It was a new day again.
Early in the morning, the sun rose in the east, and the morning glow scattered its radiance. Gentle, nonglaring rays of sunlight slanted through the cave entrance, waking Bai He from his sleep.
Slowly opening his eyes, Bai He climbed up from the pile of dry grass spread across the ground.
Turning his head, he saw Yan Qingcheng still sitting cross-legged in cultivation. Hazy purple true energy swirled around her like mist, making her seem as dreamlike and ethereal as a fairy descending into the mortal world. She was circulating the Undying Heavenly Art to heal her injuries!
It seemed that cultivators in the Realm of Longevity all used meditation in place of sleep. Yan Qingcheng did so, and Xiao Chen was the same, but Bai He, having come from the modern world, was still used to sleeping lying down.
Shaking his head, Bai He slowly walked out of the cave.
Outside, the air was fresh. Since the sun had only just risen, the surrounding temperature was not yet too high, and the weather remained pleasantly cool.
Many low shrubs grew beside the cave. Crystal-clear drops of dew rolled over their narrow leaves, scattering a faint glow beneath the morning glow.
Bai He took a deep breath and stretched his stiff limbs after a night of inactivity, then walked back into the cave.
He took out a White Jade Rhino Horn nearly half a meter long from beside the pile of dry grass. Turning to leave the cave, Bai He planned to head to the lake to wash up.
"Bai He, where are you going?"
Seemingly noticing that Bai He was about to leave, Yan Qingcheng, who had been healing herself, opened her eyes and asked in a clear voice.
"I'm going to the lake to wash up. Focus on healing your injuries. As for water, I'll bring some back for you!"
Bai He raised the White Jade Rhino Horn in his hand and waved it through the air as he spoke to Yan Qingcheng.
Bai He had accidentally discovered this White Jade Rhino Horn, nearly half a meter long, on the grassland when he returned from exploring the Flame Hell Dragon's nest yesterday.
At the time, it had still been attached to the skeleton of a White Jade Rhinoceros. Once Bai He discovered it, he naturally cut it off and brought it back.
Leaving the cave, Bai He slowly made his way toward the lake.
Though it was only morning, quite a few herds had already gathered by the lake. Most were ordinary beasts—deer, cattle, and elephants—while savage beasts were almost nowhere to be seen.
Bai He guessed that ordinary beasts were weak and usually occupied the bottom of the food chain on Dragon Island. That was why they had to hurry over to drink before the savage beasts arrived at the lake, because only then would it be safer.
If they waited until those powerful savage beasts arrived, then when these ordinary beasts went to drink, they could lose their lives at any moment.
But even now, it was not absolutely safe. Although no savage beasts from the grassland had arrived, some Primordial Mythical Beasts lived in the lake as well, such as... Divine Crocodiles!
Only when these ordinary beasts came to drink at the lake would these relatively weak Divine Crocodiles among the savage beasts have the chance to feast.
One purple, legless Divine Crocodile after another leaped from the lake, opening their bloody maws to drag the beasts drinking at the shore into the water. As the waves churned, clusters of blood blossomed across the lake's surface.
After washing up at the lake, Bai He filled the White Jade Rhino Horn with water. After casually making a wooden stopper and plugging it, he turned and returned to the cave.
As for the bloody slaughter unfolding by the lake, he had no desire to watch any longer. Back on Earth, he had indeed enjoyed watching animal documentaries, but the Bai He of now and the Bai He of then belonged to two entirely different worlds!
In the blink of an eye, it was nearly noon. Since the cave was relatively cool, the Divine Crocodile corpse left inside last night had not spoiled and was still edible.
The two simply ate some roasted Divine Crocodile meat. Though it did not taste particularly good, as a Primordial Mythical Beast, Divine Crocodile meat contained an impressive amount of Life Essence—far more than ordinary beasts such as lions, tigers, or elephants.
All morning, Bai He had been thinking about how to steal the dragon eggs from the Scarlet Scale Savage Dragon's Flame Hell Dragon nest.
After pondering for a long time, Bai He finally decided to steal the dragon eggs while the Flame Hell Dragon went out hunting at dusk. That was also the best time to steal them!
After a period of anxious waiting, the sky finally began to turn yellow. Though dusk had not yet arrived, Bai He had already decided to go Guarding a Tree to Wait for a Rabbit.
Making up an excuse and telling Yan Qingcheng, who was still healing herself, Bai He turned and left the cave.
Since Bai He now knew that the grassland overlord he had once feared was the Flame Hell Dragon living in the Barren Mountain, and that it was far from here, he could safely spread his Undying Sky Wings here.
Flying swiftly over the azure lake below, Bai He finally landed on a stretch of Gobi Desert at the foot of the Barren Mountain. He planned to wait here for his chance.
Sitting quietly in the shade behind a massive boulder, Bai He waited eagerly and excitedly for the Flame Hell Dragon to leave in search of prey.
Gradually, dusk arrived. The fiery clouds at the horizon burned brilliantly, and the Flame Hell Dragon appeared right on schedule.
Accompanied by violent tremors running through the earth, a gigantic creature covered in dark red scales gradually appeared before Bai He's eyes. It was the Flame Hell Dragon!
Bai He forcibly suppressed his urgency and agitation, waiting for the Flame Hell Dragon to move farther away from its Dragon Nest.
Based on what he had seen yesterday, the Flame Hell Dragon usually returned to its nest only after finishing its prey outside, so Bai He still had plenty of time.
As the enormous shadow gradually receded, Bai He slowly poked his head out from beside the boulder. Then he spread the Undying Sky Wings on his back and swiftly flew toward the Dragon Nest.
Since he no longer had to traverse all kinds of uneven slopes, a Dragon Nest located within a giant pit soon appeared before him.
Within the Dragon Nest built from countless withered trees, three Scarlet Jade dragon eggs the size of millstones shone with dazzling colored light. Bai He chose only one of them; after all, Heaven cherished life!
With all six arms tightly wrapped around the dragon egg, Bai He spread his wings and flew into the sky. He chose to enter the forest not far from the Barren Mountain and refine the dragon egg there. He guessed that it should be the territory of another overlord-level savage dragon.
Finding a safe place, Bai He set the dragon egg in his hands down.
The dragon egg, as large as a millstone, lay quietly on the ground. Waves of dazzling colored light radiated from its shell, which looked as though it had been carved from scarlet jade, brilliant and eye-catching.
Bai He held the dragon egg steady with five hands, then used the bone spur on his remaining arm to chisel a small hole through its shell, widening it until it was the size of a palm.
Through the palm-sized opening, Bai He could clearly see the transparent egg white within the dragon egg, as well as Dragon Essence that resembled burning flames. Within those "flames," a miniature Flame Hell Dragon bared its fangs and claws in a roaring pose.
He lifted the dragon egg with force, then slowly tilted it. The faintly glowing transparent egg white and the Dragon Essence resembling burning flames immediately flowed from the palm-sized opening and directly into Bai He's stomach.
Bang!
Vigorous Life Essence rose from his abdomen and instantly flowed into Bai He's limbs and bones. But the life essence contained within the Dragon Essence was far too immense, and Bai He could not digest it all at once. His body began to swell and ache, as though it were about to split apart.
Yet Bai He was not flustered in the slightest. He had experienced situations like this several times already, so he was thoroughly familiar with dealing with them!
Roar!
As if it had discovered another dragon soul invading its territory, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul inside Bai He immediately "came alive." After roaring and baring its fangs and claws, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul shot out of Bai He's body.
After swiftly circling Bai He once, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul roared again and charged back into his body, where it began battling the Flame Hell Dragon Soul that had just entered Bai He's body.
Having undergone one evolution, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul was clearly much stronger than the Flame Hell Dragon Soul. Before the two dragons had fought for long, the Flame Hell Dragon Soul was torn to pieces and devoured by the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul.
After devouring the Flame Hell Dragon Soul, the transparent Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul, like a silver phantom, immediately began to "burn." After a burst of excited roars, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon began moving through Bai He's body.
As the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul moved through him, streams of warmth began to surge from Bai He's flesh and blood before slowly flowing into his head. Bai He could clearly feel his head beginning to itch, as though something were about to grow from it.
At the same time, Bai He had long since begun circulating the Heavenly Tablet Mystic Skill, frantically refining the immense life essence within his body.
"Creak, creak..."
Accompanied by a series of teeth-grinding bone-cracking sounds, Bai He opened his eyes.
Slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, Bai He reached up and touched the top of his head. It seemed that a pair of forked horns had appeared there?!
Could it be that a pair of dragon horns had just grown from his head?
Bai He thought helplessly. He really was getting closer and closer to becoming a dragon...
Bai He lowered his head and looked toward his feet again.
At the Shangqiu Acupoint on the sole of his foot, a silver speck the size of a grain of rice was radiating waves of dazzling colored light.
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