"A dragon's head — the head of a true dragon, not some flood dragon!" Gazing at the colossal form suspended in the sky in the distance, Han Li's heart lurched with shock.
The enormous head filling the sky was identical to the true dragon's head he had seen depicted in ancient texts, and its entire surface gleamed brilliant gold, as though forged from pure, unalloyed gold. The pair of golden horns atop its head resembled a pair of small trees, shimmering with spiritual radiance that made the sight utterly intimidating.
"It isn't a true dragon? The aura is certainly that of a true dragon's might, but the spiritual power within this thing is roughly on par with a mid-stage Deity Transformation demon cultivator at most. How can a being at the True Spirit level possess only that little spiritual power?" Ye Chu suddenly spoke up, her expression shifting.
"If it isn't a True Spirit-level existence yet can still manifest a true dragon's body, then it must be forcibly activated true dragon's blood that has conjured this Dragon Soul." A cold glint flickered through the white-robed young woman's eyes at Ye Chu's words, and she murmured to herself.
"True dragon's blood! Then the Long family must be behind this." Ye Chu's slender brows arched upward, and a murderous air immediately surfaced on her face.
"That's right, it should be. I've found it rather odd for some time now — not long after I joined this mission, the Long family just happened to arrange for their young master to be placed in the same task as well. It seems he was coming for me after all." The young woman let out a cold laugh.
"Coming for the young miss? Could it be because of that rumor…" Ye Chu's face drained of color as something came to mind.
"What rumor?" Han Li circulated the Great Development Technique within his body, finally breaking free from the inexplicable suppression that had held him rigid. His expression was grim as he asked.
"Hehe — Brother Han need only know that this Dragon Soul was conjured through that Young Master Long's scheming, and that he covets the Celestial Phoenix spirit blood within me. However, since he has chosen to launch an ambush here, he naturally has no intention of leaving any witnesses alive. We True Spirit families have long had a pact strictly forbidding the seizure of True Spirit bloodlines from one another. Any who violate it will be jointly eradicated by all the families. Even though that Long family young master is audacious beyond measure, he wouldn't dare make a move against me within human territory — which is why he followed me here under some pretense and struck so suddenly. But to activate True Spirit blood, a single Deity Transformation cultivator couldn't possibly accomplish it alone. It's highly likely that a Void Refining cultivator from the Long family followed him to this place as well." The white-robed young woman gazed steadily at the massive dragon head in the distance, her voice calm beyond measure.
After hearing these words, and recalling how Long Dong had indeed paid particular attention to the young woman during their journey, Han Li found himself believing most of what she said.
"If it were ordinary True Spirit blood, it might be one thing. But for ancient True Spirit families like our Ye and Long families, the spirit blood has been embedded deep within our bloodlines for countless tens of thousands of years. In principle, it should be impossible to seize. The Long family ought to be well aware of this." Ye Chu's expression turned grave, a trace of alarm flickering through her eyes.
"I'm not entirely clear on that point either. Since the Long family dared to scheme an attack here, they must have already devised some method. But even if they truly have a way, they would first need to defeat my Celestial Phoenix Soul before they can do anything. In a moment, I will need to activate the spirit blood, and I'll need Sister Chu's help to do so. Brother Han — the matter of standing guard will have to trouble you." The young woman's face darkened.
"Since I can't very well stay out of this, I'll do my utmost." Han Li glanced at the approaching dark clouds and the enormous dragon head, and gave a wry smile.
This so-called Dragon Soul appeared to hold them in utter contempt, bearing down upon them with an unhurried, leisurely air.
"Good — Brother Han understands. I'll first set down a formation array, then activate my spirit blood and battle this Dragon Soul head-on. Let's see whether the power of our Ye family's Celestial Phoenix is greater, or the purity of the Long family's true dragon blood." The young woman's expression softened somewhat.
She then brushed one hand over the storage bracelet on her wrist, and a thick stack of formation flags of various colors materialized in an instant. With a wave of her hand, dozens of streaks of light shot outward in every direction, plunging into the ground nearby and vanishing from sight.
In the blink of an eye, a hazy purple radiance materialized out of thin air in the vicinity, swirling and undulating at a low altitude.
Han Li studied the formation for a moment but could not immediately discern what sort of power it possessed.
At that point, the young woman seated herself cross-legged at the center of the array with an air of perfect composure. Then she opened her mouth and spat out five spheres of light in different colors that orbited slowly around her body.
Each sphere was roughly the size of a fist, and within them faintly visible were five miniature treasures of distinctly different forms: a xiao, a qin, a pipa, a blade, and a ring.
The pipa within the yellow sphere was none other than the Cha Ling Pipa that Han Li had seen before. He had personally witnessed its terrifying power, and it was a rare-grade imitation spirit treasure.
If that was the case, then the remaining four objects should be treasures of the same tier as the Cha Ling Pipa. If so, then the sheer wealth the white-robed young woman possessed was truly staggering.
While Han Li's mind was still turning over these thoughts, the young woman solemnly produced a flawless white jade vial from her person. The moment she removed the cap, a melodious phoenix cry rang out, and a miniature phoenix of dazzling color, no more than an inch in size, flew from the vial. It spiraled once and immediately made as if to flee.
But the white-robed young woman parted her lips, and a stream of five-colored radiance shot forth, enveloping the little phoenix within it.
Under the brilliance of the glow, the colorful phoenix shimmered with spiritual light throughout its body and reverted back into a five-colored spirit pill that gave off a fragrant aroma.
The young woman pointed at the pill with an expressionless face. The five-colored pill immediately flew toward her, and she swallowed it whole, then closed her eyes.
At that moment, Ye Chu flickered and appeared behind the young woman, seating herself in the same posture. She formed a series of hand seals, then opened her mouth and expelled a beam of hazy yellow light dense with exceptionally pure wood-attribute spiritual energy, which streamed into the young woman's body.
Almost simultaneously, a hazy green spiritual glow emanated from the young woman's body, and a halo of cyan light several feet in diameter materialized above her head, rotating slowly.