Zong Shou’s heart was similarly tumultuous. He had seen all sorts of rare treasures in his later life. Compared to those, this Thunder Luan Egg, though precious, was not considered exceptional.

It was just that those were the absolute pinnacle of marvels within the Divine Emperor game; he had scarcely encountered such things in reality.

With a slightly ardent gaze, he looked at the massive, colored egg. Zong Shou mused inwardly that the Thunder Luan from the Desolate Era had been exceedingly cautious and subtle in concealing its offspring.

Hidden here, even a Spirit Master above the Sun Roaming level, capable of spiritual wandering across heaven and earth, would find it extremely difficult to detect without intent.

Had it not been for that alien powerhouse perishing precisely in this location, the Thunder Luan within this egg should have hatched three thousand years ago.

Heaven clearly did not desire this bird’s birth, so taking it now caused him no guilt!

He retrieved another medicinal bottle from his sleeve, but this time, he did not apply it directly. Instead, he first removed his outer garment and used a Willow Leaf Talisman Blade to carve several lines of lacerations onto his own body. For the areas on his back he couldn't reach, he entrusted the task entirely to Little Jin, controlling it mentally to ‘sculpt’ his back. Cutting about half a fen deep, fine trickles of blood snaked down from his body.

The blood lines vaguely corresponded to the meridians within, yet seemed just slightly off. Chu Xue’s face went pale; she wanted to speak up in protest but knew that Zong Shou was clearly inscribing a talisman array upon himself at this moment. To interrupt rashly would only harm her young master.

It took a full half an hour before the lines of lacerations vaguely took shape. Zong Shou’s four limbs and chest and abdomen now formed the shapes of four Thunder Luans. The tips of their beaks converged exactly over Zong Shou’s Qi Sea. Coiling around his body, they also separated into countless minute spirit talismans and branching arrays.

His forehead also bore a small pattern, resembling a Thunder Luan spreading its wings and soaring high, its tail connecting to the body to form a complete whole.

Only the center of his brow was left as a blank space, about the size of a thumb.

When all the runes were fully drawn, Zong Shou used the hot spring to thoroughly wash away all the blood from his body. Only then did he apply the medicinal fluid he had taken out earlier onto those wounds.

The deep purple hue lent Zong Shou’s entire person a layer of strange aura, while also possessing a touch of magnificent aesthetic beauty.

In less than a moment, all the lacerations turned purple. And the four large and one small, five Thunder Luans became even more spirited and lifelike, appearing as if they might fly off his body at any second.

Zong Shou’s expression grew more solemn. In his memory, this item—the Thunder Luan Egg—had been refined into a pill by that Sun Roaming Realm Spirit Master, utilizing the combined power of his entire sect over half a year, to be consumed by his disciples.

He currently possessed absolutely no such conditions. His only reliance was a single technique of Devouring Origin!

“Xue’er, guard for me! If this fails, you and Uncle Yin must leave the East Lin Cloud Continent as soon as possible!”

After issuing the command, without waiting for Chu Xue’s reaction, Zong Shou walked before the massive egg. After only a slight hesitation, he abruptly pointed his finger at the upper side of the eggshell.

Contact felt like refined steel, immensely solid. It was also scorching hot, with faint, weak currents of electricity subtly permeating the exterior.

However, when Zong Shou activated the Great Law of Swallowing Heaven and Primordial Transformation, the eggshell softened at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within seconds, his finger pierced into the egg.

The very next instant, a massive surge of purple electricity burst forth violently. It rushed up along Zong Shou’s arm. With a sizzling sound, his skin gave off an acrid, burnt smell.

This current should have instantly blasted his body into fragments. But as it passed through him, it submerged into the Thunder Luan Talisman Array.

Zong Shou’s body trembled; it was not just widespread numbness, but strands of deep purple electric light coiled around him. At his fingertip, clusters of pure, innate vital energy surged in like a mighty river, seemingly without end, rushing into his meridian wheels.

Moments later, Zong Shou was gradually reaching a point of no return; the Great Law of Swallowing Heaven and Primordial Transformation could not be halted now. He could only allow it to pour in, surging and churning within his body.

The lacerations on his body were healing rapidly, sealing all the purple lightning within. Also sealed within his body was all the essence from the Thunder Luan Egg that had been forcefully absorbed.

Chu Xue watched with a heart full of terror. Although the initial purple lightning had faded, the blood lines grew increasingly grotesque, constantly twisting and bulging, as if something was struggling and writhing beneath the skin.

She stepped forward but instinctively recoiled, daring not to touch him even slightly.

Yet, Zong Shou’s entire being felt as if it was about to be violently inflated by these streams of energy.

He had long ignored the intense pain, focusing solely on urging the innate vital energy to course through his wheel meridians, only praying that his body would not be blown to dust.

All the acupoints in his Marrow Meridian were opened under this immense pressure. The subsequent Blood Wheel and Wisdom Wheel did not hold out long either. The twenty-four main points and countless branch points were forcefully wrenched open.

Fortunately, a portion of the innate qi also permeated his bones, blood, and marrow, gradually improving his physique and fortifying his foundation.

It was only when the Viscera Wheels also could no longer withstand the force and dozens of acupoints were opened that the innate essence flowing from the egg finally slowed down.

The energy within his body shifted from being fierce and unrestrained to gentle. Guided by Zong Shou, it settled in various parts of his body.

Although his body felt bloated and unbearably sore, he still forced the practice of the Breath-Concealing Art, coordinating with the five-Luan Talisman Array on his skin, sealing these masses of innate true essence throughout his body.

Every speck of innate true essence was incredibly precious. Even though he knew he was only a single step away from death, he dared not waste any of it.

His recent practice of the Breath-Concealing Art, starting a few days prior, was precisely for this moment—to retain the maximum amount of this vital energy within himself.

The lacerations on his body healed one by one. When the five purple Thunder Luans vanished entirely beneath his skin, the infusion of Thunder Luan essence from the egg finally concluded.

However, a sharp glint of light still flickered in Zong Shou’s eyes; he knew that the most dangerous and critical step was now at hand.

Just as the infused innate true essence gradually became faint and ethereal, Zong Shou’s index finger suddenly stretched, and a solid mass of energy, the size of a pine nut kernel, forcibly shot into his body.

Every pathway it passed through was immediately torn open. Following his arm, it traced upward.

It was originally descending towards the Qi Sea, but upon reaching his chest and abdomen, it abruptly divided. One portion continued to sink and hover within the Qi Sea, while the other part shot directly into his consciousness, penetrating his soul, forming the thirteenth rune outside his Sea of Consciousness. It was vaguely the character ‘Lì’ (, lightning strike), the same size as the adjacent ‘Yùn’ (, fortune/movement), yet it constantly shifted, sometimes resembling the character for ‘lightning’ (diàn), sometimes appearing like the character ‘thunder’ (tíng).

Zong Shou felt as if his head had been struck heavily by a hammer, remaining dizzy for a long time before gradually regaining clarity.

He slumped down powerlessly, but immediately took his blade as a brush and inscribed the character ‘Fēng’ (, seal) between his brows. It was exactly the size of a thumb, mysterious beyond comprehension, yet it caused the five Thunder Luans around him to reappear instantly. Purple lightning danced wildly across his body, and his imposing aura soared.

It was as if the final touch had been applied to a dragon painting, dramatically altering the effect of the entire talisman array. Previously, a trace of purple lightning still leaked outward, and even a portion of the innate true essence dissipated.

But once the talisman array stabilized, Zong Shou’s entire vital energy instantly returned to silence.

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