Yuan felt his heart skip a beat when he saw this dragon, and he exclaimed in an excited voice, "Is that a real dragon?!"
Even though this dragon wasnât as intimidating as the Great One, it was still an exciting sight to see a real dragon.
However, Elder Shan chuckled and said, "No, you silly. Do you remember when Elder Xuan said there are flying treasures that resemble magical beasts but arenât actually real? That dragon is one of those flying treasures. Thereâs no way anyone would be able to tame a mighty dragon and ride them like a flying treasure."
"Is that so... but it looks so realistic," Yuan mumbled in a somewhat disappointed voice.
"You can tell whether itâs real or not by its aura." Elder Shan then said.
"Oh, youâre right... I cannot sense any aura coming from it." Yuan realized.
Feng Yuxiangâs voice suddenly resounded in Yuanâs head, "Once I am able to transform back to my phoenix form, Iâll let the Young Master ride me as much as he wants! Who needs dragons when you have a phoenix! Weâre both Divine Beasts, anyway."
A smile appeared on Yuanâs face, and he mumbled, "Thank you, Feng Feng."
Seconds later, Long Yijun caught up to them, and he said, "Weâre going to take the teleportation device at Bright Needle City to the Northern Continent, where the Mystic Realm will take place. Itâs going to take a couple of hours before we arrive at the city so you can relax until then."
"Yes, Sect Master!" They responded.
Sometime later, Elder Shan opened her mouth and spoke, "Disciple Yuan, since we have plenty of time, why donât you tell me a little more about you and your Dao Companion here? Howâd you two meet?"
Yuan nodded and said, "Her parents worked for my parents, so weâve known each other since we were kids."
"Oh, childhood friends, huh? What a lovely relationship already." Elder Shan chuckled.
Then she looked at Meixiu and said, "Iâm very interested in what kind of woman could captivate someone like Disciple Yuanâs heart. Of course, if you donât want to show your face, thatâs fine as well."
âCaptivate Yuanâs heart?â Meixiu found Elder Shanâs choice of words to be weird, but she didnât think too much about it and nodded her head before removing her Crimson Mask to show Elder Shan her face.
"I see..." Elder Shan nodded her head as though she realized something, not feeling the slightest shock that Meixiu was a beauty, as it was only natural for someone as talented as Yuan to have a beauty by his side. In fact, it would be weird if Yuanâs Dao Companion wasnât a beauty.
"Anyway, youâre certainly one lucky lady, becoming his Dao Companion at such a young age. You have no idea how many people will be envious of you in the near future." Elder Shan said.
"T-Thank you...?" Meixiu said in a hesitant voice since she wasnât exactly sure what Elder Shan was talking about.
Sometime later, Yuan asked, "Senior Shan, since youâre a Spirit Master as well, can you use Qi Manifestation?"
"Qi Manifestation? Only Spirit Grandmasters can do that!" Elder Shan quickly said.
"Really? But I heard that some Spirit Masters are able to use Qi Manifestation."
Elder Shan shook her head and said, "Maybe if theyâre a heaven-defying genius or have some unique physique, but under normal circumstances, one cannot use Qi Manifestation before they become a Spirit Grandmaster. Well, I can release my Qi outside to a certain extent, but thatâs not true Qi Manifestation."
After a moment of silence, she continued, "Well, if itâs you, who can use Divine Sense before reaching Spirit Master, maybe you can use Qi Manifestation before you become a Spirit Grandmaster. Though, youâll probably still need to be around peak Spirit Master before you can do it."
"Do you want to try it now?" Elder Shan suddenly asked.
"Really? How do I try?"
Elder Shan extended her hand and said, "Now gather your spiritual energy in your hand and imagine it leaving your hand and touching my hand."
Yuan nodded and followed her instructions, lifting his hand and gathering his spiritual energy in his hand.
He then imagined it leaving his hand, almost like heâd grown a second hand.
However, he gave up a moment later when he couldnât release the spiritual energy, and it was like there was an invisible wall preventing him from doing so.
"Donât worry, if it was so easy, every Spirit Master would be able to do it." Elder Shan said to him afterward.
Yuan nodded and said, "Iâm going to continue trying."
"Go ahead. Just donât exhaust yourself. Qi Manifestation also requires a lot of energy to maintain." Elder Shan said to him.
A few moments later, Xiao Huaâs voice resounded inside his head, "Brother Yuan, Qi Manifestation is very similar to Divine Sense. Just practice like you would with Divine Sense."
âNow that you mention it, they are very similar!â Yuan realized this fact and immediately started trying to release his spiritual energy like he does with Divine Sense.
After an hour of practicing, Yuan finally managed to produce some results! Although it was only very slightly, heâd managed to extend his spiritual energy a few inches outside his body!
When Elder Shan saw this, her eyes widened with shock.
"D-Did you just...?" Elder Shan mumbled in a dazed voice.
"I think I am getting a hang of it." Yuan nodded.
"Unbelievable... To think youâd actually manage to release your spiritual energy outside of your body, even if itâs just a little, and youâd just entered Spirit Master. I am a little ashamed of myself now..." Elder Shan sighed.
Thus, Yuan continued to practice his Qi Manifestation for the next few hours until they arrived at Bright Needle City.
However, instead of descending outside the city like one normally would, Long Yijun led them directly inside the city, only descending once they were directly above the teleportation device.
Of course, nobody complained when they saw this, and the workers there even welcomed them with bright smiles on their faces.