Demon Dragon King Zi Ji

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On the seventh day of their return voyage, a storm arose at sea. The awning boat tossed about like a withered leaf in the giant waves. The Nan Feng stretched the light membrane of the Tower Realm to its maximum, and a cyan-gold light shield enveloped the entire ship, causing the mast to creak and groan in the gale. On the Spiritual Power map spread out by the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light light, an extremely dense dark purple Soul Power spot was moving rapidly at the center of the storm. The concentration of Soul Power far exceeded that of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, carrying a dragon's pressure that Nan Feng had never sensed before.

"The Demon Dragon King." Old Huai's voice came from the Tower Spirit Space, tinged with solemnity, "Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast has taken human form, maintaining its dragon shape. She's moving rapidly through the eye of the storm—it seems she's fleeing."

The Nan Feng lowered the sails, using the Tower Realm to stabilize the ship. The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light locked onto the dark purple dot, which charged wildly through the storm, followed by a dozen or so icy blue Soul Power dots. Sea Soul Beast. The icy blue dots continuously tightened their encirclement, like a pack of hounds hunting a wounded beast. The dark purple dot darted left and right, each impact carrying the aftershocks of dragon breath, but there were too many icy blue dots, surging in from all directions, forcing her step by step towards the center of the storm.

Nan Feng did not hesitate. The light membrane of the Tower Realm expanded from the hull to a radius of a hundred paces across the sea, and the cyan-gold light shield created a calm area in the storm. He Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, rose up on the waves, his figure leaving afterimages on the sea, and swept towards the center of the storm.

At the eye of the storm lay a churning black sea. The waves were shattered by the dragon's breath and Soul Power, and the surface was littered with broken ice crystals and dark purple dragon blood. A colossal black dragon circled within the encirclement, its wingspan dozens of meters, its body covered in dark purple scales, each gleaming with a metallic sheen. However, several deep, bone-revealing wounds marred its wings, from which dark purple dragon blood gushed and dripped onto the surface, condensing into dark purple blood crystals. The dragon's breath was much weaker than before, and the dark purple flames gradually dimmed under the suppression of the icy breath of the Ice Blue Sea Soul Beast.

Surrounding her were more than a dozen Sea Soul Beast, ranging in age from a thousand to ten thousand years. Leading them was a ten-thousand-year-old Ice-Armored Sea Python, its body as thick as a palace pillar, its head covered in ice-blue scales, and its mouth brimming with dense ice-attribute Spiritual Power. It coiled directly in front of the Demon Dragon King, its tail constantly slapping the sea surface, creating giant waves and compressing the Demon Dragon King's movement space.

The Demon Dragon King let out a deep dragon roar, its wings flapping fiercely, and dark purple dragon breath surged towards the Ice-Armored Sea Python. The Ice-Armored Sea Python retracted its head, coiling into a defensive posture, its icy blue scales rapidly melting and then solidifying in the dragon breath. The Demon Dragon King seized the opportunity to break through to the northwest, but two ancient sea turtles on its flanks simultaneously spewed out icy breath, blocking its retreat.

The Nan Feng stopped three hundred paces away. The tower emerged from his palm, a nine-story bronze tower spinning in the storm, its star-like and dark gold patterns lighting up simultaneously. The Tower Realm's protective light membrane receded, reforming into three layers of cyan-gold shields. He took a step forward.

The third level of Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, and his figure appeared directly between the Demon Dragon King and the Ice-Armored Sea Python from three hundred paces away. The Tower Realm suddenly unfolded beneath his feet, and a cyan-gold light membrane covered the sea surface within a hundred paces, causing the gravity suppression to increase by forty percent. The Ice-Armored Sea Python's body suddenly sank, and the ice-blue scales on its head cracked inch by inch. The icy breath of the two ten-thousand-year-old sea turtles slowed down drastically within the Tower Realm, and the ice-blue light pillar froze in mid-air for a moment.

Seizing the moment, the Demon Dragon King flapped its wings with all its might, unleashing a dark purple dragon breath aimed at the Ice-Armored Sea Python Ice-Armored Sea Python Serpent's vital spot. Unable to dodge under the pressure of gravity, the dragon breath pierced its neck, shattering its icy blue scales and gushing blood. The Ice-Armored Sea Python hissed mournfully, its body thrashing violently before sinking into the deep sea. The remaining Sea Soul Beast scattered and fled. Two ten-thousand-year-old sea turtles retreated into their shells and were swept away by the waves. The thousand-year-old Sea Soul Beast, leaderless, all plunged into the deep sea.

The Demon Dragon King hovered above the sea, its wings fluttering slightly, dark purple dragon blood dripping from its wounds. Its head turned towards the Nan Feng, its dark gold vertical pupils gazing intently through the storm. The Nan Feng stood on the sea, a three-layered shield formed by the light membrane of the Tower Realm, its red ribbon on its left wrist fluttering in the wind.

The Demon Dragon King's vertical pupils lingered for a moment on the red ribbon on her left wrist and on the tower in her palm. Then, the dragon's body began to shrink, dark purple scales disappearing into her skin, her wings folding and adhering to her back, and the outline of her dragon head gradually softening. Dark purple light surged from her body, enveloping her in a dazzling purple glow.

The purple light dissipated. A woman with purple hair and purple eyes stood on the sea, wearing a dark purple dress that fluttered lightly in the sea breeze. She walked barefoot on the waves as if on flat ground. Her face was cold and beautiful, with the arrogance unique to dragons between her brows, but her face was pale. The fabric of her dress on her left shoulder and right side was soaked with dragon blood, and the dark purple blood seeping from the wounds had congealed into tiny crystals on the hem of her dress. She looked at Nan Feng, her purple eyes scrutinizing him for a long time. Deep in her pupils were the outlines of dragon vertical pupils, which gleamed with a dark golden luster in the sunlight.

"Human." Her voice was clear and sharp, like a dragon's roar, carrying an innate air of authority. "Why did you help me?"

Nan Feng retracted the tower into his palm, the light membrane Tower Realm receding to a single layer on its surface. "Just passing by."

The purple-haired woman narrowed her purple eyes, took two steps closer barefoot on the waves, her dark purple skirt tracing an arc on the crests. Her gaze shifted from Nan Feng's face to the illusory image of the tower in her palm, then to his dantian. There, the dark golden Primordial World Power pulsated quietly, its rhythm resonating subtly with her dragon bloodline.

"There is an ancient power within your soul that I have never seen before." She stopped three steps away from Nan Feng, a faint golden glint in her purple eyes. "It is a power superior to any power in my dragon clan's heritage."

Nan Feng did not deny it. The purple-haired woman took another step closer, tilted her head slightly, and stared into the dark golden flame deep in Nan Feng's soul and the blue-gold tower-shaped outline within it. Her dragon bloodline instinctively stirred upon sensing that power, and the phantom of dark purple dragon scales appeared and disappeared from the surface of her skin.

"The successor of the Pagoda God?" she suddenly asked, a hint of emotion in her purple eyes that Nan Feng couldn't decipher.

Nan Feng looked at her. "You know the Pagoda God?"

The purple-haired woman did not answer immediately. She turned her head, her gaze passing over the Nan Feng to the sea after the storm. The waves gradually softened, and the afternoon sun poured through the gaps in the clouds, dyeing the entire sea area into scattered gold. Her purple hair fluttered in the sea breeze, the dark purple strands gleaming metallic in the sunlight.

"Many years ago," her voice was softer than before, "I was being chased by an Abyssal Soul Beast and fled to an unfamiliar sea. That Abyssal Soul Beast was much stronger than me; I couldn't defeat it. My dragon wings were torn apart, and I almost bled out all my dragon blood. I thought I would die in that sea." She turned back to look at Nan Feng, the emotion in her purple eyes deepening. "A human Soul Master passed by. He had a Nine-Layer Tower in his hand, bronze in color, exactly the same as the one in your palm. He used the Tower Suppression the Abyssal Soul Beast and left all his healing medicines to me. He said one sentence—'The bloodline of the dragon race holds potential greater than that of gods; don't waste it.' Then he left."

Nan Feng's heart skipped a beat. The Pagoda God. The Pagoda God had saved her life years ago.

"The power within your soul..." The purple-haired woman's purple eyes suddenly gleamed with a dark golden light, and the vertical outline of her dragon-like pupils became clearly visible. "Is it the Primordial World?!"

Nan Feng nodded. The purple-haired woman's breath hitched, and her vertical pupils in her purple eyes suddenly contracted, their dark golden light flashing intensely. The dragon bloodline reacted violently the moment it sensed the words "Primordial World," and dark purple dragon scale phantoms emerged from her neck and arms, with fine dragon runes flowing across the surface of the scales.

"The Primordial World Power." Her voice trembled slightly, but quickly regained its composure. "The Power of All Origins recorded in the ancient dragon scriptures—higher than that of the Divine Realm. My ancestors once said that the Primordial World Power is the oldest origin of all realms, even the God King must bow down. I always thought it was just a legend." She looked at Nan Feng, her purple eyes scrutinizing him with a complex emotion that Nan Feng couldn't fully decipher. There was shock, longing, and a long-suppressed expectation.

"Your Primordial World Power..." The purple-haired woman stretched out her hand, palm up, stopping in front of Nan Feng, "Can you touch me?"

Nan Feng looked at her outstretched palm, where dark purple dragon scales were faintly visible. The pulse of dragon blood emanated from her palm, resonating with the pulsation of Primordial World Power. He placed his right palm on hers, and Primordial World Power surged from his dantian, flowing along his meridians into his palm.

The moment their palms touched, the dark purple dragon bloodline and the dark gold Primordial World Power exploded into a dazzling burst of light at the point of contact. The purple-haired woman shuddered, and the phantom of dark purple dragon scales suddenly appeared on her skin. The dragon runes on the scales lit up one by one under the infusion of Primordial World Power. Her dragon bloodline boiled violently, and dark purple blood light surged from her wounds and quickly condensed into crystals, healing several times faster than before. She abruptly withdrew her hand, took a step back, and the vertical pupils in her purple eyes dilated and contracted, the dark gold luster lingering for Jiujiu. Looking down at her palm, she saw an extremely fine dark gold line on the dragon scale pattern, extending from her palm to her arm, pulsating quietly within her dragon bloodline.

"My dragon bottleneck..." Her voice was soft, as if confirming something unbelievable, "Is loosening."

Nan Feng looked at the dark gold patterns on her palm. Their arrangement resembled the dark gold patterns on the tower, like a mark left by Primordial World Power in the dragon's bloodline. "Primordial World Power has the ability to 'create,'" Nan Feng said. "It will temper your dragon bloodline and help you break through your bottleneck. But it will take time."

The purple-haired woman raised her head. Her vertical pupils, though now normal, still gleamed with a faint, dark gold light. She looked at Nan Feng, a hint of vulnerability appearing on her usually cold and aloof face for the first time. "My name is Zi JI. The Demon Dragon King Zi Ji."

"Nan Feng."

Zi JI nodded slightly, took a dark purple scale from her waist. It felt warm to the touch, with dragon runes flowing across its surface. She handed the scale to Nan Feng: "This is my dragon scale token. If you ever need the help of the dragon race, crush it, and I will find you." Nan Feng took the dragon scale and stored it in his Tower Spirit Space. The dragon scale floated beside the Life Origin Stone, its dark purple dragon runes and emerald green life luster complementing each other.

Zi JI took a step back, and dark purple light surged from her body, enveloping her once more. Her body stretched and deformed in the purple light, dragon wings unfolded from her back, and her dragon head emerged from the light. The dark purple dragon once again hovered above the sea, its wingspan dozens of feet, and the wounds on its body had mostly healed in the lingering Primordial World Power.

"I'll remember this favor." Zi JI's dragon roar came from within the light, her dark golden vertical pupils gazing at Nan Feng in the purple light. "Moreover, if your Primordial World Power touches me—perhaps it can help me break through the bottleneck of the dragon race." The dragon's wings flapped suddenly, and dark purple light exploded on the sea surface. The giant dragon soared into the sky, its dark purple body transforming into a purple pillar of light in the afternoon sunlight, shooting straight into the heavens, exploding high in the sky, turning into countless purple light spots that scattered and fell onto the sea surface, eventually dissipating in the wind.

The sea returned to calm. The post-storm sunlight bathed the sea, and shimmering gold light danced on the crests of the waves. Nan Feng stood on the sea, a faint cyan-gold shield formed on his body by the light membrane of the Tower Realm. Looking down at his right palm, he saw a trace of dark purple dragon bloodline aura remaining there. Primordial World Power slowly enveloped, refined, and integrated that aura into his meridians.

Within the Tower Spirit Space, the Old Huai poked its head out from the immortal wood, its semi-transparent remnant soul drifting gently in the sea breeze. "Demon Dragon King Zi Ji," his voice unusually solemn, "Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast taking human form. Her dragon bloodline has begun to evolve under the touch of Primordial World Power —though only at the beginning, her strength will explode once she fully breaks through the dragon race's bottleneck. You've forged a good karmic connection."

Nan Feng withdrew his right palm and turned to walk towards the awning boat. Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, leaving afterimages on the sea as he appeared beside the awning boat near the reef. The boat had been pushed several feet away from the reef by the waves in the storm, but the protective barrier of the Tower Realm Light Membrane prevented it from being damaged. He jumped onto the bow and raised the sails again. The sea breeze propelled the awning boat northwest as the sails billowed, and the outline of Vast Sea City was faintly visible on the distant horizon.

Nan Feng stood at the stern, gazing in the direction where Zi JI had disappeared. The sea was empty, save for the afternoon sun and the shimmering, golden light on the waves. The red ribbon on her left wrist fluttered in the sea breeze. Within the Tower Spirit Space, the nine lotus Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus- Suppressing Azure Lotus pulsed steadily, perfectly synchronized with her heartbeat. In her dantian, the emerald light of the Life Origin Stone, the silver-blue light of the Sea God Divine Power Crystal, and the azure-gold light of the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus intertwined deep within her soul. Her Soul Power was at level seventy, stuck at a multiple of ten. The seventh level of the tower was fully opened, Samsara Power flowed slowly through her meridians. The lingering dragon bloodline aura in her right palm, tempered by the Primordial World Power, gradually merged into her meridians, and the spatial laws of Shrinking the Ground to an Inch operated quietly beneath her feet.

The awning boat cleaved through the waves, heading towards Vast Sea City. Nan Feng sat cross-legged at the stern, immersing himself in cultivation. After returning to Vast Sea City, he would spend a year refining his power, stabilizing his Soul Power at level seventy-two. Then the Golden-Eyed Peng King. Then the Sixth Soul Ring. Then— the Ice Empress and Snow Empress of the Far North awaited him. The sea breeze rushed in from the stern, making the sails flutter. Nan Feng closed his eyes, and a thin cyan-gold shield formed on his body from the light membrane of the Tower Realm. The black annihilation patterns of the Power of Return to the Void shimmered faintly on the surface of the tower. The Power of All Origins flowed quietly through his meridians.