The Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit was a supreme treasure of the continent that had only a tiny chance of forming when a Dou Sheng-level Ancient Void Dragon and a Dou Sheng-level Ancient Heavenly Phoenix died in the same place.
Was this fruit precious? Yes!
Were its effects powerful? Yes!
Was its value high? Yes!
But all of that applied only to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan. For other races, this fruit was nothing but a chicken rib-too little meat to be useful, yet a pity to discard.
In other words, even if he actually obtained this Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, he would have to hold on to it for at least five years, until his cultivation reached Dou Zun and he arrived in the Central Plains, before he could trade it with the Ancient Void Dragon Clan or the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan for resources.
He might even run into the danger of one crook robbing another along the way, forcing the Ninth Grade Golden Pill and the Mysterious Yellow Flame to intervene. It would be an enormous hassle.
By contrast, although the Breath-Concealing Technique was only a secret technique created by a person, its effects were genuinely excellent.
With Shi Huang's cultivation as a low-star Dou Sheng, only when he came within a few meters of him would a trace of his aura leak out, while his cultivation could remain completely concealed.
That effectively meant a low-star Dou Sheng could completely conceal his aura from a peak expert at the late Nine-Star Dou Sheng stage at a distance, and even up close, keep the other party from detecting his cultivation.
The gap between a low-star Dou Sheng and a late Nine-Star Dou Sheng was obvious. At other cultivation levels, concealing one's aura across two major realms would certainly be no problem.
With its ability to conceal his aura and hide his cultivation, there were far too many situations where the Breath-Concealing Technique could prove useful.
Thinking a little further, if the Ninth Grade Golden Pill learned it, she would be able to display even more of her strength without worrying that casually taking action would bring Hun Tiandi hunting her down!
With that thought, Xiao Ce no longer hesitated.
To him, the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit was merely a resource. The options already included the Dragon Phoenix Royal Bloodline, so the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit was of no use to him.
But the Breath-Concealing Technique was not something he could casually find another secret technique to replace!
System, I choose the feedback rewards: the Dragon Phoenix Royal Bloodline and the Breath-Concealing Technique! Xiao Ce made his choice inwardly.
[Selection successful. You have received feedback: Dragon Phoenix Royal Bloodline, Breath-Concealing Technique.] [Notice: fusing the Dragon Phoenix Royal Bloodline will cause violent fluctuations in the energy of heaven and earth. Please take note.] [Yes/No: begin fusion immediately?]
Seeing the Deployment System give such a warning for the first time, Xiao Ce immediately turned serious.
None of the many good things he had obtained before had come with a warning like this. For even the system to issue a warning, the disturbance would certainly be greater than he imagined.
At that thought, Xiao Ce immediately tapped the Ninth Grade Golden Pill. "Golden Pill, I'm going to awaken the bloodline inside me. Take me somewhere with abundant energy of heaven and earth, then help conceal my aura."
The Ninth Grade Golden Pill immediately took human form again and nodded with a serious expression.
Without asking what bloodline Xiao Ce intended to awaken, the Ninth Grade Golden Pill simply patted her chest and said, "Father, leave it to me."
Xiao Ce nodded and spoke to the Mysterious Yellow Flame, who had also revealed its form and was waiting for orders. "Mysterious Yellow, stay here and watch the place for now. When Xiao Yi Xian comes, just tell her I'm not here."
The Mysterious Yellow Flame opened its mouth, but in the end could only nod, silently burying the lower half of its face in its chest.
"Go to the core region of the Northwest Continent!" Xiao Ce told the Ninth Grade Golden Pill.
The Central Plains were too close to the Emperor Clans. If they drew attention, it would be difficult to resolve.
Other places were too far away. Although the energy of heaven and earth in the core region of the Northwest Continent was not as dense as in the Central Plains, it was still abundant enough!
With her Eight-Star Dou Sheng cultivation, the Ninth Grade Golden Pill casually tore open a spatial rift inside the stone chamber and plunged in with Xiao Ce.
With his body covered in the Ninth Grade Golden Pill's Dou Qi, Xiao Ce felt his vision blur, and the next instant, he was somewhere unfamiliar.
It was a sizable mountain range, with magical beasts everywhere and mountains, water, and clouds all present. The energy of heaven and earth was many times denser than in a remote place like the Jia Ma Empire.
"Where are we?" Xiao Ce asked the Ninth Grade Golden Pill after taking a moment to recover.
The Ninth Grade Golden Pill scratched her head. "I don't know. I just sensed that this was one of the places with the densest energy in the Northwest Continent, and there weren't any particularly powerful auras, so I came here."
Xiao Ce did not mind. Once he finished fusing the bloodline, he could use these magical beasts to test how strong the suppressive power of the Dragon Phoenix Royal Bloodline was.
The man and the pill descended into a small valley within the mountain range.
"Golden Pill, conceal this area. Don't let anyone else sense me," Xiao Ce said.
The Ninth Grade Golden Pill nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, Father!"
Xiao Ce gave a hum, then opened the system panel. Looking at the [Yes/No] on it, he said inwardly, Yes. Fuse the bloodline, system.
[Beginning bloodline fusion...]
The words appeared before his eyes, but before Xiao Ce could make them out, he felt an unbearable itch suddenly surge through his body.
The itching arose throughout his body at once, as though ants were biting his bones, as though countless tiny glass fibers had pierced his flesh, and as though flames had thoroughly scorched his skin, forming layer upon layer of bloody scabs.
Xiao Ce began convulsing, his face gradually turning deathly pale as fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.
He clenched his teeth, even biting off the tip of his tongue, before that deadly itching subsided a little.
"Father!" Panic appeared on the Ninth Grade Golden Pill's face.
Xiao Ce raised his hand, his face twitching as he forced out a smile. "I'm fine!"
The Ninth Grade Golden Pill forcibly restrained her urge to intervene and watched Xiao Ce anxiously.
But in the next second, she could no longer stand by and do nothing.
It was all because Xiao Ce, who had only been convulsing before, now had skin that split open inch by inch, exposing the scarlet flesh beneath. That flesh was also being torn apart by a powerful energy, and on closer inspection, even the bones underneath were shattering into white fragments.
Yet strangely, despite this bloody scene, the aura surrounding Xiao Ce was steadily rising instead.
Without anyone noticing, the energy of heaven and earth was gathering toward this place at an utterly terrifying speed.
At first, it was only the energy within the valley. Then, in less than a minute, it spread to the surrounding mountains, and in ten minutes, it had siphoned over all the energy of heaven and earth in the entire mountain range.
Even then, it did not stop.
From this mountain range to distant empires, from a single empire to an entire region.
By the time two hours had passed, Xiao Ce had drawn over all the energy of heaven and earth in the entire core region of the Northwest Continent.
The energy of heaven and earth grew so dense that it became thick mist, then transformed from thick mist into tangible liquid, pouring into Xiao Ce's body without reserve.
And with this influx of energy, Xiao Ce's vitality gradually stabilized, though his body had nearly collapsed beyond human shape.
His shattered white bone fragments knit back together, stronger than before.
His torn flesh intertwined once more, more powerful than before.
His split skin rejoined, tougher than before.
Xiao Ce opened his eyes. Gold spread little by little across his pitch-black irises until it completely replaced the black.
Two small bumps suddenly rose on his forehead, then abruptly burst open. Two sturdy purple-gold dragon horns gave off strange spatial fluctuations.
On his back, between the gaps in his bones, two vertical splits tore open in his skin. Bones grew out first, forming a framework, followed closely by flesh that intertwined around it. Then scarlet-golden fire feathers rapidly grew one after another, until two scarlet-golden wings had formed. At their tips, scarlet-golden flames rose out of thin air.
Xiao Ce's consciousness gradually returned. His intangible presence became tangible waves of pressure, rapidly spreading out from the small valley. Wherever they passed, every magical beast trembled in terror. Some even streamed tears and urine, frightened into cardiac arrest and death.
In this year, in this month, at this very moment, a Dragon Phoenix descended into the world!
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