Azure Snake Dragon Wing!

The battlefield was a scene of utter devastation.

The ground was scarred and torn by wind blades and sharp claws, while several large trees had been snapped in two, lying scattered across the earth in a chaotic mess.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, the lingering traces of poisonous mist, and the acrid smell of scorched vegetation.

Qing Hongyuan leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for air.

His robes were riddled with holes and his body was covered in numerous wounds, but they were all healing rapidly under the radiance of Spring Returns to Earth.

Liu Yunlan retracted her poisonous mist; the old woman's face was somewhat pale, but her spirit remained steady.

She pulled a small porcelain bottle from her cloth bag, shook out two pills, popped one into her own mouth, and handed the other to Qing Hongyuan.

Shen Wanqing ceased the release of her auxiliary soul skills, closing her eyes as sweat trickled down her cheeks from her forehead.

She had exhausted too much energy and needed time to recover.

Qing Zhengyue stood beside the carcass of the Wind Wood Dragon, his long blade propped against the ground, his chest rising and falling slightly.

There was a deep, bone-exposed gash on his arm.

It was the final blow left behind by the Wind Wood Dragon before it died.

Qing Mufeng descended from high above, the light of Spring Returns to Earth enveloping everyone, with green specks of light flickering over each person to accelerate their recovery.

The five of them remained silent, quietly recuperating their strength.

After a long while, Qing Zhengyue spoke up.

"Hongyuan, absorb the soul ring."

Qing Hongyuan opened his eyes, looked at the corpse of the thirty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon, took a deep breath, and nodded.

He walked over to the Wind Wood Dragon and sat down cross-legged.

A black soul ring slowly rose from the body of the Wind Wood Dragon.

A ten-thousand-year soul ring.

Black.

It was deeper and heavier than any of the soul rings he had possessed before.

It was the distinct color of a soul ring from a thirty-thousand-year soul beast.

Qing Hongyuan closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

The black soul ring drifted toward him and slowly submerged into his body.

The moment it entered his body, a sharp pain struck him.

It was not a physical pain.

It was a pain of the soul.

The greatest difference between a ten-thousand-year soul ring and those of the thousand-year or hundred-year variety was this:

Soul beasts over ten thousand years old already possessed considerable intelligence.

Their souls did not dissipate immediately upon death but remained within the soul ring, carrying the anger and unwillingness of their final moments to assault the spirit of the absorber.

Physical impacts could be endured through sheer constitution.

But the assault on the soul could only be withstood through willpower.

Qing Hongyuan's body began to tremble, blue veins bulged on his forehead, and his hands gripped his knees so tightly his knuckles turned white.

On his face, sweat mixed with blood dripped onto the ground, drop by drop.

Within his spiritual sea, the phantom of a massive Wind Wood Dragon was rampaging wildly.

It was the lingering resentment of the soul beast within the ring, carrying thirty thousand years of accumulated fury and defiance, seeking to devour his consciousness and seize his body.

Qing Hongyuan gritted his teeth, desperately guarding the clarity of his mind.

I will not be devoured by you.

I will absorb you, digest you, and become your master.

I will achieve Dragon Transformation.

I will fly.

He repeated these words over and over, like a mantra, again and again.

Dragon Transformation.

Flight.

Dragon Transformation.

Flight.

Qing Zhengyue stood to the side, watching his son's pained expression, his hand tightening and loosening on his long blade.

But he did not intervene.

Absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring is not something outsiders can assist with; he must rely solely on himself.

Liu Yunlan sat on the ground, the old woman's eyes rimmed with red, yet she did not weep.

She believed in her son.

Shen Wanqing held her husband's hand, remaining silent, simply transmitting warmth in the quiet.

Qing Mufeng hovered in mid-air, his Azure Dragon Pupil fixed upon his father's internal state.

He could see that black spirit ring merging, inch by inch, into his father's martial soul; though the process was arduous, the direction was correct.

Live.

Father.

It was unknown how much time had passed.

Perhaps a quarter of an hour, perhaps an hour.

Qing Hongyuan's body jolted violently, then returned to stillness.

He opened his eyes.

There was no weakness from pain, only the clarity that follows a metamorphosis.

Five spirit rings rose slowly from beneath his feet.

Yellow.

Yellow.

Purple.

Purple.

Black.

The fifth spirit ring was black.

Thirty thousand years.

His spirit power had surged from level fifty to level fifty-six.

But that was not the greatest change.

The greatest change lay within his dantian.

Qing Hongyuan closed his eyes, looking inward at his dantian.

His martial soul.

That azure snake.

It was undergoing a transformation.

Its body was nearly twice as large as before, the serpent frame thicker, the scales finer, and the color shifting from light azure to deep cyan.

The snake's head had broadened, with a slight protrusion on the forehead—the embryonic form of dragon horns.

The entire aura of the snake had changed.

It was no longer an ordinary azure snake.

It was an azure snake carrying a trace of dragon might.

Dragon Aspect.

Qing Hongyuan opened his eyes, his sockets slightly reddened.

He had succeeded.

Information regarding his fifth spirit skill flooded into his mind from the spirit ring.

Azure Snake Dragon Wing.

It was not merely a flight-type spirit skill.

The azure snake briefly transformed into the form of a Wind Wood Dragon, with the azure snake as the core, fusing the wind and wood attributes of the Wind Wood Dragon to manifest a pair of translucent azure dragon wings behind his back.

The wingspan reached approximately three zhang, the feathers covered in azure scale patterns, with the edges glowing in a faint cyan light.

The moment the wings unfurled, the power of the wind buoyed his body, allowing for free flight with extreme speed and superior maneuverability.

During flight, all attributes surged.

Speed, attack, defense, and spirit power recovery rate all skyrocketed.

As for sustained consumption, as long as his spirit power was not exhausted, he could maintain the flight state indefinitely.

This was his fifth spirit skill.

This was his wings.

Qing Hongyuan stood up and looked toward the sky.

Those eyes were filled with anticipation.

The next second.

"Let me test just how strong you truly are!"

Qing Hongyuan took a deep breath, and his fifth soul ring, that black thirty-thousand-year soul ring, lit up.

He raised his right hand, fingers splayed wide.

Cyan light surged from his palm, spreading along his arm and across his entire body.

At this moment, his body underwent a strange transformation.

It did not grow larger, but rather became ethereal, as if his form had overlapped with some far more massive existence.

His Azure Snake martial soul briefly took on the form of a Wind Wood Dragon.

It was not a true transformation, but a manifestation of the martial soul.

A cyan phantom rose from his body.

Snake body, dragon head, four claws, and a pair of wings.

It was a fusion of the Azure Snake and the Wind Wood Dragon, with the Azure Snake as the core, yet it already possessed a distinct dragon-like appearance.

From the back of the phantom, a pair of translucent cyan wings slowly unfurled.

The wingspan reached three zhang.

The wings were covered in cyan scale patterns, each one shimmering with a faint, flowing light as if alive.

The edges of the wings glowed with a cyan halo, the power of wind circulating within it and emitting a faint humming sound.

Qing Hongyuan's feet left the ground.

It was not a jump, but flight.

With a gentle flap of his wings, his figure shot into the high sky like an arrow released from a bow, his speed so great that even Qing Zhengyue narrowed his eyes slightly.

He carved an arc through the air, turning back, stopping abruptly, diving, and climbing.

Every movement was fluid and natural, not at all like someone flying for the first time.

Fifth Soul Skill: Azure Snake Dragon Wing.

All attributes surged explosively.

At this moment, he was no longer a snake crawling on the ground.

He was soaring freely in the sky.