22 GAINING OFF PAST TRAUMA (1/2)
As the two children were having their exchange, Goldy stared wide-eyed at the sky, the image of the humongous pillar of golden light branded into his draconian pupils. At last, after contemplating for a bit, the golden dragon let his gaze fall upon the youth once more: Cheng Hao's clothes were now no different than burnt rags, and the floor below him was even the more so charred black. What was even more eye-catching though, was neither the ruined clothing nor the burnt floor. Instead, the waves of power emanating from the youth were so intense actual ripples had formed in the surrounding space!
This was without doubt caused by the boy's breakthrough resonating with the Martial Way, resulting in a sudden but momentary increase in pressure.
After a few breaths, the already transparent avatar dissipated, leaving behind a golden-eyed child sitting cross-legged on a patch of charred wooden floor.
Even then however the oddities did not stop, as faint golden aura began to be emitted from Cheng Hao's figure, enclosing his body like a cocoon. The radiance was constantly absorbing the beneficial Spiritual Energy surrounding him, which the youth both fed to the Pseudo-Core, and also refined it directly in order to constantly nourish the fleshly body.
Although no results would be seen in just a few days, in a matter of months, maybe even weeks, a body refined through Spiritual Energy would be greatly enhanced. Let alone the impurities that would have already long since been expelled, the muscles would also toughen up, the bones grown firmer and stronger! And what about a few years after that? Well, after ten or so years of basking into Spiritual Energy nonstop, a cultivator's body would then become no different from a metal sword! And what about a hundred more years? A thousand? If enough time passed, the body itself would turn so tough it would rival even the toughest heavenly treasures!
Goldy, of course, was not shocked by this development in particular. After all, it had been him, the 'Heaven Devouring Dragon' Blindlight, who had passed that technique down to the young Xu Ling. After having undergone several improvements, the Evil Saint had created the Golden Aura, a bodily strengthening technique unmatched under the heavens! Unfortunately however, such a technique could not be passed down. Had that not been the case then let alone a single Tian, even if a hundred more were to show up, an army of cultivators with bodies that had underwent the heaven-defying refinement of the Golden Aura would have effortlessly slayed them all!
Amazed yet? Well, what if one were to be told that not only was the Golden Aura the highest grade body refinement technique, it was also a top-tier support and offensive technique?
Not knowing of the true nature of that seemingly harmless radiance, Xiao Wu's eyes focused upon the youth's shoulders. The sudden release of the energy from earlier had been akin to an explosion, and the child's robes were now all ragged, with one exception: wrapped around Cheng Hao's neck was now a peculiar, black scarf. It wasn't made of cloth, leather or any other common materials. Many small black hexagons covered the rough surface of the black scarf. The girl could tell at a glance, recalling the same small hexagons on the body of her Martial Way's black dragon: those small hexagons... were scales. And from the occasional swelling and deflating of what seemed to be the creature's chest, the 'scarf' seemed to be alive.
A faint golden light tattoo was also orbiting around Cheng Hao's right hand and on it were inscribed the words 'Nightmares Haunt All The Living' as well as the drawing of a black, wingless, and limbless black dragon.
The young Xiao Clan Mistress was as surprised as she was amazed. She almost wanted to ask, ”Just how many secrets do you keep from me, Brother Cheng Hao?” but ultimately was unable to as, before she could utter anything at all and before Cheng Hao could get up, something had suddenly flown across the room and hit him squarely on the stomach! Thanks to the Golden Aura the child had sustained no damage, however he had still lost his balance and fallen on his back.
The first bright red, then deep purple face of the golden snake, Goldy, appeared less than a palm away from Cheng Hao's nose. Its pitch-black pupils twinkled with excitement as the dragon stared into the golden-eyed child's eyes and delightedly inquired, ”That scarf... It couldn't be Little Black, could it?”
As if by instinct, the black scarf suddenly seemed to shudder as it heard the golden dragon's voice being so close. It was not awake yet, but a bad feeling had still managed to disturb its sleep for a few breaths before it finally fell back into its deep slumber.
Cheng Hao nodded, propped himself back up and made a victory sign, ”First Floor... Clear! We got our mount!” Having said that, a wide grin found its place on the child's face. ”Right now however, it is sleeping and resting to recover from living those two months in a cramped space without any Qi or Spiritual Energy he could absorb...” Cheng Hao sighed.