About a half hour later, the stone wall rippled like water as Di Tian strode out and called:
"Zhu Wu, come in."
Zhu Wu nodded, took a deep breath to calm himself, and stepped forward with a steady expression.
The next moment, a flash of silver light appeared before his eyes.
As his foot touched the ground, the view ahead had completely changed. Before him lay a misty, golden-glowing cyan lake, where a massive silver dragon rested silently beneath the water. The shadow on the surface stretched beyond sight, leaving only the enormous dragon's head exposed.
Two huge purple eyes quietly examined him.
That size was a bit absurd... Suppressing his fear, Zhu Wu bowed deeply. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
The Dragon King glanced at Zhu Wu instinctively.
The treasure beast was personally nurtured by the Dragon God, loyal for life, serving the Dragon God alone. The Silver Dragon King, however, was merely a fragment of the Dragon God, not the true deity. Zhu Wu's form of address—honoring the king but not the lord—undoubtedly conveyed this distinction. Bold, indeed!
The Silver Dragon King showed no visible reaction, only calmly asking, "Zhu Wu, have you made your decision?"
"Naturally," Zhu Wu replied firmly. "I believe this is the responsibility entrusted to me by the Dragon God. To rescue the one sealed in the Divine Realm, to unite the two kings and restore the Dragon God's presence. Or, through nurturing the Dragon God's bloodline within me with care and talent, to offer it to you, the king who escaped captivity, to help you recover and become the new Dragon God. Only by doing so can the nine great Dragon Kings and the dragon elites be revived, so that our race may have a chance to reclaim the Divine Realm and regain our former glory."
"Father God, is this the final contingency you left behind?" The Silver Dragon King's eyes flickered as she nodded slightly. "Zhu Wu, your dedication to our clan will never be forgotten."
"Moreover, rest assured—if you fail to inherit the divine throne, I will not let you perish as a mere human."
Di Tian was undoubtedly a loyal subordinate—calm and with a big-picture mindset. Yet her strategy was somewhat rigid. She excelled at preserving gains but lacked ambition. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been hiding in this secret lake refuge with a few fierce beasts all this time. Zhu Wu, in her eyes, was just the strategic mind she needed—someone who could advise and plan. This was her impression after hearing Zhu Wu's plan and the kind of support she would need in the future.
Now, Di Tian also needed an assistant who was both shrewd and resourceful.
Losing such a valuable aide would be a great pity!
"For a god, the body is but a shell; the soul is the essence of life." With that, the Silver Dragon King's eyes flashed purple, and the space before them tore open with tremendous force, revealing a black crack as thick as an adult arm, with cyan light swirling inside.
Soon, a cyan stone about the size of a baby's fist floated out, shimmering faintly with golden light.
"Essence of Life Gold!?" Zhu Wu inwardly gasped.
The Essence of Life Gold was a precious item from the sequel, a purified solid form of life force. According to the original story, the life force accumulated over a million years by the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm equaled only a drop of this Essence of Life Gold. The piece obtained by Huo Gua was equivalent to 200,000 years' worth of accumulation in the Star Dou Great Forest. The one before Zhu Wu, though smaller, was likely close to that scale.
The power of Essence of Life Gold wasn't to increase soul power but to cleanse the physical body, fully enhancing it. This improved cultivation aptitude and extended the duration the soul rings could be endured. When Huo Gua fused with it at level 28, his body's endurance increased by 1,000 years. Additionally, it helped develop a real spiritual world and the body's third eye—the Eye of the Living Spirit—multiplying spiritual power.
Huo Gua's enhancement was threefold. Meaning if Zhu Wu fused with this Essence of Life Gold, both his physical and spiritual power would increase by at least three times.
But that wasn't the scariest part.
The scariest was that after fusion, the Sea of Spirit would become immortal and indestructible, and the body would possess terrifying self-healing abilities—so long as the head wasn't destroyed, it could recover itself. This was even more powerful than his Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone skill.
Such a treasure—was this really being given to me? Zhu Wu felt a little unreal.
At that moment, the Silver Dragon King spoke.
"This is Essence of Life Gold, enough to help you open a true Sea of Spirit. It will extend your life by at least a thousand years. Furthermore, as long as your brain remains intact and your body isn't corroded by divine power, any injury will self-heal."
She had waited countless years and didn't mind waiting longer. Now that the opportunity had come, it must be seized.
Increasing longevity and survival ability meant Zhu Wu would have more time outside to seek rare materials to nourish the Dragon God bloodline. Thus, when the bloodline was eventually absorbed, there would be a better chance to restore injuries—or even to elevate the bloodline to Dragon God level after fusion.
Zhu Wu immediately understood.
"In that case, even if you fail to inherit the divine throne in the future, you can still cultivate your spiritual power to the divine soul realm. Even if slightly lacking, I can assist you at the last moment to achieve success," the Silver Dragon King continued. "Afterward, I will personally help you reconstruct a body—one with true dragon strength not inferior to that of the nine great Dragon Kings, as a symbol of your achievements."
Really nice of you. Zhu Wu thought. The nine great Dragon Kings at their peak all possessed divine king-level power.
Of course, this would have to wait until helping the Silver Dragon King ascend to Dragon God status… He naturally understood the implications behind that.
So much for the love-struck brain, huh?
Maintaining his attitude, Zhu Wu immediately bowed. "Your servant will not fail the trust of Your Majesty."
The Silver Dragon King nodded, then controlled the Essence of Life Gold to float before Zhu Wu.
Indeed, only bold gambles bring great rewards. This time, it was a blood profit. Zhu Wu inwardly rejoiced while carefully storing the treasure in his soul conduit.
Then he saw the Silver Dragon King turn to Di Tian.
"Di Tian, that ice silkworm outside is a spirit-type. Let it be sacrificed for Zhu Wu. What isn't yours will never be yours. I prefer you all to reach such heights through your own efforts. Relying on devouring will only wear down your will and potential in the long run."
The king spoke well. Zhu Wu silently applauded in his heart.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Di Tian responded respectfully, showing no complaint.
The Silver Dragon King nodded and again fixed her gaze on Zhu Wu, speaking more seriously:
"Zhu Wu, your plan is indeed good. But regarding the Asura God, it still needs careful consideration. For the next steps, if you do not have absolute certainty, I hope you won't act rashly."
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I already have a new idea from just now outside," Zhu Wu's tone was noticeably warmer—after all, you must be polite to those you receive help from.
"Oh?" The Silver Dragon King's eyes flickered.
"Do tell."
"Your Majesty, perhaps we can establish a sect like humans do, participate in human affairs under human identities, and use humans against humans, leveraging human forces to deal with the Asura God's successor," Zhu Wu proposed.
Tang Hao, Tang San, Haotian Sect—just wait and see how I deal with you!
And the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus family, you're in for it too!
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