[The Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit was one of the most precious treasures on the entire Dou Qi Continent. Apart from the Bodhi Heart of the Bodhi Ancient Tree, you could not think of another natural treasure that could rival it.
As long as they consumed it, members of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan and the Ancient Void Dragon Clan could combine the advantages of both clans-not merely taking the best of each, but stacking them together.
A Dragon Phoenix born through the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit was a true Dragon Phoenix, an existence on an entirely different level from you.
As you were now, you had merely allowed your Heavenly Phoenix bloodline to overpower your Ancient Void Dragon Bloodline. The strength you displayed could barely compare to that of the most ordinary Heavenly Phoenix clansman.
With strength and potential like that, seeking revenge against the Heavenly Phoenix Clan was no different from a fool dreaming.
This Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit would be your only chance!
So you quietly left Shi Huang and risked heading to the Beast Region.
Yet at the border between the Central Region and the Beast Region, you ran into Shi Huang, who had already been waiting there.
It turned out that he had long since guessed you would venture into danger alone, so after you disappeared, he had gotten there ahead of you to wait.
He did not try to persuade you to return, merely feigning sadness as he said, "Why didn't you tell me so we could come together? I'm really hurt."
You punched him twice and told him to follow your orders once you reached the Beast Region, but you were still happy inside.
Afterward, you went deep into the Beast Region and soon reached the rumored location of the secret realm.
You did not enter rashly, instead having Shi Huang conceal his aura and enter.
As it turned out, there really was a Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit inside that secret realm.
But there were also several Dou Zun Heavenly Phoenixes and Ancient Void Dragons, and each clan had a Three-Star Dou Sheng stationed there.
After learning this, you made your decision: you would give up this opportunity.
Shi Huang did not object, and you left the Beast Region.
Back in the Central Plains, Shi Huang gave you an Eighth-Rank Magical Beast to absorb, and you entered seclusion to devour and absorb it.]
[Year seventy-eight: you emerged from seclusion, having broken through to become an Eighth-Rank Magical Beast.
You looked for Shi Huang, only to discover that he had vanished without a trace.
You asked around and learned that Shi Huang had entered the secret realm to obtain the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit and had been captured by the Heavenly Phoenix Clan.
You cursed inwardly, That dumbass. Did he really think the Breath-Concealing Technique could fool everyone?
Cursing aside, you still had to save him.
But after making further inquiries, you learned that the Heavenly Phoenix Clan had traded Shi Huang to the Stone Clan.
You fell silent for a long time, then made a risky decision: you would go to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan!
You went to the Beast Region, found a subordinate race of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, and threatened its chief into contacting the clan.
A Half-Saint Ancient Void Dragon arrived and immediately moved to kill you.
You hurriedly declared your identity. After some hesitation, this Half-Saint of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan took you back to the clan to verify it.
There, you met your grandfather, the current chief of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan.
He sensed your bloodline and confirmed your identity, tears streaming down his aged face.
You breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed you had gambled correctly: unlike the Heavenly Phoenix Clan, the Ancient Void Dragon Clan did not place such extreme importance on bloodline purity.
Your grandfather, the clan chief, said that even if your bloodline leaned toward the Heavenly Phoenix Clan, he would not look down on you.
You revealed that you could devour bloodlines and could use that ability to make your Ancient Void Dragon Bloodline overpower your Heavenly Phoenix bloodline.
Your grandfather was overjoyed and immediately wanted to find Magical Beasts for you to devour.
You declined for the moment, hoping the Ancient Void Dragon Clan would intervene and keep Shi Huang safe.
This was the only way you could think of to save Shi Huang.
Your grandfather was somewhat troubled. After all, the Stone Clan now had a living Dou Di, and it would certainly cost the Ancient Void Dragon Clan considerable resources to interfere in its affairs.
But in the end, your grandfather suddenly said that if you were willing to risk absorbing the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit and successfully evolve into a true Dragon Phoenix, he could persuade the Ancient Void Dragon Clan to stand up for you and secure Shi Huang's release through an exchange.
You immediately came to your senses. There had never been such a thing as love without reason.
Clearly, the Ancient Void Dragon Clan had obtained the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit and wanted to place a bet on a mixed-blood like you. If they won, the Heavenly Phoenix Clan would surely be exterminated by your hand; if they lost, they would merely lose one Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit.
Although this fruit was among the greatest treasures in the world, with the Heavenly Phoenix Clan not yet extinct, it was nowhere near so scarce as to be virtually unobtainable.
Moreover, not every Heavenly Phoenix or Ancient Void Dragon could withstand this fruit.
You recalled that the original story had mentioned only two successful cases recorded by the Heavenly Phoenix and Ancient Void Dragon clans. It was easy to imagine how difficult it was to consume this fruit and attain the Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline, and how high the death rate was.
But you had no choice.
To gain the strength to take revenge on the Heavenly Phoenix Clan, and to keep that dumbass Shi Huang from heading off to reincarnate so soon, you could only choose to swallow the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit.
You swallowed the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit. Under its immense power, the bloodlines within you grew restless, and your Heavenly Phoenix bloodline and Ancient Void Dragon Bloodline erupted into fierce conflict. At this critical moment, a thread of power within the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit capable of reconciling the two bloodlines took effect, and your two bloodlines actually began to merge slowly.
You fell into a long slumber, but your aura grew stronger by the day.
After seeing that you seemed to have a very good chance of becoming a Dragon Phoenix, your grandfather went to the Stone Clan without hesitation and spent some resources to bring Shi Huang over.
Shi Huang had now been stripped of his entire Stone Clan bloodline, and his cultivation had plummeted to Low-Star Dou Zun. He saw you undergoing your evolution, said nothing, and left the Ancient Void Dragon Clan. No one stopped him.
Losing his Dou Di Bloodline might not have been a bad thing for Shi Huang as he was now.]
[Year ninety-one: you were still digesting the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit-or rather, you had not even formally begun to digest it. The royal bloodlines of the two great races within you alone were enough to require an immense amount of time to master.
Seeing you take so long to digest it, your grandfather was not angry at all. Instead, he was delighted, feeling that this was precisely what should happen as you gradually transformed into a Dragon Phoenix.]
[Year one hundred: you were still digesting the energy of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, and your body had naturally begun absorbing the surrounding energy of heaven and earth, leaving all of Ancient Dragon Island without a moment's peace.
Thinking of how you would become a Dragon Phoenix and lead the Ancient Void Dragons in exterminating the Heavenly Phoenix Clan, your grandfather gritted his teeth and endured it.]
[Year one hundred and three: the Heavenly Phoenix Clan somehow obtained word that you were absorbing the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit and were about to transform into a Dragon Phoenix. In their terror, all the clan's elites came to Ancient Dragon Island to demand that the Ancient Void Dragon Clan hand you over.
Your grandfather refused, and a disagreement between the two clans erupted into a great battle.
The destructive power unleashed by an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix and an Ancient Void Dragon, both at Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint, was astonishing.
The Ancient Void Dragon Clan held its home base, and the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan could not break through at all.
Yet unexpectedly, a traitor had appeared within the Ancient Void Dragon Clan. The clan's First Elder, a Mid-Stage Eight-Star Dou Sheng, actually sneaked up beside you, intending to strangle you to death.
Just then, you opened your eyes, your cultivation as a Seven-Star Dou Saint plain for all to see.
You raised your hand, seized the First Elder's wrist, and said coldly, "First Elder, would you care to bet on whether I can kill you in three moves? The stakes are your life and mine."]
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