Chaos alone could describe the scene before them. The roars of beasts shook the heavens, the mountain forest trembled,落叶 flew in all directions, and hundreds of animals fled in panic. If Yan Qingcheng and the others had known that Xiao Chen was the instigator, they would have sworn to tear him to pieces. But now, all of them were trapped in the danger,狼狈 and desperate.
The opposite slope was a scene of utter disorder, while the ancient forest behind the valley remained relatively calm. Xiao Chen ordered the three skeletons to escape with the dragon eggs while he stayed behind to cover their retreat.
Yama King, Qin Guang King, and Reincarnation King each clutched a dragon egg and fled swiftly toward the Death Swamp. Seeing no further anomalies around him, Xiao Chen also withdrew quickly. Whether the Snake-Elephant Dragon would kill Yan Qingcheng and the others was no longer his concern. The most important thing was to leave this chaotic forest—after all, he was the root cause.
For Yan Qingcheng and Rand, this day had been one of unparalleled fury and frustration. But for Xiao Chen, at this moment, it was a day of pure clarity and boundless satisfaction. This was his indirect answer to Yan Qingcheng and Rand.
By the time he returned to the Death Swamp, the evening glow lingered on the western horizon. Great banks of fiery clouds dyed the sky red, and the day was already growing late.
He had chosen the Death Swamp as his temporary dwelling mainly because an Immortal King who rarely stirred resided here, deterring ferocious beasts from approaching. Moreover, the three skeletons were familiar with this terrain. If danger arose, it served as an excellent buffer zone.
The three skeletons had already returned. The three gleaming emerald jade eggs were tossed carelessly onto the muddy ground, and the skeletons actually sat on them as if they were stools. How... distinctive.
Contrary to Xiao Chen's expectations, the great tree where the sacred sapling had taken root had not withered. Its branches and leaves were even more verdant and emerald, as if faint green light flickered around them. The surrounding air was thick with spiritual energy, turning the nearby Death Swamp vibrant and full of life.
Xiao Chen understood at once. The Little Saint Tree was not fearsome; it did not simply drain the life force of the great tree. Instead, both benefited together. With the sapling present, the great tree could absorb the primal essence of heaven and earth much faster than before.
Last time, when the ancient tree had withered, it was likely because of him and the three skeletons. The four of them had drawn too much energy, and demand had outstripped supply, causing the tree to decline.
Reincarnation King and the other two sat on the dragon eggs, their soul-flames flickering in their eye sockets as they stared expectantly at the small tree wreathed in rainbow light. Xiao Chen exerted considerable effort to persuade them to take turns approaching the sapling, warning them not to drain the well dry.
The three dragon eggs shimmered with green radiance. This was a tremendous harvest!
The evening glow faded. Xiao Chen and the three skeletons moved to the forest edge of the swamp. Qin Guang King and the others were unfazed by the miasma of corpses, but Xiao Chen could not endure it for long.
The sacred tree, wrapped in multicolored light, and the dragon eggs, gleaming with emerald brilliance, complemented each other. The forest air was thick with spiritual energy, flowing like ripples of water.
The three skeletons could absorb the power of crystal stones and the pure energy emanating from the Little Saint Tree, but they could not absorb the quintessence of the dragon eggs. The vast life essence within the eggs required further refinement before it could be transformed into energy they could use.
Yama King and the others had rendered great service. Xiao Chen allowed them to take turns drawing energy from the Little Saint Tree, giving the sacred sapling enough strength to absorb and refine the essence of heaven and earth. He hoped the Little Saint Tree would continue to grow.
Furthermore, Xiao Chen gave the three skeletons all the dozen or so top-grade crystal stones he had collected. The undead creatures were so excited they performed several backflips in a row. The longer Xiao Chen spent with them, the more he realized they were not at all deathly and somber—on the contrary, they were exceptionally lively.
At night, auspicious light coiled through the forest. Xiao Chen broke open one of the dragon eggs. A surge of vast life essence burst forth, taking the form of a miniature Snake-Elephant Dragon. It brandished its claws and charged at him. He quickly sealed it with his true essence and then absorbed it into his body.
Having done this before, this time was less painful than the first. He focused all his effort on refining the ferocious dragon's life essence while guiding the torrential primal energy through his meridians.
A single dragon egg seemed not too large, but the life essence it contained was immense—after all, it was meant to grow into a ferocious dragon. Boundless green divine light enveloped Xiao Chen, like blazing sacred flames dancing around him. The life force within him pulsed violently. From a distance, he looked like a divine fire burning fiercely.
The three skeletons watched him with some surprise. In their vision, they could vaguely see a Snake-Elephant Dragon wreathed in green divine light coiled around Xiao Chen, its claws outstretched as it viciously devoured the flowing life essence.
But as time passed, the phantom of the Snake-Elephant Dragon gradually faded. Xiao Chen's skin began to shimmer with a crystalline, jewel-like luster. The "presence" he radiated seemed to have grown much stronger.
By midnight, the blazing sacred flames dancing around Xiao Chen had all retracted into his body. His gaze had become even sharper.
As expected, the vast dragon quintessence did not merge into the true essence he had cultivated. Instead, it all gathered into the Zhongting acupoint, forming a brilliant point of light. Another acupoint was on the verge of being deified!
The Zhongting acupoint is located in the chest, at the lowest point of the sternum's central axis. At this moment, within the Zhongting acupoint, a tiny particle of light shone brightly, but it had not yet been fully deified.
A Snake-Elephant Dragon could not rival an Eight-Armed Malignant Dragon, and the life essence contained in its eggs could not compare to that of a Malignant Dragon's egg either—the hierarchy among ferocious dragons was clearly perceptible. However, two dragon eggs still remained. Xiao Chen was confident that today he could fully deify the Zhongting acupoint.
Today, after the vast dragon quintessence had condensed into the acupoint, he felt something different. It seemed that his own life force had grown noticeably stronger, an indescribable fullness of vitality.
Without further thought, Xiao Chen broke open the second dragon egg. Brilliant life light once again swirled through the forest. A mass of blazing sacred flames wrapped around him.
The three skeletons had already lost their curiosity. They focused on absorbing the energy of the crystal stones. The power of the soul-flames shattered the dozen top-grade crystals, turning them into streams of colorful light that slowly fused into their entire skeleton frames, then entered their soul-flames. Their soul-flames gradually grew stronger, and their bones gained a bit more luster...
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