The Dragon

In the Path to Immortality, I Soar to the Heavens

Endless darkness surged behind her, enveloping her in its embrace. Around her, people stood, pointing at her, their faces twisted into mocking expressions.

Pain gripped Gu Fuyou’s heart, leading to nausea and an emotional urge to vomit.

Just then, the laughter ceased abruptly. Someone shouted, “What is that?!”

A moist, cold aura approached, and Gu Fuyou found it oddly familiar. This elusive mist evoked a sense of comfort and reliability.

Chaos ensued. Gu Fuyou turned towards the source of the cold, and saw a cloud of mist rolling in. Something seemed to be moving within the mist.

She caught her breath, captivated by the sight, unable to look away.

Ancient texts say, “When the gods created the world and chaos first began, the Dragon bore the sun and moon, and the Azure Phoenix carried the stars.”

Their majesty, deeply rooted in people’s hearts since the birth of humanity.

Later generations spoke of two mythical creatures: one from the scale clan, the other from the feathered clan.

There are many scaled and feathered creatures in the universe, but everyone knows this refers specifically to the Dragon and Azure Phoenix clans.

The Azure Phoenix, with its profound beauty, looks down upon all life forms. It is the eternal bird of the nine heavens, forever representing nobility and splendor.

As for the Dragon, its beauty embodies humanity’s ultimate desire for power.

Its body spans a thousand miles, with springs that are nine-fold deep. When it raises its whiskers, clouds form, and it moves along with the waves.

Eclipsing the sun, soaring the sky, riding the waves, dominating the oceans.

Deep down, humans always revered and worshipped these two clans. Just like now, when Gu Fuyou glimpsed the figure in the mist, even though it was just a fraction, she was instantly captivated.

“Is that… Am I seeing things?”

“Brother, that looks like a divine Dragon to me. I didn’t hear any news of a Dragon coming to the market.”

“It’s coming this way.”

“Why isn’t anyone from the merchant association explaining?”

“Is it here for the race?”

“This has to be a joke. It’s probably just passing by.”

As it approached closer, Gu Fuyou’s absurd premonition grew stronger. Her heart felt like it would burst from her chest.

She murmured deliriously, “I must be going mad, I’m losing it, I’ve definitely lost it…”

With a collective gasp from the crowd, Gu Fuyou’s heartbeat reached its peak. The spirit beasts on either side scattered, leaving a vast open space around her.

The divine Dragon coiled its body and settled down in front of Gu Fuyou.

Gu Fuyou locked eyes with its golden beastly pupils, getting a clear view of its magnificent form.

A white five-clawed divine Dragon. Compared to the vast mature Dragon, this White Dragon seemed petite, but it was still majestic compared to the creatures beside it.

Its Dragon whiskers and the mane on its spine and behind its claws didn’t resemble tangible hair. Instead, it looked like soft, snowy fluff, almost cloud-like, swaying gently with the breeze.

Gu Fuyou covered her mouth, her eyes filled with tears, but she dared not make a sound, fearing to break the dream.

As the White Dragon approached, she instinctively backed away but found herself on the edge of a stone bridge, losing her footing and falling backward.

For a moment, she felt weightless, then felt something tighten around her waist.

The Dragon’s tail wrapped around her, placing her securely on its back.

Sitting atop the Dragon’s spine, Gu Fuyou felt torn.

Half of her couldn’t believe the reality before her – sitting atop a divine Dragon that seemed to have come to accompany her in a race. The other half trembled with anxiety, mumbling in a shaky voice, “Oh no, I’m going to die, I’m going to die…”

She felt like crying, her tears a mix of excitement, grievance, pride, and fear.

Whispers filled the surroundings, with everyone present visibly shocked.

A divine Dragon had chosen to carry a human.

The proud Azure Phoenix and Dragon only ever allowed their mates and family to ride them.

To think that a Dragon would carry a human, especially one only at the peak of Qi Practicing, was unfathomable. Claiming that Gu Fuyou was family to this Dragon was improbable. Suggesting she was its partner was even more inconceivable.

An official rushed in, cautiously approaching the White Dragon. He hesitated, took a couple of steps back, and bowed, calling out, “Third Miss, Third Miss.”

His voice was soft and restrained. After several calls, Gu Fuyou snapped back to reality.

“Third Miss, who is…?”

Gu Fuyou replied, “Ah, it… it…”

She was at a loss for words, finally whispering, “It might be here to race with me.”

“Is that…?”

“It’s not against the rules.”

The White Dragon cast a sideways glance at the official, who wiped the sweat from his forehead and responded, “It’s not against the rules, not against the rules.”

“Since Third Miss… erm… companion has arrived, let’s start the race.”

“Okay.”

Before the official had left, a sneer sounded from the left. Zuo Tianlang stood on the back of a three-headed red pigeon, one foot on the pigeon’s head, loudly saying to Gu Fuyou’s side, “What kind of divine Dragon? Gu Fuyou is just bluffing. She even managed to deceive you. Which divine Dragon in the world doesn’t have dragon horns? Look at that creature. Does it have Dragon horns? Maybe it’s just a reptile from somewhere pretending to be a divine Dragon.”

In fact, from beginning to end, Gu Fuyou and the White Dragon never claimed to be a divine Dragon. Those were just whispers and speculations from bystanders.

People had noticed the absence of horns on the White Dragon but were too awed by its entrance and naturally reverent of Dragons to voice their doubts openly.

However, Gu Fuyou was certain. This truly was a five-clawed divine Dragon.

It did have horns, but they had been broken.

Sitting on its back, Gu Fuyou could see clearly. The horn was broken right from the base, seemingly injured by a sharp weapon. The horn was regrowing, with a new little horn emerging, much softer in color than the base.

Gu Fuyou thought, “That must have hurt so much.”

She couldn’t help but reach out to touch it. The moment her hand touched the broken horn, the White Dragon reacted violently, jerking its body and throwing Gu Fuyou off.

Gu Fuyou fell to the ground, hurting her hips. The White Dragon approached, emitting a deep rumble.

Gu Fuyou propped herself up on her hands and leaned slightly back, saying, “I’m sorry, I…”

The official signaled the start with a chime. The White Dragon again wrapped its tail around her waist, but this time keeping her far from its head, and placed her in the middle of its back.

As the golden bell rang, everyone readied themselves, preparing to urge their spiritual beasts into a dive.

Suddenly, the White Dragon raised its head and let out a majestic roar.

The sound of its roar reverberated throughout the skies.

All the other spirit beasts stopped, not daring to go ahead. Some of the lower-ranked beasts even collapsed to the ground.

The White Dragon, carrying Gu Fuyou, leaped out. Looking back, Gu Fuyou saw people on the bridge pulling and shouting at their spirit beasts to move. Only a few high-level ones slowly took to the air.

Gu Fuyou wondered if this could be considered cheating.

Then again, using a divine Dragon in a race already seemed like an unfair advantage.

Gu Fuyou bent down, hugging the White Dragon. Biting her lower lip, she couldn’t help but smile. She buried her face in the soft, snowy mane of the Dragon, which felt as soft as it looked.

She felt an indescribable sense of peace and satisfaction.

In the Yunduan Grand Canyon, there are three major obstacles that participants must navigate during aerial races. First is the Panlong Road, a winding path; second, the Duantian Waterfall, which drops three thousand feet; and third, the Yixian Sky, a narrow path sandwiched between two strange rocks.

Until they reach the Yixian, there are defensive formations above the canyon. Spirit beasts cannot fly out of the canyon or breach these formations until they’ve passed the Yixian Sky, only then can they freely soar.

The White Dragon takes the lead, reaching the Panlong Road first. The Panlong Road is winding, with sharp stones below, jagged like dog’s teeth. Even dragons have to be careful when traversing this path, hence the name ‘Panlong Road’, which means Coiling Dragon Road.

As the White Dragon entered the stone forest, it slowed down. Suddenly, a burst of purple fire came from behind. The White Dragon swiftly maneuvered around a stone pillar to avoid it. The purple fire narrowly grazed Gu Fuyou.

She could feel its scorching heat.

Looking back, Gu Fuyou saw that Zuo Tianlang and other cultivators were catching up.

The fireball had been thrown by Zuo Tianlang, and he was still holding another purple flame in his hand.

While there was a rule against spiritual beasts attacking each other in the race, there was no explicit rule against cultivators doing so. Hence, past races always had instances of cultivators sabotaging one another, trying to knock each other off their beasts.

Zuo Tianlang was about to attack again when a man beside him, seemingly his subordinate, grabbed his arm, warning, “Young Master, if that really is a Dragon, injuring it might incur the wrath of the Dragons from the four seas.”

Zuo Tianlang brushed off the man’s hand, retorting, “What Dragon clan? Would a Dragon carry Gu Fuyou? Would a Dragon be without horns? It’s just a reptile!”

The man cautioned, “Young Master, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If our sect leader finds out you’ve provoked it, you might get punished.”

“Get lost! I won’t let her get ahead of me today. If there is any punishment, I’ll bear it alone.” Zuo Tianlang retorted.

He then announced to his followers, “Today, anyone who hits that reptile or Gu Fuyou will be rewarded 50,000 spirit stones for a hit, and if they make her fall, a reward of a million spirit stones and a promotion to an inner disciple of the Xu Ling Sect.”

As the saying goes, a generous reward brings out the brave.

Soon, elements like wind, fire, water, and thunder were hurled from behind.

The White Dragon skillfully dodged each attack as if it had eyes on its back.

However, the attackers grew bolder after their initial assaults. Earlier, they were somewhat restrained, but now they attacked more ferociously and frequently.

Navigating through the maze-like Stone Forest, it was impossible for the White Dragon to dodge everything. It was hit by a bolt of thunder, but its scales, being among the strongest in the world, protected it. Yet, a patch of the Dragon’s pristine white mane near Gu Fuyou was singed black.

Gu Fuyou’s eyes widened in shock, her hands clutching the charred mane. In frustration, she cried out, “Aaahhhhh!!”

She looked back with fierce eyes and shouted, “Scoundrels!”

Rummaging through her storage bag, she angrily threw out the magical tools she had bought and the talismans she had made, exclaiming, “Think you’re the only ones who can throw fire? Taste this!”

She detonated one of the talismans, and the items exploded in a chain. Many of the magical items were crafted by Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators and were of high quality. Their combined explosion was incredibly powerful.

A huge fire erupted within the stone forest, turning the area behind the White Dragon into a sea of flames.

The White Dragon had already darted out of the Panlong Road, but Zuo Tianlang, riding a three-legged red sparrow, burst through the flames and followed closely, with two Golden Core cultivators guarding him.

In his rage, Zuo Tianlang ordered the two to take down Gu Fuyou at all costs.

Although they were wary of the White Dragon’s identity and didn’t dare to attack it directly, they didn’t hold back against Gu Fuyou, hurling all sorts of spells at her. Gu Fuyou, being a Qi Practicing, would be gravely injured if she were hit even slightly.

The White Dragon suddenly sped up, heading towards the Duantian Waterfall. The Duantian Waterfall’s water flows rapidly, looking like a white ribbon hanging from the mountain, its waves exploding into a white mist at the bottom.”

A transparent wind ball pressed down on Gu Fuyou’s back. It felt like a huge boulder was crushing her, getting closer, threatening to squash her into pulp.

Just then, the White Dragon dove downwards, flying parallel to the waterfall and plunging into the water. The gust dispersed upon the water’s surface.

The cultivators beside Zuo Tianlang seemingly lacked water attributes, or perhaps were not adept in it. They couldn’t handle the White Dragon and Gu Fuyou underwater.

Underwater, Gu Fuyou clung to the White Dragon, her head encased in a bubble that allowed her to breathe. The White Dragon moved even faster in water than in air. It swam rapidly, eventually emerging at the entrance of Yixian Sky.

On either side of the Yixian Sky were towering cliffs with uniquely shaped rocks jutting out. Because the passage was extremely narrow, flying too fast could easily result in a collision.

Just as the White Dragon entered the Yixian, Gu Fuyou heard Zuo Tianlang shout, “Knock them down!”

Gu Fuyou glanced back and saw Zuo Tianlang and his two companions following from a distance, their persistence unwavering.

The two Golden Core cultivators started to channel their spiritual energy. Gu Fuyou thought they were about to attack her again, but then she noticed their hands slightly shifting their direction.

Alarmed, Gu Fuyou quickly warned the White Dragon, “Be careful!”

Their actual targets were the cliff walls. Struck by their force, the prominent rocks shattered. Massive stones began descending like a rainstorm, a sight so overwhelming it left one breathless.

The White Dragon accelerated, navigated through the gaps of the falling rocks, carrying Gu Fuyou.

The thunderous noise of crashing stones filled Gu Fuyou’s ears, and the fierce wind from narrowly missed boulders grazed her cheeks.

She felt the terror of a near-death experience but was also filled with fearless determination. Her blood was boiling, making her eyes redden, her heart race, and her limbs tremble.

Facing such peril, a person as insignificant as her surprisingly mustered the courage to challenge the heavens and earth, thinking, “If not me, then who?”

She murmured, “Faster, even faster.”

The White Dragon sped up, flying higher. Once they cleared the Yixian Sky, the vast sky would be theirs to explore.

The White Dragon, swift as lightning and resembling a white cloud, dodged the falling rocks and finally passed the perilous path. Yet, it didn’t slow down and continued to soar towards the cloudy sky.

Suddenly, dense mists enveloped them, with heavy grey clouds looming.

In her excitement, Gu Fuyou cried out, “Higher, even higher!”

With a dragon’s roar, the White Dragon burst through the clouds, and the view suddenly brightened.

To the west, where the world ends, the fiery red sun was half-concealed, with clouds painted in the most dazzling colors. The magnificent scene before them looked just like a painting.

Gu Fuyou was momentarily spellbound. Her chest heaved due to the lingering heat of the adrenaline rush, and she felt moisture on her face. Touching her face, she realized she was crying.

Who would have thought that someone as insignificant as an ant could soar to the heavens? Such a breathtaking view would probably be etched in her bones, unforgettable for a lifetime.