92: Ancient Leichi

Carrying the Black Water Profound Serpent's demon core, scales, and other spoils of war, as well as miscellaneous items like yin soul wood scavenged from the serpent's nest, Gao De safely returned to the Deep Pool Water Mansion.

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He first spent several days sitting in meditation, adjusting his breath, and circulating his cultivation to recover the Demonic Power and mental energy consumed in the battle with the Black Water Profound Serpent.

At the same time, he meticulously replayed every detail of the battle, especially his insights when activating the purple scale earth-shaking armor to withstand attacks and when using the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd to perform the “Thunder Seed Latent Guidance” technique.

Practical combat is the sole criterion for testing truth. This trial not only verified the power of the Magic Treasure but also gave him a new understanding of how to wield his own strength.

After his condition returned to its Peak, Gao De took out the Third Order Mid-Stage Black Water Profound Serpent demon core.

The demon core felt cold to the touch, containing a rather vast amount of Demonic Power and a pure, yin-cold toxicity within.

He pondered for a moment and did not choose to directly absorb the Demonic Power within it—after all, its attributes were not perfectly aligned with his own Purple Lightning and thunder, and forcefully absorbing it would be inefficient and might leave hidden dangers.

“This item could be used for trade, or… to feed it?” Gao De's thoughts stirred, and his Divine Sense probed into the purple-gold Spirit Beast pouch.

Within the pouch's space, the Spirit Beast egg obtained from the Hundred Beasts Sect's secret Legacy still floated quietly. Its life force was even more vigorous than before, and the purple-gold patterns on the eggshell became clearer, with faint lightning flowing through them.

Perhaps the pure water and yin attribute Demonic Power contained in this Black Water Profound Serpent's demon core could be absorbed by this mysterious Spirit Beast egg, accelerating its hatching process?

He tried placing the demon core inside the Spirit Beast pouch, close to the Spirit Beast egg.

Indeed, the Spirit Beast egg vibrated slightly, the patterns on its shell glowed faintly, and a weak suction force emerged, slowly beginning to draw the pure energy from the demon core. Although the speed was extremely slow, it was indeed effective!

“It really works!” Gao De was delighted and left the demon core in the Spirit Beast pouch, allowing the Spirit Beast egg to absorb it on its own.

He was very curious about what kind of surprise this potentially powerful Spirit Beast egg would bring after hatching.

After dealing with the demon core, he looked at the black scales and yin soul wood and other Materials, handing them all to Turtle Three Thousand for storage, enriching the Water Mansion's inventory.

During this time, Gao De also kept an ear to the ground for news from the outside world through the Heavenly Secret Realm.

As expected, the news of him slaying the Black Water Profound Serpent had spread, causing quite a stir.

He saw some discussions evaluating the strength of the Purple Lightning Flood Dragon King, and also felt the implicit malice of scrutiny and apprehension in some comments.

“The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease,” Gao De understood. Reputation is both a protective charm and a potential target.

He didn't care about this; in fact, he thought it was better this way, as it could at least deter some petty villains and allow him to focus more on improving his strength.

He re-examined himself and clarified his path forward.

The primary task was still to improve his cultivation. He must Cultivate diligently, using the effects of the Lesser Turtle Breath Form Mimicry Art to quickly Break through to Third Order Mid-Stage. This was the fundamental way to deal with all crises.

At the same time, the nurturing and refining of his natal demon artifact could not be relaxed for a single day. The purple scale earth-shaking armor and thunder fang formation-breaking halberd needed to be nourished day and night with his own Demonic Power, and he needed to pay attention to collecting higher-grade Spiritual Materials such as geng metal essence and ten-thousand-year-old sunken wood core, to prepare for the next step in improving their quality.

Externally, he needed to remain vigilant, closely monitor the Green Wave Sect's movements, and even more, inquire through various channels about the status of the Qianjiang Dragon King, especially in the depths of the Yunmeng Great Marsh, to be prepared for any eventuality.

Furthermore, the two great Opportunities he had already grasped—the Dragon Palace Secret Passage and the Hundred Beasts Sect Legacy—also needed to be put to good use. Once his strength was sufficient, he could explore them in depth and unearth the hidden Treasure Trove and knowledge within.

“The most urgent task is still to improve my strength, to adapt to all changes with constancy,” Gao De's gaze was firm.

Once he Breaks through to Third Order Mid-Stage, his strength will undergo another qualitative leap. At that time, whether it's exploring the Dragon Palace in depth or dealing with potential troubles from the Green Wave Sect or the Qian River basin, he will have more confidence.

With the plan set, Gao De no longer hesitated and immersed most of his mind in Cultivation.

The Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art operated efficiently in his “Half-Jiaoren” form, continuously absorbing the Water Mansion's Spiritual Qi and the residual medicinal power of the earth vein milk marrow. The flood dragon pearl spun, continuously impacting that invisible Bottleneck.

The Deep Pool Water Mansion once again fell into silence. Only the increasingly dense spiritual mist and the occasional traces of pure Dragon might that leaked out indicated that the hidden existence within was accumulating world-shaking power.

While the outside world was in flux, I remained unshaken. Gao De's path to dragon transformation, after a brief period of commotion, once again returned to solid and determined accumulation... Just as Gao De was in seclusion in the Deep Pool Water Mansion, and the entire Water Mansion was recuperating and silently accumulating strength, a piece of news from the distant northeast, like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake, once again stirred up huge waves in the Heavenly Secret Realm and even the entire Chu State Cultivation world.

The source of the news was located in a vast body of water on the north bank of the Tongtian River, at the border between Chu State and Wu State, which locals called Dragon Lake.

According to widely circulated information, about half a month ago, a celestial phenomenon appeared in the Dragon Lake area without any warning!

Large expanses of dense, ink-like dark clouds gathered, and streaks of lightning, as thick as water buckets and an eerie blue-purple color, continuously bombarded the lake surface like heavy rain. The lightning was fierce and lingered for a long time, illuminating an area of hundreds of miles as if it were daytime. The deafening thunder lasted for three full days before gradually subsiding!

Such an earth-shattering phenomenon naturally attracted countless curious and investigative gazes.

Initially, opinions varied and were inconclusive. Some said a rare Treasure had appeared, some said a great demon was Undergoing Tribulation, and others said an ancient Restriction had been triggered.

As more and more Cultivators went to investigate, someone finally ventured into the lake bottom, which had been cleansed by the lightning, using special Water Escape Magic Treasure or water-avoidance techniques, and discovered astonishing traces—beneath the lakebed silt and newly grown aquatic plants, large areas of buried, ancient, and neatly arranged brick and tile fragments, along with gigantic stone foundations, had suddenly appeared!

These architectural remnants had an ancient style, and although the carved patterns on them were blurred, one could still discern patterns related to the Dragon Clan and lightning.

The news spread, immediately causing a sensation.

Many Cultivators skilled in ancient history and textual research consulted ancient texts and compared clues. After a fierce debate and piecing together information, a long-sealed ancient place name gradually surfaced—Thunder Pool!

Even more knowledgeable individuals found crucial records in some extremely obscure Incomplete Manuals and rare editions, linking this “Thunder Pool” to a renowned Dragon Clan mighty figure from ancient times: Pengze Dragon King!

The research post pointed out that in ancient times, the vast Tongtian River flowed through five huge marshes, governed by a powerful Tongtian River Dragon King, whose Dragon Palace was built deep within the largest Yunmeng Great Marsh.

And Pengze, the second largest marsh in the Tongtian River basin, was bestowed by the Dragon King upon his eldest son, who became the Pengze Dragon King!

This Dragon Lake (Ancient Thunder Pool) was very likely an important training ground for the Pengze Dragon King's elite aquatic troops, especially his Thunder Department Water Army!

The ancient glory has long been obliterated in the river of time. The names Tongtian River Dragon King and Pengze Dragon King have long become legends in dusty old papers, and no one knows why they disappeared, leaving only a few clues.

However, the astonishing change in this Ancient Thunder Pool today undoubtedly indicates that a major secret related to the ancient Dragon Clan is hidden beneath that body of water!

What made all informed individuals' hearts pound even faster was that more than one eyewitness swore that during the three days of violent lightning, they vaguely saw a majestic beast shadow, resembling a fierce tiger with a unicorn horn on its head and wrapped in blue-Purple Lightning, flash across the sky above Lake Gan to the east of Dragon Lake!

Its form and characteristics were extremely similar to one of the legendary Dragon Sons, who presides overCriminal Prison (punishments and prisons) and disputes, and is also skilled in controlling thunder and lightning—the Dragon Son, associated with law!

The ancient Dragon Clan training ground, “Thunder Pool,” reappears, and the figure of the Dragon Son, associated with law, is astonishingly seen in the celestial phenomenon!

These consecutive bombshells swept across like a hurricane, their appeal even temporarily overshadowing the attention on Guiche Immortal City.

For a time, whether Cultivators or Yao Race from Chu State, Wu State, or even farther places, as long as they deemed themselves to have some strength, all turned their gaze towards that Dragon Lake on the north bank of the Tongtian River!

A large number of practitioners flocked from all directions, attempting to find their own Opportunity in this newly revealed ancient ruin—perhaps a Dragon Clan Treasure, perhaps a lost thunder cultivation Legacy, or perhaps... clues related to that mysterious Dragon Son, associated with law!