"It also seemed to have caused her 'Dark Mimic' bloodline to surge in purity, after all, it is a sage beast we are talking about…"

Elder Long gave his own opinion as the person in question flew past the tree and landed in their front;

​​

"How does flying feel?" Elder Long asked the moment Little Ming showed up…

"Nothing too fancy… I have always rode alongside Elder Yun, so the only difference is being the pilot and not the passenger…" Little Ming responded leisurely as she landed on four sturdy feet…

At this moment, she was a full-fledged dragon, with mesmerizing azure-blue scales and some green ones which at close range seemed a little odd, but come together to form a massive pattern of runes when seen from a distance away…

"Have you noticed any changes yet?" Elder Long asked with a hint of curiosity;

"Asides the fact that I might as well be the first poisonous dragon?"

"Yeah, my dark mimic bloodline has also been purified up to 45 percent… only a bit more and I can take human form…" The last part of her statement came out absentmindedly…

Boom!

But just as they were about to bombard Little Ming with more questions, it was Min Rou's turn this time around to awaken…

A dark and nightmarishly eerie aura descended on the jungle and spread out to cover about 5 mile radius from their current position, scaring every living thing crawling, flying or running to their wits end…

Elder Long had a solemn expression on his face as he carefully approached Min Rou's position alongside Elder Yun and Little Ming…

Min Rou was floating mid-air with her back turned to the approaching trio who were watching the wolves bow with their tails tuck between their legs as they whimpered and trembled…

"Are you alright?"

Elder Long managed to ask after swallowing uncomfortably, as Min Rou began to turn around with her hair floating in the air and dark Qi billowing around her…

Then she turned around and the trio all froze in their steps as they looked into her eyes, their jaws slacked and foreheads perspiring bucket of sweats…

The face they were currently looking at had two pitch black eyes and two golden dots in the middle…

Her face had runic lines stretching all over her body from the center of her forehead;

"Despair!" Min Rou said softly with nonchalance as she pointed at Elder Long…

"No more… please, I beg you… no more!"

Elder Long had already begun to cry and sweat as he was plunged into the depths of a despairing illusion, but just as he was about to fall to his knees, he paused made some quick and mysterious hand seals before bellowing;

"Astral Soul Link; Third Phase – Soul Bind!"

Boom!

Instantly everyone felt Elder Long explode with a Peak Nascent Soul stage cultivation, but that was not all; His aura bean to surge higher and quickly broke into the Saint Stage…

Boom!

His aura surged once more climbing into the 2 Star Saint Stage…

Boom!

His aura climbed once again, and before long, it came to rest on the 3 Star Saint stage before his eyes snapped open creating a rippling shockwave that blasted out from deep within his soul outside and slamming into Min Rou, sending her tumbling head over heels for about ten meters before coming to a miserable halt…

Growl!

The five she-wolves aggressively threatened as Elder Long approached Min Rou who was just crawling slowly back to her feet, and just as he entered a 10 foot radius from Min Rou, they bolted towards him, but just as they got an inch too close to him, Elder Long simply looked in their direction and uttered nonchalantly;

"Sit!"

The moment the sword came out, the wolves screeched to a sliding halt as Elder Long simply walked on like it was nothing…

"Are you alright?" He asked after reaching Min Rou and extending a hand towards her;

"I'll be fine…" Min Rou said as she took his hand;

"You didn't have to use that much force, you know?"

Little Ming flew over and landed beside Min Rou, startling her a bit;

"Little Ming, is that you!?" Min Rou asked as she backed up a bit;

"He he he… Pretty cool, unh!?"

Min Rou saw the azure scaled dragon march like a horse during a parade, before spreading her wings wide and flapping them, sending a huge gust of wind rippling through the area;

"It's definitely you…"

Min Rou replied whilst organizing her hair which had been ruffled by the gust of wind…

Bam!

Little Ming landed before pouting at Elder Long;

"You have yet to apologize to Aunt Rou, Old Fart!"

"Watch your tongue, Little Brat!"

"He is still our master for every intent and purposes!"

Elder Yun berated and despite their difference in size, being that Little Ming was now at least thrice the size of Elder Yun in her expanded size, slumped her head as she retreated three steps with respect…

"I am truly sorry for that, Elder Long… apparently, I have failed in my task to teach her how to treat her elders with respect…"

Elder Yun lowered her head slightly in a bow as she apologized on Little Ming's behalf whilst taking the blame;

"Firstly, it's alright… The reason why we came out here and became your master was to help you both improve, and now that it has been achieved and your training ended; you two have therefore been relieved of your status as my disciples…" Eder Long waved it off with a light laugh;

"Secondly, there are some lessons that just can't be taught but needs to be learnt first-hand…" He added with his smile disappearing towards his last statement…

"Lastly, I never not retaliate when attacked, either by friend or foe…"

He made the last statement with a flat face, trying to remind the trio that, no matter how friendly they might become, he was still a respected Elder of a Super Clan…

Elder Yun glared at Little Ming who had obviously gotten the message hidden within Elder Long's statement, and for some reason she was now silent and seemed to have been put in place…

Her ego now looking more like a deflated balloon, and this made both Elder Yun and Min Rou smile lightly as they returned to their tree house riding atop Little Ming;

"Wow, this is a feeling I could get used to…"

Elder Yun remarked as she tried to lift the mood and clear the eerie silence looming over them since the statement from Elder Long, and it worked, because even Elder Long could relate at how it must have felt for Little Ming who had always rode Elder Yun to finally be the one being rode… [Shit, this came out wrong!]

Getting to their tree house, they packed up their things and with another glance at what had been their home throughout this long and tedious but massively rewarding cultivation journey…

They all had a nostalgic feeling about this house, and after giving a slight bow at the house, Little Ming picked everyone up, including the five she-wolves, as she turned around and faced the direction of the Desert Sun Sect…

But just as their return journey was about to begin, Little Ming paused, and turned towards another direction before gliding slowly and steadily towards the direction;

"Err, the direction to the sect is that way…"

Elder Long tried to remind Little Ming and noticed how awkward it was, unlike humans, beasts usually possess a photographic memory of everywhere they go, and he was sure Little Ming obviously did…

But where was she taking them?

That question was answered in less than five minutes when they saw a specific mountain peak in the distance, and the moment Elder Yun and Elder Long saw the mountain peak, they went quiet and hurtfully solemn…

It was cool that they had evolved and improved during this journey, and it was also fantastic that they have Min Rou back, so was it magnificent that they were on their way back with a treasure chest that could most likely put the troves of some Super Clans to shame, but at the same time, they have to remember that everything was achieved at a cost, and that was the third Spirit Beast that came with them; Long Yueyao, Elder Long's mount, and now they returned to where they buried her, and Little Ming landed as they paid their respects one last time before finally leaving…