Chapter 324: Eight Dragons Reappear

Above the Origin Pond, an ancient and colossal altar floated. Stone pillars stood tall upon the altar, covered in ancient markings that emanated an aura of primeval vastness.

At this moment, Elder Miao stood atop the altar. It was her turn to oversee the Origin Pond, so naturally, she was responsible for conducting the Origin Marrow Baptism. Behind her, several sect deacons were present to maintain order.

On the mountain peaks surrounding the Origin Pond, countless eyes gazed intently at the altar, filled with eagerness.

However, the Origin Marrow Baptism had rules: disciples of higher rank naturally received priority.

Thus, when the bell chimes faded, a graceful figure glided through the air on Genesis Qi. Amidst countless admiring gazes, she landed directly on the largest central stone pillar.

The crowd recognized her: Senior Sister Li Qingchan.

Li Qingchan, clad in a flowing white dress, her slender and exquisite figure perfectly outlined, presented a stunning sight. Her dark hair danced lightly, enhancing her ethereal aura.

However, her beautiful face remained as cold as ice, like an unapproachable ice goddess.

Nevertheless, this did not diminish her popularity; upon her appearance, countless male disciples throughout the area fixed their ardent gazes upon her, their faces revealing undisguised admiration.

Listening to the fervent gazes from all around, Zhou Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly. He wondered if the illusion in their minds would shatter if they had seen her swaggering last night, chugging wine directly from jars with Yaoyao.

Standing on the stone pillar, her white dress flowing, Li Qingchan’s beautiful face remained icy. She completely ignored the myriad ardent gazes, her eyes sweeping across the surroundings before subtly, almost imperceptibly, settling on a particular mountain peak.

That was precisely where Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao were located.

Elder Miao, with a pleasant expression, told Li Qingchan to prepare herself.

Li Qingchan nodded slightly and sat down cross-legged.

With a wave of her delicate hand, she retrieved numerous Dragon Origin Marrow Crystals from her Qiankun Pouch. Hundreds, even thousands, of these astonishingly numerous crystals floated around her.

Seeing such a vast quantity of Dragon Origin Marrow Crystals, many disciples couldn't help but feel envious, their eyes filled with covetousness. Such an amount would surely enable a Seven-Dragon Baptism.

That level of baptism was not something ordinary disciples could achieve.

Bang! Bang!

Li Qingchan's Genesis Qi surged, and the hundreds of Dragon Origin Marrow Crystals of various sizes instantly shattered. The flowing Dragon Origin Marrow within them cascaded down, continuously dripping onto the stone pillar.

As the Dragon Origin Marrow seeped into the pillar, it permeated along the ancient markings.

Then, everyone witnessed the mottled stone pillar gradually erupting with light. The Genesis Qi from the heavens and earth converged, being drawn into the pillar.

Brilliant light continuously shot forth from the pillar, and faintly, the sound of dragon roars began to emerge.

This continued for about half an incense stick's time, until the light from the pillar reached its peak. Finally, spectral dragon figures soared skyward from the mottled pillar, circling around Li Qingchan.

One... two... in the blink of an eye, seven dragon figures appeared!

The Genesis Qi of the entire world seemed to converge upon Li Qingchan, forming a Genesis Qi storm approximately a thousand feet in diameter.

Disciples exclaimed that it was indeed a Seven-Dragon Baptism.

Many disciples watched the seven dragon figures with eager eyes; this was their fervent dream.

However, among the numerous disciples in Cangxuan, only the Ten Saint Sons could easily achieve this level. Other disciples, even the chief disciples of various peaks, required some luck.

From the mountain peak, Zhou Tai remarked with envy that a Seven-Dragon Baptism was effortlessly achieved by a Saint Son. He noted that the Ten Saint Sons each had exclusive territories within the Origin Pond, rich in water beast resources, unlike him and his companions who had to laboriously search everywhere.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan chuckled, saying that Senior Sister Li would likely not stop at seven dragons this time.

Zhou Tai was immediately startled, asking if Senior Sister Li intended to attempt an Eight-Dragon Baptism, but pointed out that it would require Dragon Origin Marrow Crystals from a thousand-foot water beast.

Zhang Yan, standing nearby, glanced at Zhou Yuan and advised him not to speak rashly. He explained that as Zhou Yuan's experience was shallow and this was his first time at the Origin Pond, he naturally wouldn’t know how difficult it was to find and deal with a thousand-foot water beast.

He added that in all these years, only Senior Brother Chu Qing had succeeded in obtaining one, and the other nine Saint Sons had employed numerous methods but had yet to achieve an Eight-Dragon Baptism.

His underlying meaning was clearly to accuse Zhou Yuan of talking nonsense and not understanding the difficulty of an Eight-Dragon Baptism.

Zhou Yuan discerned Zhang Yan’s veiled sarcasm but merely smiled, ignoring him, and instead looked up towards Li Qingchan.

His attitude led Zhang Yan to assume he was in the wrong, and Zhang Yan immediately felt a slight smugness.

However, before his smugness could last long, a myriad of shocked exclamations suddenly erupted throughout the area. Countless gazes, filled with astonishment, turned towards the sky above the altar.

Zhang Yan was also affected and quickly looked up, his expression instantly freezing.

Above Li Qingchan’s stone pillar, with a wave of her jade-like hand, a Dragon Origin Marrow Crystal about half a zhang in size slowly appeared. Inside the crystal, Origin Marrow flowed, resembling a coiled dragon.

Countless shocked voices rose and fell in succession, wondering if it was a Dragon Origin Marrow Crystal from a thousand-foot water beast.

No one had expected Li Qingchan to obtain a Dragon Origin Marrow Crystal from a thousand-foot water beast. Did this mean that Li Qingchan was going to attempt an Eight-Dragon Baptism today?!

In the past, only Chu Qing had achieved this.

Disciples acclaimed Senior Sister Li as truly formidable, having quietly secured the Dragon Origin Marrow Crystal from that thousand-foot water beast.

Some mused that Kong Sheng and Ye Ge had also previously entered the Origin Pond, presumably to contend for the thousand-foot water beast, but were now nowhere to be seen, suggesting they couldn’t win against Senior Sister Li.

Others speculated that everyone seemed to have underestimated Senior Sister Li, and perhaps in the future, the rankings of Senior Brother Kong Sheng and Senior Sister Li among the Ten Saint Sons would have to change.

Many disciples whispered amongst themselves, their eyes filled with admiration, praising Li Qingchan profusely.

Although some Sword Summit disciples strongly supported Kong Sheng, they were fewer in number, and their objections were quickly drowned out by the crowd.

Lu Yan and others also showed expressions of shock. She then looked at Li Qingchan’s figure and muttered her surprise that Li Qingchan was so powerful that even Kong Sheng and Ye Ge couldn’t outcompete her.

Witnessing Li Qingchan about to achieve the Eight-Dragon Baptism and break Chu Qing’s past monopoly, Lu Yan, as a fervent supporter of Chu Qing, naturally felt some regret. However, she could reluctantly accept this outcome, as Li Qingchan was, after all, the third-ranked Saint Son.

Amidst the widespread astonishment, Kong Sheng, dressed in black, stood with his hands behind his back on a mountain peak. He gazed with a somewhat cold expression at the phenomenon above the altar, his hands involuntarily clenching into fists.

Ye Ge, standing beside Kong Sheng, sighed that he hadn’t expected Senior Sister Li to get ahead in the end.

Kong Sheng remained expressionless, but suddenly his gaze shifted to a distant mountain peak where Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao were. As he watched the two, his eyes grew a little colder.

If it hadn’t been for their interference this time, that Dragon Origin Marrow Crystal would never have fallen into Li Qingchan’s hands.

Li Qingchan, however, paid no mind to the commotion caused by the appearance of the thousand-foot water beast’s Dragon Origin Marrow Crystal. With a sudden clench of her jade-like hand, the crystal shattered, and the Dragon Origin Marrow within flowed down, permeating the stone pillar.

Brilliant, dazzling light suddenly erupted.

Then, a deep dragon roar echoed, and everyone, with fervent eyes, witnessed another dragon figure roaring out from the stone pillar, circling around Li Qingchan.

Eight Dragons!

The entire area erupted in an uproar.

Li Qingchan’s beautiful eyes slightly lifted, and she sighed faintly as she gazed at the eight dragon figures. However, she then hesitated no longer, took a deep breath, and with a thought.

The eight dragon figures roared, one after another, descending with a whoosh and pouring directly into Li Qingchan’s crown.

Boom! Boom!

Genesis Qi surged forth, forming a vast cloud of mist that gradually enveloped Li Qingchan’s graceful figure.

Yet, the continuous Genesis Qi fluctuations emanating from within vibrated through the heavens and earth.

After a long hiatus, the Eight-Dragon Baptism finally reappeared above the Origin Pond.