Five Elements Bead

Within the Crystal Palace of the East Sea Dragon Palace.

Immortal music rose once more, yet it could not conceal the lingering air of surviving a great calamity.

Ao Guang's face was like a silver moon, but it was now filled with unprecedented reverence and obsequiousness.

He personally led the way, his posture humble to the dust.

"Exalted Immortal, the crucial Sea Eye lies ahead."

Dao Xuan gave a slight nod.

Beneath the Blue Gauze Headband, his face resembled mutton fat jade, his features refined and his brows clear.

Pure Qi flowed through his pale yellow cloud-patterned Daoist robe, and his bearing remained elegant.

Yet a trace of fatigue from his head-on clash with Houtu still lingered between his brows.

He followed Ao Guang through layer upon layer of palace halls, passing countless rare treasures.

At last, they arrived at the deepest part of the Dragon Palace.

This place was no longer resplendent with gold and jade. Instead, it exuded an ancient, profound heaviness.

Ahead, an enormous vortex slowly revolved.

At the heart of the vortex lay boundless darkness, as though it connected to the depths of the Netherworld.

Endless water-element power and turbid earth-vein qi converged and clashed here, forming a terrifying tearing force.

This was the East Sea's Sea Eye!

"Exalted Immortal, the Sea Eye is filled with unpredictable dangers. Even this little dragon would not dare enter lightly." Ao Guang pointed at the dark vortex, his voice full of reverence.

"The Suppression Power within isolates it from the outside. Even the will of the Heavenly Dao would find it difficult to peer within."

Deep within Dao Xuan's primordial spirit, the Chaos Bead fused with the Ancestral Dragon Pearl emitted an unprecedentedly clear tremor!

As though it were calling to him!

"The Dragon King may wait here," Dao Xuan said calmly.

"Yes! Exalted Immortal, please be extremely careful!" Ao Guang bowed in assent, not daring to show the slightest disobedience.

Dao Xuan said no more.

The Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus appeared above his head, casting down countless rays of Pure World divine light to protect his body.

He stepped forward, and his figure vanished into the dark, spinning vortex of the Sea Eye.

The moment he entered, the world spun around him!

Terrifying water pressure and chaotic turbid earth-vein qi frantically tore at his Body Protection Divine Light.

If not for the White Lotus shielding him, even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal might have been torn apart by this chaotic, violent force.

He did not know how long he fell.

Then his vision suddenly opened up!

An enormous space, held open by an invisible force, appeared before him.

At the center of the space was not the raging current he had imagined.

Instead, it was exceptionally "calm."

Yet within that calmness lay a suffocating heaviness and deathly silence accumulated over countless aeons.

And at the center of this space—

Dao Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted!

A dragon body so enormous that it defied imagination floated silently before him!

The dragon body was shattered, with many places reduced to stark white bones. Its flesh had long since dried up and decayed.

Yet the remaining scales still gleamed with a dark golden, unyielding luster.

Its winding dragon horns had broken, but they remained imposing, as though they still wished to pierce the heavens!

A vast, ancient, supremely tyrannical pressure originating from the source of its bloodline still remained even after endless years!

"Ancestral Dragon's body?!"

A stormy sea surged in Dao Xuan's heart!

How was this possible?!

Everyone in the primordial world knew that during the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation, the Ancestral Dragon had returned all of his flesh, bones, primordial spirit, and true soul to heaven and earth in order to atone for the dragon race's sins, calm the resentment of heaven and earth, repair the primordial world's wounds, and settle karmic ties!

His physical body should have completely dispersed between heaven and earth!

How could a remnant body still remain here?!

And though this remnant body was deathly still, it faintly seemed to carry a... resentful obsession?

Dao Xuan suppressed his shock and doubts and carefully stepped forward.

Just as he came within a hundred zhang of the enormous dragon head—

A sudden change occurred!

Two points of ghostly green light abruptly lit up within the empty eye sockets of the massive dragon head!

A cold, sinister, greedy aura instantly spread through the space!

Immediately afterward—

A phantom figure slowly drifted out from between the dragon head's brows.

The figure wore an imperial crown and a nine-dragon imperial robe. Its face was majestic, exactly like the Ancestral Dragon of legend!

A faint yet exceptionally pure Ancestral Dragon aura also curled around it!

"Young friend..."

The figure spoke, its voice ancient and imposing, carrying a trace of exhaustion and relief.

"I am a remnant thought of the Ancestral Dragon. Deep within this Sea Eye, I have nourished myself with the power of earth veins and water essence, barely lingering on until now..."

"Today, I have finally encountered one fated to come here..."

Dao Xuan's expression remained unchanged, but he sneered inwardly.

A remnant thought of the Ancestral Dragon?

Who was it trying to fool?

The Chaos Bead was within his primordial spirit, and he had fused with the Ancestral Dragon Pearl's origin. He was exceptionally sensitive to the Ancestral Dragon's aura.

Though the figure before him seemed to possess a pure aura, it was like duckweed without roots. Hidden deeper within it was a nauseating, decayed Corpse Demon aura!

This was absolutely not the Ancestral Dragon!

It was a Corpse Demon born from the Ancestral Dragon's remnant body after it had absorbed the Sea Eye's deathly power and turbid earth-vein qi over endless years. The Ancestral Dragon's unwilling obsession had also failed to dissipate completely, ultimately giving birth to this thing—

This Corpse Demon used the Ancestral Dragon's remnant body and aura as a shell, attempting to be reborn!

"So it is Senior Ancestral Dragon!" Dao Xuan revealed a look of "surprise" and "reverence," cupping his hands in salute. "This junior is Dao Xuan. I entered this place by mistake and disturbed Senior's cultivation. I hope Senior will forgive me!"

The ghostly green light in the "Ancestral Dragon's" eyes flickered imperceptibly, seemingly filled with wild delight.

"No matter, no matter!" Its voice grew ever more "gentle." "For you to come here is an immense fate. I see that you possess extraordinary bones and deep fortune, and you even bear the aura of a supreme treasure of my dragon race... You are truly the hope for my dragon race's revival!"

"My remnant body is about to decay, and my remnant thought will soon disperse..."

"Rather than return to oblivion alongside this decaying body, I might as well bestow upon you my final trace of origin and inheritance!"

"I only hope that in the future, young friend, you will remember today's kindness and look after my dragon race to some extent..."

As it spoke, the phantom figure slowly drifted toward Dao Xuan, extending its illusory palm as though it were about to press it against Dao Xuan's crown.

An aura that seemed gentle but secretly contained endless sinister possession power silently enveloped Dao Xuan.

"Senior's favor leaves this junior deeply grateful!" The "emotion" on Dao Xuan's face deepened. He even lowered his head slightly, as though accepting this "great opportunity."

At the instant that phantom palm was about to touch Dao Xuan's crown—

A cold light burst from Dao Xuan's eyes!

"Now!"

His thoughts urged his power wildly!

Buzz—!

The radiance of the Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus above his head instantly surged to its peak!

It was no longer defense!

It was an active attack!

Countless rays of Pure World divine light no longer fell to shield him. Instead, they erupted upward like countless pure, sacred swords of light!

They instantly engulfed the phantom "Ancestral Dragon" figure completely!

"Ah—!!!"

A shriek, so miserable it barely sounded human and filled with endless resentment and terror, suddenly rang out!

Under the illumination of the Pure World divine light, the seemingly majestic "Ancestral Dragon" form rapidly melted and collapsed like snow and ice!

Its savage, horrifying true nature was revealed!

It was an ugly, filthy black demonic shadow that churned endlessly, twisted from boundless corpse qi, resentment, decayed dragon power, and the Ancestral Dragon's lingering obsession!

"No—! Pure World divine light?! You... you actually possess such a supreme treasure!!"

The Corpse Demon let out a despairing howl.

It had never imagined that this seemingly defenseless junior possessed such a Primordial Supreme Treasure capable of restraining it!

It struggled madly, erupting with terrifying Corpse Demon evil power in an attempt to break through the divine light's blockade.

However—

The Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus had been transformed from a lotus seed of the Chaos Green Lotus. It contained the most fundamental Purification Power and was precisely the bane of such evil creatures!

"You evil thing, how dare you impersonate the Ancestral Dragon and attempt to possess me?"

Dao Xuan sneered as he poured his magic power into the White Lotus without reserve.

"Today, I shall send you, abomination, completely into oblivion!"

"Purify!"

The divine light became a prison, sacred and flawless!

Under the continuous purification of the Pure World divine light, the Corpse Demon was like filth thrown into a furnace. It emitted sizzling sounds as black smoke billowed forth.

The resentment, corpse qi, and evil power within it were stripped away layer by layer, purified, and dissolved!

At last—

"I am unwilling... Ancestral Dragon... I..."

Accompanied by one final shriek filled with endless resentment and unwillingness, that filthy demonic shadow completely vanished within the Pure World divine light, leaving not a trace behind!

The cold, sinister aura within the Sea Eye space was swept away.

All that remained was the pure, accumulated deathly silence and vast antiquity of the Ancestral Dragon's remnant body.

Dao Xuan let out a long breath and withdrew the White Lotus. Fine beads of sweat had formed on his brow.

This Corpse Demon had not been weak. If not for the White Lotus restraining it and his surprise attack, he truly would have needed to expend some effort.

His gaze turned once more toward the Ancestral Dragon's incomparably massive remnant body.

With the Corpse Demon gone, there was nothing sinister left within the remnant body.

And beneath that enormous dragon head, in a place previously concealed by the Corpse Demon's aura—

Five fist-sized treasure pearls floated silently!

The pearls came in five colors: azure, crimson, yellow, white, and black!

Their radiance was contained within, flowing without end.

The azure pearl brimmed with vitality and contained the origin of Yi Wood!

The crimson pearl blazed with flames and contained the origin of Li Fire!

The yellow pearl was heavy as a mountain and contained the origin of Wu Earth!

The white pearl revealed boundless sharpness and contained the origin of Geng Metal!

The black pearl was deep as an abyss and contained the origin of Gui Water!

The auras of the five treasure pearls were connected. The Five Elements generated and restrained one another, forming their own cycle and emanating vast, majestic Innate Dao Rhyme!

"Five Elements Spirit Pearls?!"

A gleam of delighted surprise burst from Dao Xuan's eyes!

It was actually this treasure!

A Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—the Five Elements Bead!

It contained the innate origins of the Five Elements, united offense and defense, and possessed limitless wondrous uses!

No wonder the Chaos Bead had trembled!

The Ancestral Dragon Pearl inherently contained a portion of water origin. It shared the same origin as the Gui Water Pearl among these Five Elements Beads and faintly resonated with the Chaos Origin of the Chaos Bead!

So the opportunity hidden deep within the Sea Eye was this item!

Presumably, before the Ancestral Dragon perished, he had hidden these Five Elements origin pearls, which he had collected or refined, deep within the Sea Eye. He had intended to use the Sea Eye's power to nurture them and aid his rebirth.

Yet for some unknown reason, he had failed and instead nourished a Corpse Demon.

Now, however, they had fallen into Dao Xuan's hands!

"Excellent treasures! They are fated to be mine!"

Dao Xuan laughed loudly and beckoned with one hand.

The five treasure pearls turned into streams of light and flew into his hand.

They felt warm and smooth to the touch. The Five Elements origin power flowed within them, faintly harmonizing with his own magic power.

With a thought, he stored the Five Elements Bead within his primordial spirit for nourishment.

His gaze fell once more upon the Ancestral Dragon's enormous remnant body.

Though this remnant body was already deathly still, it was still the body of the Ancestral Dragon. The dragon power origin and essence contained within remained as vast as the sea, its value impossible to measure!

Refining it directly would be far too wasteful.

Dao Xuan's thoughts raced as he recalled legends from his previous life.

I have it!

He sat cross-legged in the void.

The Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus appeared above his head once more.

The Myriad Treasures Nine Dragon Seal, Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Merit Ruler, Four Symbols Banana Fan, and newly acquired Five Elements Bead circled around him, their treasure lights reflecting one another.

Dao Xuan formed profound Mystic Arts seals with both hands.

He muttered an incantation.

"Heaven and Earth as the furnace, creation as the craftsman! Yin and Yang as charcoal, all things as copper!"

"With the divine light of the Pure World White Lotus as the guide and Myriad Treasures' power as fuel, return to the origin and refine!"

Buzz—!

The Pure World White Lotus shone brilliantly, its gentle yet vast Purification Power enveloping the colossal remnant body of the Ancestral Dragon.

The Myriad Treasures Nine Dragon Seal drew upon dragon energy, the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Merit Ruler stabilized space, the Four Symbols Banana Fan harmonized Earth Water Fire Wind, and the Five Elements Bead supplied an endless source of Five Elements origin power!

With several supreme treasures working together,

the Ancestral Dragon's mountain-sized remnant body began to shrink and melt at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Its shattered scales and decayed flesh and bones were purified and refined beneath the Pure World divine light and the mighty power of the treasures!

The deathly stillness and impurities accumulated over endless ages were cleansed away.

What remained was only the purest, most primordial essence of the Ancestral Dragon!

At last,

all the essence gathered and condensed.

Before Dao Xuan, it formed a pool roughly ten feet across.

The walls of the pool were neither gold nor jade, but dark gold in color and covered in profound dragon patterns.

There was no water within the pool, only a thick liquid like molten gold, so dense with spiritual mist that it could not disperse!

Countless tiny dragon phantoms swam and roared within the liquid!

It radiated an incomparably pure aura of dragon-power origin, along with a potent force of bloodline transformation!

The Dragon Transformation Pool!

It was complete!

Dao Xuan looked at the Dragon Transformation Pool, forged through the combined power of several supreme treasures, his eyes brimming with delight.

The pool contained the primordial essence of the Ancestral Dragon. To dragonkind, it was an unparalleled treasure!

By soaking in it, one could purify one's bloodline, strengthen one's dragon body, and perhaps even return to one's ancestral origins to gain a trace of the Ancestral Dragon's power!

Even for non-dragons, it could temper the body and strengthen the origin of one's vitality and blood!

Dao Xuan did not hesitate.

He removed his Daoist robe, leaving only his underclothes.

Then he stepped into the Dragon Transformation Pool!

Splash!

The thick, golden liquid instantly enveloped him.

"Hiss—!"

An indescribable agony, as though ten thousand dragons were devouring his body, struck him at once!

Violent yet pure dragon-power origin flooded wildly into every limb and bone of his body!

It washed through his meridians! Tempered his tendons, bones, flesh, and skin! Melded into the origin of his vitality and blood!

Dao Xuan gave a muffled groan, veins bulging across his forehead.

Yet he held fast to his mind and circulated the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique with all his strength!

This supreme body-tempering mystical art, obtained from the Taiqing Saint, displayed terrifying might at this moment!

Like a massive grinding millstone, it forcibly crushed, absorbed, and refined the violent dragon-power origin entering his body!

His vitality and blood boiled, rumbling like the rushing currents of a mighty river!

Dark golden dragon patterns faintly surfaced beneath his skin before slowly fading away.

Tempered by the dragon-power origin, his body became even tougher and more powerful!

The minor hidden injuries left within him after Houtu, the Ancestral Witch's power of earth had shaken him were rapidly healed by the wash of this immense life force, restoring him completely!

He could even vaguely sense that the barrier at the peak of the sixth revolution of the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique had loosened by a fraction!

Though he had not broken through to the seventh revolution, the strength of his body and the origin of his vitality and blood had undoubtedly risen to a new level!

Who knew how much time passed.

The golden liquid in the pool had faded somewhat.

Dao Xuan opened his eyes, which gleamed with sharp light!

He rose to his full height.

His skin was crystal-clear like jade, faintly glowing with treasure light.

His vitality and blood were abundant, his mana surged, and all fatigue and hidden injuries from the previous battle had been swept away. He had never felt better!

"What an excellent Dragon Transformation Pool! Its effects are truly miraculous!"

Dao Xuan put on his Daoist robe with satisfaction.

Seeing that the golden liquid still contained immense energy, a thought stirred in his mind.

He swept his sleeve.

"Collect!"

The Dragon Transformation Pool, ten feet across, instantly shrank into a palm-sized dark golden pool and flew into Dao Xuan's sleeve.

Within the sea-eye space, only emptiness and deathly silence remained after the Ancestral Dragon's remnant body had completely vanished.

Dao Xuan did not linger.

His figure became a streak of clear light as he traveled upstream and burst out of the East Sea's sea eye.

The Crystal Palace's main hall.

Ao Guang paced back and forth restlessly.

When he saw Dao Xuan return unharmed, he was overjoyed and hurried forward.

"Exalted Immortal! You have finally emerged! This little dragon was terribly worried..."

Dao Xuan waved his hand, cutting off his flattery.

His sleeve unfurled.

Buzz!

A dark golden pool roughly ten feet across landed in the center of the hall.

Dragon patterns flowed across its walls, golden liquid churned within it, and dragon phantoms swam through the mist.

An aura of pure and vast dragon-power origin instantly filled the entire Crystal Palace!

Every dragon present, including Ao Guang, felt the trembling yearning and stirring that came from the source of their bloodline. Their bodies shook violently as they stared fixedly at the pool, their eyes filled with incredulous ecstasy and reverence!

"Th-this is?!" Even Ao Guang's voice trembled.

"This is the Dragon Transformation Pool," Dao Xuan said calmly. "I refined it from the primordial essence of the Ancestral Dragon's remnant body, supplemented by supreme treasures."

"By soaking in it, you dragons can purify your bloodlines, strengthen your dragon bodies, and perhaps even return to your ancestral origins."

"Today, I bestow it upon the East Sea Dragon Palace as an artifact of inheritance."

"I hope you will make good use of it. Do not betray the Ancestral Dragon's legacy, nor the grace of the Mystical Sect's protection."

Boom!

Dao Xuan's words exploded like thunder within the hearts of Ao Guang and every dragon present!

The Dragon Transformation Pool!

Refined from the Ancestral Dragon's origin!

It could purify bloodlines! It offered hope of returning to ancestral origins!

Th-this was simply an unparalleled treasure of dragonkind! The foundation for their revival!

Ao Guang trembled with excitement, tears streaming down his aged face!

Thud!

He dropped directly to his knees and kowtowed to Dao Xuan again and again, his forehead striking the ground with loud bangs!

"Exalted Immortal! Exalted Immortal, your great grace is like granting us new life! Like granting us new life!"

"This little dragon... on behalf of the East Sea dragon clan, no! On behalf of the dragon clans of the Four Seas! I thank the Exalted Immortal for this heavenly grace!"

"The Mystical Sect is merciful! The Dao Ancestor blesses us! The Exalted Immortal's divine might is boundless! This little dragon... this little dragon is willing to be the Mystical Sect's loyal hound for life after life! I will die in the Exalted Immortal's service! I will spare neither liver nor brain, and never shrink from any sacrifice!"

Behind him, the Turtle Prime Minister, whale guards, shrimp soldiers, crab generals... every aquatic creature of the Dragon Palace fell to their knees in fervent worship!

"We thank the Exalted Immortal for his heavenly grace!"

"We shall forever be the Mystical Sect's loyal hounds! We shall die for the Exalted Immortal!"

The waves of voices made the Crystal Palace hum and tremble!

Dao Xuan looked at Ao Guang's ingratiating expression, as though he wished he could tear out his own heart, as well as the fervent gazes filling the hall, and laughed inwardly.

His bootlicking had truly reached perfection.

He raised a hand slightly.

"Rise. Guard this pool well. Do not let word leak out and invite disaster."

"Yes! Yes! This little dragon shall obey the Exalted Immortal's decree!" Ao Guang scrambled to his feet and thumped his chest in assurance. "This little dragon will personally guard it and never allow outsiders to touch even the slightest bit of it!"

Dao Xuan nodded.

This matter was settled, and his gains had been plentiful.

He had obtained the Five Elements Bead, tempered his body in the Dragon Transformation Pool, fully recovered from his injuries, and advanced his mystical art.

He had also planted the Dragon Transformation Pool as a nail within the Dragon Palace.

It was time to leave.