Dragon qi wreathed Jade Marrow Dragon Island.
Though called a pool, the Dragon Qi Heavenly Pool was actually almost as large as a lake.
Luo Yue sat cross-legged in the pool, with only her head above the water and her silver hair spread across its surface.
Hum!
Her Divine Body's Vision, cold river reflecting the moon, emerged behind her of its own accord, mingling with the vast dragon qi and fragments of Dao Principles within the water.
The icy-blue phantom of the cold river surged ceaselessly beneath the scouring dragon qi. The chilly moon blazed even brighter, ravenously absorbing the Dragon Pool's essence, neutralizing its dragon qi and transforming it into primal power that nourished her Divine Body.
Immense pressure squeezed in from every direction. Luo Yue felt her bones groaning beneath the unbearable weight, her muscles seemingly torn apart inch by inch, only to rapidly re-form and strengthen under the nourishment of the dragon qi.
Her meridians were forcibly widened, their resilience multiplying. The Life Spring within her Bitter Sea was like a boiling furnace, wildly devouring the essence pouring into it, while the divine power gushing from it grew ever purer and more concentrated.
"Hiss..."
This tempering felt as though her entire body were being shattered and remade! Excruciating pain swept over her like the tides. Even Luo Yue could not help drawing a sharp breath, veins faintly bulging at her temples as her body trembled uncontrollably.
Diverting a sliver of her attention, Luo Yue endured the searing pain and slowly drew out the small reserve of earth-milk spirit liquid. She mixed it with a trace of the gentler Dragon Pool essence that her own divine power had partially refined, condensed it into a soft sphere of light, and absorbed it into her body.
In stark contrast to her, the Little Juvenile Flood Dragon narrowed its eyes comfortably in the Dragon Pool, coiling contentedly around Luo Yue. Even the golden patterns on its body seemed to flow a little more vividly.
It indirectly shouldered a trace of Luo Yue's burden, occasionally breathing out a mouthful of dragon qi to nourish her in return.
At least I haven't been feeding this little fellow for nothing...
Luo Yue stopped dividing her attention and sank her entire awareness back into her body, focusing on receiving the baptism of dragon qi.
The phantom of the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu drifted within the depths of her Sea of Consciousness. Its tortoise shell and star chart slowly revolved, radiating the profound Dao resonance of deduction.
It was not actively deducing a cultivation method. Rather, as Luo Yue endured this extreme tempering, it instinctively captured the ancient fragments of Dao Principles within the Dragon Pool, analyzed and imprinted them, and helped her body absorb, adapt, and transform more efficiently.
Luo Yue's Bitter Sea was expanding!
Her Life Spring, once as clear as an icy lake, now gushed forth divine power tinged with faint golden light-the imprint left by the refined dragon qi of the Heavenly Pool.
Dragon qi surged like mighty rivers, battering the boundaries of her Bitter Sea. Beneath its torrential scouring, the Divine Bridge spanning that sea grew broader and more substantial, gleaming with a jade-like luster. The hazy Other Shore seemed almost within reach.
Luo Yue could clearly feel her Divine King Body strengthening at an astonishing rate!
Her bones became like glazed jade and iron, holding a precious radiance within. Her compact flesh contained explosive power, and her meridians grew resilient enough to withstand even more violent flows of divine power.
Nourished by the dragon qi, the primal essence of her Divine King Body became purer and vaster. Divine blood surged through her body, faintly revealing a noble golden hue. Even her divine blood had begun to carry a trace of imperial dragon qi!
"Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu, Heaven-Mending Stone, get to work!" Luo Yue opened her eyes.
Deep within her icy-blue pupils, a river of stars seemed to drift, its divine light brilliant, deeper and brighter than before.
She was going to fuse all that dragon qi into the blood of her Divine King Body, then use the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu to deduce imperial dragon qi.
Time slipped silently away amid extreme agony and transformation. After an unknown stretch of time, when the dazzling, golden-threaded, dragon-shaped essence in the pool grew thin and the water was about to turn clear again, Luo Yue slowly opened her eyes.
By then,
more than a month had quietly passed in the outside world!
Luo Yue gently exhaled a breath of stale air. Long and unbroken, it condensed directly before her into a ribbon of white, carrying a faint dragon's cry. Like dragon breath, it struck the pool and sent up a splash more than a foot high.
Luo Yue lowered her head to examine her hands. Her skin was luminous and white as jade, seemingly delicate, yet a precious radiance faintly flowed beneath it, containing terrifying strength.
As she gently clenched her small hand into a fist, a faint dragon's cry actually sounded in the air!
By tempering her divine blood with dragon qi and extracting imperial dragon qi, she had brought her Divine King Body to a considerably sturdy state. Her physical strength now approached that of the Little Juvenile Flood Dragon beside her, which was in the Dao Palace Secret Realm.
She had finally shored up the weakness of her physical toughness.
After all, when she had fought the Little Juvenile Flood Dragon before, Luo Yue had not even dared engage it at close quarters.
Although Luo Yue's fighting style leaned toward spellcasting and she did not advocate close-quarters brawling, the stronger her body, the better. If they could stack up their toughness, probably no one would want to be a glass cannon...
"I'm only one final step away from reaching the Other Shore." Sensing the surging divine power within her, Luo Yue understood her situation clearly.
The results of tempering her body in the Dragon Pool had far exceeded her expectations.
Not only had her Dao Foundation remained unshaken by being pushed to its limits, but the domineering imperial dragon qi had compacted it into something even more indestructible, solid as bedrock.
This dragon qi truly is wondrous. If I have the chance in the future, I must visit the Central Plains and borrow the Taihuang Dragon Scripture to read, Luo Yue thought.
Everyone said Taihuang's imperial dragon qi offensive arts were peerless, possessing the greatest offensive power! Only the Nine Secrets could rival them. She certainly wanted to see for herself.
On her wrist, the Little Juvenile Flood Dragon had also finished cultivating and gave a small, contented yawn. Its body seemed to have grown slightly, the golden patterns on its scales were clearer and brighter, and its aura had become much more solid.
It affectionately rubbed its head against Luo Yue's wrist, making a satisfied rumbling sound.
"Time to leave."
Luo Yue rose and stepped out of the Dragon Pool, the moisture on her body instantly evaporating.
Her entire bearing had become more otherworldly, carrying the sharpness and composure of someone who had just undergone a complete transformation.
The restrictions around Jade Marrow Dragon Island quietly lifted.
Jiang Wei instantly appeared beside the pool. Looking at Luo Yue now, his eyes shone with undisguised amazement and admiration.
"Good! Good! Good!" He repeated the word three times, his voice filled with gratification and excitement.
"Divine splendor held within, precious radiance concealed, blood and qi like a dragon! Little Yue, among all the Divine King Bodies throughout the Jiang Family's history, those who forged such a solid foundation in the Sea of Bitterness realm could be counted on one hand!"
Keenly noticing the change in the Little Juvenile Flood Dragon's aura on Luo Yue's wrist, he nodded slightly. "This little fellow has also gained a blessing. It seems Senior Nether Flood Dragon entrusting her to you was her good fortune."
"Uncle Wei, do the books in our Jiang Family's collection contain any methods for cultivating the Great Xia Dynasty's dragon qi? Divine arts relating to it would work too," Luo Yue asked.
Jiang Wei was somewhat puzzled, not quite understanding why she had suddenly brought this up.
Luo Yue offered no explanation. She simply raised her small hand and slowly threw a
punch into the empty space before her.
A thread of imperial dragon qi's true meaning!
"Roar!"
In an instant, nine brilliant golden streams of dragon qi coiled out around her body. A dragon's roar seemed to resound through the nine heavens, and with the force of snapping dead branches and crushing rotten wood, they shook the space ahead until it hummed!
At this sight,
even the Little Juvenile Flood Dragon beside her abruptly raised its head. Its golden, slit-pupiled eyes held a trace of astonishment and instinctive reverence. It almost thought the person beside it was one of its own kind in human form.
"This... you comprehended this yourself in the Dragon Pool?" Even Jiang Wei's lips could not help twitching.
Wasn't such comprehension a little too heaven-defying? Though it fell far short of the Great Xia Dynasty's orthodox inheritance, it had actually begun to take shape.
He had entered the Dragon Pool himself back then, but aside from strengthening his physique, comprehending imperial dragon qi was something he had never even dared dream of...