Chương 148: The Leaping of the Dragon Gate

Zhang Huaijin's eyebrow shot up. Without the slightest hesitation, he kicked the Frost Dragon Tortoise's carcass into the lake. The spirit beast's core followed, sailing through the air toward the mysterious pine fish. He wanted to see exactly what kind of surprise this enigmatic creature had in store for him.

"Excellent! Hahaha!" The mysterious pine fish's laughter boomed across the water. It moved like a streak of shadow, snatching the Frost Dragon Tortoise's core from the air and swallowing it whole in a single gulp. Then it set to work on the carcass with savage enthusiasm. The Frost Dragon Tortoise's colossal body shrank at a visible pace. Its legendary shell, renowned for its nigh-unbreakable defense, crumbled beneath the mysterious pine fish's razor-sharp teeth as though it were nothing more than bean curd.

One bite, and it shattered. One crunch, and it was gone. Fifteen minutes later, the mysterious pine fish had devoured every last scrap of the Frost Dragon Tortoise.

"Wait for my good news! Haha!" The fish barely finished its declaration before letting out a thunderous belch. Then it rolled its massive body and sank slowly into the murky depths, vanishing from sight. Huaijin's eyes narrowed to slits. Within his soul, the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram churned with relentless power. The energy coiled within the black-and-white chains binding the mysterious pine fish's soul began to spike violently. A precaution. Nothing more. The mysterious pine fish sensed it.

A low chuckle echoed from the deep, but it offered no protest. Silence descended upon the lake. The mysterious pine fish had begun its metamorphosis. Huaijin stood at the edge of the shore, staring at the placid water, his thoughts churning.

"Could this fellow actually be attempting a breakthrough to the Purple Mansion realm?" He recalled the pine fish's triumphant laughter, and a bold guess took root in his mind.

"One thing's certain, this creature is no ordinary fish. What is its true origin?... It craved a spirit beast core bearing Dragon Bloodline. Does that mean it carries the Dragon Bloodline within itself as well?" Huaijin shook his head and turned away, heading back to his cultivation retreat. For now, there would likely be no further developments. He continued to refine his cultivation while consuming spirit beast flesh. Every morsel counted. The spiritual energy atop Purple Cloud Peak grew ever denser by the day.

Wujian and Yunli were advancing at an impressive rate, they could sense their cultivation realms rising with each passing day. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. This pace far outstripped what they had achieved back on Green Bamboo Mountain. In their downtime, the two honed their cultivation arts and set about developing spirit fields. Idle hands were the devil's workshop, after all. All the spirit fields on Purple Cloud Peak were Tier 2.

The Tier 2 spirit rice they planted could replenish vital energy, temper the meridians, and accelerate cultivation speed for Tier 2 cultivators. Zhang Rende and the other five trained with even greater fervor. With two new Tier 2 cultivators now among them, none dared show the slightest laziness. And Yunli, his own aunt, was particularly strict with Zhang Rende. It was a torment he both dreaded and cherished. Wujian was an artifact forger, currently striving to break through to Tier 2 low grade.

Yunli had chosen the path of talisman drawing. By now, the Zhang family stood unchallenged as the premier clan of Langya County, their influence swelling with each passing month. They had even recovered fragments of array formation legacies. A Tier 1 low grade array formation master had already emerged. Still, the Zhang family's journey into array formations had only just begun, the road to producing a Tier 2 master would be long and arduous.

The family's true strengths remained artifact forging and talisman drawing. Aside from Huaijin himself, they had already produced both Tier 2 artifact forgers and Tier 2 talisman drawers. On the alchemy front, one member had reached Tier 1 upper grade. These days, the Zhang family lacked neither Tier 1 resources nor alchemical legacies. With ample materials to hone their skills, their cultivation arts would naturally improve over time. The family had poured significant resources into training alchemists.

So far, they had yet to break even. But once these alchemists raised their success rates, the day of reaping what they had sown would inevitably arrive. Huaijin also compiled his insights from all three of his cultivation arts into manuals and deposited them in the clan treasury. This way, future generations could sidestep the same pitfalls he had encountered. Time flowed on. Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Huaijin's own cultivation progressed steadily.

Having broken through to the late stage, he estimated it would take roughly four years to advance one more level. And this was with Huaijin enjoying an abundance of resources. For most Five-Spirit-Root cultivators, even a decade or more might not yield a single level of progress. Of course, that was without resources, relying solely on breathing in ambient spiritual energy. With resources, even Five-Spirit-Root cultivators could make consistent headway.

For immortal cultivators, the four pillars, wealth, companions, methods, and location, were indispensable. —— Then, without warning, a formidable aura erupted from the previously tranquil lake. Ripples spread across the surface. The disturbance swelled, building into towering, terrifying waves. The Tier 2 pine fish trembled uncontrollably, herding other fishes into a corner of the lake. As though cowering from some unspeakable horror. Even Haihu and the blazing sun chicken were affected.

Haihu fared better, a spark of defiance still flickered in its violet eyes as it stood tall, head held high. Its limbs trembled, but its posture remained unbowed. The blazing sun chicken, however, had collapsed entirely, its eyes swimming with naked terror. The aura emanating from the lake depths was simply too overwhelming. Sensing the presence, Huaijin stepped out of his cultivation chamber and made his way to the shore.

"This aura..." A flicker of confusion passed through Huaijin's eyes. He probed deeper, and gradually, a look of disbelief crept across his face.

"This is... Dragon Aura!" He was astounded.

'Could the mysterious pine fish truly be a legendary True Dragon...?' Yunli and Wujian also sensed the energy and emerged from their retreats.

"Second Brother, what's happening?" Yunli came to Huaijin's side, her gaze fixed on the roiling lake. Wujian stood beside her, equally stunned. Purple Cloud Peak held too many secrets. No wonder ordinary family members were never permitted to set foot here.

"Nothing to worry about. Just watch." Huaijin suppressed his shock, his voice calm and steady. His spiritual sense surged outward, plunging into the lake's depths. By now, the lake stretched nearly a hundred meters deep. In the murky, silt-choked water, the mysterious pine fish's body was covered in dense, crisscrossing fissures. Its once-grotesque coat of black pine needles had shed completely, leaving its skin bare and cracked. Its fish eyes were vacant and glassy. Within its body, blood seethed and boiled.

Faint dragon roars echoed from within, muffled but unmistakable. Its form swelled at a visible rate, expanding outward. In the blink of an eye, it surpassed ten meters in length. Four bloody holes burst open along its belly, fountains of crimson spraying forth as four fearsome claws tore their way out. Thick, viscous blood stained the waters red, carrying a metallic, bestial scent. Its body was a deep, verdant cyan, with intricate black patterns winding along its spine.

Azure and obsidian intertwined, radiating an iron-blooded ferocity and raw, untamed power.

"This is... an Azure Ink Dragon!" Huaijin watched the mysterious pine fish complete its transformation, murmuring the words aloud. A pine fish, through the evolution of its bloodline, had become a flood dragon. A true case of a fish leaping over the dragon gate, it had actually become a "dragon"...