The Strange Mutation

In terms of power,

the Dragon God controlled the forces of creation and destruction. They were the most fundamental, core forces in the universe. Though the Dragon God had been less affected, his power still surpassed that of the Five Great God Kings.

After the Asura God split the Dragon God apart, the Golden Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's Destruction Godhead and formidable physical abilities, along with power capable of destroying heaven and earth, controlled by a crazed will.

The power of destruction and the power of annihilation were actually of the same nature. The true essence of destruction was annihilation.

Now, Xu Lanqing's task was to let the power of destruction merge with the power of annihilation in a state of balance, completely fusing the two and thereby undoing the effects of the Golden Dragon King devouring the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon Martial Soul.

Under his control, wisps of purple Soul Power in his dantian gradually merged into the golden Soul Power. The gold grew more and more brilliant.

Meanwhile, the Golden Dragon King Martial Soul had possessed his body of its own accord, and the purple dragon patterns on his golden scales were slowly turning into dazzling gold.

Almost there.

Just one last bit.

The closer he got to the final step, the more cautious he became. He carefully controlled the conversion of Soul Power, gritting his teeth as fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Done!

He'd finally succeeded!

The weight on Xu Lanqing's heart finally lifted. As the purple Soul Power was completely devoured, he immediately felt light and invigorated. A smile spread across his lips.

"Better stop while I'm ahead. Something feels strange here. The Golden Dragon King Martial Soul seems a little too lively."

Xu Lanqing exhaled a breath of stale air and hurried to his feet, heading back.

"Whatever it is, I just need to get out of here."

But just then—

"Roar—"

The Golden Dragon King let out a piercing roar from within him, its echo reverberating through the space.

It was like a huge boulder crashing into a still lake, sending countless splashes and waves flying.

The tranquil atmosphere was instantly set alight. The purple mist blanketing the distance sensed an enemy's provocation and surged and churned.

In the next instant, the purple mist, brimming with the power of destruction, swept toward Xu Lanqing like a tidal wave.

It happened too quickly. Xu Lanqing had no time to react before the purple mist had enveloped him completely.

The frenzied power of destruction rampaged through his body, while the Golden Dragon King fought tooth and nail to defend its dignity. The two forces turned his body into a battlefield, attacking each other relentlessly.

Like sworn enemies meeting, seeing red and fighting to the death.

Damn it!

That stupid dragon was going to get him killed!

The Golden Dragon King had to have been enemies with this thing in its past life. The moment it barged into his body, it went straight for the Golden Dragon King—and it even seemed to be deliberately protecting his body. Otherwise, his frail frame would've burst apart already.

It looked like it wanted to kill the Golden Dragon King first and take its revenge with its own hands.

Couldn't this stupid dragon keep a low profile in enemy territory? It couldn't win, but it still had to taunt its opponent—and now Xu Lanqing was caught in the crossfire.

That was right: the Golden Dragon King was being thoroughly suppressed. There was simply too much purple mist. Once the numbers reached a certain point, quantity could overwhelm quality.

Xu Lanqing gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. Every tendon in his body felt ready to burst, and his body had even swollen a whole size larger.

Fine cracks began appearing across his fair skin, and blood seeped out.

It wasn't just his body. His soul was being tortured by the agony of being torn apart, as though countless ants were biting and devouring him.

Sweat had soaked him through, yet he kept his teeth clenched and made no sound. He was afraid that if he let out even a cry, he wouldn't be able to endure it.

"Roar, roar, roar~~~"

One after another, the Golden Dragon King's roars rang through the space. Even trapped in a desperate situation, it only grew more impassioned.

As if awakened by the dragon's roars, the Golden Dragon King's God Core, sealed within the Sea of Consciousness, trembled. The runes around the seal immediately blazed with light, forming a solid barrier.

But now that the Golden Dragon King's God Core had gained consciousness, it was utterly different from before. It launched an unceasing assault on the seal.

"Rumble~~"

The shockwaves from the impacts violently shook the Sea of Consciousness. Fine cracks gradually appeared, and intense pain surged through Xu Lanqing's mind. Blood began streaming from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, turning his vision scarlet.

A gap had been smashed in the seal, and the God Core's power flowed into the Golden Dragon King Martial Soul.

"Roar—"

It let out another resounding roar, sounding the charge for a counterattack.

But Xu Lanqing's body could no longer hold on. He had reached his limit.

His consciousness began to blur, as though he'd sunk into a deep, dark swamp. No matter how hard he struggled, he only sank deeper.

His blood-red lips parted, but not a sound came out.

Am I... going to die?

Here... of all places, with no one to even... bury me...

I'm sorry, teacher. I still haven't brought you back to life, and now I've dragged you into this...

And Snow Empress...

His tensed body gradually relaxed. He stopped resisting. Death seemed like a kind of release, yet it would take so many regrets and so much resentment away with him.

"Sigh..."

A sigh suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterward, ripples spread through space. As it twisted, a figure stepped through, and a second person appeared in the space.

Xu Lanqing struggled to look over. He could no longer make out sounds with his ears, but that sigh had echoed directly in his Sea of Consciousness. The cracks that had been spreading across it were slowly mending.

Through his scarlet vision, he saw only a blurry silhouette. A faint, elegant fragrance seemed to reach his nose.

The next moment,

he felt a palm press against his chest. A third force surged into his body, dazzling and multicolored, brimming with life.

He couldn't describe the feeling. It was like a parched earth receiving a nourishing spring rain; his body was instantly filled with vitality.

His battered body healed rapidly. Apart from the blood covering him, it was as if nothing had happened.

A cool sensation drew his clouded consciousness back, but he felt as though his senses had been sealed away, trapping him inside his Sea of Consciousness. No matter what happened, he couldn't feel it.

Meanwhile, something miraculous was happening inside him.

The multicolored power intertwined with the Golden Dragon King's power, fusing and transforming into an unparalleled force—noble, overbearing, and beyond all affront.

Xu Lanqing's appearance also underwent a complete transformation.

His entire body shimmered with seven-colored light, and even his scales were seven-colored.

The scales on his body seemed irregular, each one shaped differently, yet they fit together in perfect harmony. They looked like countless jewels inlaid across him, and his whole body radiated an indescribable aura.

Where he stood became the center of the world, its ruler, to whom all things submitted.

He seemed to reign over the world. The purple mist trembled like a person, overcome with fear as it waited to be commanded.

In the next instant,

the dazzling seven-colored light completely devoured the purple mist brimming with the power of destruction inside Xu Lanqing's body, transforming it into pure Soul Power.

It didn't spare the mist outside him, either. The trembling purple mist didn't dare resist or flee; all of it was refined into Soul Power.

However, the figure was faced with a difficult problem.

There was nowhere to put this vast amount of Soul Power. She had yet to recover from her serious injuries, so absorbing it herself was out of the question. Xu Lanqing couldn't absorb it, either—he would burst apart at once.

After hesitating for a moment,

she thought of something. Her right hand, glowing with seven-colored light, grasped at empty space. Space twisted, and a black void appeared.

A force of attraction issued from her right hand, pulling an object out of the black hole.

A closer look revealed that it was the ice-blue crystal Snow Empress had transformed into.

She had brought Snow Empress across the planes!

"Since you're a Soul Beast, I'll let you have this..."

Her ethereal voice rang out softly. Then she waved her right hand, sending the immense Soul Power surging into the ice-blue crystal. The crystal immediately blazed with divine light, its aura growing ever more powerful.