As the Bone Dragon spoke, a soft white glow appeared in its mouth. A gleaming white Dragon Pearl, wrapped in countless streaks of blood-red light, slowly flew out.
This was the Dragon Pearl of a Quasi-Sage Dragon Clan powerhouse!!
Lin Changqing's eyes widened. This was an absolutely incredible treasure!
A Dragon Clan Dragon Pearl usually contained the Dragon Clan's legacy: Dragon Clan Secret Techniques, Dragon Clan Divine Abilities, and Dragon Clan Bloodline Cultivation Methods—all priceless treasures in the Primordial World!
If someone else had come, say, a demon like Green Vine who possessed Dragon Clan blood, they would probably have gone mad with excitement!
Even Grand Unity Golden Immortals would be insanely jealous of this treasure!
Besides, Dragon Pearls were treasures the Dragon Clan had refined over countless years. They were top-grade treasures in their own right, even if used as spiritual treasures.
An ancient Quasi-Sage Dragon Clan member's Dragon Pearl was at least comparable to a mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. With the legacy inside, it was worth at least as much as a high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!
"This junior thanks you, senior!"
"But this Dragon Pearl is what protects your remnant soul. If I take it..."
Lin Changqing looked at the Bone Dragon and asked with a frown.
Of course, he wasn't worried about the Bone Dragon's safety.
After all, it was only a wisp of remnant soul.
But as the saying went, nothing was more expensive than what came free. The Dragon Pearl was already immensely valuable, and there might be additional conditions attached, which he had to take into account.
Even if he didn't ask, the Bone Dragon would tell him.
"Hahaha! I've been clinging to life for countless years. Now that this secret realm has opened, who knows how many people will come here?"
"When they do, I won't escape annihilation. Better to give the Dragon Pearl to you, lad, than let it fall into someone else's hands."
To Lin Changqing's surprise, the Bone Dragon didn't raise the price in response to his question. Instead, it answered frankly.
It had seen that Lin Changqing wasn't the sort to forget a kindness. Saying more would only turn that kindness into a transaction.
The Bone Dragon understood perfectly: a kindness was the most valuable thing of all.
Lin Changqing slowly cupped his hands in salute. As he reached out, Ao Ying's drop of blood essence and the Dragon Pearl both drifted into his hands.
The Dragon Pearl in particular felt incredibly heavy as soon as it touched his palm. It contained countless secrets of the ancient Dragon Clan, along with countless Dragon Clan Divine Abilities and cultivation methods!
This was a treasure of immeasurable value!
"This junior thanks you again, senior!"
Lin Changqing cupped his hands once more, but the Bone Dragon waved him off.
"Enough. You may go."
"I'll stay here. Those fellows coveting the Dragon Clan's treasures will be arriving soon."
"When they do, I want to see just how capable the various riffraff of the Primordial World have become after all these years—the so-called demon race that dares scheme against my Dragon Clan!"
The Bone Dragon gave a cold snort. Though it had slept in the secret realm for countless years, it still knew what was happening among the demons outside.
Lin Changqing wasn't surprised. The Bone Dragon had probably extracted some memories from Ao Ying's blood essence just now.
With that, the Bone Dragon slowly returned to the center of the great hall. The ten thousand Bone Dragons around it also lowered themselves to the ground and fell silent again, as if they had died for good.
But if anyone else intruded, Lin Changqing could well imagine that they would suffer a calamity.
After cupping his hands in farewell, Lin Changqing walked out of the great hall.
Just this Dragon Pearl alone made his trip into the secret realm worthwhile.
Once outside the hall, Lin Changqing's lips curled up, and he couldn't help smiling with delight.
But an even more thrilling surprise was yet to come. A voice that hadn't sounded in his mind for thousands of years suddenly rang out.
[Ding! Treasure detected: Dragon Clan Legacy] [Bestow the Dragon Clan Legacy and receive a hundredfold reward]
This was...the System's voice!!!
Lin Changqing's face lit up with wild joy.
The System's voice hadn't sounded in thousands of years!
The first two times the System had appeared, it had given him ten billion units of merit, enough for him to forge a Merit Golden Body while spending only a small portion of it.
Ten billion units of merit were enough to rival the resources of a Saint's great sect!
And that was just one System reward!
The second time, it had directly rewarded him with the Divine Demon Prison Suppression Art, a powerful cultivation method that had let him fight a Golden Immortal as a Mystic Immortal and kill a mid-stage Golden Immortal!
Even though he was a Houtian Being, with a foundation utterly incomparable to those of the Xiantian Beings,
he now had a chance to break through to Golden Immortal, and he had become much stronger!
Its Divine Abilities—the Spear of Divine Demons and the Divine Demon Wings—were both incredibly powerful!
And those were only the first, most basic stages of cultivating the image of the Divine Demon. Lin Changqing couldn't even imagine what powerful Divine Abilities would emerge with further cultivation, or how strong he might become!
Now, the System's third quest had finally appeared!
It was only asking him to bestow the Dragon Clan's legacy he held, but from the System's words, what he had to give away was the Dragon Clan's legacy.
The Dragon Pearl and the Dragon Clan's legacy together had to be worth at least as much as a high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
Even if the hundredfold reward wasn't a cultivation method as powerful as the Divine Demon Prison Suppression Art, it definitely wouldn't be anything to scoff at!
As Lin Changqing thought about it, a smile slowly spread across his face.
It seemed he would have to give this treasure away after all. And he already knew who to give it to.
Lin Changqing raised his head and looked toward the only other place in the secret realm where a treasure could be found.
The Ancestral Dragon Pool, the place where the Dragon Clan's bloodline legacy was passed down. Ao Ying was over there.
The Dragon Pearl would be perfect for her.
Lin Changqing was visibly excited as he sped toward the Ancestral Dragon Pool. Of course, he wasn't thinking about giving Ao Ying a treasure—he was thinking about the hundredfold reward he'd get afterward.
He even unfurled the blood-red wings behind him. With a single beat, they carried him ten thousand miles in an instant.
In just a few breaths, Lin Changqing had reached the sky above the Ancestral Dragon Pool.
"Xiao Ying!"
Lin Changqing called down toward the Ancestral Dragon Pool. His brows furrowed when he received no answer.
But from below came the sound of repeated explosions.
Someone was fighting down there!!
The strange phenomena in the swamp had been quite striking when he first arrived. Had someone already made it inside?
And instead of heading for the great hall first, they'd come to this inconspicuous sinkhole?
Lin Changqing frowned, then immediately flew down into the sinkhole.
Countless pale golden clouds swirled below, obscuring the way.
Wave after wave of pressure washed over him, making Lin Changqing frown harder.
Dragon Clan pressure! Anyone who wasn't of the Dragon Clan couldn't get in!
Had Ao Ying run into danger and started fighting someone?
Whatever it was, Lin Changqing didn't hesitate.
He brought out the drop of Ao Ying's blood essence and tried to use it to push back the golden clouds, but it barely had any effect.
Only when Lin Changqing brought out the Spirit Pearl did the surrounding clouds part, opening a massive gap that led down into the sinkhole.
Below, a golden pool a thousand zhang across stood perfectly still.
At its center, an Azure Dragon a thousand zhang long coiled, blood trickling from the corner of its mouth.
Beside the pool, an even larger black Flood Dragon, fifteen hundred zhang long, kept attacking the golden water.
"Roar!!"
"Impudent! This Dragon Transformation Pool is my opportunity!!"
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