86 Humanoid Divine Beast. (2/2)
Both of them had willingly fused this blood into Li Yang, perfectly integrating it into both his body and runes. This way, the two conflicting elements of fire and ice would no longer fight against each other in Li Yang's body, and his runes would be able to reach a new height in strength and perfection. His body and soul also grew far stronger, because Li Yang was no longer just a human, he was now a humanoid Divine Beasts, carrying the blood of the Golden Crow, a True Dragon, and Jinwu's unknown father.
The reason Li Yang didn't want Jinwu and Shenlong to do this was that he knew the price they had to pay. They had given him most of their Essence Blood to ensure that he survived, but because of that, there was a chance that they would never wake up from their slumber. And even if they did wake up, not only would their strength drastically drop, it would be far harder for them to ever increase their strength and grow up.
There were only two ways for them to get back this lost Essence Blood, and both ways were incredibly hard. The first way was to give them some supreme treasure that could restore Essence Blood, but these treasures were so rare that not even in his previous life did Li Yang manage to acquire many of them. The second way was to kill a cultivator or a Demonic beast that had reached the same level of quality as Jinwu and Shenlong, feeding their Essence Blood to them.
This was hard for two reasons, the first being to find and kill either a Divine Beast or a cultivator who had reached the Celestial Immortal realm, which was on par with a Divine Beast. The second reason was that most Divine Beasts or cultivators of the Celestial Immortal realm would burn their Essence Blood if they realized that they were likely to die. This would give them an instantaneous boost of power that they could use to drag their killer with them into death.
Li Yang did not want them to pay this price, but how could Shenlong and Jinwu just sit by and watch as Li Yang either gave up such a great opportunity or died? Jinwu had been able to burst through his egg thanks to the blood that Li Yang dripped onto it, he was the first being Jinwu ever saw. Li Yang had given him a name and the two had journeyed together side by side. As for Shenlong, he and Huanglong were born thanks to Li Yang and Fang Ying's blood and energy. To them, Li Yang and Fang Ying were their parents, and they were willing to sacrifice everything for them.
Li Yang's unconscious body continued to be destroyed and rebuilt, his affinity for ice and fire reaching a level that could only be described as monstrous. This process continued for over three and a half months before finally ending, Li Yang regaining consciousness and opening his eyes.
Li Yang quickly sat up, his eyes landing on the sleeping Jinwu and Shenlong. He carefully lifted the both of them down from his shoulder, both having shrunk so much that they now fit in his palms. They didn't react, even as he picked them up, so he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
”You idiots, there was no need to do something so excessive...”
He stroked the two on the head, but they still didn't react, so he could only let out another sigh. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding the icy air in his lungs for a short moment before expelling it. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with determination. There was no way he would let the two of them continue to slumber like this, he had to do his best to wake them up, even if it meant waiting until he reached the Celestial Immortal realm and could hunt down Divine Beasts or cultivators.
He carefully placed Jinwu and Shenlong into his dantian, next to his sword, something he could only because he now had their blood flowing in his veins. He then stood up and gave both his own body and the surroundings a quick sweep, checking if anything had changed.
He was a bit surprised at the changes to his hair and eyes, but he didn't pay it much attention, as the changes were minor. What surprised him quite a bit was the physical strength of his body, as he guessed that it was now likely strong enough to kill someone at the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm using sheer brute force.
The last thing in his own body he checked was his dantian, or rather, his Ascending Foundation, the sign that he had entered the Ascending Heaven realm. The various runes he had carved in his dantian had all gathered in a large circle, a thick stream of Qi connecting all 36 runes together. And at the center of this circle was his Ascending Foundation, a platform that shimmered with black, golden, blue, and crimson light, formed through the gathered energy of his 36 runes.
This was his Ascending Foundation, upon which he would construct his Ascending Road, a massive mountain, that would let him reach the Ascending Gate, connecting him to the heavens and to immortality. But constructing this Ascending Road would require not only a large amount of Qi, but also required him to pour more of his understanding of the various elements into it, so it would take time.
After checking out his Ascending Foundation, Li Yang checked out the surrounding cave. The droplet crystal floating in front of him had shrunk a little, but only by a tiny bit, so it seemed like it contained far more energy than he had first expected. He felt like he would now be able to reach the 9-meter mark, but he wasn't confident he could step closer than that, even with his great increase in strength.
He was curious as to exactly what this crystal was, but he was not in the mood to try inspecting it. He also didn't have the time to do so, as he was able to tell that at least three months had passed while he was unconscious. This meant that the six-month agreement he had made with Yuan Ruogang was nearing, only about a month away, so he had to return to the clan.
Li Yang cast one last glance at the droplet crystal, making sure to make a mental note that he had to return here when he was stronger. He then turned around and left, using the Twinlife Stone to make sure he was moving in the right direction.
Thanks to his greatly strengthened affinity with the ice element, Li Yang was able to notice two rather strange things about this cave. The first thing was that he could feel the cold energy within the cave pulsating, almost like a beating heart. The pulsating came from even deeper in the cave, vanishing far into the ground.
The second thing was a bit more terrifying, and that was that the people and Demonic beasts that were frozen solid inside the cave walls were still alive. Their hearts were still beating, and their blood was still flowing, but they were completely frozen, unable to move or make a sound. Forever trapped in this ice, completely conscious, was this not a fate worse than death?
Li Yang was curious just how they had been frozen alive like this, but just like with the crystal droplet, he was not in the mood to investigate it. Jinwu and Shenlong falling into a slumber for him put him in a foul mood, so he simply wanted to return to the clan and quickly increase his strength.
He swiftly left the cave, the Twinlife Stone ensuring that he didn't lose his way. He picked up the other half of the Twinlife Stone and put both pieces into his interspatial ring, starting his descent of the mountain. He had about a month until the agreed upon duel, so he had a bit of time to finish up the remaining missions before he returned to the clan.