Word Count: 2,905 Words
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"Down it is."
The Snow Empress's reply was crisp and decisive. She had no intention of letting Ling Bai notice that the second Yearning Heartbroken Red had gone missing, so she simply took his hand and pulled him straight toward the Extreme Chill Icespring.
Bubbles frothed and burst as two figures slipped beneath the surface. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well fell into deep silence. Above, medicinal herbs swayed gently in the night breeze, their faint halos shimmering like distant stars.
Within the Extreme Chill Icespring, freezing temperatures and crushing pressure assaulted them from every direction. The water seemed intent on first crystallizing their bodies into solid ice, then grinding them into paste. Spirit power surged from both of them simultaneously, and the crushing resistance noticeably weakened.
Like twin fish navigating familiar waters, they descended steadily toward the deepest depths. The Extreme Chill Icespring overflowed with boundless Ultimate Ice energy, and the Snow Empress felt completely at home. Her entire being relaxed as though she had merged into an icy ocean. Here beneath the spring, she felt even more comfortable than in the eternally frozen core region of the Extreme North.
The Seraphim possessed Ultimate Fire and would have been better suited to entering through the Blazing Sunspring. However, Ling Bai had the Snow Empress's spirit bones protecting him, keeping him unaffected by the spring's extreme cold. She clasped his left hand, using their joined palms as a conduit to channel Ultimate Ice energy outward and shape it into a pristine white barrier that shielded them both.
Ling Bai glanced at that exquisite face with faint amusement and threaded his fingers through hers, contentedly enjoying her protection.
The Snow Empress was noble and aloof by nature, never willingly placing herself beneath anyone. Occasionally indulging her protective instincts let her feel that she was still that almighty sovereign of the Extreme North.
Spirit power surged inside Ling Bai's body, churning like a storm-tossed sea. That excitement, like children cheering and leaping with joy, originated from his right arm and right leg. The Light Holy Dragon and Radiant Thunder Hell Dragon, two true dragon spirit beasts, had already sensed the sovereign waiting in the depths below!
Sharp brilliance burst from Ling Bai's eyes. The Snow Empress similarly felt something profound stir within her. The core temperature of the Extreme Chill Icespring actually ran even lower than her own Ultimate Snow, despite her status as the continent's third-ranked Great Beast. The Heavenly Snow Woman bloodline she had taken pride in for seven hundred thousand years now trembled uncontrollably!
What exactly lay beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?
Unexpected panic gripped her heart. The Snow Empress instinctively moved closer to Ling Bai, drawing a measure of security from his presence.
Boundless cold spread toward them. Frost gradually crystallized across their bodies. Both Ling Bai and the Snow Empress wore grave expressions as they beheld the sight before them. A colossal dragon's corpse lay sprawled across the bottom of the Extreme Chill Icespring, resembling a mountain of ice!
"A dragon corpse?!"
The Snow Empress's eyes widened in shock. This colossal dragon had been dead for countless millennia, yet beneath its crystalline scales, one could still discern the faint traces of bones, meridians, and muscles. Ice-white energy circulated within, forming countless miniature vortices.
Ultimate Ice spiraled outward as it rotated, merging into the surrounding spring waters. The energy within this dragon corpse had been nourishing the growth of the immortal herbs above.
Before this majestic dragon, humans appeared utterly insignificant. Ling Bai gazed at the immense form and spoke softly:
"The Water Dragon King. We've finally found it."
"It… it's truly the Water Dragon King? One of the Dragon God's Nine Sons?"
The Snow Empress found it difficult to believe. Ice was merely a transformed state of water. The Water Dragon King, born to command water, naturally mastered both water and ice attributes.
The Water Dragon King stood among the supreme existences of the spirit beast world, a descendant of the Dragon God and a lofty God in its own right. Even the Ice God revered by the Extreme North's myriad beasts would hardly be worth a glance in the Water Dragon King's eyes. Yet here this terrifying being lay, its corpse resting silently before them.
Dragon majesty persisted even in death. The closer they approached, the more profoundly the Snow Empress experienced the Water Dragon King's oppressive force. That aura defied description. Dragon King pressure combined with fundamental bloodline suppression made her Heavenly Snow Woman bloodline boil violently, refusing to calm.
Compared to the Snow Empress, Ling Bai's condition remained noticeably more stable. His raw strength fell far below hers, but from a bloodline perspective, both Angel and Rakshasa were First-Class Gods. He wouldn't be reduced to groveling before a Water Dragon King that had been dead for hundreds of thousands of years.
Ling Bai abruptly halted and turned toward the Snow Empress with a questioning look. He had noticed her forward pace beginning to slow.
She released his hand. Her delicate form flickered with sky-blue radiance as she spoke through clenched teeth:
"This Empress has never experienced bloodline suppression from a superior beast race in all my life. The Water Dragon King's ice attribute is simply too powerful. If I keep approaching, I fear it will burn my bloodline away entirely…"
"Then stay here and try absorbing some of the Water Dragon King's power. Even a trace would help," Ling Bai suggested.
The Water Dragon King was undoubtedly the Snow Empress's greatest opportunity, one that could stimulate the purification and elevation of her bloodline.
She carefully isolated wisps of ice element from the Water Dragon King's corpse and guided them into her body, refining them into the purest ice energy to supplement her Heavenly Snow Woman bloodline. The elemental body she had reconstituted gradually approached perfection.
Ling Bai swam alone toward the Water Dragon King. His entire form wasn't even as large as one of the dragon's claws. Dense ice elements saturated the surrounding water, making it thick as semi-solid paste. For ice-attribute beings, simply breathing near the Water Dragon King was equivalent to deep meditation!
'A dragon soul…'
Ling Bai discovered the ice-blue dragon soul standing majestically before the Water Dragon King's head. The dragon's countenance radiated dignity tempered with beauty, its expression bearing the innate pride of dragonkind!
The Water Dragon King's soul appeared devoid of emotion. It simply stood there in silence. Ling Bai hesitated to approach, lowering his head in contemplation. The Snow Empress was suppressed and could not draw near. The Death Abyss Bone Dragon's origin was also that of a dragon; it probably wouldn't fare much better.
"Elder Yi, time to work!"
Ling Bai called out within his Spiritual Sea.
"Only when you run into trouble do you finally think of me, you little brat?"
Electrolux chuckled as he scolded, manifesting his soul form beside Ling Bai. "Go on then. What mischief are you plotting now?"
"Listen to yourself. Am I really such a troublemaker?"
Ling Bai narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat. "Since we've come all this way, I'd like to communicate with the Water Dragon King first. But I don't know its attitude toward humans. I'm worried it might suddenly go berserk."
Electrolux nodded slightly. He lifted his necromancer staff and pointed it toward the Water Dragon King's soul, tentatively initiating spiritual communication.
Moments later, the Water Dragon King turned. Its gaze settled on the two of them. Ling Bai sensed no goodwill from it, yet no particular hostility either. Its attitude remained neutral, conveying a clear message: We have no connection. Return from whence you came.
"The Water Dragon King only shows affinity toward the dragon race, especially superior dragon lineages," Electrolux explained.
"Won't the Light Holy Dragon and Radiant Thunder Hell Dragon suffice?"
"They're not worthy."
Electrolux corrected him lightly. "Think it over. Are you going to back off, or are you going to act?
The Water Dragon King's body has already become the core of the Extreme Chill Icespring. Forcibly removing it will not only provoke the dragon soul's resistance but also cause the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's environment to collapse. This treasured land would cease to exist.
As for the dragon soul… it's worth scheming over. The Water Dragon King reached the God realm in life. Spending two or three years forcibly refining it with necromancy would be worthwhile."
"Two or three years? You might as well go back and take a nap." Ling Bai sighed, rubbing his forehead.
Why waste that time? In two or three years, he'd be practically invincible. He wouldn't need to care about a single Water Dragon King.
"Still, speaking of superior dragons…"
He reached into his Storage Spirit Guidance Device and drew out a black dragon scale, then pressed it to his chest as he slowly approached the Water Dragon King.
The Water Dragon King focused its gaze. Its dragon soul trembled, and a resonant roar shook the Extreme Chill Icespring. The soul shot toward Ling Bai like lightning, its excitement and fervor resembling that of someone encountering a long-lost friend.
A smile that said just as expected curved Ling Bai's lips. The black dragon scale had been gifted by Di Tian in the Star Dou Forest years ago and contained the aura of Di Tian's true form: the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King.
And what was Di Tian's identity? The current sovereign of the Black Dragon Clan, one of the strongest true dragons alive, personally granted the Dragon God's Claw by the Dragon God himself!
Though his strength couldn't compare to his predecessors, in terms of status, Di Tian was the Dark Dragon King. This dragon scale was the symbol of the Dark Dragon King's authority!
After death, the Water Dragon King had lain beneath the Extreme Chill Icespring for hundreds of thousands of years. Apart from the neighboring Fire Dragon King, it had never again seen a true-blooded dragon from the outside world. Now that a suspected descendant's envoy had arrived, how could it not be overjoyed? It circled Ling Bai continuously while sending a gentle thought:
"Black Dragon envoy, for what purpose have you come?"
"Water Dragon King, the Divine Realm has decreed that spirit beasts shall never become Gods."
Ling Bai's expression turned solemn. "The Gods of the Divine Realm are unjust. Humanity continues advancing while the dragon race and spirit beasts suffer in dire straits. Sooner or later, all will fall to ruin. Yet Di Tian is bound to the Douluo Continent by a single decree, forever unable to ascend to godhood!
The Divine Realm needs a God willing to speak against this injustice. As it happens, a certain God has chosen me. After careful consideration, Di Tian decided to help me become a God. But right now, I lack both spirit rings and spirit bones. Who knows how long my path to godhood will take…"
The Rakshasa mark on his forehead flashed briefly, proving his words were no lie.
"The Dragon Clan faces peril. As a Dragon King, it is my duty to lend little Di Tian assistance."
The Water Dragon King grasped the underlying message at once and nodded heavily. It raised its head and released a drawn-out roar. On the opposite side, the Blazing Sunspring trembled as a crimson dragon soul burst through the waters.
The Fire Dragon King!
The two dragon souls met each other's gaze. A heartbeat later, they acted in unison. Power erupted from beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well as ice-blue and fire-red energies spiraled together, shooting straight toward the clouds!
Through the mournful night wind, the dragon's cry carried far and wide, echoing endlessly across the open sky. Ancient sorrow mixed with profound relief; the emotions were laid bare in that single roar.
Outside the valley, within the Jade Phosphor Poison Array, Dugu Lin had been frantically absorbing jade poison mist to cultivate. She blanched instantly. After evolving to Ultimate Poison, her Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor actually felt fear in the face of that dragon roar. The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor itself possessed dragon lineage!
The Snow Empress ceased absorbing the Water Dragon King's residual power. Her sky-blue eyes gleamed with restrained brilliance as she watched the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' energies approach unification!
The elemental energy above Sunset Forest grew increasingly violent under the Dragon Kings' stimulation, rapidly gathering toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!
Ice-blue and fire-red intermingled and expanded into a massive red-blue ring that seemed to encompass the heavens. Beside the bright moon, it appeared as though a brilliant sun had suddenly manifested. Dragon might blazed resplendent and magnificent!
"Strange… what is darling doing?"
Dugu Lin gazed skyward, her emerald eyes narrowing with confusion. She racked her brain but couldn't fathom how Ling Bai's simple trip to gather immortal herbs could cause such a tremendous commotion!
That red-blue ring functioned like an enormous suction device. Dugu Lin clearly sensed it draining the dissipating energy above Sunset Forest and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Cold and scorching auras rose simultaneously. Around the ring, frigid air and searing flames wove together into a magnificent tapestry, as though intending to draw the entire world into its embrace.
As the ring's energy continued to intensify, the mingled red and blue transformed into a dazzling purple-gold. That radiance streaked across the night like a falling star, so brilliant that none dared look upon it directly. The purple-gold light gradually solidified and descended to the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The Purple-Gold Dragon King Spirit Ring!
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had been born from the corpses of the Water and Fire Dragon Kings. Naturally, the two Dragon Kings still retained control over it. Using their origin power as a catalyst, they devoured the accumulated energy of the entire Sunset Forest and forged it into this one-of-a-kind Purple-Gold Dragon King Spirit Ring!
Under the spirit ring's brilliant radiance, Ling Bai's face was painted with a layer of noble purple-gold. To condense this spirit ring, both Dragon Kings' souls had suffered tremendous damage; their forms grew noticeably more ethereal. The Water Dragon King spoke gently:
"The Fire Dragon King and I perished hundreds of thousands of years ago. We can do little more to aid the dragon race. May the Dragon God's spirit in heaven bless you and Di Tian in revitalizing the Dragon Clan, so that our kind may one day return to the Divine Realm."
"I am deeply grateful for this gift from both Dragon Kings."
Ling Bai offered a junior's salute before releasing his second Martial Spirit, the Death Abyss Spider Emperor, to fuse with the Dragon King Spirit Ring.
The Seraphim required an eighth spirit ring, while the Death Abyss Spider Emperor still lacked its seventh and eighth. The seventh ring's importance, however, far outstripped that of the eighth. The Martial Spirit Avatar was the true source of a Spirit Master's power.
With the Dragon King Spirit Ring as its seventh, the Death Abyss Spider Emperor would awaken the most powerful Martial Spirit Avatar in history.
Death Abyss Spider Lances burst from his back. Ultimate Death, Ultimate Evil, Ultimate Poison—having evolved into a triple-Ultimate Martial Spirit, the Death Abyss Spider Emperor's eight lances had taken on a deathly ashen gray.
The Dragon King Spirit Ring actively merged into him. As the two Dragon Kings' origin power poured into the Martial Spirit's core, the Death Abyss Spider Lances evolved once more. Brilliant purple-gold patterns etched themselves across the gray lances.
Gray, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red, Purple-Gold!
The Water and Fire Dragon Kings took in the Death Abyss Spider Emperor's spirit ring configuration, and their weakened eyes blazed with renewed light. No wonder Di Tian had resolutely chosen to invest in this youth. With such talent, if he couldn't become a God, who in the Douluo Continent possibly could!
The Water Dragon King immediately made up its mind. Its dragon soul rushed toward the dragon corpse and retrieved a crystalline, ice-blue crown.
"That is the essence of our divine bones! Xiao Shui, you—!"
The Fire Dragon King's eyes widened in shock. It couldn't believe the Water Dragon King would willingly offer such a treasure.
The Water Dragon King spoke quietly. "You and I perished long ago. Our bones and blood have already merged with this realm. Keeping them serves no purpose. Better to make one final contribution to the dragon race."
"Good! I'll follow your lead!"
The Fire Dragon King laughed heartily and summoned forth a crown of its own.
The two brilliantly glowing crowns flew to hover above Ling Bai's head. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had caused the two Dragon Kings to contain elements of each other within themselves; the two crowns now merged in the same fashion.
The newborn crown took the shape of a dragon's head, colored deep purple-gold like mysterious stars in the depths of night. Two dragon patterns coiled along its surface with such lifelike detail they seemed ready to soar skyward and roam the nine heavens at any moment.
Countless tiny gems were inlaid across the crown's surface, but most captivating of all was the massive purple crystal at its very center. Like the eye of a Dragon King, it radiated unfathomable depth and mystery, projecting endless majesty and power.
It proclaimed dominion over the world!
The Dragon King's Crown!