Clear It Out

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, casting warm golden patches across the bedroom floor.

Tang Wulin abruptly opened his eyes, struggling free from a bizarre, surreal abyss of dreams, his forehead covered in fine cold sweat.

"Old Tang—!" he cried out instinctively, his voice still trembling with lingering terror.

"Brother Wulin, you're awake!" Na'er, who had been keeping watch beside the bed, immediately leaned closer. Her violet eyes were full of worry and the joy of finally being able to breathe a sigh of relief. When Tang Wulin had not awakened for a long time, Huo Yuhao had moved him to this quieter, more comfortable guest room late last night, while Na'er had insisted on staying with him.

Dream and reality violently collided in Tang Wulin's mind. He seemed to "see" it again—that empty void had not been entirely a nightmare, but rather a real, magnificent, icy sealing hall. In the center of the hall, a massive Dark Gold dragon, though illusory, still radiated suffocating pressure as it was firmly nailed in midair by eighteen enormous azure pillars of light! The pillars were like chains connecting heaven and earth, flowing with vast rippling water patterns. Every time the dragon struggled, the pillars flared even more fiercely to suppress it, yet its dragon eyes, filled with savagery and unwillingness, seemed to pierce through the dream and stare fixedly at him.

That wasn't a dream! It was real! Something that terrifying really was sealed inside his body!

"Na'er..." Tang Wulin's voice was hoarse as he looked at his little sister clinging tightly to him. Feeling the slight tremble of her body and her undisguised dependence, an indescribable grief and reluctance instantly overwhelmed him. He had only just obtained his first Soul Spirit and was full of hopes for the future. He could not bear to leave his mother, who always smiled so gently; his father, who was strict yet loving; and least of all this little sister, who always quietly stayed by his side and needed his protection. But "Old Tang"—the will conveyed by the Sea God's Mark Tang San had left behind—had told him that if he could not absorb the power of the first seal before the age of ten, he would either be possessed by the Golden Dragon King or... be directly burst apart and destroyed by that violent power.

He was not even ten years old, yet it felt as though he had already touched the countdown to his death.

"Brother, you scared me to death." Na'er buried her face against his shoulder, her voice muffled and still shaken. "Yesterday, those scary scales grew on your body, and you were burning hot... I thought—I thought you were going to become that golden dragon from the dream and never turn back..." She could feel the stiffness and fear in Tang Wulin's body, and her own heart tightened as well. As an incarnation of the Silver Dragon King, she understood better than anyone the terror and uncontrollability of the Golden Dragon King's power. That was why she could so deeply empathize with Tang Wulin's current predicament, and why her concern was so genuine.

"Na'er..." Tang Wulin took a deep breath, trying to make himself look stronger. As usual, he raised a hand to rub Na'er's hair and comfort her. Yet just before his fingertips touched her silver hair, he caught sight of his right hand from the corner of his eye—it was no longer a child's hand, but a dragon claw covered in fine pale golden scales, its nails sharpened into points! Though it flickered in and out of view and had not fully transformed, that ironclad fact instantly shattered his forced calm.

The fear he had been suppressing, his despair over the future, and his reluctance to part with his family finally overwhelmed his defenses.

"Waaah—! Na'er... I'm going to die... I don't want to leave you... sob, sob..." This little boy, normally strong and optimistic, could no longer hold it in. Like the most ordinary child, he clung to his sister and burst into tears. Large tears rolled down his face, soaking Na'er's shoulder. His dragon claw unconsciously tightened, only to immediately loosen when it touched Na'er, afraid of hurting her in the slightest.

"You won't! Brother Wulin won't die!" Na'er hugged him back tightly, her little hand patting his back. Her voice carried a sob she did not even notice, yet it was exceptionally firm. "Uncle Huo already captured the worst bad guy! The one you saw locked up by those pillars of light was only the disobedient power it left behind! Uncle Huo is amazing. He'll definitely have a way!"

She recalled the exhausted yet all-seeing gaze and words Huo Yuhao had given her when he spoke to her alone last night:

"I have stripped away and sealed the Golden Dragon King's main consciousness along with its core Divine Core. What remains inside him now is merely the Golden Dragon King's Divine Power, which has lost its guiding will but inherited its original savage instinct to possess him. It is far too violent... Sigh. When he wakes tomorrow, give him some mild, nourishing food to stabilize his condition first. As for absorption, we must wait until his body can endure it. You..." Huo Yuhao looked at her meaningfully. "If you truly want to remain only his 'little sister,' then continue doing so. But if you, or the 'someone' behind you, still want the Golden Dragon King's power..."

"No!" Na'er had almost blurted it out, her violet eyes clear. "I don't want it. That is... something Gu Yue needs to consider." She did not want anything to destroy the warmth before her eyes, not even the power belonging to the other half of the Dragon God.

Understanding dawned in Huo Yuhao's eyes, and he nodded. "Gu Yue... so that is the name of the main body. That is for the best. If anything happens in the future, you may come find me."

Na'er pushed those complicated thoughts aside. Right now, she was only Tang Wulin's little sister, and all she wanted was to comfort her frightened, crying brother.

Not long after, the guest room door was gently pushed open.

Supported by Demon Spirit, Huo Yuhao slowly walked in. His face was still pale, his aura weak, and his steps somewhat unsteady, but clarity had returned to his eyes. Demon Spirit was practically using her petite body to support him, carefully helping him settle into a comfortable armchair in the room. She then hurriedly brought him warm water and stood anxiously at his side, her amber eyes fixed unblinkingly on Huo Yuhao as if afraid that something might happen to him again.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue followed close behind. Both had bloodshot eyes and had clearly been awake all night. Their faces were filled with heartache for their son and worry over Huo Yuhao's condition.

The small room suddenly felt a little crowded, yet it was also filled with a reassuring sense of human warmth.

Huo Yuhao slightly raised a hand, signaling that no one needed to say anything. His voice was far lower and hoarser than usual. "There's no need... to repeat the details. Wulin, you only need to tell us what 'he'—the message conveyed by the Sea God's Mark—said to you. What do you need most urgently right now?" He leaned back in the chair and slightly closed his eyes, as though every word consumed his strength. Demon Spirit promptly brought the warm water to his lips.

Tang Wulin sniffled and, with Na'er's help, wiped away his tears as he tried to calm himself. He glanced at his flickering dragon claw, then at the concerned faces around him. Taking a deep breath, he said as clearly as he could, "Old Tang... the voice that speaks in my head... said that if I can't absorb the power leaking from the first layer of the seal before I turn ten, I might... I might be possessed by the remaining Golden Dragon King power, or... my body might not be able to endure it, and I'll die."

He paused, recalling the information imprinted in his mind. "Right now, I need one Centennial Ice Crystal Fruit and one Centennial Scarlet Flame Fruit, as well as ten drops of blood from a Centennial soul beast with dragon bloodline. With those... a medicine can be prepared to help initially guide and absorb that power."

"No!" Huo Yuhao immediately rejected it the moment he heard "Scarlet Flame Fruit" and "soul beast blood." His brows furrowed tightly, and a headache showed on his face. "With your current physical condition and the violence of the power inside you, you absolutely cannot use a domineering fire-attributed spiritual item like the Scarlet Flame Fruit, much less stimulate it with dragon blood! That would not be absorption—it would be like adding fuel to the fire. It would instantly ignite that masterless, violent power, let it turn on you, and devour you as nourishment!" He had not expected that although the Sea God's seal was powerful, even this trace of leaked power would be so unruly, with such harsh and trap-filled requirements for its guiding materials.

"Uncle Huo," Tang Wulin suddenly remembered something, and a trace of hope lit up in his eyes. "I remember that a few years ago, you gave me a box with some medicinal herbs inside. I ate them for a year... are those still useful now?"

Huo Yuhao slowly shook his head, his tone helpless. "No. Any heavenly treasure has its greatest effect the first time it is taken. After that, resistance develops rapidly. Besides, the herbs you took back then were all extremely mild. They were specially prepared to stabilize your foundation while you were young and gradually balance the hidden dangers within you. What is inside your body now is a pure aftershock of violent divine power, completely different in nature. As for other medicinal herbs that could match power of this level... with your current physical strength, you simply cannot withstand the impact of their medicinal effects." That was also why he had only given him those herbs back then.

The room fell silent for a moment. Tang Ziran and Lang Yue were filled with anxiety yet completely helpless, and could only grip each other's hands tightly. Na'er held Tang Wulin around the shoulders, feeling the faint tremble in his body. Demon Spirit, meanwhile, looked worriedly at Huo Yuhao's increasingly exhausted profile and gently massaged his temples.

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes in thought, his fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly against the armrest. He had originally considered the most direct method—guiding the Golden Dragon King's Divine Power leaking from Tang Wulin's body back into his own and reuniting it with the two sealed Divine Cores. But he quickly rejected that idea. It was like a solid wall that had been forcibly broken open and then patched with foreign material. The cracks would always remain, only making the Triangle Seal structure inside even more unstable. The risk was far too great.

Energy... pure masterless energy... only a reserve, unable to regenerate... consume it...

Huo Yuhao's thoughts raced as he combined his understanding of the Golden Dragon King's power, the characteristics of necromancy magic, and Tang Wulin's current situation. A nearly fantastical thought, yet one that possessed a sliver of logical feasibility, flashed through his mind like lightning in the darkness, suddenly illuminating it!

Consume it! Since it could not be safely absorbed, then find a way to make that power be "consumed"! As long as the rate of consumption exceeded the rate at which it naturally eroded the seal and leaked out, Tang Wulin could gain precious time to grow!

Then... how could masterless, violent energy at the God Rank be safely "consumed"?

Huo Yuhao abruptly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through the depths of his icy blue pupils, and his body instinctively leaned forward slightly from the chair back.

"I have it!"

He shouted in a low voice. Though still hoarse, it carried the certainty of sudden enlightenment.

Everyone in the room immediately focused on him. Tang Wulin forgot to cry, Na'er lifted her head, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue held their breath, and even Demon Spirit stopped massaging him as she looked at him expectantly.

Huo Yuhao's gaze slowly swept over everyone before finally settling on Tang Wulin's blue eyes, still marked with tears but once again burning with hope. The corner of his mouth lifted into an extremely faint yet meaningful curve.

"Perhaps... we can take a different approach. Not 'absorb' it, but... 'empty' it."