In a dense forest, Bai He sat quietly in a clearing. Before him lay a crimson jade dragon egg as large as a millstone, radiating dazzling colored light. Unfortunately, its crystal-clear shell bore a palm-sized hole.
"Phew~"
Bai He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, then opened his eyes. Two sharp rays flashed from them, particularly brilliant in the twilight.
"I still couldn't advance to the Mortal Shedding Fourth Heaven!"
Bai He shook his head, feeling rather regretful.
The reason he had advanced to the Mortal Shedding Third Heaven so easily last time was mainly because of the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon's Dragon Crystal, which had surpassed the Longevity Realm.
The Life Essence contained within that Dragon Crystal had been exceedingly abundant. Even the tiny amount left after he condensed a Deified Acupoint had allowed plenty to remain after he advanced to the Mortal Shedding Second Heaven, enabling him to break through to the Mortal Shedding Third Heaven with ease.
Unfortunately, that residual Life Essence had been completely used up after advancing him to the Mortal Shedding Third Heaven.
Although this Infernal Prison Dragon Egg also contained abundant Life Essence, after creating the Deified Shangqiu Acupoint beneath his foot, the remaining Life Essence was no longer enough to advance him to the Mortal Shedding Fourth Heaven. He could not help but sigh in disappointment.
Still, it did not matter. Though this Life Essence was insufficient to help him reach the Mortal Shedding Fourth Heaven, it could greatly shorten the time he needed to advance.
Bai He consoled himself with that thought.
Slowly rising to his feet, Bai He lifted one foot. At the location of his Shangqiu Acupoint, a silver speck the size of a grain of rice gleamed brilliantly, giving off radiant colored light.
Bai He could sense strands of Life Essence pouring from the Shangqiu Acupoint and circulating through his meridians to every part of his body. He felt as though his body had become much lighter.
It seemed that every Deified Acupoint had a different function!
Bai He pondered inwardly.
After being deified, the Zhongting Acupoint in his chest had replaced the Dantian's function, while the Shangqiu Acupoint beneath his foot had made his body lighter and more agile.
Would the Laogong Acupoint in his hand increase the strength of his arms or palms after being deified?
Bai He wondered to himself.
But there was no use thinking too much about it. After all, only his Zhongting and Shangqiu Acupoints had been deified so far. As for the others, he would see in the future.
The setting sun grew dimmer, and dusk was deepening. Bai He needed to hurry back; Yan Qingcheng was still waiting for him in the cave.
He slowly unfurled the Undying Sky Wings behind him. Just as he was about to take flight, Bai He suddenly noticed that quite a bit of egg white remained inside the Infernal Prison Dragon Egg. Thinking of the injured Yan Qingcheng, he decided to collect it and bring it back.
After all, the egg white inside a dragon egg also contained extremely abundant Life Essence, far more plentiful and pure than the Life Essence contained in an equal amount of savage beast meat.
Fortunately, Bai He still had the White Jade Rhino Horn he had used to carry water that morning. After pouring out the water inside, it would serve perfectly as a container for the dragon egg's white.
Moreover, this White Jade Rhino Horn, grown from the savage beast White Jade Rhinoceros, seemed to truly be made of white jade. If he used it to hold the egg white and sealed it tightly with a wooden stopper, the Life Essence inside should not dissipate too much.
Bai He slowly aligned the White Jade Rhino Horn with the hole in the Infernal Prison Dragon Egg. After pouring all the remaining egg white into the horn and sealing it with a wooden stopper, he tied the White Jade Rhino Horn back around his waist.
The crystal-clear Undying Sky Wings behind him gently spread, and Bai He immediately flew into the sky.
He had to leave this place quickly. Otherwise, once the savage dragon returned to its nest and discovered that one of its dragon eggs had been stolen, it would certainly come searching here. He needed to leave before then, so the savage dragon's berserk rampage would not affect him.
If his guess was correct, after discovering the broken dragon egg, the enraged Flame Hell Dragon would very likely blame the overlord of the forest where he had just refined the dragon egg. After all, that forest was its territory!
Flying slowly over the Barren Mountain at low altitude, Bai He saw that the Flame Hell Dragon had yet to return to its nest. To avoid running into it, he landed once more in the Gobi Desert beneath the Barren Mountain.
Only after the Scarlet Scale Savage Dragon had left would Bai He depart as well and fly toward the cave not far from the lakeshore.
He waited for a while, until the twilight had nearly vanished completely. Only then did the well-fed Flame Hell Dragon slowly return from its hunting grounds by the lake.
Amid violent tremors shaking the earth, a colossal creature slowly appeared before Bai He. Once the Scarlet Scale Savage Dragon's figure had disappeared beyond the Gobi Desert, Bai He emerged from behind the boulder where he had been hiding.
Spreading his crystal wings again, Bai He flew toward the lakeside cave at top speed.
There was only one thought in his mind now: Fast! Faster!
Although he had already left the "evidence" in that forest to shift the Flame Hell Dragon's hatred elsewhere, his target was, after all, a savage beast.
It was a savage dragon whose beastly nature still outweighed its divine nature. Bai He could not guarantee that the Flame Hell Dragon would follow the script he had laid out.
So, to be safe, Bai He still needed to return to the cave as quickly as possible, take Yan Qingcheng away, and head back to the forest where they had been chased by the Thunder Dragon.
Flying at full speed, Bai He returned to the cave in almost no time.
Yan Qingcheng looked at Bai He as he entered the cave, panting heavily, and asked curiously, "Bai He... what is this about?"
"Phew... phew... Come on, Sister Yan, hurry! Come with me!"
While gasping for breath, Bai He grabbed Yan Qingcheng's hand and ran toward the cave entrance.
"Ah~"
Yan Qingcheng cried out in surprise and was dragged straight outside by Bai He.
The moment the two left the cave, an enraged roar that split clouds and shattered stone rang out from the distant Barren Mountain, piercing the heavens. It was the Flame Hell Dragon!
"Sister Yan, have you recovered?"
Hearing the Flame Hell Dragon's roar, Bai He grew even more anxious and quickly asked Yan Qingcheng.
"Yes, I have!"
Yan Qingcheng nodded.
After nearly two days of rest and healing, more than half of her injuries had recovered. Though she still could not display the strength she had once possessed at the peak of the Mortal Shedding Fifth Heaven, she could now exert the strength of the Mortal Shedding Third Heaven.
Hearing Yan Qingcheng say that she had recovered, Bai He immediately spread his Undying Sky Wings and flew into the sky.
But when he saw Yan Qingcheng still standing motionless where she was, Bai He could not help but fly back down.
"Sister Yan, hurry up and go!"
Bai He urged her anxiously. He did not understand why Yan Qingcheng had not unfolded her Undying Sky Wings and left with him.
"Although your Elder Sister's physical injuries have recovered, my newly healed meridians are still very fragile. They can't bear all the true qi in my body, so how am I supposed to condense Undying Sky Wings?"
Hearing Bai He's anxious urging, Yan Qingcheng replied irritably.
Who said recovering from injuries meant being completely recovered?
Yan Qingcheng spread her arms.
Bai He looked somewhat bewildered.
"What are you doing?"
"Carry me and go! There isn't anywhere on my body that you haven't touched already!"
Yan Qingcheng shot Bai He a bewitching glare and said coquettishly.
"Uh... heh heh, heh heh..."
Bai He scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.
He stepped forward and held Yan Qingcheng's soft body. The Undying Sky Wings behind him gently beat, then carried him into the sky as he flew toward the Sea of Forests from which they had come.
The earth-shaking dragon roars behind them grew louder. Amid waves of deafening, furious roars, another roar rang out, different from that of the Flame Hell Dragon.
Bai He turned to look back from the air. At the edge of his vision, two mountain-like figures roared furiously.
He could vaguely make out two colossal creatures of different colors.
One was the Flame Hell Dragon, covered from head to toe in dark red scales. The other was an unknown savage dragon covered in scales like black jade.
The two were locked in battle, their immense furious roars repeatedly ringing through the skies.
"Phew~"
Bai He sighed in relief. It looked like things had indeed gone according to his script!
Feeling much more at ease, Bai He began to fly faster.
The silver-white Undying Sky Wings behind him, as crystalline as carved crystal, lightly fluttered. The two of them immediately became like a streak of silver light, shooting toward the lush and verdant Sea of Forests ahead.
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