Scene after scene surfaced in succession.
Three hundred years ago, in the Zhaoyang Country—the Dahuangluo Land.
After a great drought, the Great Wasteland welcomed new life. Torrential rain fell for seven days and seven nights, and the land became a waterlogged country.
Other than humans, all things vied to grow. The abundant rainfall also caused the originally scarce water-element Spiritual Serpents to appear one after another in every corner of the Great Wasteland.
The Dragon-Raising Temple had just suffered through the drought, in addition to harassment from demonic fiends. Numerous Spiritual Serpents had died in the temple, greatly affecting the monks' cultivation. Thus, it dispatched large numbers of cultivators to search for Spiritual Serpents in the Great Wasteland, bring them back to the Dragon-Raising Temple for enlightenment, and place them in the Snake Abyss.
It also captured demonic fiends on a massive scale, slaughtering them and throwing them into the Snake Abyss to serve as food for the Spiritual Serpents.
Dozens of water-element Spiritual Serpents appeared in succession. For a time, the Dragon-Raising Temple rose to the peak of the Zhaoyang Country's cultivation forces.
"The Dragon-Raising Temple was actually this powerful three hundred years ago?"
Su Qingqiu was secretly astonished.
According to the Great Asura Lord's memories, the Dragon-Raising Temple already had more than one third-grade Bodhisattva or Arhat back then. At its strongest, it was said that the Future Buddha, Present Buddha, and Past Buddha had all descended into the world, suppressing everything.
There was even a Bodhisattva who surpassed the Arhat realm, presiding over the heart of the Dragon-Raising Temple.
However...
"How did such a powerful Dragon-Raising Temple end up in this state?"
Su Qingqiu frowned.
The Great Asura Lord's memories recorded a crucial piece of information.
On the fifth day of the third month of the 297th year before the Zhaoyang Country, during Insects Awakening, thunder had rolled across the Dragon-Raising Temple that night. Someone had seen blood-colored light filling the sky above the temple.
Blood Rain descended, and Yin Wind howled furiously.
In a single night, countless monks had died or been injured.
Of the three Arhats, one had died, one had gone mad, and the last had shouted, "The dragon has gone mad!" before finally exploding.
As for that Bodhisattva, after leaving behind the words, "I am going to seek the source of the curse," he had departed and never returned. For three hundred years, there had been no trace of him.
That day, strange black blood had covered the ground of the Dragon-Raising Temple. The Snake Abyss, which had always been open, had also been completely sealed from that moment onward.
The Great Asura Lord had originally been a Demonic Corpse in the Dragon-Raising Temple's Snake Abyss. By a twist of fate, a demonic will had been born within him, and he had ultimately seized this opportunity to escape the Snake Abyss.
As for how he had transformed from a Demonic Corpse into the Great Asura Lord step by step, and how he had later become the Hundred-Eyed Devil's henchman, that was another matter entirely.
An ominous event had occurred in the Dragon-Raising Temple overnight. More than half of the monks throughout the temple had died, while the upper echelons had been wiped out completely. For a time, all the forces were left shocked.
History referred to it as the Dragon-Raising Temple Bloodbath.
Upon seeing this, Su Qingqiu drew a deep breath. The unease in his heart intensified sharply.
According to the Great Asura Lord's memories, when he had escaped the Snake Abyss, he had sensed a terrifying evil force rising from its depths.
That was why, even after learning that the Dragon-Raising Temple was far weaker than before, he had never dared to return for revenge.
He had feared being devoured by the great demon.
Only today had the Hundred-Eyed Devil sent him to investigate.
More than three hundred years had passed. Everything had long since changed, and the Dragon-Raising Temple had lost its former glory, reduced to a state where even a mere near-third-grade demonic fiend dared to come and bully it.
It was truly lamentable and tragic.
"Three third-grade Arhats died horribly on the spot, while a second-grade Bodhisattva vanished without a trace. What exactly happened to the Dragon-Raising Temple back then?"
"Could a Lord of Demons have appeared in the Snake Abyss? And where did that final Bodhisattva go over these three hundred years? Why has there been no trace of him?"
The questions in Su Qingqiu's heart only multiplied.
He could be certain that what had happened back then was absolutely related to the Snake Abyss. That was what had caused the Dragon-Raising Temple to change from an open state to a sealed Snake Abyss.
As for why another layer had later been added to the Snake Abyss, there was still no answer.
"Perhaps the Hundred-Eyed Devil knows something. After all, he has been plotting against the Dragon-Raising Temple all this time. Aside from the seven-inch scale of Si Snake in the Snake Abyss, there must be something even more important."
"Unfortunately... there's not a single record of it in the Great Asura Lord's mind."
The Great Asura Lord's memories were vast and jumbled, but most of them consisted of slaughter. They were useless to Su Qingqiu, so Spiritual Light refined them away.
Only a small portion of their essence remained.
Gradually, as even these refined memories were digested and sorted out, Su Qingqiu suddenly felt a tingling sensation spread across the scales covering his entire body.
Countless brand-new Spiritual Patterns began to spread across his body, sinking deep into his flesh and blood at the same time.
That was not all. These Spiritual Patterns gradually split into countless threads, while a crimson substance resembling dragon blood also flowed from the Crimson Fire Horn.
The substances converged and surged toward Su Qingqiu's spinal bones.
At once, unbearable, violent pain came from his spine, stretching from the back of his head all the way to his tail.
The pain was so intense that he let out a loud roar.
Even the Vajra Sutra began operating automatically. Brilliant golden light illuminated the entire cavern for a time.
After a long while, the violent pain finally faded.
Su Qingqiu was already sprawled limply on the ground. He had shed an entire layer of dead skin, and even his diameter had shrunk by a full third.
Previously, he had been nearly fifteen meters long and more than three meters in diameter.
Like a gasoline barrel.
He was still fifteen meters long now, but even his thickest point was only two meters across.
Comparable to a utility pole.
He had become much slimmer, and Su Qingqiu's dream of growing thicker and larger had been shattered. Of course, his weight had not decreased in the slightest. He had previously weighed seven or eight thousand jin, but now he was close to ten thousand.
A genuine iron-core utility pole.
Turning his head to look at his back, he saw that numerous sharp spines had grown there, rising and falling in jagged rows.
Blessed by sudden inspiration, Su Qingqiu instantly understood what they were.
Reward: Crimson Fire Dragon Spine
It had condensed ten thousand years of Daoism Cultivation, transformed Spiritual Light into spiritual essence, gathered the essence of the Crimson Fire Horn, and forged it into the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine.
It greatly enhanced the power of fire-element Spiritual Light, increased the defensive properties of Spiritual Patterns, and granted a certain degree of offensive power, among other effects.
"It's actually the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine."
"Is this really going to turn me into a fire dragon?"
Su Qingqiu thought happily.
The existence of the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine had turned his most vulnerable spinal bones into his strongest point. Not only that, the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine unified the energy and blood qi throughout his body. It was like a second heart, truly astonishingly powerful.
With the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine, the force of Su Qingqiu's tail strikes became even stronger. He no longer needed to awkwardly swing his tail while carrying a huge belly.
The Crimson Fire Dragon Spine extended from his head all the way to his tail, making Su Qingqiu look even more ferocious and terrifying. He no longer resembled a Spiritual Serpent, but rather a Demonic Beast.
He gently moved his tail. In an instant, the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine protruding from it sliced through the surrounding rocks as easily as cutting tofu.
"So powerful!"
Su Qingqiu took a deep breath.
"Looking like this now... surely I've gained at least a third of a fire dragon's might, right?"
Although from an evolutionary perspective he was still merely a Spiritual Python, judging by appearance alone, anyone would praise him as a strong and majestic Crimson Fire Dragon.
Besides the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine, he had also been rewarded with four thousand years of Daoism Cultivation. This had increased Su Qingqiu's Daoism Cultivation by nearly half, all of which he transformed into spiritual essence.
Finally, there was a blood-red pill.
Also known as: Devil Pill!
Before you continue