Chapter 457 - 256: Star Devouring Technique
After putting away the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner, Lü Zhong began to refine the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner.
He felt a sense of resistance from it during the process.
Unmoved, he directly crushed its resistance with his powerful Divine Sense, then refined it with a drop of blood.
The process was completed quickly. He then immersed his Divine Sense within it.
Lü Zhong’s eyes snapped open, his mind reeling. His expression was one of utter astonishment.
What shocked him was not that the banner was a Five-layered Restriction Magical Treasure, but the Divine Technique it possessed.
’A Fire-Eating Divine Technique?’
’Isn’t this the Innate Divine Technique of the Molten Earth Dragon?’
’It was actually preserved.’
’Could it be because it fused with the Puhuo Soul?’ Lü Zhong suspected this might be the truth.
According to the refining method for the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner, the higher the tier of the Flood Dragon Essence used as a material, the more powerful the resulting banner would be.
A Human-faced Flood Dragon Essence, born from the fusion of a human soul and a flood dragon soul, was far stronger than an ordinary Flood Dragon Essence. Therefore, it wasn’t impossible for it to be refined into a Magical Treasure that retained a complete Divine Technique.
After some thought, he decided to test the treasure’s power.
He left the Bihai Sect, flying to a remote sea region over three thousand li away.
Lü Zhong glanced around for a moment before his gaze landed on a deserted island ahead and to his right. ’It happens to be a volcanic island where an Underground Fire Vein breaks through the surface. That’ll save me some trouble.’
He had originally planned to let the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner devour his own Purple Nether Extreme Fire.
The volcanic island was quite large, shaped like a gourd, and was about a hundred li in circumference.
The fertile volcanic ash nourished the plants, so the vegetation was lush, and many small animals could be seen roaming about. However, due to the lack of Spiritual Qi, there were no Spiritual Objects to be found.
To a cultivator, the island was indeed rather barren.
But Lü Zhong hadn’t come here today to search for treasures.
He headed straight for the volcano’s crater.
The smell of sulfur was thick, and the ground temperature was extremely high. Clearly, the Earth Fire activity here was frequent, with earthquakes of various sizes occurring from time to time. It looked like it might erupt again very soon.
’Don’t tell me the Cultivation Realm has a theory of plate tectonics too?’
The thought surfaced in Lü Zhong’s mind.
After confirming there was no danger in the crater below, he casually formed a Technique Mantra and enveloped himself in a Magical Protection Shield. Although his Core Formation Cultivation meant he didn’t fear the magma’s high temperature, it didn’t mean he enjoyed being in such a hot environment. A shield to block the heat was quite necessary.
Besides, it would offer a degree of protection in case of an accident.
Once his preparations were complete, Lü Zhong brought out the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner.
"Fire-Eating Divine Technique, activate!"
The Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner trembled slightly and immediately began to rapidly absorb the fiery power from the Magma Lake in the crater below. Compared to the Molten Earth Dragon’s simple and crude devouring, its method was undoubtedly far more "elegant."
The flames were drawn in.
Streams of golden heat converged.
Lü Zhong silently estimated how much fiery power the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner would need to become saturated.
After about thirty breaths’ time, it finally stopped absorbing.
After absorbing its fill of fiery power, the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner changed from its original milky white to a dazzling, brilliant gold. A faint radiance could be seen flowing within it, and it emanated a molten heat.
’It’s much slower than the Molten Earth Dragon,’ Lü Zhong mused. ’What fraction of the original’s power does it have?’
He would be satisfied if it had even thirty to fifty percent.
With a thought, the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner sprang into action.
A line of fire emerged from the banner’s surface, instantly swelling from a thin thread to a beam ten feet wide. Lü Zhong directed it to sweep across the sea, instantly kicking up clouds of steam.
It left a path of lava in its wake.
Stretching for a full ten li.
’Its power is impressive, about sixty to seventy percent of the Molten Earth Dragon’s, which greatly exceeds my expectations. In terms of sheer power, it’s likely equivalent to a Ten-layered Restriction Treasure. The Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner is definitely a potent offensive Magical Treasure,’ Lü Zhong concluded his assessment. Yet, deep down, he wasn’t entirely satisfied.
As things stood, he wasn’t lacking in offensive methods; what he truly wanted was to strengthen his defenses.
Four Flood Dragon Spirit Banners were far more effective than three. Once he had enough, he could combine them into a Flood Dragon Banner, which would presumably offer a much greater protective effect.
But now, he had instead obtained an offensive Magical Treasure.
’Still, it’s good as a supplementary weapon. In the future, if I encounter enemies who rely on Spirit Fire for their attacks, their expressions will surely be interesting when faced with the Fire-Eating Divine Technique’s ability to absorb flames.’
With this thought, Lü Zhong put away the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner.
Glancing at the pile of cooked seafood floating on the sea, he decided to collect it all for a feast.
...
「Ancient Dragon Temple.」
Wang Lin slowly opened his eyes.
Everything before him was dark and blurry. Beneath him seemed to be a puddle of stagnant, aged water, and he was lying, cold and wet, in foul-smelling sludge. The damp, chilly air was filled with an unbearable stench.
The walls on all four sides were rough and uneven. Above him was a three-foot-square skylight, sealed shut with iron bars as thick as an arm. It was the only source of light.
"A prison? Incarnation, what have you done to end up in such a state?"
Lü Zhong’s voice echoed in Wang Lin’s mind.
"Original Body, you’ll understand once you view my memories," Wang Lin said weakly. He had just been severely tortured, and his body was still frail.
Wang Lin knew he was at the end of his rope; his only hope was his original body. He could only get out of here by finding the stolen Dragon Stone Statue.
Three days ago, after successfully passing the trials to become a servant disciple, he had been assigned cleaning duties.
Unexpectedly, he found himself implicated in the theft of a secret treasure.
After a massive explosion, the secret treasure crucial to the Ancient Dragon Temple’s legacy—the Dragon Stone Statue—had vanished without a trace.
Everyone under suspicion, including the members of the Patrol Office on duty that day, had been rounded up for interrogation. Wang Lin could faintly hear waves of bloodcurdling screams coming from outside the skylight; they were clearly torturing people for answers.