Yellow orioles emerged from the valleys, purple swallows came to nest, and plants put forth new shoots. After a spring rain, all things flourished beneath the radiant spring sunshine.
Floating Cloud Mountain stood lush and beautiful, its bamboo forests surging like waves and ancient trees towering toward the sky. Clouds and mist wreathed its slopes, waterfalls poured down like the Milky Way, and spirit herbs sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain. Spirit Cranes danced through the air and Spirit Deer raced across the land—a landscape worthy of an Immortal's Blessed Land.
On a broad river, where clear water flowed past abundant aquatic plants, a white-haired old Daoist fished from a boat. This time, he did not drift with the current. His bamboo raft remained in one place, as immovable as an island in the river.
Not long after he lowered his line, splashes sounded, and a Golden Carp and a Green Turtle surfaced, hovering atop the water. Warm sunlight fell upon them. Amid the shimmering ripples, the Golden Carp's golden scales gleamed, while a snake-like pattern on the Green Turtle's back exuded an ancient, mysterious air.
"How could golden scales belong to a mere pond creature? Once wind and clouds arrive, it transforms into a dragon. You two have not disappointed this humble Daoist. You have become Dragonblood creatures. Excellent!"
Seeing the fish and turtle utterly transformed, Xuanming stroked his beard, filled with satisfaction. A sudden stirring of intuition had prompted him to calculate on his fingers, revealing that the two spiritual creatures in the water had successfully evolved. On a whim, he had come here to fish.
Now, seeing that the Golden Carp and Spirit Turtle had grown far more spiritually aware and both carried a trace of Floating Cloud Mountain's blessed fortune, Xuanming was delighted. Both could