C589 Charge into the Mind!

Zhongli watched Yu Yuan with an intense fervor, as if beholding a rare and precious gem, while Yu Yuan refined the dragon blood within him using the Blood Sacrificial Altar. Zhongli couldn't help but mutter to himself, "That fool Loong Jie probably thought a single drop of his dragon blood would be the end of you. Hehe, little did he know, nestled within your life force is a divine altar capable of seizing the very essence of heaven and earth!"

"Loong Jie, oh Loong Jie, we never saw eye to eye, and in the Sword Prison, you dared to block my path!" he continued with growing excitement. "You got what you deserved, outsmarted by this youngster and stripped of a drop of your precious dragon blood!" Zhongli's enthusiasm grew with every word, and he was nearly leaping with joy.

In a corner of the cave, Chen Qingyan stood poised, her captivating eyes fixed on Yu Yuan. His skin glowed with a purplish-red hue, and his body radiated with a strong vitality that left her heart pounding in awe. Her insight was far from ordinary.

She was well aware that Loong Jie, the elder dragon from the Nagas, was a formidable Ninth Level being. At his prime, Loong Jie's might rivaled that of her own master. Renowned for their resilience and the enigmatic power of their blood, the Nagas were considered a formidable demonic race.

A single drop of blood from a Ninth Level being like Loong Jie could slay cultivators at the Yin God Stage or even those at the Soul Wandering Stage. Yu Yuan, merely at the Profound Break Stage, should have stood no chance against the potency of Loong Jie's dragon blood, even with the aid of the Evil Body Refining Skill.

Chen Qingyan had believed that ingesting a drop of dragon blood would lead Yu Yuan to a fate worse than death. Yet, the scene unfolding before her defied all expectations. Yu Yuan was, against all odds, successfully refining the dragon blood. His body was rejuvenated with a rich vitality, undergoing a profound metamorphosis.

With a subtle squint, Chen Qingyan employed a secret technique to peer deeper and noticed a delicate thread beginning to form stealthily between the acupoints of Yu Yuan's lower, middle, and upper dantians—the Yellow Court, the Xuan Men, and the Mud Ball.

"Draw upon the dantian's energy to refine the spiritual force, amass the quintessence of Qi and blood in the middle dantian, and surge into the upper dantian's Mud Ball Acupoint, unlocking the gateway to the soul's sea of consciousness, thus shattering the mysterious portal of the human spirit!"

Chen Qingyan's form quivered slightly.

The acupoints of the upper, middle, and lower dantian align in a straight line. To breach the upper dantian's Mud Ball Acupoint, one must harness the combined forces of the lower and middle dantians.

Once the Mud Ball Acupoint is opened, one can then forge the Spiritual Sense, gaining insight into the sea of consciousness and soul.

It is at this juncture that the three souls of heaven, earth, and humanity become truly visible and perceptible.

Presently, Yu Yuan, in the process of assimilating a drop of dragon blood, seemed on the cusp of assaulting the Mud Ball Acupoint, poised to advance into the Penetrating Stage, ready to unveil the sea of consciousness and crystallize the Spiritual Sense.

"Kid from the Sword Sect, once we're out of Sword Prison, convince him to join me in cultivation," Zhongli bellowed with laughter, launching another punch at Yu Yuan.

Within the cavern, the dominant and wild intent of his fists permeated every corner.

Chen Qingyan could sense the dread of Zhongli's fist intent, realizing that this anomaly from the Ancient Desolate Sect might have honed the Void True Spell to a frightful pinnacle.

Once free from the shackles of Sword Prison, with his vitality restored to its peak, his combat prowess would be unimaginably formidable.

Chen Qingyan grew anxious, contemplating the upheaval that would ensue once Zhongli broke free from Sword Prison, not just for the Ancient Desolate Sect's patriarch but for the entire sect.

Beyond Zhongli, there was the Bright Sect's leader, Loong Jie of the Ninth Level, and the practitioner of the Withered Sword...

Should these individuals emerge from Sword Prison and appear across the Boundless Land, would it not plunge the world into turmoil?

The Desolate God, forbidding any Seventh Level or Soul Wandering Stage cultivators from entry, likely recognized this risk, preferring to keep the events within the Great Swamp concealed.

"In my time, due to ideological differences, I lost the contest for the sect's leadership and banished myself to the cosmos! Among the stars, I tempered my fist intent against the Devaputra Alien Race, and there I discovered a viable path to forge the Primordial Spirit using the Ancient Desolate True Spell!"

Zhongli swung his sleeves with a flourish and unleashed a punch. Yu Yuan, still in the throes of refining the dragon blood, felt his bones crack and pop, as if he was on the brink of death from the pummeling.

The overwhelming force that engulfed the world, warping space and bending time, was utterly ruthless.

In the entirety of Sword Prison, he stood alone as an anomaly. The pervasive sword intent and sword light, omnipresent as they were, could not touch him. They failed to lock on and were unable to land any effective blows.

The bald elder was bursting with vigor as he proclaimed, "It's a pity that during my time in the Spirit Accumulating and Profound Break Stages, I didn't push my physical limits to their extremes! I discovered the path to achieving the Primordial Spirit through the body, but I fear I may not be able to accomplish it myself."

His eyes sparkled as he watched Yu Yuan, who was howling in agony. "My plan was to spend a century finding a suitable disciple, to invest my life's work in him, and witness him attain the Primordial Spirit, accomplishing a feat unparalleled by any before!"

"To think, such a promising prospect would just fall into my lap!"

Zhongli was overcome with excitement, "This kid, if only he agrees to practice the Desolate True Spell with me after leaving Sword Prison, I'd be willing to do anything for him. But if he's unwilling..."

A vicious gleam flickered in his eyes, followed by a sinister chuckle.

Boom! Boom!

His fists struck with such force that Yu Yuan's skeleton seemed to splinter, his organs felt as though they were being ripped apart, driving him to the brink of despair.

Enduring Zhongli's onslaught, Yu Yuan's unyielding willpower sharpened his focus, as he attuned himself to the blood sacrifice altar, refining the drop of Loong Jie's dragon blood.

As hundreds of dragon breaths, like streaks of purple-red lightning, surged into the altar, the crimson droplet shattered in an instant.

A thumb-sized drop of dragon blood fragmented into hundreds of tinier specks.

Each speck, a vibrant purple-red, bore the might of a Fourth Level Demonic Beast, as formidable as a Profound Break Stage cultivator of Yu Yuan's own caliber.

Hundreds of these blood spots—wasn't that akin to an army of Fourth Level Demonic Beasts?

Such immense power lay within a single drop of dragon blood!

Yu Yuan was astounded beyond measure. Upon closer inspection, the glimmer of blood seemed to expand a thousandfold before his eyes, revealing a dense web of shimmering bloodlines within.

These crystalline threads appeared to be the exclusive hallmark of Loong Jie, a testament to the Nagas' bloodline abilities—gifts of extraordinary talent awakened by his kin.

"A single drop of Loong Jie's blood holds such profound mysteries!"

Captivated, Yu Yuan had an epiphany: should this drop of Loong Jie's dragon blood fall into the hands of Loong Tianxiao or Zhao Yafu, they might unravel the divine powers encoded within—insights Loong Jie had gleaned over millennia, even unlocking the secrets to the dragon race's evolution.

Loong Jie, the former chieftain of the Nagas, was said to possess the purest dragon blood.

Yu Yuan knew well the methods employed by the Nagas to enslave their Dragon Servitors for communication.

The means by which Loong Jie harnessed the Dragon Servitors' power for his own use and the art of their subjugation could very well be encapsulated in a mere drop of his blood.

This was, perhaps, the most distinctive bloodline mark shared by the Nagas and the Demonic Race.

Gazing upon the blood sacrifice altar, Yu Yuan marveled at the splendor within the dragon blood, gaining a profound appreciation for the arcane nature of blood in beings unlike humans.

"The Blood Sacrificial Altar, crafted with the essence of Giant Beast Amber, bears a striking resemblance to the Aura Altar of the Devaputra Race. The Starry Behemoths, legends say, were among the earliest life forms to emerge with the birth of the cosmos. It's also believed that both the Nagas and the Demonic Race have ties to these celestial titans."

"The Starry Behemoths may well be the Creator's original masterpiece, a blessing from the divine realms."

"Forged from the lifeblood of these ancient giants, the Blood Sacrificial Altar reigns supreme over the Nagas, transcending the Demonic Race, endowed with the ultimate sanctity of blood, revealing its very essence."

These thoughts cascaded through Yu Yuan's mind.

When he regained his composure, he noticed that the hundreds of blood droplets, remnants of the burst dragon blood, had vanished into the altar.

Streams of spiritual energy began to surge upward from his lower dantian. As they traversed the Mortal Gate acupoint within, bursts of scarlet blood essence erupted from the microcosm of Qi and blood. The spiritual energy intertwined with these crimson flashes, braiding together like a rope, and propelled upward with renewed force!

Suddenly, an intense pain pierced his brow!

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