150: Bloodline Treasury

The initial hurdle of integrating his offensive systems had been overcome, and the prototype of the [Prison Suppressing Thunder Domain] was complete. Gao De’s mind settled slightly, and he turned his gaze toward the [Breath Concealment] talent—the one that had accompanied him the longest, yet was increasingly showing its limitations.

This talent had once been his greatest reliance for survival in the cracks of the world when he was weak, allowing him to evade powerful enemies he couldn't face head-on and saving him from peril countless times.

However, times had changed.

Now, as a Rank Three Flood Dragon King, he dominated his own territory, and the enemies he faced were becoming increasingly profound and unpredictable.

The Divine Senses of experts at the same rank were like finely woven nets, let alone those rumored Rank Four existences whose Divine Senses could blanket a hundred miles and perceive the smallest detail.

Simple aura suppression and internalizing spiritual power would likely be no different from burying one's head in the sand before such beings, inviting nothing but ridicule.

“Breath Concealment... what should be the next step?” Gao De did not rush to act. Instead, he calmed his heart and carefully traced the roots of this talent.

It did not originate from any external Legacy or consumption; rather, it was an instinct that naturally emerged when his Bloodline awakened and he underwent the Dragon Transformation. It was one of the initial survival abilities bestowed by the Dragon Clan Bloodline.

“Dragons can be large or small, can ascend or hide...” Ancient maxims flowed through his mind as he repeatedly contemplated their deep meaning.

“Ascending” meant soaring into the Nine Heavens to display one's majesty; “hiding” meant lurking deep within the earth, concealing all sharp edges.

This word “hide” was by no means a simple “hiding away.” It was a supreme Realm of harmonious coexistence with all things in heaven and earth, the Fusion of form and spirit, existing between being and non-being.

However, these were not things he could consider at his current Realm; they were still far too distant. What he needed now was simply a stronger Breath Concealment Divine Ability.

He looked inward at himself. The Purple Lightning Flood Dragon Bloodline surged like a great river, every drop of blood containing violent and majestic power, specialized for conquest and displaying authority, as brilliant as the sun.

However, the aspect of “hiding” seemed like a shadow hidden behind the light—deep yet elusive.

“The true treasury lies within my own Bloodline.” Gao De realized that the types of Dragons in the world, including mixed-blood Dragons, were countless. Various types would always awaken Divine Abilities with their own characteristics, and the traces left by these once-existent Divine Abilities remained within the great treasury of the Dragon Clan Bloodline, waiting for Dragon descendants to excavate them.

The Bloodline essence obtained from devouring the Three-Eyed Poison Flood Dragon, specifically the traits regarding concealment and mimicry, might serve as a reference or even a “key,” but he could not put the cart before the horse.

The Dragon Clan were the darlings of heaven and earth, summoning clouds and rain and manifesting or hiding at will. How could their concealment abilities be compared to a mere Poison Flood Dragon? His previous direction had been wrong, always thinking of seeking a Breakthrough from the outside. In truth, he should seek within and question the Bloodline Origin!

He did not immediately use the gloomy concealment essence left over from the Poison Flood Dragon. Instead, he first submerged his entire mind into the depths of his own Bloodline.

Using the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art as the general outline and his vast Divine Sense as tentacles, he meticulously perceived and called out to the ancient factors within his Bloodline that might be related to “hiding,” “concealing,” “transforming,” and “fusing.”

At first, it was a patch of Chaos.

The Bloodline was filled with the violence of lightning and the pride of the Dragon Clan, seemingly naturally repulsed by those obscure, low-profile “hiding” characteristics.

Gao De was not impatient. Like the most patient fisherman, his Divine Thought turned into thousands of threads, carefully fishing in the long river of his Bloodline to capture any hint of uncoordinated, restrained, subtle fluctuations that resonated with the environment.

Simultaneously, he reviewed his own experiences: the cool silence of long-term dormancy underwater, the clever distortion of light and aura when using [Heaven-Confusing Illusionary Mist], the changes in presence brought by subtle structural adjustments during [Size As Desired], and even that momentary ethereal state of merging with lightning during Lightning Evasion... These personal experiences were refined and gathered by him bit by bit, like trickling streams, feeding back into the consciousness of “hiding” deep within his Bloodline.

This was a process of purely seeking within, more abstract and difficult than fusing Divine Abilities.

It was as if he were in the dark, trying to use his hands to trace a perfect shape he had never seen, one that existed only in legends.

Progress was agonizingly slow. Sometimes he would sit for days without gaining anything, feeling his Bloodline still surging and roaring, displaying peerless power while remaining completely indifferent to the call of “concealment.”

Just as he was about to doubt if this method was feasible, he thought of the not-yet-fully-digested Poison Flood Dragon essence. It wouldn't be used as the main body, but as... a “medicinal primer” or a “whetstone.”

He cautiously guided out a strand of extremely pure Poison Flood Dragon Bloodline essence regarding environmental mimicry and aura Fusion that he had refined.

This power was cold and obscure, the polar opposite of his own brilliant Purple Lightning Thunder Aura.

Gao De did not attempt to absorb it. Instead, he condensed it into an invisible “needle” and, driving it with his Divine Thought, gently pricked the extremely weak nodal areas within his own Bloodline that showed a slight reaction to “environment” and “concealment”!

“Sizzle—”

It was like a drop of cold water falling into boiling oil!

His own Bloodline immediately produced a violent rejection. The Purple Lightning Thunder Aura counterattacked automatically, instantly wearing down most of that foreign essence.

But in that moment of intense conflict, Gao De keenly captured that several originally dormant nodes deep within his Bloodline, stimulated by this “cold mimicry power” and the “counter-pressure” of his own thunder aura, actually produced extremely subtle, fleeting resonances and... the throbbing of Awakening!

“It works!” Gao De’s spirit was lifted. He had found the method: using the “characteristic stimulus” of the foreign essence as a guide and the “rejection counterattack” of his own stronger Bloodline as a hammer to vibrate and awaken the sleeping kindred instincts at the moment of collision!

He followed this pattern, over and over again.

Each time, he only channeled a tiny amount of the Poison Flood Dragon concealment essence to precisely “probe” different nodes.

The process was painful and grueling, like using a red-hot needle to constantly probe his most sensitive Bloodline core.

Demonic Power and mental energy were rapidly consumed, and blood often seeped from beneath his scales due to the intense internal conflict.

But he gritted his teeth and persisted, carefully experiencing the imperceptible changes in his Bloodline after every collision.

The Poison Flood Dragon's concealment essence was gradually exhausted through the repeated consumption.

At the moment the last strand of essence was annihilated by his own thunder aura, a spark of inspiration struck Gao De. He turned all his insights and the accumulated effects of all the stimuli, along with his ultimate yearning for “Hidden Scale Concealing Scenery, Merging with the Dao,” into a pure and intense torrent of will, slamming it hard into the depths of his Bloodline Origin!

“Boom—!”

It wasn't a crisp “crack,” but a dull roar like an ancient heartbeat or a stone thrown into a deep pool, rippling out from the very root of his Bloodline!

In an instant, the clouds dispersed and the mist vanished; everything became clear!

An indescribable, mysterious power emerged naturally and effortlessly from his Bloodline.

It wasn't a newly added external thing, but a corner of the True Dragon Clan’s authority of “hiding” that had been hidden deep within his Bloodline all along. At this moment, it was completely awakened and lit up!

Cool, ethereal, and illusory, it was as if he himself had become a flowing “scenery.”

It rapidly flowed through his entire body. Wherever it passed, the luster of his scales became warm and restrained, as if they could automatically absorb and refract the surrounding light. The rhythm of his flesh and bones quietly synchronized with the fluctuations of the surrounding Spiritual Qi. Even his breathing, body temperature, and even the unique spiritual rhythm emitted by his soul were gently wrapped and smoothed over by this power, perfectly merging with the background of heaven and earth.

With a slight thought, there was no need to deliberately circulate any techniques.

Inside the spiritual cave, Gao De’s powerful Purple Lightning Flood Dragon body was still coiled there, but in terms of perception, he was no longer a conspicuous “living being.” Instead, he had turned into a part of the spiritual cave’s “scenery”—the condensed water trails flowing on the stone walls, the silent spiritual spring rushing through the underground veins... Visually, the edges of his silhouette seemed to be covered in a layer of flowing mist, interlacing with the light and shadows of the background, making it difficult for the eyes to focus.

His aura had completely vanished, as if he were a piece of spiritual rock that had existed since ancient times.

[Hidden Scale Concealing Scenery]! The Divine Ability was formed!

This was a true Awakening of a Great Bloodline Divine Ability!

It originated from the deep treasury of Gao De’s own Dragon Clan Bloodline, the result of seeking within and accumulating over time.

It not only possessed extreme visual deception, aura simulation, and energy dissipation, but it also contained a prototype Concept of “Merging with the Dao,” allowing it to naturally adjust its concealment state according to the environment and state of mind, leaving almost no trace to be found.

From then on, concealment was as natural to him as breathing.

Feeling this harmonious and unobstructed concealment Divine Ability that originated from himself, joy rose in Gao De’s heart.

External things could be a guide or a reference, but the true source of power and the great path to heaven always lay within oneself. Only by questioning the Bloodline could one see the True Dragon.

With the concealment Divine Ability complete, he had the [Prison Suppressing Thunder Domain] for offense, along with his halberd and treasure armor. Supplemented by various other means, his power system was finally clearly organized, his Foundation was solidified, and the road ahead was wide open.

The master of Qianjiao Cliff, at the bottom of this deep pool, had completed a vital internal sublimation.