With his eyes tightly shut, Ling Xiao could still see a ferocious Golden Light Flying Dragon standing before him, its massive body looming like a mountain, capable of crushing him with ease.
His face was pale as his soul stood before the colossal Golden Light Flying Dragon, struggling to calm himself.
“Roar~~”
A terrifying roar erupted again, and the Golden Light Flying Dragon opened its gaping maw, lunging to bite him.
“I absolutely cannot retreat!”
Gritting his teeth, Ling Xiao’s soul, within the soul illusion, stood firm, refusing to back down as the enormous beast attacked. Instead, he slowly took a step forward.
The fearsome violent consciousness caused a splitting headache.
In that moment, he genuinely considered giving up, feeling as though his head might explode if he didn’t.
But he couldn’t give up.
He knew that if he did, his soul would be consumed by this violent consciousness, and he would cease to be himself, becoming nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster.
Keep moving forward!
Enduring immense pain, Ling Xiao’s soul gradually began to suppress the violent consciousness.
In the soul illusion, his figure grew larger, while the Golden Light Flying Dragon shrank smaller and smaller.
At this point, the violent consciousness resisted most fiercely.
From the outside, blood trickled from Ling Xiao’s ears and eyes, a sign of damage to his brain.
Yet Ling Xiao still did not retreat.
The pain only made him more resolute.
He thought, what if he faced a real Golden Light Flying Dragon?
In that scenario, he wouldn’t have the chance to give up. If his strength failed, death would be certain, with no possibility of protecting his loved ones.
So he had to persevere.
Only by persevering could he become stronger!
Boom~~
Finally, after a full quarter-hour, the violent consciousness was completely destroyed, and the shadow of the Golden Light Flying Dragon vanished entirely.
Ling Xiao found it truly terrifying.
This was merely a remnant consciousness, yet it was already so horrifying. If his soul force hadn’t been strong enough, he would have had to abandon the effort today, or risk being consumed by that violent consciousness.
He would have become a mindless, killing corpse.
When the crazed, bloodthirsty consciousness finally dissipated, Ling Xiao was drenched in sweat, his face covered in blood.
“Are you alright, kid?”
Yuan Zun asked with concern.
“I’m fine, just some minor injuries.”
Ling Xiao circulated his energy, and the damaged parts of his brain quickly healed.
He fetched some water from the Mountain and River World, washed his face, and let out a long sigh of relief.
A battle in the soul realm, though less tangible than physical combat, was no less thrilling or intense.
“Master, I’ve successfully erased the violent consciousness from these two array stones. Am I qualified to cultivate this now?”
After a brief rest, Ling Xiao asked excitedly.
“You are, but you still need to be cautious. This isn’t so much cultivation as it is implanting the divine inscriptions of the Golden Light Flying Dragon directly into your body. It’s a highly risky process with less than a ten percent success rate, so few people attempt it.”
Yuan Zun replied.
“No way, a ten percent success rate? Doesn’t that mean I’m doomed?”
Ling Xiao gave a wry smile.
“Don’t worry, with your master here, that ten percent can be raised to ninety percent! Ultimately, it depends on one’s mastery of array refinement.”
Yuan Zun said with a smile, “I’m not bragging, but in the entire Mysterious Realm, when it comes to array refinement and alchemy, your master ranks among the top five.”
“Master, I think you’ve said that before.”
“Ahem, so what if I have? You look like you don’t believe me. You’ll see how formidable your master is soon enough.”
Yuan Zun coughed twice.
“Heh, Master, how could I not believe you? Of course I do!”
Though Ling Xiao didn’t know Yuan Zun’s origins, he trusted him deeply, a feeling built over their time together.
He always believed his instincts wouldn’t lead him too far astray.
“Good, since you trust me, focus on condensing your true essence wings. Leave the rest to your master. You’ve just endured torment in the soul realm, and next, you’ll face physical pain that might make you wish for death. Are you sure you want to continue?”
Yuan Zun asked.
“Do you even need to ask? Let’s begin.”
For Ling Xiao, the pain of the soul was several times worse than physical pain. If he could endure soul torment, how could he not handle physical suffering?
That would be far too pathetic.
Following the instructions in the bamboo slips and combining them with the recited formula, Ling Xiao closed his eyes, circulated his true essence, and a pair of delicate true essence wings swiftly appeared on his back.
But these wings were merely a form, with no ability to enable flight.
What came next was the critical part.
“It’s starting! Brace yourself!”
Yuan Zun’s voice rang out, and he released the divine inscriptions from one of the array stones.
The radiant, flowing text was infused into the true essence wing on Ling Xiao’s right side.
In that instant, the true essence wing began to grow larger and more tangible. What was once nearly transparent transformed into glossy black dragon wings, adorned with shimmering golden inscriptions.
“Ah—!”
Ling Xiao let out a piercing scream.
The moment the dragon wings began to form, it felt as though his back was being torn apart, the pain so intense it nearly made him faint.
But he didn’t pass out.
As he had said, if he could endure soul pain, what was physical pain in comparison?
The tearing agony lasted a full sixty breaths, and he had bitten the stone in his mouth to pieces.
To prevent biting his tongue, he had placed a hard rock in his mouth.
Ordinary branches wouldn’t do, as his teeth were too sharp, rivaling even high-grade treasures.
“Hold on, there’s still the other side!”
Yuan Zun instructed.
“Master, just go ahead, I’m fine now.”
Having gone through it once, the fear was diminished.
When the left dragon wing formed, though the pain was just as intense, he didn’t cry out or bite anything.
He remained remarkably calm, with only sweat dripping from his forehead.
“It’s done!”
Yuan Zun looked at his disciple with utter admiration.
“You’re one tough lad, enduring all that. I thought you’d pass out halfway through.”
Ling Xiao’s ability to withstand pain far exceeded Yuan Zun’s expectations. He had even considered using some method to ease his disciple’s suffering.
But the lad had powered through on his own.
