"Young friend Ye, you are truly a rare talent!"
Tong Wuya was filled with emotion. Having given all his possessions to repay the life-saving grace he had received, he was now penniless and could only offer a bitter smile. "Young friend Ye, this old man has nothing left to thank you with."
"Heh heh, esteemed guest Wuya need not be so,"
Ye Xuan smiled faintly. It was clearly a good thing to befriend a peak expert of the third-tier Venerable realm, and one with potential for even greater strength in the future.
"I shall remember this kindness in my heart!"
Tong Wuya said gratefully, "From now on, if young friend Ye has any requests, this old man will do his utmost to assist!"
Ye Xuan smiled faintly upon hearing this, clearly unconcerned. After all, he understood that before long, he would surpass Tong Wuya in both strength and cultivation. He didn't know exactly when, but it wouldn't be too long.
However, at this moment, Ye Xuan had another important matter to attend to.
Ye Xuan flipped his right hand, and the black dragon beast egg left by his third clone suddenly appeared.
"This is??"
Upon seeing the beast egg Ye Xuan produced, Tong Wuya furrowed his brow. Mo Xuanyou did the same, clearly having never seen his master take out this particular beast egg before.
"This is a beast egg I just found in a cave not far from here. It looked extraordinary, so I collected it."
"I plan to hatch it before the second trial."
At this point, the black dragon beast egg had already absorbed the blood essence of Ye Xuan's third clone and was on the verge of hatching.
The reason it hadn't hatched was purely a lack of sufficient energy. Although Ye Xuan didn't know how much energy the black dragon would require to emerge, as a being rejected by the Heavenly Dao, it certainly wouldn't be a small amount.
Fortunately, they were deep within the Divine Thunder Purgatory, an excellent place for it to hatch.
With this thought, Ye Xuan skillfully set up the same formation that Tong Wuya had used for his advancement. However, this time, the center of the formation was no longer Tong Wuya, but the black dragon beast egg.
Spear intent permeated the air, and wave after wave of thunder beasts transformed into thunder sources, which then surged into the beast egg. From this alone, Tong Wuya knew that this beast egg was likely extraordinary, as an ordinary beast egg would have long since exploded.
Yet, this beast egg, like a black hole, swallowed the thunder sources.
However, Ye Xuan's actions were clearly not limited to this. He flipped his right hand, and 100,000 top-grade Emperor Crystals, plus 1 million mid-grade Emperor Crystals, completely engulfed the beast egg. The egg then seemed to ravenously absorb the energy of the Emperor Crystals, as if it had been starving for eons.
As the thunder sources and Emperor Crystal energy poured in, about fifteen minutes later, the beast egg finally lit up, showing signs of reaction.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan dripped a drop of blood from his right hand onto the beast egg. *Splat*, it landed on the surface.
However, the beast egg strongly repelled Ye Xuan's blood, clearly indicating that making it acknowledge him as its master would not be an easy feat.
Mo Xuanyou: "..."
Good heavens, the beast egg his master obtained seemed to have a high level of sentience, directly refusing to acknowledge a master?
He had read in ancient texts that species that emerged under such circumstances were bound to be extremely rare and powerful.
"Quite interesting."
Ye Xuan smiled as he watched the black dragon beast egg's rejection. It was indeed a being rejected by the Heavenly Dao; it would be strange if the acknowledgment process were smooth.
However, to want to emerge and yet be so temperamental.
Ye Xuan then threw out another 200,000 top-grade Emperor Crystals and 2 million mid-grade Emperor Crystals. Such extravagance left Mo Xuanyou wide-eyed. Clearly, his master's prodigal spending methods were something he couldn't help but comment on.
The effect was evidently significant. With such a vast amount of Emperor Crystals, coupled with the alluring energy of the thunder sources, the black dragon beast egg began to absorb them again, even swallowing Ye Xuan's blood. The master acknowledgment process had officially begun.
*Crack*~
As time passed, terrifying energy flowed into the beast egg like ten thousand rivers converging into the sea. At a certain moment, a cracking sound finally emanated, and the beast egg showed signs of movement.
Seeing this, and glancing at the rapidly diminishing energy, Ye Xuan flipped his right hand again, and another 2 million mid-grade Emperor Crystals appeared.
The beast egg's acknowledgment of him became increasingly easy, its resistance clearly diminishing. Of course, this was also due to the ongoing acknowledgment process.
Cracks spread, and time flew by.
Fifteen minutes, twenty-five minutes...
After seventy minutes, the cracks finally spread and widened. The last wisp of energy surged in, the formation shattered, and a black light burst forth from the beast egg, which then began to consume its own shell.
As the creature that emerged from the beast egg ate its shell, the little black dragon's aura rapidly strengthened at a visible rate.
War God Realm!
Emperor Realm!
Dao Master Realm! Great Emperor Realm!!
It surged upwards, quickly reaching the peak of the third-tier Great Emperor realm. Then, with a *swish*, it leaped onto Ye Xuan's shoulder and affectionately nuzzled his cheek.
Mo Xuanyou: "Uh..."
"Is that... a little snake?"
Seeing the little black dragon's appearance, Mo Xuanyou couldn't help but quip. However, his words drew a sharp gaze from the little black dragon. Its intelligence made Mo Xuanyou chuckle awkwardly.
"Such high intelligence."
Tong Wuya looked at the little black dragon, resembling a small snake, with immense emotion. "Although I don't know its specific species, it is undoubtedly extraordinary."
"From now on, your name is Little Black."
Ye Xuan smiled as he decided on the little black dragon's name. Others might not know, but he was very clear that this was no mere little snake, but a black dragon rejected by the Heavenly Dao.
While Tong Wuya was lost in thought, Ye Xuan's third clone, Long Xuan, transformed into his true form, tens of meters long, and began to wreak havoc in the area.
With his colossal body, he entered a slaughtering mode.
After consuming the [Emperor Breaking Pill] given by Ye Xuan's main body, Long Xuan's strength had already reached the eighth-tier Great Emperor realm. Furthermore, with the accumulation of numerous thunder sources and Emperor Crystals, he was rapidly advancing towards the peak of the eighth-tier Great Emperor.
In terms of combat power, Long Xuan could now easily defeat peak ninth-tier Great Emperor thunder beasts, not to mention his dragon scales, which provided formidable defense. The attacks from the thunder beasts in this area felt like mere tickles to him.
Fifteen minutes!
Twenty-five minutes! Thirty-five minutes!!
The third clone knew his strength was not yet sufficient, so he did not rashly proceed to the second trial.
Two days later.
At the end of the Divine Thunder Purgatory, the thunder beasts here were still at the peak of the ninth-tier Great Emperor realm. However, even a first-tier Venerable with ordinary combat power would not dare to confront them head-on.
"Let's go~"
Upon seeing the entrance to the second trial, Ye Xuan and the other two entered it.
"Ghost Bridge of the Other Shore!"
Upon arriving at the second trial, the surrounding scenery was completely different from the first. There was not a trace of lightning in this trial; instead, it was shrouded in a hazy grayness that stretched endlessly.
It resembled more a... legendary Asura Hell, with faint wisps of chilling wind blowing.
However, at this moment, most of those who could enter here were at the first-tier Venerable level. There were quite a few second-tier Venerables, and third-tier Venerables could also be seen occasionally.
Clearly.
The first trial, the Divine Thunder Purgatory, had halted the progress of countless experts, as it was a formidable obstacle even for first-tier Venerables.
Here, Ye Xuan and his group seemed out of place.
What a joke!
Among tens of thousands of Venerable-level powerhouses, one was at the peak of the ninth-tier Great Emperor, and another was at the peak of the fourth-tier Great Emperor. It was impossible not to attract attention.