Like a cycle of rebirth, the explosion of the Celestial Emerald Dragon's body nourished the land. The potent toxic and life attributes transformed the once barren earth into a valley capable of sustaining soul beasts with poison attributes.
The dragon core, fused with the golden life metal, fell deep into the earth. It lay hidden for an unknown length of time until it was discovered by a group of people. After repeated attempts to crack it open yielded no results, it was placed in a box and sent to a treasure vault filled with rare artifacts.
Numerous Soul Douluo examined the dragon core, which appeared no different from an ordinary stone. Each of them eventually shook their heads, declaring they could do nothing with it.
One titled Douluo even tried to unlock the core's secrets but ultimately failed, passing away in regret and despair. After his death, the dragon core was returned to its box and locked away in the depths of the vault.
Many years later, the long-sealed box was opened once again…
The vision ended, and Chen Ming suddenly snapped back to reality, his eyes opening wide and his forehead drenched in sweat.
The Celestial Emerald Dragon had perished completely. There wasn't a trace of dragon soul or even residual malice left. The only reason its dragon core had survived was due to its purification through consuming its kin and its fusion with the golden life metal in a desperate final act. Without these factors, it would not have lasted.
Chen Ming's sweat wasn't from physical exertion but from the mental pressure he had felt. Although what he saw during the spiritual vision was merely a playback of past events, the overwhelming aura and oppressive might were deeply engraved in his mind.
Ironically, in this memory where the Celestial Emerald Dragon was the main subject, its presence gave Chen Ming the least sense of intimidation.
Even at its peak, the dragon's power was far inferior to Di Tian's commanding presence. Compared to the divine-level thunderbolts, it was utterly insignificant.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Chen Ming found he couldn't calm himself quickly. He hurriedly pulled a piece of dried meat from his storage soul guide, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed mechanically.
The unpleasant taste filled his senses, helping him snap out of his shocked state. He quickly grabbed a large cup of fruit juice from the storage device and gulped it down.
Only then did Chen Ming focus his attention on the dragon core in his hands, which looked like an ordinary stone.
"This thing has an impressive origin, but it seems completely unusable," he muttered to himself. "The golden life metal and the Celestial Emerald Dragon's dragon core are both incredibly rare treasures. But under the pressure of the heavenly thunder, they fused into one, creating something entirely unprecedented on this continent."
"Moreover," he continued, "most of the life energy in the golden life metal was consumed by the lightning. What's left in this dragon core isn't pure life energy but an incomplete characteristic of the golden life metal. Because of that, it can't be used through conventional means."
Despite this, Chen Ming wasn't overly disappointed.
He understood well enough that if this item were truly practical and easily utilized, it wouldn't have been handed to him, a mere Soul Grandmaster, as a gift from Qian Renxue.
If it were that valuable, it would have been consumed long ago, or at the very least handed over to someone like Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo, in exchange for a favor. It would never have ended up in his hands.
Still, as he gazed at the dragon core, Chen Ming couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement.
Even if the heavenly thunder had stripped it of most of its properties, leaving only a tenth or even a hundredth of its former potency, for someone like him—a Soul Grandmaster—it was still a priceless treasure.
As long as it could be utilized, even in the slightest way, Chen Ming believed he could derive significant benefits.
But how should he use it?
Chen Ming tapped the irregularly shaped dragon core, his mind racing with possibilities.
"Refining it directly into my body is probably out of the question. Setting aside whether I have the technique for it, my soul power isn't nearly enough. If I tried to absorb it, this thing might just give off the tiniest fluctuation, and I'd likely be dead. For a Titled Douluo, it might only cost a fraction of their soul power, but for me as a Soul Grandmaster, it would probably kill me seven or eight times over."
"If I ever want to try that, it'll have to wait until I'm at least a Soul King or Soul Emperor."
"And as for using it in alchemy…"
Chen Ming's mouth twitched awkwardly at the thought.
The fact that this dragon core survived a divine-level heavenly tribulation was proof of its extraordinary hardness. In the spiritual vision, he had seen how over the centuries, neither Soul Douluo nor Titled Douluo had managed to chip even the tiniest fragment from it, no matter how hard they tried.
Using it for alchemy? That would require summoning an explosive-force Super Douluo, or perhaps even having Qian Daoliu wield the Angelic Holy Sword to cut it open.
Alchemy, then, was off the table.
So, what now?
Chen Ming habitually infused the dragon core with soul power, and suddenly, an idea struck him.
"External refinement into a pill! Internal refinement into a method!"
In ancient Taoist alchemy, there was a concept of external alchemy, though it was later criticized as an external method focused on nurturing essence rather than life. Still, no one could deny that external alchemy was an effective transitional technique.
"If I can't refine it directly into my body, why not use it as an external alchemy pill? I could figure out a way to have it absorb the soul power of heaven and earth, and then absorb its refined energy myself!"
"Let's see… if I want to establish a connection with something like this…"
Chen Ming took a small knife from his storage soul guide, then paused, retrieving all the blood-restorative herbs and bandages he had as well.
Placing the dragon core in a metal basin, Chen Ming sterilized the knife over a flame and then carefully made a small cut on his arm, allowing his blood to drip onto the core.
At first, nothing happened. The blood just pooled on the surface like water on a stone, with no sign of absorption.
Chen Ming frowned and summoned his martial soul. As he continued to let his blood drip, he fused his soul power with his spiritual power.
With the infusion of spirit-infused soul power, the dragon core began to slowly absorb the blood, but no connection formed between it and Chen Ming.
Seeing this, Chen Ming gritted his teeth and, with some hesitation, swallowed a few pills. While maintaining the fusion of soul power and spiritual power, he tried to inject a portion of his life essence into the dragon core.
After half a day of exhausting effort, with his entire body trembling from the strain, Chen Ming finally managed to establish the faintest trace of a connection with the dragon core.
The remaining blood in the basin was instantly absorbed by the core, and Chen Ming could now feel a slight response when infusing his soul power into it.
Noticing this progress, Chen Ming, though nearly spent, stopped immediately. He quickly treated his wound, applied medicine, and wrapped it tightly to prevent excessive blood loss.
Popping another handful of pills into his mouth, Chen Ming carefully cradled the dragon core from the basin, sat down cross-legged, and entered a meditative state.