In the southwestern sky.
The aura of life's twilight condensed into a setting sun.
Xuanming narrowed his eyes. Only after examining it carefully did he realize that it was a Dragon Pearl.
A bald, mottled old dragon, stripped of all its scales, opened its mouth and spat out the Dragon Pearl, its surface riddled with cracks.
He faintly heard a cracking sound by his ear.
Within a few breaths, the Dragon Pearl shattered.
Some fragments returned to heaven and earth.
Others merged into Great Xuan.
The old dragon let out an aged, defiant roar. After circling the southwestern sky several times, it shed sorrowful tears and fell with a thunderous crash.
It met the same end as the Dragon Pearl.
Sensing something, Xuanming produced a jade pendant in his hand. It was only palm-sized, translucent throughout, like colored glass.
This was a piece of Dragon Bone.
In the past, the Dragon Vein of Azure Dragon Mountain had been defiled.
He had driven out its blood baleful intent several times.
Before Yellow Dragon broke the formation, he had received three gifts.
The first was a reverse scale.
The next two were pieces of Dragon Bone containing the essence of earth.
He had used one to condense the Central Yellow Pole Yellow-Horned Immortal.
The other he had carried on his person, nourishing it.
He had intended to condense the Houtu Earth Deity with it when an opportunity arose. He had never expected it to undergo a change now.
Unfurling his Dao Domain to obscure sight and block prying eyes, Xuanming brought out the Dragon Bone, infused it with magic power, and attempted to draw in dragon qi.
To his surprise, a wisp of dragon qi really did fly toward him.
Amid his delight, inspiration flashed through his mind. He summoned the Central