The chaotic currents and seven-colored immortal radiance swirling around Dustin slowly withdrew, gradually calming until all returned to stillness.
He felt the vast, star-sea–like immortal essence within his body—mighty yet perfectly responsive to his will. But instead of joy, his heart was heavy and complicated.
Because this power came at a terrible price:
the complete self-sacrifice of Xuan Chengzi and the young mountain-spirit child—
two living beings who had given up everything.
His gaze swept toward the place where their figures had vanished.
Only faint specks of blue-yellow light remained, flickering like the last fireflies of a summer night—
stubbornly glowing, as if expressing both reluctance and hope.
Dustin faced the empty air and bowed deeply.
This bow honored their sacrifice—
their guardianship—
and the righteous spirit that, though their bodies had perished, remained forever in this world.
“Senior… little friend… rest easy.
The monsters here have been purged.”
His voice was soft, yet carried a power like a vow engraved into heaven and earth.
At that moment, hurried footsteps and a trembling call came from the edge of the ruins.
“Dustin!!”
Margaret, supported by Qingzhu, staggered toward him.
Her hair was messy, her clothes stained with dust and blood.
Her pretty face was pale with worry.
When she looked at Dustin—his aura now deep as an abyss, his presence like an exiled immortal descending to the mortal world—she found herself momentarily unable to recognize him.
“You… you’re not hurt, are you?” she asked, voice shaking.
Her eyes drifted unconsciously toward the sealed Ao Kun, and farther still, toward the ominous crack in the core of the Jade Pool that continued to leak dangerous energy.
Dustin turned to her.
The cold detachment and authority in his gaze softened slightly, revealing a hint of the gentleness he once had—
yet his aura was entirely different from before, transcendent.
“I’m fine.
But Senior Xuan Chengzi and that young spirit child…
to help me suppress that fiend…
have already returned to dust.”
He sighed.
Margaret trembled.
Although she had expected this outcome, hearing it confirmed still stirred deep sorrow and respect.
She bowed deeply toward the scattering remnants of blue-yellow light.
“The monsters are subdued… but what about the Dragonblood Bodhi? Is it here?”
Her eyes carried a fragile hope.
Even after learning the truth about the so-called “immortal pill,” even after witnessing the devastating celestial battle, her desire to save her father remained the ache deep in her heart.
Dustin sighed softly and looked toward the core of the Jade Pool.
The crack in the seal still gaped like a bleeding wound, seeping strands of pure yet dangerous Void Dragon origin malice into the seven-colored spring below.
Beside the spring, the Dragonblood Bodhi—its luster diminished now that Ao Kun was no longer sustaining it—still radiated a seductive, corrupting force.
“Your father’s illness wounds his very foundation.
Ordinary medicine cannot help.
The Dragonblood Bodhi, and even the water here tainted by Void Dragon malice—
these contain the will of destruction.
They are utterly evil.
Taking them would not save him—
it would hasten his death.
Or worse… turn him into a dragon puppet driven only by destruction.”
Margaret’s breath caught.
But Dustin suddenly continued:
“However…
the core spring of the Jade Pool was originally the purest source of life between heaven and earth.
Though tainted, its origin remains intact.
With Ao Kun suppressed, the malice here has begun to weaken.”
His gaze shifted to Ao Kun, still pinned under the seven-colored sealing sigils.
“That fiend has within him multiple strains of dragon essence he has not fully refined.
Though violent, their root is still vast life force.”
Dustin raised a hand.
Immortal essence circulated as he invoked the laws of heaven.
A thin thread of seven-colored light separated from the sealing sigils, snaking into Ao Kun’s body and carefully extracting a swirling cluster of multicolored but unstable energy—
a purified portion of Dragon Essence.
At the same time, his other hand hovered over the spring.
A formless force penetrated into the water, filtering out strands of dark-red malice, extinguishing them one by one.
What remained was a small amount of crystal-clear, seven-colored primordial spring essence—
radiant with pure life force and peaceful Dao energy.
Then, using his own immortal essence as the cauldron and his divine sense as fire, Dustin fused the purified Dragon Essence with the spring’s primordial essence.
Under his control, the violent dragon energy was tempered by the spring’s peace, and the spring’s vitality became even richer under the nourishment of the dragon energy.
Moments later, a smooth, pigeon-egg–sized pill formed in his palm—
milky white, glowing softly, natural cloud-patterns swirling across its surface.
As soon as it formed, a cleansing fragrance spread outward, soothing the soul.
The life force it contained was not as violently tempting as the Dragonblood Bodhi—
but far more stable, pure, and aligned with the righteous way.
“This pill is forged from purified Dragon Essence and the Jade Pool’s primordial spring essence, tempered with my immortal essence.”
Dustin offered it to Margaret.
“It cannot bring the dead back to life…
but it can restore his foundation and extend his life by ten years.
Enough for your father to survive this calamity and live out his remaining years in peace.”
Margaret’s hands trembled as she received the pill.
Feeling the gentle yet vast vitality within it, her eyes reddened.
She knew—
under the laws of heaven, without violating the forbidden Void Dragon taboo—
this was already the greatest miracle Dustin could give her.
Ten years of life…
was more than enough. - Marinien
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