The Birth of the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon's Sentience [Seeking Follow-up Reads]

Hongyun heard Zhenyuanzi's thanks and quickly waved his hand. His crimson Daoist robe fluttered with the motion, like flowing clouds drifting across the horizon.

His face bore an expression of utmost sincerity, with flames seeming to burn in his eyes as he spoke in a clear, urgent voice:

"Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi, there's no need for such courtesy! We were born together, as close as brothers.

Back when I was still muddled and confused before my transformation, drifting aimlessly between heaven and earth as nothing more than a rootless red cloud, it was you, Fellow Daoist, who never abandoned me. Every day atop Longevity Mountain, you expounded the great Dao of the Earth, using the mellow tones of the Earth Vein's profound sounds to help me condense my spiritual wisdom and clarify my path forward.

If not for your guidance, how could Hongyun have seen through the veils of confusion and attained the fruit of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal?

After my transformation, knowing that my origin belonged to fire and my nature suited wind and thunder, you gifted me the Four Symbols Plantain Tree—an Innate Spiritual Root that perfectly matched me—helping my Dao advance greatly and stabilizing my foundation.

This act of protecting your cultivation is merely a small effort on my part. Compared to the great kindness you've shown me, it's utterly insignificant. I absolutely cannot accept a single word of thanks from you!"

He spoke rapidly, as if afraid that speaking any slower would make his sincerity seem lacking.

Cloud patterns faintly flowed across his crimson Daoist robe, reflecting his bright, eager features, dyeing the surrounding spiritual energy with a layer of warmth.

Lord Wanshouyuan also smiled lightly. His green Daoist robe moved without wind, and the embroidery of Longevity Pine and Cypress patterns seemed to come alive, emitting a refreshing fragrance of Wood Vitality.

He interjected, his tone calm and natural, as if stating something self-evident:

"Fellow Daoist Hongyun speaks truly. Moreover, you and I are one body, born from the same origin—why distinguish between self and other?

I for you, you for me—all follow the original heart. Protecting you is protecting myself. How can there be any talk of 'standing on ceremony'?"

His gaze was clear and warm as he looked at Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun, carrying an indescribable bond and understanding. As Zhenyuanzi's incarnation, he truly shared the same origin with the other two, and his words came from the heart without any hesitation.

Zhenyuanzi's face after transformation was simple and unadorned yet majestic, his aura as thick as Mount Buzhou. Hearing this, a trace of gentle warmth spread slowly in his eyes, like a boulder sinking into a deep pool—calm on the surface but carrying immense weight within.

He did not speak further, only slightly nodding. Some bonds had long surpassed words, engraved deep within each other's Dao origins, needing no verbal expression and never forgotten for eternity.

His sleeves trembled slightly, and the surrounding Earth Vein Qi hummed softly in response, echoing this unspoken bond.

But just as the three of them were immersed in this timeless connection, their auras mingling and minds at ease—

Almost simultaneously, the three Great Powers, whose cultivation pierced heaven and earth, turned their gazes toward one side of the courtyard!

There, a Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon coiled quietly. Its majestic body emitted vast and pure Xuanhuang Golden Light of Merit, illuminating half the courtyard in brilliance.

It had originally been a lifeless object—formed from Father God Pangu's final breath after the Creation of the World, mixed with Immeasurable World-Opening Merit and Xuanhuang Mother Qi. It could be called the first wonder of the Primordial World. Though it possessed an unparalleled majestic form, it had always lacked the most fundamental spark of spiritual wisdom, existing only as a shape.

But at this moment!

An extremely faint yet unmistakably clear and completely different ripple of spirituality was quietly, tentatively seeping out from the deepest part of the dragon's body—a body that had been flawless yet lifeless—like the first drop of clear, sweet dew seeping from beneath ten thousand feet of ice after the spring thaw.

This ripple was extremely tender, ignorant, and chaotic, like the first wisp of Yinyang energy intertwining at the dawn of chaos, or the faintest tremor before the first unconscious yet world-shaking cry of a newborn leaving its mother's womb.

It carried the purest, most primal curiosity and exploration of this world. It was so faint it could almost be drowned by the vast Xuanhuang Golden Light of Merit, yet it existed with unyielding resilience!

No longer was it a mere collection of lifeless energy; it now showed true signs of giving birth to spiritual wisdom and awakening conscious awareness!

"This is..." Hongyun's face instantly filled with surprise and delight. His eyes blazed as he stared at the golden dragon, almost holding his breath.

His nature was the most lively and enthusiastic, and he harbored the greatest curiosity and goodwill toward such a newborn spiritual being.

Lord Wanshouyuan's eyes flickered with intense green light. The Wood Vitality energy around him naturally flowed, resonating with the Ginseng Fruit Tree, an Innate Spiritual Root. After sensing carefully for a moment, he nodded, his clear voice carrying a trace of barely perceptible surprise:

"Indeed, it is the sign of nascent spiritual wisdom. Marvelous, truly marvelous!

It seems that the main body's transformation just now stirred up vast vitality and the rhythm of the great Dao, shaking heaven and earth and affecting all beings.

Moreover, Longevity Mountain is one of the nodes of the Primordial Ancestral Veins. Now, influenced by the main body's Dao attainment, it has gathered an extremely dense, almost liquid concentration of Innate Spiritual Qi and Earth Vein Essence and Qi.

Through a confluence of countless fortuitous coincidences, it has unexpectedly nourished this being's essence, which had lain dormant for several epochs, and awakened this spark of true spiritual light."

Zhenyuanzi stepped forward slowly, his pace steady, each step seeming to rise and fall in sync with the Earth Veins of the entire Longevity Mountain.

He extended a hand that seemed to bear the meridians of the earth and the patterns of mountains and rivers, gently pressing it in the air above the enormous dragon's head without actually touching it, lest his own heavy aura disturb the fragile newborn spirituality.

He closed his eyes and sensed carefully for a moment. The earth-yellow divine light around him faintly circulated, producing a subtle resonance with the Xuanhuang Golden Light on the dragon's surface.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and spoke steadily, his voice like a rumble from deep within the earth:

"Good! Very good! This object has an extraordinary origin—it is Pangu's Legacy, favored by Merit, and nurtured by Xuanhuang. If it can give birth to spiritual wisdom and shed the shackles of a lifeless object, it will have obtained true creation. Its future achievements will be limitless. This is an unexpected joy and a great fortune."

The three Great Powers looked at each other, all seeing intense interest and anticipation in one another's eyes.

At their level of cultivation, ordinary matters of the Primordial World could hardly stir ripples in their hearts. But this event was unprecedented since the Creation of the World!

A golden dragon forged from Father God Pangu's final breath, World-Opening Merit, and Xuanhuang Mother Qi was about to give birth to spiritual wisdom!

They were all curious: what kind of existence would this golden dragon become once it fully developed its spiritual wisdom? It contained such complex and noble power, making it perhaps the most peculiar creation of the Primordial World.

Would its nature be as thick as the earth, as lofty as Xuanhuang, or as auspicious as Merit? What kind of Innate Divine Ability would it possess? Would it inherit some unimaginable aspect of Pangu's Legacy?

"Since that is the case, let us lend it a hand, accelerate the gestation of its spiritual wisdom, and lay an unparalleled Dao foundation for it, guiding it toward goodness and the Dao, so that it does not squander this body of Pangu's Legacy and Merit."

Zhenyuanzi made the decision on the spot. As the host and the eldest among them, his words carried weight. Hongyun and Lord Wanshouyuan naturally nodded in agreement.

And so, within the serene, auspicious, and spiritually rich Wuzhuang Temple, a "Dao lecture" began—one that could be considered the highest standard and most unique in the Primordial World so far.

The audience was not any Primordial Great Power, nor any ordinary cultivator or spirit, but a singular golden dragon on the verge of giving birth to spiritual wisdom.