Chapter 88: Beast Taming "Vine Guard", dragon kings crown
Inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well valley, time flowed quietly like spring water. Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, the dense seven-colored mist still lingered, and the exotic flowers and rare herbs became even more lush under Ye Zhilan's meticulous care. Deep within the spring at the center of the valley, an obscure yet majestic fluctuation of dragon force was gradually reaching Perfection.
On this day, Yu Yuanchen sat cross-legged beside the spring, his eyes slightly closed, the thunder light around him withdrawn, and his Aura as heavy as an abyss. Above his head, the nine originally separated dark purple Soul Bone fragments—the nine crowns of the true dragon—had now almost completely merged. The cracks had vanished without a trace, and their entire bodies flowed with a warm and deep purple-gold luster, emitting a complete and harmonious ancient dragon prestige. They rose and fell slightly as if they were alive, as if a dragon heart that had slept for ages was about to awaken.
"Buzz—"
A low but Soul-shaking dragon roar sounded from the void, not originating from the outside World, but from within the crown that was about to be completely formed! The Origin Qi of the entire valley trembled, and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well rippled slightly. At the final junction of the nine fragments, the last trace of subtle flaw completely dissolved under the continuous nourishment of the God King's dragon force. A perfect and flawless dragon-shaped pattern emerged from the center of the crown, and then burst forth with brilliant light!
"Clang!"
Like the clashing of divine gold, or the harmony of Law! A complete, majestic, deep dark purple-gold, ancient-styled head soul bone—the dragon kings crown—shaped like a crouching dragon head with a purple crystal that seemed to contain a thunderous Universe embedded in its center, was completely formed! It floated quietly above Yu Yuanchen's head, emitting a divine majesty that transcended the mundane, its light reflecting Yu Yuanchen's face like a Divinity.
At the very moment the dragon kings crown was completely formed, Yu Yuanchen snapped his eyes open, and the purple-gold electric light in his eyes surged, reflecting the crystal at the core of the Soul Bone. Without any hesitation, with a thought, the dragon kings crown turned into a stream of light and instantly vanished into his forehead!
"Boom—!"
Yu Yuanchen felt his Sea of Consciousness shake violently, as if the World were being created! A vast and boundless, extremely pure Origin power of the thunder dragon Soul, mixed with the fragmented memories and Law insights of the ancient Thunder Dragon King, poured into his Spiritual World like a bursting flood, washing over his Soul!
However, unlike the Soul backlash an ordinary Soul Master might encounter when absorbing a high-Rank Soul Bone, although this power was majestic, it shared the same Origin as his Thunder Saint Dragon Bloodline and thunder god mark. Furthermore, a deep-level connection had already been established during the restoration process. Although the absorption process was grand, it was not very dangerous; instead, it had a smooth feeling of things falling into place, like a Soul returning to its master.
The energy of the dragon kings crown was not used to raise his Soul Power Rank, but was entirely used to fully activate the divine effects of the Soul Bone itself, as well as the deepest level of Soul and Bloodline resonance. Yu Yuanchen kept his mind steady, guiding this power to merge perfectly with himself.
What appeared first was the Soul Bone's most basic and important ability—a massive increase and qualitative change in Spiritual Power! His sea of Martial Soul expanded and solidified at an unprecedented speed, his Spiritual Power became increasingly pure and condensed, his perception range skyrocketed, and his insight into the energy of heaven and earth became meticulous, even allowing him to vaguely sense a trace of Law trajectories straying in the Void Realm. Past vague thoughts about the use of Soul skills and energy control became instantly clear, and various realizations flooded his mind.
Next, information on the two core abilities inherent to the Soul Bone clearly surfaced in his mind:
Dragon Soul Awakening · Sublimation: It was no longer a simple simulation of a dragon Soul, but could, in a short time, trigger the Thunder Dragon King Origin contained within the dragon kings crown, causing his Thunder Sacred Dragon Martial Soul to undergo an essential leap, temporarily rising to the level of a true "Thunder Dragon King"!
In this state, his control over lightning, the power of his Martial Soul True Body, and the strength of all thunder-attribute Soul skills would receive an unimaginably terrifying boost! This was no longer a simple assist, but nearly an Incarnation of the Dragon King, executing punishment on behalf of heaven!
Soul Bone Ability · Dragon King's Protection: A powerful defensive Soul skills evolved from the proud dragon Soul of the Thunder Dragon King and the characteristics of the Soul Bone itself. It forms an invisible dragon Soul barrier to guard the Sea of Consciousness, granting immunity to all Spiritual attacks, illusions, Soul erosion, and pressure impacts below the Divine Rank. Even when facing a true Divine Rank Spiritual attack, it can weaken its power by eighty percent! This ability does not need to be actively triggered; it is permanently active, making it an absolute barrier in the Soul Domain!
In addition to these two core abilities, the original effects of the nine crowns of the true dragon, such as increasing the Soul Ring years (now solidified and requiring no active activation) and the basic effect of enhancing Spiritual Power, still existed, and the effects were even better because the Soul Bone was complete.
"Hah—" After a long time, Yu Yuanchen exhaled a long breath of turbid Qi, which actually contained fine arcs of lightning. He slowly opened his eyes, the divine light within them restrained but even deeper, as if they could pierce through the Void Realm.
With a slight thought, a faint thunder god mark flashed across his forehead before vanishing. By successfully absorbing the dragon kings crown, his comprehensive strength, especially his survival ability and potential, had reached another massive level!
"Looking across the Continent, apart from that Angelic High Priest of Spirit Hall, I'm afraid no one else can be my opponent." Yu Yuanchen's heart was filled with grand ambition. "As for the High Priest of Spirit Hall, he's just a God Servant forcibly pushed to the Limit through a divine trial. Give me a few more years, and he will definitely not be my match."
However, what Yu Yuanchen did not notice was that a flash of arrogance belonging to a true Dragon inadvertently flickered in his eyes.
"Brother Yuanchen, did you succeed?" Ye Zhilan, who had been guarding by his side, felt the heart-palpitating dragon prestige gradually subside and stepped forward with concern. Half a year had passed, and her Aura had also become more condensed and profound, reaching the Peak of Rank seventy-four, with her body full of Life energy.
"Yes, the dragon kings crown is complete." Yu Yuanchen smiled slightly, feeling the steadiness and power brought by that crown deep in his Soul, his heart filled with peace and confidence.
He turned his gaze to Ye Zhilan and noticed that the dark red Star Devouring Vine "Star Devourer" by her side seemed to have changed again. "How is the cultivation of your Vine Guard?" As early as three months ago, Ye Zhilan had told him about the changes in the Star Devouring Vine.
Mentioning this, a joyful smile blossomed on Ye Zhilan's face: "I was just about to tell Brother Yuanchen, Star Devourer has changed a lot!" With a thought, that ten-thousand-year Star Devouring Vine, like the most loyal guard, wound its way over and affectionately rubbed against her palm.
Now, the body of Star Devourer was no longer just dark red, but faintly revealed a pure white luster similar to Ye Zhilan's Sacred Heart Immortal Tang Martial Soul. Its Aura was more restrained, yet it exuded a vibrant vitality.
"In the past half year, I have been continuously nourishing it with my Soul Power and the original Aura of the Sacred Heart Immortal Begonia, and I found that it has been completely assimilated by my Martial Soul, becoming something like a 'Natal Vine Guard'." Ye Zhilan explained in detail.
"It is now connected to my heart and mind, and I can command it as easily as my own arm. What's even more miraculous is that its cultivation seems to be tied to my Realm. After I promoted to Soul Saint, its cultivation also rose, breaking through to around twenty thousand years, but it seems to have reached a Bottleneck and its growth has slowed down. Moreover, its cultivation always maintains a Soul Beast age corresponding to my Soul Power Rank, and it is always exactly one major Realm lower than me."
Yu Yuanchen sensed carefully, and it was indeed so. According to the general correspondence between Soul Beast years and Soul Master Ranks on the Douluo Continent (hundred-year Soul Beast corresponds to Great Soul Master, thousand-year corresponds to Soul Elder and Spirit Ancestor, ten-thousand-year corresponds to Soul King to Soul Douluo, and hundred-thousand-year corresponds to Titled Douluo), Ye Zhilan is now a Rank seventy-four Soul Saint, which corresponds to a Soul Beast age of about thirty thousand to fifty thousand years. And Star Devourer's twenty-thousand-year cultivation exactly corresponds to the Soul Emperor level, which is precisely one major Realm lower than Ye Zhilan.
"Not only that," Ye Zhilan's eyes flashed with excitement, "I feel that as the assimilation deepens, Star Devourer has almost become a part of my Martial Soul. I seem to be able to pull it into my body and summon it for battle when needed, just like... like a sub-Martial Soul that cannot add new Soul Rings but possesses physical attack characteristics! And theoretically, as long as my cultivation improves, its strength will also grow, always maintaining a state of being one major Realm lower than me!"
Hearing this, Yu Yuanchen's eyes showed amazement: "Martial Soul assimilation, companion growth! Zhilan, you have created an unprecedented ability! This is almost the prototype of a new path of Cultivation! If researched deeply, perhaps a new path can truly be forged that uses plant-type Soul Beasts without harming their Foundation!" He thought of certain Beast Taming concepts from anime and novels in his past Life's memories and felt that Ye Zhilan's move was of great significance.
Ye Zhilan was a bit embarrassed by his words: "I also just stumbled upon it, mainly because you helped me subdue it, Brother Yuanchen, plus the environment here and the power of the Immortal Herb. However, this has indeed given me a lot of inspiration. Perhaps in the future, I can truly organize a set of methods."
The two smiled at each other, both sincerely happy for each other's gains. During this half year, while Yu Yuanchen was repairing the dragon kings crown, his cultivation also steadily improved, successfully breaking through to Rank ninety-four, his strength becoming increasingly unfathomable. Ye Zhilan also progressed rapidly, reaching the Peak of Rank seventy-four, her mastery over her Martial Soul and Vine Guard reaching a Transcendent state.
Now, the greatest goal had been achieved, and the strength improvement was temporarily paused. Yu Yuanchen looked at this valley where they had lived for nearly a year, his gaze sweeping over those vibrant Immortal Herbs, and said, "Zhilan, although this place is good, it is not a place to stay forever. Sect affairs and the Continental situation still need us to return and deal with them. It's time to leave."
Ye Zhilan nodded. Although there was a hint of nostalgia for this Holy Land of Cultivate in her eyes, there was more expectation for the future: "Yes, we have been out for a long time; it is time to go back. Grandfather and Father must be worried."
Since they had decided to leave, they needed to make preparations. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was full of treasures, so naturally, they couldn't return empty-handed. The two began to carefully identify and harvest those Immortal Herbs that would be extremely useful to the Sect.
They did not greedily scrape up all the Immortal Herbs but selectively gathered some medicinal herbs that would be of great benefit to the Sect elders and relatives and were easy to store and carry, such as the "Dragon Zoysia Leaf" for solidifying the Foundation and the "Soul Nourishing Lotus" for nourishing the divine soul, carefully packaging them. Of course, the highlights were naturally immortal grade herbs such as "Nine Grade Dragon Zoysia" and "Earth Dragon Golden Melon".
As for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well itself, this heaven-made cornucopia, they decided to let it remain here; perhaps in the future, destined Disciples of the Sect could come here for training.
Ye Zhilan, besides taking some nourishing Immortal Herbs for her family, focused more on those treasures with mild medicinal properties that could heal wounds, extend Life, and detoxify, such as the "Fragrant Silk Tulip" (only taking petals and pollen, without harming its original Foundation), which were crucial for the supplement of the Ye family's medical skills and even the potential establishment of a medical system in the future.
She was very measured when harvesting, only taking mature plants or parts of branches, leaves, and petals for each type of Immortal Herb, never harming their roots, to ensure the Life force here would not be cut off.
They used special jade boxes and gold vessels to hold these Immortal Herbs to lock in their spirituality. Soon, several storage soul tools were packed to the brim. Bringing these Immortal Herbs back to the Sect would be enough to raise the overall strength of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and the Ye family by another level, making it an astounding gift.
Everything was packed and ready. The two stood at the valley entrance, looking back one last time at this miraculous place that had brought about another transformation for them. The spring water was still a Fusion of ice and fire, the mist was dense, and the exotic flowers and rare herbs grew quietly, as if they had never arrived, and yet as if everything had long been destined.
"Let's go." Yu Yuanchen took Ye Zhilan's hand, his tone calm and firm.
Ye Zhilan smiled slightly and pulled the Vine Guard Star Devourer, which had shrunk in size and become like an exquisite bracelet, into her sleeve, standing side by side with Yu Yuanchen.
The next moment, the two moved, turning into two streams of light, one purple and one blue, soaring into the sky, passing over the Sunset Forest, and speeding towards the south in the direction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
Behind them, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well gradually faded into the mountains and clouds. Ahead was a broader sky and new chapters waiting for them to write.
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