When had that ring appeared on Gu Yuena's hand?
Before Xu Qing could think any further, white light flashed, and a crystal radiating a blue-green glow appeared in Gu Yuena's hand.
At the same time, vigorous vitality, concentrated to the utmost, spread through the room.
The instant the crystal appeared, Xu Qing felt the crystal in Gu Yuena's hand drawing him in.
Was this...?!
Gold of life?!
Xu Qing swallowed instinctively.
Xu Qing feigned utter astonishment and asked a question he already knew the answer to. "Nana, where did you get this?"
Gu Yuena smiled and said, "Today, I found my family. This is their thanks for taking care of me these past two years."
Hearing this, Xu Qing instinctively seized Gu Yuena's fair little hand, his voice intensely nervous.
"Nana, you found your family? Are you going to..."
The word "leave" suddenly seemed to catch in his throat, refusing to come out no matter what.
"Look how nervous you are!" Gu Yuena chuckled.
"Don't worry! They originally wanted to take me away, but I refused."
Xu Qing's heart involuntarily relaxed.
"This is a piece of gold of life, also known as the 'mother of metals.' You can keep it beside you when you cultivate. It slowly releases vitality, gradually nourishing your body. Its effects are over a hundred times better than absorbing the vitality the Blue Silver Grass feeds back to you."
Wait, keep it beside me and absorb the vitality it gives off?
No! Wasn't I supposed to fuse with it and absorb it directly?
"Nana, aren't I supposed to absorb it directly?"
"Xu Qing, you know what gold of life is?"
Xu Qing nodded, then said, "It's said that ten thousand years ago, Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao obtained a piece, and back then, the Spirit Ice Douluo absorbed one."
Xu Qing wasn't particularly surprised that Gu Yuena knew the name gold of life. After all, when Wang Qiu'er had seen the Blade of Life's Watch back then, she had immediately called out its name and even explained a little about it to Huo Yuhao.
What Xu Qing hadn't expected, however, was that Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King herself, actually didn't know how to absorb it.
Huh? But thinking about it, that made sense. If Gu Yuena knew how to absorb it, why would she have needed tens of thousands of years to heal?
Of course, it wasn't because the plot required it, because this was a real world now.
"Xu Qing, do you know how to absorb gold of life?" Gu Yuena's gaze instantly grew urgent.
Xu Qing shook his head. "No, but I can study it."
Xu Qing wasn't certain whether he could absorb it, but a trace of longing came from the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Bloodline within him.
"All right, here you go!" Gu Yuena nodded and handed the gold of life to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing looked at the head-sized piece of gold of life in his hands, then at Gu Yuena.
Wait, you're just giving it to me like that?
"Nana, you're just giving it to me? You know, if a piece of gold of life this big were forged into a weapon, it would qualify as a divine artifact! Besides, I couldn't afford a piece like this even if I sold myself!"
"Take it or leave it!" Gu Yuena looked at the hesitant Xu Qing.
"All right! I'll put it away for now."
Seeing Xu Qing holding the gold of life, Gu Yuena took out another storage ring and tossed it to him. "Use this. Oh, and once you've studied the gold of life, you must tell me first. Also, I have to be there when you try anything."
Xu Qing caught the ring and nodded. "Don't worry! I will!" As he spoke, he put the gold of life into the ring, then slipped it onto his index finger.
Only then did Gu Yuena nod in satisfaction.
"All right, go study it! I need to rest!"
With that, she pushed Xu Qing out the door.
Pushed out of the room, Xu Qing looked at the door that had abruptly shut tight and smiled helplessly.
But the next moment, a blazing light instantly flared in his eyes.
He turned and returned to his own room, but after locking the door and windows, Xu Qing vanished into thin air.
On Parallel Earth, inside the steel fortress.
Space rippled faintly, and Xu Qing's figure abruptly appeared.
He walked slowly over to the spacious sofa, plopped down, and raised his right hand.
The antique storage ring on his finger glimmered, and the clear, translucent piece of gold of life, brimming with endless vitality, instantly appeared, resting quietly in his palm.
As the gold of life appeared, rich vitality slowly spread into the surroundings. As though sensing something, the Blue Silver Grass Xu Qing had planted immediately began instinctively absorbing the vitality in the air and growing rapidly.
Xu Qing instinctively pressed his lips together, staring at this treasure with burning eyes.
Of course, he also knew perfectly well that he mustn't rashly attempt to absorb it.
After all, he knew very well how, in the original story, the Golden Hawksbill Turtle had swallowed gold of life, only to suffer a backlash that drastically reduced his lifespan.
Xu Qing gazed at the translucent blue-green crystal in his palm and sank into thought.
How should I absorb it?
Should I press the gold of life against my brow to complete the fusion, just like in the original plot?
What a joke.
He knew very well that all of that had depended on the guidance of Holy Necromancer Electrolux.
Without his help, Huo Yuhao couldn't have truly absorbed it either.
As he pondered, Xu Qing thought of the intense longing coming from deep within his body.
Since the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon wanted it, I'd let it out and give it a try.
Xu Qing hesitated no longer. Sitting cross-legged, he placed the entire piece of gold of life across his knees.
The very next instant!
Dazzling golden radiance erupted from his body, and a sacred, radiant, majestic draconic presence instantly spread outward from within Xu Qing.
A deep, distant dragon's roar, boundlessly domineering, rang out from within Xu Qing.
The next moment, the phantom of a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, golden from head to tail, with scales and claws flaring, slowly took shape. Its dragon eyes were imposing as it stretched across the air.
The golden dragon phantom coiled behind him, its enormous golden eyes lowering slightly, its gaze fixed on the blue-green crystal.
The next moment, the golden dragon moved. It opened its jaws, and an incomparably domineering suction silently emerged.
Fuck! Holy freaking shit!
Don't mess around!
Xu Qing immediately realized he had completely lost control. He could only watch helplessly as the terrifying suction of the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon sent the gold of life flying straight into its mouth!
The next moment, an incomparably violent surge of energy suddenly rose from his spine. Like a raging fire set alight, it swept through his entire body along his meridians.
Golden dragon scales grew out one after another, continuously spreading along Xu Qing's back toward his limbs.
The residual energy from thousands of crystal cores that had accumulated within him was also drawn out. His blood surged, turning into countless fine threads of golden energy that slowly wound around Xu Qing, rapidly enveloping him and forming an enormous golden cocoon!