C1584 Muddle up and Advance
Blood King Sabonis found himself trapped at the entrance of the Frost Well, unable to make his return.
Zhong Chichen's smile radiated as he bellowed, "Without that troublesome butterfly, you're stuck and can't get back to the Dark Realm. Here in this barren expanse of stars, like it or not, you have no choice but to steel yourself for a battle with Loong Jie."
With a mighty howl, Loong Jie unleashed a long roar, tumbling his massive dragon form through the void before charging at the Blood King.
"This fight is between Sabonis and me. Please, stand back!"
Loong Jie's golden eyes shone with a solemn and weighty presence, and above his golden scales, it seemed as though endless energy was flickering, poised and ready to strike.
Each of his scales was the size of half an acre, and upon closer inspection, the shimmering lights radiated a variety of metallic glows.
Even without fully awakening his bloodline, he exuded an aura of being indestructible, impervious to blade and flame.
A flicker of astonishment crossed Lin Daoke's eyes.
He hadn't anticipated that Loong Jie, now a deity, would exhibit such formidable resolve.
Blood King Sabonis had only dared to seek out Loong Jie with the aid of the Voidweaver and Diggs, hoping to leverage their power to slay Loong Jie and seize his heart.
Yet, at this critical juncture, Loong Jie had opted for a fair fight with the Blood King.
"True to the nature of a pure-blooded golden dragon!" Zhong Chichen exclaimed, his flamboyant attire contrasting with the solemnity of the moment as he came to a halt beside Lin.
For him, crossing the span of the starry sky was merely a fleeting thought.
With a keen sense of propriety, he left the starry battlefield to Loong Jie and Sabonis.
"Little Lin..."
Zhong Chichen's eyes narrowed into a smile, unabashedly assuming the role of an elder.
"Me? I'm millennia older than you, but I've never encountered someone as unique as you. Are you truly unaware that even a deity's throne can crumble? What were you thinking when you forged a divine seat into a blade?"
He was confident that with himself and Lin Daoke there to support, Loong Jie couldn't possibly falter.
Even if he couldn't best the Blood King now, Loong Jie was sure to survive. With their aid, he would undoubtedly recover and, in time, amass more of the gold, silver, copper, and iron essences needed to purify his dragon form.
Inevitably, Blood King Sabonis is destined to die, whether it be in the present or the future.
Moreover, since Sabonis has sided with the Origin Deity, he is now branded a rebel throughout the vast, infinite cosmos, and not even the formidable Demon God Bertain would show him mercy.
With the Blood King no longer posing a threat, he took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Lin Daoke.
Lin Daoke, who had forged the divine throne into a sword, had indeed astonished the Chronowyrm.
It became clear why Lin Daoke's strikes were decisive, either delivering death or determining victory.
Wielding the divine throne as his blade, Lin Daoke gambled with his life every time he unsheathed his sword.
Should the divine throne shatter or even crack, his primordial spirit would suffer grave harm, risking total annihilation or a devastating fall from grace.
Considering the limited lifespan of his race, Lin Daoke understood that a fall from grace would ultimately lead to his death.
Lin Daoke epitomized the Sword Sect's tenet of fearlessness in the face of death to the utmost degree!
It's no surprise that Han Miaoyuan would prefer not to rely on Lin Daoke in such critical times.
His resolve was unyielding!
Lin Daoke's swordsmanship, much like his personality, was straightforward to a fault, lacking adaptability and the notion of retreat.
Faced with an overwhelming enemy or numerous tenth-level extraterrestrial warriors, Lin Daoke would likely not back down.
He would fight to the bitter end!
This was in stark contrast to Tan Xiaotian, who would make a calculated retreat to preserve himself when victory was out of reach.
The adage holds true: where there's life, there's hope. With the prospect of gathering greater strength and allies, he could seek retribution another day.
Hence, in the Everlands' years of conflict with extraterrestrial races, Tan Xiaotian and the Moonfang Tiger often led the charge.
The valiant Demon Lord and Astral Tiger, unlike Lin Daoke, would commit fully only when victory seemed possible and would strategically withdraw when the tide turned against them.
Nie Qingtian, in his earlier days, likely shared this pragmatic approach, not possessing Lin Daoke's level of obstinacy.
Lin Daoke's mastery of swordsmanship made him the human race's most lethal weapon of doom—a warrior of unparalleled strength.
The one who truly feared Lin Daoke was the Dark Phoenix, not the more adaptable Tan Xiaotian.
Tan Xiaotian valued his own life and wouldn't risk it unless his core principles were threatened.
Lin Daoke, however, was different. If he drew his sword, it was to stake his life on the outcome.
"I have other matters to attend to."
Carrying a sword sheath without a blade, Lin Daoke had no interest in further conversation and turned to leave.
"Aren't you concerned about Loong Jie's fate?" Zhong Chichen called out.
"His life or death is irrelevant to the Everlands," Lin Daoke replied with a frown. "The severely wounded butterfly can no longer pose a threat to you."
With those words, he shot across the sky in a straight line, heading directly for the Origin Gate.
His message was clear: the Chronowyrm was needed to remove the Origin Gate from the Everlands, and Loong Jie's survival was inconsequential.
Without the Voidweaver, Zhong Chichen's expertise in space magic meant that no one in the Star River could easily kill him.
Moreover, apex beings like Cardo and Ballo, aware of Bertain's intentions, were unlikely to make a move at this juncture.
Lin Daoke believed he had fulfilled Han Miaoyuan's request and saw no reason to linger.
He was indifferent to the outcome of the conflict between Loong Jie and the Blood King.
"Han Miaoyuan, that crafty old man, has quite the knack for uncovering such anomalies and earning their complete trust," Zhong Chichen admitted with a hint of admiration.
...
On the fringe of the Dark Star Domain, Yu Yuan gazed toward the Primal Blood Continent, suspended in the void for what seemed like an eternity.
No radiant stars shone nearby, and with the Starway of Kobran closed, neither the humans nor the archdemons of the Everlands ventured into this quiet expanse.
In the chilly vastness of space, his gaze remained fixed on the Primal Blood Continent.
He accepted the offerings from the enigmatic entity deep within the dark red land in a daze.
Unbeknownst to him, a startling transformation had taken place within the little world of his middle elixir field...
The Solar Spirit, once shaped like the Altar of Rebirth, had morphed into an array of crystal-like stalactites dangling downwards.
Hundreds of these crystal stalactites varied in size; some were as slender as an infant's arm, while others resembled inverted, razor-sharp peaks, radiating an intense aura.
Each stalactite was unique in hue—some blood-red, others like purple crystals, or deep blue as the ocean.
Among them, some stalactites resembled undulating waves, others like giant beasts engulfing clouds and exhaling mist. They presented a spectacle of infinite marvels, each shrouded in mystery.
Within many stalactites, careful observation revealed delicate, glistening chains of light, each bearing the imprint of the Secrets of Life.
Now, the Dragon Slaying Stage stood apart from his peculiarly shaped Solar Spirit.
Suspended above the Dragon Slaying Stage, the Solar Spirit, composed of hundreds of crystal stalactites, featured one particularly sharp and exceedingly long red crystal, the closest to the stage.
At the tip of this crystal, a droplet of the same red hue slowly formed, glistening like a dewdrop.
At last, it fell onto the Dragon Slaying Stage with a soft plink.
In that moment, Yu Yuan jolted as if awakening from an age-old dream.
He witnessed a red droplet, rich with life essence, passing through the Dragon Slaying Stage and descending upon the violet-gold dragon egg.
The crimson drop effortlessly penetrated the violet-gold shell, entering the heart of the young creature within.
It seemed to bestow upon the juvenile Titan Spinosaurus a fragment of the Secrets of Life.
The young beast emitted a low cry, a sound of joy and longing.
Yu Yuan had previously realized that not even the exalted Titan Spinosaurus understood the true essence of life power at birth.
It had journeyed to the Primal Blood Continent and sacrificed its heart to the enigmatic entity beneath the land. Only then was it endowed with the Secrets of Life through the ritual of refining the dragon heart.
The two offspring that emerged from the eggs it left behind were no different; they too were born without the Secrets of Life etched into their hearts.
Just moments ago, a droplet of vibrant red blood had manifested a small fraction of life's profound essence.
This drop of blood fell into the heart of the giant beast, forming a delicate segment of a bloodline crystal chain.
A smile of satisfaction crept onto Yu Yuan's lips as he thought of the Dark Phoenix, who had managed to steal another dragon egg from Taishi.
The creature that would emerge from that egg, even when fully grown, would be nothing more than an adult Titan Spinosaurus, not the exalted Titan Spinosaurus.
"I must continue to refine the dragon heart and imbue it with various powers linked to the Secrets of Life. It seems that only then can I hope to evolve this young beast into its mightiest form. Unless the Dark Phoenix can gain the favor of the mysterious entity deep beneath the Primal Blood Continent, just like me..."
Suddenly, Yu Yuan's expression turned peculiar.
His Solar Spirit, in its extraordinary state, could distinctly perceive that the object enshrouded in the utmost frigidity at the heart of the Primal Blood Continent bore a striking resemblance to his current form.
Yet, the scale of this subterranean entity dwarfed his Solar Spirit by a thousandfold.
He also sensed that the entity was weary and slowly succumbing to slumber.
It seemed that by bestowing upon him the Secrets of Life, which had caused such a remarkable transformation in his Solar Spirit, it had expended an immense amount of energy and vitality. Sleep was its most effective means of recuperation.
And then...
Yu Yuan discovered he could constantly sense the presence of the subterranean creature with his Solar Spirit.
His own state of being had inexplicably advanced to the Unbound Realm.
He was unsure if he had achieved any sort of union with the Dao or how he had ascended to the Unbound Realm.
"Uh."
All at once, he felt the presence of the Abyssal Leviathan approaching in a desperate haste.
Yet now, he harbored no fear of the Abyssal Leviathan.
