At that very moment, a cold and hoarse laugh broke the silence of the Core Room. The laughter did not come from outside, but from within. From the black Jade Altar that Ao Sheng had just touched, a spiritual projection suddenly emerged. The projection was a shadow made of pure Sky-Reversing Water Poison, swirling in human form. Its face was gaunt, its eyes sunken, and it radiated a Soul Transformation aura far denser than Shi Yue's, with a faint trace of the Shi Clan's Poison Law.

  "Foolish little child," the projection hissed, its voice filled with a crazed killing intent. "You indeed managed to pass the Serpent Seal. But this Core Gate is not merely sealed by Bloodline. It possesses a final defense planted by the Great Elder of the Shi Clan!"

  The projection's laughter grew louder as it raised its hand, controlling the black dragon essence crystal atop the altar. "I am the Poison Will of Elder Shi Han! You are trapped here, and this Black Dragon Heritage will belong to the Shi Clan once your bloodline is annihilated!"

  The projection punched the air, and the entire Core Room vibrated. It did not attack Zhi Xuan or Zhao Xue; it attacked Ao Sheng. The Sky-Reversing Water Poison hidden within the dragon essence crystal suddenly exploded, targeting Ao Sheng, who was closest to the altar.

  Ao Sheng screamed. He had not expected the Black Dragon Heritage he cherished to be a lethal poison trap. The poison did not attack the physical body but immediately seeped into his blood essence, corroding the faint traces of his Golden Dragon Bloodline.

  "Your bloodline will be harvested, and this Heritage will become Poison!" the Poison Will roared.

  Zhi Xuan, who had just recovered and was standing by the Core Gate, instantly realized the madness of the Shi Clan. They were not just trying to steal a heritage; they were trying to transform it into poison. He snorted coldly, his expression filled with a rare anger.

  "Great Elder of the Shi Clan?" Zhi Xuan hissed, his restrained Devil aura immediately exploding. He no longer cared about his recovery. He was a man who kept his promise to return Ao Sheng's destiny. "You are merely a rotting remnant of will, and you dare to defile the Heritage?"

  Zhi Xuan lunged forward. He brought out the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron from his side, the cauldron now glowing with the newly purified Sky-Reversing Water Poison essence. He did not attack the Poison Will directly; he struck the Jade Altar that served as the base for the crystal.

  Zhao Xue also moved. She knew the Sky-Reversing Water Poison was too dangerous. She swung her True Ice Blade, releasing the cold True Ice Law toward the altar, attempting to freeze the poison enveloping Ao Sheng. The Poison Will only laughed cynically. It focused the Sky-Reversing Water Poison, trying to paralyze Ao Sheng in an instant.

  However, Zhi Xuan was faster. He slammed the Heavenly Cauldron into the base of the Jade Altar, and at the same time, he released the Purification Law channeled through the Azure Holy Flame in the Heavenly Cauldron, targeting the newly purified poison and the Sky-Reversing Water Poison around Ao Sheng.

  "Ao Sheng, get out!" Zhi Xuan shouted urgently, holding the Heavenly Cauldron with a violent tremble. He used the Four-Directional Blood Shield to encompass Ao Sheng. "Ao Sheng, move away quickly!"

  Zhao Xue, seeing this, surged to Zhi Xuan's side and swung her sword to create a rotating Pure Ice Shield in front of the Heavenly Cauldron, holding back the poison around Ao Sheng. Zhi Xuan did not stay idle; he let out a low roar and, with a sharp movement, released the Heavenly Devouring Chalice which immediately churned with the Extreme Yang.

  The Extreme Yang reacted with the Pure Ice Shield, pulling at each other spiritually and creating chaotic spiritual essence around Zhi Xuan and Zhao Xue. However, that chaotic essence actually held back the Sky-Reversing Water Poison. Zhi Xuan and Zhao Xue almost knelt under the piercing pressure, as the Soul Transformation Will was exceptionally powerful.

  Zhi Xuan and Zhao Xue, their faces pale under the brutal pressure, could barely withstand the waves of spiritual essence from Elder Shi Han's Poison Will. The Soul Transformation aura felt like a collapsing sky. Zhi Xuan's Heavenly Devouring Chalice, releasing Extreme Yang, vibrated as it clashed with Zhao Xue's Pure Ice Shield. The two opposing energies—Primordial Heat and True Cold—created a vortex that locked the Sky-Reversing Water Poison in the middle, preventing it from fully attacking either of them or the dragon crystal.

  "Lowly rats!" the Poison Will of Elder Shi Han roared, his voice cracking sharply. "A Devil Formation and Pure Ice Law? You are only delaying fate! Once I harvest his bloodline, this Heritage will become the Shi Clan's poison mine!"

  As Zhi Xuan and Zhao Xue struggled to hold back the attack from the Soul Transformation Will, Ao Sheng stood gasping amidst the chaos, his eyes widening in betrayal as he saw how the Dragon Heritage he had hoped for was merely a trap by the Shi Clan.

  In the midst of this chaos, Ao Sheng stood panting. The Sky-Reversing Water Poison seeping into his blood essence triggered an unexpected reaction, casting his Primary Soul into his own sea of consciousness.

  "Ao-Zi,"

  The soft voice touched Ao Sheng's shoulder. He turned slowly and saw two figures: one was a handsome man with Dragon horns radiating immeasurable power, while the other was a beautiful woman with an aura that made Ao Sheng feel warm. The landscape in his eyes changed; he was no longer in the Black Dragon Tomb but in a vast mountain range surrounded by flying Dragons.

  This was the scene within Ao Sheng's Sea of Consciousness. The spiritual projection representing his Pure Dragon Bloodline, which had been dormant and suppressed for so long, now awakened, triggered by the lethal Sky-Reversing Water Poison attack. He looked around and found a cool breeze blowing, with Dragons twisting and roaring as sovereigns.

  The Primordial Dragon Holy Land, one of the holy lands in the Red Dust Heavenly Realm. This was something that did not exist in the Lower Realm; it was above Heaven and Earth. This memory did not come from the Black Dragon Tomb but was a remnant of memory flowing through the bloodline. It was how the bloodline called its descendants to come to the Land where Dragons ruled.

  Ao Sheng saw that neither Zhi Xuan nor Zhao Xue was here. He could only hear the roar of a Dragon so close, seeing Dragon Horns shining as if clawing at the Sky, the hissing and roaring of Dragons approaching him. These were the Nine Ancient Golden Dragons that once fought in the Era of the Fall of the Nine Heavens. Now, they circled Ao Sheng with growls and glowing golden eyes.

  "Golden... Dragons?" Ao Sheng whispered tremblingly as he looked around. His wide eyes radiated awe and welled with tears because the Golden Dragons looked massive and threatening to him, yet somehow felt familiar. "So... big."

  One of the Nine Golden Dragons, its body as large as a winding mountain, lowered its head. Its eyes, which seemed to contain galaxies, stared directly into Ao Sheng's soul. The Primordial Wind released from the Dragon's breath felt capable of brushing aside the stars, carrying the weight of a faint will from an extremely distant era.

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  "The last descendant," hissed the Ancient Golden Dragon, sounding like the ripples of a shattered galaxy, making Ao Sheng almost kneel from its majesty. "Your horns are cut."

  The primal hiss of the Ancient Golden Dragon struck Ao Sheng's Sea of Consciousness ruthlessly, carrying an unrivaled weight of will. Ao Sheng felt his bones vibrate, but he did not kneel. The pain and betrayal from the Shi Clan he had just felt were now healed by the majesty of the Nine Golden Dragons.

  "I was suppressed and could do nothing," Ao Sheng replied, his voice, though still trembling, now filled with a dignity he had never possessed before. He touched his head, feeling the small bumps where his dragon horns should have grown, now leaving only pathetic scars. "The Shi Clan took them. They cut them off since I was born."

  The Ancient Golden Dragon growled, a sound that twisted like thousands of striking lightning bolts. The Primordial Sky in Ao Sheng's Sea of Consciousness immediately shook violently. The aura of anger radiated by the Dragon was far more terrifying than all the Shi Clan Soul Transformation cultivators in the mortal world.

  "Solitude is a Dragon; the dignity of a Dragon supports Heaven and Earth with their Horns," the Ancient Golden Dragon hissed. "You have defiled that with your weakness toward the Shi Clan."

  Ao Sheng bit his lip as shame and regret flooded his Sea of Consciousness. He bowed his head deeply, acknowledging his failure to protect the dignity of his bloodline. "I failed. I let them cut my dragon horns, the symbol of my destiny."

  The Ancient Golden Dragon did not answer immediately. It merely radiated a pure golden light, a light that seemed to pierce Ao Sheng's soul and blood essence, cleansing the Sky-Reversing Water Poison that had infiltrated his bloodline in the outside world.

  "Your weakness is not because your horns were cut," the Ancient Golden Dragon roared. "Your weakness is your fading will and your surrender to fate. The Shi Clan is merely a tool. They can never fully corrupt the pure Golden Dragon Bloodline. However, you have allowed them to oppress your Destiny."

  The Ancient Golden Dragon looked into Ao Sheng's memories, roaring sharply with an open jaw as if to swallow. However, upon finding the memory where Ao Sheng met Zhi Xuan, the Nine Dragons twisted and recognized a familiarity within Zhi Xuan—not Zhi Xuan himself, but the Nine-Tailed Darkness Fox within Zhi Xuan's aura.

  "Primordial Devil, the Nine-Tailed Darkness Fox."

  The hiss, though quiet, carried a weight that shattered eras. The Nine Ancient Golden Dragons, representing the majesty of the Dragon era, lowered their heads slightly in a rare sign of respect. The Nine-Tailed Darkness Fox was one of the most primal and feared Devil entities, whose karma was intertwined with Primordial battles and destruction.

  "Your destiny lies in the right hands for the coming Era of Chaos," the Ancient Golden Dragon hissed, accompanied by a gaze of Fate that seemed to see thousands of eras ahead. "A Golden Dragon never bows its head, even during the destruction of the Universe. You, can you bear such a Destiny?"

  Ao Sheng raised his face, the tears that had gathered now evaporating, replaced by a burning blaze of determination. He saw the nine majestic Ancient Golden Dragons bowing their heads to something hidden within Zhi Xuan's aura, and he understood that his Senior was not merely a mortal cultivator but a Primordial existence carrying a terrifying Destiny.

  He looked back at the man with Dragon horns and the woman who radiated a calming aura of warmth. He saw in their eyes the way they looked at Ao Sheng, with a gaze like parents looking at a child. He bowed again, remembering how he had lived in pursuit, being a trampled auction cleaner, how he could only watch other geniuses step forward while he stopped at the Divine Wheel.

  "I... I do not know," Ao Sheng hissed. He did not know if he could bear the Destiny of a Dragon who kept its face raised even when the Universe crumbled. He tightened his grip on the ground that felt wet. "But I promise that in the future, I will come with my own body to the Dragon Holy Land. I promise to come here and echo the Dragon's roar to show that I am not an oppressed Dragon!"

  Ao Sheng, though a weak and innocent youth, now radiated a bloodline aura that resonated with his statement. He rose staggeringly, standing tall and lifting his face to stare at the Nine Ancient Golden Dragons alongside the horned man and the woman radiating warmth. Although it was only a sparked Will, a Dragon's oath before the Dragon Ancestors was something that resonated with the Primordial Age.

  The Nine Ancient Golden Dragons, twisting in the Primordial Sky of Ao Sheng's Sea of Consciousness, suddenly emitted a blinding golden light. Their roar, which curved across space and time, now turned into a solemn vibration of will, an acceptance of the newly spoken oath. The golden light immediately condensed, forming a small and dense golden core that radiated an unrivaled ancient dragon essence aura. The golden core shot quickly through Ao Sheng's sea of consciousness and settled directly where his Divine Wheel was located.

  "Ao-Zi, remember the place from which you came. Dragons bow to no one."

  "Where Dragons stand, there the Dragon's Roar will always shake Heaven and Earth."

  "If you feel alone, then roar and show the Heavens that the Dragon will fly high above the Nine Heavens."

  The voices, laden with the weight of primal will, seeped into Ao Sheng's soul, engraving a new promise and destiny. The golden core settled where his Divine Wheel pulsed, and instantly, Ao Sheng's Divine Wheel shattered. There was no pain, only a profound silence. The Divine Wheel that had been the source of his strength, tempered amidst oppression and injustice, now melted away, replaced by a pure Golden Core radiating unrivaled Ancient Golden Dragon essence.

  The dense golden core immediately replaced Ao Sheng's fragile Divine Wheel. This change was not a standard realm advancement but a fundamental bloodline transition. The golden core spun, and with every rotation, it released infinite waves of pure Golden Dragon essence, expelling all the Sky-Reversing Water Poison that had infiltrated his blood essence.

  The Nine Ancient Golden Dragons, the horned man, and the woman radiating warmth in Ao Sheng's Sea of Consciousness soon faded into light. However, their voices still echoed—an ancient oath etched into his soul, and now he walked with Dragon blood truly awakened within his body.

  In the outside world, within the Core Room of the Black Dragon Tomb, Ao Sheng, who had been staggering under the attack of the Sky-Reversing Water Poison, suddenly radiated a blinding golden light. The light was pure, majestic, and carried an unrivaled bloodline pressure.

  RAOONG!

  A roar that did not originate from the throat but from the depths of the soul exploded from Ao Sheng's body. It was a pure Primordial Dragon Roar, a sound that curved and vibrated the essence of space and time. The roar shattered the chaotic vortex between Zhi Xuan's Heavenly Devouring Chalice and Zhao Xue's Pure Ice Shield.

  The Poison Will of Elder Shi Han, which had been filled with arrogance and killing intent, instantly froze. His spiritual shadow made of poison trembled violently. The Soul Transformation aura suddenly plummeted, suppressed by a bloodline compulsion far beyond the mortal realm.

  Elder Shi Han's cynical laughter vanished instantly, replaced by a spiritual scream filled with pure horror.

  "Pure... Pure Golden Dragon Bloodline! IMPOSSIBLE!" the Poison Will roared, his voice now like breaking glass, filled with despair. "The Shi Clan has suppressed this Bloodline for centuries! How could it awaken—"

  Ao Sheng, now bathed in majestic golden light, raised his face. His expression was calm, and his eyes radiated unrivaled firmness. All the Sky-Reversing Water Poison enveloping his body was absorbed by the Golden Core at the location of his Divine Wheel, becoming purification energy for that Core.

  The black dragon essence crystal on the Jade Altar, which had previously tried to poison him, now vibrated and obediently radiated pure essence, flowing into Ao Sheng's body. Zhi Xuan and Zhao Xue, who were still staggering under the impact of their Primordial vortex, witnessed this change with awe.

  "Bloodline Awakening," Zhao Xue whispered. The Pure Ice Law in her hand trembled, no longer from enemy pressure, but from the majesty of the newly awakened Golden Dragon Bloodline. The compulsion radiated by Ao Sheng felt far more oppressive than any Soul Transformation aura.

  Zhi Xuan, whose face was still pale from the interrupted recovery, only smiled coldly. His Devil smirk widened, and a sense of satisfaction filled his sapphire eyes. He had gambled everything, and the gamble had paid off. At the bottom of his Sea of Consciousness, the Kun Peng Fetus sealed with the chaos pearl and Ancient Devil runes vibrated.

  "Great Saint," Zhi Xuan hissed in his Sea of Consciousness. He could have predicted this but had not expected that even a small awakening of the Golden Dragon Bloodline would trigger a Kun Peng resonance. "Calm that Fetus; I will kill that Soul Transformation projection. It will damage his main body as well."