60 Abyss Eye race. (1/2)
Li Yang made his way through the wilderness, using the tall trees to his advantage as he moved from branch to branch. He kept his tracking technique active at all times, nothing in the surroundings escaping his senses. Even though Jinwu had reported that there were four groups in the area, the actual place he had spotted them was quite a distance away from the village, so getting there would take a little time.
As they moved, Li Yang would hunt down any Demonic beast he spotted and felt was strong enough, storing their bodies in an interspatial ring he would hand over to Liang Zhou. Those Demonic beasts that he felt were not strong enough, or those that were too strong to be used on the still weak Liang Zhou were fed to Jinwu and Shenlong.
As Li Yang followed Jinwu's directions, he also paid attention to the tracks that the groups had left behind, checking the direction they seemed to be moving in. Rather than check out the various scorch marks that were left behind from the Torch Dragon and Golden Crow flames, the groups were heading directly towards the Demon Plains.
While Li Yang found it rather surprising that they weren't checking out the scorch marks, it only made sense when one considered the circumstances. The people from the clans had no idea what they were looking for, so they could only tell the people from the various tribes to show them any place where something strange had happened recently. None of the tribes knew exactly where the flames that appeared a year ago had spawned, so they could only chalk it up to coming from the Demon Plains.
After traveling for a little over half a day, the first group finally entered Li Yang's range, his movements slowing down as he headed towards the group. Li Yang was slightly surprised when he spotted this group, as it was not one of the groups that Jinwu had spotted as he kept guard. The group contained 10 people, three guides from a tribe, six people from one of the clans and sects, and one person that caused Li Yang to raise an eyebrow. He climbed a bit higher into the trees, as two of the six sect people were also traveling in the trees, keeping watch over the surroundings. After reaching a higher vantage point that allowed Li Yang to see the entire group with his eyes, he pat Jinwu on the head and whispered to him.
”They are a bit troublesome, so it would be best if we do the fusion here.”
The highest cultivation in the group was the person who seemed to be the leader, a male youth that had reached the middle stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, having carved eight runes. If he used his own strengthening techniques, Li Yang was confident that he could beat someone at that cultivation level without fusing with Jinwu, but because of a certain member of the group, he felt it was best to give it his all.
Jinwu let out a silent caw, his body turning into a stream of golden energy that entered Li Yang's body. His body was once again covered in a golden robe, two icy wings sprouting from his back, and his eyes turning golden as well. Li Yang put strength into his legs and was about to shoot towards the group, but a somewhat disgruntled snort from Shenlong stopped him. Li Yang's lips curled slightly as he gave Shenlong's head a few pats.
”Come on now, there is no need to be so jealous.”
Shenlong let out another disgruntled snort, opening his maw and sinking his teeth into Li Yang's hand. But contrary to what Li Yang was expecting, there was no pain coming from the bite. Instead, Shenlong's body turned somewhat transparent after he bit Li Yang, quickly melting into a stream of pure electricity that entered Li Yang's body.
Under Li Yang's shocked eyes, the golden robe he was wearing changed slightly, no longer only featuring blazing Golden Crows, but also several roaring Golden Dragons. Li Yang's azure hair also changed, turning the same golden as Shenlong's scales, golden arcs of lightning dancing around the hair. Looking at the changes, a realization quickly hit Li Yang, a shocked question escaping his lips.
”You're not an elemental, but a true dragon?!”
That was the only explanation he could think of. Jinwu had already told Li Yang that only true Divine beasts could fuse with other beings, and that was only if they happened to share a bond of blood. No matter how strong an elemental got, it would never be a Divine beast, so it would never have the abilities of a Divine beast.
Since Shenlong and Huanglong had been born from the remains of Li Yang, Fang Ying, and the corpses of two true dragons. Li Yang had assumed that the twins were only elementals, but now it seemed like they were not mere elementals, but true twin Divine beasts. Li Yang tried to figure out how they could have been born as true dragons, but Shenlong quickly gave him the answer, a triumphant and proud roar ringing out within Li Yang's head, causing him to let out a light chuckle.
”That's how it happened? You really have quite the patience.”
Li Yang could not help but be a bit shocked after hearing the explanation. Shenlong and Huanglong had indeed been born as mere elementals, born from Li Yang and Fang Ying's blood and Qi mixing with the Qi from the two dragon corpses. But even in that newborn stage, where they would normally be driven to absorb any energy around them, the twins had inherited Li Yang and Fang Ying's strong desires for strength. The twins resisted the urge to absorb the dragon blood within the two dragon corpses.
They instead chose to wait, absorbing the energy from the Demon Crystals and the remaining energy that floated in the air, waiting for the day they were strong enough. Only once they had grown somewhat stronger, their consciousness and sense of self becoming more stable, did they choose to devour the corpses of the true dragons. They ate the flesh, the blood, the organs, even the scales, and skin, using all the energy they gained to fuse themselves with the pieces they ate. It was a somewhat unorthodox method, but thanks to the great amount of energy, they were able to eventually evolve into true Divine beasts. And since Shenlong and Huanglong were originally born from Li Yang and Fang Ying's blood, it was no problem for them to fuse with them.
Li Yang felt like scolding Shenlong for not telling him this earlier but seeing the prideful and triumphant expression Shenlong was showing, reflected on the dragons that were on Li Yang's robes, he could only lower his shoulders and let out a somewhat defeated sigh. Jinwu had done exactly the same when he first learned about the ability to fuse, so Li Yang could not help but wonder if Divine beasts loved to withhold information.
With Shenlong satisfied at seeing Li Yang's surprised and defeated expression, he did not let out another disgruntled sigh when Li Yang put strength into his legs again. Golden lightning danced around Li Yang as he crouched, concentrating all his energy in his legs. With Shenlong joining Jinwu in the fusion, Li Yang once again got to control the golden lightning he had used in his past life.
Li Yang shot forward, the sound of thunder rumbling out and mixing with a sonic boom as he broke the speed of sound. His hands flickered, two spears of ice shooting out and piercing through the chest of the two people that were hiding within the trees. Li Yang instantly reached the remaining four targets, which were clad in white robes engraved with a large gate surrounded by clouds, probably the emblem of their sect.
They were about to let out a shout, but Li Yang had no intention of giving them any chances. The sound of thunder rumbled out again, four bolts of lightning shooting down from the sky and roasting the remaining four people of the sects. As the lightning struck the people from the sects, several thick walls of ice appeared around the only person who wasn't a guide, a lanky male youth in a brown robe, his head covered in messy black hair that even covered most of his face. The ice not only prevented him from fleeing, but it also made it so that he could not properly see Li Yang.