Yun Qingrao gazed at the crack in the coffin, "Are those evil creatures perhaps related to ascension?"
The Celestial Void Daoist’s ethereal image stroked his beard: "Back then, we witnessed with our own eyes the corrupted source flowing backward from the Immortal Realm. And then the ascenders..." His voice suddenly faltered, and black mist seeped from the cracks in the jade statue.
Qing Feng gripped his dragon-scaled dagger, its cold gleam reflecting the resolve in his eyes. Yun Qingrao's ice-silk ribbon moved without wind, forming frost flower seals on the surface of the coffin.
"Must we slaughter each other to survive? How can all living things coexist if this continues?" Yun Qingrao clenched her sleeves.
The Celestial Void Daoist stroked the stone coffin and sighed: "When has celestial dao ever cared about the survival of living beings? Drinking poison to quench thirst, though ultimately fatal, allows one to live for now. Moreover..." A cold light flickered in his eyes, "Everyone thinks they won't be the one to die."
"Then why has the lifespan of cultivators drastically decreased? And why are heavenly tribulations more severe than before?" Qing Feng stared at the turtle shell floating in the air.
Ao Pan suddenly manifested a phantom dragon claw, three scales emitting a faint glow: "Firstly, although this Emperor severely wounded the foreign race and sealed the rift back then, the remnants are still devouring the laws of heaven and earth. They are frantically plundering spiritual energy, so cultivators naturally became superfluous."
"Secondly." He mockingly twirled a dragon scale, "In that great war a thousand years ago, this Emperor accidentally shattered the Celestial Pillar. What you see now as white crystals are actually fragments of the celestial dao, and the regeneration speed of spiritual energy can no longer keep up with cultivators' consumption."
"And the most crucial third point." The Dragon Emperor suddenly approached Qing Feng, his golden eyes reflecting the young man's grave face, "Those foreign races come from the Upper Realm, and the ascension channel requires a massive amount of spiritual energy to maintain. When the spiritual energy of this realm is exhausted..."
"The path to ascension is severed, and the celestial dao protects itself." Qing Feng blurted out, and the turtle shell in his sleeve suddenly trembled.
"Clever!" The Celestial Void Daoist flicked his finger, releasing two profound lights. A scroll of ink wash painting and an ancient jade sword emerged from the stone coffin. "However, according to the Dragon Emperor's estimation, the seal can last another thousand years. If one has not ascended by then..." He looked at everyone meaningfully.
Ao Pan suddenly burst into laughter: "Little Daoist, don't listen to this old Daoist trying to scare you. If you are willing to merge your divine soul with this Emperor's remnant will..."
The phantom dragon claw suddenly clasped Qing Feng's shoulder, "This Emperor can ensure you survive the age of Dharma's End."
"I appreciate Senior's kind offer." Turtle shell patterns appeared around Qing Feng's body, slowly pushing the phantom dragon claw away. "This junior trusts the fragmented Lo River Diagram in his hand more."
Seeing this, the Celestial Void Daoist chuckled, stroking his palm: "This turtle shell was found by me and the Dragon Emperor, gathering treasures from the eight wildernesses, deep within the Luo River. If one can comprehend its profound mysteries..." He suddenly threw the ink wash scroll towards Yun Qingrao, "The Heavenly River Diagram is given to little Yun for self-defense. As for this Dragon Slaying Sword..."
"Old fellow, you did that on purpose, didn't you!" Ao Pan's phantom image exploded into golden scales, causing the stone chamber to tremble.
Qing Feng took the opportunity to put the turtle shell into his pouch, a starry glint flashing in his eyes. A thousand years was enough for him to rewrite the ultimate fate of this world.
The Celestial Void Daoist gazed at the sword box glowing with a faint green light in his hand, his fingertips caressing the ancient patterns.
If this item were to appear in the world like the Beast Taming Sect's inherited jade seal, it would likely cause a bloody storm in the cultivation world.
Even if secretly used for personal gain, compared to the Autumn Water Sword that Qing Feng had wielded for many years, it still lacked a sense of mutual understanding.
Moreover, the old man's gaze swept over the falling snow outside the hall. The heroic soul of the Daoist who sacrificed himself to seal the Demonic Abyss back then was not far gone. Even if he were to bestow the Sect's secret treasure upon his descendant now, it would seem like stealing from the legacy of the loyal martyrs.
Qing Feng did not yet know that at this moment, the Daoist's divine consciousness was undergoing a heavenly and human struggle. It was not that he was reluctant to part with the inherited item.
If it could truly help this young Disciple break through his bottleneck, then what did it matter if he exhausted the Sect's treasury? After all, when the tribulation clouds pressed down on the city, only the strong could protect the Dao tradition from being extinguished.
But the human heart is unpredictable! The old man gazed at the gradually transparent life lines in his palm.
When his soul returned to heaven and earth, this inexperienced Disciple, holding the Sect Leader's token, would likely be ambushed before he could even enter the mountain-protecting array.
Since he had already glimpsed a one-thousandth chance of victory in the future, why not hand over the power of choice to this young man whose divination was extremely auspicious?
"It's your turn, little Dragon Maiden." Ao Pan's voice boomed like a great bell, causing dust to fall from the stone chamber.
Yun Qingrao suddenly looked up, starlight swirling in her eyes.
Breaking through formations and overcoming challenges along this path, seeing all opportunities fall to her companion, even if her Dao heart was like ice, a few ripples finally appeared.
Moreover, she had a long-cherished wish that she had to fulfill.
"That brat suits my temperament, but how can the Dragon race's supreme treasure be given to an outsider cheaply?" The dragon soul circled around the maiden, its golden scales flickering in the gloom. "But let me be clear, if you take these things, you'll probably be criticized by the old fogeys when you return to the West Sea Dragon Palace."
"If I can glimpse the true meaning on the path of cultivation, I will have no regrets even if I perish immediately." The maiden's fingertips ignited with azure dragon flames, making the cinnabar mark between her brows appear even more vivid.
"Good! This is truly worthy of the Yinglong bloodline!" Ao Pan burst into laughter, and the stone coffin opened in response.
A blood-colored amber hung in the void, a golden dragon shadow sealed within, eager to fly, each scale inscribed with primeval Dao patterns.
Qing Feng gasped at the sight. This was the legendary Yinglong essence blood, capable of making rivers flow backward.
Yun Qingrao, however, stared at the plain white crystal beneath the dragon shadow. Compared to the tyrannical pressure of the essence blood, this object was like an ancient jade from a deep pool, with an inner radiance flowing ceaselessly.
"This is Dragon Marrow Ice Soul. Taken with the essence blood, it can suppress the violent bloodline." Ao Pan's tone suddenly turned solemn. "But there's still a fifty percent chance of becoming a ferocious beast that knows only slaughter. Have you thought it through?"
The maiden pointed her fingers like a sword, slicing her palm, letting dragon blood drip onto the crystal: "If I can't even hold onto my true self, what's the point of cultivating the Grand Dao?"
Before her words finished, the blood-colored amber had transformed into a stream of light and vanished into her glabella. The roar of a dragon shook the entire underground palace violently.
The moment his fingertips touched the mysterious crystal, Qing Feng's divine consciousness world suddenly experienced an unprecedented fluctuation.
This profound space, constructed from dreams, actively expressed a desire, as if being pulled by some force to break through its shackles. He felt the surging spiritual tide within him; he vaguely touched the opportunity to break through to the Spirit Transformation stage.
At the other end of the stone chamber, Yun Qingrao had already taken the Yinglong essence blood into her palm.
As jade-like radiance flowed around her body, a phantom dragon coalesced amidst the swirling immortal mist.
In less than half an incense stick's time, that drop of essence blood, containing ancient power, had merged with her sea of qi.
"She's already refined it?" Qing Feng couldn't hide his shock.
The dragon soul circling the bronze coffin let out a low chuckle: "If she doesn't refine it now, once she leaves the Mystic Realm, even if those human cultivators don't understand the true meaning of dragon blood, it will be enough to drive half the cultivation world mad for her."
As the phantom dragon claw pointed, the Dragon-Binding Chains emitted a dazzling golden light: "As for you, brat, it's still not too late to leave now."
Qing Feng looked at the faint dragon Pattern on Yun Qingrao's glabella. At this moment, she was enduring the excruciating pain of bloodline fusion, her pearly teeth biting her vermilion lips until they turned pale. Her usually ethereal and otherworldly Immortal Maiden appearance now showed a heartbreaking fragility.
"A gamble with a fifty percent chance of becoming a dragon and a fifty percent chance of becoming a demon, are you sure you want to bet?" The phantom image of the dragon soul Ao Pan flickered under the moonlight stone's illumination. "If she loses control, this confined space will become a Asura field."
The young cultivator silently retreated to the stone door but did not step out of the barrier. As the crystal's energy surged into his meridians, a faint golden aura gradually appeared around his body: "If it truly comes to that, I will, before she completely loses control..."