After killing Xue Lianhua, the primordial dragon released its control over Yunxihua's body, and Yunxihua's body collapsed limply before he lost consciousness.
"Brat, your body is far too weak!! You can only exert power up to the Ancient Lord realm. Brat, I will return to rest," the primordial dragon replied.
The fourth elder and the others immediately carried Yunxihua back into the city. His body now lay completely weak and powerless.
After the battle against Xue Lianhua, Yunxihua slept for seven full years.
The entire cultivation world was shaken—not only because of that victory, but because of the strange aura that enveloped his body.
For seven years, Yunxihua's body neither decayed nor changed, yet every few months, waves of ancient energy radiated from him, causing the heavens to tremble and the entire continent to fall into fear.
Xubailong, Xufangyu, and the fourth elder guarded his resting place without ever letting their vigilance slip.
They could sense that something… or someone, was still residing within Yunxihua's body.
At times, they heard faint sounds—something resembling the snort of a primordial dragon—echoing from deep within Yunxihua's consciousness, as if something were being forged within his soul.
But in the seventh year, precisely when the stars formed the pattern of a dragon in the sky, Yunxihua's body suddenly trembled.
A beam of golden light burst forth from his chest, cleaving the heavens. Ancient seals—whose existence they had never even known—shattered one by one.
At that moment, Yunxihua's eyes slowly opened.
Sensing the changing heavenly phenomena, the primordial dragon hidden deep within Yunxihua's soul finally emerged.
Its voice resounded like primordial thunder, shaking the soul space and sending chills through the guardians outside, though they did not know why.
"Brat… you have finally broken through my second inheritance," said the primordial dragon, its tone mixed with pride and vigilance.
"All of this is thanks to the Emotionless Technique stored within your Origin Spiritual."
Yunxihua's half-awakened body trembled. Behind his eyelids, a light like stellar flames swirled, as if the laws of nature were rearranging his very existence.
The primordial dragon continued in its heavy voice:
"That technique… is not merely the abandonment of emotions. It destroys the limitations of your soul itself, allowing you to comprehend the principle of emptiness.
Without emotions, there is no fear.
Without emotions, there is no boundary.
And thus… you are able to receive my second inheritance—one that even dragons themselves dare not touch."
Outside, Xubailong and Xufangyu felt an utterly alien surge of energy, as though two opposing forces—absolute emptiness and primordial life—were colliding within Yunxihua's body.
The fourth elder whispered tremblingly,
"This… is no longer a realm breakthrough. This is a transformation of existence."
Meanwhile, within the soul space, Yunxihua slowly opened his eyes.
A cold, emotionless light flowed from his gaze—yet behind it surged the boundless power of an ancient dragon.
At last, Yunxihua broke through to the Soul Formation Realm.
The explosion of soul energy that followed caused the entire continent to fall silent.
The sky cracked faintly, the earth rumbled, and spiritual currents across all regions were drawn toward the point where Yunxihua lay.
That aura was so dense and profound, as if a new soul had been born at the center of the world.
Within the soul space, the primordial dragon gazed at Yunxihua with resolute eyes.
The massive dragon's body began to fade, its golden scales transforming into fragments of light—gentle in appearance, yet containing unimaginable power.
"Brat…" the dragon's voice grew faint, yet firm with determination,
"My second inheritance merely opens the door. But the next step… can only be achieved if I take action."
Yunxihua fell silent. He sensed a massive change about to occur—something that even the Emotionless Technique could not fully suppress.
The primordial dragon smiled faintly, a rare expression for a being of its stature.
"I have seen your path. You are no longer merely a successor… but a turning point for the fate of this world."
Then, without hesitation, the primordial dragon raised its head and roared. The soul space shook violently.
Waves of golden light spread like collapsing stars.
In an instant, the dragon's body exploded into an ocean of soul light, flowing directly into Yunxihua's Origin Spiritual.
Yunxihua trembled—not from fear, but from the sheer magnitude of power entering him.
"I… sacrifice my soul," the dragon's voice echoed for the final time,
"so that we… may become one."
That light fused with the core of his soul, forming a coiling dragon symbol that burned brilliantly like a miniature sun within Yunxihua's consciousness.
At that moment—
Yunxihua's soul and the primordial dragon's soul fused perfectly.
His Soul Formation Realm surged, his soul's stability became unshakable, and a new power—one that even gods rarely touched—began to awaken within his body.
In the outside world, Xubailong fell to his knees under the terrifying pressure of that soul power.
Xufangyu turned pale, his heart feeling as though it were being crushed by an invisible force.
The fourth elder could only whisper:
"This… is no longer a human. This is a primordial dragon soul reborn within the body of a cultivator…"
And when Yunxihua opened his eyes, golden light shaped like dragon pupils appeared within them.