After Li Yan accepted the Spirit Liquid, Xu Mo felt that everything was settled.
He didn't give it another thought or suspect a thing, and happily turned around to report back.
After all, was there anyone in this world who didn't want to grow stronger?
Who could refuse Spirit Liquid that could make them stronger?
"Hehehe, the Holy Son really likes it. I'll bring him a few more bottles of Spirit Liquid next time."
He thought that as long as he fed Li Yan enough Spirit Liquid, it would only take a few more years to nurture Li Yan's Golden Core.
It wasn't until Xu Mo had left Forget Dust Hall that Li Yan finally relaxed.
Sitting on the Golden Patterned Lotus Platform, Li Yan muttered to himself, "Looks like they don't suspect anything. Good."
"This Spirit Liquid is pretty useful. I can save it for now and use it later."
Looking at the bottle of Spirit Liquid essence in his hand, he knew it had to be a treasure sent down from White Jade Capital. It could speed up a cultivator's training.
He could hold on to it for now, then use the Spirit Liquid to cultivate once he found a way to break through his predicament.
"If I can trick them into giving me a few dozen more bottles of Spirit Liquid essence, it'll be worth it."
"Finding a way to suppress my cultivation and locate the Old Heavenly Court is the priority now."
Now that he had a lead, Li Yan found his motivation again.
With a wave of his hand, he placed the Blood Glazed Lotus Lamp beside him, then summoned his one hundred and twenty-eight shadows and spread them throughout Forget Dust Hall.
The shadows guarded Li Yan, allowing him to safely dive once more into the depths of the East Sea.
Li Yan sat cross-legged and slowly closed his eyes. Once again, he used the Yao Jue Dao Patterns to turn false cultivation into true cultivation!
Cultivate the false, and you cultivate the true!
As the Yao Jue Dao Patterns lit up beneath the Golden Patterned Lotus Platform, Li Yan's soul was pulled from his body and transported once more to the entrance to the Old Heavenly Court.
During the journey, the giant dragon was muttering to herself.
"Why hasn't he come back yet?"
The giant dragon impatiently lashed her tail. The poison in her body had spread again, bringing with it the unbearable pain of a thousand worms boring into her heart.
"I shouldn't have snapped at him..."
"If he showed up right now, I'd make sure to speak nicely to him!"
The proud giant dragon was nearly driven mad by her confinement at the bottom of the sea.
She could have endured the loneliness and solitude, but that damned little human had come along and given her a glimmer of hope—only to disappear again.
Just as the giant dragon shifted her enormous body in a frenzy, letting the hooked chains tear at her flesh, a light flared in the pitch-black, freezing deep-sea pool. A figure appeared out of thin air where Li Yan had vanished.
When the giant dragon saw Li Yan again, excitement flashed in her eyes.
Her golden eyes brimmed with anticipation.
"It's him! He came back?"
Li Yan had returned to the deep sea, to the entrance to the Abyss of the Netherworld.
Now that he was accustomed to the environment, Li Yan's eyelids twitched before he slowly opened his eyes.
"Hmm?"
When he saw the giant dragon again, he realized she had recovered quite a bit. At the very least, she no longer looked as terrifying as before.
"Strange."
Li Yan raised an eyebrow. "Did I just imagine it? I thought I heard someone calling me back."
A moment later, the corners of Li Yan's mouth lifted. He teased her in a mocking tone.
"What is it? I've only been gone a few incense sticks' worth of time, and you're already impatient for me to return?"
How could the haughty dragon race admit that so readily after hearing his tone?
The giant dragon narrowed her golden eyes to slits. "Insect, what nonsense are you talking about?"
When Li Yan wasn't there, she had hoped he would come back.
But now that he really had, the giant dragon lifted her proud head again, all for the sake of her damned vanity.
"Insect, I admit you're different from the other human cultivators."
"Since you're still somewhat useful, I can tell you where the Dragon Palace treasure is."
The giant dragon raised her head high, waiting for a response.
In her mind, when Li Yan heard about the Dragon Palace treasure, he would surely try to win her favor.
Tens of thousands of years ago, countless human cultivators had sought the scattered treasures of the dragon race in the deep sea and worshiped her like a deity.
As a member of the Ancient Dragon race, she relished the worship of insects and the feeling of being high above them all.
But to Li Yan, what was some treasure compared to his life?
He could search for treasure later. Finding the Old Heavenly Court was what mattered now.
Besides, given Li Yan's temperament, the idea of him sucking up to this dragon was pretty hilarious.
Floating in the seawater, Li Yan retorted irritably, "Cut the nonsense and open your mouth."
"Hmm? You're ordering me around, insect?"
The giant dragon was rather rebellious by nature.
When Li Yan left, she had begged him to return. Now that he was back, the dragon was putting on airs.
Some other cultivator might have indulged her.
But would someone like Li Yan bother with this dragon?
He needed to absorb more blood mist to strengthen his divine soul and stop the dragon's blood from leaking out, lest her blood block the passage to the Old Heavenly Court.
Li Yan, clad in a Daoist robe, gave a cold snort.
"You're wasting my time. If you won't open your mouth, I'll crawl in somewhere else."
The moment she heard Li Yan threaten to crawl into a hole again, the giant dragon flew into a rage and let out a terrifying roar. The seabed churned as a sandstorm blotted out the sky.
"Don't you dare! If you crawl into me again, insect, I'll be your sworn enemy!"
Li Yan didn't indulge her. He headed straight for the giant dragon's nostril and crawled inside.
As the giant dragon roared, she felt something fly into her nasal cavity and travel down her windpipe into her body.
"You... You damned insect! So you're crawling in through here?"
When she saw Li Yan crawl in through her nostril, for some reason, the giant dragon felt a little relieved.
Of course, Li Yan wasn't some vulgar person. If he couldn't enter through the dragon's mouth, he could go in through her nostril instead.
And since the windpipe connected to the Dragon Core, Li Yan followed its passageways and crawled straight into the depths of the Dragon Core.
The moment he stepped inside, the stench of rotting corpses washed over him.
The Ancient God had laid the Blessing of Corpse Offspring within the giant dragon's Dragon Core.
The blessing's Dao Patterns were corroding the Dragon Core, making it ooze dark green corpse water.
"So that's how it is."
"They made a living giant dragon ooze corpse water without end, to guard the entrance to the Abyss of the Netherworld."
Looking at everything before him, Li Yan could more or less guess what was going on.
And the dense corpse water inside the Dragon Core—such powerful side effects were a delight to behold.
Li Yan's soul floated forward and plunged straight into the corpse water!
[You are surrounded by the Blessing of Corpse Offspring!]
[Side effect: Corrodes the body and soul.]
[Side effect converted to benefit: Your divine soul is rapidly strengthening. The side effect here is extremely potent, accelerating divine-soul strengthening a hundredfold!]
Li Yan's soul soaked in the corpse water, rapidly decaying under the blessing of Wondrous Mercy True Lord, the Ancient God.
The faster the decay, the stronger the effect when the side effect was converted!
[Host's divine soul has broken through to sixth rank!]
[Host's divine soul continues to strengthen. While cultivating inside the Dragon Core, you have begun to comprehend the Dragon Soul Golden Body!]
Before you continue