During this time, Wu Shuai made a special trip back to Southern Flower Island.
Taiqin had finally given birth!
"We finally have a continuation of our bloodline! Taiqin, you've worked so hard." Wu Shuai held the newborn baby in his arms and happily spun around several times.
Then, he carefully placed the infant on the bed, beside Taiqin.
He gazed with tender affection at Taiqin, who was weak after the delivery. His eyes were impossibly gentle.
"What do you think — what name should we give the child?" Taiqin smiled, radiant with a motherly glow.
"I think this child has a pair of large, exceptionally lively eyes. Why not call him Long Ling?" Wu Shuai said.
Taiqin nodded. "Long Ling, Long Ling — it's a lovely name."
The birth of their son Long Ling filled Wu Shuai with tremendous joy, but at the same time, he sensed that a far greater burden now rested on his shoulders.
"Huang Wei and my father are both gone now."
"All I have left by my side is my junior sister Taiqin, and now... my son."
"I must give Taiqin a proper standing. More than that, I must give my child a bright future — I won't let him live in an environment of constant discrimination. I want him to stand tall, hold his chest high, and live as a dragon-man, live with pride!"
The weight of responsibility drove him onward. After resting on Southern Flower Island for a few days, Wu Shuai set off again in haste, traveling through the Five Regions for two days to gather dream-path Immortal materials.
The process of refining the Dream Decree Immortal Gu was extraordinarily mystical.
Everything took place within his dreams.
As Immortal material after Immortal material was refined, the Dream Decree Immortal Gu finally reached its final hurdle.
"This?!" Wu Shuai was utterly stunned.
The dream had delivered its final revelation — he was to sacrifice Taiqin. Only through her voluntary sacrifice, offering her life, could the Dream Decree be completed.
"No — I absolutely cannot do this!" Wu Shuai was devastated. His face turned pale, unable to accept such a revelation.
For days afterward, he drifted in a daze, wandering listlessly through the Primordial Day like a wandering spirit.
It was only when he encountered a Primordial Desolate Beast and nearly lost his life to it that he jolted awake.
He slew the Primordial Desolate Beast, but his anguish remained, for he could not find any solution.
"Must I really sacrifice my junior sister? No — that's absolutely out of the question."
"There has to be another way. There must be!"
Wu Shuai decided to suspend the Dream Decree refinement for now. He wanted to draw more revelations from his dreams.
The next night, the dream brought him a new revelation.
This revelation was utterly horrifying — "Dragon Lord Patriarch actually possesses an Immortal-level killing move capable of exterminating our entire dragon-man race?! And Dragon Lord has already been tempted on multiple occasions to unleash it."
Though he now had immense trust in his dream revelations, this information was so shocking that he could barely believe it.
He contemplated for a long while, then resolved to return to the Central Continent first to uncover the truth.
Wu Shuai had expended enormous amounts of time and energy refining the Dream Decree Immortal Gu. During this period, undercurrents churned violently across the Central Continent, and the conflict between Dragon Lord and Red Lotus — master and disciple — grew ever more intense.
Because of Wu Shuai's father's death, the Heavenly Court harbored many suspicions about him, yet Dragon Lord still trusted him.
Wu Shuai mobilized every force at his disposal, exhausting all his efforts to investigate the matter.
At the same time, the dreams continued to bring him further revelations.
With the help of his dream insights, Wu Shuai obtained more and more clues. Every one of them confirmed the correctness of the earlier revelations, and Wu Shuai even learned the name of this critical killing move — Dragon-man Extinction!
"Back then, Dragon Lord created the dragon-man longevity technique and brought the dragon-men into being. As dragon-men grew more numerous and gradually developed, they became the dragon-man race."
"Dragon Lord is the ancestor of the dragon-men, the source of the race. From the very beginning, when he created the dragon-man race, he left behind a contingency — the Dragon-man Extinction killing move."
"Once this move is activated, every dragon-man in existence will self-destruct and perish. There will be no exceptions!"
"And Dragon Lord has long wished to activate this killing move — he only held back because of Star Constellation's will. Ancestor, how ruthless you are! Truly, impossibly ruthless!"
Wu Shuai was cold, helpless, frantic with terror, and furious!
All of his past efforts, the prosperity of the dragon-man race — before this killing move, they were nothing but a joke. A reality that was also the most illusory of bubbles!
"What am I supposed to do?"
Wu Shuai threw back his head and howled at the sky, utterly without hope.
"Right — I have the dream world!" Suddenly, he remembered. Hope blazed in his eyes. He still had one last straw to clutch at.
That night, the dream reverted to a scene from several years ago.
The dream revelation concerned the Dream Decree Immortal Gu.
The final step in refining the Dream Decree Immortal Gu required Taiqin's sacrifice.
The dream revealed to Wu Shuai that to counter Dragon-man Extinction, he first had to complete the Dream Decree Immortal Gu!
Wu Shuai woke from the dream. In the pitch-black of deep night, he wept — silently, soundlessly.
He stared blankly at the woman beside him, the love of his life — Taiqin.
Taiqin had been sleeping, but as if sensing something, she opened her eyes and saw Wu Shuai's expression of utter grief.
"What's wrong?" Taiqin quickly wrapped Wu Shuai in a gentle embrace.
Wu Shuai embraced her too, holding her with all his strength. He squeezed so tightly, yet never had there been a moment when he felt so utterly powerless and weak!
Wu Shuai had no choice but to tell Taiqin the truth.
Taiqin accepted it quickly. She placed her warm palm against his cheek and smiled. "So that's how it is, my senior brother. I love you. I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you, even my life. That's not such a big deal. But in this life, aside from you, there is one more thing I'm attached to — our child."
"After I die, please — you must raise him well. Raise our child. Promise me, all right?"
"I promise you. With my life, with my dignity, with everything I am, I promise you!" Wu Shuai wept bitterly, overcome with grief.
The Dream Decree was completed.
Afterward, the Eighth Transformation-level Dragon Palace was also constructed.
Once it was finished, Wu Shuai took up permanent residence inside. He would often wander the pavilion corridors, sometimes running his fingers along the walls and pillars. He fantasized that he could feel Taiqin's warmth, but all he ever received was the coldness of the Immortal Gu house itself.