Chapter 221 Initial Success in Enlightenment

The girl and the Male Dragon were locked in battle, with no clear winner for the moment.

Chen Mu took this opportunity, forced himself to catch his breath, and staggered to the other side of the creek bank. There, the third baby dragon was wriggling slightly on the pebbles. It had just been born, its eyes not yet open, its body covered in mucus, and its scales not yet hardened.

But there was no pity in Chen Mu's eyes as he swung the soul-slaying blade down.

"Puchi."

The baby dragon was instantly decapitated and stopped moving after a few weak twitches.

[Slaying the newborn half-dragon, plundered martial arts Lifespan: 379 years.]

The System notification sounded, and Chen Mu's heart jolted.

He had Lifespan now.

Chen Mu didn't pause; he turned and walked toward the Mother Dragon.

The Male Dragon was tightly entangled by the girl. Though furious to the point of madness, he could not break free and could only let out a roar of grief and indignation.

"Chen Mu! Hurry!"

Shen Suning crawled up, whipped out her soft whip, hooked the Mother Dragon's neck, and restricted her movements. Feng Qing also drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Although his quiver was empty, he picked up a broken arrow from the ground and nocked it onto the string.

Chen Mu walked to the Mother Dragon's head. This arrogant Demon King was now on her last breath, sprawled on the ground. The demonic power transmitted by the Male Dragon could only barely keep her alive; it could not restore her ability to move.

Chen Mu gripped the soul-slaying blade tightly, aimed at the crack in the Mother Dragon's skull, and stabbed down fiercely!

The blade was buried to the hilt.

The Mother Dragon's body twitched violently, and the last spark of life was completely extinguished.

[Slaying the Python-Dragon Demon King, plundered martial arts Lifespan: 3,274 years.]

Chen Mu leaned on the soul-slaying blade, knelt on one knee, and breathed heavily, his left hand tightly clutching the demon core that condensed the Python-Dragon's lifelong cultivation.

"Chen Mu, take this quickly."

Shen Suning staggered closer, took out a medicine bottle from her bosom, poured out a healing Medicinal Pill, and shoved it into Chen Mu's mouth.

The Medicinal Pill went down his throat, turning into a cool medicinal power that temporarily suppressed his churning blood and Qi. Chen Mu nodded at her, but his mind sank into the System. Looking at the 3,653 years of plundered Lifespan newly acquired on the panel, he didn't hesitate at all.

"Infuse Lifespan, refine the demon core!"

[Infusion begins...]

[First year: You injected the massive plundered Lifespan into the cyan-gold demon core. The patterns on the surface of the demon core suddenly lit up, and a dragon phantom struggled and roared inside the core, attempting to resist the refinement. Using the 'Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body' Mind-Cultivation Technique as a guide, the Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi ground over the core body like a millstone, peeling off and converting the violent demonic power within bit by bit.]

[Year 279: The outer shell of the demon core cracked, and pure dragon essence poured into your nearly exhausted Meridians like a dam-bursting flood. This power was too overbearing, far exceeding the limit that a Dao Entry Realm Martial Artist could withstand. You felt as if your whole body was being pierced by ten thousand needles, and your Dantian and Qi Sea were on the verge of exploding. At the critical moment, the 'Soul-Loss Art' operated on its own to suppress your spirit, and the Meridians tempered to the extreme by 'Taibao Horizontal Training' tightly locked down the rampaging energy.]

[Year 413: The dragon essence and Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi began their Fusion. A rumble like muffled thunder came from within your body; that was the barrier of the Realm loosening. Dao Entry Realm Late Stage, Peak, Perfection... Each Breakthrough of a small stage was accompanied by the widening of Meridians and the qualitative change of Protective Aura. Dark golden blood beads oozed from your pores; that was old blood and waste being forcibly expelled by the new power.]

[Year 545: The last wisp of dragon essence was completely refined. Your Dantian and Qi Sea suddenly expanded threefold, and the Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi completed its third qualitative change, turning from dark gold to pale gold. At the same time, your perception of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi skyrocketed tenfold. Your Divine Thought spread like a tide in all directions; within thirty zhang, every rustle of the wind or crawling of insects and ants was under your control.]

[Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi completed its transformation; its power, toughness, and recovery speed increased by twofold. Your resistance to dark, evil, and Divine Soul-type attacks significantly increased, and you can briefly release it externally to form a Protective Aura shield.]

[Refinement successful! Gained Lifespan: 83 years.]

[Cultivation Breakthrough: Heart-Awakening Realm Early Stage.]

As the System notification ended, Chen Mu suddenly opened his eyes. An unprecedented power flooded his entire body, completely different from when he was in the Dao Entry Realm. The Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi surged and circulated within his body, rapidly repairing his remaining injuries. A tingling sensation came from his broken ribs as they were rapidly knitting back together.

He looked down at his palm; the demon core had already turned into powder and scattered with the wind.

Heart-Awakening Realm, he had finally stepped into this Realm!

Chen Mu stood up and cast his gaze toward the battlefield not far away, where the fight between the girl in the moon-white martial attire and the dark-gold Male Dragon had entered a white-hot phase.

The girl's movement technique was agile, weaving through the dragon's lunges and tail swipes. The three-foot green blade in her hand moved with sword techniques that were not complicated, yet every move pointed straight at vital points.

What was even more startling was the jade bell at her waist.

The ringing of the bell rose and fell, fluctuating with her sword momentum. When the sword momentum was about to rise but hadn't yet, the bell chimed lightly. As the sword move was delivered, the bell chime was clear and impassioned. When the sword momentum retracted, it turned low and melodious, as if cleansing her spirit and restoring her Protective Aura for her.

"Clear sounds low and deep, sword heart clear and bright."

These eight words flashed through Chen Mu's mind. This girl was walking the extremely rare path of Sound-Sword Unity, using the jade bell to suppress souls and clear the mind, and the breeze to slay demons and subdue devils. The spiritual sound and sword moves complemented each other, doubling their power.

Although the Male Dragon was covered in wounds and its demonic power was greatly depleted, the ferocity of a Dragon remained. Although the girl was strong and her jade bell sword technique was marvelous, she appeared somewhat strained under the opponent's reckless, frantic attacks.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Chen Mu took a deep breath, suppressed the sharp pain in his chest, and once again deployed his Divine Void Step.

This time, his speed was more than a notch faster than before. However, he did not rashly join the center of the battle; instead, he wandered on the edge of the battle circle, looking for the openings the Male Dragon exposed due to its rage.

The Male Dragon swept its tail toward the girl, but was parried by her sword Protective Aura. Its massive body appeared sluggish for an instant, exposing an old wound on its flank.

Chen Mu immediately seized the opening, his figure quickly cutting in. He gripped the soul-slaying blade tightly, concentrated all his power on the tip of the blade, and stabbed straight at that wound.

"Puchi!"

The blade pierced into flesh. The Male Dragon let out a roar, suddenly twisted its body, and its sharp claws swiped down at Chen Mu's head.

Chen Mu had anticipated this; he twisted and pulled the blade, and retreated rapidly with the Divine Void Step, dodging the sharp claws.

This strike of his was not fatal to the Male Dragon, but it precisely exacerbated his pain and disrupted the rhythm of his frantic attacks.

The girl's pressure was instantly reduced. She glanced toward Chen Mu's side, a trace of surprise flashing in her eyes.

She naturally could see that Chen Mu was severely injured and not yet recovered, and that his newly broken-through Realm was unstable, yet he dared to cut into the battle so fiercely, and his timing was impeccable.

"Someone from the Demon Hunting Division?"

The girl's voice was cool and cold, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, coming through the gaps in the battle.

"Jingzhou Prefecture Demon Hunting Division, Team C, Chen Mu."

Chen Mu responded in a deep voice, his feet not stopping as he continued to wander on the periphery, gathering momentum.

"Threshold of the Heart-Awakening Realm, and your Protective Aura is strange."

The girl gave a simple evaluation, and the sword moves in her hand became a few points sharper.

"On the left, three inches below the seven-inch mark, an old wound."

She was actually pointing out the attack location while in battle.

Chen Mu did not hesitate and moved again. Sure enough, because of the violent movement, a wound three inches below the seven-inch mark on the Male Dragon's left side burst open again, blood flowing like a fountain. Chen Mu's blade light arrived again; this time it was a horizontal slash, fiercely enlarging the wound.

The Male Dragon was furious. Distracted, it was seized upon by the girl, who stabbed her sword into its right eye!