Chapter 1265: Blood Refines the Resonance
"Refinement Art, Blood Refines the Resonance?"
Li Luo repeated the words to himself before he asked again, "What do you mean by that?"
"Originally, it is impossible to evolve your dragon resonance into a Heavenly Dragon resonance. Even if you look through the entire history of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, not many people have actually thought about trying to accomplish this."
Li Jingzhe took a glance at Li before he continued, "This is because they simply didn't have Heavenly Dragon blood as pure as yours. Of course, this just means that you have a slightly higher chance to succeed compared to the rest. This evolution isn't something you can achieve with spirit liquids and purifying lights alone. You'll have to rely on yourself. More specifically, you'll have to depend on your Heavenly Dragon blood. You will use your own body as the furnace to refine your own blood and integrate it into your dragon resonance. Once your dragon resonance absorbs enough Heavenly Dragon blood, it'll have a chance to evolve into a Heavenly Dragon resonance during its breakthrough."
Li Luo's eyes were full of excitement as he listened to Li Jingzhe's suggestion. His initial guess was right after all. It was impossible to obtain the Heavenly Dragon resonance using ordinary methods. Luckily, he had erred on the side of caution and had not used his Violet Resonant Tree Brooch. It was the right move for him to seek advice from Li Jingzhe first.
"It sounds like I'll have to fuse my blood essence with my resonance. How can I do that?" With his sharp mind, Li Luo was able to pick up on the most critical point straight away.
Indeed, the refinement art would be the key here.
Li Jingzhe nodded with a hint of admiration towards his grandson. "Such a refinement art is extremely valuable. In a way, it is worth as much as an upper Destiny-grade Duke Art. Of course, it is only for the people who can utilize it."
Li Luo nodded. If one did not have pure Heavenly Dragon blood, they would never dream about doing something as crazy as trying to attain a Heavenly Dragon resonance. As such, there were naturally not many people who would have a use for this secret art.
"In this case, I respectfully beseech you to teach me the secret art, Grandpa!"
A faint grin appeared on Li Jingzhe’s cold and aged face. "There's no problem with me teaching you the art... However, we must follow the rules... 10,000 dragon essences."
Li Luo's eyes widened in shock. Li Jingzhe slowly explained, "I am not cheating you here. This secret art is extremely valuable. Its price is easily higher than the price I have just quoted."
Li Luo pouted, but he still replied decisively, "Fine, 10,000 dragon essences it is! That said, I don't have that much with me right now... Can I put this on credit, please?"
He had already completely spent the 40,000 dragon essences that he had won at the Ceremony of Ascent, so there was no way he could afford it right now.
Li Jingzhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. This brat was truly thick-skinned. He was probably the first one who ever dared to bargain with him like this. However, he had quoted the price of 10,000 dragon essences only to follow the lineage's rules, which stated that this secret art should not be easily imparted. Now that he'd fixed a price, it didn't matter how Li Luo was going to pay it off. If the other Lineage Chiefs heard about this, they wouldn't be able to say Li Jingzhe was playing favorites here.
After all, Li Luo had paid a not-so-insignificant price for it... on paper.
"The secret art is known as the Crimson Pill Blood Refinement Resonance Art."
Li Jingzhe lifted a finger, and a vortex appeared in the air in front of them. A light flew out, which expanded in the air and became a crimson cauldron that was hundreds of feet tall, landing on the ground with a loud thud.
The crimson cauldron was exceptionally heavy, judging by the sound it had made when it landed and the fact that the ground simply cracked due to the sheer force. Crammed full of burning hot energy, there was a volcano carved on its outside. Wisps of smoke arose from it.
"This is known as the Volcano Cauldron, one of the prerequisites of the Crimson Pill Blood Refinement Resonance Art. Apart from this, we still need to prepare some spiritual liquids, and these are the ingredients needed." Li Jingzhe took out a piece of paper and casually passed it to Li Luo.
Li Luo grabbed it and looked it over. He couldn't believe his own eyes for a moment. With just a quick glance, he spotted a number of extremely rare spirit materials.
"Blood Dragon Red Jade Branch.
"Triple-Shedding Spirit Python Golden Skin.
"Ultimate Flame Marrow."
It was a list of ingredients that were not only valuable, but extremely rare as well. Li Luo was beginning to get cold feet as he looked through the list again. These ingredients would easily take him a ridiculous number of years to even find, much less gather!
Without a doubt, he would still be out searching for these items even after his dragon resonance had reached the eighth-grade.
Li Jingzhe couldn't help but smile when he saw how Li Luo's face had changed. "Forget it, I know this is tough on you and fortunately... I already have most of the ingredients on the list just lying around. We'll just include them as part of your 10,000 dragon essence payment."
Li Luo felt incredibly touched when he heard this. Had he just been gifted an enormous amount of incredibly rare items just like that? He had clearly received an enormous discount, and it even seemed like Li Jingzhe had been preparing for this day to come... In other words, he was already planning for Li Luo to take the step to evolve his dragon resonance into a Heavenly Dragon resonance even before he knew it himself.
He felt so touched, he was about to cry. It was... simply wonderful to have such a doting elder planning for his future in the background.
Otherwise, he could’ve simply collapsed from overwork as he struggled to gather all the ingredients.
"I've read novels in which the protagonists start from humble beginnings and risk their lives in numerous life-and-death trials, struggling to rise up one step at a time. Their odysseys are so heroic, they truly light a fire in my heart. It's such a pity that I can't get to experience the same kind of tempering..." Li Luo sighed sarcastically.
"Alright, stop messing around."
Li Jingzhe glared at the exuberant and clearly gloating Li Luo. "The Blood Refining Resonance Art requires complex ingredients, and I've already made some adjustments to the recipe to allow for some of the rarer materials to be substituted. You can say that we are mostly done, except for one last item. It can only be found in the World End's River Region, which is why I have not obtained it yet. You will have to get it yourself." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Li Luo hurriedly asked, "What am I missing?"
"The object is known as the Golden Stone Spirit Clam Pearl. Traces of it were spotted in a deep valley just a few thousand miles away from Heavenly Dragon Peak. That area is a hunting ground that has not been claimed and thus, many rogue cultivators flock there. Whenever the World's End River water descends, Golden Stone Spirit Clams often appear in large numbers there. This object is also capable of being refined into an upper-grade Foundational Spirit Treasure and is quite valuable. Its appearance often leads to large confrontations between rogue cultivators, and even some of the powers may eye it,” Li Jingzhe casually explained.
"You have been cultivating in your room for the past few weeks and haven't been going on any missions. This is the perfect time for you to lead the Guardian Army and retrieve this item."
Li Luo nodded as he listened. The Golden Stone Spirit Clam Pearl was closely tied to whether he would be able to get the Heavenly Dragon resonance. Li Jingzhe had already paved most of the path for him, so it was only right that he did his part to at least obtain the final ingredient.
After all, it wouldn't sit too well with him if he purely relied on his grandfather.
"Thank you, Grandpa," Li Luo said earnestly. He was moved by all of the preparations and planning that Li Jingzhe had done for him.
As the saying went, having an elder at home was like having a treasure.
"It's nothing much. Do you need anything else?" Li Jingzhe asked nonchalantly.
It was a casual question, almost rhetorical, but Li Luo's face lit up immediately. He nodded and asked without holding back, "I have another small thing to ask of you, Grandpa."
"You're really not holding back at all, are you?" Li Jingzhe said in a joking tone. Everyone in the Dragon's Fang Lineage knew about the old man's temper; even Li Qingpeng and Li Jinpan were extremely polite and respectful towards him. They would never dare to bother him like this. Li Luo was the only one who would speak to him without any restraints.
Nonetheless, there was a feeling of warmth in his heart.
"Ask away."
Li Luo smiled. "The World's End River Treasure Domain will be opening soon and competition will be fierce. I would like to prepare myself for it adequately. As such, I hope to create a poison that can threaten even Dukes."
He stretched his hand out, and a strand of poison energy condensed in the middle of his palm. A putrid stench that assailed their noses wafted upwards. This was none other than the dual poison that was left in his body when Pei Hao had attempted to hurt him back in the Xia Kingdom.
In the past, Li Luo did not have a way to neutralize it completely and had therefore left it dormant. Later on, he wanted to keep it for his own use, especially since he had mastered the Great Sanguine Poison Art. He had turned disaster into a boon for himself, keeping this as a trump card.
However, he was bound to face more Dukes as he continued on his cultivation journey. As such, this dual poison that was once a big headache to him was becoming less impactful as a result of the mightier opponents.
In fact, Li Luo was even strong enough to purge the poison out of his body if he so wished to.
Therefore, he had asked Li Jingzhe for advice as he wanted to find a more deadly poison that would become another ace up his sleeve.