Transcending the Nine Heavens

But never would he have expected that this dragon and phoenix had actually already achieved the state of Indestructible Form before they met their demise. In fact, at the point where great calamity befell them, knowing that they couldn’t survive, they even used a special method to retain their respective power!

This resulted in Chu Yang and the others absorbing energy for five days straight yet not even reaching the halfway mark!

In fact, they hadn’t even absorbed one-third of it.

The array was already operating at the absolute limit of its efficiency!

Each of the eleven of them was already close to a state of satiation. Inside their Dantians, dense mist materialized before it gradually turned into thick and heavy fog. Then, the fog changed into liquid which flowed like a current. After swelling to its limit, the liquid even suddenly manifested into solid drops at a certain point.

After that, it even expanded little by little. By now, they were already each the size of a duck egg! Emitting a golden glow in their Dantians…

All of them were in pain and agony.

At this rate, the brothers would eventually become so bloated that they would end up exploding sooner or later.

Chu Yang also felt rather resigned at this situation.

The Nine Tribulations Sword had wanted to join in the absorption but was stopped by him. But from the looks of things, he actually needed the help of the Nine Tribulations Sword and Nine Tribulations Space after all?

Left with no other choice, Chu Yang could only issue the order.

The Sword Spirit hurriedly directed the Nine Tribulations Sword to begin absorption.

He didn’t forget to throw in a word of ridicule. "Why did the Lord Sword Master…"

Before he even finished, Chu Yang was already glaring at him while pulling a long face. At once, he swallowed back down the words that had yet to leave his mouth.

With a joyful cheer from the Nine Tribulations Sword, it somersaulted by itself and adhered itself inside Chu Yang’s meridians. Then, it unleashed all its horsepower and began to absorb!

With the addition of the Nine Tribulations Sword, the extraction speed clearly became faster. Before long, it had already doubled again, on top of the current status!

Above the dragon and phoenix bodies, bright light stretched forward at a speed visible to the naked eye…

With a resounding boom in the cave, it seemed like a small but furious whirlwind had been released again…

Outside the cave, Yue Lingxue seemed to sense something. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he turned and cast a glance inside the cave. Then, he turned away again and concentrated his attention on guarding them. He muttered to himself, "These young fellows truly have some pretty good fortune…"

After a good eight days, when even the Nine Tribulations Sword was full and its appetite satiated and an abundance of dragon and phoenix spirit essence even had to be stored in the Nine Tribulations Space, the absorption session this time finally reached its end.

Dazzling light shone from the dragon and phoenix bodies, as if they were about to come to life.

Then, the 11 of them ‘saw’ this scene in their subconsciousness at the same time:

On the summit of a mountain.

A dragon and a phoenix were in the midst of a discussion. All of a sudden, the sky darkened and the wind and clouds started raging violently. Even the ground beneath their feet started to shake intensely. A violent and destructive aura suffused the atmosphere.

A look of fear and alarm appeared in the eyes of the dragon and the phoenix at the same time.

They could sense that the destructive aura this time was something that they didn’t even have a chance of standing against, even if the two of them were to join hands.

The azure skies seemed to collapse the next moment.

The earth started to shake fiercely and violently.

The golden dragon turned and exchanged a look with the phoenix.

"King of the Phoenixes, the apocalypse has come! It looks like even you and I cannot escape this calamity today." The golden dragon’s voice was very gentle and mild.

"Let’s not talk about that now. What we should be doing is to check our clans’ fate and fortune." The phoenix’s voice was also very calm and very pleasant to the ears. It asked, "Are dragons and phoenixes still in this world thousands of years in the future?"

"Let’s join efforts and cast the spell!" The golden dragon suggested solemnly.

The phoenix nodded. The two of them activated their divine techniques at the same time. Amid the earth’s intense tremors, both the phoenix and the dragon remarked in unison, "This is strange…"

"There’s still hope, but… all would depend on luck." The golden dragon sighed. "The Heavenly Secrets are obscure and hard to understand. The details cannot be seen."

"Since that’s the case, then we shall leave something for our descendants," replied the phoenix with a peaceful smile.

The golden dragon also smiled in an easy and unfettered manner. "In any case, even if we rush out now and self-destruct, we won’t be able to defeat

"Since that’s the case, let’s start." The phoenix suggested, "Merging the dragon and phoenix into the Indestructible Form?"

The golden dragon nodded. "Yes, merging the dragon and phoenix into the Indestructible Form!"

Shaking its head, the phoenix smiled wryly. "Who would have thought that after warring with each other for ten thousand years over the position of ruler, you and I have to come together to adopt the Indestructible Form today instead… This is truly a huge joke…"

The golden dragon chuckled. "Ever since the demon king appeared in this world and united the Nine Heavens, I’ve never fought with you again."

The phoenix nodded slowly. "That’s true."

During the conversation between the dragon and the phoenix, the tremors and shaking between heaven and earth had already reached a point where one could no longer continue standing. After exchanging a look, the two of them reached out their arms.

In the instant their hands grasped each other’s, a series of flashes suddenly shone in the sky. Through the dust and smoke, one could still clearly see this — In the sky, eight brilliant rays of light suddenly appeared. With resplendent tails reaching a length of 10,000 feet, they shot into this continent.

Then, a vast and boundless aura of destruction shrouded the earth. Innumerous rocks and objects came hurtling toward the dragon and phoenix. However, the two of them didn’t even bat an eyelid. Instead, they merely closed their eyes and allowed their bodies to sink into the ground.

The screen turned dark.

"Do you wish to leave behind your name?" The voice of the golden dragon could be heard.

"Hurhur, as if I wish to leave my name to embarrass myself." The phoenix smiled lightly.

"Me too. Phoenix, should there be a next lifetime, let you and I be enemies once more."

"Actually… In our entire lives, we’ve never truly been enemies." It seemed like the phoenix didn’t really want to say this but still chose to say it in the end. "Dragons and phoenixes are not enemies!"

The golden dragon chuckled lightly. "Yes, we’re not enemies. Our clans… just have a little too much pride."

There was silence in the dark.

"The legacy of the golden dragon is in the Dragon Core. Should a descendant obtain it in the future, if he possesses the bloodline of us golden dragons, he needs to drink my blood."

"The legacy of the phoenix is in the Phoenix Marrow. Should a descendant of my bloodline obtain it in the future, he can receive it if he drinks my blood!"

…

When it reached this point, there was no more movement on the screen.

But all 11 of them understood at once where this golden dragon and phoenix had come from.

All of them found their hearts rather heavy. There were grief and sadness, and even more admiration.

When facing an enormous crisis of destruction, these two dragon and phoenix clan elders would rather go to the extent of sacrificing themselves, so that they could leave behind an inheritance for their descendants.

And they even kept their names a secret.

A dragon and phoenix’s pride that permeated their very core showed through thoroughly here.

Their decisiveness and resolve when evaluating and appraising the situation was even more admirable. In that sort of grand universal crisis, they were able to calm down in the shortest amount of time, draw up a countermeasure and then execute it right away…

If they had been even a moment later, it would have been impossible for both the dragon and the phoenix to complete their legacies.

Yet they made the decision at a point where they were still healthy and strong.

Toward the conflict between the dragon and phoenix races, these two also recognized the nature of it very clearly.

"There is no enmity between dragons and phoenixes from the start! It’s just that both our clans have too much pride."

These words were honestly food for thought.

In addition, their last words displayed even further the broad-mindedness of these two powerful dragon and phoenix experts.

"One needs only to drink my blood!"

Chu Yang and the others were astounded. However, the shock that Ao Xieyun and Rui Butong had received was stronger than even the rest of them put together!

This was their first time seeing a living ancestor of their race, even if it was just an image!

But regardless, they were alive and able to speak after all…

In this instant, nothing could compare to the agitation they felt in their hearts.

…

The transfer of the dragon and phoenix spirit essence suddenly ceased!

With a jerk, the Nine Tribulations Sword detracted from the absorption field. At the same time, the dragon and phoenix bodies started to shake, causing the 11 of them to wake up right away!

Chu Yang promptly got up. Kicking aside the Soul of Purple Crystal which acted as the eye of the array, he dismantled the array.

But just this bit of delay had caused the spiritual energy of the universe outside to fluctuate wildly again.

The 11 of them opened their eyes at the same time.

In their eyes, there was complexity, gratitude, admiration and respect…

With a bam, the claws of the golden dragon and phoenix loosened their grip.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Yang ordered, "Ao Xieyun, Rui Butong, the two of you, receive the legacies at once! Retrieve the Dragon Core and Phoenix Marrow and drink their blood essence! Hurry!"

Ao Xieyun and Rui Butong shuddered, tears in their eyes as they said, "Boss… but… the two elders have already died. If we damage their bodies even further, wouldn’t that… make the two of us worse than beasts?"

"If the two of you waste their heartfelt efforts, then that would really make you worse than a beast!" Chu Yang’s tone was full of anxiety. "Their bodies have already been wholly preserved here for a hundred thousand years. Now that their spirit essence is gone, the bodies won’t hold any much longer. In not more than a few hours, they will decompose completely and turn into bones!"

"If the two of you let this chance go to waste, the pains that they went to would all be for naught! Meaning that they would have died in vain! What are the two of you hesitating for?" Chu Yang bellowed, "Hurry!"

Another shudder went through Ao Xieyun and Rui Butong. At last, they turned around, a complex look on their faces.

…

Ten minutes later…

Boom!

Boom!

Under everyone’s frightened eyes, the carcasses of the dragon and phoenix fell apart suddenly. Before they even landed on the ground, they had already disappeared! As if a gust of air fusing into the universe!

They didn’t even leave behind a single bone.

Everything earlier was so bizarre and unbelievable, as if a dream!

However, the dragon and phoenix spirit essence inside their Dantians was solid proof to them — This was no dream!

Ao Xieyun cried out, golden light shining all over him. His body suddenly spasmed a couple of times before turning limp and collapsing onto the ground.

On the other side, the same thing also happened to Rui Butong. He fell into a coma instantly.

Chu Yang stepped forward. After checking their condition, he said, "They’re fine. It’s just that their bodies can’t quite adjust yet after suddenly receiving an enormous legacy… Look after them and don’t let them move around recklessly. They’ll come to in a while."

The brothers nodded.

A somewhat puzzled Ji Mo asked, "Why do I feel as if there’s no improvement in my cultivation despite absorbing so much dragon and phoenix spirit essence?"

To be honest, all of them had this feeling, just that none of them had brought it up.

The corners of Chu Yang’s lips twitched. He replied, "Even though your cultivation didn’t improve, there’s an additional mysterious little universe in your bodies from now on. It is capable of releasing spiritual energy constantly for all of you to use for cultivation, all the way until you’ve absorbed all of it… This is what the true treasure is!"

As he spoke, he explained the whole concept to them.

Only then did all of them come to understand what was going on. Their expressions were full of joy. Everyone was well aware of just how rare having a source that could produce spiritual energy on its own in one’s body was! With such conditions, even a person of mediocre aptitude could easily outshine and trample on so-called geniuses.

Much less when every single one of them here was a genius with an abnormal body constitution, to the point that they could be called demons?

Chu Yang hastily instructed Mo Tianji. "Tianji, stay here and look after them. I’ll go and look for something."

Mo Tianji’s eyes lit up intensely. "You can sense it now?"