What exactly did it take to activate the mythical bloodline within his body?Did it require a special environment or a specific elemental energy?
Li Chang'an pondered over this question carefully.
The bloodline he had awakened—the Nine Infants (Jiu Ying)—was a Fierce Beast of both water and fire.And coincidentally, before the awakening, he had consumed the Ice and Fire Immortal Herbs and bathed in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
It was no coincidence that among all the dormant bloodlines within him, only the Nine Infants bloodline awakened. Clearly, its attributes aligned perfectly with the environment.
"Since both share similar properties of ice and fire," he thought, "could that mean awakening other beast bloodlines will require matching elemental conditions too?"
He wasn't entirely sure.
After all, many of the ancient mythical beasts whose bloodlines he carried possessed attributes and powers that no longer existed in this world—some so rare that they defied the natural laws of Douluo itself.
Where on earth would he even begin to find something like that?
The fact that he had been able to fully awaken the Nine Infants bloodline this time was nothing short of pure luck.A miracle.And he doubted he would ever get that kind of luck again.
At the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
In the cavern where the two ancient Dragon Kings' corpses rested, Li Chang'an slowly opened his eyes.
The full awakening of the Nine Infants bloodline had not turned him into a beast outright—he still retained his human form.
However, if he wished, he could freely transform into his true Nine Infants form, shifting perfectly between man and serpent.
In essence, both his human body and his serpent body shared the same soul and will—they were two halves of the same existence.Neither was subordinate to the other.
He only considered his human form the "main body" because he identified as human more strongly.
In the distance, his Martial Soul manifestation—formerly the Azure Scale Serpent Emperor—had now transformed into the nine-headed serpent form of the Nine Infants.Meanwhile, the two dragon souls that had bitten into it were now fading away, their bodies becoming translucent like dissipating mist.
Their energy was nearly spent; one more moment, and they would vanish entirely.
Li Chang'an focused his mind, commanding his Martial Soul to absorb the last traces of divine energy from the dragon souls.
In the next instant, both dragon souls crumbled completely, leaving behind only two faintly glowing orbs.
"This is…"
He stared at them, realization dawning in his eyes.
"They must be the Dragon Kings' dragon pearls."
It made sense. The dragon souls must have been anchored to these pearls, which had allowed them to harness and command the surrounding elemental forces so freely.Their divine power had been concentrated within these orbs.
But now, with their souls gone, these dragon pearls had lost all divine essence.
Curious, Li Chang'an made his serpent-headed Martial Soul lightly tap one of the dim orbs.
Crack!
Fine fractures spread instantly across its surface, and within seconds, it crumbled to dust—disintegrating like weathered stone.
"As I thought," he murmured with a calm nod.
All the essence and divine energy from these dragon pearls had already been consumed during his bloodline awakening.What remained were merely empty shells.
"Since ancient times, myths from my previous world have spoken of beasts and monsters cultivating inner cores—condensing their essence into a single orb through absorbing the qi of heaven and earth.
Now that I've awakened the Nine Infants bloodline… could I also form such an inner core myself?"
The thought intrigued him deeply.
In this world, soul beasts didn't possess the concept of an "inner core."Instead, they had soul cores, but while similar in idea, the two were fundamentally different.
"The soul core seems tied to soul power circulation," he mused, "while an inner core—if I could form one—would be something far deeper… maybe tied to the very origin of life."
He smiled faintly. "Something worth studying later."
"Alright," he finally said to himself, "time to leave. Who knows how long I've been down here?"
He had gained a lot—far more than he expected. It was time to return to the surface.
With a single thought, his nine-headed serpent Martial Soul reformed into its sword shape and flew swiftly toward him.
Li Chang'an grasped the weapon and examined it carefully.He noticed that the sword's design had changed—
Originally, the Azure Scale Sword had a single serpent coiled around its hilt.But now, the serpent had nine heads, each faintly etched into the blade.
"Should I rename it?" he mused."The Nine-Headed Serpent Sword? Or maybe… the Nine Infants Icefire Sword?"
He chuckled. "No, that sounds ridiculous."
With a flicker of thought, the blade shimmered—and the nine-headed design faded away, returning to its original Azure Scale form.
For someone of his current level, changing the external appearance of a Martial Soul was child's play.
After all, awakening the Nine Infants bloodline didn't erase his original Azure Scale Serpent Emperor heritage.That power still existed—it had simply been absorbed and fused into something far greater.
He could now freely switch back to his old serpent form whenever needed.
That meant he could disguise himself, separating his human identity from the Nine Infants.
If his serpent clone ever caused chaos in the future, no one would be able to trace it back to him.
After all—if the Nine Infants committed crimes, what did that have to do with Li Chang'an, the Azure Scale Serpent Emperor?
Outside—
At the surface of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Yan gazed tiredly at the still waters of the lake.
She had been keeping vigil here for almost a full month.
Aside from eating, sleeping, and basic needs, nearly every waking moment had been spent waiting—hoping for a miracle.
Hoping that the man she loved would suddenly rise from the lake again, smile at her, and say softly—"Yan'er."
"Yan Yan," a familiar voice called gently.
She turned and saw her grandfather, Dugu Bo, walking toward her.
Seeing his granddaughter's pale, exhausted face made his heart ache."You've stayed long enough today," he said softly. "You need to leave. Your body can't endure this much longer."
The air around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was saturated with extreme ice and fire spiritual energy.Any human—or animal—staying too long near this place risked having their body destroyed by the opposing forces.
Had it not been for the immortal herb she'd consumed earlier, Dugu Yan would have died long ago from the conflicting energies.
Even with her newly strengthened body and partial adaptation, she could only remain for a few hours at most before having to retreat.
"Grandfather… it's been almost a month," Dugu Yan whispered, her eyes fixed on the lake."Do you really think… he'll come back?"
"…He will," Dugu Bo said firmly, though inside his heart had already lost all hope.
"Absorbing an immortal herb can take anywhere from half a month to two or three," he continued."It's normal. Don't worry too much."
But deep down, he knew—after nearly a month without a single ripple in the lake—Li Chang'an was most likely gone.
Still, he couldn't bring himself to tell his granddaughter the truth.
"Grandfather," she said, her voice trembling, "what kind of immortal herb would take this long to absorb?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
At first, she had clung to her grandfather's confident reassurances. But as each day passed, and the surface of the Ice and Fire Well remained perfectly calm, doubt grew stronger.
No human could stay submerged that long. Not even a soul master.
Even fish surfaced eventually to breathe.
Deep down, Dugu Yan already knew the truth she refused to accept—Li Chang'an was most likely dead.He must have been destroyed the instant he fell into that terrifying lake of ice and fire.
She just couldn't bring herself to believe it.Nor could she bear to say it aloud.
(End of Chapter)
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