Chapter 436: Ode to Winter (Final Chapter of this Volume)

The rich magic power in the spiritual land fell toward Gao De, who was sitting under the Enduring Zhenbing Wutong, like a cloud waterfall.

This was the magic essence of a fifth-rank spiritual land. Under the continuous operation of the "Qingmu Changsheng Jing," it poured into Gao De's body endlessly, merging with the medicinal power released by the Green Vine Spirit Dew.

The two met in Gao De's mana pool and then merged into his liquid mana together.

With the continuous injection of the two, every drop of Gao De's liquid mana was expanding, fine and imperceptible patterns appeared on the surface, and the color became increasingly deep.

Expand, expand, and expand again.

There was no time for Gao De to think carefully.

He took a deep breath and continued to refine and absorb the medicinal power.

Finally, after the liquid mana expanded to a certain size, the fine patterns on the surface could no longer bear the weight and began to crack at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Each crack oozed dots of golden light, like fireflies suddenly lighting up in the night sky.

Magic power and medicinal power continued to surge, flowing into the liquid mana.

Like adding oil to a fire.

After the golden light, strings of emerald-green light flames emerged from the cracks, illuminating Gao De's mana pool as if it were a burning green fire.

Click!

The next moment, a crisp sound exploded inside Gao De's body.

His whole body shook violently.

It was a drop of liquid mana that, after the cracks on the surface reached a certain degree, directly collapsed with a bang.

However, the shattered liquid mana did not turn into smaller water droplets and splash around; instead, as if suddenly encountering cold, it condensed into pieces of emerald crystal petals as thin as cicada wings, fine and numerous.

Each crystal petal was so thin that one could see the palm prints through it, with golden-like veins flowing on the edges, while a light spot like green jade marrow condensed at the core.

Click! Click! Click!

It was like triggering a chain reaction.

The cracking sounds merged into a rapid sound like dense rain hitting banana leaves.

With the collapse of the first drop of liquid mana, the remaining fifty-nine drops of liquid mana in Gao De's body began to explode one after another.

Similarly, these shattered liquid mana drops would solidify into countless fine emerald crystal petals.

These emerald crystal petals attracted each other, rotating and circling above the mana pool, forming a huge emerald vortex, emitting a dazzling light.

The splashing crystal petals formed a brilliant star vortex above the mana pool, colliding from time to time, emitting crisp resonance sounds, like countless jade chimes playing at the same time.

The most wonderful thing was that the moment the sixtieth drop of liquid mana also shattered into crystal petals filling the sky, all the rotating crystal petals suddenly stopped in unison.

They seemed to be summoned by a secret call, or perhaps following some dark, predetermined rule, and began to spiral and converge with the center of the mana pool as the axis.

During the rotation, the golden patterns on the edges of the crystal petals automatically spliced into a complete pattern, while the green jade light spots at the core merged into one like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

"Zheng—"

With a vibration like a great bell, all the crystal petals were seamlessly embedded into a regular octahedron diamond-shaped emerald crystal core.

Inside the crystal, a cyan-golden halo pulsed as if it were a living thing, while sixty water-wave-like patterns floated on the surface.

After taking shape, the entire crystal suddenly sank, falling to the very center of the bottom of the mana pool, firmly fixed there like a needle that calms the sea.

A heavy feeling arose spontaneously.

Mana crystallization was thus completed naturally and without any accidents.

The abundant magic power provided by the fifth-rank spiritual land, plus the assistance of the top-tier rank advancement magic potion, the Green Vine Spirit Dew—with such unique conditions, let alone failure, if there were even the slightest hindrance or stutter in the crystallization hurdle, Gao De would have to reflect well on whether he had not worked hard enough in his cultivation.

With a boom!

The rank advancement was still continuing.

The medicinal power of the Green Vine Spirit Dew surged into his mind, like sweet dew, nourishing his mental power.

This was helping him break through the second hurdle, the limit of mental power.

But Gao De had already broken through this hurdle long ago, though the medicinal power would not be wasted; instead, it began to enhance the strength of Gao De's mental power.

The benefits of having mental power strength that exceeds the limit are obvious.

Not to mention the "judgment" advantage in spells involving mental power confrontation, the speed of constructing spell models and the improvement of cultivation efficiency were extremely direct gains.

Mental power strength is naturally the higher, the better.

With the help of the medicinal power of the Green Vine Spirit Dew, Gao De's mental power value, which was already as high as 211, increased to 233 in a very short time.

This was already equivalent to the mental power strength of a mid-second-circle magic user.

Both of the first two hurdles had been passed smoothly.

In Gao De's anticipation, it should have been so; he was too well-prepared, and there shouldn't have been any accidents.

But he did not relax.

Because next was the hurdle he anticipated would be the only one to cause problems and lead to his failure in rank advancement:

Opening the second-circle spell star sea!

In the consciousness space, in the dreamy and magnificent spell star sea.

Countless star seeds were wandering aimlessly.

At the center of the star sea was the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, like the sun in the heliocentric theory, not dazzling but eye-catching.

Around it, 44 spell models of cantrips were swirling, like constellations.

In addition, there were more scattered star seeds moving freely.

A magnificent star ring surrounded the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, circling these star seeds and cantrip spell models within it, as the zero-circle star sea.

Outside the star ring was the first-circle star sea, also with many star seeds swimming, only both their size and brightness were clearly a size larger.

In addition, 51 first-circle spell models stood there like 51 more complex and massive constellations.

And at the edge of the first-circle star sea was a membrane like an egg, limiting all first-circle star seeds within the limited area of the first-circle star sea.

Outside the egg was a pitch-black expanse, like a deep universe that could not be looked at directly.

Whoosh!

Right at this moment.

Gao De's mental power pulled the remaining medicinal power of the Green Vine Spirit Dew, rushing into the spell star sea like a galaxy.

During this process, he also had to spare some energy to pull the first-circle spell star seeds to join the river formed by the medicinal power.

As the first-circle spell star seeds continuously joined, the river began to expand continuously.

Gao De also gradually felt a sense of strain, as if carrying a heavy burden of a thousand jun.

Fortunately, in front of his mental power, which was as strong as a mid-second-circle magic user, this load could not crush him.

This was why breaking the limit of mental power was the second hurdle.

Only by breaking the limit of mental power could one have the means to control enough star seeds to launch an impact toward the boundary of the spell star sea and open up the second-circle spell star sea.

Gao De's mental power was the commander, and the star seeds and the medicinal power of the Green Vine Spirit Dew were the soldiers, crashing straight into that egg-membrane-like boundary.

With a boom.

Unlike the multiple attempts to open the first-circle spell star sea.

This time, because the mental power strength was high enough, Gao De brought the amount of star seeds he pulled to his ability limit and launched a sprint toward the boundary in one go.

The impact brought by this galaxy, which far exceeded the carrying capacity of the membrane, was astonishing. Just one collision caused the membrane to shatter instantly; even the process of cracks appearing and slowly spreading was so fast that it seemed to have been skipped.

Accompanied by the sound of the membrane shattering, like crystal breaking, countless bright fragments, like stars, like glass, shot into the sky.

They were pulled by the inexplicable gravity in the spell star sea, forming a brilliant ring of light, and began to expand rapidly outward.

That scene, in Gao De's view, was actually more like the shockwave formed after the explosion of truth in his previous life, shocking and beautiful.

Until it expanded enough, all the fragments stopped moving, fixed, and turned into a fixed star ring.

Inside the star ring was the first-circle spell star sea, and outside the star ring was the newly born second-circle spell star sea.

In that pitch-black spell star sea, countless tiny lights suddenly flashed and lit up.

Twinkle, twinkle, little stars.

They were the newly born second-circle spell star seeds.

Powerful, dazzling, and a bit irritable.

But in Gao De's eyes, they were incomparably cute and intimate, making him feel endless joy.

In fact, once this step was completed, his rank advancement was equivalent to success.

The remaining 【Elementalization of the Body】, although counted as a hurdle, was actually more like a bonus hurdle.

Except for special cases such as being too old or suffering from severe injuries, which led to a very poor physical condition unable to withstand elemental infusion, basically no one would fail at this hurdle.

At this moment, Gao De was clearly closing his eyes, yet he could clearly see countless dense light spots of various colors floating in the surrounding space.

In his heart, an inexplicable realization arose: at this moment, he could choose one type of light spot and pull it into his body to perform elementalization of the body.

Use these elements to strengthen his body, gain resistance to corresponding elements, and at the same time increase his lifespan.

Gao De had already been clear about these processes before starting the rank advancement, and he naturally had an answer long ago as to which element to choose.

His mind moved.

The crimson light spots, which were relatively rare in the surrounding space, turned into bright light spots in the blink of an eye, falling toward Gao De like raindrops.

Fire element.

To improve one's combat power, one must either continue to strengthen one's strengths or make up for one's weaknesses.

And Gao De's choice was the latter.

Whether it was the "Qingmu Changsheng Jing" or his current main spell system, relatively speaking, they were all restrained by fire element spells.

Another point: during the low-rank magic user period, fire element evocation spells were undoubtedly top-tier in terms of power and destructive force.

Therefore, choosing the fire element to elementalize the body and improve fire element resistance was, in Gao De's view, a choice with extremely high cost-effectiveness.

That fire element entered Gao De's body, flowing into every inch of his muscles, every drop of his blood, every bone, and every cell.

That feeling was like soaking in a hot spring; while warm, it also made one feel light and airy, and one would unconsciously indulge in it, unable to extricate oneself.

Correspondingly, his body's resistance to fire element spells was also continuously improving.

This feeling lasted for an unknown amount of time. When the final transformation was completed, strands of vitality burst out from his body and were instantly refined.

In just an instant, Gao De perceived that his maximum lifespan had suddenly increased from 340 years to 415 years.

There is a cultivation method that makes one younger the more one cultivates it, and that is the Qingmu Changsheng Jing.

Thus, all four hurdles of rank advancement had been passed.

This meant that Gao De had already stepped into the ranks of second-circle magic users.

But the rank advancement was not over yet.

Because there was one last step that had not been completed.

Awakening a specialty.

Practice makes perfect.

This time, Gao De did not make a fuss again but waited quietly.

It did not make him wait too long.

A majestic and heavy thought, like a tide, flowed around his body, wandering from the top of his head downward, washing his whole body, and then flowing backward along the same path, repeating like this.

Each washing caused his whole body to vibrate strangely.

After washing an unknown number of times, this thought finally poured into Gao De's mind.

The sky bloomed.

An incomparably dazzling light bloomed in his mind, bringing infinite brightness and magic, making Gao De feel "dazzled and fascinated."

The world spun.

Float up, float up, and float up again.

At this moment, Gao De's feeling was as if he had lost gravity, his consciousness constantly floating upward, everything in front of him becoming blurred, until he floated up to a bizarre world, and everything in front of him began to become clear.

This world seemed to be above the clouds, and cloud clusters of different colors and sizes floated past Gao De's eyes, dreamy to the extreme.

Where is this? And what are these cloud clusters?

This question flashed through Gao De's mind subconsciously.

The next moment, an inexplicable piece of information appeared in his mind.

【Having mastered more than fifty first-circle spells, completed multi-dimensional potential evolution of the body, and developed the source power of spells, you are enough to open the bloodline inheritance. Please choose one sleeping bloodline in your body and awaken it.】

Bloodline inheritance?

Gao De had not yet reacted, only half-understanding.

Just then, a cyan-green cloud cluster the size of a marshmallow happened to float toward him.

He subconsciously reached out to block it.

The cloud cluster was blocked by Gao De's hand and stopped.

Then, a piece of information poured into his heart from the cloud cluster.

"Verdant Bloodline—You will gain natural knowledge, and your spells will be able to affect plants."

Ah?

Seemingly understanding something, Gao De immediately touched another gray-white cloud cluster next to him.

"Dark Citizen Bloodline—You will gain extra bonuses in stealth spells, and you will be more powerful in dim environments."

Sure enough.

A realization arose in Gao De's heart.

The most primitive supernatural power of magic users came from their own bloodlines, the most famous being the three bloodline inheritances: Ice-born, Wolf-born, and Dragon-born.

It was just that this source of power was too primitive and could not be controlled.

The ancestors used their excellent wisdom to create the magic user cultivation system, so they could obtain supernatural powers like spells through cultivation.

The bloodline magic user lineage also slowly declined.

Nowadays, the Ice-born bloodline is weak, the Dragon-born bloodline is nowhere to be found, and the Wolf-born is also lingering, but this does not mean that the bloodline inheritance power is weak; it can only be said that it has too many limitations in terms of inheritance.

There are actually countless types of bloodline powers.

After such a long and long time, passed down through generations of mating, to this day, everyone's body actually contains countless messy bloodline powers.

Of course, they are too weak and not pure enough to be awakened, and can only remain hidden in the body.

And he, now, can choose one to awaken.

Gao De was stunned for a moment, looking at the cloud clusters in front of him, and finally made a wise decision.

Look at them all first.

Blue cloud cluster:

"Child of the Sea—You will find it easier to master water element spells, and you will gain professional skills such as swimming and sea navigation."

A larger green cloud cluster:

"Longevity Bloodline—You will gain a longer lifespan..."

Black cloud cluster:

"Child of Shadow..."

"Dragon Bloodline."

"Wolf Bloodline."

"Child of Steel."

"Soul of the Craftsman."

Gao De walked in this cloud-like world, checking the bloodline power represented by each cloud cluster, feeling dazzled.

Gradually, he also summarized some patterns.

The larger the cloud cluster, the more of that bloodline power it represents in his body, and the more powerful it is; the power gained from awakening it may also be more powerful.

For example, the legendary Dragon-born bloodline is theoretically the most powerful, but unfortunately, the Dragon-born bloodline in Gao De's body is too weak:

"Dragon Bloodline—You will gain some sub-dragon knowledge, and it is possible to awaken some sub-dragon spells."

Even if he awakens the Dragon-born bloodline, what he can gain is only some marginal power of the Dragon-born bloodline.

Some bloodline powers are not powerful in themselves, but the corresponding result is that Gao De can gain their complete power.

This is a bit like two people giving you a choice: one has a deposit of one thousand yuan, but he will only give you ten yuan; the other has a deposit of only ten yuan, but he will give you all ten yuan. Which one would you choose?

Gao De really wanted them all, but he didn't have that opportunity.

Too many choices, instead, make people unable to make a decision.

Now Gao De had a happy trouble of sighing at the vast ocean.

Until he was about to reach the end, Gao De still hadn't decided which bloodline to awaken.

Until he really reached the end, a massive silver-white cloud cluster, dozens or even hundreds of times larger than all the previous cloud clusters, came into view, making Gao De's heart shake.

The silver radiance, which was like substance, made Gao De's pupils shrink. Ripples surged on the surface of the cloud cluster, carrying the breath of ancient glaciers.

Did his body actually contain such pure and powerful bloodline power?

With shock and curiosity, Gao De reached out toward this cloud cluster.

"Ice-born Bloodline—The blood of Anivia flowing in your body will be able to purify your other bloodlines, allowing you to gain the power of a pure-blooded Ice-born."

Gao De was stunned on the spot.

Anivia?

Who is that?

He had never heard of this name.

But this was not important, because he could understand the annotation behind it.

"Pure-blooded Ice-born."

No need to think, no need to hesitate.

Gao De made his decision.

Ice-born bloodline.

The next moment, this massive silver-white cloud cluster split like living mercury, suddenly dispersing into thousands of silver-white air currents, vast and pure, directly wrapping his whole body.

A melodious song, from virtual to real, from far to near, rang in Gao De's "ears."

The song was sung in a very strange and ancient language, but Gao De could understand what it meant:

"O wild Spirit, thou art moving everywhere,"

"Destroyer and preserver; hear, O hear!"

"Thou, upon whose stream, mid the steep sky's commotion,"

"Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed,"

"Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,"

"Angels of rain and lightning: there are spread"

"On the blue surface of thine airy surge, Like the bright hair uplifted from the head"

"Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge"

"Of the horizon to the zenith's height, The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge"

"Of the dying year, to which this closing night Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre, Vaulted with all thy congregated might"

"Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: O hear!"

"If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear; If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;"

"A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share"

"The impulse of thy strength, only less free Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even"

"I were as in my boyhood, and could be The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,"

"As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed Scarce seemed a vision; I would ne'er have striven"

"As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need. Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!"

"I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!"

"A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed"

"One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud."

Su Su Su Nai Fa, who was closest to Gao De, suddenly had her expression change.

At this moment, she actually heard a faint song of praise.

She subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound source, and then her gaze fixed on Gao De, who was close at hand.

Chill was gushing out from Gao De's body.

Looking up, Gao De's body surface was already covered with a layer of faint silver frost, and his skin seemed to have turned into a semi-transparent ice-blue color.

Vaguely, scarlet blood vessels emerged in his body.

The blood in them was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Replacing it was a transparent fluid with suspended ice crystal particles.

Every heartbeat caused the blood vessel walls to be covered with thin frost, and in the next pulsation, it shattered into finer ice crystals, spreading along the veins to the heart.

Whoosh!

The next instant, Gao De's whole body, including his hair, naturally radiated a dazzling silver-blue light.

The light was dazzling, making Su Su Su Nai Fa subconsciously squint her eyes.

Then, a power that Su Su Su Nai Fa felt incomparably familiar with slowly rose from Gao De's body.

"It's the King!"

"This is... the power of Enduring Zhenbing!"

Not just her.

Throughout the Northern Realm, all those with the Ice-born bloodline felt a tremor in their souls at this very moment.

They all heard the same song of praise, not knowing where it started or why it started.

But the awe from their bloodline made them unable to help but chant this song of praise together:

"Drive my dead thoughts over the universe"

"Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!"

"And, by the incantation of this verse, Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 437 =====