Inside the Dragon Pearl Space.

Two figures, one large and one small, Taiyan and Qingyue, sat side-by-side, watching Nie Kong and the Dragon Ancestor opposite them with profound boredom. Ever since the divine power was transferred to Nie Kong, these two had remained completely still, sitting cross-legged and facing each other without moving, resembling two ancient, unmoving stone statues.

Suddenly, Nie Kong’s brow twitched.

Though his eyes remained closed, his chest was instantly filled with ecstatic joy. He had expected the Dragon Ancestor’s residual divine power, after being tortured by the Dragon Taming Grass for twenty years, to be exceedingly weak. However, the reality far surpassed Nie Kong’s expectations. Compared to the Dragon Ancestor at his peak, that remnant of divine power was indeed negligible, but measured against the divine power Nie Kong currently possessed, it was more than ten times greater.

When Nie Kong completely absorbed and refined the Dragon Ancestor’s divine power, the gains were monumental. The fourth and fifth Nether Stars had completely transformed into pure gold. Simultaneously, this thorough metamorphosis of the Nether Stars, coupled with the massive surge in divine power, caused Nie Kong’s 'Crimson Star Battle Body' to break through from the Third Level to the Fifth Level.

“Five 'War God Star Seals,' Fifth Level 'Crimson Star Battle Body'…”

An overwhelming confidence surged within Nie Kong. “In the future, even if I encounter Heavenly Spirit realm experts, I will have enough strength to contend, even without relying on the power of Taiyan and the others!”

A moment later, Nie Kong’s emotions calmed. He shifted his focus toward the Spirit God Acupoint, which had absorbed the medicinal essence of the Dragon Taming Grass… The little fellow, after a short time, had unconsciously drifted into a deep slumber.

During the period Nie Kong was refining the divine power, the little one had shown no movement, remaining curled like a seed, floating within the Spirit God Acupoint. It occasionally irrigated the Fire Tree Silver Flower and the root tendrils of the Dragon Taming Grass in the pet inventory with a bit of its vital medicinal essence, just enough to sustain the life of these two rare herbs.

“Eh?”

Nie Kong felt a sudden stirring in his heart.

At that very instant, he sensed an intangible barrier emanating from the Spirit God Acupoint. Although the sensation was not entirely distinct, the barrier was undeniably present.

“Approaching the Cave Spirit realm breakthrough?”

In that instant, an irrepressible joy bloomed between Nie Kong’s brows. If he could break through to the Cave Spirit realm, his strength would leap forward again. From then on, as long as he didn't face peak Heavenly Spirit Masters like Long Tiangong or Hua Caidie, he was confident he could emerge victorious.

Sensing the surging divine power within the Nether Stars and the overflowing essence of spirit treasures in his meridians, Nie Kong gritted his teeth and activated the 'Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art' and the 'War God Star Seal' simultaneously. Almost at the same moment, the Spirit God Acupoint vibrated violently, and the Nine Great Nether Stars began to flash frantically.

The essence of spirit treasures rushed in like a bursting dam, sweeping through his meridians with overwhelming force, wave after wave crashing against the Spirit God Acupoint. The divine power from the five Nether Stars poured out continuously, weaving like silk and threads to merge with the essence of spirit treasures, jointly launching an assault on that intangible barrier.

Stimulated by the divine power, the offensive of the spirit treasure essence became nearly twice as ferocious.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

“……”

Turbulent storms arose within the Spirit God Acupoint, and violent roars echoed one after another in Nie Kong’s mind, threatening to shatter his skull. Under the combined impact of the spirit treasure essence and the divine power, the intangible barrier began to feel increasingly concrete to Nie Kong…

“He started cultivating again?”

Noticing the change in Nie Kong’s expression from the side, Taiyan had assumed he would wake up soon. To her surprise, in the span of a mere breath, Nie Kong’s face had become solemn and serious again, causing her to pout her soft, rosy lips. For her, this glittering golden space was exceedingly dull.

Qingyue responded with a smile, “Almost there, almost there. Based on my estimation, Nie Kong is definitely going to break through to the Cave Spirit realm this time!”

A flicker of confusion crossed Taiyan’s clear eyes. “How do you know?”

The little one raised her eyelids, hopped in front of Taiyan, placed her hands on her hips, and sternly admonished, “Little girl, is that how you question your elders?”

“Oh, then I won’t ask,” Taiyan replied sweetly, nodding obediently. Her gaze swept past the other Taiyan and landed on Nie Kong, a sweet smile reappearing on her pure face.

“Don’t stop…”

Seeing this, the little one felt an itch in her heart, as if scratched by a cat’s paw, and grew quite anxious. She had finally found such a rare opportunity to show off in front of Taiyan, how could she easily give it up? Thus, the two girls, one large and one small, huddled together, whispering secrets in hushed tones.

Meanwhile, large swaths of green began to emerge from the walls surrounding the Dragon Pearl Space, surging forward like a tide.

In an instant, Nie Kong was enveloped by the dense greenness.

Seeing this, the two girls widened their eyes. The green continued to pour out endlessly from the surroundings. In just a short while, this dazzling golden Dragon Pearl Space had turned deeply verdant, the area within a hundred-meter radius saturated with terrifying vitality.

“Hmm?”

The Dragon Ancestor suddenly opened his eyes. A trace of helpless, wry laughter appeared on his wrinkled, aged face. “This little fellow, as soon as you start cultivating, my recovery time gets pushed back by at least ten years, maybe even twenty… If I had known, I should have told you to absorb and refine that power outside after giving it all away!”

“Alas, I have suffered a great loss!”

The Dragon Ancestor sighed mournfully in his heart.

Outside the now-motionless Dragon Pearl, Long Tiangong sat quietly. After the passage to the Dragon Temple was cleared, he consulted with the elders, then entered alone. After considerable effort, he found this location amidst the labyrinthine tunnels and had been waiting here ever since.

“This is…”

Suddenly, Long Tiangong opened his eyes. Watching the waves of green frantically rushing toward the Dragon Pearl from all directions, a hint of astonishment flashed in his golden eyes.

A few seconds later, Long Tiangong gasped in shock. He realized that the life aura of Dragon Island was once again rapidly draining away.

However, his heart soon found peace. As long as the Dragon Ancestor was not destroyed, even if all the life aura of Dragon Island was exhausted, there would eventually be a day of restoration…

“Such potent Wood Spirit power and vitality!”

At this moment, Nie Kong felt both astonishment and joy in his heart.

The consumption of spirit treasure essence was extremely rapid while assaulting that intangible barrier. Thus, Nie Kong planned to absorb Wood Spirit elemental energy and vital energy to replenish his stores. Because he was within the Dragon Pearl Space, Nie Kong hadn't held out much hope initially, but the final result shocked him immensely.

Not only did the Dragon Pearl Space not block the entry of Wood Spirit elemental energy and vitality, but it actually made his absorption several times more effective.

In a flash of realization, Nie Kong understood. This Dragon Pearl was equivalent to the hub of the entire Dragon Island, connected to every region of the island. Absorbing Wood Spirit elemental energy and vitality within the Dragon Pearl using the 'Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art' was tantamount to spreading the influence of this spiritual technique across the entire island.

Under such circumstances, how could the speed not be astonishing?