Dragon Flame Evolution

Hiss! Zhu Jin could not help sniffing, drawing back the dragon breath that had nearly burst from his nostrils. This powerful energy cleared his nostrils, sharpened his mind, and brightened his eyes.

"Damn, this Heavenly Flame energy is pure, smooth, and intense." Zhu Jin exhaled a breath of hot air and vigorously shook his head.

If he had to describe it, it was like grinding up devil peppers, then mixing them with mint candies and horseradish. Spicy, sharp, and fierce. Even as an Ancient Void Dragon, that mouthful left his mouth burning hot, his throat with an indescribable tightness, and a surge of energy brewing in his belly as a ball of heat churned within.

Zhu Jin could not help rolling his eyes. He wanted to throw back his head, roar at the sky, and release flames.

After the burning sensation in his throat slowly faded, Zhu Jin used his dragon claws to catch another wisp of flame. This tiny flame contained more fiery energy than an ordinary fourth-tier beast flame.

Zhu Jin had not devoured the Flame Wolf Unicorn's beast flame back then not because it could be sold for a good price, but because if Dragon Flame had to evolve by consuming such low-level beast flames, who knew how long it would take? He might as well sell it for pills.

Magical beasts did not merely awaken battle skills. Their battle skills could evolve! The most common example was bloodline evolution causing battle skills to change as well. It was entirely possible for them to rise from the Xuan tier to the Earth tier or even the Heaven tier.

The Ancient Void Dragon's Dragon Flame was exactly like this. So long as it devoured enough beast flames, Heavenly Flames, or even certain special flames, Dragon Flame could grow stronger. Once it reached a certain level, it could advance into Earth-tier Dragon Flame or even Heaven-tier Dragon Flame. It did not necessarily need flames either; certain miraculous energies of heaven and earth could also trigger evolution.

The most classic example was the Black Demon Lightning described in the book. Zhu Jin remembered clearly that there was a secret realm near East Dragon Island—a sea of lightning, with powerful Black Demon Lightning in its outer region. It had originally been Hei Qing's cultivation ground on East Dragon Island, and even with the strength of a Dou Zun, he had only dared absorb Black Demon Lightning at the edge.

Zhu Jin raised his head again and stared into the void stretching in every direction. He muttered, "This is a Heavenly Flame space. The Heavenly Flame was placed here by that Ancient Void Dragon expert who built this place, and he used it as an energy source to transform these barren mountains! It wasn't a Heavenly Flame left behind after an alchemist's death!"

That was exactly the right flavor! This was what Ancient Void Dragons were like—using their innate ability to travel through the void to roam everywhere, then raising whatever wondrous treasures of heaven and earth they found. Three Thousand Burning Flame, Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning—every one of them was a treasure discovered and branded by Ancient Void Dragon Clan experts, who would return to harvest them once they had grown!

This place had once been a herb garden. Although it had been destroyed, it still contained some pills, well-preserved herbs, pill formulas, and the like. That was why those magical beast clans had mistaken it for the ruins of an alchemist's tomb!

Now that he understood, what else was there to say? Zhu Jin leaped forward, diving into the Heavenly Flame space like a fish entering water and plunging straight into the void.

"Hehe, no wonder the magical beasts that came in before didn't take these flames away. Without the strength of a Dou Zong or even a Dou Zun, they simply can't touch the void. Otherwise, they'd be shredded by it." Once Zhu Jin entered the void, he felt as though he had dived underwater. The forces of the void, powerful enough to crush even sixth- or seventh-tier magical beasts, slid over his dragon scales like rushing currents and could not harm him at all.

"I'm eating!" With a flick of his tail and a wide opening of his mouth, Zhu Jin swallowed a small flame, swimming through the void like a dragon.

Of course, Zhu Jin thought he looked like a dragon swimming through the void, but from the outside, he looked more like a gluttonous snake. He ate every flicker of fire he saw, and his body gradually began to swell.

Yes, it was swelling. The more he ate, the more excited he became. His belly grew larger, and waves of white smoke even rose from his body.

But Zhu Jin had not eaten himself into a frenzy. He had not forgotten the true purpose of this trip—the Heavenly Flame!

These were merely Heavenly Flame energy, much like that part involving Three Thousand Burning Flame. Some Heavenly Flame energy existed around the Heavenly Flame space, and Xiao Yan used those flames to strengthen his puppet and make some "firecrackers." The tiny flames here were the same. They were merely accompanying products born after the Heavenly Flame had existed for a long time, similar to the Amethyst Winged Lion King's Companion Amethyst Source. They were not the main course.

Zhu Jin ate as he swam deeper into the Heavenly Flame space. He did not know how long he had eaten or how long he had swum, but he finally reached the end. With a puff, Zhu Jin swam straight out of the Heavenly Flame space and entered a dark region. When he looked back, the sight behind him stunned him.

"Just how strong must that Ancient Void Dragon expert have been to create something like this?"

A galaxy! When Zhu Jin turned back toward that Heavenly Flame space, a glowing galaxy lay before him. Of course, it was not that countless stars existed here; it merely looked that way. Countless streams of Heavenly Flame energy glimmered faintly like stars.

However, Zhu Jin was also somewhat disappointed, because the Heavenly Flame had already been taken by an expert of the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan, leaving behind only this Heavenly Flame space.

In truth, Zhu Jin had already noticed something when he entered. There were no Nine Netherworld Python guards in this Heavenly Flame space at all. It felt as though the best things inside had already been taken away, while the unimportant and difficult-to-take items had simply been left behind.

For the Nine Netherworld Pythons, they did not possess the ability to travel through the void. Taking away the Heavenly Flame had likely already required tremendous effort.

"Damn it! You dare steal my old dragon family's Heavenly Flame? I'll remember this debt." Zhu Jin was so furious that flames spurted from his nostrils. In his heart, he had already declared to the Nine Netherworld Python Clan that thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.

"Don't waste it."

Zhu Jin turned his grief and indignation into appetite and continued devouring. As he continuously swallowed Heavenly Flame energy, his Dragon Flame began to change.

[Xuan tier high-grade—Ancient Dragon Flame (beginner)]

[Xuan tier high-grade—Ancient Dragon Flame (minor mastery)]

[Xuan tier high-grade—Ancient Dragon Flame (major mastery)]

[Xuan tier high-grade—Ancient Dragon Flame (peak)]

[Evolution]

[Earth tier low-grade—Black-Yellow Dragon Flame (beginner)]

As he ate, Zhu Jin's Dragon Sense sent him a message, telling him that the Dragon Flame within his body had evolved. It felt like a sixth sense.

"Black-Yellow Dragon Flame..." Four words suddenly surfaced in Zhu Jin's mind. What surprised him first was not that the Dragon Flame had evolved, nor that this Heavenly Flame was the Black-Yellow Flame, but that the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's bloodline inheritance actually contained Black-Yellow Flame!

A magical beast's bloodline was equivalent to a human's DNA. Even more miraculous was that the power of a magical beast's bloodline came already decrypted. As long as one's cultivation and conditions were sufficient, the things within would automatically be unlocked.

In other words, one of the Ancient Void Dragon ancestors in his family line had once similarly devoured Black-Yellow Flame and used it to evolve Dragon Flame. That was why this code existed in the bloodline, and now that he had likewise devoured the Heavenly Flame energy of Black-Yellow Flame and evolved his Dragon Flame, this code had been decrypted!

[Unlocking bloodline battle skill...]

"Hmm?!"