Chronicles of the Green Vine: A Mortal’s Path to Immortality

Inside the blue treasure cauldron, Zhang Ling's main nascent soul rejected the divine sense incarnation of the being who called himself Long Bo, and proposed the condition of letting him leave.

Long Bo was silent for a long while, then began to speak of his origins, seemingly to dispel Zhang Ling's misgivings.

“I don't mind telling you, my true form's cultivation is beyond your imagination. If I hadn't been reduced to a wisp of divine sense incarnation, I wouldn't be begging a human cultivator from a lower realm like you.

I was originally a dragon-man servant on Dragon Island, possessing true dragon blood, serving a descendant of the true dragon clan. Even in the Spirit Realm, human cultivators who have reached the Saint stage would treat me with respect.”

Hearing this, Zhang Ling only frowned slightly. Although he didn't know what this Dragon Island was, or what Saint stage cultivation meant, it seemed to be above the God Transformation stage.

But even if this person's true cultivation was several levels higher than his, it didn't pose much of a threat to him now.

Zhang Ling only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

Long Bo continued, “Unfortunately, one day, an uninvited guest came to Dragon Island. A golden-winged roc barged in and fought with a true dragon, causing heaven and earth to turn upside down. Several independent spaces controlled by Dragon Island collapsed in an instant, creating terrifying spatial storms. I was unfortunately caught in it, but fortunately, I didn't perish, and thus fell into your lower realm.

At that time, your realm had just experienced the invasion of the Ancient Demon Realm, and still had several cultivators who had reached the point of ascending to the Spirit Realm.

I once cooperated with one of them, wanting to return to the upper realm and return to Dragon Island. I didn't expect that person to become greedy, coveting my true spirit bloodline, and gathered several powerful individuals to plot against me.

If I could exert my full strength, it would be easy to kill those insignificant beings. But being restricted by the laws of the lower realm, I could only exert the peak of the God Transformation stage. After a great battle, my physical body was still destroyed by their siege, leaving only my spirit, carrying the Dragon Origin Cauldron, to escape. Originally, with my cultivation, I could have seized a body and been reborn with a wisp of my soul.

But the Dragon Origin Cauldron is a treasure used by the true dragon clan to nurture their offspring. It contains a small Dragon Transformation Pool.

Speaking of which, I was able to survive the spatial storm because I hid inside the Dragon Origin Cauldron.

But also because of the special nature of this treasure, in the short period of time that I was seriously injured and fell into a deep sleep, I didn't expect the Dragon Origin Cauldron to devour 90% of my soul power. This made my injuries worse, leaving only a remnant soul to eke out an existence.”

Long Bo recounted his experiences, his face devoid of emotion, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs.

But Zhang Ling keenly noticed that, as he spoke, he glanced at the small, golden-glowing pool, and his tone became very complex.

However, Zhang Ling didn't easily believe these words. Old monsters like this had lived for countless years, and it was difficult to tell whether their words were true or false. He was silent for a moment, then asked, “Since you are a cultivator from the upper realm, senior, are you truly willing to perish like this?”

A trace of unwillingness appeared on Long Bo's face, “Hmph, of course I'm not willing, but after exhausting all means, I only found a Soul-Seizing Stone from the Underworld Realm, and used it to refine a Soul-Suppressing Tablet, which suppressed a wisp of my remnant soul.

But even so, I can't escape death. After tens of thousands of years of attrition, my soul power has long been lost, leaving only this little bit of soul power condensed into a divine sense incarnation, which will completely dissipate in another hundred years.”

After hearing this, Zhang Ling only frowned slightly, not revealing too much emotion. But the thoughts in his mind were racing.

He was considering how credible this person's words were, while also constantly contacting his second nascent soul.

But after such a long time, the connection between the second nascent soul and him was still very weak. There was no sign of this cauldron being damaged.

Zhang Ling had both hope and little hope for this.

“Therefore, if you don't agree to my previous conditions, I really have no way to send you out. Because only those who are stained with the power of the dragon soul can be safely sent out.

If you are willing to stay in the Dragon Origin Cauldron, I have nothing to say. But I remind you, once this wisp of my divine sense dissipates, your nascent soul power will inevitably be devoured by this wisp of dragon soul.” Long Bo suddenly changed the subject and sighed, his voice becoming somewhat indifferent.

Hearing this, Zhang Ling had to consider the true situation at the moment. If these words were true, he might really be trapped here to death.

Then he might as well risk agreeing to this person.

After a long silence, he stared at the gray little dragon in Long Bo's hand and asked again, “What exactly is the dragon soul? Why should it be placed in someone else's nascent soul to nurture?”

“This is a remnant soul left on the bones of a true dragon after its death, transformed by the Dragon Transformation Pool, and nurtured into a special spiritual body. Some beings with true dragon blood, when their cultivation reaches a certain stage, enter the Dragon Transformation Pool, and if they can refine the dragon soul, they have a high probability of becoming a true spirit body, transforming into a true dragon. On Dragon Island, the direct descendants of true dragons, the dragon sons and dragon daughters, also absorb the power of the dragon soul in their infancy to grow rapidly.

As for why it needs to be nurtured in someone else's nascent soul, it's because this small Dragon Transformation Pool has dried up. The dragon soul has also absorbed my soul power to maintain its spirituality for so long.

After this incarnation of mine dissipates, new soul power must be replenished.

You can also rest assured that most of the spirituality of this wisp of dragon soul has been sealed by me with a secret method, and it is in a semi-dormant state. It only attracts soul power once every hundred years.

I can also pass on to you a secret method to communicate with Dragon Island. As long as your cultivation reaches the God Transformation stage, you can use this secret method to communicate with Dragon Island across realms. At that time, a true dragon will naturally absorb this wisp of dragon soul. And maybe…” At this point, Long Bo smiled mysteriously.

“Maybe, this matter is also a great opportunity for you. It is extremely difficult for human realm cultivators to ascend to the upper realm, especially in your realm where the vital energy is destroyed. To advance to the late stage of God Transformation by virtue of cultivation and be automatically ascended by the power of the realm is almost impossible.

I can let you communicate with the true dragon by virtue of the dragon soul. If a certain Dragon Lord is in a good mood, it is very likely that he will directly pull you to the upper realm along with it. There are such examples on Dragon Island. Don't look down on me as just a servant of Dragon Island, but the cultivation resources I enjoy are no less than those of your human race's geniuses. In the Spirit Realm, even cultivators in the Mahayana stage rarely have the honor to meet the true dragon clan.”

Hearing this, Zhang Ling's expression changed, and his mind skipped a beat.

True dragons are top-notch true spirits. These beings are said to be able to freely travel through various realms, and their strength is comparable to true immortals.

If he could really ascend to the Spirit Realm by this, it could indeed be said to be a great opportunity.

Although it sounded like a fantasy and the probability was extremely low, it was still a path to ascension.

He had previously inquired about the situation of ascension with Blue Sparrow.

In addition to normal ascension, there were indeed rumors in the Spirit Realm that powerful cultivators could cross realms and bring lower realm cultivators up.

Also, on Ghost Island, Blue Sparrow and that Rakshasa woman fought to seize a treasure called the Star Moon Disk. It could also break open the space nodes of the two realms and form a cross-realm passage.

In addition to this, there were several other ways to achieve cross-realm smuggling. But none of them could be achieved by human realm cultivators.

For a time, Zhang Ling fell into deep thought. Long Bo also stared at him with flickering eyes, revealing a confident and calm look on his face.