Chapter 198: Lao...

Haru got up from the floor and began to walk toward the naked human body laying on the floor. He looked down and recognised the body as the ancestral dragon's son when he had seen what took place at this volcano within the array that caused them to take this trip in the first place.

He took the ring off from his own finger and as he did the green orb Lao was using to look through and Li Jun both vanished into thin air like they never existed in the first place.

If the dragon emperor ring didn't have a wearer then everything that was stored within would return. Including the souls that had bound themselves to it. He then kneeled down next to the body before taking his hand and stretching out one of the cold fingers and placing the ring onto his hand.

Haru withdrew his hands away from the body as fast as he could, scared that something would happen as soon as it made contact with the flesh.

"Lao… Are you there?" Haru leaned closer and said before resting his hand on the shoulder of the lifeless body. Suddenly a flash of green light shot out from the eyes and the mouth before it levitated up into the air.

Li Jun reappeared by Haru's side and they both watched together as Lao bound his soul to the body.

The green light burned brighter and brighter to the point that the glow from the lava was now useless. Everything within the cave now had a green hue to it. The body rose higher and higher into the air causing more of the green light to be cast down onto the surroundings before a groan called out.

The groan sounded tired and hurt like someone had just woken up from a coma and the light began to fade as the body drifted back down from the sky. As the body approached the ground Haru noticed the chest moving up and down in a rhythmical pattern as he breathed once again.

"I feel… So cold…" Lao said as his new body touched the ground and he stumbled forward. Haru caught him in his arms before he could fall and then put Lao's arm over his shoulder to support him and stop him from falling again.

"Hold on I will get you some clothes," Haru said and opened up the contents of his storage ring and pulled out some long pants, boot, shirt and a coat to keep him warm.

"Is this what it feels like to be a human? How do you balance in these skinny legs? And these arms… There is no muscle in them at all." Lao complained with a sly smile on his face as Haru handed him the clothes.

"Here, Put these on," Haru suggested so that he wouldn't freeze to death. It wasn't cold in the cave by any means but Lao had not felt the feeling of air against his skin in an eternity and a human's body heat was much lower than that of a dragon's. It probably felt like he was dying despite being on the inside of a volcano.

"Uh… I don't mean to be a nuisance. But I have never put on clothes in my life… How do I do it?" Lao asked. Haru sighed before helping him out.

'I never thought I would be playing dress-up with a naked dragon today…' Haru thought before holding the pants out for Lao and told him to step into the leg holes all while holding him up straight and then walked him through the process like a parent teaching their child how to put on clothes.

As soon as they had finished and Lao now had clothes on he grabbed on to Haru's shoulders a little tighter as he couldn't hold his balance on his own.

"How do you people like life on two legs? This is so inefficient." Lao complained as he began to struggle to keep his legs straight. He looked almost like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time. It was a funny sight but Haru knew better than to laugh at a dragon for failing at something.

"This is quite the sight for sore eyes. I never imagined seeing the day when you got yourself a new body. And the body of a half-dragon is even more unimaginable. You will get used to it soon don't worry." Li Jun mocked Lao before reassuring him that it was only temporary.

Haru used his spiritual sense to comprehend Lao's current power.

"Oh wow…" Haru said in shock as he looked down at the man he was struggling to hold up.

"Here let me help you sit." Haru offered his hand and slowly lowered Lao to the ground so he wouldn't have to try to balance anymore.

"That's better. This is so much better." Lao sighed in relief as he sat still.

"Um… Lao. You might want to absorb some of the Qi from the ancestral dragon." Haru said hesitantly.

"Hmm? What do you mean? I said you could finish absorbing it if you wanted to." Lao said in response.

"Well… Your body is only at the spirit core stage right now. It might be better for you to absorb it all." Haru warned Lao but it seemed like something was off with his attitude. He didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

"Well okay if you insist." Lao raised his hand out toward the dragon's body when suddenly the body began to break down into millions of little pieces that all flew towards the centre of his hand before vanishing as a huge fluctuation in Qi emerged from Lao's body.

Haru looked down at him and watched as his cultivation level rose higher and higher. It started at the spirit core stage and then hit the heavenly spirit stage almost instantly before jumping up once again and landing on the manifestation stage.

In less than ten seconds Lao had managed to raise his cultivation to the stage higher than Haru's which took him a full three years to get two. Li Jun praised Haru for being able to reach the strength that he had within three years but this was a whole new level.

Yet surprisingly Li Jun didn't seem too concerned by it.

"It's been a long time since I have seen anyone use that trick." Li Jun smiled with a hint of sadness in his eyes as he watched Lao get to his feet again. This time with more success than he had last time.

"Okay, this is better. If I surround myself with Qi I can use it to hold me up." Lao said as he now managed to stand up.

"But why won't this coldness go away!?" He shouted before sneezing and then bringing his arms around his body to press the wool on the inside of the coat against his body a bit tighter to try to warm himself a little more.

"I'm glad it's you and not me. I don't even remember what the cold feels like but I can't imagine it being a nice feeling." Li Jun laughed at the thought of Lao shivering.

"Shut up or else I will…" Lao began to say but then stopped himself now that he knew that he no longer had any power over the dragon emperors ring. He then reluctantly took it off his body and then gave it back to Haru.

"Here. You can be the one to deal with Li Jun now. I am finally free from his tormenting." Lao said with happiness as Li Jun vanished from where he was standing and Haru put the ring back on his finger.

Li Jun appeared back in the spot where he was stood in before and then frowned as he looked at the both of them.

Lao's body was thousands of years old but it looked to be around the same age as Haru with its features.

The skin on his face was smooth and had no imperfections at all. The hair was a light shade of blue in colour and was long enough to hit the lower parts of his back. His eyes on the other hand were a light green colour that almost looked as if they were constantly glowing.

Haru thought back to the story that he had heard from the sect master of the black star sect. When the coffin full of mist was captured a young boy appeared from nowhere with green glowing eyes and took the coffin away with him.

Green glowing eyes did indeed seem to be the sign of the dragon race if that wasn't obvious enough by Lao's form in the soul ocean and the green eyes on the ring that was on Haru's finger.

Li Jun and Lao talked about their plans now. Lao was hesitant to leave despite the fact that he had gained freedom and he was still adamant on teaching the young girl that Haru had saved from the evil sect back in shanghai.

He was now sure that she was a descendant of the ancestral dragon and he wanted to make sure that he brought her back to pay respects to their ancestors. She was young and had no idea about her heritage but she seemed to be incredibly perceptive to the movement of Qi. She would make the perfect student.

So they decided that Lao would stay at Haru's house and act as a guard while raising the girl to become a cultivator. But the only thing left to do now was to go back home and ask the cultivation association to hand the girl over to them.

Haru wasn't too sure on how to go about doing it but he knew that there would be hell to pay if they refused Lao's first request. He wanted to call Lian as soon as he possibly could to let her know in advance so they could survive the wrath from an actual dragon.

"Come on. We're going." Lao announced before grabbing Haru by the arm and then suddenly all of the light vanished in an instant, almost like someone had turned off a light switch within the cave.