Chapter 322: Reversal
Ning Xiaochiao channeled the Martial Arts Profound Qi within his body at full force while simultaneously activating the "Cloud and Sunset Returning Qi," forming a Profound Qi Shield with a diameter of 10 meters. The massive stones crashing against the shield instantly turned into fine dust.
Given his exceptional speed, Ning Xiaochiao quickly left the stone beasts far behind.
This world was simply too vast. After flying a full 900 km, the ground below remained covered in black rocks, with no trace of the Heavenly Emperor's Divine Palace in sight. Not even other Martial Artists or mystic beasts could be seen.
Flying consumed a tremendous amount of Profound Qi, forcing Ning Xiaochiao to land and search for a safe place to refine the Life Pearl into a Life Pill.
This time, Ning Xiaochiao acted more wisely. He found a desolate black canyon and first used mental transmission to sense whether there were any stone beasts lurking underground. Only after confirming it was safe did he decide to proceed with alchemy here.
"Boom!"
The Heart Nurturing True Cauldron opened, and the Double-headed Stone Beast emerged once again, its body still covered in crimson lava.
Its body had now grown to 20 meters in height and 35 meters in length, with both of its heads ablaze like two enormous fireballs. The largest land creature on Earth, the elephant, would only be as big as one of its claws.
Most astonishingly, after fusing with the stone bird, it had sprouted a pair of wings spanning over 30 meters.
Originally just a fourth-grade mystic beast nurtured within the Mystic Beast Manual, the Double-headed Stone Beast had now undoubtedly reached the level of a fifth-rank mystic beast after merging with two other stone beasts. If it continued growing like this, it could very well evolve into a seventh-grade mystic beast—or even higher.
The Small Red Dragon wanted to ride the Double-headed Stone Beast again, but its Dragon Eye hadn't fully digested yet, leaving its belly swollen and round. Unable to move, it could only roll around on the ground.
Ning Xiaochiao ordered the Double-headed Stone Beast to guard the canyon entrance before beginning the refinement of the Life Pearl.
This Life Pearl was already 800 years old, glowing even brighter and exuding an intense fragrance. Combined with Heart Nurturing Grass and Nine-Colored Profound Water, the medicinal potency of the Life Pearl was further enhanced.
It took half a day for Ning Xiaochiao to refine the Life Pearl into two Life Pills.
Another half-day was spent absorbing both Life Pills into his body. His Blood Qi naturally increased significantly, but to his surprise, he did not reach the "one drop of blood transforms into six tigers" realm.
"As expected, the higher the realm, the more resources are required exponentially."
To advance from "one drop of blood transforms into four tigers" to "one drop of blood transforms into five tigers," roughly two Life Pills were needed.
But to break through from "one drop of blood transforms into five tigers" to "one drop of blood transforms into six tigers," approximately four Life Pills were required.
Ning Xiaochiao wasn’t discouraged. If improving his physique were truly that easy, it would be abnormal.
The immediate priority now was to search for more Life Pearls and compete with other Martial Artists. This was a treasure that could enhance one’s physique—everyone would fight desperately for it.
After a full day, the Small Red Dragon had digested more than half of the Dragon Eye, though its belly remained bloated. It could only waddle awkwardly with its swollen stomach.
The lava on the Double-headed Stone Beast's body slowly cooled, though its form remained scalding hot. Ning Xiaochiao stored it inside the Mystic Beast Manual, planning to fuse it with other stone beasts in the future to enhance its strength.
If the Double-headed Stone Beast could reach the level of a seventh-grade mystic beast, it would possess combat power equivalent to a Martial Venerable, becoming a tremendous aid to Ning Xiaochiao.
Just as Ning Xiaochiao was storing the Double-headed Stone Beast into the Mystic Beast Manual, the manual suddenly trembled violently, shaking itself free from his grip.
"Kid, thanks for bringing me here. I don’t need you anymore. The Blade Lord can now seize the divine blood left by the Heavenly Emperor on his own!" The Heavenly Emperor's Blade's sinister voice echoed from within the Mystic Beast Manual.
A burst of razor-sharp sword light erupted from the manual, brimming with wickedness and ferocity.
"Break free!"
A section of the blade's hilt emerged from the surface of the Mystic Beast Manual.
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade was attempting to break out of the manual, severing its connection and escaping.
"Suppress it!"
Ning Xiaochiao simultaneously unleashed two beams of Profound Qi, channeling them into the Mystic Beast Manual to mobilize its power and suppress the Heavenly Emperor's Blade.
After all, the Heavenly Emperor's Blade was once the weapon wielded by the Heavenly Emperor in his youth—extremely powerful. If not for the Mystic Beast Manual's restraints, Ning Xiaochiao would stand no chance against it and would be slain by its strikes.
But now, things were different. The Mystic Beast Manual itself was of mysterious origin and immense power, firmly suppressing the blade. With Ning Xiaochiao's control, it actually managed to contend evenly with the Heavenly Emperor's Blade.
"What the hell is this thing? How is it so strong? Break open!"
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade's edge radiated blinding sword light, its malevolence intensifying as another section of the blade broke free, revealing a blood-red, inch-long blade segment. The aura of wickedness emanating from it was overwhelming.
"No wonder the Heavenly Emperor abandoned you. You’ve become so corrupted—you’re practically a demonic blade now!"
Ning Xiaochiao was even more determined not to let it escape. If it succeeded in refining the Heavenly Emperor's divine blood, it would grow even more terrifying, inevitably causing calamity.
Given its deep hatred for the Heavenly Emperor, it might even cleave the Yulan Empire—the Heavenly Emperor's homeland—in half, turning the land into a living hell.
"Whoosh!"
Another large section of the blade broke free, leaving only the tip still sealed within the Mystic Beast Manual.
"Hah! Kid, do you know why I became a wicked blade? Back then, I slew an evil Quasi-God, piercing his heart and spilling his Quasi-God blood, turning him into a divine corpse. It was then that I secretly drank a single drop of that blood, tainting myself with its evil!"
It roared, "But is it my fault? The Heavenly Emperor was the one who wanted to kill a god! I was just a weapon! I only drank a single drop of blood, yet he abandoned me! That’s not fair!"
"Boom!"
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade suddenly shot upward, releasing a storm of Sword Qi that surged into the sky, attempting to fly away with the Mystic Beast Manual.
Ning Xiaochiao gritted his teeth and grabbed the blade’s hilt, but the force of its flight dragged him along, transforming into a streak of blood-red sword light as they soared through the air.
"Whoosh!"
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade darted through the heavens and earth, swift as a meteor.
"If you don’t let go, believe me, I’ll slash you to death!" the Heavenly Emperor's Blade bellowed furiously, now soaring thousands of meters into the sky, now crashing into blackened rocks.
Ning Xiaochiao enveloped his body with Protective Profound Qi Armor, gritting his teeth tightly as his fingers clenched the hilt of the blade.
"Boom—"
One after another, black rocky mountains were shattered, and the ground was blasted with massive craters. Ning Xiaochiao's body was covered in stone debris, severely wounded, coughing up blood.
From the blade of the Heavenly Emperor's Blade, twelve terrifying Sword Qi attacks surged forth, slashing toward Ning Xiaochiao.
These were no ordinary Sword Qi—each strike possessed the power to kill an ordinary Martial Venerable.
The Small Red Dragon stood on Ning Xiaochiao's shoulder, its round belly protruding. Upon seeing the incoming Sword Qi, its eyes widened in excitement. It opened its mouth and devoured all twelve Sword Qi attacks in one go.
With each Sword Qi it swallowed, its body grew longer by 3 centimeters.
After swallowing twelve Sword Qi, it grew a total of 36 centimeters.
The Small Red Dragon slithered along Ning Xiaochiao's arm, coiling itself around the edge of the Heavenly Emperor's Blade. It even used its claws to hug the sharp blade, biting down on the edge and grinding its teeth, trying to gnaw off a piece to eat.
It was worth noting that even if Ning Xiaochiao lightly touched the edge of the Heavenly Emperor's Blade, his fingers would instantly be severed by the Sword Qi.
Yet, the Small Red Dragon kept biting without suffering any injuries.
After gnawing for a long time without success, it released the blade and howled at it, as if taunting, "Come on, come on! Slash me! Harder, even harder!"
But the Heavenly Emperor's Blade ignored it completely.
Frustrated, it began kissing the blade frantically.
However, upon closer inspection, Ning Xiaochiao realized the Small Red Dragon wasn't kissing—it was sucking.
It was sucking the Sword Qi from the Heavenly Emperor's Blade.
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade had never encountered such a situation before. The Sword Qi it released not only failed to cause destruction but was instead being devoured.
No— What was it doing?
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade felt the Sword Qi it had painstakingly gathered rapidly draining away, being sucked dry by the Small Red Dragon. "Damn it, where did this idiot dragon come from? Try sucking again, and I'll end you! I've even killed Quasi-Gods—you think I can't kill you?"
The Small Red Dragon paused for a moment, then sucked even harder, making the Heavenly Emperor's Blade howl in distress.
"Fine... you win..."
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade voluntarily retreated back into the Mystic Beast Manual, fleeing into the "Third Mystic Beast Palace."
Seeing the Heavenly Emperor's Blade suddenly vanish, the Small Red Dragon froze momentarily, left holding only a fan-shaped bone in its claws.
Landing back on the ground, Ning Xiaochiao shook off the rubble clinging to his body and said, "Small Red, give me the Mystic Beast Manual."
The Small Red Dragon hugged the fan-shaped bone, hiding it behind its back, and shook its head vigorously.
Ning Xiaochiao's vision darkened. "Hand it over. It's useless to you."
The Small Red Dragon shook its head again, then took out the Mystic Beast Manual and gestured at Ning Xiaochiao, even biting it forcefully. Then, it stared at Ning Xiaochiao, as if waiting to see if he understood its meaning.
Having some familiarity with the Small Red Dragon's unique "dragon language," Ning Xiaochiao said, "You mean that if the Heavenly Emperor's Blade tries to escape again, you'll bite it?"
The Small Red Dragon nodded eagerly.
Ning Xiaochiao pondered—this wasn’t a bad idea.
The Heavenly Emperor's Blade was always trying to escape to seize the Divine Blood of the Heavenly Emperor, and only the Small Red Dragon could suppress it.
"Fine, I'll leave the Mystic Beast Manual with you for now."
Ning Xiaochiao used a golden thread to string the Mystic Beast Manual and hung it around the Small Red Dragon's neck, saying, "If you lose it, I’ll make sure you die horribly."
The Small Red Dragon completely ignored Ning Xiaochiao’s threat. After obtaining the Mystic Beast Manual, it began playing with it excitedly, utterly delighted.
Having swallowed the Sword Qi from the Heavenly Emperor's Blade, its body had originally grown much longer, but now it reverted to its original size—just 1 meter long—with a round, bulging belly as it rolled around on the ground.
"Help... save me..."
"Help..."
Ning Xiaochiao’s keen hearing picked up the faint cries for help carried by the wind.
The voice was dozens of kilometers away, extremely weak, yet he still detected it.
Apart from the other geniuses who had arrived in this world with him, there were no other living beings here.
Finally, he had encountered someone.
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