Yun Ze didn't stop just because Gu Yuena went silent. He continued:
"The second point is the soul mark inside his body."
"I can't yet give an accurate judgment on how strong this soul mark's power really is. All I know is that it's below god-level, so Di Tian should be able to handle it."
"But the battle mustn't happen here. If it's triggered now, the fight could very well turn the Dragon Phoenix Hall into rubble."
"As for the third point…" Yun Ze's voice faltered slightly here. A trace of doubt appeared on his face as he subconsciously looked upward.
"What's with the third point?" It was the first time Gu Yuena had seen Yun Ze look confused. Instantly, she grew nervous.
"The third point is actually just an intuition of mine. When extracting the Golden Dragon King's bloodline, we may attract some other trouble. What kind of trouble exactly, I can't say for now," Yun Ze explained.
His current cultivation and spiritual power were both weak. Many of his methods couldn't be used, and he couldn't deduce from this vague premonition what might come.
"Can we handle it?" Gu Yuena asked anxiously.
"This premonition isn't strong, which means it's nothing unsolvable. Prepare a bit more, and we'll be able to deal with it," Yun Ze said.
Gu Yuena let out a long breath. "That's good."
"For the first point, do you have any good solution?" Gu Yuena looked at Yun Ze expectantly, an unexplainable dependence in her eyes.
Yun Ze had already formed a plan in his heart, and naturally replied:
"You just mustn't forcibly devour the Golden Dragon King's bloodline through your own bloodline power."
"Don't be fooled by how the Divine Core has already fused with Tang Wulin's bloodline — it's not impossible to separate it."
"You and the Golden Dragon King share the same origin. If you forcibly draw it out with your bloodline, there's a high chance the Divine Core will riot and detach from this body."
"That seal was constructed based on this body. If the core leaves, the seal will also break, and all the Divine Core's energy will erupt at once."
"At that time, you won't be devouring him — he'll be devouring you."
The seal's purpose was to restrain the Divine Core's energy, not to tighten its fusion with Tang Wulin's bloodline. That also meant the Divine Core could still leave.
Normally, it wouldn't leave on its own, but if it encountered the Silver Dragon King's bloodline, that was a different matter.
Between seizing Tang Wulin and devouring the Silver Dragon King to complete its own bloodline, the latter was obviously more tempting.
Gu Yuena looked thoughtful, but still asked timidly: "If I don't forcibly absorb it… then how do I absorb it?"
A bit embarrassed, even shy — in front of Yun Ze, she felt stupid, completely out of ideas.
Yun Ze noticed her embarrassment, smiled, and comforted her:
"The method I have in mind uses formation techniques. It's normal you didn't think of it."
"I'll construct a formation that extracts the essence leaking out of his Divine Core. When the essence is drawn out, you can directly absorb that extracted essence."
"Without your bloodline triggering it, this forced extraction method won't provoke the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core into rioting, so we don't have to worry about the seal breaking."
"In addition to the bloodline-extraction formation, I'll also build a formation to partially remove the seal, to release the Golden Dragon King's essence in advance."
"There are eighteen layers of seal in his body. The first three are already broken. I plan to help him break seven more layers and extract all the energy from those seven."
"As for the remaining eight layers — those involve the remnant soul, which would greatly increase the difficulty of absorption. My suggestion is to leave those alone for now."
"Later, I'll teach you a Soul-Devouring Heart Technique. Once you've cultivated it to the first level, you can then consider absorbing the Golden Dragon King's essence that contains remnants of his soul."
"At that time, the Golden Dragon King's spiritual power that's erased will instead become nourishment for your own soul, boosting your spiritual power — maximizing the benefit from the Golden Dragon King's essence."
"You're so good to me," Gu Yuena said, moved, gazing at Yun Ze with tenderness.
He wasn't just helping her figure out a solution — he was even going to teach her a precious cultivation method. These gestures warmed her heart, even made it sweet.
Yun Ze ignored the look in Gu Yuena's eyes, smiling faintly and shaking his head.
"Don't look so touched — or I'll feel like I'm tricking some naïve young girl."
"Helping you is also helping myself. I'm not interested in the Golden Dragon King's bloodline, but I do want some of its energy — I can use it to improve my cultivation."
"No problem. Take as much of that energy as you want. I only need its origin bloodline," Gu Yuena replied without hesitation.
At the same time, she thought to herself: I'm not some naïve young girl at all.
The essence energy would also help her greatly, but if Yun Ze wanted it, she would never be stingy.
Di Tian seemed like he wanted to say something but ultimately just shook his head helplessly. The Lord really is…
"Just think of it as payment to the young master," Di Tian consoled himself.
"After all, without him, the Lord probably wouldn't even be able to absorb the Golden Dragon King's essence."
Yun Ze looked up and saw Gu Yuena's serious expression. He said nothing more, but changed the topic:
"We'll do the bloodline extraction by that mountain we usually go to. Let's set it for five days from now. In the meantime, I'll need to carve some formations there."
"Di Tian, you'll come with me then. I'll need your help to complete the formations."
"No problem," Di Tian said.
Yun Ze and Gu Yuena went downstairs to rest, while Di Tian stayed in the workshop to keep watch.
The Golden Dragon King's bloodline inside Tang Wulin was of utmost importance — there could be no mistakes. That's why Di Tian had taken the initiative to guard it, ensuring no accidents occurred.
At dawn, Yun Ze called Xu Lin via soul-guide phone, saying he wouldn't be coming to the academy for the next few days.
If he didn't call, Xu Lin and the four council members might go to the fifth-floor library as usual, which would be a wasted trip.
Xu Lin assumed Yun Ze simply wanted to avoid the media and lay low for a few days, and readily agreed without thinking too much.
That morning, Yun Ze and Di Tian went to the area outside the mountain where they had previously refined pills. They found a wide stretch of ground and began carving formations.
He needed to carve three formations in total. Each one would be infused with his own blood, and Di Tian would pour all his energy into them multiple times.
While Yun Ze was busy carving formations, the Mingdu branch of the Tang Sect was frantically searching for Tang Wulin's whereabouts.
"Reporting to the Hall Master, we've searched everywhere — no sign of Tang Wulin. The surveillance footage doesn't show him leaving his room, either," a Tang Sect steward reported to Hu Song.
"How could he just vanish…" Beside Hu Song, Wu Zhangkong's emotions ran high, his face filled with anxious urgency.
Hu Song raised his hand to calm Wu Zhangkong, then looked at the steward and instructed:
"Immediately pull the surveillance from all the streets near the Tang Sect. Go through it carefully, leave no detail unchecked. You must find Tang Wulin's trail for me."
"Also, take the surveillance from yesterday, extract Tang Wulin's photo, print multiple copies, and have people take them around to ask if anyone saw him."
"Yes," the steward bowed, then left the main hall in haste.
(End of Chapter)