Chapter 204 - 172: [Cyan True Water] Epic-grade Combat Crystal

Chapter 204: Chapter 172: [Cyan True Water] Epic-grade Combat Crystal

The Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace of the Floating City had collapsed, throwing the entire city into chaos. The Celestial Dao Alliance no longer had time to trouble the Ascetic Order.

The Ascetic Order, for its part, was gathering its strength and preparing for its next attack.

The collapse of the Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace caused some organizations within the Floating City to have a change of heart.

Silk Tree Technology made contact with Ling Xuzi.

Within the Void Illusion Realm, a woman named Fen Niang personally communicated with Ling Xuzi.

She was dressed in pink and looked like a fifteen-year-old girl, with a naive and adorable expression that inspired pity. In truth, she was well over six hundred years old. Although her physical body was still virginal, the number of cultivators who had practiced Divine Soul dual cultivation with her was no less than a million.

She had gone far down the path of passion and desire.

"Duanyue, your magnificent presence hasn’t faded one bit over the years. It makes a girl’s heart flutter," Fen Niang said, pressing close and taking Ling Xuzi’s wrist.

Her tone was flirtatious, carrying an enchanting effect that could stir desire.

Someone with a lower cultivation level and an unsteady mind would likely have already fallen into practicing Divine Soul dual cultivation with her right then and there.

Ling Xuzi remained impassive. "I need your help to undo a restriction on the Spirit-Locking Tower," he said calmly.

"You give me too much credit, Duanyue. How could I possibly have such an ability...?" Fen Niang replied.

"After this is done, you’ll receive level-one authority in the Illusion Realm," Ling Xuzi stated.

Fen Niang’s expression flickered for a moment before she adopted a forlorn look. "What would I do with that? All I want is your true heart, Duanyue."

"Then I’ll leave?" Ling Xuzi asked.

"Alright, alright, I give in! You’re such a taskmaster," Fen Niang pouted.

.......

.......

The growth rate of the Flood Dragon bloodline far exceeded Zhang Ji’s imagination.

He was only consuming large quantities of elemental supplements each day, but his speed of acquiring Cyan True Water essence was outpacing his progress in his primary cultivation, the Earth-Suppressing Divine Aegis. The importance of resources was undeniable.

His strength and Spirit were both increasing rapidly.

At the same time, his ability to control water had also changed, feeling more and more instinctual.

He no longer needed to consciously apply techniques; controlling water had become second nature.

His body also developed a craving for Spiritual Qi, and he could now sense and absorb Spiritual Power.

An organ similar to a Spirit Root grew within his body, integrating with his cells. It could directly absorb Spiritual Qi and convert it into Spiritual Power for storage.

「On December 27th, under the Bodhi Tree,」 Zhang Ji drank a supplement. Before long, another (Epic) essence of Cyan True Water appeared in his Limited Space. Added to the other nine, he now had a total of ten.

The bloodline within him was still maturing. If Zhang Ji continued to extract the essences and store them in his Limited Space, he could suppress the bloodline’s full development. This would allow him to endlessly harvest essences from it, keeping it perpetually in its growth phase. However, there wasn’t much point in doing so.

The rate of acquiring a single type of essence wasn’t particularly broken.

It still required him to convert energy to form the essences.

The energy consumption and conversion efficiency were the same as when he practiced other martial arts; the difference wasn’t significant, and it offered no additional benefits.

While cultivating Cyan True Water, the training efficiency of his Earth-Suppressing Divine Aegis was affected. Now, although he had gathered ten essences for Cyan True Water, his Earth-Suppressing Divine Aegis had fallen behind, with only eight essences.

The main benefit of a bloodline-based Cultivation Technique was that it was almost fully automatic. As long as the bloodline hadn’t reached its growth limit, it would never stop, much like installing a software model for a technique that only needed to be fed converted energy.

With a thought, Zhang Ji synthesized the ten (Epic) combat essences of Cyan True Water within his Limited Space.

A purple light flared, and a new (Epic)-grade combat crystal was born.

It was even a bloodline combat technique.

If Zhang Ji hadn’t extracted it at its (Epic) stage, it could have continued to grow, becoming (Legendary).

But that cycle would be far too long. Zhang Ji estimated it would take two months per essence, meaning he wouldn’t see results for over a year.

The difference between an essence and a crystal was immense.

A single (Legendary) essence was obviously no match for an (Epic) crystal.

Moreover, Zhang Ji needed this (Epic)-grade crystal as the cornerstone for his next advancement.

With but a thought, Zhang Ji absorbed the (Epic) Cyan True Water combat crystal into his body.

His body underwent a tremendous change as the Spirit Root-like organ within him fully integrated with his cells.

In his sea of consciousness, heavy, condensed drops of water formed a sphere. Each drop was pure elemental essence, an energy capable of destroying all things. When combined with the True Solar Flame, it could unleash terrifying power.

Blue scales materialized on the surface of Zhang Ji’s skin, covered in fine Spirit Patterns that linked together to produce special effects.

Two dragon horns sprouted from his forehead, and a dragon tail over a meter long extended from his coccyx.

Beyond this, however, Zhang Ji’s form didn’t change much.

Robby had eliminated all other cosmetic genes. The dragon horns and tail were kept only because they were special. The horns served to channel and amplify his Spirit, while the tail possessed the Spirit Patterns corresponding to his Talent Divine Abilities. Without the tail, Zhang Ji wouldn’t be able to use the innate Talent Divine Abilities of his bloodline.

However, he could easily conceal these features and transform his body—this was the shapeshifting talent of the Flood Dragon.

Growing larger or smaller was just the beginning; he could also disguise his appearance and assume other forms.

In fact, according to Robby’s research, a complete Flood Dragon bloodline could even shapeshift into other living beings, simulating their genes and bypassing any reproductive barriers.

In other words, once that little blue Flood Dragon reached adulthood, she could take on a human form.

She was a female, so she might even become a dragon-girl in the future.

But that was something for Gu Jie to worry about. Zhang Ji had already traveled far down the path of eternal life; it would be difficult for any ordinary woman to stir his heart.

Their levels of existence were completely different; they couldn’t even play in the same league.

Besides, an ordinary partner might not be able to handle him.

It’s like steel piercing paper—there’s no satisfaction in it!

Soon, Zhang Ji grew accustomed to his new state.

With a thought, the horns on his head and the tail behind him were retracted via shapeshifting.

He then went outside, flew to a deserted area, and with a breath, expelled a vast cloud of mist that shrouded the surroundings.

Within the mist, his body became incredibly light. Riding the clouds was an instinct for a Flood Dragon. By using the mist, Zhang Ji’s movement speed could reach a new level, and it had other functions as well.

It could block the probing of others’ spirit particles, providing both concealment and protection.

The next moment, the mist swirled as lightning crackled within. The electrical charge gathered, forming a pillar of lightning several meters in diameter that shot outward.

BOOOOOM—!

This was a technique that combined the [Flowing Water Sect] and the [Celestial Thunder Sect].

After retracting the mist, Zhang Ji experimented with his shapeshifting.

For now, his transformation abilities were limited, but he could slightly alter his appearance. Manipulating his flesh and blood to grow an extra arm was a simple matter.

However, it didn’t do much to increase his combat strength.

The most direct enhancement came from changing his size.

In an instant, innumerable blue scales appeared on Zhang Ji’s body, the Spirit Patterns on them glowing as his form swelled. In the blink of an eye, he was over ten meters tall.

This physique wasn’t hollow.

Instead, he was using a space-stretching ability to extend his physical form to cover this large volume.

His mass changed as well; his body became inexplicably heavy, enhanced by a special Force Field.

True Dragons were already extinct in the Celestial Essence Realm, but legends said they could be as large as a mountain or as small as a mustard seed.

A talent for space, and a talent for bio-force fields.

The combination of the two resulted in such an ability.

Zhang Ji could now be considered to have mastered a small part of it.

He could continue to let his bloodline mature and obtain crystals through combat techniques, possibly allowing him to truly master the Talent Divine Abilities of a True Dragon.

After moving around for a while in his massive form, Zhang Ji reverted to his original size.

He felt that Gigantification wasn’t as useful as he had imagined.

After growing larger, drag increased, and his movements became somewhat slower.

It was just that in his larger form, the power of his attacks and their area of effect were greater.

Zhang Ji felt the Gigantification from the Ape God bloodline was also mediocre. Although the increase in strength was absurd, it came at the cost of movement speed and a larger target area.

’What about shrinking?’

With a thought, Zhang Ji began to shrink until he was about the size of a man’s fist.

This was the limit of his shrinkage.

In this state, Zhang Ji clearly felt that moving was much easier, and his body, enhanced by the spatial Force Field, seemed more compact and stable.

With a thought, a flash of lightning split the air. In that instant, Zhang Ji deactivated his elemental form and shot forward with all his might.

Zhang Ji carved a thin gash tens of kilometers long across the glacier.

A giant iceberg was pierced through, leaving a clean hole from one side to the other.

Zhang Ji was completely unharmed; he didn’t feel the slightest negative feedback.

He was faster, his attacks had more penetration, his defense was higher, and his evasive ability was stronger.

In a way, shrinking was more beneficial than growing larger.

At least in small-scale battles, a smaller size truly held the advantage.

The boost to his combat power was greater.

A larger body, on the other hand, was better suited for large-scale battles and overwhelming groups of enemies.

The Flood Dragon bloodline’s innate Talent Divine Abilities were very useful, but they belonged to the Spirit Cultivation System and consumed Spiritual Power. For now, his Spirit Stone reserves were insufficient, so he couldn’t use them at will. After using an ability, it would take time to refill his "Spiritual Power Mana Bar."

Having tested the innate Talent Divine Abilities of his bloodline, Zhang Ji finally began to experiment with the properties of Cyan True Water.

He returned to his original size and extended a finger. A single drop of deep blue water floated at its tip.

This single drop of water was incredibly heavy.

[Super Spirit Indication: Breaking Army]!

ZING—!

Zhang Ji flicked the Cyan True Water out with his Spiritual Intent Finger. It shot into the distance in a spiral, easily tearing through all matter in its path.

Zhang Ji’s Spirit followed its path until it vanished over 130 kilometers away.

’Its penetration is stronger than the Primal Qi Finger.’

Zhang Ji nodded in satisfaction. Then, a drop of Cyan True Water and a flicker of True Solar Flame appeared in his palm. He tossed them both into the air, where they collided.

This was a convergence of pure Water and Fire Elements, not a conventional collision of fire and water that would simply produce steam.

Instead, it was a much deeper material reaction.

The two energies collided and annihilated each other, triggering a violent explosion that released an infinite amount of energy from the point of impact.

BOOOOOOM—!

Protected by a layer of Primal Qi, Zhang Ji braced against the shockwave, observing the changes within the explosion.

This already faintly resembled the Cosmic Four Source Attraction.

It just failed to trigger a chain reaction with the surrounding elements, but the explosive power was still quite impressive.

With a larger dose, launched using the Breaking Army Finger technique, it could rival the power of an S-rank attack.

This meant that, aside from [Only I Am Supreme], Zhang Ji now had another technique capable of threatening an S-rank expert.

Of course, with the recent improvement in his stats, the power of his original techniques had also increased.

If he shrank, used Thunder Element transformation to accelerate, and unleashed a full-power, close-range [Only I Am Supreme], he felt that even the Five Elders of the Celestial Essence Realm would have a hard time taking the hit head-on.

If it were a sneak attack and they failed to deploy a Spiritual Artifact for protection in time, they could possibly be killed in a single blow.

Of course, experts at that level weren’t so easy to ambush.