That moment of disorientation and wavering was like ice and snow under the blazing sun, instantly melting away.
In the past, he might have hesitated because he was afraid of the dangers ahead, but now he is no longer the boy who only looked at the small world at his feet.
He didn't hesitate at all, and didn't even bother to explain to Dugu Bo beside him.
The dark red Blood Spear in his hand instantly materialized, and two Soul Ring, one yellow and one purple, rose from beneath his feet, their light swirling.
He leaped off the cliff, his Blood Spear piercing the air with unstoppable momentum.
Using the brief flight of his second Soul Skill, Startling Thunder, and the protection of his domain, he swiftly and precisely swept across both sides of the spring.
The Blood Spear spear flashed with a cold light, cleanly severing the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. Without pausing, he used the jade dagger given to him by Dugu Bo to cut the Infernal Delicate Apricot in half.
Two Immortal Herb, exuding extreme cold and heat, fell into his hand. The terrifying poison instantly began to corrode his palm, and frost and scorch marks appeared simultaneously.
Xuan Ming didn't even look at them, and directly stuffed the two highly poisonous immortal Immortal Herb into his mouth. The medicinal power melted as soon as it entered his mouth, turning into two torrents of ice and fire that instantly surged wildly within his body.
Red and blue light alternated violently on his body, his skin sometimes covered with ice crystals and sometimes turned crimson. The intense pain made his body tremble slightly, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
But there was no sign of retreat in his eyes, only a cold, unwavering determination.
He turned his head and looked at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where red and blue spring water churned, a forbidden land that could even cause Titled Douluo to perish.
Then, amidst Dugu Bo's exclamation, "You've gone mad!", Xuan Ming leaped into the air, his resolute figure striking precisely at the very center where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well converged!
The spring water surged and instantly swallowed his figure.
Perhaps at some point in the past, he regretted embarking on this thorny path because of its hardships.
But at this moment, immersed in this source of Destruction and rebirth, feeling the ice and fire power within him as if it were tearing him apart, and the faint resonance deep within his soul with the two Dragon Kings...
Xuan Ming closed his eyes, letting the violent energy wash over his body and will.
He has no regrets.
Outside the illusion, the five God King who were sensing all of this through the marks fell into a brief silence.
They could clearly sense that at the moment Xuan Ming made his choice, what surged in his heart was not greed for the Dragon King's power, nor a weighing of the risks to the Divine Realm, but rather a kind of...
Absolute acceptance of one's own path, and a complete rejection of the thought of "giving up"!
He even... embraced that destined-to-be-difficult path with a sense of anger!
"This kid..." the God of Destruction murmured, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"He's not choosing power... he's... confirming himself." The Asura God's blood-red eyes narrowed slightly.
The Godess of Kindness and the Goddess of Life exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity in each other's eyes.
Xuan Ming's reaction exceeded their preconceived "temptation-choice" pattern.
The God of Evil smirked. "Interesting... truly interesting! He loathes the version of himself that once dreamed of an 'easy life'!"
"However, that's not enough."
Faced with choices, success, hardship, and despair, Xuan Ming gave his unquestionable answers.
But what about failure?
Faced with an irreversible loss, like the emptiness he once felt that the Ice Dragon King would never return, how will he react?
The illusion vanished silently, like a burst bubble.
Xuan Ming's consciousness was once again thrown into that familiar, empty void.
The anger and resolve sparked by the thought of "regret," the resolute figure throwing himself into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well —all related memories were once again quietly erased by an invisible hand, leaving no trace.
When he "opened his eyes" again and his consciousness re-anchored to reality, the surrounding scenery was still the desolate and barren Dragon Valley of the Dragon Tomb.
But this time, the atmosphere was completely different!
It was no longer a relatively peaceful gathering of energy and comprehension of laws, but rather... chaos and rage!
Rumble--!!!
In the sky, the gray dragon soul mist churned violently, emitting a deafening roar! It was no longer a low, mournful wail, but a furious roar filled with violence, resentment, and unwillingness!
On the ground, countless enormous dragon bones seemed to come alive, radiating a terrifying pressure!
One after another, solidified phantoms of dragon souls rose from the dragon bones. They were of different shapes, some ferocious and some majestic, but without exception, their eyes were burning with angry flames as they stared intently at Xuan Ming, who was suspended in the center of the Dragon Valley!
"Roar--!!!"
"Humans!!!"
"Ants that steal the power of the Dragon Clan!!!"
You are unworthy to bear the glory of my people!!!
The lingering remnants of countless dragon souls converged into a violent mental shock, like billions of steel needles, madly piercing Xuan Ming's Soul Core!
They are no longer merely "nourishment" that provides energy, but have transformed into hostile and vengeful spirits!
These dragon souls were all powerful Dragon Clan in life. They perished here, their remnants lingering, filled with endless grief and indignation over the decline of their race, and deep-seated hatred for the enemies who caused it all!
At this moment, they sensed a being that was not a pure-blooded Dragon Clan, and even carried human auras, frantically absorbing the primordial power of the Dragon Tomb in an attempt to condense Godhead!
This touched their most sensitive nerve!
How could a human without legitimate Dragon King bloodline receive the legacy accumulated by the Dragon Clan over millennia?!
His mind was filled only with the Ice Dragon King, Gu Yuena, and his personal promises! Did he even consider the future of the Dragon Clan as a whole?!
This "selfishness" made the thousands of dragon souls feel extremely angry, as if they had been used and desecrated!
They tore at his soul, interrogated his will, and tried to completely annihilate this foreign "strange thing" that carried human characteristics.
Chapter 457 The Godhead That Negation
" Xuan Ming!"
For the first time, a violent fluctuation appeared on Gu Yuena's beautiful face. She clearly felt that Xuan Ming soul was being torn apart by countless dragon souls, and the nascent Godhead spark she was condensing was also shaking violently, on the verge of collapse.
If this continues, not only will he fail to become a god, but he may even perish, his soul and spirit assimilated by the Dragon Tomb, becoming part of these countless vengeful spirits!
We can't wait any longer!
She gritted her teeth, a resolute glint in her eyes.
With a raised jade hand, a crystal radiating a nine-colored halo and containing indescribable immense energy and law fluctuations slowly emerged— the Dragon God's Heart!
This final Super Divine Artifact of the Dragon Clan represents the culmination of the Dragon God's authority and power, and is also the key to the birth of a new Dragon God.
However, the Dragon God's Heart also contains extreme danger. Only those with truly complete Dragon God Bloodline can control it.
Gu Yuena inherited the power of the Silver Dragon King, but lacked the essence of the Golden Dragon King's bloodline.
If she forcibly absorbs it, the outcome is almost predictable.
It wasn't that she controlled the Dragon God's Heart, but rather that she was devoured and consumed by the complex power contained within it, which belonged to the complete will of the Dragon God's Heart Dragon God. This power became nourishment for the Super Divine Artifact, waiting for the next possible successor with a more complete bloodline.
However, looking at the figure in the center of Dragon Valley, struggling to survive amidst the backlash of countless dragon souls, whose aura was becoming increasingly chaotic, Gu Yuena showed no hesitation.
She remembered the instructions the Ice Dragon King had given her before he vanished, entrusting Xuan Ming to his care.
She remembered the promise she had made.
"If necessary... I will give everything."
The whispers faded into the wind of the Dragon Tomb.
The next moment, Gu Yuena no longer hesitated. She poured her own Silver Dragon King's original power into the Dragon God's Heart without reservation. At the same time, she guided the nine-colored crystal to slowly merge into her brow!
"Boom--!"
An indescribable surge of terrifying energy erupted instantly, and nine-colored divine light soared into the sky, illuminating the entire Dragon Tomb in a magnificent display!
The Dragon God's Heart was truly activated, and the supreme laws belonging to the Dragon God began to manifest. That vast pressure even temporarily suppressed the raging Dragon Soul!
However, Gu Yuena's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her body trembled uncontrollably. She could clearly feel that her consciousness and her origin were being frantically pulled and devoured by the even more ancient, larger, and more violent will within the Dragon God's Heart!
The supreme will of the Dragon God is forcibly eroding her soul, trying to assimilate her!
In the center of Dragon Valley, Xuan Ming suddenly looked up.
When he saw the exquisite figure on the distant mountain peak, enveloped in nine-colored divine light, yet whose aura was rapidly weakening, like a candle flickering in the wind, an unprecedented tremor tore at his soul, far more intense and real than the gnawing of the thousands of dragon souls around him!
The power within him, which had been fluctuating violently due to the backlash from the dragon soul, was now completely ignited by an even more extreme and icy emotion!
It wasn't anger, it wasn't despair, but rather... an absolute, unquestionable Negation!
To Negation the possibility that she could sacrifice herself for him!
Negation the outcome that is unfolding before our eyes!
"Buzz--!"
Within Xuan Ming's body, the nascent divine core, which had been struggling to survive under the impact of the five God King' wills and the backlash of countless dragon Godhead, seemed to have received some ultimate stimulus, suddenly bursting forth with unprecedented light!
It's not ice blue, not blood red, not dark purple, not platinum, and not emerald green...
It is a pure white that is so pure that it seems to encompass all things, yet also seems to Negation!
Ultimate light is also ultimate nothingness!
The light instantly swept outwards from Xuan Ming's center!
This light was not warm, but rather carried a sense of absolute "stillness" and "rule".
It did not dispel the desolation of the Dragon Tomb, nor purify the resentment of the dragon soul; instead, it... brought everything to a standstill.
The roaring phantom of the dragon soul froze in the air, the surging primordial energy of the Dragon Clan stopped flowing, and even the indiscriminately watching remnant soul of the Dragon God in the high heavens seemed to be frozen in time.
Time, space, energy, consciousness... everything came to an absolute stillness under this pure white light!
Only Xuan Ming at the center of the white light, and Gu Yuena on the distant mountain peak who was still being eroded by the power of the Dragon God's Heart, seemed to have transcended this stillness.
And in that instant when everything came to a standstill—
"Boom!!!"
A bolt of lightning, its color indescribable, seemed like the first ray of light at the beginning of the universe, or the final judgment at the end of all things. It pierced through layers of void, ignored the barriers of the Dragon Tomb, and descended directly!
It did not originate from the sky of the Douluo Plane, but rather from the deeper laws of the universe itself. Its color, like the white light erupting from Xuan Ming, is that ultimate, all-encompassing yet all -Negation pure white!
The goal of this pure white lightning is not Destruction, but... baptism and rebirth!
It fell straight towards the source of the white light at the center of that still world— Xuan Ming!
Lightning strikes!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no agonizing screams as one might have imagined.
The moment the pure white lightning touched Xuan Ming's body, it was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, silently seeping in.
But at this moment, the entire Dragon Tomb emitted an ancient, unbearable wail, shaking violently! It was as if this burial ground, which bore the last hope of the Dragon Clan, could not withstand the power of the laws originating from the very source of the universe!
Within Xuan Ming's body, the nascent Godhead core, which was on the verge of collapse due to the backlash from the dragon soul, was rapidly condensing and materializing at an unprecedented speed under the infusion of pure white lightning!
The resentment and roars of countless dragon souls, the unwillingness and anger of the Dragon Clan's decline, the hopes of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, Gu Yuena's sacrifice, his own journey of killing, perseverance, confusion, and determination... all of it, good and bad, light and dark, belonging to humanity and belonging to the Dragon Clan...
All of them were forcibly compressed, melted, and purified under the cleansing of that pure white lightning!
It is no longer a simple aggregation of energy, but a manifestation of laws, a crystallization of will, and the final confirmation of his unique path in the Xuan Ming!
A crystal emitting a hazy white light, with countless tiny runes of law seemingly constantly arising and ceasing within, was taking shape at the core of his soul with unstoppable force!
Godhead... coalescing!
The pure white Godhead light was not dazzling, but it carried a majesty and indifference that transcended all things, as if it itself were part of the rules.
In this still world, where only pure white lightning flashes, Xuan Ming slowly raised his head. In the depths of his icy blue eyes, the original emotions had faded away, replaced by a divine radiance as vast and cold as the cosmos.
The Divine Realm, the Supreme Divine Temple.
The five God King, who had been closely monitoring the situation Dragon Tomb through the God's Trial Mark and even secretly guiding the illusionary trials, suddenly stood up almost simultaneously! The unchanging majesty and calmness on their faces were replaced by an unprecedented shock and solemnity!
In the center of the temple, the enormous mirror of light constructed from pure law power, which originally reflected the scene of the Dragon Tomb —the roaring dragon soul, the churning energy, the Xuan Ming struggling to hold on, and Gu Yuena on the verge of collapse due to the Dragon God's Heart —was instantly covered by an indescribable... pure white!