Chapter 657: A Flash in the Pan, the Serpent Swallows the Dragon

Within the Mingzhao Heaven Pill Hall, a total of thirty-nine pill formulas remained.

Excluding the three sealed pill formulas, the remaining thirty-six corresponded to the three races of humans, demons, and devils, with twelve for each.

The method Luo Chen used to save Hei Wang was a fourth-tier Blood Pill technique from the demon race's pill formulas.

It involved taking the blood of many spirits to nourish the demon body, and even, from nothingness, condensing a brand-new "Demon Core."

This method was perfectly suited to the ailment!

Hei Wang's current state was one of physical collapse and a shattered Demon Core.

Over the years, Luo Chen would check on Hei Wang's state from time to time, and everything was developing in a positive direction.

But Luo Chen was very clear that these were all just castles in the air.

Everything was done to nourish Hei Wang's divine soul.

If this step failed, then all previous efforts would be wasted!

Leaving the abyss and stepping out of the Green Wave Pool, Luo Chen walked forward, with Seeing Tianxuan following closely behind.

Suddenly.

Luo Chen's footsteps paused slightly, his gaze fixed on a rare, towering mountain peak on Long Yuan Island.

There, an old man in green robes sat alone on the cliff, idly watching the clouds roll and the tides rise and fall.

It was Han Zhan!

"Has he been there recently?" Luo Chen asked.

Seeing Tianxuan replied in a low voice, "True Person Han has been coming and going frequently these years, saying he is adapting to his new body and needs to move around often. That Xiachiu Mountain is where he often stays alone. Come to think of it, True Person Han has an excellent temperament and has even given me pointers on my cultivation a few times."

"Is that so..."

Luo Chen muttered, then changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, I have been immersed in cultivation all these years and haven't paid much attention to your progress."

Seeing Tianxuan shook her head, "Master helped me take human form early, created cultivation techniques for me, and bestowed upon me the opportunity to soak in the Sacred Spring; you have already done so much. How could I bother Master with my trivial daily cultivation?"

Mentioning the soaking in the Spirit-Shaping Sacred Spring, Luo Chen became interested.

"After soaking in that spring water, have there been any changes to your body?"

Seeing Tianxuan's spirit lifted, and she said with slight excitement: "There have been great changes. My daily cultivation speed has increased by almost double compared to before! Moreover, my talent in controlling wind has been fully revealed. In True Person Han's words, I seem to have fully tapped into the potential of my spirit roots, and combined with my demon body, I vaguely possess the characteristics of the so-called Xun Wind Body."

"Xun Wind Body?"

"Yes, although incomplete, my ability to control wind-attribute power has indeed received a great boost. I have now cultivated the 'Universal Feather Secret Canon' to a proficient level, and I am already at the sixth layer of Core Formation!"

Luo Chen nodded slightly, "That is a good thing; the opportunity was not wasted."

Back then, Luo Chen had absorbed ninety percent of the Spirit-Shaping Sacred Spring in the Pill Hall.

The remaining ten percent, while seemingly scarce, was definitely a great fortune for Seeing Tianxuan and Hei Wang.

Seeing Tianxuan's growth in realm was within expectations.

It was just Hei Wang over there...

During their conversation, the two had already arrived at their destination.

Seeing Tianxuan's earlier joy had long since dissipated.

On Luo Chen's face, a few traces of gravity appeared.

The blood pool... calling it a blood pool was actually no longer appropriate.

The originally deep red blood had now become clear and bright.

The essence power of countless demon beasts' blood had all been absorbed into Hei Wang's body!

If one were to calculate carefully, there were hundreds of millions of low-tier dragon worms on Long Yuan Island fused into the pool, along with some third-tier demon kings that Seeing Tianxuan had hunted and captured over the years, and finally, the drop of tongue-tip essence blood that Luo Chen had painfully bestowed.

Such a massive amount of power had resulted in Hei Wang's physical body recovering to its peak state.

Even, it was much, much stronger than it had been at its peak.

"That drop of my essence blood is actually this powerful!"

Luo Chen murmured.

He could feel that the main reason for Hei Wang's such huge change was his own drop of tongue-tip essence blood.

Within it, not only did it contain his source power, but it also hid a considerable amount of the terrifying vitality of the Tai Sui.

"Indeed, I never expected that you could truly restore Hei Wang's body to its original state!"

I don't know when, but Han Zhan had already descended from Xiachiu Mountain and arrived at the edge of the Long Yuan Blood Pool.

Luo Chen was not surprised; he could spot Han Zhan's presence, so the other party would naturally see him too.

Looking at the figure coiled like a small mountain in the blood pool, resembling both a dragon and a python, a single horn flickered with ghostly light.

Luo Chen sighed, "Unfortunately, this is all I can do. Whether Hei Wang can pull through depends on his own fortune."

In his perception, Hei Wang's divine soul was indeed reviving.

That was a sign that the slumber method of the desolate beast cliff snake had reached its limit!

What Hei Wang had swallowed back then was, after all, just the corpse of a cliff snake that had failed to advance to the fourth tier. Being able to comprehend a slumber method from the other party's remains to preserve itself was already a stroke of immense luck.

But luck, after holding on for ten years, also had its end.

A weak fluctuation of the divine soul slowly emanated from Hei Wang's body.

"Mas... Master..."

Luo Chen restrained all his own power to prevent harming Hei Wang's fragile divine soul, which was like that of an infant.

He said in a deep voice: "I have already restored your physical body for you, and even for the shattered Demon Core, I have temporarily replaced it with a Blood Pill. You only need to pull through this period now and let your divine soul grow and nourish itself bit by bit. Can you do it?"

It is said that essence nourishes the spirit roots, and Qi nourishes the spirit!

Everything Luo Chen did was to provide a perfect environment for Hei Wang's divine soul to revive.

However...

"Sorry, I'm afraid Xiao Hei cannot pull through... this ordeal." Hei Wang's voice was intermittent, like a candle in the wind, tottering.

His divine soul aura was constantly dissipating.

Han Zhan, who was on the side, sighed, "The power of that Heaven-Refining Cauldron's self-detonation is not something a Core Formation demon king could withstand. The master of Moyun Cave had his body turned to dust on the spot, and his divine soul was scattered. It is already a stroke of luck that Hei Wang has held on until now."

Luo Chen was silent.

Although he had spoken with certainty before that he had a way to treat Hei Wang, it was clear that he could only do so much.

He had already done his best.

But to truly watch Hei Wang pass away before his eyes, he still found it emotionally difficult to accept.

Hei Wang itself was just the most ordinary black-scaled giant python among countless demon beasts.

It was cultivated by a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Feiyan Archipelago using secret methods, becoming the weakest dragon.

It could be said that when Hei Wang reached the third tier, its life was effectively over.

But fortunately, Hei Wang met him.

With the infusion of a large amount of Di Liu Jiang, his bloodline inheritance was opened, and he gained the swallowing demon art. For decades, he had been bestowed with much meat, blood, food, elixirs, and medicines, and had the cliff snake corpse to digest.

Although the path he took was not as orthodox as Seeing Tianxuan's human-leaning path, his foundation was solid, and he had reached the level of a third-tier late-stage Great Demon King step by step.

Especially, he had also soaked in the Spirit-Shaping Sacred Spring!

If not for that incident in the Pill Hall, Hei Wang would have had a bright future; it would not have been impossible for him to ride the clouds and mist and transform into a dragon one day.

Luo Chen felt sorry for the future Hei Wang could not reach.

He also felt pained by the loyalty Hei Wang showed, protecting him even without the suppression of a slave seal.

Now, waiting bit by bit for Hei Wang's divine soul to dissipate, Luo Chen felt heavy and unbearable in his heart.

Seeing Tianxuan could no longer suppress her emotions and began to cry out.

"Old Hei, you must hold on! Master, didn't you have a type of pill that could strengthen the divine soul before? Can you let Old Hei try it?"

Luo Chen shook his head.

The Tongyou Pill was of too low a grade; for Hei Wang now, it was truly a drop in the bucket.

If he could refine the pill from the three fourth-tier human pill formulas left behind by the Heaven-Refining Demon Lord that could strengthen the divine soul, perhaps there would be a slight chance.

But it would only be a slight chance.

For that kind of pill, Luo Chen lacked the necessary medicinal herbs, unless he went to the outside world and spent great effort to collect them.

But with powerful enemies like Yue Sanren in the outside world, and with his own Core Formation imminent, how could he go around attracting attention?

Moreover, fourth-tier pills had medicinal properties that were too violent; Hei Wang might not be able to withstand them now.

"Seeing Tianxuan, don't be sad for me. After I am gone... you must cultivate well and serve Master."

Seeing Tianxuan's lips trembled, her voice choked with sobs.

"I will."

In the blood pool, the dragon-python's eyes remained tightly closed.

But Hei Wang's voice still slowly emanated.

"Master, do you remember a small matter I once asked of you?"

Luo Chen was startled for a moment, constantly recalling in his thoughts, what matter was it?

Because of this recollection, he couldn't help but feel a trace of shame; he hadn't been able to remember it for a moment.

However, Hei Wang hadn't asked him for much, so Luo Chen finally remembered.

"Refining a treasure?"

He quickly responded: "Are you saying, to refine a protective magic treasure for that little girl from the Zhang family?"

"Yes." Hei Wang responded weakly.

There was indeed such a matter!

Hei Wang pitied the Zhang family's little girl for being lonely and helpless, so he gave the undigested cliff snake skin to Luo Chen, asking him to refine a protective magic treasure for the little girl.

Luo Chen still remembered that the little girl's name was Zhang Jingqing.

It was a name Zhang Jiadi had specially chosen to curry favor with Luo Chen.

Luo Chen said solemnly: "If there is a chance, I will definitely fulfill this promise and give that gift to Xiao Qing."

"Haha..."

Hei Wang's divine soul fluctuated with rare joy.

"Finally, Xiao Hei wishes Master a prosperous immortal path and success in forming the Nascent Soul!"

After saying these words, his divine soul fluctuations began to dissipate rapidly.

It seemed that this moment of waking was the moment of departure.

Luo Chen tightened his face and shifted his gaze to the old man in green robes.

"Senior!"

Han Zhan waved his hand, "Don't look at me. Although I am said to be proficient in divine soul refining methods, I don't have that kind of heaven-defying ability..."

Hearing this, Luo Chen felt immense regret.

However, he noticed that Han Zhan's words had become hesitant.

Instantly, Luo Chen seemed to have grabbed a straw, his gaze burning as he stared at the other party.

Han Zhan's brows were tightly furrowed, looking at Hei Wang one moment and Luo Chen the next.

Finally, he transmitted his voice in a low tone: "If you are willing, I do have a method to treat a dead horse as if it were alive."

"Let me hear it!" Luo Chen's spirit lifted!

Han Zhan stroked his chin, as if remembering the past.

"Back then, my good friend Fairy Canglong failed her tribulation, and her soul was struck by the extremely rigid and yang power of thunder, suffering heavy damage."

"Later, her body was sealed in a mysterious ice coffin by the people of the Ice Fortress, waiting for a method of rescue."

"In my spare time, I studied this situation and found a method of treatment, but I have never experimented with it."

"Speaking of which, Hei Wang's current situation is somewhat similar to Fairy Canglong's. That method might be applicable to him."

Luo Chen suppressed his impatience and listened carefully.

Han Zhan explained the operation of the method in detail.

If the divine soul is damaged, then treat the divine soul!

And if the divine soul is lacking, then one must replenish the divine soul's origin!

But the injured person has already lost the ability to autonomously strengthen and restore the divine soul's origin, so it requires the replenishment of external power.

"External power... pills?" Luo Chen frowned.

Han Zhan shook his head, "Such pills are rare in the world. But you have an object on you that is superior to all divine pills and miraculous medicines!"

"What is it?"

"The Stone Dragon's remnant soul!"

In an instant, Luo Chen's expression changed.

Han Zhan chuckled, "You and I have both seen that Stone Dragon's remnant soul; it has no intelligence, and its texture is clear and spiritual, as if naturally generated by heaven and earth. Such a remnant soul is absolutely the purest power of the soul's origin. I just thought, if I use stimulating means to make Hei Wang have a flash in the pan, reaching his peak state, and then let him use that innate demon art to swallow this remnant soul, do you think there is a chance for him to come back to life?"

Swallowing another's soul is an extremely dangerous thing.

But Hei Wang is different; his innate demon art is all-encompassing, perhaps it will have miraculous effects.

Only, in this way, Luo Chen would lose a soul that had once reached the fifth-tier level.

That was the foundation he had been thinking of using to cultivate spirit veins after forming his Nascent Soul, preparing for cultivation at higher realms!

No wonder Han Zhan said it depended on whether he was willing to part with it?

Seeing Luo Chen's expression fluctuating, Han Zhan said seriously: "I must remind you, I have never tried this method, and it may not succeed. If it fails, not only will Hei Wang still die, but that Stone Dragon remnant soul you snatched from the tiger's mouth in the Quicksand Sea will also dissipate."

"You had better consider it carefully!"

How else could he consider it?

Even if Luo Chen considered himself selfish, this selfishness was only in situations where he was powerless.

Now, he truly had this power.

Moreover, Hei Wang was loyal to him, and he had invested many sunk costs in Hei Wang.

Whether that Stone Dragon remnant soul could truly cultivate a fifth-tier spirit vein in the future was still an unknown.

At this moment, there was no need to hesitate any further.

Luo Chen took a deep breath and took out the white soul-summoning banner.

"Senior, please!"

Han Zhan gave Luo Chen an approving look, then took the soul banner.

With a wipe of his hand, the restrictions Luo Chen had placed on it shattered one after another.

"Out!"

Instantly, a huge dragon head, half-illusory and half-solid, emerged from it.

Han Zhan's expression was serious, his hands constantly forming seals, and strands of ghostly light flew out from between his brows, finally condensing into a seal with ancient patterns.

He pointed lightly, and the seal fell into the center of Hei Wang's brows in the void.

The ghostly light gradually sank, and Hei Wang's divine soul fluctuations, which had been weak to the extreme, began to expand crazily at this moment.

Ashes to ashes?

No, it was a flash in the pan!

"You come out too!"

Han Zhan shouted in a low voice and reached out to pull.

An illusory black shadow flew out from Hei Wang's head.

That was the soul of a dragon-python only half a foot in size.

At this time, Hei Wang still appeared extremely dazed.

Han Zhan's lips trembled, and the sound of the divine soul was transmitted.

The next moment, Hei Wang seemed to have received an order, his spiritual light shone brightly, and he roared at the huge dragon head.

One dragon-python, one stone dragon.

Two illusory divine souls, as the dragon-python opened its mouth, roared crazily, and a terrifying swallowing power permeated the air.

On Long Yuan Island, wind and clouds gathered, and all spirits were terrified.

Even though the Stone Dragon remnant soul had no intelligence, driven by instinct, it was still trying to break free from the swallowing power.

But Han Zhan held the soul-summoning banner, occasionally casting a spiritual spell to suppress it, helping Hei Wang swallow it.

Visibly, strands of fragmented power from its body were swallowed by Hei Wang.

Seeing Tianxuan looked at this scene in astonishment.

"Master, what is this doing?"

Luo Chen narrowed his eyes, memorizing the seals Han Zhan was casting bit by bit, while responding to Seeing Tianxuan.

"The last chance; whether he can survive depends on Hei Wang's own ability."

This dragon-python swallowing the dragon lasted for a full half-month.

Above Long Yuan Island, the two phantoms had reversed roles, and Hei Wang's soul had become a hundred feet long.

The Stone Dragon remnant soul, on the contrary, had become petite.

Half a month later, Han Zhan's face was pale, but his eyes were bright with spiritual light.

"Success is achieved today!"

As if hearing Han Zhan's shout, Hei Wang roared, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the last strand of the Stone Dragon's remnant soul in one gulp.

Afterwards, he shook his body in the air and drilled back into his body.

"Hei Wang!" Seeing Tianxuan called out.

Han Zhan smiled slightly, "There is still some finishing work to do, wait a moment."

He kept forming hand seals, and strands of ghostly light flew out from Hei Wang's body, gathering towards Han Zhan.

One, two, three... a total of seven strands.

After the seven strands of ghostly light flew back, two vertical eyes, like lanterns, slowly opened.

The eyes were indifferent, filled with a calm and even strange flavor.

Luo Chen stepped forward, his brows slightly furrowed.

Before he could speak, Hei Wang roared in a low voice, his body suddenly grew larger, breaking through the suppression of the formation, and constantly expanding from his previous ten-foot body.

In the blink of an eye, he was a huge black one-horned dragon a hundred feet long, coiled in the void.

He looked deeply at Luo Chen, then nodded slightly at Han Zhan, as if thanking him, and then shook his head and tail and flew into the sea.

"This..." Luo Chen hadn't reacted yet.

Han Zhan breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and smiled: "It should be considered a success. However, the power of the Stone Dragon remnant soul is too huge, and Hei Wang's intelligence has been hit hard, so it will take a long time to gather his intelligence. He now only remembers us, and more memories are still being retrieved."

Is that so?

Seeing Tianxuan showed a look of ecstatic joy, "Hei Wang has been saved!"

Luo Chen nodded, and he also smiled: "The previous scene of life and death was all for nothing. However, as long as he is alive, as long as he is alive."

Muttering, Luo Chen felt a sense of relief.

Then, he could have no more worries and prepare for everything needed to form the Nascent Soul.

And the first thing was to refine the Nascent Soul Pill! ===== CHAPTER 658 =====