Xu Mu held the dragon egg and placed it beneath the thickest root of the Bian Hua flower.
*Chop!*
The demonic sword cut a deep gash into the root. Turbid, gray water dripped out, seeming to contain an extremely terrifying aura of death.
This was the blood of the Bian Hua.
And this blood was what the dragon egg loved to drink.
"You want one too? Do you think dragon eggs are like cabbage, available in any quantity?"
Xu Mu glanced helplessly at Qiong Qi. This dragon egg was left by Fu Xi's mount, where else could he find a second one?
—Moreover, cabbage was also a scarce species in the domain of Guí Yè.
Qiong Qi heard this and indifferently licked his claws.
He had just said it casually.
In this world, it was rare for a dragon egg to appear even once in hundreds of millions of years, as dragons were long suspected to be extinct. Xu Mu didn't know what luck he had to have such an opportunity, which made him very envious.
*Gulp!*
The blood of the Bian Hua dripped continuously.
The golden dragon egg, seemingly unsatisfied with this slow absorption method, leaped up directly and attached itself to the root of the Bian Hua.
Thus, its speed of absorbing blood increased exponentially.
Instantly, a layer of dark, black mist covered the radiant and noble golden shell.
Seeing this, Xu Mu couldn't help but frown:
"The blood of the Bian Hua is inscribed with the Great Dao of Death."
"Although it's a divine dragon, it's just an egg now. Will it have problems if it absorbs so recklessly?"
Qiong Qi looked at Xu Mu with a look that seemed to view him as an idiot and said:
"Good sir, you underestimate the dragon race too much."
"It was born from the Primordial Chaos, gestating the laws of the Great Dao innately. The probability of it having trouble from drinking this blood is probably the same as you dying from drinking water."
Xu Mu nodded upon hearing this. It was good that it was fine.
This thing was given to him by Fu Xi's mount; if he killed it, he wouldn't have a good outcome.
*Buzz...*
The dragon egg absorbed madly, and the entire Bian Hua flower withered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its petals shriveled, and its green leaves gradually turned yellow.
Even the stamen, which had killed hundreds of great demons, now shrunk like a sponge to its previous size.
"This blood isn't enough. You need to find more."
Seeing the Bian Hua getting smaller and smaller, Qiong Qi couldn't help but shake his head.
This dragon egg was too greedy. The Bian Hua had shrunk by several sizes, while it itself hadn't changed much, except that the tree patterns on it had become brighter, though their purpose was unknown.
Hearing this, Xu Mu suddenly remembered something. He took his sword and walked towards the corpses of the surrounding great demons.
"The demons who died here, more or less, had some divine beast bloodlines. Even if you don't like to drink it, you can at least absorb some, right?"
Xu Mu thought this and then dug out the demon cores from the bodies of those great demons one by one.
Demon cores were equivalent to a human's Golden Core.
They contained the most refined demonic energy and vital blood of the great demon's body.
However, after working for a long time, Xu Mu managed to collect only over forty intact demon cores. The rest were either frozen to ruin or sucked dry by the Bian Hua's stamen, rendering them meaningless.
"Eat up. This is all there is."
Xu Mu stacked the pumpkin-sized demon cores high and placed them against the golden egg's surface. The moment they touched, the egg would darken and be completely absorbed.
Thus, under such abundant nourishment, the tree patterns on the dragon egg's surface became increasingly bright, its frosted shell thinner, and the tremors of life within grew stronger, as if only a little more was needed for hatching.
But soon, the corpse of the Bian Hua completely became a corpse.
Its death energy was absorbed, turning it into an ordinary plant, and the inner cores of the great demons were also consumed.
Then, the tremors of the dragon egg stopped.
"It's gone."
Xu Mu was stunned. He had worked so hard to get so many demon cores, and the dragon egg had taken them all, yet it still hadn't hatched.
Could it be that the divine beast bloodlines of these demonic beasts were too diluted?
His eyes rolled. If he could find a true divine beast, even just feeding it blood would be a hundred times more effective than these ordinary great demons.
But where could he find a divine beast?
Far away, but close at hand.
Xu Mu pretended to ponder, then casually cast his gaze towards Qiong Qi.
The latter met Xu Mu's gaze, then suddenly took two steps back, exclaiming in panic:
"The blood is gone, why are you looking at me!"
"Hehehe..." Xu Mu smiled broadly, rubbing his hands, and gradually approached Qiong Qi. "Good brother, why are you being so distant? This dragon egg is a great treasure, and it's about to hatch. You have plenty of blood, just lend a hand. Once we're out, I'll give you whatever you want."
"Mountain delicacies, exotic treasures, anything within my power, I'll go through fire and water for you, brother!"
Qiong Qi heard this and quickly shook his head, retreating another two steps. He said fiercely:
"Impossible!"
"I am a divine beast, Qiong Qi the Divine. What can be more precious than my blood? You're dreaming!"
Xu Mu continued to plaster a smile on his face, pressing closer.
"Don't be like this, little Qiong Qi. Although this is my egg, if you participate in its hatching, the dragon will have a significant bond with you in the future. Why not?"
Qiong Qi heard this and thought for a moment, appearing hesitant.
But in the end, he bared his fangs:
"Don't even think about it!"
"As the divine beast Qiong Qi the Divine, how could I do such a thing!"
"Today, even if I die, die in this mine, I will not shed a drop of blood for this dragon egg!"
Xu Mu's smile froze on his face.
Qiong Qi's reaction was so intense that he clearly wouldn't agree.
But besides Qiong Qi, where else could he find a divine beast?
Deep in the Western Mountains, there were indeed other remnant tribes, but he had no connection with them. Rashly asking them for blood with a dragon egg would be no different than courting death.
Xu Mu scratched his head in frustration, then, unwilling to give up, spoke again:
"How about... I let this dragon recognize you as its elder brother after it's born?"
"Really?"
Upon hearing this, Qiong Qi instantly retracted his fangs.
He trotted eagerly towards Xu Mu, leaving the latter dumbfounded:
"You agree?"
Xu Mu was astonished, finding it hard to believe.
Qiong Qi, who had just been threatening to die, resolutely refusing to shed blood, had suddenly agreed?
And he hadn't promised Qiong Qi anything too valuable, just a vague verbal promise.
"Of course! I, Qiong Qi the Divine, keep my word. You must also remember not to break your promise!"
Qiong Qi proudly ran to the side of the dragon egg. Without a word, he raised his claw and tore open a wound on his foreleg, as if afraid Xu Mu would go back on his word.
*Boom!*
A surge of hot blood sprayed from the wound.
The surface of the dragon egg turned slightly red, as if scalded. Then, it began to tremble violently, seeming very excited.
The tree patterns on its surface began to twist, as if coming to life. The vibrations within grew stronger, as if a life was frantically knocking against the shell, yet unable to break it.
It was always just a little bit short.
"I can't anymore."
After a massive bloodletting, Qiong Qi grunted, quickly stopped the bleeding, and retreated several steps, coiling by Xu Mu's leg.
Qiong Qi slowly and weakly licked the wound on his foreleg.
He had just shed at least twenty percent of his blood, including his most precious vital blood, one drop of which was worth ten thousand drops of ordinary blood.
But the dragon egg still hadn't hatched, hovering on the verge of hatching.
"Halfway through feeding the blood, I already felt something was wrong. According to the original progress, it should have hatched by now, but the progress suddenly stalled, as if something was missing."
Qiong Qi spoke, his voice weak.
He hadn't intended to shed so much blood initially, but the dragon egg had given him the illusion that—"Just hold on a bit longer, and it'll hatch soon."
Xu Mu stroked Qiong Qi's fur, his eyes flickering. He asked:
"When you were first born, your strength was roughly equivalent to what human rank?"
Qiong Qi knew Xu Mu was asking about the dragon's strength. He pondered for a moment and replied:
"For me, it should be equivalent to your human second rank."
"But if it's a dragon, it's very likely to be born with third or even fourth rank strength, and its initial innate divine abilities might be even greater."
Xu Mu nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this:
"So, if it hatches successfully, it will be of great help to us now?"
Qiong Qi hummed in agreement:
"That's for sure."
"In this space, with my bloodline, as long as I don't provoke any existences above the fifth realm, I can walk almost unimpeded in any major and minor ruins or battlefields. No demon will actively confront me, even if they are domain lords."
"And if it's a dragon, its pressure will be even greater. Moreover, there's an inexplicable connection between dragons and humans, and the bloodline pressure on humans can sometimes be even stronger."
After listening, Xu Mu closed his eyes in thought.
He currently lacked an assistant who could contend with domain lords.
This place was full of dangers, and he could encounter fatal threats at any moment. Qiong Qi was only at the fourth stage, and he couldn't always protect him.
Although Yi Huo and the Daoist priest were willing to protect him, he couldn't always entrust his life to people he had just met.
Humans were really not very trustworthy.
"It's impossible for every opponent I meet in the future to be like Fang Jia."
Xu Mu's expression was grave. He hadn't forgotten what happened in the first layer. Old Ancestor Wang had definitely been coveting him for a long time, wanting to fight him to the death upon meeting.
The Gan Jiang sword harbored resentment towards him, and the Demonic God and Veritarian might also make their move at any time.
He couldn't defeat any of these opponents.
Therefore, he desperately needed this dragon.
Even if this dragon was newborn, even if its realm might not be high, it was still a dragon.
It possessed supreme pressure and powerful innate divine abilities.
And most importantly, this dragon was trustworthy, as he had personally nurtured its hatching. Even if it didn't recognize him as its father, it would be several times closer to him than anyone else.
With this thought, Xu Mu walked up to the dragon egg and gently cut his own wrist.
*Drip!*
Seven-colored, glazed-like blood dripped down.
Instantly, a white mist rose from the surface of the dragon egg.
The life within the dragon egg absorbed this blood and then trembled with extreme excitement, frantically hitting the shell as if eager to come out and savor this blood.
The dragon egg trembled violently, and countless cracks appeared on its surface.
Qiong Qi heard the commotion, opened his eyes, and was then shocked by the sight before him.
He saw that Xu Mu's wrist had been cut wide open, and drops of blood with a deadly fragrance flowed out, forming a stream. The dragon egg absorbed it and, as if going mad, began to stir, more agitated than when it absorbed his divine beast blood.
Qiong Qi was thus shocked. Was Xu Mu's blood more appealing to the dragon egg than his own?
What was this kid's background?
Combined with the sense of dread he had felt from Xu Mu before, Qiong Qi increasingly felt that Xu Mu's background was extraordinary, and a trace of inexplicable awe entered his gaze when he looked at Xu Mu.
But then, Qiong Qi noticed something.
It seemed that Xu Mu's blood was flowing a bit too much.
*Sizzle...*
Seeing cracks appearing on the dragon egg's surface, as if it was about to hatch, Xu Mu hardened his heart and used his fingers as a sword to widen the cut on his wrist a little more.
With this cut, the blood flowed like a torrent.
The dragon egg continued to be nourished, the cracks deepened, and the glazed blood was continuously poured onto it.
But the dragon egg still did not hatch.
Qiong Qi discovered the anomaly. He had experienced the same thing just now; it felt like it was just a little bit short, but no matter how much he tried to fill that gap, it remained.
Just as he was about to cry out to stop Xu Mu, he found that Xu Mu had already gone somewhat mad.
"Damn it!"
Xu Mu's face was pale, but his eyes were bloodshot.
"Hatch! Hatch! Why aren't you coming out!"
He kept cutting the wound on his wrist, which grew larger and larger, the blood flowing more and more, even spraying out in the end.
*Rumble!*
The dragon egg trembled violently, more and more cracks appearing, like shattered glass, yet never truly breaking.
"Just a little more, just a little more!"
Xu Mu's steps were unsteady, his head bowed. He roared inwardly as if possessed. With a brutal move, he cut open his arteries.
Blood gushed out like a breached dam, soaking and submerging the dragon egg.
Instantly, Xu Mu fainted from excessive blood loss.
And where he collapsed, propping up his body, was the dragon egg.
"Oh no!"
Qiong Qi's pupils contracted sharply. He hadn't forgotten what the dragon egg had done to the Bian Hua. If Xu Mu were to be absorbed like that, he would surely not last three seconds before dying from blood depletion!
*Crack!*
Just as Qiong Qi had predicted, the dragon egg frantically absorbed, or rather, drew out, the Sacred Glazed Blood from Xu Mu's body. It was like a wolf and a tiger, more ravenous than when it absorbed the Bian Hua. Thus, a real, enormous crack appeared on its surface.
At the same time, Xu Mu's body instantly shriveled.
A hint of pain involuntarily appeared on his pale, tightly shut face.
"Xu Mu!!!"
Qiong Qi lunged towards Xu Mu, wanting to pry him off the dragon egg. But the moment he approached, a suffocating roar suddenly emanated from within the dragon egg.
"GONG!"
Qiong Qi didn't know what language that was. He only sensed an boundless oppressive aura from it, causing even the Samadhi True Fire in his eyes to tremble.
Thus, he involuntarily stopped in his tracks.
But in the next second, with a *crack*, the dragon egg also shattered.
Then, a horn shaped like a deer's was the first to break free. Following that, a noble camel-like dragon head emerged, with flowing whiskers on its sides and a pearl beneath its chin emitting light. Its powerful forelimbs held two sets of nine claws clasped together. Its body was winding and graceful, exceptionally beautiful, and its scales shone with golden light, resplendent and brilliant like the great sun.
Qiong Qi narrowed his eyes, sensing the supreme pressure that washed over him, and involuntarily lowered his head.
He was filled with awe. So this was a dragon.
So, this was dragon might!
...