Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Yang Kai opened his eyes from meditation, his expression grim.
The Dragon Blood Pills had all been consumed. They had grown his four-zhang dragon body to five zhang, and three consecutive days of intensive cultivation had yielded no further progress. He knew he had hit a bottleneck. Without some extraordinary opportunity, there was no way he could advance to the second layer of the Emperor Venerable Realm. But Zhu Qing's wedding was fast approaching, and he was desperate to increase his strength. He had tried anyway.
Three days wasted.
His cultivation couldn't advance, and the Dragon Blood Pills were gone. Was he truly out of options now?
The Golden Sacred Dragon's origin power within him was a colossal treasure. If he had more Dragon Blood Pills, he could surely unlock far more of the dragon bloodline's potential. He didn't need much—just enough to grow his dragon body to ten zhang, and Yang Kai was confident he could carry Zhu Qing away from Dragon Island.
Ten zhang... ten zhang... easier said than done.
Since he began cultivating the Dragon Transformation Technique, he had received the aid of Zhu Qing's yin essence, consumed over a dozen Dragon Blood Pills, and still only had a mere five zhang. That was only halfway to his goal of ten zhang. At a rate of one zhang per ten Dragon Blood Pills, reaching ten zhang would require fifty—meaning at least a dozen stalks of Dragon Blood Flowers, and that was without factoring in the increasing difficulty of later growth. With that accounted for, he would need a baseline of twenty stalks.
Where was he going to get twenty Dragon Blood Flowers?
As he turned the problem over in his mind, Yang Kai suddenly froze, then slapped his forehead and cursed himself silently for an idiot.
Dragon Blood Flowers were indeed rare—but where was he right now?
This was Dragon Island!
The only place in all the world that produced Dragon Blood Flowers. All he had to do was find the cultivation grounds on Dragon Island, and why would he worry about obtaining twenty stalks?
It really was a case of failing to see what was right under his nose. He had been foolish enough. If he had thought of this sooner, he wouldn't have wasted three full days.
The trial was imminent, and every single day was precious. Those three lost days could very well prove decisive.
Having realized this, Yang Kai hesitated no longer and immediately exited the Small Mystic World.
The Mystic World Pearl had already sunk to the ocean floor. The moment Yang Kai materialized, he felt the immense pressure of the deep sea bearing down on him, threatening to crush him to dust.
He circulated his Emperor Yuan, barely forming a thin barrier across the surface of his body to offset the terrifying ocean pressure. He retrieved the Mystic World Pearl and shot straight toward the surface.
Half a day later, on the same island where he had secretly met with Zhu Lie the night before, a streak of purple light arrived at speed and landed, revealing a graceful figure—Fuling.
She looked around cautiously, but sensing nothing out of the ordinary, she called out in a hushed voice, "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law..."
She skulked about as though conducting some shameful, clandestine affair.
"I need Dragon Blood Flowers!" Yang Kai's voice suddenly came from behind her, making Fuling jump. She spun around to find that he had appeared without her noticing.
At his words, Fuling's face fell. "I'm all out. I gave you all my Dragon Blood Flowers last time. If you don't believe me, search me if you want."
When she had received Yang Kai's summons that day, she had already felt uneasy. Sure enough, the moment they met, he made such an outrageous demand. Having her remaining three Dragon Blood Flowers seized by Yang Kai had already left her deeply resentful, and now he was actually pushing for more?
But her life was in his hands, and no matter how displeased Fuling was, she didn't dare show it.
After the words left her mouth, a sudden thought struck her and she gasped, "What about those three Dragon Blood Flowers? Don't tell me you used all of them."
Yang Kai said, "Three? That's a lot? They weren't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."
Fuling sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes going wide with disbelief. "Fill the gaps between your teeth?!"
For a sixth-tier dragon bloodline like hers, refining a single low-grade Dragon Blood Flower took roughly ten days, and a medium-grade one at least twenty. In other words, those three Dragon Blood Flowers would have lasted her well over a month.
But it had only been a few days, and Yang Kai had used them all up.
Was he the dragon bloodline, or was she? Could possessing the Progenitor Dragon's origin really allow someone to be this absurd?
She couldn't help clicking her tongue in astonishment, looking Yang Kai up and down as though seeing him for the first time.
Yang Kai said with a frown, "I need Dragon Blood Flowers. More Dragon Blood Flowers."
Fuling threw up her hands. "I really don't have any. Oh, but you could go ask Zhu Lie for some—he should still have a few left. Want me to contact him for you?"
"What good would a few be?" Yang Kai scoffed. "I need Dragon Blood Flowers from Dragon Island."
Fuling froze, not quite understanding at first. Then her expression changed drastically and she gasped, "You... what exactly do you mean?"
"You know perfectly well what I mean. There's no time to waste. Lead the way." Yang Kai snorted coldly.
Fuling stumbled backward several steps, shaking her head frantically. "Impossible! If the elders found out about this, I'd be banished to the Dragon Tomb for certain!"
This man was far too brazen. He was actually eyeing the Dragon Blood Flowers cultivated on Dragon Island itself—and he wanted her to lead him there? That was like pushing her straight into a pit of fire! Who did things like that?
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and regarded her. "Banishment to the Dragon Tomb might still leave you a sliver of survival. But you should know what will happen if you refuse me."
Fuling's expression shifted, and she looked up at Yang Kai pitifully. "Brother-in-law, we can discuss anything—anything at all. Just not this... Ah!"