410: Chapter 411 Seven-Star Bass King!

"Thump!"

The Seven-Star Bass's body shuddered violently.

Unlike the frenzied struggle of the Blood-Rich Bass just moments ago, the Seven-Star Bass's reaction was more restrained.

Its body arched slightly, and the seven silvery-white spots on its spine suddenly lit up with a faint glow, like seven small lamps ignited in the darkness.

It did not struggle frantically; it merely hovered quietly in the water, its body trembling slightly, as if undergoing some invisible baptism.

Ye Changge's gaze was fixed intently upon it, not daring to relax for even a moment.

However—

After about a dozen breaths of time, the Seven-Star Bass's trembling suddenly intensified.

Its body arched sharply, its fish mouth wide open as if in a silent roar, and its tail fin thrashed wildly against the walls of the bucket, splashing water everywhere.

The seven silvery-white spots flickered rapidly, dimming and brightening like a candle in the wind.

Immediately after, the scales of the Seven-Star Bass began to lose their luster, and its flesh shriveled and shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the end, it floated stiffly on the water's surface, motionless.

It was exactly the same as the Blood-Rich Bass from earlier.

Ye Changge's brows knit tightly together. He reached out, fished the Seven-Star Bass out, and examined it carefully for a moment.

"Is the Seven-Star Bass also not enough..."

He shook his head, feeling somewhat disappointed.

He had originally thought that since the Seven-Star Bass had a higher concentration of dragon blood, it might be able to withstand the impact of the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse.

Unexpectedly, the result was no different from that of the Blood-Rich Bass.

"It seems relying on ordinary First-Stage spirit fish to cultivate Dao Soldiers is indeed not very realistic."

Ye Changge sighed softly and was just about to toss the Seven-Star Bass aside.

However, at the very moment he retracted the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse—

"Hmm?"

His movements paused slightly.

Within his Divine Sense, as the dark blue phantom of the Flood Dragon was slowly withdrawn from the Seven-Star Bass's body, it seemed to have brought something out with it.

A wisp of extremely faint, nearly transparent golden aura was clinging to the tail of the Flood Dragon phantom, being drawn out along with its retraction.

Ye Changge's heart stirred. He hurriedly and carefully separated that wisp of golden aura, condensing it at his fingertip.

The aura was only as thick as a strand of hair and about an inch long. Its entire body emitted a faint golden luster, like the morning sun rising at dawn, warm and soft.

Although extremely thin, it faintly exuded an imperceptible pressure, as if containing some kind of ancient and noble Bloodline Power.

"This is..."

Ye Changge concentrated and looked closely, while the complete Legacy memories regarding the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse quickly surfaced in his mind.

A moment later, a flash of pleasant surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Rising Dragon Qi?!"

He recognized this item.

According to the records in the Legacy, the cultivation process for Black Water Flood Dragon Dao Soldiers was extremely complex; the first step, "Leaping the Dragon Gate," was merely the most basic threshold.

Even if a Yao Beast successfully fused with the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse, it would still require subsequent nourishment and cultivation with various Medicinal Pills to truly transform into a Dao Soldier.

And among these Medicinal Pills, one crucial ingredient was "Rising Dragon Qi."

Rising Dragon Qi was a wisp of Origin aura naturally condensed within the bodies of Yao Beasts that contained Bloodline Power of a Dragon; the more concentrated the dragon blood in the Yao Beast, the more abundant the Rising Dragon Qi within its body.

And this Rising Dragon Qi was the core material for refining the "Rising Dragon Pill."

The function of the Rising Dragon Pill was, during the Middle Stage of Dao Soldier cultivation, to help the Yao Beast that had fused with the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse further stimulate its internal dragon blood potential, strengthen its Physical Body, and stabilize the spell Seal, laying a Foundation for the subsequent "Flood Dragon Transformation."

"So that's how it is..."

Ye Changge muttered to himself, his gaze falling on the wisp of golden aura hovering at his fingertip, his thoughts racing.

"Although the Seven-Star Bass failed to survive the 'Leaping the Dragon Gate' stage, its body did indeed contain a wisp of Rising Dragon Qi."

"This shows that the dragon blood concentration within the Seven-Star Bass is much stronger than that of the Blood-Rich Bass."

He carefully stored that wisp of Rising Dragon Qi into a specially made jade bottle, applying a Seal Talisman to the mouth of the bottle to prevent the aura from dissipating.

"Although this wisp of Rising Dragon Qi is pitifully thin, even a mosquito's leg is still meat."

Ye Changge's mouth curled slightly as he put the jade bottle away.

He immediately thought again that the cultivation of Dao Soldiers was far more than just "Leaping the Dragon Gate" and the "Rising Dragon Pill."

According to the records in the Legacy, the complete cultivation process for a Black Water Flood Dragon Dao Soldier required going through multiple stages:

First, select a suitable Yao Beast, plant the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse, and complete "Leaping the Dragon Gate";

Then, use an "Intelligence-Opening Pill" to awaken its intelligence, enabling it to understand simple commands;

Then use a "Spirit Intelligence Pill" to further strengthen its Divine Sense, enabling it to establish a Divine Sense connection with its master;

Following that is the "Rising Dragon Pill" to stimulate dragon blood potential and strengthen the Physical Body; then the "Body Tempering Pill" to temper the muscles and bones and increase defense;

And finally, the "Spiritual Qi Pill" to continuously supplement Spiritual Qi and maintain growth...

Each stage required a massive amount of Medicinal Pills and time.

The cost of the refining Materials for these Medicinal Pills alone was an extremely massive expenditure.

This was also why, in the entire Zhao State, only the Three Great Sects and the Lin Family of the Beast Taming, the head of the five Core Formation Families, could afford to cultivate established units of Dao Soldiers.

First, the cultivation methods for Dao Soldiers were inherently extremely rare and mostly held by top-tier forces; ordinary families couldn't even obtain the introductory methods.

Second, even if they obtained the methods, the massive resource investment was not something an average force could bear.

For a single Dao Soldier, from the start of cultivation to truly forming combat capability, it would cost at least tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, and at most hundreds of thousands or even over a million.

And that was just for one.

If one wanted to cultivate a team of Dao Soldiers... that would be an astronomical figure.

"No wonder the Lin Family of the Beast Taming can firmly sit at the head of the five Core Formation Families; just the act of raising Dao Soldiers alone is something other families cannot compare to."

Ye Changge sighed with emotion, but he was not discouraged by this.

He now had the support of the System and possessed a unique advantage in acquiring resources.

His Talisman shop made a fortune every day, and combined with the future revenue from the Puppet Factory, as long as he planned rationally, cultivating Dao Soldiers was not entirely impossible.

"However, what is most important right now is finding suitable Yao Beast Materials."

Ye Changge's gaze returned to the shriveled Seven-Star Bass in the wooden bucket, lost in thought.

"Although the Seven-Star Bass failed, its body did indeed contain Rising Dragon Qi. This shows that as long as the dragon blood concentration is sufficient, there is a possibility of success."

"If ordinary First-Stage Seven-Star Bass won't work, then..."

A flash of light appeared in his eyes.

"What about a Second-Stage Seven-Star Bass King?"

Ordinary Seven-Star Bass are only First-Stage spirit fish; their dragon blood is thin, and they cannot withstand the impact of the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse.

But a Second-Stage Seven-Star Bass King is an elite among this species, and the dragon blood concentration within its body is far beyond what an ordinary Seven-Star Bass can compare to.

If he uses the Seven-Star Bass King as the material, perhaps it could really successfully leap over the Dragon Gate.

"It is worth a try."

Ye Changge no longer hesitated. He simply tidied up the things in the secret chamber, then transformed into a streak of light, flew straight out of Changge Hall, and sped toward the direction of the Longmai Mountain lake.