Ruo Xianxue snorted, though her tone was indifferent, she immediately channeled the Ancient Devil Monument to emit cold red threads toward the Kun Peng Fetus vibrating in Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness. "Finish it quickly. We do not have time to play with a Soul Transformation will."

  Zhi Xuan nodded. He ignored the piercing pain from the Soul Backlash that had not yet fully subsided. His sapphire eyes now radiated a cruel Devil light. He no longer restrained the Heavenly Devouring Chalice. He let the Extreme Yang vanish, and Zhao Xue's Pure Ice Shield also receded.

  He stared at Elder Shi Han's Poison Will, which was now paralyzed by pure terror from the Golden Dragon Bloodline's compulsion. A Bloodline Awakening was a phenomenon that surpassed the logic of the mortal world, a resonance with the Primordial era that oppressed all existence.

  "You dare to claim Destiny in the presence of the Pure Golden Dragon Bloodline?" Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice filled with the coldness of judgment. He stepped forward, a wider and denser Devil Blood Sword manifesting in his right hand. The sword, enveloped in spiritual blood and Thunder Law, radiated infinite killing intent.

  "Wait, Devil! I am the Great Elder of the Shi Clan! You will not be able to—" the Poison Will roared, trying to reunite the scattered poison, but the Golden Dragon's compulsion caused his will to dissipate.

  Zhi Xuan did not give him time to finish his threat. He lunged forward, his Heavenly-Blood Body piercing through the air, a movement shrouded in a cruel, vile aura. The Devil Blood Sword in his hand flashed.

  CRACK!

  The blade pierced through Shi Han's Poison Will Projection, leaving no physical wound but severing his spiritual essence. The Soul Transformation aura immediately cracked, and the Poison Will let out a scream—a mental shriek that was piercing and full of horror.

  "I will kill you! I will hunt down your Clan!" the Poison Will roared as his projection began to fade, his essence absorbed by the Devil Blood Law on the blade.

  Zhi Xuan only snorted coldly. He withdrew his Devil Blood Sword and, in an instant, manifested the Shattering Fist, a physical technique targeting the soul and consciousness, striking the forehead of the dissipating Will Projection with the foundation of his Heavenly-Blood Body Law.

  WHUMP!

  The strike crushed Elder Shi Han's Poison Will into spiritual powder. The Shi Clan's Soul Transformation projection vanished completely from the Core Room of the Black Dragon Tomb. Outside the tomb, on the surface of Heaven Mirror Lake, an old man in gray robes who radiated a Soul Transformation aura was present.

  Elder Shi Han, who had just arrived at the location with a group of other high-level Shi Clan cultivators, suddenly clutched his head and screamed in lethal pain. His wrinkled face instantly turned pale, and spiritual blood flowed from his nose and eyes.

  "My will! That devil child destroyed my will projection! He wounded my soul!" Elder Shi Han roared.

  Meanwhile, inside the Black Dragon Tomb, Zhi Xuan panted and fell to a sitting position on the floor. His body shook violently even though his Sea of Consciousness was fine. He immediately calmed himself and leaned against the tomb wall, closing his eyes and fainting from essence exhaustion.

  Zhao Xue, who had witnessed Zhi Xuan's brutal retaliation, immediately sheathed her True Ice Blade. She stepped toward Zhi Xuan warily. She saw the peaceful expression on the fainted Zhi Xuan's face, contrasting with the traces of blood still drying at the corner of his lips.

  "A formidable Devil Daoist," Zhao Xue murmured. She channeled a bit of Pure Ice Law to her fingertip and touched Zhi Xuan's pulse. She was surprised. Zhi Xuan's pulse felt chaotic—pulsing wildly like a storm—but his foundation was as solid as Primordial steel. His body was extremely exhausted, but not damaged.

  She turned her attention to Ao Sheng. The youth was now bathed in majestic golden light, the essence of the Black Dragon Crystal flowing heavily into his body. Ao Sheng was unconscious, but the Primordial Golden Core at the location of his Divine Wheel was spinning, processing the ancient dragon heritage. The bloodline awakening had begun.

  Zhao Xue took a long breath. She was now inside a sealed tomb, with a Devil Daoist who had just fainted from exhaustion and a youth undergoing a Primordial bloodline awakening. Outside, the Shi Clan's Soul Transformation experts were rampaging. She was slightly relieved that the Black Dragon Tomb would not be breached without Ao Sheng, who carried the key.

  "I must watch over this Devil," Zhao Xue whispered to herself. She sighed once more, then sat cross-legged near Zhi Xuan, placing her True Ice Blade on her lap. Her task was no longer to fight, but to guard the two beings trapped with her in the Black Dragon Tomb.

  Ruo Xianxue, within Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, snorted. Although Zhi Xuan had succeeded in removing the will projection, she knew that the spiritual damage caused by the consecutive soul harvesting and the clash with a Soul Transformation power was immense. The Ancient Devil Monument continued to emit a soothing gray aura, and she directed most of Xiao Die's essence to assist in the rapid recovery of Zhi Xuan's Primary Soul.

  "Foolish human. You risked your fate for a Dragon child," Ruo Xianxue hissed, but her tone did not contain anger, only a hint of hidden concern.

  In the Core Room of the Black Dragon Tomb, silence enveloped the surroundings. The starlight emanating from the ceiling created an atmosphere of quiet peace. However, the latent spiritual tension was still felt between Zhao Xue and the unconscious Zhi Xuan.

  Zhao Xue closed her eyes, focusing the Pure Ice Law. She sent out her Divine Sense, scanning the thickness of the closed Stone Gate. The gate was not made of ordinary black basalt; it was reinforced by countless layers of Ancient Dragon Seals. As long as the gate remained closed, even the Soul Transformation cultivators of the Shi Clan outside would not be able to penetrate it in a short time.

  She then focused her attention entirely on Ao Sheng. The golden light radiating from Ao Sheng's body intensified, forming a vortex of ancient dragon essence around him. The black dragon essence crystal on the Jade Altar slowly shrank, its essence fully absorbed into the Primordial Golden Core within Ao Sheng.

  As the climax of Ao Sheng's bloodline awakening was reached, a subtle yet majestic spiritual pressure began to spread from his body. This pressure was not killing intent, but pure Primordial bloodline compulsion, an aura that instinctively demanded obedience from all spiritual-blooded creatures.

  Zhao Xue, despite practicing the proud Pure Ice Law, felt her own spiritual blood churn slightly—a subconscious reaction to the immeasurable majesty. She had to channel the True Ice Law into her Snow Blade to suppress the turmoil.

  "Pure Golden Dragon Bloodline... this exceeds anything ever recorded by the Pure Ice Pavilion," Zhao Xue thought. "That Devil man was right. He risked everything for this youth's Destiny, and he succeeded. A man bound by karma to Holy Fairy Zhu Qinglan, and now protecting an awakening Golden Dragon. What destiny is he truly pursuing?"

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  As she reflected on the mystery surrounding Zhi Xuan, Zhao Xue's eyes stopped at the intricately carved Snow Phoenix Jade in Zhi Xuan's jet-black hair. The jade emitted a soft bluish-white light, a soothing aura of pure Water and Ice Law. This aura, which usually felt oppressive to cultivators of other Daos, now felt like healing for the Core Room.

  Zhao Xue knew that the Snow Phoenix Jade was a heavenly artifact with extraordinary purification and spiritual stability capabilities. It was an object highly coveted by all Orthodox Dao factions. Although she was angry that Zhi Xuan possessed it, she could not deny that the presence of the jade indirectly helped maintain the room's stability.

  As time passed, the roars of anger from Elder Shi Han and other Shi Clan cultivators outside the tomb began to fade, replaced by sounds of grumbling and suppressed planning. They had realized that destroying the Black Dragon Tomb, especially after their Great Elder's will was wounded, was not a task that could be completed overnight.

  Zhao Xue sensed that the Shi Clan must have decided to besiege and wait on the surface of Heaven Mirror Lake. They would wait until the tomb naturally opened or until they found another way to break the Ancient Dragon Seals. Certainly, the seal could not be breached by their strength alone.

  She looked back at Zhi Xuan's face, seeing the pattern of dark pillars that seemed to merge on his forehead. She did not know exactly what that pattern was, but it was something that appeared when this Devil Daoist killed and absorbed the blood or souls of the fallen. Zhao Xue shivered slightly, but she did not look away from Zhi Xuan.

  Finally, Zhi Xuan woke up suddenly with a low hiss, his eyes opening and immediately looking strangely at Zhao Xue, who was right nearby, even watching him with a sharp and curious gaze. Zhi Xuan immediately moved away while still maintaining that strange look that seemed to question Zhao Xue.

  "Get your face away," Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice hoarse again, but containing a tone of warning that was half-alert and half-mocking. He stepped back slightly, his hand instinctively touching the folds of his robe to ensure his body was not physically injured.

  Zhao Xue, who had been lost in her intense reflection, startled. Her cold and beautiful face instantly flushed slightly from surprise and the embarrassment of being caught watching. She immediately drew her True Ice Blade from her lap and stood tall, radiating a pure ice aura that covered her awkwardness.

  "I was merely observing," Zhao Xue replied coldly, her tone back to being formal and stiff, as if she had just performed a necessary duty rather than being lost in thought about the Black-Haired Devil. "The Shi Clan outside has now called for Soul Transformation reinforcements. I had to ensure you did not die while we are both trapped here. Furthermore, your Snow Phoenix Jade is a valuable artifact."

  Zhi Xuan snorted, a thin smirk appearing at the corner of his dry lips. He ignored Zhao Xue's excessive reasoning. He channeled spiritual essence into himself. His foundation was already stable, thanks to the intervention of the Ancient Devil Monument and the healing energy from Xiao Die.

  "Soul Transformation, is it?" Zhi Xuan murmured. He glanced toward Ao Sheng, who was still enveloped in golden light; the Black Dragon Heritage had fully merged. "They will not be able to enter. This tomb is now a holy place guarded by bloodline. Even if they destroy the gate, the aura of this tomb will destroy the souls of those who enter without a key."

  Zhi Xuan channeled a bit of his Divine Sense into the tomb. The majestic ancient dragon aura now pulsed from Ao Sheng's body, enveloping the Stone Gate. That aura was far stronger than any Ancient Dragon Seal, for it was the compulsion of a living Primordial bloodline.

  "This will take a long time," Zhi Xuan murmured. He stepped toward the altar, looking at the Black Jade that was now almost entirely absorbed by Ao Sheng. Zhao Xue took a deep breath. She felt embarrassed that her suspicion and curiosity had been exposed. She turned her gaze from Zhi Xuan, returning to her task.

  Zhi Xuan ignored Zhao Xue, looking around to scan the Black Dragon Tomb, searching for something that might be useful for him, despite this not being his heritage. However, he could also be considered a bridge connecting the heritage, so it did not matter if he looked around at any artifacts or other legacies in the Black Dragon Tomb.

  He walked casually around the Core Room. The ceiling of the room looked like a star-filled night sky, but Zhi Xuan knew it was merely a high-level Illusion Formation, a formation woven with dragon essence and pure Ancient Laws. The walls were decorated with carvings of twisting Black Dragons, not shackled like in the previous corridor, but in protective stances.

  Zhi Xuan focused his sharp gaze on the carvings. The carvings emitted faint fluctuations of ancient energy. He approached one of the largest carvings—a Black Dragon holding a water pearl with its massive claws. He touched the carving, and his touch immediately triggered a subtle spiritual reaction.

  A spiritual map immediately appeared in Zhi Xuan's mind, a map showing all spiritual storage and energy paths within the tomb. This map was the will of the Black Dragon, which instinctively trusted the arrival of a Pure Bloodline descendant.

  "The Pure Dragon Pearl, the Dragon King Spear, and an Ancient Dragon Body Technique," Zhi Xuan murmured, his tone flat and calculating. These three legacies were intended only for Ao Sheng as the Pure Bloodline, but several other points indicated there were legacies unrelated to the bloodline.

  Zhi Xuan smiled thinly. He was not a man of polite manners. The three Black Dragon legacies belonged to Ao Sheng, but the additional artifacts left by the Black Dragon were Destiny he could take. He glanced at Zhao Xue, who was now focusing back on protecting and hiding her awkwardness.

  "Snow Blade Lady," Zhi Xuan called calmly, looking forward again to find the unrelated heritage path. "I am going hunting. Whether you follow or not is in your hands."

  Zhao Xue immediately returned from her Divine Sense scan. She stared at Zhi Xuan, who was now standing tall with his calm aura restored, as if the exhaustion that had just made him faint was merely an illusion. The words 'hunting' inside a Heritage Tomb being sealed by a bloodline awakening made her beautiful eyebrows rise.

  "Hunting?" Zhao Xue repeated, her tone filled with suspicion. She glanced at Ao Sheng, who was still bathed in golden light. "Ao Sheng is in a critical transition. And we are trapped here. This tomb is a holy place of the Dragon Bloodline. What do you intend to hunt?"

  "Sideline heritage," Zhi Xuan replied indifferently, stepping toward one of the smaller carved walls, which displayed a strange pattern of flowing water. "This Black Dragon, like other ancient kingdoms, left remnants that were not only intended for bloodline descendants. There are some hidden artifacts and elixirs whose purpose is to increase wealth, not the core of Destiny."

  Zhi Xuan touched the flowing water pattern. The black basalt wall suddenly vibrated subtly, and a thin layer of spiritual essence peeled off the surface, revealing a hidden spatial rift—a door concealed by a very sophisticated Illusion Formation.

  "I will harvest whatever artifacts or elixirs I find useful. You, if you do not wish to go, then let your saliva drip when I bring home the artifacts," Zhi Xuan continued, his tone flat as if he were discussing the price of vegetables at a market. He did not care about the concepts of righteousness or fairness in this place.

  Zhao Xue bit her lower lip. Zhi Xuan's words were very arrogant and impolite, yet she could not refute them. Zhi Xuan was indeed the one who risked his life and his Devil Dao foundation to open this path. Besides, the core dragon legacy clearly belonged to Ao Sheng. Zhao Xue's curiosity peaked once more. She wanted to see how this Black-Haired Devil, who had a mysterious connection with the Holy Fairy she respected, interacted with ancient heritage.

  Zhao Xue took a cold breath, the Pure Ice Law around her pulsing. She stood on the threshold of a dilemma: stay there to guard the transitioning Ao Sheng, or follow the Black-Haired Devil who had fainted from exhaustion but had now fully recovered. She knew that Zhi Xuan would not care about her presence, but she also knew that this man had just shown his expertise in Formations and possessed a staggering collection of artifacts.

  "I will come along," Zhao Xue replied, her voice back to being cold and formal. She let her awkwardness vanish. "Not because I wish to see treasures. But this Black Dragon Tomb still has Hidden Formations, and I can purify any Water Poison essence that might still linger in the hidden corridors."

  Zhi Xuan only snorted, ignoring Zhao Xue's excessive reasoning. He did not care about Zhao Xue's intentions; what mattered was that he was not alone if there were other unseen formation traps. He stepped toward the spatial rift, his large Devil Blood Sword now disappearing and being replaced by a strand of spiritual blood thread that was almost invisible, enveloped in subtle Thunder Law, ready to cut any blocking seals.

  Zhi Xuan immediately stepped into the spatial rift, followed by Zhao Xue who quickly pushed aside all doubts in her mind. Once they both entered, the spatial rift in the basalt wall immediately closed, merging with the Black Dragon carving, leaving the Core Room in the remaining silence, accompanied only by the majestic golden light of Ao Sheng undergoing his Bloodline transition.

  They both arrived in a narrow corridor much smaller than the previous basalt corridor. This corridor felt drier, with air filled with the aroma of ancient herbs and a slight smell of long-oxidized metal rust. The walls of this corridor were not decorated with majestic dragon carvings, but rather stone shelves where several artifacts and elixirs hovered.