Chapter 125: Devouring All, The Bloodline Evolution of the Demonic Dragon (III)
Chapter 125: Devouring All, The Bloodline Evolution of the Demonic Dragon (III)
Chen Chu took out his phone and logged into the school’s official website, searching the internal information network with the terms "red stones" and "special attraction to mutated beasts".
Immediately, several links popped up, among which one caught Chen Chu's attention. With a tap on the screen, detailed information appeared.
"Blood Crystals are a type of bloodline-related resource formed in special environments. They can alter the bloodline attributes of organisms to an extent, with the effectiveness determined by the environment in which the Blood Crystals are incubated.
"This item is ineffective on humans and is instead often used by powerful cultivators to cultivate mutated beast companions. Ordinary Blood Crystals can be exchanged for 30 contribution points each. Currently, Nantian Martial Arts High School has no stock available..."
"It really is a bloodline-related item." Chen Chu's eyes flickered.
Deep within the underwater rift, the Sword Beast's eyes similarly gleamed with excitement as it watched the red stones rolling in the golden magma.
Perhaps it wouldn't need to wait for the fourth evolution; it might be able to acquire energy abilities ahead of schedule.
Above the rift, the orca approached with the body of the longest eel in its mouth, emitting a whining sound as if calling out. It was urging the Sword Beast to hurry and bring up the valuable items, now that all of the enemies had been eliminated.
The Sword Beast lifted its head and emitted a low growl.
Roar! Roar! Don’t worry, I will keep my word.
As it spoke, the Sword Beast leaned slightly forward, its massive claws slowly reaching towards the center of the golden magma that even the sea water couldn't extinguish.
As the claws approached the seemingly calm magma, white steam emitted from their tips.
Just then, the muscles of the Sword Beast's right claw bulged, bursting with speed. In an instant, it pierced through the high-temperature water and plunged into the golden magma, leaving behind a residual image with a resounding bang.
Bang!
The water exploded, and magma splattered everywhere as four Blood Crystals of various sizes shot out. The Sword Beast swiftly turned around and caught each one in its claws as it pursued them.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Watching the Sword Beast obtaining the red stones, the orca emitted excited whimpers, its massive body swimming excitedly above
Swoosh!
The beast swam upward, quickly leaping out of the seabed rift. Seeing this, the male orca swam over in a hurry.
Roar! Roar!
Seeing the approaching orca, the Sword Beast emitted a low growl, signaling it to keep its distance. It then asked if it still had the eel’s body.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! It’s over there, take it yourself.
Roar! Roar! Roar! No, give it to me first, then I will give you the good stuff.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! You give it to me first, then I will give you the body.
Roar! Roar! No.
Under the Sword Beast’s strong insistence, the orca had no choice but to turn around and swim several hundred meters away to pick up the eel’s body, which was eighteen meters long.
While the orca swam around, the Sword Beast crouched at the edge of the rift, looking around into the darkness. It faintly sensed a hint of danger
It was obvious that it wasn't just the orca; other mutated creatures in the vicinity were also eyeing the Blood Crystals. They had come lurking over while the orca and the eels were fighting.
Soon, the orca brought two eel carcasses over, gently placing them in front of the Sword Beast. Then, it blinked its lively eyes, looking at the beast expectantly.
Although this creature understood ambush tactics, its mentality seemed somewhat naive. It apparently hadn't considered the possibility that the Sword Beast might grab the two carcasses and retreat into the rift, leaving it with nothing.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Under the orca’s urging, the Sword Beast spread out its claws, revealing the four Blood Crystals, and then took out the two largest ones and placed them in front of itself.
The largest of the four blood crystals was as big as a fist, while the smallest was only as small as an egg.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Let’s get two each.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The orca looked at the two much smaller Blood Crystals in front of it, then glanced at the two in front of the Sword Beast, confusion flickering in its eyes.
The quantity was the same for everyone, but why did it feel like it was being scammed?
Roar! Roar! Something’s wrong, quickly take it.
With a low growl, the Sword Beast held the two largest Blood Crystals in its mouth and grabbed the two eel carcasses with its claws, then dashed back into the seabed rift.
The orca didn’t dare to delay any further and slightly opened its big mouth, emitting a suction force. In the blink of an eye, it swallowed the two smaller Blood Crystals.
The deeper the water, the larger and higher-level the hidden mutated creatures tended to be. That was why the Sword Beast usually lurked in waters no deeper than three hundred meters, instead of resting at the sea bottom like it used to in the river.
If it hadn’t been for this mutated orca leading the way, it wouldn't have ventured into depths of a kilometer. Its feathered horn perception wasn’t omnipotent, and if it were to encounter a top-level mutated beast measuring a hundred meters in length in this pitch-black environment, it wouldn't be able to flee.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The water above the rift suddenly exploded, accompanied by the low roars of unknown creatures and the powerful aura of mutated beasts, instantly making the environment even more turbid and unbearable.
The Sword Beast, however, happily continued into the depths of the rift as it held on to the eel carcasses. The terrain here was narrow, perfect for it to unleash its explosive power; if any of those large creatures dared to come down seeking trouble, it wouldn't mind showing them what ultimate physical strength truly meant.
Upon reaching the rift’s floor, the Sword Beast opened its mouth, releasing the smaller Blood Crystal. It then unfastened the snakeskin pouch hanging from its neck, deftly slipping the crystal inside.
According to the information Chen Chu had found, only a single Blood Crystal would have any effect; consuming more than one would be futile. However, the larger the crystal, the better the effect.
That was also why it had been so generous with the crystals. On top of that, the orca was not only intelligent but also strong, so engaging in hostility would have been more trouble than it was worth. The orca also seemed to have a keen interest in such natural treasures, so the Sword Beast wanted to see if there would be more opportunities for cooperation in the future.
Chen Chu hadn’t quite decided what to do with the remaining crystal yet, whether he wanted to sell it to the school or do something else with it,
With mounting anticipation, the Sword Beast eagerly crunched down on the blood-red stone in its mouth. Its biting force and the strength of its teeth were such that it could easily chew through metal as if it were mere beans.
Once it felt that it had chewed enough, the Sword Beast mixed the stone with seawater and swallowed it down in one gulp.
Boom!
As the shattered Blood Crystal entered its stomach, a burst of scorching energy erupted, engulfing the Sword Beast’s entire body. Every inch of its flesh and blood boiled with intense heat.
Under the surging hot energy, its muscles, bones, marrow, and even the genes underwent a peculiar transformation. This sensation was somewhat similar to the three previous evolutions, just not as intense...
So hungry.
The Sword Beast raised its head, its pale golden pupils now completely blood-red. It grabbed the eel carcasses in front of it and began to devour one of them, savagely tearing off large chunks of flesh with each bite.
Due to the density of their bodies, the two eels, measuring eighteen and twenty-one meters long, would typically take the Sword Beast at least two hours to digest.
Right now, however, every cell in its body was sending hunger signals. As soon as the food entered its stomach, it was immediately digested, prompting the beast to frantically tear off and swallow the next bite. Within moments, it had already finished eating one of them.
Not enough.
The Sword Beast seized the body of the other eel and continued its feast. It was only after devouring the bodies of both mutated creatures that the feeling of hunger began to diminish.
It had undergone a tremendous transformation. The crevices of its jet-black outer armor now glowed with a crimson light, radiating intense heat. Meanwhile, its body had become even more robust, brimming with explosive power, especially its now thicker and more powerful limbs. Its claws were menacingly sharp, and even its neck had grown longer and thicker by a considerable margin.
The pair of red feathered horns were now even more crimson and sharp, and seemed to flicker with flames intermittently, giving it a truly formidable and menacing appearance.
The twelve-meter-long Sword Beast resembled a sea dragon lurking in the depths, emitting scorching heat with every breath. The sea churned around it, emanating a terrifying pressure.
"These are the changes brought about by the bloodline transformation?"
In the reading room, as he felt the changes occurring in the Sword Beast, Chen Chu's eyes revealed a hint of astonishment, then summoned the attribute page.
Realm: Third Heavenly Realm
Physique: 475+
Strength: 512+
Agility: 423+
Spirit: 414+
Ability: Soul Splitting
Techniques: Lotus Platform Meditation Art, Dragon Elephant Art (maximum), Insightful Blade (third stage)
Runes: Elephant Fury (incomplete)
Attribute points: 8
Equipment: Normal saber (durability +10, sharpness +10)
Avatar: Six-horned Sword Armored Fiery Beast
Level: Middle level mutated beast (Possesses three powerful abilities and one ordinary ability, a king among mutated beasts of the same level)
Abilities: Strength+ (Hundredfold Strength Burst), Defense+ (Hundredfold Pressure Defense), Agility+ (Capable of instantly bursting out thirtyfold movement speed; slightly weakened when underwater)
Flame Blaze+ (Ordinary physique ability. The body, including the outer armor, can emit temperatures of up to a hundred degrees Celsius, with extremely high resistance to flame and energy-based attacks. This ability can purify the bloodline by absorbing intense heat energy, and can also be enhanced by using attribute points.)
Evolution points: 1320/3000
Chen Chu glanced at his own attributes, then his attention shifted to the changes in his avatar.
The name had changed to Six-horned Sword Armored Fiery Beast, and it had gained another ability.
The ability to emit a temperature of a hundred degrees Celsius from the body... doesn't seem to be very useful. Emitting high temperatures in the sea would just mean continuously consuming energy, wouldn't it?
It was somewhat comforting that this ability could evolve. Even if it wasn’t enhanced using attribute points, it could still become stronger by consuming sources of hot energy.
The important part was that it had strengthened the now Fiery Beast’s resistance against energy-based attacks. When encountering those Crystal Horn Fish again, it could now charge up and take them out head-on, even with their freezing icy light.
It had been more effective than expected, though that was closely related to the Fiery Beast itself. Normally, other mutated beasts wouldn't experience such a significant transformation after consuming it. It wouldn't start at 30 contribution points per crystal if they did.
Next, Chen Chu's gaze fell on the evolution points below, and he couldn’t help but smile slightly.
It had been just over a month since the Six-horned Sword Armored Beast had evolved for the third time, but the evolution points had already accumulated to over a thousand, indicating an increasingly rapid pace.
Such rapid accumulation was closely linked to devouring all of those high-level mutated beasts. Compared to the barren river, the resources in the sea were abundant, and it teemed with mutated creatures everywhere.
The mutated beasts exceeding fifteen meters contained particularly abundant energy. Consuming one of those was akin to having preyed upon dozens or even hundreds of the tinier mutated beasts in the past.
When the Sword Beast had been fortunate, it could accumulate 60 to 70 evolution points in a day. Even when its luck had been poor, it could still accumulate 10 to 20 points. While the sea was rich in resources, most of them were just ordinary level 1 or 2 mutated fish. The ocean was far too vast to easily find high-level mutated beasts just anywhere.
However, as the beast’s strength increased, its hunting range expanded and it could prey on stronger mutated beasts, increasing the speed of its evolution point accumulation.
At this rate, in just over a month, it would meet the requirements for the fourth evolution, even faster than the speed of the previous three.
By then, with the integration of the new abilities, the Fiery Beast’s strength would skyrocket once again. He would be one step closer to his dream of dominating the ocean and becoming a ten-thousand-meter colossal beast.