After consuming the flesh of the Golden Crow, Xuan Xiao's physical body was instantly ignited, and his insides seemed to transform into a battlefield. The scorching flames and pure blood, each turning into a pure white Golden Crow and a blood-red Golden Crow, intertwined, clashed, and collided.
With each collision, Xuan Xiao felt as though he had suffered a serious injury, spitting out blood, his flesh cracking, and his internal organs being scorched. Yet, he used the Formless Intent technique to recover time and time again, only to be shattered once more. Seeing this, Yun Xiao felt an immense pang of heartache.
“Husband.....” Yun Xiao whispered, filled with heartache, but also confusion. Why would her husband risk consuming the flesh of the Golden Crow?
Yun Xiao's confused gaze turned towards Hou Yi, who looked at Xuan Xiao with anticipation: “This was Xuan Xiao's own choice. It’s also a result of his perseverance in comprehending the Great Sun Golden Crow Scripture and the True Dragon Nine Transformations.”
“Xuan Xiao has extraordinary comprehension. He understood the Great Sun Golden Crow Scripture and found a way to refine the Great Sun True Fire within it, tempering his own essence. He then used the Golden Crow flesh as fuel to ignite the Great Sun True Fire. He used the Formless Intent technique to refine and draw it, further tempering his essence. Ultimately, he achieved the goal of destroying his own physical body.”
“I understand tempering his blood with the Great Sun True Fire. But why destroy his own body?”
“Because of the ‘True Dragon Nine Transformations.’ This True Dragon Nine Transformations has two cultivation methods. The first is called Breaking the Cocoon and Becoming a Butterfly. You use your own body as the cocoon, absorbing endless resources until your body can no longer bear it. Then you perform the True Dragon Nine Transformations, breaking free from your own limitations and completing the transformation.”
“The second is called Breaking and Rebuilding. You destroy your own physical body, causing it to be on the verge of death. Then you activate the True Dragon Nine Transformations, being reborn from destruction, reviving from oblivion, ultimately completing the transformation.”
“Both cultivation methods require going through extreme pain. As a result, few dragons in the lineage have cultivated this technique. Even those who did, at most, only achieve the first few transformations. The later transformations are unattainable. After all, with each additional transformation, the pain increases exponentially, and the risk of death also increases proportionally.”
“Now, Xuan Xiao has chosen the second method, using the Great Sun True Fire to destroy himself, causing him to be reborn from destruction, completing the first transformation of the True Dragon.”
“This, this is too dangerous. Husband, why go through all this?”
Yun Xiao felt even more heartache, her eyes still teary. After marrying Xuan Xiao all these years, they had walked hand-in-hand, deeply affectionate, like two halves of a whole. Seeing Xuan Xiao tormenting himself like this, she felt a sense of shared pain.
While Yun Xiao was grieving and heartbroken, Hou Yi’s gaze swept across her, with a hint of strangeness. Ultimately, he shook his head: “This is Xuan Xiao's choice. As his wife, you should support him.”
After saying that, Hou Yi ignored Yun Xiao, instead focusing on observing Xuan Xiao’s cultivation. Truthfully, Hou Yi, due to certain circumstances, was forced to come to the East Sea. He thought it would be incredibly boring here, but he never expected to meet Xuan Xiao, a human with such an intriguing personality.
Especially watching Xuan Xiao’s ruthlessness towards himself in pursuit of strength, even not fearing death, Hou Yi couldn’t help but feel admiration.
...
At this moment, Xuan Xiao, immersed in his cultivation, had no idea of Hou Yi’s thoughts.
In fact, Hou Yi didn't know that while the Great Sun’s burning was excruciating, Xuan Xiao only felt the pain, not any danger to his life.
The innate treasure, the Fortune Bead, with its Burning Fortune divine power, protected Xuan Xiao’s life and aided him in refining the Great Sun True Fire and cultivating. There was absolutely no chance of failure.
This was why Xuan Xiao dared to choose the ‘Breaking and Rebuilding’ method to cultivate the True Dragon Nine Transformations.
The extreme pain caused Xuan Xiao to roar. However, his surging blood, under the burning of the Great Sun True Fire, became increasingly pure. His bones, too, were burned to the point of resembling divine material. In addition, his soul and internal organs were gradually undergoing qualitative changes as the flames burned.
However, as the qualitative changes occurred, the Great Sun True Fire continued to flow unceasingly. In particular, within the Peach Forest, there was still a relatively intact Golden Crow corpse. This Golden Crow corpse was also influenced by Xuan Xiao, releasing a torrent of flames to burn Xuan Xiao.
After years of such burning, the Great Sun True Fire dissipated, leaving Xuan Xiao turned to charcoal, his life force weak, as if about to extinguish.
At this moment, Yun Xiao’s heart ached, her tears finally overflowing: “Husband.....”
Yun Xiao wanted to rush over, but Hou Yi, with solemn seriousness, said, “Don't disturb Xuan Xiao. He's succeeded, he’s about to transform.....”
They saw Xuan Xiao, who had turned to charcoal, faintly emit the sound of a beating heart. Then, a torrent of innate spiritual energy, like a tidal wave, surged forth. As the spiritual energy entered his body, the charcoal body began to shed, revealing a perfectly flawless physical form.
It wasn’t just his body, even Xuan Xiao's cultivated blood and soul had undergone a transformation. It was like a snake shedding its skin. Or, to put it another way, the True Dragon Nine Transformations, in a sense, were like shedding skin. Casting off the old skin, reborn anew.
After a while, a sound of shattering came from Xuan Xiao.
Then, they saw the charred body break apart, revealing a new body emerging, none other than Xuan Xiao. The discarded, charred old body scattered on the ground. If one were interested, they could likely collect the pieces and reassemble Xuan Xiao.
Xuan Xiao didn't bother with his charred old body, instead focusing on sensing the changes within himself. He couldn’t help but laugh: “Haha..... A perfect new body, such a powerful new body. Now I feel the Heavenly Dao even more clearly, and the spiritual energy is even more welcoming. I feel my soul is incredibly strong, and my physical body is even more terrifying. I, in my current state, can instantly kill my former self. Good, good.....”
“Congratulations!” Hou Yi couldn’t help but smile, praising Xuan Xiao's resolve and spirit: “Achieving the first transformation of the True Dragon, you, after the transformation, have an aptitude that can rival an era of humans. In terms of strength, you're comparable to a Xuanxian in the Immortal Dao.”
“Xuanxian? Then it’s just one step away from becoming a Jinxian.” Xuan Xiao laughed, filled with joy, excitement, and exhilaration. Even though he hadn’t cultivated the Immortal Dao, being comparable to a Xuanxian was a significant qualitative change. While Xuan Xiao was happy, he didn’t forget Hou Yi, his benefactor. If it weren’t for Hou Yi, he wouldn’t know when he would have reached this realm.
Xuan Xiao expressed his gratitude: “Thank you, Hou Yi the Great Witch. Without your teachings, I would still be mired in confusion.”
“The one you should thank is yourself. Without sufficient will and spirit, you wouldn’t have been able to reach this point.” Hou Yi also admired Xuan Xiao’s will and spirit. Although Xuan Xiao was still incredibly weak in his eyes, his spirit and resolve were enough to earn his respect.
Xuan Xiao laughed heartily, not saying anything more. He turned towards Yun Xiao, who looked somewhat weary, her eyes red.
While Xuan Xiao’s transformation was successful, she had witnessed all the torment he had endured, feeling the pain in her own heart.
Fortunately, Xuan Xiao had succeeded, or Yun Xiao would have cried herself to death.
Xuan Xiao looked at Yun Xiao with tender and affectionate eyes. He didn’t make any further moves, as Hou Yi was still present.
Soon, Xuan Xiao and Hou Yi chatted for a while, bidding farewell to him, and then took Yun Xiao away.
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