Dragon Mansion
Inside the main hall of the Lin Residence, Lin Ming looked ahead.
There, the Emperor Flame burned fiercely, the magnificent flames resembling a blooming Fire Lotus slowly rotating before his palm. The firelight illuminated the entire hall, dyeing the emerald mist with a warm and radiant glow.
Within the Emperor Flame, the Azure Wood Seal floated silently, its deep, dark color gleaming with a warm luster under the Emperor Flame's embrace.
At its center, that Essence Blood had been completely imprinted into that Azure Wood Power.
At the core of that sacred tree, a dark red mark, like a miniature star, was firmly embedded in the trunk. The pattern of the mark blended perfectly with the veins of the sacred tree itself, as if they were one.
As the mark took shape, Lin Ming immediately sensed that a strange connection had been established between him and the Azure Wood Seal.
The connection was extremely mysterious. He could clearly perceive every detail of the Azure Wood Seal. The Azure Wood Power contained in the seal was like a sleeping forest breathing slowly, and each breath was synchronized with his heartbeat.
Even if the Azure Wood Seal were forcibly taken away, he only needed to think about it and the Azure Wood Seal would automatically fight back.
That Essence Blood imprint is like a seed buried in the core; once triggered, it will unleash a boundless power capable of destroying everything, dragging anyone who tries to touch it into its clutches.
Seeing this, Lin Ming stretched out his palm. The flames dissipated, and the Emperor Flame disappeared into his palm.
The Azure Wood Seal landed in his hand. The surface of the seal had returned to its usual coolness, but within that coolness was a touch of warmth that was connected to his bloodline.
Holding the Azure Wood Seal, a satisfied smile appeared on Lin Ming's lips.
After truly refining the Azure Wood Seal, he could feel the immense power contained within it. That power was like an endless forest compressed into a small space; once released, it would be enough to blot out the sky and annihilate everything.
However, to truly activate it requires an extremely large amount of Spiritual Energy. But this is not a problem for him.
With the refinement of the Azure Wood Seal complete, Lin Ming looked at Zi Yan. At this moment, Zi Yan's cultivation was also nearing its end.
All the swirling, falling leaves around Zi Yan had vanished. The last leaf completed its cycle from withered yellow to emerald green in her palm, then transformed into a wisp of emerald light and disappeared into her hand.
She slowly opened her eyes, and a deep light flashed in her brilliant purple pupils. That light seemed to contain some kind of mysterious rhythm of life and death, like a forest simultaneously showing the budding of spring and the withering of autumn in the cycle of the four seasons.
Zi Yan then stood up and looked at Lin Ming with a smile.
"To make you so happy, Zi Yan, it seems this Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art is quite extraordinary." Upon seeing this, Lin Ming immediately smiled.
He sensed a subtle depth in Zi Yan's aura, a depth that did not come from an increase in Spiritual Energy, but from a breakthrough in her understanding of magic.
"This Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art is indeed not simple... Of course, to be precise, it should be said that the complete form of the Withering and Flourishing Art is not simple." Zi Yan nodded slightly and said.
Her voice carried an irrepressible excitement, and her brilliant purple eyes shone like two deep pools reflecting a sky full of stars.
"Complete form?" Lin Ming was taken aback. His gaze fell on Zi Yan's face, and seeing her unable to hide her excitement, a thought stirred within him.
"The complete form of the Withering and Flourishing Art is also known as the Great Withering and Flourishing Art..." An undisguised excitement appeared on Zi Yan's pretty face.
"Don't think it's just a matter of changing one word. It's said that the Great Withering and Flourishing Art is among the Thirty-Six Peerless Divine Abilities..."
She only learned of this information after she had mastered the Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art. When she successfully cultivated this minor supernatural ability, an extremely ancient piece of information surged into her mind as if Restriction had been triggered.
The message contained only a few words, but those few words struck her like a Consciousness Sea, presenting her with an unbelievable truth.
This information clearly had a huge impact on her, after all, the so-called Thirty-Six Peerless Divine Abilities were extremely famous in this Great Thousand World.
The Thirty-Six Peerless Divine Abilities are the thirty-six most powerful offensive and defensive techniques in the Great Thousand World.
The emergence of any one of these unparalleled divine abilities would be enough to trigger a bloodbath that would sweep across the entire Great Thousand World, even causing reclusive Old Monster and supreme beings at the Heavenly Sovereign level to take action.
Zi Yan never dreamed that the minor divine power she obtained would actually be an evolution of that peerless divine power.
Although the Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art is only a simplified version of the Great Withering and Flourishing Art, containing less than one-tenth of the complete version, it ultimately originates from the inheritance of that peerless divine power and is of the same lineage.
"The Great Withering and Flourishing Art... one of the Thirty-Six Peerless Divine Abilities?" Lin Ming gasped at this moment.
His dark, unfathomable eyes widened suddenly, clearly shaken.
He also never expected that this minor supernatural power scroll he obtained from the Lin Residence mansion would have such a terrifying origin.
That's one of the Thirty-Six Peerless Divine Abilities, a super divine ability that would even tempt a terrifying being like the Heavenly Sovereign.
Although this Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art is not the true Great Withering and Flourishing Art, if there is an opportunity in the future to perfect it, its value would be indescribable.
A complete and unparalleled divine ability is enough to elevate a force from obscurity to become a top power in the Great Thousand World.
"No wonder your aura became more profound after you mastered the Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art." Lin Ming finally understood.
He had sensed an indescribable charm in Zi Yan's aura, and now he realized that it was the aura of the Withering and Flourishing Law.
He couldn't help but sigh in amazement; Zi Yan's opportunity was truly astonishing. He had originally thought it was just a minor divine ability, but who would have thought that this minor divine ability originated from the so-called Great Withering and Flourishing Art?
According to his estimation, if Zi Yan were to fully activate the Withering and Flourishing Art now, as long as she didn't encounter a true Earth Sovereign, she could probably come and go as she pleased.
The power of "withering" in the Withering and Flourishing Law can instantly extract the vitality of an area and transform it into a desolate power to suppress the opponent; while the power of "flourishing" can reverse the desolation and transform it into a vast vitality to repair itself.
Between prosperity and decline, it possesses both offensive and defensive capabilities, and can advance and retreat with ease.
As long as her opponent hasn't reached the Earth Sovereign and can't forcefully suppress Zi Yan's transformation between life and death, she is already invincible.
At this moment, he had already refined the Azure Wood Seal, and Zi Yan had also completed her cultivation. As for the North King and Xia Jia, Lin Ming already knew that the two of them were waiting outside the palace.
He then laughed and said, "Now that we've finished, let's leave! It's time to move on to the next prefecture for the search."
"Let's go, let's hurry up and go." Zi Yan excitedly took the lead and walked out of the main hall.
The cultivation of the Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art has elevated her strength to a new level, and she is even eager to test the power of this divine ability in actual combat.
The two walked out of the main hall, and the North King and Xia Jia greeted them immediately.
Lin Ming nodded, then with a flick of his sleeve, their figures disappeared from the Lin Residence and reappeared outside the Ancient Heavenly Palace.
Upon returning to the Ancient Heavenly Palace to reclaim the Lin Residence's territory, Zi Yan immediately asked, "Which family are we going to next?"
In response, Lin Ming immediately said, "The Dragon Mansion isn't far southwest from here. Among the Nine Residences, the Dragon Mansion is second only to the Star Residence and the Thunder Residence. Let's go there."
The Dragon Mansion ranks third among the Nine Residences. Its lord is a peak Lower-Rank Earth Sovereign, or a half-step Upper-Rank Earth Sovereign, whose strength is far superior to that of the Master of the Lin Residence.
Such places hold even greater opportunities.
"Alright, let's go then." Instantly, Zi Yan took the lead and started moving again.
Zi Yan's figure transformed into a streak of purple-gold light and sped off towards the southwest at an extreme speed.
Seeing this, Lin Ming and his two companions immediately gave chase. The four streaks of light formed a single file under the gray-white sky, speeding towards the direction of the Dragon Mansion.
The green peaks and Stone Island below rushed past beneath their feet, and those towering mountains rose from the earth like green bamboo shoots, only to be left behind in an instant.
After flying for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the group arrived at a place shrouded in mist.
The mist was extremely eerie, its entire form a deep, dark purple, like a turbid ink spilled between heaven and earth.
Mist billowed out from a series of valleys ahead, enveloping the entire area in a murky purple light.
The fog was so thick it was almost tangible, slowly churning, writhing, and expanding in the air, like a giant beast formed from Poison Mist slumbering in the valley.
Wherever the mist passed, even the residual Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth in the air was corroded, emitting a faint hissing sound. That Spiritual Energy melted and disintegrated rapidly, like iron pieces soaked in acid.
At that moment, Xia Jia accidentally inhaled a breath of mist. The instant the mist entered her nose, her expression changed drastically, her bright eyes widened suddenly, and a look of pain and fear flashed across her pupils.
She felt as if a scalding acid was being poured into her meridians, and that acid was rushing around along her meridians, corroding everything in its path and making it emit a piercing hiss.
Her Spiritual Energy rapidly dissipated under the corrosive effect of the acid, her limbs became weak and powerless, and she experienced waves of tearing pain throughout her body.
Her body immediately went limp and she fell, plummeting straight down like a bird with broken wings.
It was only thanks to the quick reflexes of the North King that she was pulled back and prevented from falling.
Xia Jia looked at the fog-shrouded area and complained, "This fog is poisonous. Why would the Dragon Mansion be built here?"
Her voice was hoarse and weak, carrying a lingering fear of surviving a disaster.
She had only inhaled a mouthful by accident, and yet she felt as if her bones had been removed, leaving her completely limp. The potency of the toxicity far exceeded her expectations.
Lin Ming remained silent, but Zi Yan spoke first.
"This Dragon Mansion is most likely located within this mist, because this mist contains Dragon Breath Poison."