Chapter 128: This Gift Is a Bit Too Generous

“Uncle Ji, are you saying that Bai Qi of the Chunmu River still has a chance to transform into a dragon?”

The Dragon Girl was extremely concerned about this matter. Not only did her voice become louder, but her tone also grew much more urgent. It wasn't because Bai Qi was so important, but because it concerned her own future.

Ji Yuan looked at her, understanding roughly what was on her mind, and then uttered a statement that no practitioner in this world had ever heard before.

“The Great Dao has fifty, Heaven derives forty-nine, and one is left for humanity to escape.”

Even with Ji Yuan's calm demeanor, the literal meaning of his words seemed profound. The Dragon Girl felt she didn't quite understand them, yet she knew for certain that "Uncle Ji" wasn't simply making things up.

The Dragon Girl pondered for a while, vaguely sensing something. She looked up, her bright eyes meeting Ji Yuan's perpetually half-closed, ancient-looking gaze once more.

“Uncle Ji, tell me, will I be able to successfully transform into a dragon in the future?”

Ji Yuan sighed inwardly, thinking, *If you don't even have confidence in yourself, how can you transform into a dragon?*

Gentle persuasion didn't seem to impress the Dragon Girl much; it appeared he needed to assert some "uncle's" authority.

Turning towards the Dragon Girl, Ji Yuan opened his ancient-looking eyes wider. His gaze, devoid of specific focus, made the Dragon Girl feel as if he wasn't looking at her physical form, but rather at her path to dragon transformation.

“That old white Jiao, though deeply cultivated, failed to transform into a dragon twice, losing all his scales. But if he were given another chance, do you think he would dare to attempt it a third time?”

Ji Yuan's question stumped the Dragon Girl, Ying Ruoli. She instinctively glanced at Bai Qi, who often sat drinking alone in the corner of the hall. Though reclusive, he couldn't hide his resentment and helplessness.

‘He would absolutely try it, wouldn't he!’

Not only did she have that answer in her heart, but the Dragon Girl also knew that if he truly had another chance and still failed, the old white Jiao would surely face death.

“Heh heh, I presume the River Goddess already has an answer in her heart. So, let me put it this way: what you lack for dragon transformation, besides cultivation, is only this spirit, this drive. With both of these, the transformation will be more than halfway complete!”

The Dragon Girl's heart pounded faster.

“What about the remaining bit?”

Ji Yuan was somewhat at a loss whether to laugh or cry at this question. *You have a true dragon for a father! How can other Jiao species compare to that advantage?*

At this point, however, Ji Yuan realized something. The Dragon Girl's apprehension about transforming into a dragon might not stem from a fear of death or losing her cultivation, but rather from the overwhelming prestige of her father and the excessive resources she was given, which had created immense pressure over a long period.

It was much like children from wealthy and powerful families in his past life, who despite being very capable themselves, always lived under the shadow of their parents, no matter how hard they strived.

Ji Yuan's expression softened, appearing more natural, with a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips. His tone became much gentler than before.

“Ying Ruoli, being the daughter of a true dragon isn't easy, is it?”

For a long time, the Dragon Girl herself might not have realized this. Now, with Ji Yuan pointing it out, she felt a profound resonance that struck her heart. For a moment, she didn't know how to answer and instinctively looked towards her father, only to find that the old dragon also seemed to be paying attention.

“Heh heh, it's inevitable to feel out of breath under such heavy pressure…”

Ji Yuan suddenly recalled a trick he'd learned in his previous life, unrelated to Daoist scriptures or ancient texts.

“How about this: since you've called me 'Uncle' so many times, I might as well teach you a little something!”

Given the Dragon Girl's situation, her problem was entirely psychological. A thousand words from an acquaintance might be useless, and perhaps even she and those around her hadn't noticed the issue, but Ji Yuan had.

With a celestial sword by his side and having been sought by a true dragon for three years, no one would consider anything such a person taught as ordinary.

Of course, Ji Yuan didn't know that the old dragon had been searching for him for over three years, nor did he consider himself to be in a particularly elevated position. All he wanted to do was give the Dragon Girl a psychological boost.

In more precise cultivation terms, this could be understood as a "Daoist resonance striking the heart." While Ji Yuan's cultivation hadn't reached the level to truly "strike the heart" of others, the presence of the Edict Sound meant that, theoretically, the effect would only be stronger.

Feeling the turbulent flow of the Dragon Girl's thoughts at that moment, Ji Yuan instinctively felt that, though he had never tried it before, this was an exceptionally opportune moment.

“Open your heart's barrier, close your eyes and enter tranquility, clear your spiritual platform!”

Ji Yuan's voice carried a hint of the Edict Sound. Amidst the noisy music, others didn't notice, but to the Dragon Girl, it was incredibly clear. Naturally, all distracting thoughts vanished, and upon closing her eyes, she saw her spiritual platform bathed in light.

Ji Yuan's "identity" and the fact that her father was present allowed the Dragon Girl to place this trust in him; otherwise, her heart's barrier could not have been breached.

“Look ahead, at the paddy fields, lakes, rivers, mountains, cities... and the crisscrossing waterways...”

Ji Yuan knew that a cultivator's conceptual meditation was extremely rapid. As a river goddess, Ying Ruoli would be no exception. With the aid of the Daoist resonance, a landscape of mountains and rivers seemed to materialize within Ying Ruoli's mind, and she herself became a Horned Jiao coiled within a certain body of water.

“Centuries of cultivation have led to this moment. Your cultivation is complete, and heavy rains have flooded the land for half a month. Ying Ruoli, this is the perfect time for your journey into the waters. Why do you not set off quickly?”

Within Ying Ruoli's mindscape, everything became more vivid. The water level around her continuously rose, and the sky thundered with incessant downpours.

“No! There's a city ahead, I can't go this way!” the Dragon Girl murmured instinctively.

This unconscious murmur from the Dragon Girl made Ji Yuan's eyes light up. His spiritual sight fully opened, the Daoist resonance now contained the "Edict" command, and wisps of primeval Xuanhuang energy began to form.

“Since you already know which path to take, why do you not set off quickly?”

In her mindscape, the Dragon Girl felt as if all scenery had become completely real. She could even perceive the force and temperature of the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, and witness the impact of the torrential downpour on living beings.

Ji Yuan's words, "set off quickly," seemed to echo with the thunder. Instead of heading towards the rivers and waterways near the city, the Horned Jiao resolutely moved towards a towering mountain range to one side, where there were also waterways.

Under Ji Yuan's spiritual perception, he seemed to see what the Dragon Girl saw in her mind. Even he hadn't anticipated that this conceptual meditation would have such an effect.

As the Horned Jiao moved in the mindscape, Ji Yuan's voice murmured with Daoist resonance. The mountains before them seemed to embody the Dragon Girl's immense inner pressure: the prestige and expectations of her true dragon father, the mother she never wished to see, and her own suppressed worries. These made the mountains appear even more imposing, and the mountain waterways resembled mere trickles...

The Horned Jiao tried to retreat several times, even contemplating changing its path. But each time, the thunder in the sky seemed to intensify, the rain grew fiercer, and the cities were already submerged, with countless beings wailing.

If the Jiao were to change its course, countless lives would drown. The exaggerated misery and the intense longing for life formed a thick, sorrowful aura that gathered in the sky, allowing the Dragon Girl to feel it as if it were her own.

Charging through the mountains would merely make the dragon transformation more difficult. It was already a chasm-like challenge; what difference would this add? The resentment of countless beings struggling to survive seemed to far outweigh the Dragon Girl's own fear...

Things were veering in a direction Ji Yuan hadn't anticipated. Perhaps it was due to their conversation about the white Jiao's plight earlier, but the Dragon Girl was actually beginning to empathize with Bai Qi's situation. The Horned Jiao in her mindscape was still accumulating power for its journey through the waters, but it was already without scales.

Ji Yuan wasn't sure if it was the potent combination of the Edict Sound and the Xuanhuang energy, or the Dragon Girl's own deep-seated obsession, or a combination of both. He had a faint premonition that if the Dragon Girl failed in this mental trial, her will to progress would be severely dampened.

If his physical control hadn't been extraordinarily strong, Ji Yuan would have broken out in a cold sweat.

It wasn't just a sense of responsibility; he was at a friend's birthday banquet, and if he messed up the friend's daughter's psyche, even a good friend wouldn't easily forgive him!

Drawing on even more Xuanhuang energy, Ji Yuan poured all his might into it. *Since you're empathizing with Bai Qi, then let's put you in a situation of death to find life!*

In the mindscape, the scaleless Horned Jiao's fear intensified the closer it got to the mountains.

“If you dare to attempt dragon transformation a third time, you must already embrace the will to die. How can retreating now, at the crucial moment, be worthy of your centuries of cultivation? How can it be worthy of the suffering of losing your scales? The moment of deadly choice has already passed. Your spirit and faith, like dragon transformation itself, can only advance, not retreat. If your spirit recedes, your dragon form will not progress. Ying Ruoli, since you neither cling to life nor fear death, then smash through that mountain!”

In the mindscape, the Horned Jiao's bright eyes glowed with white light, red mist billowed from its nostrils, and its dragon aura surged. The floodwaters continued to rise and surged towards the mountain.

“Compared to the humiliation of failing three times to transform into a dragon, what is there to fear in death!”

The Daoist resonance from the heavens sounded like a deep, rumbling bell, continuously echoing in her ears.

‘What is there to fear in death!’

The floodwaters surged, lightning coiled around its body, and the Horned Jiao whipped up the torrent to strike.

In the mindscape, the indestructible black mountain was shattered by the surging flood, creating a great river that cut through the range. A Horned Jiao rode the river, journeying directly to the sea.

Although dragon transformation was more complex than merely a Jiao entering the sea, within this conceptual mind trial, the Dragon Girl felt as if she had already succeeded.

“Aooong!”

A faint dragon roar emanated from beside Ji Yuan. Although barely audible, its draconic might spread, startling the dancing enchantresses and spirits, causing their bodies to stiffen and tremble.

Ying Ruoli had awakened. She seemed outwardly unchanged, but she now possessed an unwavering confidence in her ultimate transformation into a dragon.

“Uncle Ji…”

Ji Yuan propped himself up with one hand on the table. He appeared fine on the surface, but in reality, he didn't even have the strength to speak.

The Dragon Girl's sudden action had silenced the entire hall. Clearly, she wasn't having a fit. The guests were all speculating about what had happened, and a few individuals felt something very peculiar but couldn't quite describe it.

To the Dragon Girl, the entire process felt incredibly long, yet in the outside world, it was merely the span of time it took for her to close her eyes and for Ji Yuan to speak a few words, barely attracting any attention... until the dragon's might permeated the air.

The old dragon, Ying Hong, turned to Ji Yuan and bowed solemnly with clasped hands.

“Mr. Ji, this congratulatory gift is quite significant!”

The Chunmu River God in the corner of the hall, whose attention had also been on the Dragon Girl, suddenly realized something upon hearing the old dragon's words of gratitude. He then looked towards the cultivator standing beside him.