Chapter 224: Bold Yet Meticulous

"Master!" Wu Qingcheng and Yu Er both called out.

Ice Girl owes them a legacy debt, yet they didn't even have time to say goodbye! She couldn't help feeling unusually forlorn.

Ye Liuyun calmly told the two of them, "Hurry and absorb the bloodline power; don't waste the chance our senior gave us by exchanging himself! Otherwise the senior's intention will be in vain! You don't want her to die in vain, do you?"

"Mm!" Upon Ye Liuyun's reminder, the two immediately headed toward the Grand Hall.

With no one to trigger the Formation in the Grand Hall, Ye Liuyun and his companions no longer worried about being attacked. The four of them positioned themselves at the four cardinal points of the bloodline crystal stone and began absorbing it.

The power within this bloodline crystal stone has no attributes and can be absorbed by anyone. Ice Girl had already told them on the way, so they absorbed it without any concerns.

Ye Liuyun originally intended to take the bloodline crystal stone away, but he discovered it was linked to the Formation. He doesn't understand formations well, so he dared not act rashly.

However, this didn't stop him from simultaneously absorbing the bloodline power and using Divine Sense to scout the outer hall. Before leaving, he'll definitely loot the place, taking all valuable items.

The Earth Dragon had scattered all the items haphazardly, with no order at all. So Ye Liuyun exerted great effort to examine every item here.

"With these rare earth treasures, Wu Qingcheng and Yu Er have enough material for body refinement. Even Lei Ming can benefit from them."

Ye Liuyun felt a quiet joy after seeing that.

At the same time, he set his eyes on four important treasures. He didn't know their grade, but their power was certainly greater than that of sacred artifacts. The mere aura of menace was enough to deter Holy Realm strongmen.

One is a golden long spear, which can be given to Bai Hu for refinement.

Another is a silver great hammer, another a black iron gauntlet, and another a bronze mirror, though its exact function is unknown.

There are another twenty‑or‑so sacred artifacts here, but none seem as strong as those three weapons. Only a top‑level sacred artifact Flying Boat caught Ye Liuyun's eye; it is far better than the Flying Boat he currently uses.

As for the bloodline crystal stone, it is tightly bound by the Formation, so he definitely can't take it. Yet if he dares to cut off a piece, it might still be possible...

After searching the treasures here, he began to ponder the Earth Dragon again!

Since the Earth Dragon now shows no Divine Sense fluctuations, it means Ice Girl has also frozen its Soul.

"I'll try whether a Divine Sense attack can eradicate it outright," he thought, and couldn't help trying.

One must admit, Ye Liuyun's courage is truly great—he even entertained the idea of tackling this massive beast.

He first released a strand of Divine Sense, charging into the Earth Dragon's Sea of Consciousness.

Sure enough, the Earth Dragon's Soul was in a deep slumber.

Its Soul was colossal, more than ten times larger than the golden‑armored giant Ye Liuyun formed from all his Divine Sense.

Ye Liuyun cautiously used his own Soul to tap the Earth Dragon's Soul skull; seeing no reaction, he left that strand of Divine Sense in the Dragon's Sea of Consciousness, circling the massive dragon to search for its weak points.

After much deliberation, he decided to burn its heart with Nether Ghost Fire while cleaving its head with a single strike. This dual approach is safer.

Yet he dares not act now; he can only simulate the move in his mind.

Though bold, he is not reckless; he must plan everything carefully.

If he acts now and slips, he might break Ice Girl's ice seal and release the Earth Dragon. Therefore, he will wait until the last moment to act.

He keeps that strand of Divine Sense in the Dragon's Sea of Consciousness, monitoring its state so its Soul doesn't awaken prematurely.

Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun's bloodline power is rapidly awakening.

Since his bloodline power reached seventy percent awakening, taking bloodline pills yields only a negligible effect.

Under the influence of this bloodline crystal stone, it has awakened nearly ten percent more. Though the pace is gradually slowing, the awakening speed is still far faster than that of bloodline pills.

He sensed the bloodline power of the other three women; Yu Er, whose realm is the lowest, is growing the fastest, and her own realm is also rising.

Next is Wu Qingcheng, then Lei Ming, but all their awakening speeds surpass his.

Even their current bloodline power would likely be valued upon entering the Holy Martial Academy; at least they must be Yellow‑grade or Red‑grade bloodlines.

The few of them were diligently absorbing the crystal stone's power; time flew by.

Suddenly, the Divine Sense Ye Liuyun left in the Dragon's Sea of Consciousness detected the Earth Dragon's Soul, and its eyelid twitched.

He recognized this as a sign of the Earth Dragon's imminent awakening. He immediately ceased cultivation and called everyone over.

"Quickly, take as many of the treasures here as possible; the Earth Dragon is about to awaken!"

He was the first to act, storing the three prized treasures and the Flying Boat into his Storage Ring. Then, pulling out another Storage Ring, he packed everything in without bothering to sort them.

The others did the same, stuffing items frantically; soon the entire Grand Hall was left only with the Earth Dragon and the items beneath it!

Ye Liuyun had no idea what lay beneath the Earth Dragon's body. His Divine Sense couldn't detect them, blocked by the dragon's bulk. He didn't mind; after all, he'd already collected so many things and didn't care about that little bit.

Immediately afterward, Ye Liuyun led the others to the entrance, activated the mechanism from inside, and released the three of them.

"Aren't you leaving?" Wu Qingcheng and the other two, seeing Ye Liuyun halt, also stopped.

"I will use a Spiritual Soul Attack to see if I can kill that Earth Dragon, and also test whether I can extract a bit of the bloodline crystal stone. You go wait for me at the outer edge of the ice‑sealed domain. I have the Lingkong Art; if I find I can't defeat it, I can flee immediately."

Ye Liuyun explained this to them.

The women exchanged glances, startled by Ye Liuyun's bold plan, and tried to dissuade him from taking the risk.

"Go quickly; I know what I'm doing, don't waste time," Ye Liuyun urged impatiently.

The longer the delay, the more likely his strike will awaken the Earth Dragon's Soul, giving it a chance to counterattack.

"Alright! We'll go; you be extra careful," Wu Qingcheng immediately replied, pulling Lei Ming and Yu Er toward the outside of the ice‑sealed area.

Ye Liuyun didn't dare stray far from the cave entrance, fearing he might not escape later. From afar, he released all his Divine Sense.

The golden‑armored giant brandished his blade, bearing Nether Ghost Fire, and charged straight at the Earth Dragon's Soul inside.

Upon reaching the Dragon's Sea of Consciousness, he wasted no words and attacked with both fists: a punch aimed at the Dragon's heart and a slash toward its head.

The Earth Dragon couldn't evade those two moves, but Ye Liuyun's slash only cut halfway before stopping, while the Nether Ghost Fire carried by his blade and fist began to scorch the Dragon's Soul.

Yet it couldn't instantly incinerate the Dragon's Soul; the Earth Dragon's massive body simply made that impossible.