Chapter 1259: Divine Dragon Manifestation
The silver ghost ship radiated a sacred brilliance throughout its entire body, like a silver mountain range hundreds of miles long, racing swiftly across the sea surface.
Wherever it passed, both the seawater and the sky turned silver.
There were no evil sacred thought bodies, no sinister miasma shrouding the hull. Instead, the ship was filled with dense dragon qi. With each breath, dozens of silver dragons swirled into the body.
Zhang Ruochen had already carefully examined it. Those dragon qi were harmless and could actually rapidly enhance cultivation.
The cultivation speed aboard the silver ghost ship could reach over ten times the usual rate, with realm and cultivation constantly improving.
"If we could take this ghost ship away and bring it to the First Central Empire, it would definitely be an unparalleled sacred cultivation paradise that would drive all cultivators mad," Huang Yanchen said thoughtfully.
Ao Xinyan said, "You must never have such thoughts. In the distant past, countless human saints who tried to claim ghost ships died in the Yin-Yang Sea. Not a single one succeeded."
Huang Yanchen glanced lightly at her and chuckled, "They failed because they weren't strong enough. If someone's power could break the seal of the Yin-Yang Sea, taking away one or two ghost ships wouldn't be difficult."
Ao Xinyan didn't like Huang Yanchen. She felt her personality was too arrogant and her words too boastful. Just because she had become a saint first, did she think she was omnipotent?
Ao Xinyan's tone also turned less friendly. She snorted coldly, "Even Empress Chi Yao, hailed as the number one under heaven, didn't dare to intrude into the Yin-Yang Sea to claim a ghost ship at her peak. Who else in the world could do it?"
"The rules of heaven and earth are changing. Don't be so absolute about anything. You think no one can do it because your vision is too narrow."
Huang Yanchen spoke calmly, never once looking directly at Ao Xinyan from start to finish.
In the distance, Qing Mo was lighting a fire on the deck, roasting a dragon ear.
It was the ear of the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord, over ten meters long and weighing more than ten thousand jin. As Qing Mo worked on it, the fragrance of the dragon meat grew increasingly rich.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged beside the fire, cultivating.
Xiao Hei sat down next to Zhang Ruochen, his furry face leaning close to his ear, staring at the direction of Huang Yanchen and Ao Xinyan. He lowered his voice, "You can still calm your mind to cultivate? Haven't you seen they're about to fight over there?"
"They won't fight."
Zhang Ruochen didn't open his eyes, continuing to cultivate.
"What if?" Xiao Hei said.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, looking at Xiao Hei with some curiosity, "Did you say something nonsense in front of Yanchen?"
"No, impossible. This emperor has a tight mouth. I definitely didn't spill any of your secrets. No such thing."
Xiao Hei said righteously, but he was still a bit guilty (xin xu) and didn't want to continue this topic. He quickly distanced himself from Zhang Ruochen and moved closer to Qing Mo.
Zhang Ruochen knew Xiao Hei must have said something he shouldn't have. So he stopped cultivating and walked over to Huang Yanchen and Ao Xinyan.
Zhang Ruochen stood beside Huang Yanchen and said with a smile, "Princess Yan, since your cultivation has reached its limit, you could actually undergo your second quasi-saint tribulation on the ghost ship."
Ao Xinyan had been having a very unpleasant exchange with Huang Yanchen. If her cultivation weren't so far behind Huang Yanchen's, she would have already fallen out with her.
Moreover, Ao Xinyan had a feeling that Huang Yanchen was deliberately provoking her, trying to force her to make a move.
If she struck first, the outcome would likely be very bad.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, Ao Xinyan restrained the cold gleam in her eyes and explained, "This ghost ship is relatively safe, but there are still unknown dangers. If I undergo the quasi-saint tribulation on the ship and disturb the spirit of the divine dragon ancestor, no one knows what calamity it might bring."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a smile, "Your divine dragon bloodline has already awakened. You are the only living being in this era with a divine dragon bloodline. How could undergoing the tribulation here bring calamity? I think if you undergo the tribulation now, you might even gain unexpected rewards."
No one knew how powerful gods truly were, but Zhang Ruochen knew that even after a god falls, residual divine souls still exist eternally between heaven and earth.
With Ao Xinyan's constitution, how could she not be protected by the residual soul of the divine dragon in the Yin-Yang Sea?
"Alright, captain. I trust you."
Ao Xinyan glanced at Huang Yanchen. She was also eager to become stronger, so she chose a spacious spot, released her sacred qi, and soon a patch of tribulation clouds gathered.
Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen naturally retreated far away, not approaching the tribulation clouds.
"Boom."
The first tribulation lightning struck down, hitting Ao Xinyan's head, piercing through her body, and landing on the silver ghost ship. The ship's hull for hundreds of feet was covered in lightning, a spectacular sight.
Huang Yanchen glanced at Zhang Ruochen, "The power of the tribulation lightning will definitely melt away all external objects on her, leaving only a graceful, slender body. Are you going to keep watching?"
In truth, Zhang Ruochen was only concerned about Ao Xinyan's tribulation progress out of instinct, with no other intentions.
Being called out by Huang Yanchen made him a bit embarrassed. He withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and said, "The aroma is really strong. Qing Mo's roasted dragon ear should be ready. Let's go try some."
Qing Mo's culinary skills were truly unmatched. Any ingredient in her hands became a delicacy of the world.
Pure-blood dragon meat was already the finest ingredient, and with Qing Mo's unparalleled cooking, the roasted dragon meat made even Zhang Ruochen involuntarily swallow his saliva.
Xiao Hei had already started wolfing it down, eating nearly a third, at least three thousand jin of dragon meat.
Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen dared not wait any longer, or Xiao Hei would eat it all.
Although Huang Yanchen was very aloof and distant when with Ao Xinyan, when competing with Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei for dragon meat, she was like a wild girl, completely disregarding her image. She kicked Xiao Hei flying several times.
Although the dragon meat weighed over ten thousand jin, they had all reached the saint realm and had strong absorption abilities. Before long, they had eaten an entire dragon ear, leaving only the last piece.
"This emperor is very hungry! Don't anyone try to fight me for the last piece."
Xiao Hei stretched out both claws, lunging desperately, opening his mouth wide with his tongue flying out.
Huang Yanchen kicked Xiao Hei flying again, snatched the last piece of dragon meat, and said, "Xiao Hei, you're already so fat. Eat less. This last piece of dragon meat... give it to Chen Ge."
Without caring whether Zhang Ruochen wanted it or not, she shoved it into his hand, then sat down on the ground, staring at him with bright eyes.
Zhang Ruochen also stared at her but didn't eat the dragon meat in his hand.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you eating?" Huang Yanchen asked.
"Nothing..."
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his gaze, his mood quite complex (fu za).
Chi Yao had once said something like that too. The tone, the expression—it was exactly the same.
The scene from back then surfaced again in Zhang Ruochen's mind, Chi Yao's voice echoing endlessly in his ears.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes became very dazed, filled with love, but soon his expression shifted again, radiating a cold light of hatred.
He raised his hand, holding the last piece of dragon meat, like a wooden man, "I can't eat... Xiao Hei, you eat."
"This emperor won't be polite."
Xiao Hei pounced, opening his mouth wide and snatching the dragon meat away.
Huang Yanchen was so angry she could explode, but when she saw Zhang Ruochen's dazed expression, as if he had lost his soul, she suppressed her anger.
She seemed to think of something, her eyes showing a complex expression, and asked with great concern, "Chen Ge, what's wrong?"
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen gradually regained his composure, "Nothing, just remembered some past events. Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Roar!"
A earth-shattering dragon roar came from inside the ghost ship, spreading across the entire sea.
The sound made Zhang Ruochen's vision go black, his strength seemed to scatter, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
"What happened? Has the ghost ship come alive? Or is there an unknown creature hiding inside the ghost ship?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei lay on the ground, looking very nervous, "Maybe a residual soul of the divine dragon has awakened. It's not going to destroy us, is it?"
"Residual soul of the divine dragon?"
Zhang Ruochen gritted his teeth, mustering all his strength, and finally lifted his head to look in the direction where Ao Xinyan was undergoing her tribulation.
He saw above Ao Xinyan's head, an incredibly massive silver dragon appeared. Just its head alone filled the entire sky.
Its tail was nowhere to be seen.
The scene was utterly shocking (zhen han).
How could there be such a huge dragon?
Zhang Ruochen thought he was seeing things. He closed his eyes, then looked again.
The silver dragon head that filled the entire sky had disappeared!
Was it really an illusion?
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen, Qing Mo, and Xiao Hei regained their strength, stood up, and adjusted themselves.
That dragon roar just now was truly terrifying. Even recalling it now made them feel lingering fear.
"Whoosh——"
Ao Xinyan was radiating silver light all over, flying down from midair. Her body was covered in a layer of silver dragon scale armor, and on her back were two pairs of dazzling silver dragon wings.
Xiao Hei's eyes widened, and he rushed to Ao Xinyan's side, "The aura from this armor is somewhat similar to this ghost ship's. Could it be made of the same material? Where did you find it?"
Ao Xinyan hesitated for a moment, then said, "After the tribulation, the silver dragon armor appeared on me automatically."
"Such a strange thing? Could it be armor forged from divine dragon scales? Is the divine dragon really manifesting?"
Xiao Hei exclaimed in amazement, while reaching out a cat claw to scratch the silver armor.
"Sizzle!"
Not a single mark was left on the armor. Instead, strands of electric light were released, rebounding onto Xiao Hei's claw and sending him flying.
"There's definitely something strange about this."
Zhang Ruochen was certain he hadn't seen things just now.
Moreover, what Ao Xinyan had obtained might not be limited to just a suit of armor.
Zhang Ruochen didn't ask her, only smiled slightly, "Congratulations on passing your second quasi-saint tribulation."
Ao Xinyan's lips moved as if she wanted to speak, but she hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "I... have already condensed my sacred source."
...
(End of chapter)