The Natural Empire of the Oceanic Dragon

It wasn't that Old Rascal particularly enjoyed taking advantage of younger generations; it was mainly because Storm Giant Eagles, once properly nurtured, could reliably produce Soul-Soothing Buns. Among the eight elemental materials Atilan chose, Storm Giant Eagle claws were indeed the most suitable for the theme.

Mount Tai didn't have high-quality ingredients like Storm Giant Eagles, but he coveted the Elemental Tempering effect. He could only approach Atilan with a smile, full of anticipation, and ask:

"Atilan, you know me. My greatest wish in this life is to forge an indestructible body. It's rare for Old Rascal to be willing to guide a junior."

"I also want to try Old Rascal's Sevenfold Elemental Tempering Secret Technique, what do you think?"

Sevenfold Elemental Tempering Secret Technique? It was the first time Atilan had heard the name of Old Rascal's unique secret technique.

"Is it effective?"

"Of course! If the Sevenfold Elemental Tempering wasn't effective, how could Leopard Woman have mastered controlling Shadow Element in just a month, transformed into a Shadow Leopard, and traversed the Shadow Plane?"

"You don't really think she's a genius with an affinity for Shadow Element, do you?"

Atilan blinked. If Leopard Woman, who didn't have an affinity for Shadow Element, could master it in just a month, then to what extent would the Ocean Wyrm, with its affinity for Water Element, grow under the effect of the Sevenfold Elemental Tempering?

His eyes darted around, and he immediately assured Mount Tai:

"Don't worry, since Old Rascal has agreed to Leopard Woman and Eagle King's requests, it's the same whether he's herding one sheep or a flock. Tomorrow, I'll be discussing the Four Divine Mountain Sea Eight Treasure Soul-Soothing Buns with Old Rascal."

"I think this is an opportunity. Have all the druids who want to try the Sevenfold Elemental Tempering Secret Technique come together. Most importantly, be sure to invite Flower Woman and Wine Woman."

"Wine Woman's fine wine and Flower Woman's fairy magic are the key to persuading Old Rascal!"

Mount Tai suddenly widened his eyes in realization.

"That's the charm offensive you mentioned, right!"

Atilan looked Mount Tai up and down, then said with a sigh:

"Although I'm gratified that you thought of a charm offensive, Mount Tai, what are you thinking using a charm offensive on a centuries-old man? Although Old Rascal is definitely still capable, he probably doesn't have such worldly desires anymore."

"The point is to use fine wine and fairy magic to amplify Old Rascal's joyful mood. As long as people are happy, some things can be agreed to. Old Rascal's problem is that he thinks guiding our cultivation is a troublesome matter."

Looking at Mount Tai's bewildered expression, Atilan waved his hand.

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it. I'll just take you for a practical demonstration."

He walked straight to Old Rascal's side.

"Senior, it's not easy for you to guide Leopard Woman and Eagle King in their cultivation. You can completely entrust us, the Thunder Mutual Aid Society, with some of the tedious auxiliary work during their cultivation."

"That way, they can cultivate with peace of mind, and Senior, you can guide them more comfortably."

It was certainly good to have someone help, but Old Rascal didn't think Atilan was the kind of dragon who would selflessly contribute. Offering courtesy for no reason is either a trick or a theft. Old Rascal didn't know the saying, but he understood the principle clearly.

"You little rascal also wants to train together?"

"That's the idea, but there's no rush. After Leopard Woman and Eagle King finish their training, I heard that Senior's Sevenfold Elemental Tempering Secret Technique has miraculous effects on improving elemental control?"

Old Rascal said indifferently:

"It has miraculous effects for ordinary people like them, but it will have little effect on you, an Ocean Wyrm. Besides, your innate Water Element control is already strong enough, isn't it?"

Atilan said with a smile:

"The Ocean Wyrm's talent for manipulating Water Element is indeed strong, but precisely because of this, wouldn't it be even more meaningful to improve my Water Element talent?"

That was indeed the logic, but if Old Rascal wanted Atilan to achieve the same training effect, he would need to expend ten times the effort he used to assist Leopard Woman.

Old Rascal was most afraid of trouble, especially the kind of time-consuming, laborious trouble that might not even be effective.

"If I train you, I won't have time to train them."

"I'm not in a hurry. I'll just stay by Senior's side and learn about elemental manipulation first. Senior, you're a Grand Druid of the Elemental School. Even my master's ability to manipulate elements might not be stronger than yours."

Although Bear-man was focused on dealing with the vengeful souls within Deathblade and Bloodied, it didn't mean he didn't have the energy to pay attention to the movements of Atilan and the others.

Hearing Atilan now slander him without even trying to hide it, Bear-man just smiled and said nothing, but in his heart, he was already thinking about how he should train Atilan.

What Atilan didn't know was that Bear-man also knew the Sevenfold Elemental Tempering Secret Technique, and his attainments in this secret technique were no less than Old Rascal's, because he was the one who helped Old Rascal perfect the part of the secret technique that utilized elemental tempering.

The advantage of this secret technique was that it could utilize seven different elements, using the other six to enhance the tempering effect of the seventh element. It was possible to directly temper with the desired element, but the effect was generally poor.

Each additional element used for assistance would increase the tempering effect by fifty percent, and the corresponding pain would double. If all seven elements were used simultaneously, even Old Rascal would find it difficult to endure the pain.

This secret technique was called Sevenfold Elemental Tempering, not because Old Rascal could only control seven elements simultaneously, but because he could only withstand the pain brought by seven elements.

Because Bear-man had participated in this secret technique, he always advocated that the cultivator should lead the cultivation himself, for the best and most suitable effect. This kind of tempering cultivation that brought intense pain was not suitable for overly precise manipulation.

But Old Rascal insisted on challenging himself. As a Grand Druid of the elements, even the most intense pain couldn't cause his elemental manipulation to become deformed!

Then, he had to lie in a life support device for nearly half a month because the seven elements simultaneously impacted his internal organs, and his glorious deeds were spread by a big-mouthed druid of the same period.

The most prosperous and populous gathering of druids was in the northern part of the continent. Old Rascal, who always liked to join in the fun, and Bear-man came together to develop this forest because he felt ashamed.

Of course, later, as Old Rascal left a copy of the Fivefold Rotating Tempering Secret Technique, which simultaneously manipulated the five elements of wind, thunder, water, fire, and earth, in the Council of Nature, and a little-known figure of the Elemental School discovered and practiced it.

Old Rascal's reputation improved.

Because some Grand Druids, out of curiosity, went to practice it, and unexpectedly, accidents happened. Coughing up blood and recuperating was the norm, and one almost went to see the God of Nature, the Father of Oak, Obad-Hai.

Only then did they realize that it wasn't that Old Rascal was weak, but that this secret technique was too strong.

Originally, Old Rascal was preparing to pack his things and return to his hometown to show off, but an unknown druid said a word that completely shut him down.

The Old Prankster had gradually seen things in perspective and transformed into his current playful, eccentric persona. Yet, deep down, he remained the Elemental Archdruid capable of calmly manipulating seven elements and performing precise body tempering within himself.

At the same time, he hadn't forgotten his yearning for the Legendary realm.

Over the years, he had come to realize that it wasn't that the body tempering secret technique he had created was flawed. His technique was far more ingenious than the Bearman's, but the biggest problem was that he didn't possess the same unwavering willpower as the Bearman.

For example, with the Seven Elemental Body Tempering Secret Technique, the elements he gathered after vomiting blood would dissipate in the chaos. However, the Bearman vomited blood three times when using this secret technique!

Yet, he still managed to stably confine the seven elements within his body.

His soul hadn't been tempered to the extent of bearing Legendary power.

His eccentricity was partly due to the influence of the Emerald Dream. While cultivating, his sanity was affected by the evil entities within, and decades of harmonization hadn't restored him to his original state.

Therefore, he needed Soul-Soothing Buns, because this magical cuisine could not only repair the damage to his soul but also give him the potential to advance further. That's why he couldn't let Attilan know, or else Attilan would exploit this secret for the rest of his life.

The Old Prankster was actually very puzzled as to why ordinary magical ingredients could possess the ability to heal soul wounds and nourish soul growth after being made into Soul-Soothing Buns.

He had naturally taken soul potions developed by the Council of Nature after being injured, but their effects were actually worse than the scraps he had eaten today, and later they became ineffective due to drug resistance.

But these Soul-Soothing Buns were different. He had eaten several of these scraps, and the effects were consistently good, without the slightest sign of weakening.

Why was this?

From the initial draft of the recipe provided by Attilan, the Old Prankster could see that it was a magical cuisine full of loopholes, but this cuisine produced a magical effect.

The vengeful spirits, originally as black as ink, turned into the original white color of the soul after eating the Soul-Soothing Buns, floating motionless in the air with peaceful and serene expressions.

"Don't bother flattering me. Did you already know that Soul-Soothing Buns would have such an effect?"

Attilan nodded as a matter of course.

"Yes, because of the rush, I didn't tell you the story behind the Soul-Soothing Buns. Actually..."

The Leopard Woman interjected, saying:

"Actually, the prototype of the Soul-Soothing Bun was a very outstanding human archmage. To repay his loyal monarch, he went through seven battles to pacify a group of barbarians in the southern part of the kingdom."

"When he returned after gaining the allegiance of the barbarians, the vengeful spirits of the barbarian ancestors wailed in the river, and the ships could not cross. The barbarian king said that as long as some people were killed and their heads were thrown into the river, the vengeful spirits could be appeased."

"The archmage didn't do that. Instead, he chose eight kinds of meat ingredients on the spot, wrapped them in flour, made them into the shape of human heads, and threw them into the river. Sure enough, he appeased the vengeful spirits, allowing the army to return."

"Later generations made more widely circulated and simpler foods based on the mage's recipe, but the Four Divine Mountains and Seas Eight Treasures Soul-Soothing Bun is different. This is a recipe perfected by generations of magical chefs."

"It's not only more delicious, but also has a more outstanding soul-soothing effect!"

"Of course, the original version is called the Four Divine Seas Seafood Eight Treasures Soul-Soothing Bun. Attilan's recipe is based on the incomplete recipe in his memory, and he designed and optimized it himself. It would be good if it's similar to the recipe that the archmage came up with in a hurry."

The Old Prankster nodded.

"I understand. Everyone, go back first. Attilan, stay behind."

Replacing the fake with the real, or turning the fake into the real, is something only a god's divine power can do. Attilan inadvertently replicated a miracle.

The Bearman, Blood Dye, personally witnessed the changes in the vengeful spirit after eating the Soul-Soothing Bun and was more aware than the Old Prankster of what deadly thing Attilan had created.

The two exchanged glances and understood that it was the power of faith, and it had also been simply refined through a sacrificial ritual.

The druids present were all participants in the ritual, some even providing the ingredients for the Soul-Soothing Bun. Even the power of faith contained in the Soul-Soothing Bun came from them.

The reason was that Attilan had told them the story of the Soul-Soothing Bun in order to get them to cooperate in making it.

When participating in the ritual to purify the vengeful spirit in Blood Dye's body, they subconsciously associated it with the origin story of the Soul-Soothing Bun. Their expectations for the Soul-Soothing Bun and their desire to purify the vengeful spirit transformed into the power of faith and were integrated into the Soul-Soothing Bun.

The ritual was led by Attilan and maintained by two archdruids, Vine Woman and the Old Prankster, which was enough to support the gathering of emotional thoughts and their purification into the power of faith.

Collecting the worship and other positive emotions of mortals, and refining them into pure power of faith through divine fire to absorb and enhance divine power, is not only done by gods, but also by all powerful legends who aspire to become gods.

Generally, this is done by mages, because the method of collecting positive emotions and finding tools similar to divine fire to refine the power of faith requires repeated research.

As for other professions, let alone whether they can sense these emotional thoughts, even if they can, can they develop a way to use the power of faith?

Impossible! Because they don't have such smart brains.

Although gods cannot directly interfere in mortal affairs, they still have cults, powerful saints, and even avatars with divine power and divine tools can appear to play on the edge.

As long as the consequences are not serious, it will not arouse the dissatisfaction of the Creator God. Once the Creator God is dissatisfied, what awaits the gods will be the deprivation of their godhood and being cast down into the mortal world.

In short, researching the power of faith is very dangerous. The reason behind Blood Dye's accident may not be without the shadow of some people who don't want to see another demigod of nature.

On the contrary, the demigods of nature, while ensuring their own safety, are always happy to help their juniors, and even contribute treasures that have been treasured for many years to help their juniors advance.

The main thing is to stick together for warmth.

Why did the second-generation elven patriarch of the School of Life join a certain god system first, instead of directly proclaiming his god name and recruiting believers to try to advance to godhood on his own?

Isn't it because the struggle between gods is much more cruel than the struggle between mortals?

Especially when there are fools among your believers who help you promote some areas of the gods that do not belong to you, the gods in these areas naturally have a legitimate reason to kill you.

Devouring other gods is the fastest way for gods to advance.

Moreover, after being eaten by a god, there is basically no possibility of resurrection. If your domain is swallowed, it means that you have no possibility of using the immortality of the gods to resurrect.

After everyone left, Vine Woman released a mist to cover this area, and the Bearman said his guess.

Attilan's eyes widened immediately.

"What, this is simply alarmist! The Soul-Soothing Bun can absolutely not have the power of faith!"

His little face turned pale. As an Ocean Dragon, he was too aware of how deadly it was for something to be associated with the power of faith.

Because there are guests today, I will post four thousand words first to ensure full attendance. The remaining chapter will have to wait until after twelve o'clock.