Chapter 211: Dragonblood Iron

But there was really no way to prevent this degree of information leakage. After all, he could not act timid and submissive, as it would make others think he was easy to bully.

During the year he spent traveling around the Blue Planet, Yu Xian had encountered countless people from all walks of life. Some wanted to become his disciples, some wanted to become his bloodkins, some coveted his fame, and others desired his power.

Through his interactions with them, he had learned never, ever to test human nature, because most people could not withstand such a test. This was especially true in the Abyss, where there were no laws or regulations whatsoever. Pretending to be weak was practically the same as placing a meat bun in front of a dog. Very few dogs could resist taking a bite.

After the Carman Hunting Party had gone far away, Yu Xian looked down at Little Nora, a surge of curiosity taking over. "Little Nora, how many languages do you know?"

So far, Little Nora had already spoken more than a dozen languages, such as the languages of the Blue Planet and that of the Swamp Humans. Yu Xian was curious about how many others he knew.

Nora swallowed a piece of meat in one bite, accepted another piece from Yu Xian, and answered, "A lot."

He swallowed the roasted dragon meat in another bite.

Yu Xian handed him another piece of meat. "How many is 'a lot'? Have you never counted?"

Little Nora shook his head. "I don't know. It's just a lot, a whole lot. Some languages only come to me when I encounter someone who speaks them."

"All right. Remember to share that knowledge with me in the future," Yu Xian said helplessly, then handed Little Nora yet another piece of freshly roasted meat.

Little Nora nodded. "Mm-hmm, got it."

Afterward, Yu Xian focused on roasting meat for Little Nora. Once he had finished eating, he urged him to cultivate.

Garudas were born with their own innate cultivation methods. Little Nora practiced the Glazed Rebirth Art, a cultivation method unique to Garudas that could accelerate their growth and even allow them to surpass the limits of their bloodline.

The Glazed Rebirth Art was divided into Egg Realm, Womb Realm, Moisture Realm, and Transformation Realm. Each cultivation realm corresponded to a different rank.

Egg Realm was the starting point and the one Little Nora was currently in. This realm's main function was to convert the food he consumed into stored energy, preparing him for a future breakthrough to Star rank.

Little Nora could actually reach Star rank even without cultivating, but this would take an extremely long time. Cultivation would shorten that process. Normally, Little Nora would need several thousand years to reach the Star rank, but with diligent cultivation, he could reduce that time by at least one-third.

The Womb Realm corresponded to Star rank, Moisture Realm to Void rank, and Transformation Realm to Galaxy rank. However, they were all far too distant for Little Nora. For now, he first needed to master the Egg Realm.

Yu Xian looked at Little Nora, who was lying on the ground as though he were asleep, and asked, "Auntie, the Glazed Rebirth Art can only be cultivated up to Galaxy rank. But you said that Little Nora's ancestor was at Hegemon rank when he placed the genetic lock on the bloodline. Did he break through to an even higher rank?"

Eternal Purity replied, "After the Transformation Realm come the Form Realm, Formless Realm, Perception Realm, Non-Perception Realm, Neither-Perception Realm, and Nor-Non-Perception-Born Realm. The progenitor of the Garuda only advanced to the Hegemon rank after reaching the Form Realm. However, those cultivation realms belong to an entirely different cultivation method."

Yu Xian nodded. "So after the Glazed Rebirth Art, there's another advanced cultivation method that connects to it seamlessly. Auntie, do you know it?"

Eternal Purity smiled. "No. It's a secret art that the progenitor of the Garuda never passed on to outsiders. Perhaps you could ask him yourself."

Yu Xian realized what she meant. "So, the progenitor is still alive? Auntie, where is he?"

Instead of answering him directly, Eternal Purity replied with a smile, "Sometimes, exploring the unknown is part of the fun. Why not try uncovering the truth for yourself?"

Yu Xian smiled. "I understand. He's still alive, but he must be in an unusual state. Has he been sealed away or perhaps imprisoned?"

Eternal Purity merely smiled without saying anything further. Yu Xian did not continue speculating. He committed the matter to memory, then resumed observing Little Nora.

Yu Xian's current Power was 126. It had reached 118 during his battle with Edward, and the remaining 8 points came from integrating various bloodlines over the following months. By now, the Blue Planet's resources were no longer of any interest to him.

Little Nora's Power had originally been 1. After awakening his innate ability, Vajra Feather, he had effectively gained a portion of Star-rank power, raising his Power to 30. If Yu Xian fused with him, their combined Power would reach 156.

Even so, that was still only within the early stage of Star rank. Star-rank powerhouses' Power started at 100 and reached an upper limit of 1,000. The Star rank could therefore be divided into four stages. A Power of 100 to 299 was the early stage, 300 to 599 the middle stage, 600 to 899 the late stage, and 900 to 1,000 the peak stage.

The Spartan King whom Chun Mu had mentioned was a peak Star-rank powerhouse. In other words, his Power was at least 900 but below 1,000. Someone of his strength could easily crush Yu Xian. The gap between them was simply too great.

Yu Xian raised his head and gazed at the pitch-black sky. After letting out a long breath, he silently reflected on this. "The Ancient Cosmic Dragon and the Spartan King. As expected, Star-rank powerhouses aren't uncommon in the Abyss."

Fortunately, he had entered a world fragment rather than the Abyss itself. He still possessed at least some ability to protect himself. Once he truly set foot in the Abyss, even more unknown dangers would probably be waiting for him. He had to become stronger as quickly as possible. He needed to forge a Star Divine Artifact, and Little Nora also had to grow stronger without delay.

The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, Yu Xian fused with Little Nora again and continued hunting dragons throughout the area. Those with plenty of meat were saved to be roasted for Little Nora, while those with little meat were simply drained of blood.

Although this was only a world fragment, it was extremely vast. Over the next few days, Yu Xian did not encounter any more outsiders. Clearly, there were fewer people competing for the Forbidden Fruit than he had imagined. Instead, he discovered a Dragonblood Iron mine and obtained a considerable amount of Dragonblood Iron.

According to the information Little Nora provided, Dragonblood Iron could be refined into Dragonblood Steel, an excellent material for forging Star Divine Artifacts. The amount of Dragonblood Iron Yu Xian had obtained was equivalent to one-third of the materials needed for a Star Divine Artifact. Once he found two more suitable materials, he could begin reforging the Dragon Shield.

When he was still weak, the Dragon Shield had given him an immense sense of security. Now that he no longer depended on it, he genuinely found it difficult to adjust.

In a sense, the Dragon Shield had already become the most important piece of defensive equipment in his heart. As long as it could still be upgraded, he would continue upgrading it again and again, allowing it to remain by his side forever.

One afternoon, Yu Xian and Little Nora were resting beside a lake. He held an oddly shaped piece of Dragonblood Iron in his hand. A tiny wisp of Six Dings' Divine Fire emerged from his fingertip as he carefully attempted to refine the impurities within it.

Suddenly, a tremendous crash sounded in the distance. Both Yu Xian and Little Nora, who had been eating meat, immediately raised their heads and looked toward its source.