บท 28: Chapter 28 Refining the Dragon Diamond
Watching this familiar scene unfold, Xin Yun cracked a knowing smile. Although his body felt ethereal, the Power of the Soul was still something he could wield. Concentrating his mind, Xin Yun channelled the full force of his soul power.
As the soul power was activated, within the azure blue sea of light, suddenly appeared countless rosy rays. Like numerous small snakes, they carried streaks of azure mist, darting towards Xin Yun from all directions.
If there had been anyone else in the room at that time, they would have been astonished to find that the fresh blood on the surface of the azure sea was seeping in, drop by drop, turning into sharp red threads that extended towards the center of the azure sea.
Soon, the hundreds of rosy spirit snakes, each carrying a mist of blue, approached Xin Yun. Up close, they were nothing like snakes! They were clearly dragons—and not the kind represented by the Spotted Pig Dragon, but the symbol of Huaxia—the Divine Dragon!
The people of China have always prided themselves as descendants of the dragon, believing their blood carries the dragon's bloodline, and their bodies house the dragon's soul. Although it had always been a mystery why this was said, many would presumably ponder deeply upon witnessing the current spectacle.
These red streams weren't very thick. From Xin Yun's perspective, they were about as thick as an arm and four meters in length, much like a huge python, but on the underside of this python were five dragon claws!
"What! Five claws?" Staring at the approaching red dragons, Xin Yun's eyes widened in shock. What was going on? In his previous life, the dragon he had summoned also had claws, but clearly only four. What was happening now!
Gazing dumbfounded as arm-thick Blood Dragons burrowed into him from various parts of his body, Xin Yun's mind was in turmoil. What exactly was going on, and why were there five-clawed dragons!
Legend had it that dragons possessed antlers like deer, heads like camels, eyes like devils, necks like snakes, bellies like clams, scales like fish, claws like eagles, paws like tigers, and ears like cows—mysterious sacred objects indeed. But as to how many claws they actually had, Xin Yun had never been able to figure it out. Some said the Eight-Clawed Golden Dragon was the limit, some claimed five claws were enough, and yet certain records spoke of the so-called nine claws. No one really knew the exact number.
However, culturally speaking in China, Xin Yun was more inclined to believe in the five claws. It is well-known that the dragon robes the emperor wore were adorned with five-clawed dragons. According to rank and lineage, the emperor's dragon had five claws, the princes' had four, the princes' sons had three, their grandsons two, and their great-grandsons one.
In fact, aside from the dragons on imperial robes, others could not truly be considered dragons. From this perspective, the dragon from Xin Yun's previous life, with only four claws, wasn't really a dragon at all but rather a python!
The so-called True Dragon Emperor would inevitably wear a robe with a Five-Clawed Dragon. Five claws defined a dragon, four a python. Therefore, only the Five-Clawed Dragon Robe was the true dragon robe, and a robe with four claws, known as the Python Robe, could not be deemed as belonging to a True Dragon.
There was once a story about a minister who plotted a rebellion and covertly made himself a dragon robe, which he occasionally wore under a regular robe for leisure.
Unexpectedly, the matter was discovered, and the emperor ordered him to remove his outer garment to see if he was indeed wearing a dragon robe. If so, he would certainly be dragged out immediately and beheaded, for aside from the emperor, who dared to don a dragon robe?
Naturally, the minister was terrified, but since he wasn't at home but rather in the imperial palace, he had to be dragged by the soldiers into a changing room, as it was improper for a minister to undress before the emperor.
This was surely a lethal trap, but the minister was quick-witted. After removing his outer garment, he managed to tear a hole in the robe and ripped off one of the dragon claws, swallowing it. Thus, when he stepped out, his dragon had only four claws left, making it a python robe, which obviously did not count as rebellion, and so he spared his own life.
Excitedly watching the Five-Clawed Dragons burrow into his body, Xin Yun gasped for air. Could it be... that in his past life, he had merely controlled a python, and now, he was commanding the true dragon?
As Dragon Diamonds carrying blue streams entered his body, Xin Yun's body gradually solidified and began to change shape rapidly.
With thousands of Blood Dragons burrowing into him, Xin Yun's form became clearer and more defined. His body twisted and elongated until it no longer resembled a human's but had transformed into the shape of a dragon!
With antlers like a deer, a camel-like head, eyes like a demon's, a serpent's neck, a mirage-like belly, fish scales, eagle claws, tiger paws, and cow ears—this was Xin Yun's current form, especially notable for the five dragon claws beneath his belly!
Finally, the last crimson Blood Dragon entered Xin Yun's body. In an instant, Xin Yun felt a bone-piercing pain on his back as if something was protruding out and then slowly spread its wings…
Had he been in human form, Xin Yun would probably have needed a mirror to understand what had happened, but now in dragon form, he could simply twist his neck 180 degrees and look back at his spine. He saw a pair of not overly large, but certainly not small, azure wings that had emerged on his back, close to where his head would be.
"What... what is this!" Glancing bewilderingly at the wings on his back, what was this thing—wings on a dragon? What did that mean? Forget being a True Dragon; even the pythons he rode in his past life didn't need wings to fly. Could it be that... True Dragons were inferior to pythons?
In his momentary puzzlement, Xin Yun instantly considered a possibility. There were many types of dragons; winged ones were Yinglong, scaled ones were Jiāolóng, horned ones were Qiu Dragons, hornless were Chi Dragons, those that had not ascended were Coiled Dragons, and there were others like Kui Dragons and Flying Dragons…
Looking at the wings on his back, could it be that the dragon he was now embodied as was a Yinglong? There was no other explanation; in China, any winged creature was considered a Yinglong.
Legend has it that Yinglong was a Divine Dragon of Ancient Times. It had assisted Emperor Huang in the battle against the Great Witch Chi You, slaying Chi You and earning its merit. During Yu's efforts to control the floodwaters, the Divine Dragon swept the ground with its tail, channelling the floods and contributing to the cause. This Divine Dragon was known as Yinglong, making it also a meritorious servant of Yu.
Yinglong was characterized by a pair of wings, a scale-covered body with spiny ridges, a large and elongated head, a pointed snout, small nose, eyes, and ears, with large eye sockets, a high brow ridge, sharp teeth, protruding forehead, a thin neck, large belly, a long, pointed tail, and strong limbs, resembling a winged Yangtze alligator. Images of Yinglong often appeared on jade carvings from the Warring States period and on stone carvings, silk paintings, and lacquerware from the Han Dynasty.
Of course, Yinglong was not the final form but only a stage in the dragon's growth and evolution. According to the "Shuyi Records," "A dragon turns into an Edge Dragon after five hundred years, and into a Yinglong after a thousand years." As an essence among dragons, Yinglong had grown wings.
Huaxia had Four Seas, each governed by a Dragon King of the Four Seas, but Yinglong governed all the waters in the world, including but not limited to the waters of the Four Seas. Therefore, it should be called the Dragon Emperor, while the Azure Dragon controlled all dragons, known as the Dragon Emperor!
Looking at his current form, Xin Yun was eager to know if, by continuing his cultivation, this Yinglong could keep growing and evolving to become the emperor of the Dragon Clan, the first of the Four Holy Beasts—the Azure Dragon Emperor!
While he was admiring his new form, Xin Yun felt the suction around him gradually fading. At the same time, another very familiar force of suction came through. Feeling this intimately familiar suction, Xin Yun offered no resistance and let it pull him out... The world around him once again plunged into darkness...
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This book started including some business-related plots due to the storyline's needs, but there will be no more of that later on, so please rest assured—the protagonist is mainly focused on cultivation.
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