Regardless of whether the huge fellow carried the Dragon Bloodline or was a pile of dragon bones, since there was a "Dragon" in its name and it had not reached the level of a Pureblooded Dragon, it would be suppressed by the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon.Even before the battle, Zhang Xuan had known this, but being the low profile person that he was, he had intended to use his raw strength to win the Dragonbone Divine Spear over. However, who would have thought that the other party would be so shameless as to raise its strength after seeing that it was on the losing end?
I could still turn a blind eye to you raising your cultivation by a realm, but raising it by several at once, that would really be going too far.
Even someone as magnanimous like me can"t turn a blind eye of it!
Thus, he had mercilessly used the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon… and of course, as expected, the Dragonbone Divine Spear was immediately suppressed.
Lying on the ground, the skeletal dragon asked through chattering molars, "Y-you… are a Pureblooded Dragon?"
Suppressed by the power of the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon, it felt as if its consciousness was on the verge of slipping away from it.
It was not the primary consciousness of the dragon bone but a weapon spirit that had grown after the dragon bone had been forged into a spear. As such, it had retained the traits of the Dragon Tribe, and the instinctive deference and fear toward Pureblooded Dragons was ground in its bones.
Pureblooded Dragons were existences that represented the pinnacle of the Dragon Tribe"s authority, and no lower dragons could ever buck up the courage to oppose them!
"Must I be a Pureblooded Dragon in order to use the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon?" Zhang Xuan sneered coldly.
"This…"
The skeletal dragon was rendered speechless.
Having fought alongside Ancient Sage Ran Qiu, it had met the strongest being of the Master Teacher Continent, Kong s.h.i.+, before, but not even Kong s.h.i.+ had the ability to vocalize the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon… Yet, the young man before it was actually able to do so.
Just who in the world was the young man before it?
The skeletal dragon hesitated for a moment before eventually lowering its head. "I-I"m willing to acknowledge you as my master!"
The hierarchy within the Dragon Tribe was based on their bloodline. It was natural for those of a lesser bloodline to serve those of a higher bloodline. On top of that, it was a fact that the young man had defeated it, so there was no shame in its actions.
"Good!" Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as it was about to ask how the acknowledgement ceremony would go, the skeletal dragon suddenly began contracting rapidly, and just like before, it turned into a ma.s.sive spear.
Weng!
It circled in the air for a bit as it shrank to the length of roughly a zhang before falling into Zhang Xuan"s hand.
Lowering his head to take a closer look, Zhang Xuan a.s.sessed his winnings. The spear in his hand was black in color, and a cold glint reflected off its tip. Just the sight of the spear left one with the sensation that the spear would pierce a hole through one the next moment, sending s.h.i.+vers down the spines of the weaker-minded.
"Excellent spear!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed in agitation.
Just by stroking the spear lightly, he could hear the roar of a dragon echoing around him. When he attempted to infuse his zhenqi into the spear, he delightedly realized that there were no obstructions at all, as if the spear was just an extension of his meridians. It was actually capable of harnessing his power with full efficiency!
Padah!
A droplet of his blood fell on the spear tip, and it was swiftly absorbed in. In the blink of an eye, a brilliant surge of light burst forth from the spear, and slight cracks appeared in the s.p.a.ce all around.
"With this powerful weapon, my fighting prowess would be heightened by at least twofold!" Zhang Xuan trembled in agitation.
There was no doubt that this Dragonbone Divine Spear was the most powerful artifact that he had acquired ever since he arrived on the Master Teacher Continent. While Ancient Sage Ran Qiu might have sealed its power, the might that it wielded was still beyond formidable!
Of course, due to the limitations of his current cultivation, it was inevitable that he would still be unable to bring out the true prowess of the spear. Nevertheless, once he triggered Kong s.h.i.+"s blood droplet, with this spear in hand, there would be absolutely no one beneath Ancient Sage who would be a match for him!
In fact, even Half-Ancient Sages would be well within his means to deal with!
It"s no wonder the Library of Heaven"s Path guided me to this pa.s.sageway! With this alone, the long journey here won"t have been in vain!
Laughing heartily, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and the spear warped back into a skeletal dragon.
With a thought, the skeletal dragon turned into a belt that wrapped around his waist.
After taming the spear, he found that the skeletal dragon had the ability to freely change its form. As a spear, it could pierce through anything that stood in its way. As a whip, it could leave deep gashes on the world.
After that was done, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief as he scanned his surroundings once more.
At this point, the lake had already quietened down, returning back to its initial tranquility. In the empty-looking hall, there were no visible exits.
"Have I… cleared the trial yet?" Zhang Xuan asked the skeletal dragon in confusion.
"Of course, you have already cleared the trial! I"d send you out right now, but… there are some of my possessions over here that I hope to take away with me!" the skeletal dragon said.
"I see… Alright then!" Zhang Xuan said. "Go and take them then!"
The skeletal dragon swiftly flew out from Zhang Xuan"s waist and rose into the air, reverting back to the ma.s.sive several-dozen-meter-long dragon. It descended to the top of the water and swiped its claws into the lake.
Hula!
The lake immediately billowed furiously under the overwhelming might, and a circular platform slowly rose into the air. It was roughly three meters in diameter, but it emanated a shockingly concentrated spiritual energy that felt nouris.h.i.+ng like the warm breeze of spring.
"This is… the ultimate treasure of smithing, the Golden Origin Spirit Stone?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in disbelief.
Despite being a failure of a blacksmith who could only forge bricks, his comprehension of smithing and ores was at least up to standard. Or to be more exact, even 9-star blacksmiths might not be able to compete with him in terms of sheer knowledge!
Even with a glance from afar, he could tell that the circular platform was the ultimate treasure that the top blacksmiths dreamt of even with their eyes wide open—the Golden Origin Spirit Stone!
In the forging of an average Saint high-tier artifact, just adding a single gram of the Golden Origin Spirit Stone into the forging process would be enough to enhance the artifact into a Saint pinnacle artifact… and there was actually a huge circular platform of it right in front of him!
Just how many tons would that weigh?
Even someone as calm as Zhang Xuan could not help but feel his face flus.h.i.+ng red in agitation, and uncontrollable desire sprouted in the depths of his heart.
It could be said that just this circular platform, in terms of value, would not pale in comparison to a pinnacle Great Sage artifact!
"Indeed, this is the Golden Origin Spirit Stone! Back then, when Ancient Sage Ran Qiu sealed me here, he instructed me to wait for the next destined person to appear and win my acknowledgement… However, I have waited here for so long that I have already lost track of time! Ultimately, as a weapon spirit, my lifespan is still limited. Knowing this, Ancient Sage Ran Qiu placed this artifact into the lake. As long as I rest above it, my strength wouldn"t dissipate, and my lifespan can be significantly lengthened!" the skeletal dragon explained.
"I see!" Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
This was also a question that he had been wondering about. Even if the Dragonbone Divine Spear had been one of the strongest weapons tens of thousands of years ago, after the pa.s.sing of so many years, its weapon spirit should have already aged to the point where battling would be impossible for it. Fortunately, it seemed like Ancient Sage Ran Qiu had already predicted this problem and made preparations in advance!
With the Golden Origin Spirit Stone to sustain the Dragonbone Divine Spear, the vitality of its weapon spirit could be sustained. Even after hibernating for tens of thousands of years, it was still able to exert its greatest fighting prowess without any problem!
"However, since I have already awakened, this Golden Origin Spirit Stone is of no use to me. Thus, I"m willing to offer it to you, Master!" With a wave of its claw, the Golden Origin Spirit Stone flew toward Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan hurriedly caught it and stowed it into his storage ring. "Hahaha, I won"t turn down your gift then!"
Seeing the possessions and magnanimity of Sword Saint Xing had made him acutely aware of how shallow his view of "valuable" was compared to others. While this Golden Origin Spirit Stone might be an invaluable treasure to him, it likely meant nothing to an expert of Ancient Sage Ran Qiu"s caliber.
Since the skeletal dragon was willing to offer it to him, he had no reason to turn it down.
Furthermore, it just so happened that the Golden Origin Spirit Stone was an ideal resource to reforge the Golden Origin Cauldron. With this, he would be able to upgrade the Golden Origin Cauldron once more, and it would be able to aid him in his future battles!
"Master, we can leave right now!"
After handing the Golden Origin Spirit Stone over, the skeletal dragon warped back into a belt and wrapped itself around Zhang Xuan. Raising his head, Zhang Xuan found that there was an identical stone door to the one that he had entered through not too far away.
He quickly walked over to it and pushed it open.
Jiya!
When the stone door opened, he found that he had returned to the atrium, where two groups of people were standing against one another. Their zhenqi crackled in the air, hinting at an impending battle.1 zhang ≈ 33.3cm