Chapter 10: The Dragon Transformation Pool
The sky was dim. It was already dusk.
Tonight, the ancestral hall baptism was about to begin. Within the grand canyon of the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, Linley was patiently waiting. After a short while, Linley saw a warrior wearing standard cyan-colored armor flying over from above.
"Who is Linley!" The cyan-armored warrior shouted directly.
Linley's heart rejoiced. He immediately went to meet him.
"I am Linley." Linley said with a smile. The cyan-armored warrior looked at Linley, scrutinizing him carefully for a moment. He couldn't help but frown and bark, "What kind of joke is this? Those who participate in the ancestral hall baptism are all less than a hundred years old. You're a mid-level god. Are you telling me you're less than a hundred years old? Hurry up. Have Linley come out."
Linley found it both amusing and frustrating. He was being mistaken for an impostor.
"I am Linley. I used to stay in other planes and only returned to the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range eighty years ago," Linley explained. "So, up until now, I have never participated in the ancestral hall baptism."
"Oh?" The cyan-armored warrior was somewhat doubtful.
At this moment, Baruch, Delia, Bebe, and the others below were also amused and exasperated. The cyan-armored warrior actually didn't believe Linley's identity. Baruch himself flew up to the cyan-armored warrior's side and said, "Really, he is Linley. He wasn't born in our Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, so he hasn't had the chance for the ancestral hall baptism until now."
The cyan-armored warrior looked at Linley, snorted coldly, and said, "I'll believe you for now. But, kid, you should know... for this ancestral hall baptism, if you've been baptized before, going in this time will be useless. If we find out you're an impostor, you'll be in big trouble. Alright. Follow me."
The cyan-armored warrior flew directly upward.
Linley turned back to bid farewell to Delia, Bebe, and the others, then immediately followed.
Flying onto the Dragon Path, Linley followed the cyan-armored warrior along the path for a while. After flying for some time, Linley followed the warrior off the Dragon Path and arrived at the peak of a pitch-black mountain.
At the mountain peak, there were several cyan-armored warriors on guard, a bald man in a black robe, and a dozen or so young men and women.
"Sir, Linley has been brought here." The cyan-armored warrior flew over and reported respectfully.
The bald, black-robed man glanced at Linley and nodded. He then instructed the warrior, "Alright. You may withdraw." The black-robed man looked at Linley and said, "Linley, wait here a bit longer. We'll go in once everyone else has arrived."
"Yes." Linley also stood together with the dozen or so people.
"These dozen or so people are all still in the Saint realm." Linley could tell at a glance. These dozen or so young men and women, however, looked at Linley with confusion and surprise. They were all astonished to find that they couldn't see through Linley!
"Isn't this person a Saint?" The dozen or so young men and women were all puzzled.
Those born less than a hundred years ago, especially the descendants of the Azure Dragon clan, who hadn't undergone the ancestral hall baptism, were unlikely to reach the God realm on their own.
Linley waited silently as one by one, young men and women were brought over by cyan-armored warriors.
"Twenty-eight in total. That's everyone." The bald, black-robed man nodded slightly, then said indifferently, "Alright, little ones. Follow me. Remember... without my permission, don't wander off."
With that, the bald, black-robed man took the lead and entered the passageway at the mountain peak.
The entrance of the passageway was adorned with dragon carvings. The entire passage slanted downward, leading directly into the mountain's interior. The passage was nearly six meters wide and four meters high, very square and neat, with ancient reliefs on the walls.
The floor was covered with woven carpets.
Linley silently followed the bald, black-robed man.
"Hey... have you already become a god?" A young girl with green hair walking beside Linley couldn't help but ask curiously in a soft voice.
Linley turned his head to look, smiled, and simply nodded.
The green-haired girl's eyes immediately lit up, filled with admiration. "You're amazing! Without going through the ancestral hall baptism, and in less than a hundred years, you've become a god." Even the other young people participating in the baptism looked at Linley with admiration, surprise, or envy.
Less than a hundred years?
He himself had long passed a hundred years. But... on the Yulan continent, when he became a god, his cultivation time had indeed been less than a hundred years.
"Quiet down." The bald, black-robed man said coldly.
The twenty-seven Saints were so frightened they didn't dare make a sound. Linley's expression remained unchanged. "This bald man has quite a temper." Linley continued walking. After a while, they reached the end of the passage, which opened into a spacious hall. There were also several black-robed men in the hall.
"Here?" One of the black-robed men came forward to greet them.
"Twenty-eight in total. That's everyone." The bald, black-robed man said. "You watch them here for now. I'll go invite the two elders to open the Dragon Transformation Pool."
"Alright. Do you know where the two elders are?" The black-robed man asked.
The bald, black-robed man said doubtfully, "Haven't the two elders arrived yet?"
"They have arrived. But the two elders just entered a secret chamber and said that no one is allowed to enter without permission," the black-robed man explained, puzzled. "They are in the innermost secret chamber of the East Hall."
"I'll go take a look." The bald, black-robed man immediately left.
Inside the mountain, in the innermost secret chamber of the East Hall.
Two men were standing side by side. One of them had an aquiline nose, was bald, with two strands of hair hanging down at his temples, and his eyes were as cold as a viper's. The other man was very handsome, with his long hair tied behind his head.
Both were wearing cyan battle armor inlaid with golden patterns and cloaks adorned with mysterious magical runes. The cloaks faintly shimmered with various colors of light.
At this moment, they were intently staring at a floating image playing in the middle of the secret chamber.
"Impressive." The bald man couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"That single saber strike wouldn't be easy for even you or me to block." The handsome man also praised.
The floating image was playing the scene of Linley's great battle in the air above Luoluo Island. What the two had just admired was the scene where the red-robed elder of the Bagshaw clan split Linley's 'cube' with a single saber strike.
That battle was witnessed by a large number of outsiders on Luoluo Island. Naturally, experts who cultivated the laws of the water element would record this battle.
Because the protagonist of this battle, 'Linley', was believed by many experts to be from the 'Four Divine Beasts clan', the recorded image naturally spread to the Four Divine Beasts clan as well, though the efficiency was relatively low.
Linley had been in the Four Divine Beasts Mountain Range for so many years, and this image had only just arrived.
"Look. This red-robed elder is about to fight our clansman." The handsome man said quickly.
On the floating image, the red-robed elder, after receiving an order from the Bagshaw clan's patriarch, 'Bokway', began to draw his saber and attack Linley.
Seeing that saber strike, both of them held their breath.
Then, they saw on the image that Linley, using only his right leg, kicked that saber, sending a Seven Star Fiend crashing directly to the ground. Shortly after, the image ended.
"Impressive!" The handsome man exclaimed in admiration.
The bald man's eyes were also filled with shock. "Relying solely on the physical body to resist the full material attack of a Seven Star Fiend... having a body this strong... there aren't many in our clan."
"At least you and I can't do it." The handsome man also said.
The Azure Dragon clan's dragon transformation body was strong, but to be this strong... it was extremely rare within the Azure Dragon clan. Achieving such a level of dragon transformation wasn't just about bloodline; it required other aspects as well.
"It's not just the body. Did you see the earthen-yellow spherical light shield around him? Anyone caught inside it had their movements distorted. Even the red-robed elder from Luoluo Island was affected." The bald man said seriously.
"Yes, that's a gravity space. An extremely powerful gravity space." The handsome man said doubtfully, "Someone from our clan is actually skilled in the Laws of the Earth? And has reached such a level? Unbelievable!"
From the image they had just seen, they were certain that person was from their clan.
Throughout the entire Infernal Realm, only the Azure Dragon clan could have a body that strong after dragon transformation.
"This person is very strong." The bald man sighed in admiration. "He defeated a Seven Star Fiend without even using his innate divine ability. If he had used it, it would have been even easier."
"En." The handsome man nodded and said, "Right. For the body to be this strong, the bloodline must be very pure. With such a pure bloodline, the innate divine ability must be formidable." The handsome man was well aware of the power of his clan's innate divine ability.
"But I've never seen this person before." The bald man looked at the other. "Have you?"
The handsome man frowned and said, "I've never seen such a transformation either."
"Maybe he's an expert from our clan who has been hiding outside." The handsome man said.
"Hmph. The clan is in danger, and this person doesn't return." The bald man was very dissatisfied. "No matter how strong he is, what use is it if he doesn't come back?"
"Bang! Bang!"
A knock sounded.
"Come in." The bald man said indifferently.
The bald, black-robed man pushed open the secret chamber door and reported respectfully, "Two elders, the twenty-eight people for this ancestral hall baptism have arrived."
"Oh. Let's go, then. Open the Dragon Transformation Pool." The handsome man said, and together with the bald man, they left.
These two were members of the Azure Dragon clan's Council of Elders.
Linley and the other twenty-eight were following the two elders and four black-robed men along a narrow tunnel. The two elders walking at the front were chatting and laughing. "Gavi, this is rare. There's actually a mid-level god in this ancestral hall baptism."
"It's quite interesting." The handsome man nodded.
"To reach the mid-level god stage without undergoing the baptism, not bad." The handsome man even turned back to glance at Linley. Unfortunately... when Linley fought the great battle on Luoluo Island, he was in his dragon form.
In his human form now, these two elders naturally couldn't recognize that Linley was the protagonist of the image they had just watched, the expert they believed to be hiding outside the clan.
At the end of the tunnel was an empty hall.
In the center of the hall was a circular pool with a diameter of two hundred meters. The water in the pool emitted a very peculiar smell. Beside this large pool, some black-robed men were throwing large amounts of grass blades into it.
"Gurgle, gurgle~" The water in the pool was constantly boiling.
"This is the Dragon Transformation Pool." The bald man announced loudly. "Wait until I tell you to go in before you do."
With that, the bald man flipped his hand and produced a crystal the size of a fist. This fist-sized crystal emitted a dazzling cyan light. The bald man directly threw the crystal in his hand into the Dragon Transformation Pool.
"Plop!" The crystal fell into the pool water.
Strangely—
A dazzling cyan light lit up in the Dragon Transformation Pool, very glaring. Then, the water of the entire Dragon Transformation Pool began to boil wildly, constantly bubbling and bursting. A large amount of cyan energy swirled on the surface of the pool, like countless green snakes coiling around.
"Alright, you can go in now." The bald man said casually.
"You keep an eye on them here." The bald man turned to look at the bald, black-robed man. "When the ancestral hall baptism is over, retrieve the 'Dragon Transformation Crystal' and bring it to us."
"Yes, Elder." The bald, black-robed man bowed in response.
"Let's go." The bald man and the handsome man smiled and left. The ancestral hall baptism would take quite a long time, and the two elders weren't about to wait around here stupidly.
The bald, black-robed man immediately glared coldly at the group of twenty-eight. "All of you, go in."
"Dragon Transformation Pool?" Linley looked at the pool before him, with cyan energy swirling around it and emitting a dazzling cyan light. He shot his body forward like a streak of light, plunging directly into the Dragon Transformation Pool. The other twenty-seven also rushed in, diving into the pool.
The twenty-eight people fell into the Dragon Transformation Pool.
"Roar~" The entire Dragon Transformation Pool eerily emitted a dragon's roar. The roar shook the soul. At the same time, the dazzling cyan light radiating from the pool converged, and the large amount of cyan energy swirling on the surface of the pool water howled as it surged toward the twenty-eight people.