Chen Nan was shocked. He knew that the Taiji Diagram had inadvertently broken the sixty-four Yuan Condensation Stones in the Nine Nether White Bone Formation, which meant that half of the formation was broken and the savage beasts inside were about to break free.
The mountain of bones trembled violently, and the Demon Palace shook incessantly, with deafening roars emanating from the ground.
The golden and black orbs of light continued to rotate, and the materialized Tai Chi diagram kept gathering the essence of heaven and earth and the essence of the full moon. The jade ruyi continued to absorb the vast spiritual energy between heaven and earth like a bottomless pit.
Chen Nan was almost at his limit. The spiritual energy surging into his body was about to burst him. He had no choice but to use the Heaven-Shaking Demonic Art to continuously expel the spiritual energy from his body. Even so, he felt as if his bones were being scraped by a sharp knife.
Although the process was extremely painful, it was of great significance to Chen Nan. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth continuously tempered his body, which had just entered the fourth-order realm. It not only consolidated his newly broken-through realm, but also helped him forge a body of copper and iron, making his flesh extremely strong.
Just then, the Demon Palace shimmered with light, and 365 Soul Gathering Stones flew out of the palace, arranged in an orderly fashion in the air, as dazzling as the stars in the sky.
The Soul Gathering Stone contained far greater power than the Essence Condensation Stone, but it was ultimately reduced to dust under the Taiji Diagram's frenzied plundering.
As the Soul Gathering Stone disappeared, the Demon Palace on Bone Mountain shook violently before collapsing with a deafening roar. The entire Bone Mountain trembled violently, though it did not collapse completely. Savage beasts roared incessantly at the foot of Bone Mountain, terrifying the ancient giants into trembling.
Although the array flags of the Nine Nether White Bone Array have disappeared, there are still many other powerful restrictions, making it difficult for the savage beasts to break through the incomplete ancient array and rush to the ground for the time being.
Strange phenomena appeared in the valley: a materialized Tai Chi diagram spun in the air, a giant funnel formed from jade ruyi absorbed spiritual energy from all directions, the essence of heaven and earth gathered into an energy storm that raged within the valley, and a materialized pillar of light formed from moonlight resembled a towering jade pillar connecting heaven and earth.
Coupled with the terrifying roars emanating from underground, it was truly a terrifying night!
Three hours later, as dawn broke, a deafening roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth. The Bone Mountain collapsed in response, and white bones shot out in all directions, turning the entire valley into a vast expanse of white, filled with withered bones.
At the very moment the sun rose, a hundred-foot-long dragon broke through the seal, soaring straight up from the ground and leaping into the heavens!
This is a purple-gold divine dragon, hundreds of feet long, its whole body shimmering with purple light, circling and soaring in the high sky, its dragon roar shaking the heavens!
The birth of the divine dragon caused a dramatic shift in the weather, plunging the world into darkness, with thunder rumbling across the high heavens. This divine dragon was clearly far more powerful than the newly evolved dragon cub, having cultivated for thousands of years; who knows what level it had already reached?
The instant the golden dragon burst forth from the ground, the Tai Chi diagram and the jade ruyi in the air were shaken by the powerful force that suddenly surged up from underground. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the golden and black light spheres quickly broke through the jade ruyi's obstruction and rushed into Chen Nan's dantian.
As the Tai Chi diagram vanished, the vital energy of heaven and earth from all directions immediately dissipated. The jade ruyi trembled, but there was nothing it could do. Chen Nan was terrified. If he fell, he would surely be smashed into a pulp. But just then, the jade ruyi burst forth with a bright light, enveloping him as he slowly descended to the ground.
At this moment, Chen Nan understood a fact: the Jade Ruyi, like the two-colored light spheres, did not want him to have any problems at this stage, and it might be using him as a furnace.
As soon as the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon was born, it sensed the rich spiritual energy in the sky. It roared repeatedly as it greedily absorbed the essence of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon.
"Awoo, haha... such abundant spiritual energy! I just broke through the seal and already got to enjoy such a feast, hahaha..."
Chen Nan stared in disbelief. The purple-gold dragon had stopped circling and stood upright in the air, its hundred-foot-long body uttering human words and laughing wildly.
"Holy crap! The Taoist magic is truly profound; it can even speak human language. Is it a divine dragon or an old monster?!" Chen Nan muttered to himself.
"Awoo, this feels so good! I've finally seen the light of day again! Wahahaha..." The purple-gold dragon continued to laugh wildly, its deafening laughter echoing throughout the heavens and earth.
After some time, the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon seemed to sense that the spiritual energy in the world was gradually dissipating. It lowered its head and looked at Chen Nan in the valley, roaring, "Little thing, are you playing tricks? I clearly saw you holding a magic weapon that was gathering the essence of heaven and earth, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye. If you know what's good for you, hand over that magic weapon to me right now, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, if you anger your Dragon Grandpa, I'll annihilate you, body and soul!"
Dizzy! Utterly dizzy! In an instant, the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon's standing in Chen Nan's mind plummeted. In Chen Nan's heart, he believed that the Eastern dragon was a sacred and powerful being, noble and holy, but the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon before him was so... He was speechless, staring blankly at the divine beast high in the sky.
At this moment, Chen Nan noticed that the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon was actually a five-clawed dragon, a symbol of the emperor among dragons. This made Chen Nan even more incredulous; how could such a top-tier dragon be so utterly unappealing...
"Hey, little brat, did you hear me? Hand over the magic weapon right now! Grandpa Dragon just escaped today and doesn't want to commit any more killings, so I'll make an exception and spare your life. Hurry up!"
The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon completely overturned Chen Nan's impression of the Eastern Divine Dragon, causing its sacred symbol status in his heart to plummet. He sighed inwardly, "The baby dragon is so cute! This strange dragon is just like a rogue! The baby dragon is also a five-clawed dragon king. Although it's only a little over two meters long after evolving into a divine dragon, it will one day grow into a hundred-zhang-long divine dragon."
Seeing the ferocious look on the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon's face, Chen Nan surprisingly felt no fear. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "I don't have any magic weapons..."
"Hey, you little thief, how dare you deceive your Grandpa Dragon!" The purple-gold dragon, which was standing upright in the air, bent down like a human and stretched out a huge dragon claw to grab him.
The dragon claw was enormous, instantly engulfing Chen Nan. The immense pressure nearly caused him to explode and die, but fortunately, the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon temporarily loosened its grip.
"Little thing, hand over the magic weapon right now! You've already slighted Grandpa Dragon. If you don't repent now, I'll make you wish you were dead!" The purple-gold dragon bared its fangs and claws, spitting saliva all over Chen Nan's face. It tightened its claws, almost squeezing him until he passed out.
Now Chen Nan was finally afraid of this rogue dragon. If this guy put in a little more effort, he would definitely crush him. He thought for a moment, took off the jade ruyi, and held it in both hands, saying, "All the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is attracted by it. You just need to inject a bit of energy into it to successfully activate its supernatural powers."
The purple-gold dragon extended its other claw and took the jade ruyi. The jade pendant and the dragon claw were really disproportionate. It looked at Chen Nan suspiciously and said, "Little thing, you dare to lie to your dragon master? I'll crush you right now."
Chen Nan felt a pang of unease, unsure if the notorious thief Yu Ruyi could successfully drain the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon dry. However, with no way out, he braced himself and said, "How could I dare to deceive the great divine dragon? You'll know once you try."
Although the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon looked like a rogue, it was very careful. It tentatively sent a trace of its dragon essence into the Jade Ruyi.
Chen Nan watched its cautious manner, his heart pounding in his chest. He hadn't expected this guy to be so meticulous despite his rough exterior, unlike his seemingly unruly demeanor.
"Hahaha... You little thing, you really didn't lie to me. You can really gather the essence of heaven and earth quickly, hahaha..." The purple-gold dragon laughed wildly again in its triumph. The huge laughter resounded through heaven and earth, making Chen Nan's ears ring.
Chen Nan was stunned. Wasn't the Jade Ruyi a super robber who stole spiritual energy? Could it really gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?
The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon completely relaxed, gripping the Jade Ruyi and forcefully channeling its dragon essence into it.
"Hahaha... With such a treasure, I can recover the dragon essence I've lost over the past thousands of years in just a few years."
However, at that moment, a shocking change occurred. The purple-gold dragon's laughter abruptly stopped, and it stared in terror at the jade ruyi in its claws.
"Damn it! Awooo..." The purple-gold dragon roared repeatedly, realizing that its dragon essence was rapidly draining away. A large amount of dragon essence was surging towards the jade ruyi, which had transformed from a magical artifact that gathered spiritual energy into a vampire that was sucking away its dragon essence.
Chen Nan found it unbelievable that the jade ruyi had actually used a trick to deceive people; it actually had a complete consciousness!
The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon concentrated all its strength to fight against the Jade Ruyi, trying to regain its lost dragon essence. However, in front of the Jade Ruyi, the number one bandit, even the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon was no match for it, and with each exertion, its dragon essence was lost even more rapidly.
It let out a deafening roar and began desperately trying to draw back its dragon essence, unable to tolerate the waste of thousands of years of arduous cultivation. However, the jade ruyi was a forbidden object from ancient times, and the purple-gold dragon was clearly wasting its efforts, with more and more dragon essence flowing out of its body.
The jade ruyi shone with dazzling light, and its holy radiance gradually spread out, enveloping the hundred-foot-long purple-gold dragon.