176: Dragon Heart Grass

Looking at the robust figure in the water, it had completely shed the form of an ordinary fish. As it raised its head and swung its tail, the Dragon prestige became apparent; it was a dragon in name and reality.

Although its form had changed drastically, in the final analysis, it was still a "fish."

Dragon-type creatures can be roughly divided into several major levels based on the concentration of True Dragon Bloodline within their bodies.

First is the lowest level, the dragon blood creatures. They contain a trace of True Dragon Bloodline within their bodies, with their original Bloodline being dominant.

Their forms have not changed much, possessing only a tiny bit of Dragon characteristics.

For example, the Dragon Carp, dragon blood python, and the like.

Moving up, the concentration of dragon blood increases, and the original Bloodline weakens.

Such creatures have taken the first step toward evolving into a True Dragon, with their bodies becoming similar to a Dragon and developing more typical Dragon characteristics.

They possess both Dragon horns and Dragon claws.

This type of creature is called a Jiao, also known as a Jiao dragon.

At this point, the creature has completely cast off the shackles of its original Bloodline and has become a brand-new species.

For example, the Dragon Carp, if it evolves into a Jiao dragon, will completely shed its fish form and no longer rely on an aquatic environment, allowing it to breed and thrive on land.

As the Jiao dragon's Bloodline continuously strengthens, once it grows two horns on its head and four claws on its abdomen, it becomes a Horned Dragon.

At this time, its appearance is almost indistinguishable from a True Dragon.

However, it is still a hair's breadth away from the True Dragon Bloodline.

In general, there are four levels for a creature to evolve into a True Dragon.

dragon blood creatures, Jiao dragons, Horned Dragons, and True Dragons.

Of course, these are just the broad levels.

In reality, there are also significant differences between each major level.

For example, a Dragon Carp that has broken through its shackles once has still not touched the level of a Jiao dragon.

Even if it evolves into a Jiao dragon one day, it probably won't be as good as the one in the True Dragons Lair.

The Jiao dragon in the True Dragons Lair actually had a quite strong Bloodline.

It just hadn't grown up yet, and in the end, Lin Yan picked up a bargain.

...

In the following days, Dragon Carps in the pond successively evolved into Dragon Carp Kings.

Lin Yan naturally did not forget his original intention.

Raising Dragon Carps was solely to cultivate Dragon Marrow Grass, after all.

Lin Yan stood by the pond.

He tapped his fingertip, and a wisp of Spiritual Qi probed into the water, precisely locking onto a Dragon Carp King that was nearly two meters long and entirely red-gold in color.

"Dragon Carp King, assist me this once."

As his mind stirred, threads of Spiritual Qi coiled around this Dragon Carp King like vines.

The Dragon Carp King seemed to sense something, its golden Dragon eyes meeting Lin Yan's gaze as it struggled violently.

"I treat you as my meal ticket, yet you covet my body?"

Its internal Yuan Qi erupted, and the Dragon Carp King whipped up streams of water arrows, shooting them toward Lin Yan.

Although it could not yet be called Dragon Yuan, after all, it had some True Dragon Bloodline within its body, so the Dragon Carp King's Yuan Qi possessed some Dragon Qi.

If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it would be quite troublesome.

But who was Lin Yan? His combat power had long since reached the Purple Mansion Realm.

Dealing with this second-order Dragon Carp King was still a piece of cake.

He wrapped the Dragon Carp King up like a zongzi, making it unable to move an inch.

Lin Yan flipped his right hand, and a crystal-clear blood-colored jade bottle appeared in his palm.

It was precisely the bottle used to hold the Dragon Carp Essence Blood.

With a thought, he applied his massive Spiritual Qi to the Dragon Carp King.

"Hum..."

The Spiritual Qi circulated, rapidly extracting the Essence Blood from within the Dragon Carp King's body.

The Essence Blood was more abundant and purer than that of ordinary Dragon Carps.

The droplets of blood radiated golden blood Qi, faintly transforming into a tiny golden Dragon phantom that spiraled in the air, emitting a domineering Dragon prestige.

"This True Dragon Bloodline... is indeed extraordinary."

Lin Yan's eyes narrowed, and he quickly used his Spiritual Qi as a guide to collect this Essence Blood into the bottle.

Having lost its Essence Blood, the Dragon Carp King's aura immediately withered, and it was on the verge of dying in the blink of an eye.

"This is high-quality food, better put it away."

Subsequently, he slaughtered a few more Dragon Carp Kings and extracted their Essence Blood.

He turned and headed straight for the spirit field, where several stalks of Dragon Marrow Grass, entirely crimson with pale white veins, were growing quietly.

He crouched down and lifted his hand to tilt the jade bottle.

"Go."

With the bottle opening aimed at the roots of the Dragon Marrow Grass, drops of gold-red intertwined Essence Blood dripped down, silently sinking into the soil.

Lin Yan could clearly perceive that in the soil, the drops of Essence Blood seemed to come alive, transforming into countless tiny golden threads that frantically bored into the root system of the Dragon Marrow Grass and spread rapidly along the stems.

The leaves of the Dragon Marrow Grass trembled violently, and their originally crimson luster was quickly stained with a faint layer of gold.

The next day, the Dragon Marrow Grass indeed showed changes.

【spirit plant name: Dragon Marrow Grass】

【growth progress: 6376 / 10000】

【mutation progress: 6%】

【spirit plant characteristics: Contains the power of Water-element Dragon Marrow; refining it can improve the Water Spiritual Root】

【Growth status: Absorbed dragon blood, experience + 10】

...

The effect of the Dragon Carp King's Essence Blood was immediate.

The things that followed were much simpler; every day, Lin Yan continuously catalyzed this mutated Dragon Marrow Grass.

Its mutation progress increased rapidly.

Ten days later, the Dragon Marrow Grass welcomed a transformation under Lin Yan's catalysis.

"Crack, crack..."

Tiny cracking sounds emanated from within the plant, as if something was growing and transforming rapidly.

Tiny golden Dragon scale patterns appeared on the edges of the leaves, and the veins became increasingly thick and clear; the entire plant seemed to "come alive" at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A flash of light appeared in Lin Yan's eyes. He immediately performed a hand seal, drawing in all the Spiritual Qi within a radius of several zhang and pouring it frantically into the body of the Dragon Marrow Grass.

"Condense!"

He let out a low shout. The massive Dragon Qi within the Essence Blood and the Spiritual Qi converged within the plant, faintly forming a miniature Dragon-shaped phantom. After circling through the veins of the leaves, it finally sank into the roots and disappeared.

"Ssh..."

With a soft sound, the top of the Dragon Marrow Grass suddenly split open, and a crystal-clear, jade-like fruit grew out.

This fruit was not large, looking very delicate. Its entire body was warm and moist, and its surface was covered with a layer of fine golden Dragon scales. Looking closely, every scale pattern seemed to contain ancient Dragon-shaped runes.

At the same time, a powerful feedback surged into Lin Yan's body.

This power seemed to possess life, instantly merging into the dragon blood dormant deep within his Bloodline.

Deep within his Bloodline, a low Dragon roar resounded, as if a sleeping True Dragon had been awakened.

"Boom..."

Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness seemed to be illuminated. He "saw" his river of Bloodline surging, the originally faint golden Dragon shadow gradually solidifying, with the outlines of its Dragon scales, Dragon claws, and Dragon eyes becoming increasingly clear.

"The True Dragon Bloodline... is undergoing a transformation."

He muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

As the True Dragon Bloodline grew stronger, his Sword Bone was also activated, becoming more brilliant and dazzling, releasing greater power.

The Innate Sword Qi within it was so sharp that it seemed capable of cutting through the Void Realm.

Lin Yan estimated that with this Innate Sword Qi alone, he could defeat a Prodigy!

Looking at the mutated Dragon Marrow Grass again.

【spirit plant name: dragon heart grass】

【growth progress: 7331 / 100000】

【spirit plant characteristics: It seems to have bred a True Dragon heart!】

【Growth status: None】

...

"dragon heart grass?"

Lin Yan looked at the spirit plant before him with curiosity.

The biggest difference between it and the Dragon Marrow Grass appeared to be the small fruit that had grown on the top.

Looking at the spirit plant characteristics, he was a bit confused.

"Bred a True Dragon heart? What is the use of that?"

It didn't seem as useful as the previous Dragon Marrow Grass.

"Is this fruit the True Dragon heart?" Lin Yan curiously extended his fingertip slowly and gently touched the fruit.