98 - Divine Mastering Dragon System

Chapter 98: Nightmare He He considered this venture to the Hunyuan Realm as an enjoyable endeavor. Although she failed to execute the planned assassination of Qin Miao, she inadvertently stumbled upon a pleasant surprise. The journey to the secret realm could also serve as an excuse for accelerating her cultivation. She assisted Long Rui Qing in escorting Qian Da Ni to the Fuliu Peak, with Zhu Yun and Zhu Yu's apprenticeship ceremony scheduled two days later. With no apparent disturbances from the outside world forthcoming, He He finally locked herself away in her room. Regaining her dragon hide within the secret realm had been entirely unexpected. Even though the garment was crafted from her very own skin, its prolonged separation from her, combined with the devious interventions of a certain suspicious individual, meant it couldn't simply be reattached seamlessly. Lingering resentment from He He's death long ago prevented the garment from accepting a new owner. Were it not for this, it would have been impossible to strip it from that person's possession. Placing a small spell on her door to alert any approaching visitors—as a safeguard against being interrupted during her integration—He He carefully reinforced the formation that prevented any spiritual energy from leaking out. Finally at ease, she sat cross-legged upon her bed. The crimson robe of a Jade Cangshan elder's disciple that the girl wore began to transform, much like a red butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, revealing its true black-and-gold form. When He He first attempted to merge with it, she had adjusted its size to fit her perfectly. Yet now, it seemed to have grown more generously proportioned again. Her skin had been altered by that thief into a black, gold-embroidered round-collared robe made to fit an adult male. When He He reclaimed it in the bottle's space, she realized that it—a part once of her own being—held foreign elements, making it difficult to completely meld with her current body. Unable to immediately fuse with it, He He established a basic connection at first, converting it back into the semblance of a crimson robe. It was only when she returned to a secure and undisturbed location that she would slowly work towards a complete merger. The girl closed her eyes and concentrated, gathering her internal spiritual power into a vortex that slowly rotated in her chest and belly area. Anyone familiar with her spiritual energy tides, like Xiang Shi Yan or Huai Ye, would have been bewildered. Even a foundation-building cultivator wouldn't possess such a magnitude of spiritual energy; typically, energy refined into a "liquid" state through the golden core would be observed only after the formation of the core. However, He He’s spiritual power, unusually solid, filled her thoracic cavity, animating a living creature within. The slender entity within her slightly twisted, akin to a young snake preparing to hatch, causing the expression on the girl's usually lively face to stiffen. Her body slumped powerlessly onto the bed, moments after sitting upright. The black and gold robe upon her shivered as if alive, then shrank, aligning with He He's body and eerily tunneling under her skin, entwining with the true form beneath. The girl lay dazed upon her bedding, naked, her pale, frail body appearing somewhat morbidly exquisite, almost sickly compared to the average person. The creature in her chest moved, exerting pressure against her visible rib cage, causing her slender chest to expand. Beneath her skin, faint green veins traversed as if something swam beneath unwittingly, which in turn triggered her muscles, emitting strange sounds from her throat. Her alluring eyes opened partially, and she seemed listless. This bizarre and terrifying scene, if witnessed by anyone, would be hard for He He to explain, regardless of her eloquence. The creature in her chest slowly calmed, and the turbulence in her spiritual energy gradually subsided. Under He He's control, her cultivation pace had always been deliberately slow. Yet, influenced by the divine soul that Xiang Shi Yan had placed within her, it had restored to a frightful extent. Without a demon core, she had nowhere to store, release, or filter this spiritual energy, forcing her to compress it within her true form. This became increasingly burdensome, especially after her dragon skin's return. Eventually, she stirred, her finger tips twitching like the resurrected. Her weary eyes opened. He He coughed twice, supporting herself on the edge of the bed, and pulled on robes that miraculously appeared on her skin, concealing her pallescence. Realizing her internal spiritual power had overgrown beyond measure, she sighed, contemplating a trip back to Nine Saddle Peak. She tugged the blanket over herself, letting out a small yawn. The fusion process had severely depleted her mental strength. Though some gaps were filled by Xiang Shi Yan’s divine soul, fatigue lingered—a sensation she hadn't felt in ages... Curled up, He He fell asleep, her fingers clutching the corner of the blanket; her half-hidden face beneath it reflecting tenderness and tranquility befitting her appearance. Apart from the period when Lin Pan Di lived without conscious awakening, He He had seldom truly slept; lying in bed was merely a guise to manage the tidal forces within her body, rather than absorbing spiritual energy. Contrary to certain assumptions, the mighty dragon clan, revered and unrivaled in the world, was exceptionally vulnerable in its infancy. At her hatching, even after nearly a century of nourishment by a pure, attribute-less spiritual power from a cultivator with a heavenly spiritual root at the transformation stage, she was still no more than a clumsy little snake as thick as a woman's jade-like finger. She had wrapped herself around a woman's fingertip countless times, knowing only that this was the entity who fed her. She hadn't yet figured out how the woman transmitted spiritual energy to her. Despite having no fangs, she awkwardly nibbled at this being filled with spiritual power. Those days under the woman's care as a foolish spiritual beast were the most leisurely of her life. Not very clever then, she would tilt her head, calling out "Mother" in their shared consciousness, urging for food. Once sated, she would curl her entire body into a small coil, occupying the woman's palm to rest. The woman would repeatedly declare, "I am not your mother," but He He never heeded her. As her dragon form gradually grew larger with her cultivation, she didn't care for spatial constraints. Unless forcibly demanded, she wouldn't willingly enter a spiritual pet space, cramped with inferior beings. Her master preferred creatures with scales and horns, but He He found no affinity with the cold, distant kin and would often coil around the warm-bodied woman, her claws occasionally tearing her superior spiritual garments, her tail mischievously sneaking into her robes. The blissful ignorance faded as she achieved the golden core stage and formed a human shape. The woman granted her a name, symbolizing "Celebrating Immortal Fate," and they parted ways peacefully. Endless cultivation became her routine, a habit that formed such that she rarely dreamt from that point onward, without noticing its absence. Atop the main peak of the Taixu Sect, encircled by mountains, stood a small courtyard by a waterfall. Though it served as the sect's administrative hub, none of its buildings reached as high as the mountain's midway point, creating a considerable distance to the Zong Zhu's residence at the summit, which disciples could only gaze upon in reverence. Near the waterfall, the Zong Zhu had planted a spiritual pine tree, set at the time she became the sect's leader, or rather the foremost among human cultivators. By now, it had grown into a towering tree, alas, bent outward by the summit's fierce winds, losing much of its charm. He He prepared tea for her. Returning from the demon clan's territory, she had amassed many gains, but the most valuable was the uncommon foods that couldn't be found in human regions. "It seems the demon emperor will soon change again... There has been much shift within the demon clan; I estimate significant upheaval within the next one or two centuries." A dragon at the stage of transcending tribulation poured tea for a human considerably weaker, serving a few exotically shaped treats with deference. To the leader of human cultivators, concerns of demon clan succession mattered less than the cakes sold in a small alley of the demon capital. Sipping tea cultivated with careful precision on snow-laden lands by He He, she picked up a piece of pastry, biting it gently so that crumbs fell onto the table. The woman, like a mortal waking from slumber, chewed her food and lazily yawned with a hint of nasal tone, saying, "If I recall correctly, the Carp Clan should be closely related to you." "And the Black Scale Snake Clan," He He added, "they seem to share a lineage with my kind." The woman examined her closely and remarked, "Indeed, eyes like amber, very similar." "The Black Scale in semblance, the Carp Clan in spirit." "So, the tales of becoming a dragon through the Dragon Gate are true?" "Most likely, but considering the current spiritual energy, transforming into a dragon is... challenging." "No matter how formidable the challenge, someone will accomplish it," the Zong Zhu said, reaching for another piece, but He He swiftly took the platter away. She said flatly, "Mortal delicacies hold no benefits for cultivation." The Zong Zhu did not count on He He handing the snacks back. Her appetite wasn't strong, only tasting what He He offered her. However, one cannot let a spiritual beast behave so presumptuously, thus she had to issue a reprimand, much like she corrected the young dragon countless times to call her by name instead of "mother." The woman sipped tea to moisten her throat and said, "I tasked you with overseeing the Pill Pavilion; you must not abandon your post. Depart at once." However, the spiritual beast had grown, the little dragon that once slept curled around her hand could now, with one swipe of its tail, slice the main peak of Taixu Sect in half. He He refused the command, saying, "I’ve already gone through all the formulas there. I can't be bothered to go again; I've left a puppet to guard it." The woman, knowing He He wouldn’t heed her reasoning, simply said, "The tea is finished; you should leave." He He was displeased. "I stayed in the demon lands for five or six years. I haven't even finished talking, and you're already sending me away as soon as we meet?" "Speak quickly," urged the woman. The girl bit her lip and said, "I still haven’t found the last ingredient... I’m afraid making the elixir will be delayed another few years." The woman, though plagued by affliction, appeared indifferent. "Achieving immortality seems without flavor; if you can’t find it, so be it." He He shook her head, stubbornly insisting, "No, I must find it." Surprisingly, the woman glanced at her calmly and said, "But I'm already dead; what use is it for you to refine an immortal elixir?" He He was startled. Her vision distorted, yet the woman’s figure remained unchanged. She picked up another piece of pastry, cheerfully asking, "Don't you remember?" Suddenly, thick blood splattered onto the lamp imprisoning her soul, causing the faint golden flame trapped within to flicker violently, casting flickering gentle light across the fallen woman’s face. Her vacant eyes reflected the firelight, growing colder, the blood flowing from her body spread across the lamp stand. Yet He He felt a sensation akin to a mother's touch upon her forehead. She opened her eyes in a daze to find Xiang Shi Yan sitting by her bedside. The woman’s expression was serene as she gently wiped away the cold sweat from the girl’s brow, softly asking, "Did you have a nightmare? Why is your body so cold?" Human hands are warm, and the body temperature of a beast from the demon clan is even higher. He He's body was icy; when Xiang Shi Yan’s hand touched her, it felt almost like being scorched, yet she couldn’t help but lean into her hand, thirsting for more warmth. She grabbed Xiang Shi Yan’s wrist, her grip so strong it made her teacher frown, yet she couldn’t break free. How could a child in the Qi Refinement stage possess such strength? That hand, cold like some creature of the night, was unyielding. The owner’s golden eyes blazed, and before the female cultivator could retreat in fear, she was pulled onto the bed. The girl grasped Xiang Shi Yan’s throat, hissing like a serpent, as she whispered dangerously, "Since I first met you, Master, I’ve wanted to know what you taste like." Author's Note: Follow me on Weibo @一只黑熊bearing. Everyone, check this out! The next chapter is locked. Thank you to the sweet angels who recommended my writing, I want to kiss you all bald! Your recommendations mean so much, I'm so overwhelmed with gratitude (but there won't be extra chapters). Thanks to the angels who sent Bawang tickets or watered with nutrient solutions between 2022-04-27 14:29:45~2022-04-25 35:59:33! Thank you to the angel who threw a grenade: 魚某 1; Thank you to the angel who threw a landmine: 瓜皮 1; Thank you to the angels who watered with nutrient solutions: 何必相識 70 bottles; seek 40 bottles; 氷 10 bottles; 中微子 2 bottles; Thank you so much for your support, I will continue to work hard! This site has no pop-up ads, permanent domain (xbanxia.com)