[Nourishing Life Master]
Profound wonders oscillated, and the Realm Sea shimmered with floating light. An overwhelming ocean enveloped a figure, and the engulfed figure let out a long, unwilling roar—
"Roar—!!!"
Rolling thunderous sounds triggered the descent of the [Vast Ocean Water], giving rise to changes in clarity and turbidity as illusory colors ascended. He dashed left and right within the ocean, struggling desperately.
However, no matter which direction he went, it was all in vain. Thus, he simply unleashed all his spiritual power, revealing his true dragon form. Stirring up billowing gales and auspicious clouds, he instantly stretched to over ten thousand zhang. Yet, on the other side, the ocean imprisoning him expanded synchronously, continuing to suppress him firmly.
A Great Perfected Lord! It's absolutely a Great Perfected Lord...
The Old Dragon Lord's heart grew increasingly heavy, and his dragon pupils dimmed. He strained his eyesight to the absolute limit, but he couldn't even catch a glimpse of the person who had set up this trap to harm him. All that met his eyes was the boundless ocean.
—Futile.
This is the [Heavenly Being's Remnant Consciousness], and the other party is a Great Perfected Lord. Even if I self-detonate, it won't help... Could this be my burial ground?
Despair gradually leaked from the depths of the Old Dragon Lord's eyes.
Meanwhile, just outside the ocean, Lu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes smiling as he quietly observed the trapped Old Dragon Lord.
He didn't intend to kill the Old Dragon Lord.
This old loach is actually quite troublesome.
Although he looks ordinary, living far away in the overseas and ignoring worldly affairs, considering his relationship with the Ancestral Dragon, I'm afraid every Dao Lord is secretly keeping an eye on him.
Under these circumstances, the risk of refining him into a Life Form Body is too great. Just like the lifetime where [Sky-shrouding] attempted to attain the Netherworld—I refined Yuan Tu and Subduing-Spirits into Life Form Bodies, and as a result, they were all discovered by the Dao Lords. Only Perfected Lords like Hong Yun, who aren't highly valued, pose no real risk.
By the same logic, [Turtle Dove Occupying the Magpie's Nest] wouldn't work either.
My current identity is completely detached from worldly affairs; even the Dao Lords can't see me. If I were to take over the Old Dragon Lord's identity, it would actually cause a lot of extra trouble.
Just as Lu Yang was pondering this.
"Lord! Lord!"
A faint, sorrowful weeping voice drifted out from the ocean. It was unknown what method the Old Dragon Lord had used to actually transmit a bit of sound under such heavy suppression:
"May I ask which Lord wishes to take this little dragon's life?"
"This little dragon's life maintains the seal of the Ancestral Dragon and cannot be touched! The Ancestral Dragon was personally sealed by the four Lords of the Immortal Nexus; it is a matter of the utmost importance."
"I beg for your mercy..."
Hearing this, Lu Yang immediately raised an eyebrow. The Old Dragon Lord's words were soft yet tough; he was begging for mercy while faintly brandishing his backing.
However, how could Lu Yang care about any of that? Although he didn't intend to truly take the Old Dragon Lord's life, he wouldn't be the slightest bit soft-hearted in doing what needed to be done.
He immediately formed a hand seal and reached one hand into the ocean. Like holding down a fish on a chopping board, he pinned the Old Dragon Lord and softly shouted:
"Come, Ming He!"
Before his words even fell, an earth-shattering sword light flew out from his sleeve. In an instant, sword qi filled the sky, and boundless sharpness permeated heaven and earth.
Immediately after, a crisp child's voice rang out from within the sword light: "Sever!"
A sword cry followed the Dao sound. Infinite brilliance hung in the sky like a waterfall, drifting lightly across the Old Dragon Lord's head. Instantly, the 'chimu' crest atop the Old Dragon Lord's head was severed cleanly at the root.
"Aargh!?"
In a flash, the Old Dragon Lord's cry of pain echoed out. But how could Lu Yang stop there? He immediately reached out his other hand and pinned the Old Dragon Lord down once again.
Spare me! Spare my life!
While begging for mercy, the Old Dragon Lord cast some unknown dao art. His entire body's qi and blood abruptly converged inward. At first glance, it seemed as if he had lost his life force and died on the spot.
Seeing this, Lu Yang chuckled lightly. "Qi and blood converging inward, soul hiding like a turtle. Truly a rotten piece of wood that cannot be carved. I didn't expect this old loach to have such a secret technique. Did my sword strike hurt that much? This method might have been pretty good in the past, but right now, in front of me, it's just showing off your meager skills before an expert."
Saying so, he formed another hand seal.
In the next second, a banner billowing with purple qi appeared behind him, shaking violently. Countless phantoms of light and shadow could faintly be seen surfacing on the banner's surface.
"Come, Jade Maiden!"
Lu Yang shouted another Dao command. The Righteous Dao Banner behind him immediately responded. A petite, pretty young Daoist child with red lips and white teeth skipped out from it.
Immediately after, she transformed, suddenly disintegrating into an overwhelming swarm of insects. Bolstered by Lu Yang's stature, they pounced onto the Old Dragon Lord. Infiltrating every crevice, devouring qi, and breaking armor, they continuously swallowed the Old Dragon Lord's flesh and blood, making his dragon bones increasingly visible.
The originally converged aura leaked out once again.
Seeing this, Lu Yang changed his hand seal. The Tribulation Wave sword spirit beside him immediately understood tacitly, once again steering a ray of sword light into the Old Dragon Lord's body.
Clang! Clang!
In a flash, sounds of shattering metal and iron, mixed with the Old Dragon Lord's wails, erupted alongside a dense barrage of sword qi from within the Old Dragon Lord's body.
Such a method was tantamount to death by a thousand cuts!
A long time passed like this before Lu Yang finally stopped his movements. He withdrew the Qi-Eating Mother Insect and the Tribulation Wave, looking with absolute satisfaction at the mountain of precious materials piled up before him.
The dragon horns were the most prominent, placed at the top.
Below was a head as massive as a mountain, with crimson whiskers and a brilliantly glowing pearl under its jaw. A reversed scale was embedded in its throat.
Below the dragon head was a dragon body resembling a sprawling mountain range.
The dragon spine sat in the middle, with various dragon bones scattered to the left and right, brimming with radiant light. Meanwhile, the Old Dragon Lord's entire essence of flesh and blood had been condensed into three dark red blood pills.
On the other side, the Old Dragon Lord had already lost his physical body. All that remained was a wisp of a ghost drifting about, on the verge of dispersing entirely, relying solely on a speck of Golden Nature to sustain itself.
After all, what Lu Yang had scraped off wasn't just a simple physical body. If it were just a physical body, he could have casually offered it up; worst comes to worst, he could just reincarnate and build a new one later. However, in reality, Lu Yang had scraped off his physical body along with the corresponding soul's Golden Nature, which was why his vitality was so severely damaged.
Of course, the quality of the precious materials scraped off in this manner was also the absolute highest.
Whether it was the dragon bones, dragon horns, or dragon blood, they all contained his soul's Golden Nature. With spirit and flesh united in them, there weren't many precious materials in today's world that could surpass them.
"Hah... hah..."
Within the Floating Light Realm Sea, the Old Dragon Lord's soul was in turmoil, but he didn't feel the slightest bit of anger or humiliation. Instead, his heart was filled with the pure rejoicing and joy of surviving a disaster.
I survived!
Regardless, this Lord who attacked me had no intention of killing me. He merely wanted to harvest my precious materials. There is still a sliver of hope for survival after all...
The next second, the voice rang out again:
"Old Dragon, extract a concept of the [Vast Ocean Water] for me."
"As you command!"
The Old Dragon Lord didn't even ask for the reason. Without a second word, he sensed the [Vast Ocean Water] and intercepted a radiant light containing rippling vast waters and surging, shocking waves.
Seeing this, Lu Yang beckoned with his hand and pulled that concept of the [Vast Ocean Water] into his grasp. Afterward, he tossed the Old Dragon Lord aside and shifted his focus back to the pile of precious materials on the ground. He gradually calmed his mood, cleared his mind, and finally took all the precious materials into his palm.
Boom!
In a flash, a fierce fire ignited in Lu Yang's palm. The precious materials began to melt one after another, and he threw that concept of the [Vast Ocean Water] into the mix as well.
The fourth True Treasure!
In Golden Core cultivation, when three True Treasures converge into a [Dao-Seeking Immortal Method], one can uplift a Grotto-Heaven and reach the Middle Stage of the Golden Core. This is a monumental achievement, but it is also a limitation.
Just as Great Perfected Lords are divided into those of Three Elements and Five Elements.
Three True Treasures are often the limit for a Golden Core Perfected Lord. Whether one can break through this limit and forge a fourth True Treasure is the fundamental basis for whether one can execute Void Attainment for a Dao Fruit.
After so many years, from his initial vision up until today, he had finally taken the first genuine step towards Void Attainment!
(End of Chapter)