After bidding farewell to the Sword Spirit, An Tong brought Yun Jin to a lava cave.
The cave was extremely scorching. Upon entering, one could see that it was completely filled with magma.
"Old Fire, come out," An Tong called.
The magma churned, a giant dragon wreathed in flames rolled and surged up from the depths of the lava.
The giant dragon stared at An Tong with dissatisfaction, "Didn't I say not to disturb me unless necessary?"
"This counts as nothing?" Tianpo couldn't help but jump out. "Little Master has succeeded the position of sect master, you can actually still sleep during such an important matter!"
Little Master?
Sect Master?
The giant dragon yawned, causing the magma to surge violently.
He narrowed his eyes and only then noticed Yun Jin, "Little Master? Only Soul Transformation Stage? Weak, far too weak."
"Watch how you speak, I tell you—" Tianpo was about to curse him out.
Yun Jin smiled faintly, "Being weak now doesn't mean being weak in the future. Don't you agree?"
"Little Master, don't be so polite to him." Tianpo seemed to be very incompatible with the dragon. "This is a super grade spirit beast that Master subdued back then, just call him Old Fire. Originally, he was meant to serve as the guardian spirit beast of the sect. Who would've thought that once he arrived at Wushuang Sect, he would sleep day and night, completely useless. When Wushuang Sect met with disaster, the other spirit beasts fought to the death, only this bastard continued sleeping like he only cared about himself. If I was Master, I would've cut him down with a single strike. Why would I have gone to such trouble to bring him out!"
After being scolded thoroughly by Tianpo, the giant dragon looked somewhat aggrieved, "I… I did not do it on purpose. It's just that sometimes, once I fall asleep, I simply cannot wake up."
"Hmph, how could such a thing exist in this world? I think you are just too cowardly to die for a cause, not daring to fight," Tianpo said angrily.
The giant dragon breathed out flames, "Afraid? Tell me! Where are those Extraterrestrial Demon Clan? I will go fight them to the death right now!"
The giant dragon roared, the entire cave began to tremble as if about to collapse.
Tianpo only sneered, "What use is it to say such flattery now? Master and the others are already gone!"
Gone?
The giant dragon showed a dazed expression.
He looked at Tianpo in disbelief.
He knew Wushuang Sect had encountered a crisis, but at the time he had been in deep slumber. Although he could hear some commotion, he couldn't wake up no matter what happened.
Later, the Sword Sage of Ten Thousand Daos brought him out. He'd always believed that with Wushuang Sect's strength, no enemy would pose a threat and survive.
But...
Even such a powerful Sword Sage of Ten Thousand Daos was actually already gone?
"It's not just Master, everyone is gone," Tianpo said slowly.
The giant dragon couldn't accept this fact. He roared, his entire body leaving the magma, whipping his tail wildly in the air.
The underground lava surged violently. Cracks began appearing along the cave walls, as though they might collapse at any moment.
"Why did you provoke him when you had nothing better to do!" An Tong retreated into the red cord on Yun Jin's wrist, complaining resentfully.
Tianpo blocked in front of Yun Jin, preventing lava and falling stones from harming her. He snorted coldly, "I just can't stand his attitude!"
An Tong said helplessly, "Little Master, like Lightning, he is a guardian spirit beast of the sect. You can control him with the Sect Master's ring."
Yun Jin responded and activated the power of the Sect Master's ring.
The giant dragon seemed to sense something, his violent emotions were instantly soothed.
In the next moment, he transformed into a red-haired man and landed before Yun Jin.
He remembered now.
They'd called her Little Master and said she had succeeded as Sect Master.
At the time, he'd found it strange.
How could the position of Wushuang Sect's Sect Master fall to a mere Soul Transformation Stage little child?
But now, he understood.
Because everyone else… was already gone.
The way the giant dragon looked at Yun Jin changed at once.
Yun Jin also looked at him.
After a long while.
Yun Jin said calmly, "If you transform into human form, it would be best to wear clothes. Don't you think?"
"Quick, put some clothes on! Don't sully Little Master's eyes!" Tianpo shouted angrily.
The giant dragon laughed awkwardly and conjured a set of clothes onto himself.
"You've slept for so many years. Since we managed to awaken you this time, you must've slept enough," Tianpo said, frowning. "From now on, you should properly fulfill your duties."
So many years of sleep…
A trace of sorrow flashed in the giant dragon's pupils.
If not for this strange condition of his, he would've died in battle alongside the others and the other spirit beasts.
If that'd been the case, he would feel more at ease.
"This slumber lasted one thousand two hundred years," the giant dragon said slowly. "Next, there should be ten years of wakefulness. However, during these ten years, I cannot use too much energy at once. Otherwise, I will fall into slumber ahead of time."
Tianpo explained to Yun Jin, "Little Master, this dragon is quite strange. Every time he uses spiritual power, his wakeful period shortens. If he keeps using it, he may fall into long slumber again within a few months. But each time he slumbers, his strength increases somewhat."
"Although this fellow is unreliable and cannot be relied on for major matters, we are short of people right now, so we can reluctantly make use of him."
Yun Jin was a bit curious.
"System, scan this giant dragon."
The system scanned briefly.
A mechanical voice sounded, "One thousand advanced simplification counts required."
Yun Jin: "????"
Just scanning him required so many?
No, never mind, she wasn't that curious after all.
"Old Fire." An Tong suddenly asked curiously, "That's right, doesn't your strength increase every time you slumber? Why does it seem to be the same this time?"
For some reason, a trace of shyness flashed across the giant dragon's face.
An Tong: "?????"
No wait, why are you shy?!
The giant dragon hesitated for a moment, then a fiery red egg appeared in his hand.
An Tong and Tianpo immediately moved closer.
Tianpo was stunned, "The aura of this egg shares the same origin as yours. This is…"
The giant dragon looked embarrassed but still said, "It's my child."
An Tong and Tianpo instantly leapt far away, their faces filled with shock.
Yun Jin remained calm, she asked in a composed manner, "Senior, aren't you male? How could you lay this egg?"
The giant dragon explained, "Our Giant Lava Dragon clan is different from other races, we are born with two origin dragon cores. One dragon core is used for cultivation, the other is used to nurture life. When the time is ripe, the dragon core that nurtures life will leave our body. After incubation, a new Giant Lava Dragon will be born. However, although we are born with two origin dragon cores, the second core remains dormant in most cases. The vast majority of Giant Lava Dragons never see their child born before death."
"I originally should've slept longer this time, the reason I suddenly awakened is that my child was born."
The giant dragon looked at the egg in his palm, his eyes filled with joy.