Inside the dimly lit cave, Shen Xuan sat cross-legged. His breathing was calm, but his eyes gleamed faintly with anticipation as he brought out a small jade bottle — the one that Long Xinyue had given him.
Within it swirled a crimson liquid that shimmered like molten gold. Even without opening the lid, Shen Xuan could feel an overwhelming heat radiating from within — pure, ancient, and oppressive.
"This is… dragon blood," he whispered, his voice laced with awe.
He hesitated for a moment, checking the blood carefully with his spiritual sense. There were no signs of poison or corruption. After a deep breath, he finally uncorked the bottle.
The instant it opened, a wave of scorching energy burst out, heating the air around him. Shen Xuan clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing.Even the aura alone is terrifying…
Gathering his courage, he dipped a finger into the bottle and lifted a single drop — bright crimson, glowing faintly like liquid fire.
"One drop should be enough," he muttered, then swallowed it.
The moment the dragon blood entered his throat, Shen Xuan's entire body stiffened.
A searing pain exploded from his chest, spreading through his body like molten lava. His spiritual energy went into chaos as his meridians felt as if they were melting.
"Ah—!"
His muffled cry echoed through the cave. His skin turned blood-red, steam rising from his body. Every breath burned like fire. He gritted his teeth until they creaked, trying desperately to circulate his cultivation technique — but it was useless.
The dragon blood was too powerful.
His body convulsed violently, slamming against the cave wall. His vision blurred. The ground beneath him cracked from the sheer pressure of the fiery essence raging inside him.
Minutes—or perhaps hours—passed.
Finally, the screams faded. Shen Xuan collapsed, motionless, his body drenched in sweat. His skin still glowed faintly red, his robes half-burned, the air thick with the smell of scorched earth.
He was barely breathing.
For a moment, the cave fell silent again.
That single drop had almost killed him.
Had he taken even one more, his body would have disintegrated instantly.
After all, this wasn't just any dragon's blood—it was from a Fire Dragon, one of the divine breeds of the dragon race. Even the most powerful cultivators of the mortal world could withstand no more than ten drops at their peak.
Yet Shen Xuan, a mere cultivator at the late stage of Qi Condensation, had survived one.
It could only be said a miracle.
A faint groan echoed through the cave as Shen Xuan's fingers twitched. Slowly, painfully, his eyes opened. His vision was blurry at first, but as he forced himself to sit upright, the heavy dizziness began to fade.
His entire body ached as if crushed by a mountain. Every muscle burned, yet beneath that pain was something new—an underlying strength, wild and untamed.
He closed his eyes and began to heal, circulating his spiritual energy to stabilize his condition. Hours passed in silence, the faint hum of energy echoing softly around him.
By the time he opened his eyes again, his breathing was calm—and his aura, vastly different.
The earlier weakness was gone. His body now radiated a subtle pressure, like a dormant beast coiled beneath his skin. His muscles felt dense, every bone carrying explosive power.
The suffering had nearly killed him, but it had also remade him.
Shen Xuan flexed his fist.So this is the power of dragon blood…
A sharp gust of wind rippled through the cave as he lightly punched the air. The force alone cracked the stone wall in front of him. His lips curled into a faint smile.
Without even using his spiritual strength, his body alone could now defeat a cultivator of the same level.
And that wasn't all. Deep within his soul, something subtle had changed—his comprehension of laws seemed clearer, smoother, as if invisible chains had been loosened.
"The dragon blood… it strengthens not just the body, but the spirit and mind," he murmured in awe.
His gaze then shifted toward the jade bottle resting beside him. Just looking at it made him shiver. The memory of that unbearable pain flashed through his mind—he had been one breath away from death.
Still, a dangerous thought crept into his heart.If one drop could do this… what would happen with two?
He exhaled slowly and shook his head.
"If Long Xinyue knew I used this now, she'd probably kill me herself."
After all, she had warned him to use the dragon blood only after reaching a high realm and attacking a bottleneck. It was meant to be a sacred aid, not a reckless gamble.
But Shen Xuan had never been the type to walk the safe path.
He smiled faintly. "Crazy or not, it worked."
Three months passed in silence.
Inside the secluded cave, Shen Xuan sat cross-legged, eyes closed, aura steady. His cultivation had improved slightly—but no matter how deeply he meditated, he still couldn't sense his spiritual roots. It was as if something vital within him remained sealed, hidden behind an invisible wall.
He exhaled slowly, frustration flickering across his cold eyes.Why… why can't I feel them?
For a long moment he sat still, wrestling with hesitation. Then his gaze fell upon the jade bottle once more—the one containing the dragon blood.
His decision was instant.
"If one drop wasn't enough," he murmured quietly, "then I'll take another."
He opened the bottle and swallowed the second drop.
At once, the heat exploded through his veins like molten lava. His entire body convulsed, skin glowing red as if he were being burned alive. The cave trembled under the sheer force of his aura.
The pain this time was far worse than before.
Shen Xuan's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding together. His body jerked violently, but he refused to scream—though his skin split and steam rose from his back, he endured.
Hours passed like that.
When the agony finally subsided, he collapsed to the ground, barely breathing. Yet somehow, impossibly, he was still alive.
Two more months slipped by. His strength had grown slightly again—but the barrier to his spiritual roots remained.
One evening, after hours of futile cultivation, Shen Xuan's cold gaze darkened.
"Enough," he muttered. "If I die, then I die."
Without another thought, he tilted the jade bottle—and swallowed two drops at once.
The result was instant and terrifying.
A violent roar escaped his throat as his body convulsed uncontrollably. His veins bulged, his blood turned black, and his skin began to steam and crack. The temperature in the cave surged as crimson flames flared from his pores.
The intense energy tore through him like wild fire dragons raging inside his body. His meridians burned—literally burned—until they began to rupture one by one.
And then, silence.
Shen Xuan's body went limp, his consciousness slipping away.
But deep within him, something awakened.
From his chest, two auras erupted—one a blazing crimson, devilish and distructive the other a deep, tranquil blue, ethernal, noble . They surged through his body like twin storms before spiraling together at his core.
The four drops of dragon blood he had consumed began to move—gathering toward his heart and begin to spin in circular shape. The two auras wrapped around them, forming a small, glowing vortex.
Red and blue energies twisted together and forced four drops of dragon blood to remain at one place in shen xuan body and continue to spin, rotating faster and faster, until even the cave walls began to tremble.
Inside that storm of energy, Shen Xuan's bones began to crack and reshape.
Even unconscious, faint groans escaped his lips. His body arched in pain, yet the process continued, unstoppable, like a divine transformation unfolding within his very soul.
The cracking of bones echoed endlessly through the cave.
Shen Xuan's entire skeleton shattered and reformed again and again, each reconstruction stronger than before. This process repeated nearly thirty times before it finally came to an end.
Above his body, the swirling vortex of red and blue energy began to slow its rotation. Gradually, it shrank, dimming until it sank directly into Shen Xuan's chest—vanishing completely, as though it had never existed.
Silence filled the cave once more.
Days later, Shen Xuan finally stirred. His eyelids trembled before slowly opening. A faint blue glow flickered within his eyes—subtle, but clearly visible if one looked closely.
He sat up weakly, blinking in confusion. There was no trace of pain or exhaustion. His body felt lighter than air, yet brimming with unimaginable strength.
When he clenched his fist, a dull hum resonated through the air. The power running through his veins made his heart pound."This… this strength…" he muttered, disbelief in his voice.
As he examined himself internally, his expression shifted from surprise to pure shock. His bones, flesh, and meridians had all been reforged—his body was so resilient now that even most Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't compare, no matter how talented they were.
But his joy was short-lived.
He frowned, focusing inward again. "Still… no reaction from my spiritual roots."
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sense them. They remained sealed, silent.
He exhaled slowly. Though he hadn't achieved the breakthrough he wanted, he couldn't deny that his physical strength had increased beyond anything he'd imagined. His body alone had become his weapon.
After a moment, he reached for the jade bottle that contained the dragon blood. When he opened it, his eyes widened.
The bottle still held the same amount of dragon blood—untouched. But when he examined his own body, the four drops he had previously absorbed were gone.
Completely vanished.
"What… happened to them?" Shen Xuan whispered, his brows furrowing. "They fused with me… but how?"
He tried probing his body with his spiritual sense, but found no sign of the four drops. It was as if they had melted into his blood, becoming one with him.
After a long silence, he sighed and shook his head. "No point thinking too much about it."
Standing up, he tested his limbs. The air around him trembled faintly with every movement. He walked to the mouth of the cave and placed his hand against the wall.
The instant his fingers touched it—
Boom!
The stone crumbled into fine powder, scattering into the air.
Even the protective arrays he had placed outside had been destroyed, shattered by the overwhelming power his body had released during transformation.
Shen Xuan blinked, then gave a small, helpless smile. "I guess I overdid it."
He stepped out into the open forest, the scent of morning dew greeting him. Adjusting his tattered robe, he gazed toward the horizon.
Then shen xuan continue his journey to southern region once again although this encounter with long xinyue the mysterious goddess remain in his heart but he was not aware with it himself.
(Copyright © 2025 Aliyan. All rights reserved.)