Dragon

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Yiming carefully accepted the sketch with both hands. His solemn expression appeared to bear more weight than a thousand pieces. He understood the sketch's value better than anyone else.

"Thank you very much! I remember Dr. Ivan's kindness," Yiming expressed his gratitude.

"It's not a big deal. I've gained a lot from this too," Dr. Ivan replied.

However, Yiming was quite insistent on this point, saying, "To you, it might seem insignificant, but this drawing is worth way more than money. Such kindness must be repaid, or it will weigh heavily on my conscience."

"That's fine. If I face difficulties in the future, I'll turn to the Taoist priest for help," Ivan responded nonchalantly, not considering himself of much use to Yiming.

Upon hearing Ivan's promise, Yiming felt relieved. He did not want to be indebted to anyone, and he said, "If it's getting late today, I've already arranged accommodations. Does Dr. Ivan need some rest now?"

When Ivan and his companions arrived at Shenlong, it was already late, and after some conversation, the sky had grown completely dark. Ivan commented, "Well, it's quite late, but we've reached the Shenlong Temple. Yet, we haven't paid our respects to Lord Long, which is rather impolite. How about we light some incense first?"

"Very well, please follow me," Yiming agreed. Ivan's generous gesture in giving away the blueprints had already earned Yiming's gratitude, and his respectful demeanor now added to that favor.

Inside the temple's main hall, there stood a several-meter-high dragon statue, with even the pillars adorned with carved five-clawed dragons, presenting a majestic and extraordinary sight.

Yiming personally handed three incense sticks to Ivan. Ivan respectfully bowed and performed three prostrations. As he was about to place the three incense sticks into the holders, he suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if an invisible thread within him was drawing something out and directing it toward the dragon statue.

Ivan was able to extend his mental power to follow the invisible thread, and he found himself in a colorful, otherworldly realm filled with various shimmering lights. These lights appeared to represent the wishes of the villagers who had come to offer incense and tributes:

"May Lord Dragon bless us with good weather"

"May Lord Dragon bless my son to be healthy"

"Listen Oh Dragon Lord and protect our family from harm," and so on.

At this moment, Ivan grasped the essence of this phenomenon. The power of incense, he surmised, was the result of living beings experiencing a sense of worship for something, and their magnetic fields oscillating and resonating as a result. These fluctuations would then enter the bodies or objects of the subject of their worship.

While a single magnetic field fluctuation might be incredibly weak and almost negligible, when countless such fluctuations converged, they would grow stronger and could, in time, give rise to a new entity—what some might call a deity.

Although the power of incense he felt was quite potent, it was still far from sufficient to create an actual deity. Furthermore, in contemporary society, the path to deification through incense has been blocked.

As Ivan was about to retract his mental power, he noticed something unusual. The power of incense seemed to be drawn in a specific direction—into the ground, as if the dragon statue acted as a conduit, channeling incense to something beneath the earth's surface. This discovery intrigued Ivan, and he couldn't help but wonder if something underground was siphoning off the power of incense.

His curiosity was piqued, and Ivan decided to investigate further. He followed the flow of incense's energy underground with his mental power.

However, Ivan had underestimated the depth of the object buried beneath the surface. At a depth of 10,000 meters, he could no longer sustain the effort. Despite not having found what he was looking for, Ivan continued to push himself, driven by both his intense curiosity and determination. At 12,000 meters, he suddenly heard a deafening roar in his mind, and he "saw" a sight that left him utterly astonished.

It was a dragon—not the Western image of a winged lizard, but a genuine Chinese dragon with a camel head, antlers, tiger eyes, horse teeth, cow ears, shrimp whiskers, snake-like body, fish scales, eagle claws, and a loach tail.

Upon closer inspection, Ivan realized that this dragon was not a physical being with flesh and blood, but rather a pure energy entity. It appeared to have a simple consciousness, likely a result of prolonged exposure to the power of incense. However, for some unknown reason, it was currently in a deep slumber.

The dragon was connected to underground magma, constantly absorbing energy from it. Ivan deduced that this dragon may have initially been a formless energy mass, but due to its connection with the dragon statue above, coupled with the influence of the incense faith, it had taken on a dragon-like form. This dragon had, in a way, been shaped by human collective consciousness.

Unfortunately, Ivan concluded that the dragon had not fully materialized and would need to remain in an energy-rich environment. If it did not stay underground, it would dissipate over time. Unless it gathered enough energy to reach a certain limit, it would remain a semi-real entity, unable to move freely.

Ivan marveled at the legendary dragon, a significant totem in Chinese culture. He wondered if other divine creatures were hidden away somewhere. Should the world ever face a crisis, would they re-emerge to save it?

Ivan opened his eyes. Although this entire experience had only taken a few moments, he was profoundly affected by what he had witnessed. The realization that there could be other powerful beings out there, hidden from the world, filled him with a sense of awe and wonder.

During Ivan's stay in the temple, he immersed himself in reading ancient secret books. These books contained valuable knowledge, including Feng Shui principles, which Yiming explained and demonstrated, helping Ivan gain a deeper understanding of the mysteries.

Three days passed in a flash, and Ivan had enjoyed a pleasant time on the mountain. Despite the Chinese government's attempts to influence him through Li Guang, Ivan was deeply moved by Yiming's unwavering support. He had initially intended to share the discovery of the underground dragon with Yiming, but he reconsidered, fearing the potential consequences of such knowledge.

Knowing more about certain matters could be perilous. Ivan worried that if Yiming learned the truth, he might investigate the underground dragon, potentially putting himself in danger. It could also pose a risk to the surrounding community. The villagers were likely unaware that even a semi-real dragon's energy could have an impact within a radius of hundreds of miles.

As night fell, Ivan lay in bed, unable to sleep. He couldn't help but wonder about other places like this, capable of nurturing spirits and divine creatures. He contemplated whether places like Kunlun might harbor even more powerful artifacts. Despite his temptation to explore further, Ivan wisely chose to suppress that desire. He knew that some places held secrets too dangerous to uncover.

Originally planning to depart the following day, Ivan decided to extend his stay due to the allure of the temple's ancient secret texts. In addition to reading, he spent his days exploring the area with Yiming's guidance, delving deeper into the Feng Shui mysteries described in the ancient books. Time seemed to fly by.

Finally, Ivan made preparations to leave. He gathered his belongings and Yiming personally saw him off.

"Dr. Ivan, the road ahead may be fraught with challenges and obstacles. Please take extra care," Yiming cautioned.

While speaking, Yiming subtly glanced at Li Guang, who was behind Ivan. Li Guang's face twitched, but his extensive experience in espionage kept him composed. He didn't take any rash actions and maintained a polite demeanor as though nothing had happened.

Ivan chuckled and replied, "I won't need to worry. The challenges that lie ahead are nothing more than a group of insignificant troublemakers. I can handle them."

Yiming regarded Ivan, observing the confidence in his eyes, and nodded. "That's good. Since it's still early, please descend from the mountain now to avoid any time constraints."

With little more than a nod of farewell, Ivan turned and, began his descent down the mountain, with Red Devil and Li Guang following closely behind.

Descending the mountain was much easier and faster than ascending it. While it had taken the trio more than half a day to climb up, it took them less than half a day to descend. They returned to the same location as their starting point, ready to board a plane for Ivan's journey home.

Once on the plane, Li Guang couldn't hide his unease, keeping his left hand in his pocket. "Dr. Ivan, I have a question for you. If I were to ask on behalf of the Chinese government for you to stay and assist, promising to meet all your requirements, would you agree?"

"Are you finally ready to take action? If I were to decline, would you open fire immediately? Fortunately for you, you have a tranquilizer gun in your hand, or else, you might have met a different fate by now."

Li Guang's expression changed dramatically, and he was about to make a move. However, Ivan acted faster, pressing his palm against Li Guang's neck. Li Guang suddenly felt his strength draining away, and his vision darkened.