Swoosh!
Zhu Long, without hesitation, threw the drop of golden blood toward Zhao Long.
And the blood stopped right in front of Zhao Long.
Zhao Long stared at the blood seriously.
"Absorb it. Not only will it restore your cultivation, but your talent will also be enhanced. And your dantian will recover and your spiritual roots will evolve," said Zhu Long.
Zhao Long nodded seriously, then began to absorb the blood.
Swoosh!
The blood emitted a golden light and transformed into strands as thin as threads that were absorbed by Zhao Long.
"Argh!"
The moment the absorption began, Zhao Long screamed in pain. His body started showing strange and extremely painful reactions.
Crack!
Zhu Long could clearly hear bones cracking or breaking. He immediately formed a hand seal.
Whung!
Instantly, spiritual energy appeared and formed a formation barrier, trapping Zhao Long inside.
Zhu Long let out a long breath. "I will wait for you here, my disciple. I will protect you while you undergo the process of restoring your cultivation." He then sat cross-legged in midair and closed his eyes.
Zhu Long himself was attempting to break through to the Saint Realm.
**
Inside the Formation Barrier.
Swing!
The formation suddenly trembled slightly and changed. What was once transparent was now covered by a strange black substance, enveloping the entire formation barrier, preventing anyone outside from seeing inside.
Boom!
At the same time, Zhao Long's body—which was enduring intense pain—expanded and exploded into a blood mist.
This was not the end of Zhao Long, but the beginning. The beginning of his awakening.
Swing!
From the blood mist, Zhao Long's emerald-green necklace merged with Zhao Yuan's necklace, causing both of them to emit a dazzling emerald-green glow.
The golden blood belonging to Zhu Long hovering in the air reacted. It trembled slightly, then merged with Zhao Long's blood mist.
During this process, Zhao Long didn't scream in pain, because he no longer had a physical form.
This process of merging blood was not short.
A few days later.
Swish!
The merging of Zhu Long's golden blood and Zhao Long's blood mist was finally complete.
The blood mist now was not only red but red-golden, though the golden color wasn't very obvious.
After the merging process, the blood mist gathered again and formed a new embryo.
During this process, it was equivalent to reincarnation.
But quite different.
Because he didn't need a new vessel — he formed his own body.
In other words, Zhao Long was undergoing Incarnation.
Zhao Long's body, which started as an embryo, began to develop into a fetus, then a baby, then a child, and finally a teenager.
This process required at least 2 weeks.
Boom!
As soon as Zhao Long took the form of a teenager, his body exploded with strong aura, causing the formation to shake slightly.
That explosion marked the awakening of Zhao Long's cultivation.
Boom!
The explosion echoed again, and now Zhao Long's cultivation rose.
What was once Qi Refinement Stage 1 instantly broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage — early level.
Zhao Long's fierce aura surged and stabilized his foundation immediately.
His foundation was slightly unstable due to breaking through a realm, not a level.
After some time, Zhao Long's foundation recovered.
The aura on Zhao Long's body exploded again and grew stronger.
Boom!
Zhao Long's cultivation rose to the mid-level.
Zhao Long continued to breakthrough, until it stopped at Foundation Establishment Stage — late level.
Slowly, Zhao Long opened his eyes. He squinted as he realized the surroundings were pitch black.
Because the formation was covered by that strange black substance, preventing any light from entering.
Swing!
Right at that moment, an object emitted a bright green light, illuminating the entire interior of the formation barrier.
Even Zhao Long narrowed his eyes at the brightness.
The light came from his necklace.
Zhao Long grabbed the necklace with sharp eyes.
Swoosh!
A ray of white light shot out from the necklace and pierced Zhao Long's forehead.
Immediately, Zhao Long's consciousness was taken to a strange place.
"Is this a hidden space inside the necklace?" Zhao Long muttered.
The strange place was like a world. There was grassy land, water, trees, even several treasures lying around, poorly stored.
At a clear lake, a woman sat by the lakeside.
The woman had pure white hair, skin as pale as milk, and an extremely alluring figure. She wore a silver hanfu decorated with pearls and crystals attached to her clothing and body.
Seeing the woman, Zhao Long froze.
His eyes widened at the sight of her.
An extremely familiar feeling surged from within him toward this woman. But he was confused — he had never met her before.
The woman turned, looked at Zhao Long, and smiled. "What are you doing over there, dear? Why are you just standing there?"
Zhao Long was stunned.
The woman only smiled at Zhao Long's expression. She stood up and immediately approached him.
"What are you doing, dear? Don't you miss your mother?" asked the woman — she was Yun Lan, Zhao Long's mother.
"I…Ibu… (Mother...)" Zhao Long said in disbelief.
He looked at the woman with deep longing, disbelief, and overwhelming sadness.
Without hesitation, he hugged Yun Lan.
His tears flowed uncontrollably the moment he embraced her.
"...Mother..." he whispered weakly.
Yun Lan only smiled while gently stroking Zhao Long's back.
After some time, they pulled away from their embrace, Zhao Long still sobbing.
Yun Lan smiled. "Why are you crying?"
"I… finally can meet you… Mom," Zhao Long whispered, staring at Yun Lan.
Yun Lan smiled faintly. "I can only stay here temporarily. In 20 minutes, I will disappear, because this is only the will I left within the necklace."
"What?" Zhao Long was shocked. "No… I can't lose you again, Mom!" Zhao Long said, clenching his fists.
Yun Lan simply smiled. "This is not our last meeting."
Hearing that, Zhao Long frowned. "What do you mean, Mom?"
Yun Lan only smiled. "In the future, you will understand what I mean. Also, you must grow stronger again! Stand on your own without a background, become strong through your own hard work! You must do that."
Zhao Long scratched the back of his head, confused.
"When you reach certain realms, you will understand what I'm saying. Don't ever give up. Besides, you must avenge yourself against those creatures," Yun Lan continued.
Without her explaining, Zhao Long already knew exactly which beings she meant.
Zhao Long clenched his fists. "I will slaughter you all one day!" Zhao Long vowed in his heart with burning determination.