Fortunately, Yang Yan had taught him a method that made use of the Void King grade Artifact Refining Furnace and the Artifact Spirit Fire Bird to slowly refine the dragon bone and dragon pearl inside the furnace.
The Artifact Spirit shared a spiritual connection with Yang Kai, so having it handle the refinement was no different from Yang Kai doing it himself.
This method didn't require any particularly refined Artifact Refining skills—only the accumulation of time. Though it might be suspected of being rather crude, it was still better than entrusting the materials to an unreliable Artifact Refiner and wasting them.
Even Yang Yan herself wouldn't have had the confidence to refine an Artifact from the dragon bone and dragon pearl; it was simply beyond the scope of her abilities.
It could be said that such a method was suited only to Yang Kai, because he possessed a Void King grade Artifact Refining Furnace and an Artifact Spirit, the Fire Bird! These conditions combined were all indispensable.
Several years had passed, and the dragon bone and dragon pearl had thoroughly merged into one. After all, they originated from the same source, and the fusion had not been difficult. Now, the time had come when they could be put to use.
However, Yang Kai hadn't expected that the very first time he tried to use it, he'd nearly caused a disaster. The residual dragon soul lingering within the dragon pearl refused to submit to him.
Even if it was merely a wisp of a remnant soul without any consciousness, it was still the remnant soul of an Ancient Sacred Spirit—its nature was supremely proud, and how could it willingly submit? Fortunately, Yang Kai possessed the Lotus Born Secret Art and, at the critical moment, forcibly suppressed the dragon soul's resistance, preventing any real trouble.
Still, this was no long-term solution. It seemed he would need to find time in the future to properly temper the Dragon Bone Sword before he could use it without worry. Yang Kai thought to himself as he cast a cold gaze around him, the smile at the corner of his lips sharp and chilling as a blade's edge.
The terrifying aura of suppression gradually dissipated, but cold sweat was still trickling down everyone's backs. A gentle breeze drifted past, sending a chill from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes.
Dragon Cave Mountain—the place they had believed they could mold and crush at will—had, at this very moment, erupted with such formidable combat strength that they could hardly comprehend it.
The Spirit-Linked Ancient Tree, the Stone Giant, and this eerie jade-green long sword—which of them didn't inspire utter dread? Especially this jade-green sword. Everyone knew it was certainly something extraordinary, but no one had any idea just how great its power truly was.
In an instant, Yang Kai once again became the center of attention, with many greedy and wary eyes fixed upon that jade-green long sword.
Yang Kai was eager to test the power of his new Artifact. Naturally, he had no intention of wasting time. He poured Saint Yuan into the jade-green long sword, and a faint, high-pitched dragon's cry resonated outward as the blade began to hum and vibrate.
"Go!" Yang Kai pointed with his hand, and a streak of jade-green radiance flickered from his palm before vanishing. In the next instant, a colossal creature several dozen zhang in length materialized in midair.
It was a bizarre creature entirely jade-green in color, its pair of wings blotting out both heaven and earth, its body covered from head to tail in scales that looked as impervious as forged iron.
The creature opened its gaping maw—its teeth like swords, its claws like spears—emitting a ghostly, cold gleam that sent chills down one's spine.
"An Ancient Sacred Spirit!" Mo Yu groaned. Even with his composure, he nearly collapsed to the ground on the spot.
Though he had never laid eyes on an Ancient Sacred Spirit before, Mo Yu was by no means unfamiliar with such beings. In the records of virtually every great Sect, there were more or less accounts of these long-extinct Ancient Sacred Spirits, and Mo Yu had naturally seen their depictions.
The colossal creature before his eyes was identical to what he had seen in those records—it was unmistakably the image of an Ancient Sacred Spirit.
Moreover, it was the True Dragon—the most exalted among all the Ancient Sacred Spirits!
The aura it exuded alone was enough to turn the hands and feet of any cultivator below the third level of Return Void Stage to ice, to say nothing of its own innate ferocity.
"There's still a remnant soul. He actually still has the remnant soul of an Ancient Sacred Spirit!" On the other side, Fei Zhitu's eyes trembled violently. He murmured in disbelief, standing rooted to the spot, completely forgetting about his opponent.
Qian Tong was the same, and their opponents were no different. At this moment, who still had any mind to continue fighting? Every gaze was fixed upon that enormous cyan dragon stretching dozens of zhang long.
Last time inside the Emperor's Domain, Fei Zhitu had already seen an apparition of an Ice Phoenix. He knew that Yang Kai possessed the remnant soul of an Ancient Sacred Spirit.
Back then, Fei Zhitu had been utterly awestruck by Yang Kai, thinking that the young man's fortune was truly remarkable — to actually possess such a heaven-defying treasure. It was precisely because of this that Fei Zhitu had changed his attitude toward Yang Kai, not daring to pull any seniority act. Because even if it was merely a remnant soul, given enough time and opportunity, it could very well grow into an existence not inferior to a Void King Realm cultivator.
It was better to bully the old than the young — who could guarantee that Yang Kai wouldn't one day stand at the very pinnacle?
If he established a good relationship now, the benefits in the future would be immeasurable.
That was why, when Dragon Cave Mountain was in danger, he had followed Qian Tong here without a second thought, mediating from the shadows. Otherwise, given his personality of avoiding trouble, how could he ever do such a thankless job? He would have surely stayed behind in Tianyun City, watching coldly from the sidelines.
He had thought that possessing the remnant soul of an Ice Phoenix was already heaven-defying fortune — who would have imagined that Yang Kai also had the remnant soul of a True Dragon!
Moreover, this True Dragon remnant soul seemed even more powerful than the Ice Phoenix remnant soul he had seen last time.
Fei Zhitu was simultaneously envious and jealous, to the point of almost coughing up blood.
Compared to Yang Kai's foundation, everything he possessed was utter trash.