Chapter 269
**Chapter 287: The Ever-Changing Ancestor (Tianyu Tenyo +1)**
Beneath the lake, dark currents surged violently, and a deep whirlpool emerged on the surface.
Within the whirlpool, golden light flickered frequently, like thunder dancing among dark clouds, with faint roars and dragon cries echoing in the air.
The combatants above the lake were momentarily stunned.
Everyone felt the boiling dragon might, and the face of the old man in the Golden Core stage, who had been pressed down by Xu An, changed once again.
“Damn it! That flood dragon has made a sacrifice!”
“How could this be? Is that Qi Refinement Level Nine the successor?!”
The old man in the Golden Core stage found it hard to believe.
Why would the inheritor of the dragon soul choose such a weak being?
The sect leader had warned them to be wary of Golden Core cultivators who were not ascenders.
He was still pondering that it had only been ten years since the revival of spiritual energy; aside from ascenders, who else could have reached the Golden Core stage?
Yet, here was a Golden Core cultivator accompanied by someone at Qi Refinement Level Nine.
At that time, he had been on guard, thinking to feign ignorance to stabilize the situation.
He had suspected that the inheritor was the female cultivator who had come with the Qi Refinement Level Nine practitioner, but she was a Yang Soul out of her body and could not possibly inherit the dragon soul. Later, he had doubted it was one of the three inexplicably appearing sword cultivator geniuses, so he had done everything he could to stall for reinforcements, only to find that all his judgments had been wrong!
**At the Bottom of the Lake.**
Golden light burst forth from the dragon scales atop the flood dragon’s furnace, coalescing into countless strands of golden soul fire that seeped into Chen Huai'an's brow. He wanted to say something to stop the flood dragon's sacrifice, but found his body unable to move, as if he were a player trapped in a game cutscene.
The soul fire surged into his dantian, elevating his already first-grade dantian to a new level.
The dragon soul, with its eyes closed, fully awakened, opening its golden vertical pupils.
His dantian also ascended to an unparalleled grade, and in the depths of his consciousness, Chen Huai'an learned that this unparalleled dantian was called—Jinlin (meaning "Ash Scales").
Moreover, his physique underwent drastic changes under the enhancement of the dragon soul.
Chen Huai'an saw the golden dragon shadow weaving through his bloodline, witnessing generations of inheritors perishing in thunder tribulations, crushed beneath colossal hands, and meeting their end at the guillotine. They gazed at the overcast sky, at the overwhelming might of heaven, where countless formidable figures loomed, their eyes filled with determination, defiance, and hatred.
In the end, those pairs of eyes merged with Chen Huai'an's own.
**Roar—!**
A dragon's roar erupted from the bottom of the lake.
Fine golden scales sprouted from Chen Huai'an's temples, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth like molten lava, his pupils narrowed into slits, and dragon horns burst forth from the sides of his skull. He clenched his fists, water swirling around him; he roared, and clouds gathered above the lake, thunder crackling; he swung his dragon tail, and the entire lake boiled like oil in a hot pan.
The bearer of the dragon soul must defy the heavens.
Only at this moment did Chen Huai'an understand why he had been chosen by the ancestral dragon.
Back then, he had crawled up Mount Tai with a seriously ill body, which indeed counted as defying the heavens.
He finally understood why the flood dragon looked at him with such disdain.
Because every inheritor throughout history had been stronger than him, strong enough to rival the immortals.
Yet, he still did not know what kind of enemies these inheritors ultimately faced.
Nor why they had to oppose such beings.
But he remembered the flood dragon's words—do not become an ascender.
With the support of the Cangyun Realm and the Sword Pavilion, he was confident he could stand on his own without relying on any sect in the mortal realm.
Thus, he would not be considered an ascender, right?
“Now I am… at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment!”
Chen Huai'an narrowed his eyes slightly.
With the dragon soul completed, he had gained a new ability of semi-dragon transformation.
Compared to the Tianmo Gong (Heavenly Demon Technique), semi-dragon transformation could enhance his physique in all aspects, but it would also improve the efficiency of his spiritual energy. When he struck with a sword in this form, the dragon energy would empower his attack, and once the dragon energy invaded an opponent's body, they would feel an overwhelming fear.
In life-and-death battles, fear is the greatest taboo.
What difference is there between that and exposing one’s back to the enemy?
In battles of equal realms, fear means death.
“Now, the hidden sects and ascenders emerging with the revival of spiritual energy must be entangled in some great secret.”
Chen Huai'an squinted at the lake's surface.
Through the water, he could clearly see the battle above. With Duan Feng joining the fray, the twelve Golden Core cultivators were gradually losing ground.
His mind was filled only with fragmented memories of the previous inheritors.
These memories were not enough for him to piece together the whole story.
He only knew that the enemies came from the sky.
Therefore, he could not reveal his identity as the inheritor of the dragon soul.
Otherwise, he would face an endless pursuit.
“Today, anyone who sees my appearance during this battle must not be left alive.” Chen Huai'an's mind flashed with several figures, and a murderous intent surged in his eyes.
He controlled the dragon scales to cover his entire face.
Only his golden vertical pupils remained visible, and then he drew the rarely used Imperial Sword, plunging it into the lake, aiming at a figure on the surface.
**On the Lake Surface.**
The old man in the Golden Core stage was already exhausted from dealing with Xu An.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp killing intent emanating from beneath the lake.
“Not good!” His heart tightened.
Just as he was about to dodge.
“Long winds and breaking waves will come at times.”
A hazy chant echoed from beneath the lake.
Accompanied by a resonant dragon's roar.
**Boom—!**
A streak of sword energy burst forth from the water.
The sword energy appeared like a flash of golden light, spiraling dragon form trailing behind it, piercing through the old man's chest, blood blooming like red plums in the inky night.
Behind the old man, the dragon energy coalesced into the phantom of a swordsman sheathing his sword. At that moment, a distant voice echoed—“Straighten the sails to cross the vast sea!”
As a Golden Core ascender, he should not have been harmed by this strike.
But his spiritual energy had already been drained by Xu An, leaving him unable to muster even a trace of protective qi. Coupled with the formidable lethality of the Qinglian Sword Classic, it allowed Chen Huai'an to directly cross a major realm and deliver a fatal blow.
“Ancestor?!”
Xu An stared in disbelief: “Ancestor, what happened to your hairstyle?”
Previously, the ancestor had short black hair.
Now, however, he had long, fiery golden hair cascading down his back, covered in dragon scale armor, with dragon horns sprouting from his head and a dragon tail emerging from his back, his entire being shining like a polished bulb, dazzling.
Truly, the ancestor is ever-changing!
“Now is not the time to discuss hairstyles.” After confirming Li Qingran's safety, Chen Huai'an surveyed his surroundings and said solemnly, “The other cultivators can be ignored, but the remaining eleven Golden Cores must be killed!”
The ascenders in the cave did not know who he was, but these eleven Golden Cores had witnessed him enter the lake to receive the dragon soul inheritance.
They had to be silenced.
Moreover, those fragmented memories told him—he and the ascenders, including the beings behind them, would eventually become mortal enemies.
“Kill?”
A mocking laugh suddenly came from the swirling clouds.
Several figures with an ethereal presence flickered in and out of the cloud shadows.
“Just a fledgling who has just inherited the dragon soul, who gave you the audacity to kill my disciples? Today, I will skin you alive and pull out your dragon tendons!”
“Bring it on—!”
A flash of sword light came from the west, landing in that person's hand.
With a flick of his wrist.
**Clang—!**
The entire cloud layer suddenly sank, parting to the sides.
The pale sword light cascaded down like a waterfall, crashing down with ferocity.
The might of that sword was absolutely beyond what a Golden Core could withstand.
“Protect the ancestor!” Duan Feng shouted angrily.
Xu An and Zhen He immediately sprang into action, the three direct disciples forming a triangular formation in front of Chen Huai'an, preparing to set up the Three Talents Sword Formation.
“Break—!”
From within the clouds, someone raised a hand and pointed.
The Three Talents Sword Formation was shattered before it could even take shape.
“Can’t stop it…”
“Then let’s go all out!”
Chen Huai'an's eyes widened in fury as he took out the sect's summoning order and pushed it above his head.
**Buzz—!**
The space trembled.
**In the Sword Pavilion.**
Still chatting with over a hundred Bai Yueguang (White Moonlight) figures, Su Qinian was momentarily stunned, and in an instant, he vanished from his seat.
Only a private transmission jade slip fell gracefully from the air.
---
**Chapter 288: The Disciple Doesn’t Think So**
“What the hell is this place?”
Su Qinian's first reaction upon arriving in the real world was this.
He could feel the air quality in this world was terrible with just a sniff.
The spiritual energy was even thinner, worse than in the Sword Pavilion… Is this a place where cultivators can stay?
Table of Contents
