Shou-Lao Reborn

"Is this… the stuff you gave Matt and the others?"

The Jade Emperor and Lei Gong stared at the Well of Eternity Bottle with smiles on their faces, somewhat curious.

Nothing in all of K’un-Lun could escape his eyes. Matt and the other two hugged their Well of Eternity Bottles and took sips every day. These two knew about it, and they could sense the liquid within—wine containing an enormous amount of energy.

The energy contained in a single drop was comparable to that of a martial artist who had just cultivated True Qi.

It was only a small bottle, yet its total energy exceeded that of most members of the Council of Elders. It truly was precious, an unparalleled treasure worth more than its weight in gold.

But that was all.

It was enough to induce Shou-Lao’s birth and hatching, but nowhere near enough for rapid growth to the level of a divine dragon over a hundred meters long—let alone Shou-Lao at his peak, when he was far more than a hundred meters long.

A treasure like this was beneath the notice of a proper master or Grandmaster.

Besides, there wasn’t even a full bottle before them. It barely covered the bottom, at most a couple of ounces—just one mouthful. Master Wang, you’re really stingy.

Old Wang smiled faintly and pulled out the stopper.

A rich fragrance spread through the air, and the terrifying energy fluctuations instantly made the Jade Emperor and Thor’s eyes widen.

On another mountaintop far away, Shou-Lao’s soul trembled wildly. The dragon egg leaped three feet into the air, then actually floated up. Somehow, it summoned an auspicious cloud and rode the clouds toward them!

Mine, mine, it’s all mine! Nobody better try to steal it!

Breathing grew heavier in the courtyard. Their auras tugged at one another, wind and thunder followed in the sky, breath became wind and words became rain. It was as though even heaven could no longer stand the sight of these bastards and was about to send down lightning to strike them dead.

Lei Gong stared fixedly at the Well of Eternity Bottle for three whole minutes before he barely managed to look away. He silently recited the Tao Te Ching, calming his mind.

Damn it, that nearly drove me to commit a crime. I almost shattered my state of mind and suffered qi deviation. Master Wang, you did that on purpose!

No wonder he was confident he could help Lei Gong reach the peak of the master realm within a year.

He did not need much. Just a few drops would be enough for one month!

The Jade Emperor’s reaction was slightly better than Lei Gong’s.

His silver eyes narrowed into slits, and his breathing soon ceased, turning into a long sigh. "Its energy is even higher in quality than Shou-Lao’s. There is actually such a marvel in the universe?"

This thing would not only help Shou-Lao and Lei Gong—it would help him as well. Unfortunately, he could not use it for now.

His realm was not yet stable. Rashly raising his cultivation would bring more harm than benefit, and one careless mistake could injure his body.

There was not much liquid, barely enough to cover the bottom of the bottle. It was only one-tenth of Matt’s bottle, yet the energy it contained was more than a thousand times greater. How was that possible?

Even Shou-Lao at his peak probably could not condense energy this efficient and potent.

It was simply unbelievable!

According to K’un-Lun’s records, only Wu Fengji, the strongest Iron Fist, could accomplish such a thing.

Could there actually be a celestial immortal or god standing behind Master Wang?

Thinking of Master Wang’s connection to K’un-Lun, the Jade Emperor’s thoughts ran wild, and he felt as though he had guessed the truth.

Could Master Wang…

Be Wu Fengji’s illegitimate son?

No wonder he was so strong. No wonder he knew K’un-Lun so well, and still harbored an obsession with the Immortal Iron Fist!

"What nonsense are you thinking?"

Old Wang snorted, pulling the two back to reality.

There was no shortage of higher energies in the universe. These two probably had never even seen the Infinity Stones. What a lack of experience.

He had spent a full ten grams of Azeroth Blood to exchange for one hundred grams of Well of Eternity Water Essence. That was roughly one-tenth of the amount from Illidan’s era—one-tenth of a Sunwell—worth a hundred billion dollars, one-quarter of Stark Industries’ market value.

It was still nowhere near the total energy of any Demigod of the Wilds, so it was impossible to force Shou-Lao into immortal cultivation. But reaching the Grandmaster realm would definitely not be a problem.

Do not be fooled by the mere hundred grams.

Its total energy far exceeded even the Jade Emperor’s!

Such immense energy was more than Old Wang’s current body could bear, and the Jade Emperor could not handle it either. If either of them gulped it down in one go, they would surely burst apart. They could only drink it slowly, one drop at a time.

Shou-Lao was different.

It was a divine dragon, with a physique no different from a Demigod of the Wilds. It had long reached the level where it could freely convert between energy and matter. As long as it had enough suitable energy, it could grow rapidly.

The Wild Gods of World of Warcraft only needed to pay a sufficient price to return from the Emerald Dream to reality, effectively gaining new bodies—bodies formed from the Emerald Dream’s natural life energy.

Compared to them, Shou-Lao had it even easier. Its method of rebirth from an egg was also more sophisticated.

"So impatient?"

Sensing Shou-Lao’s egg moving at a speed comparable to an old man pushing a cart, Old Wang chuckled.

Was that really riding the clouds?

More like crawling across them!

It was slow as hell!

"Let me give you a hand!"

Old Wang reached out and grabbed a cloud from the lofty heavens, kneading it into an auspicious cloud before tossing it to Shou-Lao.

Shou-Lao’s egg trembled excitedly. It hurriedly jumped from its own auspicious cloud onto Old Wang’s, increasing its speed a hundredfold. In the blink of an eye, it flew before Old Wang, constantly rolling and bouncing, occasionally rubbing itself against his face.

Old Wang smiled and gave it a pat.

Slightly rough. Felt pretty good.

Thor quickly turned away, unable to bear watching, while the Jade Emperor nearly covered his face.

Rolling and jumping around—are you an egg or what…

You are Shou-Lao. Could you have a little dignity?

A sudden realization came to him.

No wonder he was still so far from the immortal realm. His skin was too thin, and he cared too much about saving face!

The two immortals before him truly had no shame whatsoever…

Old Wang gripped the Well of Eternity Bottle tightly and refused to let go. He smiled at the Jade Emperor, his meaning obvious:

You want it?

Then beg me!

Seeing that no matter how it jumped, it could not reach it, Shou-Lao grew anxious and hurriedly sent a voice transmission. "Agree to him, hurry and agree! What, you won’t even listen to me now? Believe it or not, I’ll tell everyone you still wet the bed when you were three?"

The Jade Emperor: "…"

Don’t make things up! How come I never knew about that? So what if you’re old? You’re fabricating things—you’re slandering me!

Master Wang had seized Shou-Lao’s weak point!

Although Shou-Lao had always been a lazy layabout, it was not by choice. It had sacrificed itself for K’un-Lun.

It was the Immortal Dragon!

Now that it had a chance to regain its former glory, how could it let it slip away?

"Easy, easy."

The Jade Emperor hurriedly sent a voice transmission to soothe Shou-Lao, then looked at Old Wang. "Master Wang, this still isn’t enough to restore Shou-Lao’s divine dragon cultivation. At least one full bottle is needed."

Old Wang smiled as he tucked the Well of Eternity Bottle into his robes.

Yes, that was right. At least a full bottle of Well of Eternity Water was needed for its total energy to equal that of even the weakest demigod in World of Warcraft, such as Gruul or Gul’dan.

I promised you K’un-Lun an immortal, but I never said when!

One bottle of Well of Eternity Water Essence was worth one hundred grams of Azeroth Blood, one hundred tons of Vibranium, one trillion dollars, or two and a half Stark Industries.

With that much money, Captain America’s shield could be mass-produced, and hundreds of Vibranium bodies could be prepared for Ultron. Where would I get that kind of money?

So, installment payments!

Seeing the Well of Eternity Bottle about to disappear, Shou-Lao became even more frantic, bouncing around energetically.

The Jade Emperor’s eyelids twitched.

Shou-Lao, Shou-Lao, you have lived so many years. You must have never gone grocery shopping, if you do not even know how to bargain.

You are acting so desperate that Master Wang has nothing to fear. How am I supposed to negotiate better terms for you?

He had no choice but to concede. "All right, deal."

"Now that’s more like it. Don’t worry, I’ll fulfill my promise. It’ll just take time."

Old Wang tossed the Well of Eternity Bottle to Shou-Lao, thoroughly satisfied.

This deal was well worth it.

A Sky Carrier alone cost over ten billion dollars. If he really wanted to build a starship of the same size capable of faster-than-light travel, the cost would be more than ten times that—perhaps even a hundred times.

And that was only for the materials.

Technology was priceless, especially the Warp Engine.

It was merely the wreckage of an alien spaceship, yet its value was impossible to estimate.

Over on the other side.

Shou-Lao’s primordial spirit guided the Well of Eternity Water Essence into a stream that flowed from the Well of Eternity Bottle, pouring every last drop over the egg.

The next moment, the dragon egg shot out countless rays of golden light.

Mysterious runes emerged one after another, and the dragon egg floated into the air.

A few seconds later, everyone heard a crisp sound.

Crack!

The eggshell shattered.

A tiny dragon less than fifty centimeters long crawled out.