Primordial Grade, the Ninth Head, Compromise and Starting Over

Caught off guard, a white cloud of energy was suddenly swallowed up by the crimson cloud of energy representing the Frost Hydra Bloodline, causing the crimson cloud of energy to grow larger.

The remaining white cloud seemed to sense the "danger" and began to break free from the vortex's pull, actively moving away from the crimson cloud.

The latter launched a "fierce" pursuit.

After the two gas clouds circled each other once, the deep red gas cloud abruptly gave up chasing the white gas cloud and rushed towards the light blue gas cloud in the middle.

The two air masses collided with a loud "bang!"

An invisible shockwave erupted from Ronan's body, and in an instant, a large number of Storm Rune and dense, snake-scale-like lines appeared on the surface of Ronan's body.

Ronan's body trembled slightly, his eyes tightly closed, and a trace of blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Damien, that's enough!"

Bennigo spoke quickly, his brow furrowed.

As if heeding Bennigo's warning, two clouds of gas, one red and one blue, quickly separated above Ronan's head, instantly devouring the remaining white cloud.

Ronan's aura stabilized, and the Storm Rune and Frost Serpent Mark on his body disappeared completely.

Once the bloodline is properly integrated, the real Bloodline Purification ritual officially begins.

"Splash splash splash—"

The massive Saint Blood Tree, which occupied almost half of the Mist Space, rustled its branches and leaves, making a sound like ocean waves crashing on the shore.

Streams of light emanated from its deep-rooted roots and canopy, flowing through countless crimson tendrils and into Ronan's body in waves.

Ronan's body began to glow, and a huge red halo enveloped him and the Saint Blood Tree. Dense, mysterious, and unintelligible runes appeared in the halo, floating and pulsating with his breath.

At this point, Ronan's figure was almost invisible; the fluctuations in the power of the Saint Blood Tree made the vast Mist Space seem to have been submerged to the bottom of a lake.

The void was filled with ripples and twists like water rippling across the surface.

Bennigo retreated to a certain distance, and he and Dodol III, who was carrying Arrietty, stared intently at the base of the Saint Blood Tree.

The grass and trees swayed silently, the fairies hid everywhere, and even the Mermaid Shell stopped singing and quietly submerged into the turbulent lake bottom.

Time passed second by second, and the halo of the Saint Blood Tree grew larger and larger until, at a certain moment, a strange tremor arose in Bennigo's heart.

He felt a bone-chilling coldness and subconsciously reached out to touch his brow, only to feel a thin layer of frost.

Bennigo was not surprised but delighted, his lips pursed as he suddenly took two steps forward.

"It's done!"

Within the intense halo, the enormous phantom of a multi-headed serpent quietly emerged, and a mysterious, ancient, noble, evil, and majestic will descended with it, slowly radiating outwards along with the frost.

Arrietty and a group of dust and plant spirits huddled behind the leaves, trembling. Dodol III, with his small, black bean-like eyes wide open, still maintained his carefree demeanor.

Bennigo struggled to suppress the urge to worship, but could not hide the joy on his face.

Although on the surface, after Ronan absorbed and consolidated the bloodlines within his body, there were only two types left, which was equivalent to a 50/50 chance of selection.

But the reality is far more complex than what the eye can see.

Bloodline concentration, bloodline grade—any of these factors can affect the final result of Bloodline Purification, and the success rate is far less than the theoretical 50%.

Fortunately, Ronan ultimately succeeded.

Goddess of Luck has chosen to stand by his side. The power of the Saint Blood Tree is now taking effect, and the purification of the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline has officially begun.

This is not a process that can be accomplished overnight.

As time passed, Ronan sat cross-legged at the foot of the Saint Blood Tree a sculpture, bathed in its radiance.

The Saint Blood Tree withered at a visible rate, and its countless roots, connected to the Elemental Pool, were constantly drawing in the surging energy, causing the water level in the Elemental Pool to drop day by day.

Conversely, the enormous phantom of the Ancient Frost Hydra hovering behind Ronan's body became increasingly solid and clear.

A crimson aura, representing the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline, hovered above Ronan's head, constantly churning and rolling, like a crimson blood sphere that kept collapsing inward and then releasing.

Each time the process of collapse and release occurs, the color of the energy cluster representing the bloodline deepens slightly.

The deep red gradually approaches dark red, and the color becomes increasingly translucent.

Until, after a certain collapse, at the very center of the dark red blood cell that was released again.

Suddenly, a dazzling golden light burst forth!

In an instant, "Boom!"

Ronan, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly opened his eyes, and his tall and slender body rose into the air.

Behind it, the phantom of a multi-headed serpent has eight huge, ferocious dark blue snake heads, their mouths open, and their scales spread out like wings, all emitting a silent hiss.

"Boom!"

A terrifying aura rolled above the Mist Space. Countless tendrils of the Saint Blood Tree fell off Ronan's body, and the patterns belonging to the storm disappeared, replaced by the multi-headed serpent patterns of Ancient Frost.

"Snap—"

With a sound like a shell breaking, a huge bulge rose up and cracked at the very center of the eight giant serpent phantoms behind Ronan. A ninth serpent head slowly grew out.

At this moment, the ancient will that had been lurking within the Mist Space suddenly became more than ten times stronger.

Ronan's once white hair had turned ice blue, his eyes were vertical, and a golden crack opened at the very center, exuding an indescribable noble and majestic aura.

"Primordial..."

Within the vast, Mist Space, all living beings lay prostrate, while large snowflakes fell from the sky.

Bennigo's lips trembled as he slowly put down the pen and paper he had been writing on, unable to describe the excitement he felt at that moment.

He was fortunate to be a participant and witness to all of this.

He personally guided a powerful ancient bloodline to successfully advance into an ancient-level bloodline.

Although it currently only contains a trace of ancient bloodline power, the hydra's ninth head has already grown, and the seed of the ancient level has been planted.

With the Saint Blood Tree present, the bloodline of this Frost Nine-Headed Serpent will eventually be able to truly transform into an ancient-level bloodline.

The Saint Blood Tree, having almost exhausted all its power and with most of its Elemental Pool drained, weakly swayed its branches, yet it too rejoiced at the successful transformation of Ronan's bloodline.

Just as everyone was worshipping the overwhelming aura of this ancient and majestic overlord, a void above the Mist Space silently cracked open.

Two blood-red eyes instantly became a new sun above the misty Sky Dome. A huge serpent head covered with deep, dark blue scales like those of ancient glaciers silently emerged from the crack, opened its massive jaws, and before anyone could react, with a "crack," it bit down hard on Ronan's shoulder.

"Boom!"

Countless bolts of deep blue lightning descended from the void rift, instantly freezing most of the Mist Space with a thick chill.

The vast lake froze solid, countless flowers and plants withered instantly, and even the dust and plant spirits were frozen to death before they could even scream.

The climate in the Mist Space is usually mild and spring-like, but at this moment, it seems as if it has fallen into an eternal winter.

Bennigo contracted, his robes billowed out, instantly enveloping Arrietty and Dodol III beside him, and he flew backward.

Vast swathes of land surged and then froze instantly, Bennigo heard the mournful cry of the Saint Blood Tree.

He retreated to the very edge of the Mist Space before stopping, barely managing to escape the onslaught of the chilling air.

Terrified Bennigo suddenly looked up and stared ahead.

The rift in the Mist Space had widened considerably, with eight enormous, ferocious snake heads squeezing in through it. Sixteen Blood Sun hung in the sky, illuminating the entire Mist Space in a crimson hue, yet they offered no warmth whatsoever, only a bone-chilling cold that penetrated to the very soul.

"Heka.Erto!!"

Saint Blood Tree, amidst a thick, almost impenetrable black frost mist, Ronan's emotionless, chilling growl echoed.

The eight giant serpents that suddenly appeared moved silently, engaging in a primal and savage battle with the giant serpent phantom below that had just grown its ninth head!

"Boom!"

A terrifying cold wave erupted, spreading ancient, deep blue-black veins in the void.

Huge frost tornadoes rose from within the Mist Space, raging wildly across the frozen land.

Bennigo gritted his teeth. Even though he was at the furthest point from the battle, his hair, beard, and robes were covered in frost and snow, and his blood was almost frozen.

With his strength only at the mid-stage of the second level, he was no different from an ant on the ground in a battle of this level.

Bennigo strained to open his eyes wide; both eyes had cracked from the cold air, but not a drop of blood flowed out.

He could only vaguely see two domineering snake shadows, one real and one illusory, intertwining, biting, and fighting... He couldn't find Ronan, he could only hear the raging wind and snow, and the sound of the entire Mist Space slowly cracking and collapsing.

Waves of frost washed over the misty land, sweeping past Bennigo's body.

Bennigo's consciousness gradually [Depravity], like a stone that had been completely frozen, slowly sinking to the bottom of the icy lake.

He held Dodol III in his arms, uttering barely audible murmurs.

"Damien..."

No one responded.

In the moment when Bennigo's consciousness was at its most blurred, he vaguely seemed to hear Ronan speak calmly.

"As you wish."

Then

All the wind and snow seemed to have subsided.

Bennigo gradually awoke in a warm, moist embrace, as if something was licking his cheek, bringing a cool, refreshing sensation.

"Splash—"

He sat up abruptly, jolted awake from an endless, chilling nightmare.

When he woke up, he found himself lying on a dry, withered grass. The ice coffin containing Fiona was quietly placed beside him, surrounded by a Constant Temperature magic circle. He was enveloped in a mysterious green light that was constantly seeping into his body.

Dodol III stared at him with his small, black eyes; it was clear that this was the very man who had just been licking his cheek.

Bennigo heard Arrietty's weeping, a sound that seemed particularly mournful amidst the frost-covered, lifeless, and devastated landscape.

"If you don't wake up soon, I'm considering burying you and Fiona together under the Saint Blood Tree... cough cough cough..."

A familiar voice rang in my ears.

Bennigo turned his head, and when he saw who was speaking, his gaze Stasis.

—The young man, covered in wounds, sat casually cross-legged somewhere not far from him.

His bare upper body was covered with gruesome wounds that looked as if strips of flesh had been brutally ripped away.

The blood, frozen into frost by the cold air, stained his disheveled white hair red.

He was smiling at Bennigo, his face pale, with most of his body leaning against a broken, collapsed Saint Blood Tree, which was now only half a trunk.

Behind them lay a murky lake covered with broken ice floes, and a dried-up, cracked Elemental Pool.

Bennigo's lips moved as if he wanted to call out the other person's name.

But the next second, the battered young man managed to get up from the ground on his own.

The smile on his face vanished, and his eyes were calmer than pure coldness.

He reached out and gently stroked the nearly dead Saint Blood Tree, speaking each word as if to Bennigo, and also as if to himself.

"I should have known it wouldn't let me off so easily."

"Actually, I shouldn't have lost so badly, but I chose the wrong battlefield."

"It lives up to its name as a snake, threatening me with you all, with everything here. I have no choice but to compromise."

"Since it wants this bloodline so much, then I'll give it to it."

"But next time."

The young man raised his hand and gently cut open his palm. Crimson blood flowed freely from his palm, dripping onto the frozen, desolate ground beneath his feet.

"I will make it, with interest."

"Spit it all out."

"Buzz—"

A powerful aura erupted from the young man's body, blowing his scattered, mottled, blood-red hair high into the air.

The wounds on the young man's body healed little by little, and his flesh and blood contracted.

At that moment, Bennigo seemed to see once again the determined young man standing at the entrance of 131 Copper Ingot Street.

Two figures, transcending time and space, intersected at this moment.