Dawn was breaking, marking the end of the night.
Xiao Bai withdrew his fingers and rubbed his temples. A whole night had passed, during which he had to carefully guide Xiao Yi Xian while remaining alert for the possibility of entering that mysterious space. Even with his soul at the Mortal Realm - Perfection Stage, he still felt a bit fatigued.
Suddenly, he felt a pair of soft, delicate hands pressing gently against his temples, massaging them with care.
Leaning back slightly, he found himself resting against a supple, warm body. Xiao Bai couldn't help but let out a comfortable sigh, half-closing his eyes.
After a while, he lifted his head and met a pair of bright, tender eyes filled with concern. A soft, melodious voice reached his ears as delicate lips parted:
"Xiao Bai-gege, are you feeling better?"
"I feel much better," Xiao Bai replied with a smile in his eyes. Then, as Xun Er froze in surprise, he reached out, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and pulled her into his embrace as she sat at the edge of the bed.
"Xiao Bai-gege… don't! Xian'er is still here!" Xun Er's gaze flickered with shyness as she placed her small hands against his chest, lightly struggling in his embrace.
"Don't move… just let me hold you for a while… just a little while." Xiao Bai gently stroked her silky hair, inhaling the faint, sweet fragrance that lingered around her, and murmured softly.
Hearing this, Xun Er's hands relaxed, and she stopped struggling. Her delicate body softened, nestling into his arms. She quietly indulged in this embrace, a warmth that had been familiar to her since childhood. Her beautiful autumn-like eyes glowed with a hint of daze.
As the two were immersed in their moment, a pair of clear eyes slowly opened nearby. A fleeting gleam flashed within them as Xiao Yi Xian sensed the newfound fullness in her spirit. A wave of delight surged within her heart.
"What an incredible—"
Before she could finish her thought, her gaze suddenly froze. Her eyes landed on the two figures embracing each other not far away. She rubbed her eyes, her lips slightly parted in stunned disbelief.
"—scene!"
Hearing her voice, Xun Er's face instantly turned as red as the morning clouds. She instinctively wanted to get up, but before she could move, the firm hand around her waist tightened slightly, pulling her back into his embrace.
"Xiao Bai-gege!" Her voice was laced with both frustration and embarrassment, carrying a hint of grievance.
Xiao Bai smirked. Reaching out, he gestured with his fingers. In the next moment, a soft yelp echoed in the room as another delicate body was drawn into his embrace, her slender waist held securely in his arms.
In his embrace, two pairs of beautiful eyes suddenly met. Stunned, they stared at each other wide-eyed, disbelief written across their faces. Moments later, both of their delicate cheeks flushed red as they quickly averted their gazes in embarrassment.
Feeling the warmth of the two soft figures in his arms, breathing in their distinct, captivating fragrances, Xiao Bai sighed in satisfaction. He let himself fall back onto the bed, closed his eyes, and murmured,
"Don't move… just let me hold you for a while."
His voice grew softer, gradually fading away.
The two girls lifted their heads slightly, noticing his steady breathing. He had actually fallen asleep. They exchanged glances, a mix of exasperation and amusement flashing in their eyes.
"This scoundrel… he's always dreaming of holding both of us in his arms. Today, he finally got his wish," Xun Er muttered, resting her head against his shoulder. She adjusted to a comfortable position and reached out to pinch Xiao Bai's cheek in mock annoyance.
"Xiao Bai has always been good to us… Even if he desires this, he has never forced us," Xiao Yi Xian said gently as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind Xiao Bai's ear.
"Hmph! Xian'er, you just spoil him too much!" Xun Er huffed in protest.
Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian's hand paused slightly. Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she teased,
"Isn't the one who spoils him the most… you, Xun Er?"
Xun Er's gaze flickered evasively. She waved her small hands in denial, "Who spoils him? He's just a big flirt!"
"Hehe…" Xiao Yi Xian chuckled, covering her lips as she giggled softly at Xun Er's stubbornness.
After that, the two girls fell silent, and the room grew quiet.
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Time passed slowly. Hours later, Xiao Bai's eyes gradually opened as he awakened. The lingering fragrance in his arms was the only trace left of the two girls—both of them had already left.
With a sigh of slight regret, he sat up cross-legged and reached into his sleeve, pulling out a small golden figure.
"Who dares disturb this dragon's slumber?" The Little Golden Dragon yawned, its sleepy eyes half-opening. "Oh, it's you, my master… What do you need?"
"You might as well call yourself a Sleep Dragon instead of a Thunder Dragon! You only just woke up, and now you're already going back to sleep?" Xiao Bai rolled his eyes at the tiny golden creature. For some reason, unlike before its awakening, the dragon was no longer in a deep, unshakable slumber—but it had become excessively sleepy.
"Can't help it! It always feels like I can't sleep enough…" The Little Golden Dragon lazily stretched out its tiny claws, yawning continuously. "But it's probably a good thing. I can feel my soul growing stronger every time I sleep."
Xiao Bai observed the little dragon with a thoughtful look. Was it recovering?
"Hey, hey, hey! Master! What are you doing? It's just a nap—no need to go that far, right?!" The previously drowsy, half-asleep Little Golden Dragon instantly snapped awake the moment it saw Xiao Bai holding a dagger and making vague gestures at it. Trembling in alarm, it cried out in panic.
"It's fine! You sleep, I'll just take a bit of essence blood. It'll be quick!" Xiao Bai said calmly, as if talking about something trivial.
"Do you even hear what you're saying? Essence blood?! You think it's cabbage or something?!" The little golden dragon stared at Xiao Bai in disbelief, furious. "Besides, I'm a spirit body—where would I have essence blood?!"
"No essence blood?" Xiao Bai frowned, giving the little golden dragon a skeptical look. "If you don't have essence blood, then why are you so worked up?"
"Eh? Oh… right!" The little golden dragon froze for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly and waved a claw. "Never mind then!"
"Explain. What's a spirit body? And how come your body looks so solid, like flesh and blood, yet you don't have essence blood?" Xiao Bai asked curiously. Ever since the little golden dragon hatched from its egg, it had always had a physical form. Xiao Bai had assumed it had transformed into a true flesh-and-blood creature. But now, he was hearing a new term—spirit body!
"A spirit body? I'm not entirely sure myself!" The little golden dragon scratched its head with a claw, looking troubled. Seeing Xiao Bai's doubtful expression, it quickly added, "My memory only has fragmented bits of information. Simply put, it's when a naturally formed spiritual entity gains sentience. If it has the fortune to take form, the body it manifests is a spirit body. A spirit body doesn't have essence blood like flesh-and-blood creatures—it only has origin essence!"
"Actually, the essence blood of flesh-and-blood creatures is also a type of origin essence, just not as pure as that of a spirit body. For flesh-and-blood beings, origin essence isn't limited to just essence blood. But for a spirit body, origin essence is everything—even its consciousness is born from it!"
Hearing this, Xiao Bai fell into thought, recalling relevant details from the original story. The most representative example was likely the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. After being reverted to its original form by the Heaven Sealing Demon Array left behind by the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint, all that remained was a cluster of the flame's origin essence.
If that was the case, what the little golden dragon said was probably true. This disappointed Xiao Bai a bit—he had been hoping to extract some of its essence blood to cultivate a battle skill. Who knew this guy didn't even have such a thing?
"Wait a minute!" Xiao Bai gave the little golden dragon a strange look and teased, "If essence blood isn't as pure as origin essence, wouldn't origin essence be even better?"
"Is this human speech?! Listen to yourself—is this human speech?!" The little golden dragon instantly darted far away, crying out indignantly, "I'm just a baby, only a few months old, and you want to steal my origin essence?!"
"Brother Xiao Bai, what are you two arguing about?" At that moment, Xun'er pushed the door open and walked in, looking puzzled at the scene inside.
"Little Mistress, save me! This murderous master wants to kill a dragon!" Seeing Xun'er arrive was like spotting a savior. The little golden dragon flashed to her shoulder, pretending to wipe tears as it accused.
After hearing the little dragon's "tearful" complaint, Xun'er rolled her eyes at Xiao Bai. "Brother Xiao Bai, are you trying to cultivate that Dou Technique you got from the library?"
"Dou Technique? What kind of Dou Technique is so outrageous?" The little golden dragon perked up its ears, dropping the act as it stood with its claws on its hips, scolding.
Xiao Bai flicked his hand and tossed the scroll over to it.
The little golden dragon caught it, unrolled the scroll, and sprawled over it, reading the contents while flicking its tail. Every now and then, it let out an exclamation: "This is insane! It requires essence blood for tempering? The more you temper, the higher the rank and the greater the power. Did the creator of this Dou Technique have a grudge against dragon-type magical beasts or something?"
Xiao Bai rolled his eyes. This guy was such a drama queen! Earlier, it had been angry, indignant, and even pretended to cry, but it was all an act.
If he really wanted to extract essence blood or origin essence, that dagger wouldn't have been any threat—its golden lightning could obliterate it in an instant!
"Brother Xiao Bai, do you need me to help you find some dragon-type magical beast essence blood?" Xun'er stepped forward and asked softly.
"No need. That so-called dragon aura isn't something that can only be tempered with essence blood. There should be other methods—I'll try them first," Xiao Bai shook his head.
"It's just a Thunder Dragon Spear, right? This dragon can also transform into a spear!" The little golden dragon lifted its head from the scroll, sneering disdainfully.
"Oh?" Xiao Bai raised an eyebrow at the little dragon's cocky attitude. "Transform and let me see!"
"Hehe… Watch closely!" With that, the little golden dragon flew up from the scroll, circled once in the air, and with a flash of golden lightning, a faint thunderclap—almost like a dragon's roar—resounded. A golden spear appeared before them.
Upon carefully examining the golden dragon spear, the shaft was engraved with intricate dragon patterns, each line meticulously detailed as if painted with the finest brushstrokes. The dragon motifs coiled and twisted like living creatures, faint golden arcs of lightning flickering along them, exuding a mysterious aura.
The spearhead resembled a dragon's head, lifelike and vivid, its maw wide open as if roaring with earth-shaking fury. The sharp tip gleamed like a dragon's fang, cold and deadly, leaving no doubt that it could pierce through even the hardest materials with ease.
Seeing the golden spear floating before them, Xiao Bai and Xun'er couldn't hide their astonishment. They hadn't expected the little golden dragon to possess such an ability.
"Well? Impressive, right?" The spear trembled slightly, golden lightning crackling along its length as a soul fluctuation transmitted its smug tone.
"Is this shape-shifting one of your abilities?" Xiao Bai asked hesitantly, now beginning to doubt his earlier assumptions about the little dragon's origins. *Could this guy actually be a weapon that took form?*
"Not satisfied?! Then tell me what weapon you want—sword, saber, spear, halberd, axe, dagger, hook, fork, whip, mace, hammer, claw, trident, staff, lance, club, cane, or even a meteor hammer! Just name it, and I'll transform into it!" The little golden dragon huffed indignantly at Xiao Bai's seemingly unimpressed reaction.
"You… can really turn into all of those?" Xiao Bai was momentarily speechless. *The eighteen traditional weapons—you're telling me you can do every single one?!*
"Of course! Didn't I just say? I'm a spirit body—I can transform however I want! I could even turn into a stunningly beautiful woman if you'd prefer. Want me to?" The golden spear shimmered with light before reverting to the little dragon, who crossed its claws teasingly.
Xiao Bai instantly felt a chilling gaze from beside him and quickly scolded in a serious tone, "No! Get lost!"
"Little Mistress, I was wrong!" The little golden dragon shivered under Xun'er's icy glare, its earlier bravado vanishing instantly. "A-Anyway, everything I transform into is golden! Master definitely wouldn't like a golden-skinned woman, right? Hahaha…"
Xiao Bai wanted nothing more than to strangle the little dragon right then. *Just shut up already! "Golden-skinned" or not, I wouldn't like any woman in that context!*
"Enough! Transform into the spear again!" Seeing Xun'er's darkening expression, Xiao Bai swiftly changed the subject before the little dragon got itself banished from the household.
"Got it!" The little dragon, also sensing the danger, complied without hesitation. In a flash of golden light, the spear reappeared.
Xiao Bai grasped the weapon. The spear was about ten feet long, its surface alive with crackling arcs of lightning. When he channeled a trace of his lightning-attribute Dou Qi into it and gave it a light swing, his eyes widened in surprise.
The golden dragon spear's power was immense—just a casual swing produced a thunderous roar, as if infused with a dragon's wrath. Gripping it tightly, Xiao Bai thrust forward with full force, the spear's momentum unstoppable. The air rippled around it, space itself distorting slightly.
*This is what truly shocked him.* Though no spatial tears appeared, even most high-level Dou Huangs would struggle to achieve such an effect!
"What's going on here?" Xiao Bai asked the spear in his hand, watching as the spatial ripples slowly dissipated.
"This isn't raw power breaking spatial limits—we're far from capable of that. It's just some residual spatial insights from my fragmented memories. Applying them to the spear creates this effect."
"Master, don't get cocky! If you think this means you can take on a Dou Zong with me, I'm outta here!" The little dragon suddenly regretted showing off. If Xiao Bai actually tried to fight a Dou Zong with this, they'd be in deep trouble.
"I'm not that stupid!" Xiao Bai rolled his eyes. *What kind of idiot would challenge a Dou Zong with just a weapon while still at the Dou Ling level? Who would be drunk enough to think that's a good idea?
"Good! That's a relief." The little dragon sighed. As long as Xiao Bai wasn't planning to pick fights with Dou Zongs, things were fine.
"Excellent! With this ability of yours, I'm even more interested in that Dou Technique now." Xiao Bai released the spear, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
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