“Ah…” Seeing the joy on Chen Feng’s face, the old man let out a long sigh for an unknown reason. “We’ve been together for almost three months now, haven’t we!”
Chen Feng was startled, not understanding why he asked this, and nodded after doing a quick calculation in his mind.
“Three months… Alas, a Tier Three Magic Core is quite remarkable for sustaining my spiritual power for three months!” the old man lamented.
A sudden, ominous thought struck Chen Feng. Although the old man was often erratic, he never spoke words so discouraging. Saying this now—could it mean…?
“Yes! I am currently a remnant soul, with no inherent source of energy. The reason I could stay with you for three months was mainly by using a secret technique to nourish the soul with the Magic Core. However, this method is not meant to be used repeatedly; each use diminishes the spirit a bit. Using it three times consecutively will naturally cause the soul to dissipate! A Tier Three Magic Core can only sustain my spirit for three months, so in a few more days, I will have to fall back into a dormant state!” the old man said, completely devoid of his usual jests, his voice carrying not an ounce of emotion.
“Dormant?” A pang of sadness pierced Chen Feng’s heart. “Have you been in a coma for all these ten thousand years?”
The old man nodded. “Indeed. After my physical body was petrified, I barely managed to escape back here. After sealing the gate with my residual strength, I fell into a coma. As soon as someone could enter through the correct method, I would awaken immediately, but this state only lasts for one day! I had only intended to tell you a few things, but I didn't expect you to carry a Magic Core. That’s why I employed this soul-nourishing secret technique.”
The old man paused, then continued, “Do you know what that red pill I gave you was?”
Chen Feng took out the jade vial, glanced at it, and shook his head.
“That is a Blood Pill condensed from my own blood!”
Chen Feng’s face instantly changed. A Blood Pill condensed from the old man’s own blood? This meant that for the past three months, he had been consuming the old man’s blood…
“Don’t make that face!” The old man wore a look of genuine frustration. “Do you know why I never told you which race I belonged to in life? Because I was afraid you would be intimidated! The race I reincarnated into after transmigrating from Earth was an Flame Dragon!”
“Flame Dragon?” Chen Feng’s eyes widened to their fullest extent. “You… you are of the Dragon Clan?”
The old man nodded. “After transmigrating, I relied on my memories from my previous life to furiously cultivate the many secret arts of the Dragon Clan. I finally achieved extremely high success! Ah, I thought my wish was about to be realized when unforeseen changes occurred, ultimately leading to the tragic end of perishing in a foreign land!”
As he spoke, a flicker of melancholy crossed the old man’s eyes, revealing a heart full of resentment.
“Here, take this!” As he finished speaking, the scenery within the Heavy Domain Space twisted violently. Chen Feng’s vision blurred, and a small, purple jade vial materialized in his hand out of thin air.
“What is this?” Chen Feng looked at it quizzically.
The small purple jade vial was only slightly larger than his thumb. Upon opening the stopper, it revealed a drop of crimson liquid. Under the illumination of the magic lamp, the liquid emitted strange rays and pulsed with a heart-stoppingly powerful energy.
Chen Feng felt the power of the vortex in his body accelerate, on the verge of bursting forth. The process of ‘Savage Bite’ spontaneously formed within him, and a faint, pale yellow flame immediately ignited on his fist!
“Eh?” The old man exclaimed in surprise, his eyes fixed intently on the flame crowning Chen Feng’s fist.
Chen Feng snapped back to reality, inwardly surprised. How had the Fists King technique been executed unconsciously?
“Heaven’s will, truly heaven’s will. I originally thought you wouldn't be able to withstand it, but I never expected the Dou Qi cultivation method you practice would contain such pure Fire Element energy. What do I have to worry about now!”
Chen Feng hastily sealed the purple jade vial, and the oppressive feeling immediately vanished. He let out a long breath. “What do you mean? What heaven’s will?”
The old man didn't answer, instead asking, “Have you been through some special experience that altered your physique, or perhaps consumed something fire-attributed?”
Chen Feng thought for a moment. “I ate a Blazing Fire Nether Fruit.”
Upon hearing the words ‘Blazing Fire Nether Fruit,’ the old man’s voice suddenly became tense. He asked cautiously, “Is it the Blazing Fire Nether Fruit that grows in the Fire Cloud Valley outside?”
Chen Feng countered, “Fire Cloud Valley? Oh, you mean that valley outside? Yes, I ate it there!”
The old man’s voice trembled slightly, whether from excitement or fear. “Don’t tell me you ate the entire fruit!”
“One?” Chen Feng paused, recalling the circumstances. “I think I ate four in one go. What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
“F-four?” The old man could hardly believe his ears. “Are you a Beast Tamer or a human?”
He fell silent for a moment, seemingly studying Chen Feng intently. He looked nothing like a Beast Tamer. He muttered inwardly, Monstrous, before slowly saying, “What grows in the Fire Cloud Valley is not the Blazing Fire Nether Fruit, but the Blazing Fire Phoenix Fruit! They look completely identical and are hard to distinguish. The difference is that the Blazing Fire Nether Fruit is formed from the shed feathers of a Fire Phoenix as it molts and re-grows, whereas the Blazing Fire Phoenix Fruit is produced when the Fire Phoenix’s physical body annihilates, and its crystal core mutates into plant life… It flowers every five thousand years and bears fruit every five thousand years. The Fire Element concentration it contains is several hundred times that of the Blazing Fire Nether Fruit!”
“Several hundred times?” Chen Feng was startled. After eating the Blazing Fire Nether Fruit and waking up from his coma, Little Tiger had meticulously explained the fruit’s origins and its contained Fire Element to him. When he learned that the Blazing Fire Nether Fruit was an item used in the trials of the Phoenix Clan, his face had turned pale with terror. He was human; surviving after eating such a thing was already an unbelievable stroke of luck. Hearing the old man say this now, cold sweat streamed down his back, followed by a wave of lingering fear.
“Several hundred times? Good heavens, am I an immortal? To eat that and still live?”
The old man’s voice took on a strange quality. “I should be asking you! Are you an immortal? To survive that!”
“…” Chen Feng.
The old man continued, “The only reason you survived eating the Blazing Fire Phoenix Fruit might be related to the Dou Qi cultivation method you practice. If that’s the case, it proves your practice method is entirely fire-aligned. In that case, evolving your bloodline is even more urgent. Sit down right now and open the purple jade vial!”
“Evolving my bloodline?”
“Stop asking so many questions and hurry up!” The old man sounded somewhat impatient.
Chen Feng complied, sitting down and opening the purple jade vial as instructed.
An incomparably powerful aura emanated from the small vial. Chen Feng forced down the agitation, slowly circulated the vortex in his Dantian a few times to neutralize the pressure before him.
“Bite your middle finger and place it into the small vial!” the old man instructed.
Chen Feng didn't hesitate. The moment his finger entered the vial, an overwhelming, potent force surged towards him. The intense spiritual pressure made his mind boom as if it had exploded. Chen Feng felt like a small skiff navigating a raging, turbulent sea, with terrifying waves threatening to swallow him at any moment.
What exactly is this thing? How can it possess such powerful spiritual pressure?
Before he could ponder further, the crimson liquid in the vial seemed to recognize a relative, surging directly from his bitten finger into his blood vessels.
The red liquid darted through his blood like a sharp little knife. The intense pain threatened to make Chen Feng pass out—the combination of spiritual pressure and bodily agony was almost enough to break him!
In Chen Feng’s spiritual world, a tiny, slender figure suddenly faced a giant hundreds of meters tall! A profound sense of powerlessness welled up from the depths of his soul. Chen Feng shuddered and took several steps back, trying to evade the giant’s oppressive aura.
But the giant seemed to read his mind, lifting a massive foot, tens of meters long, and bringing it down directly toward his head!
“Don’t…” Chen Feng cried out, turning to flee backward. However, no matter how fast he ran, the giant always appeared before him, its colossal foot hanging over his head, constantly pressing down on his nerves.
“Rumble…” The earth shook violently as the giant’s huge foot finally smashed solidly onto his body. A flash of light ignited in Chen Feng’s mind: Am I dead like this?
“No…” Many figures swiftly flashed through his mind: Qigu, Feliya, Harry, Uncle Wen, Gubo…
They were all smiling at him. Just as he was about to greet them, he saw Qigu suddenly contort his face in anger: “You unfilial son! Kneel!” A resounding slap, two falling teeth, a broken arm—all reappeared as if in a movie.
Feliya spoke with icy disdain: “You are the one lying! Stuart was right. I saw you steal the Jade Bangle!”
Then Harry, Uncle Wen, Gubo, and the others all spoke at once: “It was him, he stole the Jade Bangle!”
“It wasn’t me!” Chen Feng roared.
But what greeted him was the scorn and curses of the crowd. Thief, madman, idiot—countless titles were heaped upon him. Not a single person believed him.
Chen Feng watched the faces of the laughing crowd gradually distort. Hat after hat was forcibly placed on his head, making his anger surge. A wave of fury erupted from his Dantian. He roared, “Fine! Since none of you believe me, I will prove with my strength that I am not a thief, a madman, or an idiot!”
Chen Feng mustered immense courage and let out a great shout. Sounds of breaking glass echoed, and all the figures vanished. The giant’s foot still pressed down on him!
“Aargh…”
Chen Feng roared, his small body suddenly shimmering with golden light, appearing like an immortal. He raised both hands, supporting the descending giant foot, pushing upward with all his might!
With a “Boom,” the giant fell, kicking up dust from the ground.
“Who cares what you are! I have to prove myself now! I will slay whoever stands in my way, be it man or god!”
His powerful fighting spirit and mental energy directly pierced the giant’s body, instantly tearing it to shreds!
“Hmm,” came the old man’s slightly surprised voice, tinged with a hint of pain.
“I never expected his spirit to be this strong! It seems I underestimated him.”
“Crack, crack,” came a light sound. Chen Feng opened his eyes. The previous events had been hallucinations. As his spirit returned to his physical body, he noticed the abnormality: a blood-red liquid was traveling along his veins, instantly devouring all his existing blood. The intense pain combined with the strange activity in his meridians caused his entire body to tremble involuntarily.
At that moment, the vortex in his Dantian seemed to have found a soulmate, jumping and vibrating continuously, its rotation accelerating, madly absorbing the boundless energy from the crimson liquid and expanding relentlessly.
“No way. Not only is his spirit powerful, but his internal Dou Qi is also this bizarre!” the old man sighed again.
Although the old man, like Chen Feng, had transmigrated from Earth, the time gap was too vast. Furthermore, the vortex in Chen Feng’s body belonged to the Fists King technique—a mutated martial art developed while playing arcade games—so he naturally couldn’t recognize it, mistaking it for some special Dou Qi method.
The vortex spun faster, like a joyous fierce tiger, showing no signs of fatigue. The fierce assault of the crimson liquid suddenly stalled, seemingly losing its former dominance, and gradually became docile.
Chen Feng was naturally aware of these changes. A slight relaxation settled in his heart. If the red blood had previously been like a supreme ruler, mighty and arrogant, swallowing his blood as if consuming something negligible, now, thanks to the efforts of the vortex, it finally understood a crucial lesson: the seemingly insignificant blood contained a powerful force!
A power so mighty that even it had to be wary of!
Thus, it transformed from its initial arrogance into docility, beginning to merge with Chen Feng’s own blood, becoming subject to Chen Feng’s control.
In reality, as the crimson liquid merged with the blood, a wisp of dark, shadowy vortex suddenly emerged from the center, instantly swallowing half of the red liquid. However, the speed was so fast that Chen Feng did not notice…
Letting out a long breath, the pain throughout Chen Feng’s body slowly subsided. He looked around and realized his physical form had not changed at all; he remained seated in the lotus position, his finger still in the purple jade vial, but the blood-red liquid within the vial had long since vanished.
“That was close!” Thinking back to the scene just now, Chen Feng felt a rush of lingering fear. If he hadn’t remembered the humiliating hatred at the critical moment, he would likely be a corpse now!
What he had just experienced was a combination of spiritual attack and physical/medicinal attack. If he had failed to endure either one, it would have meant certain death.
Chen Feng stood up. Sweat had already soaked his crude ‘garment.’ His expression grim, he looked at the old man before him. “What did you give me! You almost killed me! What exactly is bloodline evolution?”
The old man’s figure appeared much fainter than before, and his voice was weak. “That crimson liquid is the essence of my bloodline! You have now evolved into the bloodline of an Flame Dragon!”
PS: Roar~~ Finally finished writing this massive section, I’m exhausted! I’ll write another chapter for tomorrow morning! This chapter is nearly 4000 characters long. Brothers and sisters, shouldn’t there be some acknowledgment? I need votes…