45: Refining

The journey passed in silence. Gao De led his team of Demon Soldiers, relying on Breath Concealment and his skilled Water Escape techniques to safely bypass several potential scouts and quietly return to the Water Mansion beneath the deep pool.

The Formation light screen slowly closed behind them, isolating all the external disturbances.

"Master!" Turtle Three Thousand had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Gao De return safely, and especially sensing the pure dragon blood aura emanating from the jade box, his small eyes were filled with excitement and awe.

Gao De threw Zhu Mingxuan, whose cultivation was under a Seal and who looked like a dead dog, onto the ground and ordered, "Take him down and keep him under strict watch. Don't let him die; he might be useful in the future."

He needed to extract intelligence about the Zhu Family, the remnants of Demon King Fushui's forces, the Lin Family, and the Green Wave Sect from this core disciple of the Zhu Family.

"Yes!" Two Demon Soldiers immediately stepped forward and dragged the ashen-faced Zhu Mingxuan away.

At this moment, only Gao De remained in the core quiet room of the Water Mansion.

He held the precious jade box in his claws, carefully peeling away the layers of paper talismans on the outside.

When the final layer of talismans was removed, a giant salamander spirit egg about the size of a large bowl appeared before him. It was dark gold in color, and its surface was covered in natural, profound flood dragon patterns.

The spirit egg radiated warmth, and the life aura within was active. The pure flood dragon bloodline Power was as mellow as fine wine, making the dragon blood within Gao De's body leap and boil with excitement.

"As expected of an offspring born after years of gestation by a Spirit Beast; the Bloodline is indeed pure!" Gao De praised.

Although the total amount of dragon blood energy contained in this spirit egg was far less than that of an adult Pig Dragon, its purity and activity were higher, making it easier to absorb and refine. It would likely be more effective for his current goal of increasing Bloodline concentration and breaking through his Bottleneck.

He did not devour it immediately. Directly devouring a live egg was straightforward, but it would inevitably waste some of the life essence and potential Bloodline spirituality.

He had a better way to handle it.

With a thought, he summoned the dragon pearl fossil that had been nurturing in his Dantian.

The dark red dragon pearl fossil hovered above the spirit egg, rotating slowly and emitting a warm, ancient glow.

After absorbing that sliver of dragon pearl essence, it seemed to have developed a stronger resonance with such dragon blood Origin items.

Gao De operated the Dragon Transformation Merit and the Basic Water Element Body Tempering Art obtained from the Dragon Palace barracks. Using his own Demonic Power as a guide, he carefully constructed a miniature refining Formation, using the dragon pearl fossil as the eye of the Formation to envelop the giant salamander spirit egg.

He intended to use the power of the dragon pearl fossil to slowly and thoroughly extract and refine all the dragon blood essence and life Origin from the spirit egg, converting it into the purest Bloodline energy to nourish himself. At the same time, it could also feed back into the dragon pearl fossil, forming a virtuous cycle.

This process would take time, but it would maximize the value of the spirit egg and was more secure, avoiding any potential hidden dangers that direct devouring might bring.

As the Formation operated, wisps of dark gold light were drawn from the spirit egg. As if attracted, most of them merged into Gao De's body, while a small portion was absorbed by the dragon pearl fossil.

Gao De immediately felt a pure and gentle, yet slightly wild dragon blood power surge into his limbs and bones, rapidly Fusion and refining with his own Dragon Fish Bloodline.

That Bloodline concentration, which had been stagnant for a long time, began to climb once again at a perceptible speed!

At the same time, perhaps stimulated by this pure flood dragon bloodline, or perhaps because the quantitative change led to a qualitative change, the newly awakened Power of Thunder deep within his Bloodline also became active.

The frequency of blue electric sparks jumping between his scales increased significantly, and their power seemed to be slowly growing as well.

"It really works!" Gao De's heart settled. He calmed his mind and focused entirely on guiding and refining this power.

Like a seasoned craftsman, he patiently and meticulously carved his own Bloodline and power.

While he was immersed in his Cultivation, Turtle Three Thousand brought the latest summary of external intelligence.

The battle between the Lin Family and the Zhu Family had already concluded.

The main force of the Zhu Family, along with the two clan-guarding Pig Dragons, had been completely annihilated under the joint siege of the Lin Family Old Ancestor, the newly advanced Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and Wang Jue of the Green Wave Sect.

The Zhu Family water stockade was also breached. Those who remained either died or surrendered. The Zhu Family, a cultivation Family of several hundred years, vanished overnight!

Meanwhile, the Lin Family, by virtue of this battle, completely established its hegemony along the shores of Dongting Lake, their prestige becoming unparalleled for a time.

News about the Zhu Family's grandson escaping with the spirit egg did not seem to have spread widely. It might have been overshadowed by the brilliance of the Lin Family's victory, or perhaps the Lin Family themselves were unaware, or they knew but were temporarily too busy to care.

The few third-rank turtle descendants left by Demon King Fushui remained surprisingly silent after learning of the Zhu Family's destruction and the spirit egg's disappearance. It was as if they knew nothing about it and took no retaliatory action, seemingly wary of something as well.

The landscape of Dongting Lake, after undergoing a bloody reshuffling, temporarily fell into a new state of calm dominated by the Lin Family.

After reading the intelligence, Gao De felt no waves in his heart. The rise and fall of the Lin and Zhu Families had nothing to do with him. He only needed to know that the external environment was temporarily stable and no one would disturb him while he processed his gains.

He devoted all his energy to refining the spirit egg and his Cultivation.

Time passed quietly in the silent Water Mansion.

The spirit egg turned to ash, and all the pure dragon blood essence was absorbed by Gao De and the dragon pearl fossil.

In the quiet room, Gao De's body surged with Demonic Power. The golden luster on the edges of his originally dark scales became more apparent. As his massive body coiled there, the dragon prestige he naturally emitted was stronger and purer than before.

88% Bloodline concentration!

Feeling the surging power within his body and that increasingly active Power of Thunder that he could control as easily as his own limbs, a flash of satisfaction crossed Gao De's cold vertical pupils.

The rewards of this adventure far exceeded his expectations. Not only did his Bloodline improve, but more importantly, he had verified that slowly refining the Origin of high-level Dragon-Blooded Creatures with the help of the dragon pearl fossil was the safest and most efficient way to improve at his current stage.

The dragon pearl fossil also seemed more lustrous, and its connection to his Dantian grew tighter.

Gao De slowly opened his vertical pupils, feeling the surging power and the increasingly pure dragon prestige within him. He cast his gaze outside the Water Mansion toward the even broader and more dangerous Yunmeng Great Marsh.

The winds and clouds of Dongting Lake had temporarily settled, but his path to dragon transformation would never stop. It was time to prepare for the next step.

He slowly restrained his aura and sank his mind into the tianji mirror.

On the local forum, discussions about the great war between the Lin and Zhu Families were still heated, but the direction of the conversation had completely shifted.

The Lin Family was depicted as the strategist who had eliminated their old enemy in one fell swoop. The role played by Wang Jue of the Green Wave Sect was also mentioned intentionally or unintentionally, highlighting the closer ties between the Lin Family and the Green Wave Sect.

The Zhu Family had completely become history. Occasionally, a few scattered posts mentioned that core members of the Zhu Family might have escaped with heavy treasures, but they were quickly drowned out by the rising tide of the Lin Family's prestige and did not cause much of a stir.

"Lin Family... Green Wave Sect..." Gao De silently repeated these two names.

They were now the most powerful forces along the shores of Dongting Lake. In his future actions, he would need to be more careful to avoid attracting their attention.

He then checked the intelligence summary compiled by Turtle Three Thousand.

The few third-rank turtle descendants left by Demon King Fushui were still huddled in the northern deep water area, showing no reaction to the destruction of the Zhu Family. It seemed that after Demon King Fushui left, they had made up their minds to stick to their territory and were unwilling to cause trouble.

This was good news for him.

"The external environment is temporarily stable. It's time to digest my gains and prepare for entering the Yunmeng Great Marsh," Gao De decided on his strategy.

First, he began to deeply familiarize himself with his newly increased power.

The 88% Bloodline concentration brought not only an increase in Demonic Power but also a deeper affinity and control over the Water Law.

When the Water Control Art was performed by him, it was no longer just controlling water; it had gained a touch of "controlling water like an arm," where a single thought could trigger undercurrent vortexes or condense water shields and hard ice.

Secondly, he focused on tempering that sliver of Power of Thunder. This power, originating from the Dragon Clan's Origin, had immense potential.

He tried attaching it to his sharp claws, unicorn horn, and even the water arrows he shot.

Initially, it could only produce tiny electric sparks, but with day and night of tireless guidance and the operation of the Dragon Transformation Merit, that arc of electricity gradually became solid, and its color changed from light blue to deep blue. When it occasionally erupted, it could produce a clear crackling sound, showing a significant destructive effect on aquatic Yao Beasts and even energy shields.

He named this new ability Subtle Ripple Thunder Light.

At the same time, he did not neglect his study of the Basic Water Element Body Tempering Art and the incomplete water battle Formation obtained from the Dragon Palace.

The Body Tempering technique continuously solidified his Foundation, while the Formation, under his refinement, could now be executed quite skillfully by dozens of Demon Soldiers. Its power was enough to trap and kill ordinary Early Stage second-rank Yao Beasts, becoming a trump card for the Demon Soldiers under his command.

During this time, he took a moment to interrogate the captured Zhu Mingxuan.

This grandson of the Zhu Family was tough at first, but under Gao De's combination of dragon prestige intimidation and Turtle Three Thousand's "patient persuasion" methods, he eventually broke down and revealed a lot of intelligence.

This included the locations of some of the Zhu Family's secret treasuries—though most had already been plundered by the Lin Family—the contact methods for a certain third-rank Turtle Demon under Demon King Fushui, as well as scattered information about the characteristics of the Lin Family Old Ancestor's Cultivation Technique and the possible private motives Wang Jue of the Green Wave Sect might have for this trip.

Gao De noted down each piece of information. Although they might not be immediately useful, they could have miraculous effects at a critical moment.

He did not kill Zhu Mingxuan but continued to imprison him; perhaps in the future, he could still be used as a bargaining chip in trades with the remnants of Demon King Fushui's forces.

One day, as Gao De was deducing a composite attack technique that combined the Water Control Art and Subtle Ripple Thunder Light, Turtle Three Thousand came to report with a strange expression on his face.

"Master, our scouts placed in the waters near the edge of the Yunmeng Great Marsh have reported that there seems to have been some unusual activity in that area over the past few days."

"Oh? What specifically?" Gao De snapped out of his deduction.

"It's said that the water Spiritual Qi has become exceptionally active. Occasionally, small Spiritual Qi vortexes appear out of thin air, accompanied by low-pitched, strange sounds that are neither beast nor fish.

Some daring low-level Cultivators and Yao Race members went to investigate, but none found any treasures. Instead, two people went missing for no reason.

Now there are rumors that it might be a periodic leak of Spiritual Qi from some Water Mansion ruins, or... some kind of unknown powerful water monster is active."

Edge of the Yunmeng Great Marsh? Unusual activity? Spiritual Qi vortex? Unknown water monster?

Gao De's heart stirred.

The Yunmeng Great Marsh was vast and boundless, containing countless opportunities and dangers. Any anomaly was worth paying attention to.

This unusual activity didn't sound like the work of an ordinary Yao Beast. It sounded more like a natural phenomenon triggered by something being disturbed, or... a sign that some Formation Restriction was loosening?

"Continue to monitor, send more people, pay attention to concealment, and report any new discoveries immediately," Gao De ordered.

He had a faint feeling that this might be an Opportunity.

An Opportunity to conduct a "rehearsal" and obtain extra resources in a relatively peripheral area before he officially stepped into the crisis-ridden core area of the Yunmeng Great Marsh.

He ended his brief secluded Cultivation and adjusted his state to its Peak.

It was time to go and see for himself.

To see what secrets were hidden at the edge of the Yunmeng Great Marsh.

His path to dragon transformation was destined to be closely linked with this ancient and dangerous marsh.

Gao De quietly left the Water Mansion, still maintaining a high degree of concealment, like a true deep-water shadow, as he crept toward the edge of the Yunmeng Great Marsh where the unusual activity had been reported.