As the words sounded in the surrounding, the small snake froze in its tracks. It had the same confusion in its eyes as the other dead souls.
While the voice caused others to go in a daze, it had the exact opposite action on Tianlong.
Maybe it was because of the connection he shared with the Undying Tree.
With the words echoing in his mind, he instinctively nodded and immediately terminated his connection with the tree.
It wasn't until he noticed his reflection in the pond that the words stopped echoing in his head.
His body looked as if it had lost all flesh and blood. He looked like a dry corpse with only skin and bones left. Moreover, there were veinous pathways were glowing with black light all over his body giving him a horrifying appearance.
To others, he might look like a bizarre monstrosity but felt the scene had a certain charm to it.
"Interesting! Is this what I would become if I let lose the Undying Tree and let it cover my meridians?" Raising his bony arms, he looked at them with a sharp glint.
"The Undying Tree can't suppress with the extreme Yang Meridians in my body. I wonder what'll happen if I lose all the extreme Yang from my body… Heh, I'll probably die won't I?" He chuckled.
Tianlong had started experimentation on animals from a young age for practising his surgical skills. As he grew up, his subjects of research gradually changed from animals to demons and humans.
While before he used to pursue this path purely for curing his mother, now it became a way for him to continue his biological research and satiate his curiosity towards various lifeforms.
Now that his mother was almost cured, he wasn't as worried as before.
Even at the idea of dying himself, he could laugh freely.
"Though I wonder what will happen if I can find a source of extreme Yang that can counterbalance the Undying Tree? Would my cultivation base vanish, would I die, or would I become something else altogether?"
His breathing quickened as he thought of the various possibilities. Gradually an insane idea formed in his head and refused to go.
"It's like guessing what fire and ice would form after fusing. Would they destroy each other, turn into steam or become a completely different entity like a frozen flame?
"If the forces of life and death combined, would they destroy each other, create ghosts or birth something unnatural like undeath?"
Tianlong didn't know that when he was asking these questions, the spiritual energy inside his body was changing in a much different way than when he tried to fuse with the Roc or the Dragon.
"They say everything in the world is has two sides – Yin and Yang. Even though the two forces mutually counter and restrict each other, it is their union that gives rise to all forms of creation...
"The Grand Dao of Yin and Yang, what a concept! The Candle Dragons, what a magnificent race!" Tianlong clicked his tongue in admiration.
Starting from the way they thought to the way they lived their daily lives, all of their actions conformed to the concept of Yin and Yang. Theirs was a race that lived and died by their dao.
"The concept of Yin and Yang is interesting and matches quite well with my curiosity towards life. I will certainly look into it when I reach the Yin Yang Cleansing realm!
"However, it can't help me increase my cultivation currently. There is still a boundary between me and the next realm. No matter how much help I receive from the Candle Dragon's statue, it wouldn't matter." His gaze lingered on the foggy sea where the black tree was located. Its faint reflection could be seen on the sea.
Once he compared its reflection to his own, he thought they were pretty similar.
He had a faint feeling that when his reflection became just like the tree, he would reach the Yin Yang Cleansing stage. However, there was still some difference between him and that stage.
After a long time, he let out a sigh and shifted his gaze to his beast companion. "Little Snake, this is where we bid farewell." Saying this, he tapped his forehead and started to break free from this dreamscape.
Tianlong's words snapped it out of its daze.
When it looked away from the crimson sea, there was an unexplainable clarity on its face and the fire in its left eye burned brighter than ever.
The little snake understood that their meeting was over and they might never see each other again. Moreover, once he reaches a higher cultivation realm, this last bit of remnant blood from the Candle Dragon's lineage would also disappear.
Looking at Tianlong who's body was turning illusory, it finally came to a decision.
"If there is life, there'll also be death. If one cannot die, what right do they have to stay alive?!"
With a voice filled with conviction, it turned into a flaming serpent and jumped towards Tianlong.
The originally small flame in its left eye erupted and set its body ablaze. Finally, when it became nothing more than a small wisp of flame, it entered Tianlong's left eye and vanished along with him.
Tianlong woke up.
His mind had already exited the dreamscape even before the small snake initiated its actions. He had no way of knowing what it had done.
Unlike the dream, his body was still in the same condition as before. All he felt was that there was a warmth spreading from his left eye to the rest of his body.
"To pass on your dao, little snake, is this what you wanted?" Tianlong's expression became a little complicated when he touched his left eye.
The Long Clan inherited their bloodline from a member of the race Candle Dragons.
However, due to not being demons, the effect of bloodline on them was limited. This caused the grade of the bloodline to gradually decline.
Hence, Tianlong who inherited the Sacred Blood of the Ancient Storm Dragon, had his Candle Dragon's blood devoured by the latter to empower itself.
Two dragon lineages couldn't exist simultaneously. This was an unwritten rule that was a result of the pride of dragons.
Knowing that it could never pass his bloodline to its descendant, the little snake that represented his Candle Dragon's spirit did the only thing it could do.
Pass on its dao.
When opened his eyes, he saw that he was sitting in a meditative position along with the other corpses. The statue had released him at an unknown time. However, he couldn't ponder on it for too long as the Candle Dragon's statue spoke to him in its strange tone once more.
"Thou art quite valorous…"
Although its voice carried that same authority as before, Tianlong could sense that it had been weakened.
There was still the illusion of a solar eclipse in its eyes. Judging from how slow the eclipse was moving, it would take quite a few months before it was over.
Clasping his hands, Tianlong bowed towards the Dragon statue.
"Thank you for your teachings." This time, his voice carried genuine respect. Although he didn't see the sacrifice of the little snake, he could somewhat guess it.
The statue remained quiet and kept looking towards the direction of the sun.
"I just hope that it regains its strength after assimilating the lamp given by mother." Tianlong sighed and walked away. However, just as he put his palm on the doors, the statue spoke once more.
"Wouldst thee accept a request of mine?"
Tianlong stopped in his tracks and turned back. Looking at the Candle Dragon, he gently spoke, "Please tell. If it's within my bounds, I'll definitely accomplish it!"
Since the other party had helped him, he wouldn't shy away from repaying either.
"Mine own right eye… Prithee bring me mine own right eye…"
…
"Mei Er, all those years ago when you reversed your dao, did you ever feel regret?"
"I have never regretted anything in my life."
"To think you were such a huge name in the righteous faction…"
"Patriarch, this is my choice."
The old man let out a sigh and didn't speak further.
While the others in the clan were busy participating in the annual competition or watching over it, he was sitting in his hut while playing a game of chess with Long Qianmei.
In his memories, he could still vaguely see the little girl who called him scary grandpa.
However, this was all in the past…
"I had tried to support you all those years ago, But you never accepted my good intentions."
Long Qianmei took out a chess piece of the patriarch with her queen. "When I reversed my dao, all of my affection for the clan was also gone… Also, you have lost!"
The patriarch sighed again and no longer looked at the board. He had been thoroughly defeated.
"I suppose you have come for your son."
She nodded in affirmation.
"He's a talented kid" The patriarch commented.
"I know."
"Maybe even more than you."
"I know." Her reply was still the same.
The patriarch fell silent. For the last month, he had been constantly hearing the roars of dragons and rocs coming from the underground.
The change in spiritual energy didn't go unnoticed by him.
The two of them stopped playing and looked at the snow outside.
"He's here."
Although there was no sound coming from below, the patriarch could still sense the movement underground.
He opened the underground passage to let out the white-haired youth that had given quite a surprise.
After the month-long stay inside the Candle Dragon's statue, he had become slightly slender than before. However, his muscles were even more defined.
Long Qianmei smiled upon seeing him. "Tian Er, how was your gain?"
Tianlong smiled and released his cultivation base fully in front of her. Since his mother was here, he was unafraid of exposing his status of being a dual refiner.
The patriarch's eyes widened in surprise. For someone of his age to show such a reaction, it could be understood how unthinkable it was.
"The Candle Dragon's dao dream indeed lives up to its name." He looked at Tianlong with eyes full of praise and sighed in emotion.
"Too bad, there's a flaw in that dream." Tianlong calmly said.
The patriarch was shaken, he looked at Tianlong with an interested expression. "Oh? And do know you what is it?"
"It has no moon…"
Listening to these words, the praise in the patriarch's eyes got even stronger.
Long Qianmei stood up with a smile. "Since our business here is done, we need to go. We have guests visiting us from Grand Xia..."