At the East Sea Dragon Palace, Ao Guang looked at his sons and grandsons flying all over the sky, wriggling wildly.
Though his old face had turned bright red and he was so mortified he wanted the ground to swallow him up,
feeling the solid Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation within him made him think it had all been worth it.
"Esteemed Immortal, I can never repay your great kindness!"
Ao Guang calmed himself, then respectfully took out a jade slip exuding an ancient aura and a jade bottle sealed with terrifying blood energy.
"This is the Dragon Race's supreme inheritance, the Ancestor Dragon Nine Heavens Art. Only those with Ancestor Dragon blood can cultivate it."
"This bottle contains a drop of essence blood left behind by our Ancestor Dragon patriarch."
"With this blood, Esteemed Immortal, you may be able to gain some insight and strengthen your body."
Zhao Gongming took the jade slip, but pushed the bottle of essence blood back.
"No need for the essence blood. I have something better."
With that, Zhao Gongming sent his divine sense into the jade slip.
The next moment,
the drop of Chaos Dragon Saint Essence Blood he had already refined trembled faintly within him.
It was as if a higher-dimensional being were looking down on a lower-dimensional one: the art was instantly analyzed.
Under Ao Guang's utterly horrified gaze,
the aura around Zhao Gongming began to rise steadily, and the faint phantom of a Chaos Azure Dragon appeared behind him.
First level... perfected!
Third level... perfected!
Sixth level... perfected!
In just a few breaths, Zhao Gongming had advanced this divine art, which no one in the Dragon Race had mastered in countless millions of years, straight to the sixth level!
"This... this..."
Ao Guang's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and his jaw dropped.
"He reached the sixth level instantly without the essence blood?"
"Which of us is the Dragon Race member here? Could Esteemed Immortal be Ancestor Dragon reincarnated?"
Zhao Gongming reined in his aura and waved his hand with exaggerated modesty.
"It's so-so. This art is decent. For me, it's just icing on the cake."
After all, his physical body was already comparable to a Great Luo's. The art mainly let him control his strength more precisely.
After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic Dragon Race,
Zhao Gongming took Lu Ya, Xuandu, Huang Long, Cihang, and Medicine Master with him, and once again rode the clouds straight for the Human Ancestral Land.
On the way, Zhao Gongming thought to himself,
"The Human Race will be the future protagonists of Heaven and Earth. They may be weak now, but their fortune will endure."
"Now's the perfect time to help them when they need it and win their favor. This investment is guaranteed to pay off!"
A short while later, they descended upon Shouyang Mountain.
The Three Ancestors of the Human Race—Suiren Shi, Youchao Shi, and Ziyi Shi—
had sensed the immortals' arrival long ago and hurried to greet them with their people.
"Greetings, Esteemed Immortals!"
Though the Three Ancestors' cultivation was not high, they remained neither servile nor arrogant.
Zhao Gongming glanced at the Three Ancestors, then at Lu Ya beside him, and discreetly gave him a nudge.
"Junior Brother Lu Ya, the Demon Race gave these people quite a scare just now."
"As the Demon Court Crown Prince, don't you think you should make amends?"
Lu Ya froze.
"Make amends? How? Give them some spirit stones?"
Zhao Gongming pointed at the crown on his head and said meaningfully,
"Put it on and apologize sincerely! That'll show you mean it!"
Lu Ya looked at the Three Ancestors of the Human Race, then at the uncompromising look in Zhao Gongming's eyes.
"Fine. For the sake of the Demon Court's image, I'll endure it!"
Lu Ya gritted his teeth and put on the Beast-Eared Girl's Crown once more.
A pink light flashed.
The adorable, sweet catgirl Lu Ya, cute enough to melt anyone's heart, was back.
Suppressing his mortification, Lu Ya walked up to Suiren Shi and the others.
His cat ears drooped, and he twisted his hands together as he said with a pitiful look,
"Patriarchs, I'm sorry, nya!"
"The Demon Race acted foolishly before and scared you, nya!"
"On behalf of Father Emperor, I apologize, nya!"
"Please forgive us, nya!"
The Three Ancestors had still been wary of the Demon Race.
At that moment, seeing such an adorable little catgirl acting cute as she apologized, their hearts softened at once.
"Oh, this... You're too kind."
Ziyi Shi's maternal instincts surged, and she couldn't resist wanting to pat Lu Ya on the head.
"It's all right, it's all right. You're still young. A good child learns from their mistakes."
Lu Ya: "..."
I'm tens of thousands of years old, you know!
Just then, Xuandu stepped forward too. Looking remorseful, he bowed deeply to the Three Ancestors.
"Brothers, Xuandu has come too late."
"As a Sage's disciple, I failed to repay the Human Race in time and let our people suffer a fright. It was my fault."
Suiren Shi hurriedly helped Xuandu up and laughed heartily.
"Brother Xuandu, there's no need to be so formal!"
"We were all molded by the Saint Mother around the same time. We're family!"
"You have to serve the Saint. That's an important way to bring honor to the Human Race. How could you just leave the mountain?"
"Besides, nobody was hurt. We just got startled by that... that double-ponytailed Di Jun. Let's put it behind us!"
They exchanged smiles, and the atmosphere quickly grew warm.
Then Suiren Shi asked respectfully,
"May I ask what brings you Esteemed Immortals here today?"
Zhao Gongming stepped forward, patted his chest, and declared with righteous fervor,
"It's nothing major."
"You're Brother Xuandu's kin, so you're my kin too!"
"We help family, not reason. Since we're family, of course we have to lend you a hand!"
"I heard life's tough for the Human Race, so we came to bring you some warmth!"
His words were heartfelt.
The Three Ancestors were so moved that tears streamed down their faces. They immediately poured out their troubles.
"Esteemed Immortal, please hear us out!"
"The Primordial Era may be vast, but all the blessed lands and caves have been divided among the various powers."
"The Human Race is newly born and has little foundation. What we lack most are cultivation resources!"
"Our people have talent, but no spirit herbs to help them. Their cultivation is slower than a snail's. It's truly hard!"
Hearing this, Zhao Gongming rubbed his chin and fell into thought.
"Cultivation resources..."
"Giving them resources is like giving them fish. Better to teach them how to fish."
He turned to Xuandu.
"Brother, do you have any special natural treasures?"
"Something that can make all things grow, or contains the power of creation?"
"Maybe I can refine a treasure that'll help the Human Race produce resources in bulk."
Xuandu was delighted. He hurriedly rummaged through his sleeve,
then took out a piece of soil glowing with five-colored radiance and brimming with life.
"This is a fragment of the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil. It contains boundless creative vitality. Will it do?"
[Alert! High-grade artifact-forging material detected: Nine Heavens Breath Soil (fragment).]
[Rating: Excellent.]
[Matching plan: Can forge conceptual treasures of the amplification/catalysis/transmutation type.]
"More than enough!"
Zhao Gongming took the Breathing Soil, summoned the Nine Dragon Cauldron, and started refining on the spot.
"It's done!"
A pair of objects appeared in Zhao Gongming's hands. They looked like... rubber gloves for washing dishes in a kitchen.
The only difference was that they were a bright orange, embroidered with a few peony flowers.
[Alert! Congratulations, Host, on successfully forging an item!]
[Treasure name: The Dutchman's Glove (Henan, represented by "Dutchman")]
[Rank: Acquired Merit Spirit Treasure (Conceptual Grade)]
[Conceptual attribute: Ascension of All Things · What a Feeling!]
[Effect: When wearing the glove, simply stroking any ordinary herb, supply, or even stone will forcibly elevate it into a heavenly treasure usable for cultivation. Weeds become spirit herbs, and stones become spirit stones!]
[Side effect: A taste of home.]
[Restriction 1: Whenever the user speaks, they must forcibly add the prefix "Zhong bu zhong" or "Bu zhong bu zhong."]
[Restriction 2: When casting a spell, they must strike an adorably cutesy pose and loudly chant the following incantation in a standard Henan accent!]
"Energetic Magic (,,＞᎑＜,,), so fragrant and delicious~★, even immortals will praise it~ Warm and toasty♡fragrant and spicy♡Hulatang Guai Guai ૮₍♡♡₎ა, become even tastier~★, is that all right ˃̶͈ꇴ˂̶͈? It's so darn good, words can't describe it ૮₍ᵔ⤙ᵔ₎ა."*
Zhao Gongming looked at the incantation, the corner of his mouth twitching wildly.
"This system... really knows its dialects."
[Any Henan folks in the comments? Give me a follow to help bump this!]
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