The next moment, a faint glow emerged from the formation, enveloping the horned caterpillar.
Yuan Liang, panting, plopped onto the ground.
Inside the formation, the horned caterpillar curled up in fear, trembling.
It found itself on an ancient battlefield. The sky was stained blood-red, the ground shook violently, and lava erupted everywhere.
The ground was littered with dragon corpses of all shapes and sizes—some had wings, others looked like snakes.
In the sky, dragons clashed ferociously, until one massive dragon appeared.
This dragon was pitch-black, its size enormous, larger than the entire sky itself.
It opened its mouth and swallowed the sky whole.
The horned caterpillar watched in horror as the sky disappeared.
The sky instantly turned pitch-black.
Just then, a gigantic horned dragon bit into the black dragon's wing.
The black dragon immediately fought back against the horned dragon.
Unable to match the horned dragon, the black dragon crashed to the ground.
Boom!
The ground shook violently as it landed heavily in front of the horned caterpillar.
The black dragon, bleeding from its mouth, slowly raised its blood-red eyes, its vertical pupils locking onto the horned caterpillar.
The horned caterpillar felt a deep-seated terror from its bloodline.
At that moment, its body began to change slightly—its color darkened, and the horn on its head started to shrink.
The horned caterpillar felt a burning sensation within.
When it opened its eyes, everything around it had returned to normal.
Its internal spiritual energy surged, and its pupils now held a faint red hue.
What it had just witnessed was nothing more than a nightmare.
Seeing the slight changes in the horned caterpillar's appearance, Yuan Liang grew excited and leaned in close. "Well? Do you feel any different?"
Yuan Liang had no idea what the horned caterpillar had just seen.
He crouched down, looking thrilled as he gazed at the horned caterpillar.
He hadn't expected his alchemy to work in this world.
This bloodline awakening formation was something he'd once seen in an alchemy notebook.
He had tried it before, but the results were never very impressive.
The horned caterpillar was just as thrilled, wriggling around on the ground, but it couldn't speak.
Yet, Yuan Liang understood.
"You saw a lot of dragons? On a battlefield? A black dragon and a horned dragon were fighting?"
The horned caterpillar nodded vigorously.
Yuan Liang stroked his chin, deep in thought, before saying, "I'll ask Elder Huo about it when there's a chance. She knows a lot."
"So, do you have any new moves?" Yuan Liang asked eagerly.
The horned caterpillar paused for a moment, then spat out a thread of silk from its mouth.
Yuan Liang was disappointed at first, but then he was stunned.
The silk was black and extremely sharp, impossible to tear.
The horned caterpillar had mutated.
…
Early the next morning, Yuan Liang got up bright and early, intending to visit the Scripture Pavilion to learn more about the general situation on the Myriad Spirits Continent.
"Yuan Liang?" At the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion, Xu Hong looked up, surprised to see him.
"Senior Brother Xu, what brings you here? Weren't you watching over those caterpillars?"Yuan Liang replied, equally surprised.
"This is my new task, the previous one is completed."
"Since this is your first visit, let me go over the rules of the Scripture Pavilion—there are only three," Xu Hong said.
"First, you're currently allowed to browse only the first floor, and you may read any book there as you please."
"Second, you can only borrow one book at a time."
"Third, take care of the books. If you damage them, you'll have to compensate for it."
"I understand," Yuan Liang nodded.
The two chatted briefly, and Yuan Liang learned that Xu Hong had joined Elder Huo's faction.
Yuan Liang also introduced his one-horned caterpillar to Xu Hong.
Yuan Liang then entered the Pavilion.
Inside, many disciples were deeply engrossed in reading, paying no attention as Yuan Liang walked by.
The vast hall echoed only with soft footsteps and the sound of pages turning.
The shelves were filled with all sorts of books, from popular folk tales to manuals on cultivators' skills.
Yuan Liang was dazzled, unsure where to start.
"What's this book?"
From a gap in the shelves, he found an old, dust-covered book that seemed neglected for a long time.
Wiping away the dust, he finally read the title.
"Dragon and Tiger Fusion."
"Could this be a high-level skill from the Beast Taming Faction?"
Just the title alone exuded an aura of dominance, and Yuan Liang thought he could faintly hear the roar of a dragon and the cry of a tiger.
A vivid illusion of dragon and tiger shadows appeared before him, so lifelike.
When he snapped out of it and looked around, the vision and sounds were gone.
"Was that an illusion?"
Yuan Liang, slightly excited, opened to the first page.
"This might be our opportunity!" he thought.
The one-horned caterpillar, sensing Yuan Liang's enthusiasm, also started to dream of a bright future.
In the process, he accidentally cut his finger, and a drop of blood fell on the page.
The ancient book emitted a golden glow, as if something inside were trying to break free.
His heart pounded as he realized this situation was completely unexpected.
He felt an intense gaze fixed upon him, so overwhelming that he couldn't move.
As this feeling grew clearer, Xu Hong, who had been watching silently, finally spoke.
"Yuan Liang."
"Yes!" Yuan Liang snapped to attention, his caterpillar shivering on his shoulder.
"You got the book dirty."
Turning back, Yuan Liang sighed in relief when he saw it was just Senior Brother Xu.
Looking at the bloodstain on the book, Xu Hong reminded him, "I did warn you not to get the book dirty, and here you are, spilling blood on it."
"What is this book, anyway? I don't recall seeing it before."
Xu Hong flipped through the pages, his face darkening. "So, it's that infamous banned book!"
Yuan Liang's excitement grew.
To his surprise, he'd found a forbidden ancient text on his very first visit.
Who knew what secrets it held?
"Senior Brother Xu, what's the problem with this book?" Yuan Liang asked curiously.
Xu Hong's face shifted as he debated whether to tell him.
After some thought, he replied, "This book contains explicit descriptions of the mating process between dragons and tigers."
"It's written so vividly, complete with detailed illustrations, that both dragon and tiger clans filed complaints, leading to its ban."
"I thought all copies were destroyed, I'm surprised there's still one here."
In other words, it was a scandalous book.
Yuan Liang and the caterpillar both stared in disbelief.
Then he remembered that Xu Hong had warned him about fines for damaging books.
"Do I have to pay for this?" he asked nervously.
Without a single coin to his name, his only valuable asset was the one-horned caterpillar.
Looking at it, he whispered, "You'll need to be obedient from now on, alright? I'll miss you."
A tear formed at the corner of Yuan Liang's eye.
The caterpillar, sensing its likely fate, solemnly nodded in farewell.
"Pay for it?" Xu Hong's eye twitched, watching their melodramatic farewell.
According to the rules, compensation was required.
But if word got out about this book...
The Great Love Sect wasn't afraid of the dragon and tiger clans, but having such a scandalous book in their Scripture Pavilion could damage their reputation.
With a sigh, Xu Hong quietly slipped the book into his robe, feigning nonchalance.
"Pay? Why would you pay? What book did you damage?"
Yuan Liang immediately understood Xu Hong's intent to keep it for himself, and he also feigned confusion.
Passing by Xu Hong with a knowing smile, he glanced back at his senior brother, who grinned back.