Three mornings later, Lu Chen stood at the north gate of Northern Garrison Pass.
His ribs had already healed. Dragon Eye shifted into combat mode, his vision piercing through the skin and muscle of his chest to see the cracks in three ribs filled with pale golden bone. The new bone was darker than the original, like three golden threads inlaid into old jade.
[Rib healing complete. Bone strength increased by 3%. Dragonization level: 26%.]
The fog beyond the north gate had dispersed. After the stone statue collapsed three days ago, the deathly aura in the west had retreated eighty li, and the sky revealed a blue it had not shown in a long time.
But the north was different. The northern sky remained gray. The avatar beneath the seal had not absorbed deathly aura to replenish itself—it was waiting. Waiting for the seal to crack open on its own.
"How much energy does the seal have left?" he asked.
Yun Qingyue stood beside him, holding a golden rune-inscribed bone. Its color remained a steady pale gold, with no sign of darkening.
"Ninety-three. Two points lower than yesterday. At this rate, it can hold for another five months."
Five months. One month less than the previous estimate of six. The seal's decay was accelerating.
"No more waiting. I'm going down today."
Yun Qingyue turned to look at him. Her amber eyes were pale in the morning light, so pale they were nearly transparent.
"Has your true essence recovered to full?"
"Ninety-eight percent. Enough."
She did not ask anything more. She rummaged through the medicine chest and took out a small leather pouch, palm-sized, its mouth tied shut with silver thread. She handed it to him.
"What is this?"
"Dragon Blood Ointment. Three times more concentrated than last time.