Inside the Primordial Wood Star Forest
The little snake—no, at this point, it should be called a great snake—was now over a zhang long. Demonic qi rolled and surged around it. Having opened seventy-eight meridians, it finally slowed down, as if something was preventing it from opening any more.
"What's going on? Why isn't it continuing to open its meridians?" Wu Tianjun muttered, bewildered. There were only three meridians left, yet it had stopped. He almost thought the little snake was doing it on purpose! What kind of dogshit logic was that?
"Its bloodline is insufficient..." the Demonic Infant said coldly. "Give it a drop of true blood! With our bloodline, it's more than enough to help it," the Primordial Soul also said hurriedly.
"Let's give it a try." Wu Tianjun didn't think too much about it. He forced out a drop of bright red, fragrant blood and flicked it into the little green snake's mouth. Not long after swallowing the drop of blood, the demonic qi began to churn violently once more. The little green snake let out a miserable shriek, causing many small demonic beasts near the waterfall to scatter in panic.
Just as the Demonic Infant had said, its bloodline was insufficient. After absorbing a drop of Wu Tianjun's blood, a mutation occurred. It should be noted that his blood was now that of a descendant of a Primordial Being. The snake opened its meridians rapidly, quickly reaching eighty. The eighty-first meridian took over three double-hours to complete. With this, it officially stepped into the rank of super geniuses defined by Wu Tianjun—though naturally, there were varying levels of strength within this rank, with him and Wu Tianyuan leading the pack.
After reaching eighty-one meridians in the Meridian Opening Realm, the little green snake's body rapidly swelled to a length of three zhang. Its cultivation immediately broke through to the Origin Gathering Realm, quickly reaching the peak, and without stopping, it broke through to the Human Core Realm before finally halting. Along with this, a lightning tribulation actually began to form in the sky, causing Wu Tianjun to look up in alarm.
"Why does this little snake have a lightning tribulation too? Isn't it said that only the Deity Realm has lightning tribulations? Could it be because it opened eighty-one meridians?" Wu Tianjun muttered doubtfully.
"That's likely the case. Let's back away for a bit and let it undergo its tribulation," the Primordial Soul said.
"Hehe, why don't we absorb the lightning tribulation..." the Demonic Infant said with a strange laugh.
"This is its tribulation; we cannot shield it forever," Wu Tianjun's soul replied. With that, Wu Tianjun soared into the sky, leaving the range of the lightning tribulation.
The lightning tribulation the green snake faced consisted of green lightning strikes of immense power. Wu Tianjun did not know exactly how strong it was, but even though the green snake was currently comparable to an ordinary peak Human Core demonic beast, it was still blasted until its flesh was mangled and black blood flowed continuously.
An hour passed, and the green snake's tribulation was complete. The lakeside was in complete disarray. In a large crater lay a green snake nearly ten zhang long, its body massive and robust. Not only that, but beneath its belly, four giant claws had grown, their sharp talons gleaming with a cold light. At this point, it should be called a Green Flood Dragon.
"Haha, it actually triggered bloodline atavism! At this rate, won't you become an Ancient Azure Dragon one day? Hehe," Wu Tianjun laughed as he ran over. He wasn't particularly surprised to see the Green Flood Dragon's current appearance; if a snake-type had the right opportunity, it would have the chance to transform into a dragon.
"Thank you, Master, for helping me achieve this. In the future, even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will never regret it." A childish but resolute voice entered Wu Tianjun's ears, making him overjoyed. He had still been trying to figure out how to trick it into becoming his pet.
"Oh? You actually acknowledged me as master? Haha, great, I accept you, little guy," Wu Tianjun said happily, then flicked over a few drops of liquid. "This is for you."
"Huh? This is... Lightning Tribulation Liquid?!" the Green Flood Dragon said, unsure of its own senses.
"Oh... You actually know of it? That's right, it is called Lightning Tribulation Liquid," Wu Tianjun said with certainty.
"I only know of it from my inherited memories..." With its bloodline returning to its ancestors, it also possessed inherited memories. A divine object like Lightning Tribulation Liquid was something only a handful of supreme geniuses could obtain during their lightning tribulations. Those figures were existences barely weaker than Primordial Beings; in the Archaic Era, they were invincible existences! "This item is too precious..." the Azure Flood Dragon said tremulously. It had also realized that the youth before it was likely a monstrous powerhouse in his own right. Following him might not be a mistake after all.
"Haha, I have quite a lot of this stuff. Giving you a few drops is nothing. If you need more, just come and ask for it," Wu Tianjun said nonchalantly.
"He actually has quite a lot..." The Azure Flood Dragon's mouth twitched. Even in the Archaic Era, this stuff was extremely rare.
"Since you have acknowledged me as your master, I will call you Xiao Qing from now on," Wu Tianjun said. "But your body is so massive..." Looking at the monster before him, Wu Tianjun didn't know what to do with it.
"As Master wishes," Xiao Qing said. Then, its body miraculously shrank until it was only the size of a finger, curling up to rest on Wu Tianjun's shoulder.
"Whoa... you can even shrink?" Wu Tianjun asked with amusement.
"Just a minor innate talent. I've had it since I received my inheritance," Xiao Qing said casually.
"Haha, alright! We should also figure out where we are. Xiao Qing, do you know what this place is?" Wu Tianjun asked Xiao Qing casually as he walked along the stream. He knew absolutely nothing about this area.
"I only know that this place is called the Origin Wood Star Forest, and there are many monster beasts here. There might even be some that have surpassed the Divine Realm," Xiao Qing said, not knowing much else.
"Oh? What realm is above the Divine Realm?" Wu Tianjun asked in surprise. He truly did not know.
"It is called the Saint Ancestor Realm. I don't know what comes after that." Perhaps because its bloodline had not fully awakened, Xiao Qing only knew this much.
"Saint Ancestor, is it..." Wu Tianjun pondered. "I will reach it very soon!" Wu Tianjun said resolutely. Xiao Qing, who was resting on his shoulder, was so startled that it almost fell off. Although it couldn't see Wu Tianjun's exact cultivation level, it could sense that he hadn't even reached the Divine Realm yet. At this moment, Wu Tianjun's Divine Meridians were only at the peak of the Divine Connection Realm!
Walking along the stream for two days, Wu Tianjun's soul constantly felt a sensation as if something was calling him in a certain direction. He was not unfamiliar with this feeling; ever since he was a child, he had possessed the ability to hunt for treasures. Perhaps it was due to the inheritance of a Primordial Being, though he had no idea which Primordial Being he had inherited it from, as he didn't know of any Primordial Beings yet. Along the way, if there were any nearby, he would casually gather some herbs or minerals, but his primary goal was still to explore this place.
"I sense a Demonic Vein..." the Demonic Infant suddenly spoke up at this moment.
"A Demonic Vein?" Wu Tianjun asked in return. Why would there be a Demonic Vein here?
"I don't know! I just feel a common origin. It seems like something is sealed over there," the Demonic Infant transmitted the message. It was nearby, to the east.
"Oh, then let's go take a look," Wu Tianjun said, like a newborn calf that feared no tigers. In truth, with his Demonic Vein at the Divine Lord Realm, as long as he didn't actively provoke any powerful monster beasts, he would basically be safe.
Guided by the Demonic Infant, Wu Tianjun arrived at a mountain. Before him was a pitch-black cave without a single shred of light.
"Oh! This is a bit troublesome!" the Origin Soul spoke up. "There are restrictions and illusion arrays here, and quite a few of them have been broken," Wu Tianjun's soul also said. Xiao Qing listened to all of this, utterly bewildered as to what was wrong with its master. He actually liked talking to himself so much, treating it like it was just thin air.
It took Wu Tianjun nearly two hours of using his Heavenly Eye to find a gap in the restriction and break through. He truly couldn't fathom how powerful it would have been when it was fully intact.
"Oh! Such dense demonic energy, yet none of it has leaked out. It seems there is something restricting it," Wu Tianjun muttered to himself. "Let’s go in and take a look."
Entering the cave, it was pitch black, but with Wu Tianjun's spiritual sense, this posed no problem. Even the demonic energy ignored his spiritual sense; if it were anyone else, their spiritual sense might not have had such an easy time. The cave was nearly one zhang high, which was more than enough for Wu Tianjun, who was currently only one and a half meters tall. He strolled deeper into the cave as if taking a leisurely walk. The deeper he went, the more the demonic energy gradually increased, though the change was so subtle it was barely noticeable. Xiao Qing seemed to really enjoy this environment, showing a great fondness for the demonic energy. It appeared that absorbing the demonic energy to open its meridians, combined with that drop of blood, had caused its bloodline to mutate.
"There seems to be a demonic artifact sealed beneath this place." After walking for an unknown amount of time, the Demonic Infant sent another message.
"Huh! It’s not a weak demonic artifact." The Primordial Soul also sent back a message.
Not long after continuing forward, Wu Tianjun saw a bronze door. Carved upon it were incomprehensible patterns, yet one could tell they were highly evil. Wu Tianjun waved his hand and pushed the door open. Instantly, a powerful gust of demonic energy rushed out, blowing straight into his face and sending his hair flying.
"Huh? How could someone have entered this place?" a weak, aged voice rasped.
"Oh, only at the Spirit Communion realm. Hey, kid, don't step through the door!" another voice called out. But it was already too late. Wu Tianjun had already stepped inside, and the door suddenly slammed shut behind him.