107: Scale source

Quietly leaving the Sanchuan Workshop where winds and clouds gathered, Gao De remained cautious throughout his journey. He did not return directly to Qianjiao Cliff but took a circuitous route. Only after confirming he was not being followed did he quietly dive into the deep pool and return to the most secret and secure core Forbidden Ground of the Water Mansion.

After activating layers of Restrictions to ensure everything was foolproof, he finally calmed his mind. With a flick of his sleeve, he took out the Baxia remains he had purchased for 320,000 Spirit Stones.

The dark yellow baxia carapace, the size of a millstone, landed on the floor in the center of the quiet room with a dull thud, its weight far exceeding that of ordinary rock.

The broken ancient stele was still tightly attached to it, as if in symbiosis.

Observing it up close, he could better feel the heavy, desolate aura emanating from it. The pale yellow earth-system spiritual light flowed slowly through the natural patterns of the baxia carapace like breathing, and the trace of weak but extremely high-quality Dragon Might mixed within caused the jiao-dragon blood in Gao De's body to resonate faintly.

He extended his palm, covering the cold, rough surface of the carapace, and slowly channeled pure Dragon Qi into it.

"Buzz..."

The patterns on the baxia carapace seemed to light up for a moment, the earth-system spiritual light became slightly more active, and a heavy, solid sense of power fed back through his arm.

Simultaneously, some blurred images seemed to emerge in his mind: bearing mountains on its back, suppressing rivers, and enduring ten thousand years of wind and rain without being destroyed... These were ancient fragments of true intent contained within the Baxia Bloodline.

"It really is useful." A hint of satisfaction flashed in Gao De's jiao pupils.

The earth-system Law and Dragon Clan essence contained within this baxia carapace had become mixed and thin due to time and damage, but for him, it was an excellent "grindstone."

He did not rush to directly absorb and refine the power within—that would be inefficient and might introduce Impurities.

Instead, he began to circulate the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art while simultaneously stimulating the chicken-egg-sized dragon pearl fossil within his Dantian, allowing the pure Dragon Qi it emitted to interact and grind against the aura of the baxia carapace.

Purple Lightning and thunder light swirled around him, intertwining with the earthy yellow spiritual light emitted by the baxia carapace, producing faint crackling sounds.

The ancient patterns on the baxia carapace seemed to come alive, rising and falling slightly like the veins of the earth.

Under the stimulation of the Dragon Qi, the blurred carvings on the broken stone stele also showed a faint, dim glow, as if telling a forgotten story.

Gao De could clearly feel that his own Dragon Qi became more refined and active when it came into contact with this foreign, yet same-source but different-attribute dragon blood remains, as if it had received some kind of stimulus and replenishment.

The invisible barrier deep within his Bloodline leading to the Third Order Mid-Stage also seemed to loosen slightly under the grinding of this external force.

"With this object as an aid, combined with the dragon pearl for cultivation, I should be able to attempt to break through the Bottleneck in ten years at most," Gao De estimated in his heart.

This baxia carapace was like a powerful catalyst, capable of accelerating the process of him digesting the dragon pearl energy and purifying his Bloodline.

He separated a strand of Divine Thought to carefully investigate the broken stone stele.

The characters on it were ancient and fragmented; they were not the common script of the Human Race, nor were they any Dragon Script he knew. They were more like even older, more primitive sacrificial or recording symbols.

With his current knowledge, it was difficult to fully decode them; he could only barely identify a few blurred images that might be related to "Water," "Suppression," and "Contract."

"It seems the relationship between this Baxia and the stone stele it bears is deeper than imagined; perhaps it is not a simple symbiosis, but carries some ancient mission or contract..." Gao De thought pensively.

This gave him a deeper interest in the history of the Dragon Clan and the fate of the Baxia lineage. Perhaps after Turtle Three Thousand found more information about the "Bedrock Dragon Turtle" or related Dragon Clans, he would gain some inspiration.

In the following days, Gao De lived in seclusion, spending most of his time immersed in the Forbidden Ground of the Water Mansion.

During the day, he used the baxia carapace as a medium to assist in his cultivation of the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art, grinding his Demonic Power and purifying his Bloodline. At night, he would sometimes contemplate the sorrowful Concept contained within that mysterious dragon scale, and at other times, he would study the extreme and powerful Concepts of power usage in the Reversal Scale Dragon Transformation Chapter, learning through analogy.

Time flowed quietly in the tranquility deep within the Water Mansion, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

At the bottom of the deep pool, in the quiet cultivation room specially opened near the entrance of the Dragon Palace Secret Passage, Gao De sat cross-legged upon a Spiritual Vein node. His aura was like an undercurrent in a deep pool, becoming increasingly deep and restrained.

The massive baxia carapace was placed before him. The originally dim earthy yellow spiritual light had now become warm and bright, as if injected with new vitality.

Under the long-term interaction with Gao De's Dragon Qi, the ancient patterns on the carapace seemed to have become a bit clearer, faintly forming some kind of profound diagram.

He slowly opened his jiao pupils, and a flash of Purple Lightning vanished deep within his pupils. He felt the surging power within his body and the joy coming from his Bloodline.

With the persistent assistance of the baxia carapace, the refining speed of the dragon pearl fossil had increased by nearly thirty percent. His Bloodline concentration had steadily broken through to nine percent, and his strength was steadily advancing toward the threshold of the Third Order Mid-Stage.

Although the broken stone stele still could not be fully decoded for the time being, the ancient Concepts of "Bearing" and "Suppression" contained within had given him a deeper understanding of power control and certain methods regarding the use of Dragon Might in the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art.

"At this rate, in another two or three years at most, I can attempt to charge at the Middle Stage Bottleneck," Gao De estimated, quite satisfied. The benefits brought by this baxia carapace were indeed worth the price.

However, just as he was preparing to immerse himself in cultivation once more, his heart suddenly stirred as the warning Restriction he had left outside was triggered.

It was a message from Turtle Three Thousand. It wasn't urgent, but there seemed to be something that required his decision.

Gao De pondered for a moment, restrained his aura, carefully put away the baxia carapace, and with a flash of his body, he left the quiet room.

Inside the Water Mansion Council Hall, Turtle Three Thousand had already been waiting. Seeing Gao De appear, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed: "Master."

"What is it?" Gao De asked directly. He sensed that Turtle Three Thousand's aura seemed a bit thicker than before; it seemed he had not been idle during this time either.

"Reporting to Master, there are two main matters to report," Turtle Three Thousand began to report methodically. "First, it is regarding that mysterious dragon scale.

I have consulted all relevant ancient records left by the Water Mansion and the Green Wave Sect, and have made inquiries through market channels and the Heavenly Secret Realm. Records regarding the 'Bedrock Dragon Turtle' are indeed very scarce. Fragmentary mentions suggest they were once the most steadfast branch of the Dragon Clan, responsible for guarding important places or bearing ancient contracts, but their Bloodline seems to have thinned out or even become extinct long ago.

The aura characteristics of this dragon scale are indeed fifty or sixty percent similar to the recorded Bedrock Dragon Turtle, but that sense of resolute sorrow is not something an ordinary Bedrock Dragon Turtle would possess.

I speculate that the owner of this scale probably did not fall naturally, but made a great sacrifice under some extreme circumstances..."

Gao De listened quietly, light flickering in his jiao pupils.

Sacrifice? This seemed to have some kind of connection with the rebellious and resolute Concept in the Reversal Scale Dragon Transformation Chapter.

The Dragon Palace Secret Passage, the mysterious dragon scale, the Reversal Scale Secret Art, the Baxia bearing the stele... these clues all seemed to point toward a dusty past of the Dragon Clan.