"If it's not an issue of strength disparity, then what exactly is going on here?" Xiao Yan frowned deeply. The enhancement of the Azure Dragon Transformation Art was critical to the development of his Eternal Void Demon Body. Moreover, the dragon bone he'd acquired this time was no second-rate item—it was the remains of a Heavenly Sovereign of the Immortal grade! The enhancement it should bring ought to be incomparably powerful.
According to his original plan, if he could successfully fuse with Long Nixian's dragon bone, then his physical body's toughness would increase by at least a hundredfold. At that point, once he broke through to Earth Sovereign, his physical body alone might rival that of a Heavenly Sovereign. Yet now, right at the most critical moment, he found himself completely stalled.
"From the looks of it, Flame Emperor, it seems your body already contains a dragon bone, which is causing a rejection reaction," the Spirit of the Ancestral Stone mused after a moment, then added, "But logically speaking, a higher-grade bone should repel a lower one. Are you saying the dragon bone inside your body is of a higher tier than a Heavenly Sovereign's?"
"A dragon bone inside me? I don't have anything like that..." Xiao Yan started to retort, but suddenly froze. He abruptly recalled that when he first obtained the demonic sword, the Four Fiend Spirits were stationed at the four cardinal points around the blade in skeletal form. Later, those skeletal remains had shattered. Could it be... that they hadn't broken, but had actually fused with him?
But if that were the case, why hadn't his body become overwhelmingly powerful back then? That didn't seem to match what the Ancestral Stone's spirit claimed—bones stronger than even those of a Heavenly Sovereign.
Puzzled, Xiao Yan took a deep breath, then sat down cross-legged, steadying his thoughts as he entered his soul world. At the center of the soul sea, the demonic sword still stood upright, stable and unmoving. If not for the occasional pulses of blood-red baleful energy it emitted, anyone would have mistaken it for an ordinary longsword.
The Four Fiend Spirits were still curled around the demonic sword, seemingly dormant. But Xiao Yan could clearly sense the immense power lurking within them. Fixing his gaze upon them, he spoke slowly, "I know you lot still have your own consciousness. I need to fuse with this dragon bone now, but you're blocking me. You owe me an explanation."
"Roar!" At the sound of his command, the Four Fiend Spirits simultaneously opened their eyes for the first time, seeming to assess Xiao Yan. A moment later, they rose in unison and let out a resounding roar. Their bodies quickly faded and transformed into crimson streams of energy that dispersed in all directions.
That scarlet energy was overwhelmingly domineering. It forcibly expelled Xiao Yan from his soul world. As he opened his eyes, he felt terrifying, savage energy rampaging through every inch of his body. It was so violent and fierce that his flesh was torn to shreds in an instant, leaving him covered in blood and gore.
The sudden surge of agony drained all color from Xiao Yan's face. He spat out a mouthful of blood—and even noticed fragments of internal organs within it. This alone spoke volumes of the brutality of that energy. His internal organs had been utterly devastated.
Even more shockingly, Xiao Yan realized that the force was specifically targeting his bones. Thanks to cultivating the Eternal Void Demon Body and constantly tempering his physique, his bones had reached a toughness comparable to high-grade—perhaps even peerless—Spiritual Artifacts. Yet under this onslaught, they were shattering inch by inch like brittle twigs.
The Ancestral Stone Spirit and other divine items within him noticed the situation immediately and tried to channel their energies to help. However, their powers were instantly repelled by the baleful energy, unable to make even the slightest impact. Clearly, this blood-red force was far beyond the level of any ordinary Saint Artifact.
Even Xiao Yan, with all his tenacity, struggled to endure the pain. At the very edge of collapse, he barely managed to keep himself from blacking out. In the grip of such excruciating torment, he lost all sense of time. He had no idea how long he had been suffering—only that it felt endless.
Just when Xiao Yan's body reached its breaking point, a surge of vibrant life force flooded his limbs and bones. It was the lotus seed from the Nine Revolutions Green Lotus he had long kept within him. The restorative energy coursed through him, and under its cleansing wash, his scattered consciousness slowly regained clarity.
He suddenly realized—his previously shattered bones had not only reformed, but their toughness had increased by several magnitudes. As he focused inward, he even heard faint roars within his body—those were the howls of the Four Fiend Spirits. They had fused their powers into his bones, creating a brand new skeletal structure.
He slowly lowered his head and looked at his body. Then, with a light clench of his hand, a terrifying power burst from every fiber of his being like a rampaging beast. This strength was dozens, if not hundreds, of times greater than before. He had a vague sense that even without using spiritual energy, just relying on his physical body, he could now defeat a high-grade Earth Sovereign with ease.
"Hu..." He exhaled deeply. At that moment, the spiritual energy within his body surged upward, and his aura erupted like a mighty dragon. Instantly, the skies above the Heavenly Tomb began to twist and distort. The surrounding energies rushed to gather above his head, forming an exceptionally beautiful cloudscape.
Yet within that stunning cloud of energy roiled countless multicolored lightning bolts. The sheer force contained within them would be enough to give even a true Earth Sovereign a massive headache.
"Is that... a Spirit Tribulation?" Xiao Yan stared at the thunderclouds in astonishment. Spirit Tribulations were only supposed to appear when one broke through to Earth Sovereign. Why had his formed already? Then it hit him—he had fully refined the power of the lotus seed from the Nine Revolutions Green Lotus, and as a result, had truly stepped into the Earth Sovereign realm.
As he pondered this, the clouds above him churned violently. Then, with a thunderous boom, a radiant bolt of lightning streaked down from the heavens like divine judgment. Xiao Yan's brows rose slightly. That bolt alone might surpass even a full-powered strike from an Earth Sovereign—it was no wonder so many cultivators died during breakthroughs.
However, that level of lightning was now utterly meaningless to the current Xiao Yan.
With a casual swat of his palm, he effortlessly shattered the Spirit Tribulation thunderbolt that had once caused countless Sovereigns to despair.
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon, There is 2 Chapters Ahead of Release for Free Members on my Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.