in his hand, Taiqing suddenly said, "Shi Yu, when I refine pills, I preserve the spiritual energy of the spirit medicines and the Heavenly materials and earthly treasures. When you refine pills, you preserve their flavor..."
"Although they taste better, their medicinal effects have been reduced!"
Shi Yu suddenly understood. It seemed he had realized his own path of alchemy!
"No wonder~"
"At first, I followed the method you taught me, Master, but the pills I made didn't taste very good, so I kept improving their flavor!"
"So as long as I refine pills without any flavor, their effects won't be lost!"
"Hahahahaha, I get it now!"
The two oxen became a little depressed. They had been eating Shi Yu's pills for so many years that they had long grown accustomed to his pill flavors. He had every kind of spirit-fruit flavor, all sour, sweet, and delicious.
If they suddenly switched to flavorless pills like Taiqing's, the two of them would lose weight...
Before you continue