Chapter 281 : Three Aspects Indestructible
Chapter 281: Three Aspects Indestructible
Yunlong Marsh, deep within Jianlong Lake.
A golden fish-dragon, nearly seven zhang long and almost like a flood dragon, plunged straight down, following Chen Beiwu’s instructions and smoothly arriving at the dragon vein’s central node at the lakebed.
The dragon vein node was hard to locate and wasn’t the place with the densest spiritual energy.
Thus, the beast occupying the node was merely a Second-Realm Lesser Beast, the Overlord-Pincer Crab, with over four hundred years of cultivation.
“Lululu!”
Seeing the golden fish-dragon charging toward it, the sentient Overlord-Pincer Crab fled without hesitation, abandoning the territory it had cultivated for over a century.
Seeing this, Golden Egg didn’t pursue it and simply let it go.
It was just a little crab. Its current goal was to summon rain and awaken the flood dragon, not to hunt.
“What thin spiritual energy.”
Golden Egg’s scales flickered with light, absorbing and refining the surrounding spiritual essence.
If not for Chen Beiwu’s warning, it would have been difficult to locate the Jianlong Vein even with its internal dragon blood resonance.
“It’s about time.”
Golden Egg closed its eyes, breathing in the spiritual essence. According to Chen Beiwu’s plan, it began refining and storing various heavenly materials and earthly treasures within its body using the All Rivers Embraced method.
First was the tri-point double-edged blade, which had been refined for years and now only retained its metallic essence.
“Buzz!” The metal essence circulated, and the scales glowed brilliantly.
Even though Golden Egg had made ample preparations, the moment the weapon’s metal essence merged with its scales, it still felt a piercing pain from deep within its bloodline.
This pain pierced the soul, beyond the grasp of words.
‘Don’t worry. I’m here.’
Hearing the voice transmitted through the Companion Contract, Golden Egg opened its eyes, enduring the pain. Its dark-gold vertical pupils reflected the image of Chen Beiwu.
Time passed slowly. In the blink of an eye, seven days were gone.
After refining the metallic essence of the tri-point double-edged blade, Golden Egg swallowed hard and began refining the Essence Blood of the Dragon-Taming Flood Dragon and the Marrow Blood of the Twin-Polar Mystic Flood Dragon, igniting its bloodline and reshaping its body through both dragon bloodlines.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
Stimulated by the two types of dragon blood, the dragon blood within Golden Egg’s body boiled, and its heart began to beat furiously.
With every beat, a force of absolute dominance from the Twin-Polar Flood Dragon forcibly reshaped its flesh, bones, and organs.
Faced with this overwhelming power, the Essence Blood of the Dragon-Taming Flood Dragon was reduced to a subordinate role, gradually turning transparent as Golden Egg’s body evolved, unable to assert any control.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that if not for Golden Egg’s Gilded Body supporting the bloodline transformation, any ordinary Third-Realm Beast General attempting such evolution would have exploded under the pressure of the Twin-Polar Flood Dragon’s might.
But Chen Beiwu believed this was far from Golden Egg’s limit.
‘Only by burning the dragon blood can one truly become a flood dragon!’
As Chen Beiwu’s will landed, Golden Egg’s expression turned resolute as it began refining the Essence Blood of the Gold-Edge Flood Dragon.
What was a little pain? To become a flood dragon, suffering was inevitable!
Soon, a sharp, mountain-splitting aura of Gold-Edge Qi dyed Golden Egg’s dark-gold pupils into molten gold.
In that instant, a majestic dragon shadow emerged deep within Golden Egg’s pupils. The power of the Gold-Edge Flood Dragon surged through its bloodline like lightning, triggering a chain reaction.
“Buzz!”
Sensing the invasion of the Gold-Edge Flood Dragon, the previously dominant Twin-Polar Marrow Blood reacted like an awakened ancient beast and launched a fierce counterattack.
“Crack! Crack!”
As the two forces clashed, countless fissures appeared across Golden Egg’s skin.
The scales on the left side of its body shifted from gold to dark blue, like surging waves forming continuously, manifesting the Aspect of Water’s Nurturing World, exuding vitality.
The right side turned from gold to emerald green, like withered wood sprouting anew, Spring-born yet Kills-in-Potential, manifesting the Aspect of Supreme Harmony and Longevity, resembling leaves budding before form takes shape.
The golden brilliance on its head faded, replaced by a razor-sharp molten gold sheen.
A molten golden horn rose from its forehead, not yet sharp but imbued with deadly intent, manifesting the Aspect of White Calamity and Slaughter.
Gold Fiend was violent, Wood Qi resilient, and Water Essence vast. As the three aspects clashed within, Golden Egg’s bloodline began balancing itself through mutual restraint, forming a strange equilibrium without further fusion.
‘Everything is going as I expected.’
Sensing this through the Companion Contract, Chen Beiwu seized the moment and instructed Golden Egg to refine both the Dragon Vein Pill and the Golden Armored Corpse King Pill.
Wood with no Gold decays.
Though flood dragons lived in water and gave the impression of being water-aligned, most were in fact essence of Yimu, making them wood-aligned. When encountering Geng Metal, their scales became brittle and were highly vulnerable to metal-type magical treasures and lightning, severely countered by metal.
Chen Beiwu would never allow Golden Egg to carry such a fatal flaw post-evolution.
Thus, he scoured all the Immortal Alliance’s ancient texts and devised a tri-aspect cycle of Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, intending to evolve Golden Egg into a flood dragon possessing the three attributes of Metal, Water, and Wood.
This would aid not only Chen Beiwu’s future Divine Transformation Path, but also allow Golden Egg to fully tap into its bloodline potential and eliminate inherent attribute weaknesses.
Otherwise, this evolution wouldn’t have required the tri-point double-edged blade or the Golden Armored Corpse King Pill.
“Boom!”
Just as Chen Beiwu anticipated, the addition of the Dragon Vein Pill and the Golden Armored Corpse King Pill successfully shattered the balance among the three forces.
Gold Fiend rampaged, annihilating bloodline;
Water Essence nourished, nurturing dragon blood;
Wood Virtue rebirthed, preserving vitality.
Instinctively, Golden Egg curled into a ball, letting the three forces within clash and condense. At the dragon vein’s node in Jianlong Lake, a flood dragon egg three zhang and six chi thick formed, glowing with tricolor light.
“Guard me.”
Giving Iron Egg a brief command, Chen Beiwu closed his eyes. His essence, energy, and spirit poured out, manifesting the Landscape Diagram of Heaven-Reaching Tree, All-Encompassing River, Ascending Profundity, and Five Elements Unified Dragon Transformation.
He never acted without certainty.
Using heavenly treasures to evolve a beast had a notable drawback — uncertainty in the resulting form.
This was why, for Contract Cultivators, the strength of evolution materials wasn’t what mattered most — it was compatibility.
Otherwise, overly powerful treasures could override the beast’s internal potential, leading it toward uncontrollable directions, rather than drawing out the miracle hidden within its bloodline.
To resolve this issue, Chen Beiwu consulted the beast-taming archives of the Yuqing Immortal Sect and discovered that the Bestowed Beginning of the Scene condensed by a Contract Cultivator and their Companion Beast was essentially a man-made destiny. It could anchor a point to guide and correct the evolutionary direction of the Companion Beast's bloodline.
“Buzz!”
At the instant the Landscape Diagram of Heaven-Reaching Tree, All-Encompassing River, Ascending Profundity, and Five Elements Unified Dragon Transformation descended, the flood dragon egg hidden at the lakebed began to tremble slightly, as if absorbing fate or undergoing a bloodline metamorphosis.
Just like that, as each second ticked by, another seven days quickly passed.
One moment the sky was clear and cloudless, and in the next, dark clouds surged like tides.
Thunderclouds blotted out the sun, emanating a chilling aura that made hearts tremble.
“Drip!”
“Drip!”
“Drip!”
Cold raindrops landed on his cheeks. Chen Beiwu raised his head, looking up at the sky now like a dark abyss.
“Boom!” Thunder roared.
Unlike ordinary lightning, a domineering purple bolt descended like a wild dragon, striking directly at the bottom of Jianlong Lake, blowing open the lake's surface and sending waves shooting skyward.
Through the waves, Chen Beiwu could see the massive tricolored flood dragon egg trembling faintly.
“Crack.”
As dense cracks spread across the egg's surface, an indescribable aura filled the heavens and earth.
“Woof.”
Sensing the immense and unfamiliar presence, Iron Egg couldn’t help but crouch low, letting out a low growl.
‘It’s finally coming!’
Chen Beiwu exhaled a deep breath, his gaze filled with intense anticipation as he stared at the egg.
If everything went according to plan, Golden Egg might break through the shackles of a Third-Tier Treasure Beast and ascend to become a Fourth-Tier Mystic Beast in one leap.
At the same time, as Jianlong Lake’s surface trembled, an unspeakable pressure swept across the land, as though some terrifying existence was about to emerge.
Spirit Sparrows, Azure Hawks, Spirit Cranes, and even the ferocious Third-Tier Treasure Birds residing near the lake all took flight in panic, fleeing desperately.
The nearby beasts also sensed the disturbance in heaven and earth with keen instinct.
Demonic Wolves, Spirit Deer, Savage Tigers, even the usually reclusive Third-Tier Treasure Beasts, all bolted madly, afraid that even a second of delay would cost them their lives before this fearsome presence.
In an instant, the land was filled with a killing air as all beasts fled, causing tremors in the ground and shaking the trees.
Countless living beings converged into a beast tide, madly fleeing in the direction away from Jianlong Lake.
…
Deep within Jianlong Lake, where the spiritual essence was most dense—
A crude cave-dwelling.
A giant beast in deep slumber suddenly jolted awake from a nightmare.
Atop its head were two coral-like horns; its pupils were vertical and rhombus-shaped; three fleshy tendrils dangled from its chin; its shell spanned over ten zhang; and three sharp claws protruded from its belly.
This was none other than the overlord of Jianlong Lake, a Third-Realm Beast General with over six hundred years of cultivation—Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao.
Feeling the surge of unease in its heart, Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao’s eyes narrowed and immediately turned toward the direction of the flood dragon egg.
‘Where did this loach come from, daring to evolve into a flood dragon on my turf?!’
Yet, though it cursed inwardly, upon sensing the terrifying pressure of the flood dragon, Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao immediately retracted its head, shut its eyes, and decided to submit—pretending to be unaware.
If that flood dragon was only going to undergo transformation within Jianlong Lake, fine—this Dragon Ao wasn’t foolish enough to provoke such a being.
But if the flood dragon intended to ride the power of the lake to leave, causing massive floods to surge down Yunlong Marsh, that would violate the local taboo—
Then this Dragon Ao might just risk snatching a prize from the fire.
After all, the depths of Yunlong Marsh weren’t home to just one Golden Core Beast. There were dozens, including some at the peak of Golden Core, mere steps from the Beast King realm.
These near-Beast King existences, for the sake of territory and advancement, would hardly miss a chance to feast on flood dragon blood.
If two fight, the third benefits—if this Dragon Ao could snatch a piece of flood dragon flesh amidst the chaos and refine it, its cultivation might soar, drawing closer to true draconic transformation.
‘At least you know your place.’
Sensing Silver-Scaled Dragon Ao’s response, Chen Beiwu narrowed his eyes but refrained from acting.
“Boom!”
The roar of furious thunder echoed. Several bolts of lightning tore through space and crashed down upon the flood dragon egg.
“Crack! Crack!”
Already riddled with cracks and near its limit, the egg shattered violently.
The innate Daoist rhythm infused in the eggshell collapsed inch by inch, releasing spiritual mist in gold, blue, and green.
In the next instant, from the broken opening at the egg’s crown, a streak of Heavenly-Gang Mystic Light shot into the heavens, and the thunderclouds above burst into brilliant divine might.
Under Chen Beiwu’s gaze, a ray of golden light emerged first, revealing a fierce, molten-gold dragon head.
Then, another head pushed through the broken membrane—a hornless dragon head, sapphire-blue like glazed glass.
Just as Iron Egg thought this was Golden Egg’s limit, a third hornless head of emerald green also burst forth, howling at the sky.
‘Is this… the Tribulation-Forged Flood Dragon?’
Seeing Golden Egg’s form, Chen Beiwu’s expression shifted, an uneasy feeling arising instinctively.
According to ancient records, before the separation of heaven and earth, there existed the Three Innate Tribulation Qi—first was Tai Bai, second Tai Ming, and third Tai He.
These three formed a single egg infused with the Three Tribulations Dao Pattern, born amidst calamity, hatching only after one hundred thousand years into a three-headed dragon form known as the Three Tribulations Dragon Sovereign.
The origin of the Three Tribulations Dragon Sovereign was extraordinary, its status noble. In terms of bloodline, it ranked among the Primeval, classified as a Primordial Dao Beast, born in response to the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth—a peerless true dragon whose very birth rivaled the strength of a Void-Refining Dao Venerable of the human race.
It wasn’t that Chen Beiwu looked down on Golden Egg, who had fought at his side for years. But the heavenly materials and treasures he’d used were enough to evolve it into a Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast—an already fated miracle. Evolving into something even beyond a Fortune-Origin Beast, a Primordial Dao Beast? That would be far too much.
‘It must be a coincidence.’
Chen Beiwu took a deep breath and extended his divine sense toward Golden Egg, now soaring skyward.
Bathed in the thunderclouds, Golden Egg’s dragon whiskers floated with the wind, altering the heavens. Its hundred-zhang-long flood dragon body disappeared into the clouds, like the mythic Dragon Kings that called wind and summoned rain.
After venting its emotions, Golden Egg’s three heads slowly bowed. Six golden vertical pupils met Chen Beiwu’s gaze—resolute and steady.
Understanding its intent, Chen Beiwu picked up Iron Egg, stepped forward, and instantly appeared on Golden Egg’s back. Forming a hand seal with one hand, he chanted:
“Rise!”
As Chen Beiwu activated his mana, the entire dragon vein of Jianlong Lake began to boil.
Golden Egg raised its heads and howled. The golden head guided the vein, the water head stirred the waves, and the wood head nurtured life—unleashing a flood a hundred zhang high that surged deep into Yunlong Marsh.
The raging flood, like an enraged dragon breaking free, toppled cliffs and uprooted ancient trees, sweeping away all obstacles in its path.
‘No wonder cultivators of ancient times called flood dragons “vile dragons.”’
Watching this apocalyptic scene unfold—a flood dragon emerging and wrecking all—Chen Beiwu murmured inwardly.
Golden Egg, unlike Chen Beiwu, had no such thoughts. As more lakes along the way were swallowed by the floodwaters, the aura around it grew increasingly fearsome. Its boiling dragon blood reached its peak, awakening the terrifying mystic ability sealed within.
Through the Companion Contract, a mysterious and profound stream of information surged into Chen Beiwu’s mind.
【Mystic Ability】: Three Aspects Indestructible
【Attributes】: Metal, Water, Wood
【Grade】: Fourth-Tier High-Grade Mystic Art
【Description】: One body, three forms. Each of the three heads shares one body but contains an independent life source and soul. They can distribute incoming damage and ignore most treasure arts of Metal, Water, and Wood attributes.
When struck by a fatal blow, one may choose any of the three heads—Metal, Water, or Wood—to take the death in its place, triggering the Indestructible Effect.
What is indestructibility? As long as any one head survives, the innate mystic ability Three-Aspected Furnace allows resurrection—regenerating the sacrificed head and gaining a second life.
“Hiss!” Chen Beiwu’s pupils contracted as he drew a sharp breath.
Three lives intertwined—undying and indestructible.
A Fourth-Tier innate mystic ability—this powerful?
In a way, Golden Egg essentially possessed three lives.
Yet what stunned Chen Beiwu most of all was that the sacrificed life could even be recovered using another mystic ability.