Chapter 55: The Golden Serpent Uprising

Whew!

Within the Essence Gathering Cave, Du Long, seated cross-legged atop the cultivation platform, opened his tightly shut eyes and couldn’t help but exhale softly, a smug smile spreading across his face as he rejoiced inwardly: Finally, I’ve refined all twenty-one doses of spirit herbs into Grade One Spirit Liquid!

Previously, he had purchased three portions of spirit herbs at the Treasure Pavilion, using up two in the process of refining a single dose of Grade One Spirit Liquid. Later, he bought another twenty, making for a total of twenty-one portions in his possession. After more than half a month of simultaneous cultivation and alchemy, he had at last refined every last portion into Grade One Spirit Liquid.

Heh, twenty-one sets of ingredients yielded ten doses of Grade One Spirit Liquid. The cost was just over four thousand, and in less than half a month, I’ve produced elixirs worth ten thousand gold coins. Alchemists truly are in a most lucrative profession! Du Long couldn’t help but muse to himself.

“Qinglian, Qinglian!” He reached out to nudge Xia Qinglian, who was cultivating beside him. Seeing her open her eyes, Du Long whispered, “Don’t wake the others, let’s slip out quietly.”

Glancing at Princess Fire Phoenix and the others nearby, Xia Qinglian nodded without a word and followed Du Long out of the Essence Gathering Cave without hesitation.

“Qinglian, you took a dose of Grade One Spirit Liquid last time, but still haven’t broken through to the Cyclone Stage? I’ve refined ten more this time—why not use the spirit liquid to push through in one go?” As they exited the cave, the eastern sky was just lightening, dawn yet to break.

Du Long led Xia Qinglian toward the rear mountains. He had mentioned this more than once before, but the girl simply refused another dose, insisting that since she’d already reached the peak of the Ninth Qi Accumulation Stage, it was best to let the final breakthrough happen naturally, without the aid of medicine.

“Master, within a few days I’ll break through to the Cyclone Stage; let’s not waste another dose,” Xia Qinglian insisted as always.

“Sigh! Very well, we’ll let it be this time. But if I prepare Grade Two Spirit Liquid for you to use at the Cyclone Stage in the future, you mustn’t delay then!” Seeing her resolve, Du Long could only relent.

In a secluded valley in the rear mountains, as the morning light grew brighter, Du Long and Xia Qinglian embarked on another day of rigorous training.

Today, the little gold serpent was not as quiet as usual, refusing to simply coil around Du Long’s arm. Instead, it darted to a protruding rock by the pool’s edge, coiling itself atop the stone and facing east to cultivate by absorbing the dawn.

Knowing that the serpent occasionally needed its own training, Du Long paid it little mind and let it be.

Gradually, crimson rays appeared in the eastern sky, and a round sun leapt above the distant peaks. By the poolside, the little gold serpent, quietly cultivating, soon became surrounded by streams of golden light.

At first glance, it seemed merely a reflection of the sunlight on its body, but as the golden glow intensified, it surpassed what a mere reflection could produce.

“Huh! The little gold serpent seems different today!” Xia Qinglian, attentive as ever, was the first to notice something amiss, exclaiming softly.

As Du Long practiced the Wind-walking Technique with her, he turned and saw for himself the transformation in the little creature. He quickly leapt from the pile of rocks and in two steps was at the serpent’s side.

“Little Golden Crystal, are you alright?” he asked, unable to hold back as the golden light on the creature grew ever brighter.

The gold serpent seemed entirely oblivious to Du Long’s call, motionless as it continued to coil on the stone.

Boy, the little fellow has reached a crucial point in its cultivation; don’t disturb it for now. Observe quietly, lest you disrupt its breakthrough! At that moment, the spirit within his ring spoke in his mind, her words bringing him relief.

Indeed—if he were to forcibly interrupt the serpent’s critical training, who knew what might happen? For now, the changes seemed stable enough.

Nodding, Du Long kept silent and set aside his own cultivation, choosing instead to sit quietly with Xia Qinglian beside the little serpent, keeping a watchful eye on any changes.

Time flowed by, and the golden light around the serpent grew denser, eventually enveloping it entirely, forming a golden cocoon of silk.

Afterward, the golden cocoon remained unchanged, standing upright atop the stone, faintly absorbing the sunlight and drawing it in until it vanished without a trace.

The gold serpent maintained this state as day after day passed—one, two, and into the third—during which time Du Long skipped all his classes, steadfastly keeping vigil by the cocoon’s side.

Xia Qinglian made trips down the mountain to fetch food for Du Long, excusing his absence with claims that he was in secluded cultivation whenever questioned.

On the third day, at noon, as sunlight poured directly down and was absorbed by the cocoon, the long-still golden shell finally quivered—there was movement at last!

The activity grew more frequent, until a split appeared in the tightly closed cocoon, and a golden little creature poked its way out.

Its scales were still golden, but now two bumps had formed on its brow, resembling tiny horns. Its once-flat belly now sported two additional pairs of protrusions, as if four limbs were about to sprout.

The little creature then opened its mouth and, with a series of crunches, devoured the golden cocoon, not leaving a single thread behind, as if starving after three days without food.

Looking at the much cuter creature before him, Du Long was shocked—Was this still a snake?

Tch! Who told you it was a snake? That was only its unevolved, primary state! The spirit in the ring snorted disdainfully in his mind, clearly unable to stand such ignorance.

She’s right! Little Golden Crystal isn’t a snake. Strictly speaking, it’s a dragon of the fire element! came a second, slightly childish voice in his mind—the gold serpent itself.

The little creature rarely spoke when the ring spirit was present, but today it not only chimed in, it even managed a bit of flattery, clearly eager to curry favor with the ring spirit.

Mmm, Little Golden Crystal is just my kind of companion. From now on, I’ll look after you! The ring spirit, evidently pleased by being called “Sister Ling’er,” announced with pride, “After this transformation, the little one’s intelligence has advanced greatly!”

“A fire dragon?” Du Long pondered the term. He had seen illustrations of fire dragons in books, but they looked nothing like the little fellow before him.

Fire dragon is just a general term for dragons of the fire attribute! This one is far from ordinary, the ring spirit explained, clearly reading his thoughts. “This little one is far more formidable than a typical fire dragon! Little one, show him your special skill—let him see what you can do!”

“Alright! Watch my Fire Source Blast!”

The ring spirit’s words were heeded at once—the gold serpent lifted its head, its body swelling to several times its original size. It opened its jaws wide toward a massive boulder several meters tall in the distance, and in an instant, a ball of fiery-red energy shot out, streaking straight at the rock.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, the boulder shattered into fragments, and flames roared into life at the scene. Fortunately, there were no trees nearby, and only a patch of grass some ten meters around was scorched.

Staring, dumbfounded, as the massive rock was reduced to blackened rubble in the blink of an eye, both Du Long and Xia Qinglian were speechless. If such a blast struck a person, nothing would be left but charred remains!

Gulp.

Swallowing hard, Du Long stared at Little Golden Crystal in disbelief. “That’s incredible!”

Heh, I can only fire two Fire Source Blasts a day. Once I evolve again in the future, I’ll be able to unleash more, and with greater power! The creature, now returned to its cute and petite form, sounded almost bashful.

Who could have imagined that such a terrifying being would still have the shy temperament of a child?

“That’s already amazing!” Du Long laughed, unable to hold back his curiosity. “By the way, Little Golden Crystal, how did you suddenly evolve like this? Wasn’t it my fault your strength had diminished so much?”

Heh, it’s all thanks to Sister Ling’er! Little Golden Crystal’s answer left Du Long perplexed.

Before he could ask further, the ring spirit’s voice rang out in his mind, brimming with pride: “This little one has tremendous potential, but following you around is a waste of talent! All you ever do is feed it and give it water, never caring for its true growth. Fortunately, I’m around and have a few methods to help the little one grow as it ought!”

Awkwardly scratching his nose, Du Long had long since given up on maintaining any semblance of masterly dignity before the strong-willed ring spirit. He’d grown used to it.

“In any case—haha—I must thank you, beautiful Sister Ling’er! From now on, Little Golden Crystal and I will be counting on your guidance!”

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A belated blessing—wishing everyone a Happy New Year!