"Fellow Daoist, the path you follow seems to exist outside this world, beyond the passage of time, in a spacetime of its own."
Candle Dragon's voice held an unprecedented gravity. Then he looked toward Ao Chen, his expression apologetic.
"I hope you won't blame him, Fellow Daoist. Azure Dragon meant no harm."
What?
Candle Dragon's words were a hundred, even a thousand times more shocking than Ao Chen's earlier admission that he had created a cultivation method!
Every Dragon Clan Elder, including Azure Dragon, who had just been putting on airs, felt as though a trillion bolts of lightning had struck them. They were completely petrified on the spot!
Who was Candle Dragon?
He was the oldest and most powerful being in the Dragon Race! He had once stood shoulder to shoulder with Ancestral Dragon! He was also the master of the Time Dao. His breadth of vision, depth of wisdom, and keen perception far surpassed everyone present!
Even he couldn't see through Ao Chen's Dao? He'd even described it with the utterly unbelievable words "outside this world" and "a spacetime of its own"?
And he'd apologized to Ao Chen for it.
How... How was this possible?
Even Ao Chen couldn't help but regard this Candle Dragon with greater respect. He thought to himself:
This Dragon Mother's understanding of the Time Dao truly surpasses Zhu Jiuyin's! She can even glimpse part of the essence of my Mythical Grand Unity Method!
"Dragon Mother, you..."
Azure Dragon opened his mouth to ask, but Candle Dragon cut him off again.
"Azure Dragon, apologize."
Candle Dragon's voice carried a hint of weariness, but also an unquestionable resolve.
Though Azure Dragon was somewhat reluctant, he knew how powerful Candle Dragon was.
If Candle Dragon had said this, he couldn't have been deceiving him. And if Azure Dragon couldn't see it for himself, then all he could say was that Ao Chen was indeed far more terrifying than he'd imagined.
Still... For a Heavenly Immortal to make a Hunyuan Golden Immortal wary was utterly absurd. He could hardly even imagine it.
"I'm sorry. I apologize to you."
Azure Dragon lowered his proud head and apologized to Ao Chen.
Ao Chen waved his hand, paying Azure Dragon no mind.
You can't discuss ice with a summer insect. There were things Azure Dragon simply wouldn't understand, no matter how Ao Chen explained them.
Getting angry over someone like him would be a complete waste of time.
Nearby, Candle Dragon watched Azure Dragon apologize and Ao Chen remain calm. He gave a slight nod.
Then he turned to the other Dragon Clan Elders.
"There's no need to say more. This method is the only hope for our Dragon Race's revival! Begin cultivating at once, and experience the profound mysteries of this method!"
He stopped dwelling on Ao Chen's mysterious nature and placed all his hopes in the Myriad Calamities Furnace Body!
"We obey the Dragon Mother's decree!"
With Candle Dragon's order, the Dragon Clan Elders no longer hesitated!
Suppressing their shock and questions, they immediately followed the method Azure Dragon had demonstrated and explained, attempting to circulate the Myriad Calamities Furnace Body!
At once, the enormous cavern filled with the rising and falling roars of dragons!
A faint but steady force of blood and qi began to emanate from the colossal bodies of the dragons!
Carefully, they drew in the thick, ink-dark Karmic Debt, the bone-chilling deathly aura, and the baleful energy unique to Dragon Abyss, taking them into their bodies!
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
It was like plunging a red-hot iron into icy water!
The instant the energy of the myriad calamities entered their bodies, searing pain swept through every Elder! Karmic Debt burned their True Spirits, deathly aura eroded their vitality, and baleful energy battered their wills!
Even these old dragons, who had lived through countless yuanhui, couldn't help groaning in pain as their massive bodies trembled violently!
But not one dragon gave up!
An unprecedented fire burned in their eyes—their longing to live, their hope for revival!
They endured the agony, circulating the method. Using their remaining dragon essence and blood and qi as fuel, they struggled against the onslaught of the myriad calamities' energy to kindle the faint "furnace flame" and refine it!
The process was incredibly difficult and painful!
But as time passed, at last!
The first wisp of pure energy successfully "smelted" was born within the body of a Great Luo Elder!
Then came a second wisp, a third...
More and more Elders managed to take that difficult first step!
Their refining efficiency remained low, but the nourishing energy they truly felt flowing into their bodies—and the relief of feeling the Karmic Debt deep within their True Spirits shift, if only by a hair—were like the strongest stimulant, filling hearts that had lain desolate for countless yuanhui!
"Roar!!!"
At last, unable to hold back any longer, someone let out a sky-shaking dragon's roar, brimming with excitement, joy, and boundless hope!
Then—
"Roar! Roar! Roar!..."
Like a chain reaction!
Azure Dragon, Azure Dragon, Xiang Dragon, Tai Xu Dragon, Kong Dragon... dozens of Great Luo Elders and hundreds of Primordial Unity Elders...
Every Dragon Clan Elder who had successfully circulated the method threw back their heads and roared!
The grief, indignation, resentment, and despair they had suppressed for countless yuanhui transformed in that moment into boundless hope and anticipation for the future!
Ten Thousand Dragons Roar!
Their terrifying cries converged, forcibly breaking through the layers of restrictions in Dragon Abyss, piercing the endless dark depths, and reaching the surface of the East Sea!
Rumble!!!
The boundless East Sea trembled violently beneath the Ten Thousand Dragons Roar, raising monstrous waves!
Countless beings cultivating, treasure-hunting, or throwing their weight around above the East Sea were shaken by the sudden, terrifying dragon roars. Their hearts pounded, and their faces blanched with horror!
The Dragon Race, silent for countless ages, seemed to have uttered its first cry of revival in that moment!
At the depths of Dragon Abyss, the Ten Thousand Dragons Roar had unleashed a terrifying wall of sound, like a tangible shock wave. It pierced the endless darkness and crushing water pressure, sweeping across the whole vast East Sea!
In an instant, monstrous waves surged across the East Sea, tsunamis raced through the waters, and countless islands shook violently, as though doomsday had arrived!
Every being active throughout the East Sea—whether mighty cultivators in seclusion, wandering immortals treasure-hunting, or Immortal Court troops throwing their weight around—was struck by the sudden dragon roars, filled with boundless excitement and hope. Their hearts trembled, and their faces blanched with horror!
"What happened?"
"Was that the Dragon Race? Why are they roaring like that?"
"Did something happen in the depths of the Dragon Race?"
"Report this to the Immortal Court at once!"
Countless strands of divine sense intertwined above the East Sea, filled with shock, speculation, and unease.
The Dragon Race, silent for countless ages, had suddenly erupted with such earth-shaking commotion. It was an unmistakable sign that something extraordinary had happened, putting many forces on alert.
The East Sea Immortal Court, established only recently and eager to use the Dragon Race to establish its authority, received the news first of all.
On Yingzhou Immortal Island, the immortals who had remained behind felt the terrifying dragon might rising from the depths of Dragon Abyss. Their faces changed, and they hurriedly sent word to Zixiao Palace.
Yet the commotion outside did nothing to change the scene in the depths of Dragon Abyss.
After the Ten Thousand Dragons Roar, an even more fervent atmosphere of cultivation filled the enormous cavern.
Every Dragon Clan Elder devoted their entire mind to circulating the Myriad Calamities Furnace Body!
The process remained painful, and the refining efficiency remained low. But the negative energy refined and absorbed bit by bit, the source vitality slowly restored, and the relief of feeling the Karmic Debt shackles deep within their True Spirits shift, if only slightly, were like the sweetest nectar, sustaining them as they gritted their teeth and persevered!
Hope!
As long as there was hope, they could endure any pain!
Ao Chen stood quietly to one side, looking at this scene of Ten Thousand Dragons Refining Calamity. He couldn't help feeling moved.
The Dragon Race was worthy of having once ruled the world. Its willpower was indeed extraordinary.
He didn't interfere much. Only when an Elder encountered a bottleneck or was about to be struck by the backlash of the myriad calamities' energy did he flick a finger, using his own Dao resonance to steady the Elder's mind and guide them through the ordeal.
Most of the time, he simply watched and took notes.
The Dragon Clan Elders' cultivation of the Myriad Calamities Furnace Body was, in itself, a large-scale, multi-subject test of the method he had created.
The subtle differences and reactions that arose as Elders with different constitutions, different Karmic Debt, and different understandings of the laws cultivated the method were all captured, analyzed, and absorbed by his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, becoming precious resources with which to perfect his own cultivation.
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