Chapter 1111: Awakening, Fudo Myo-o

A weak dragon's cry suddenly echoed in the Yuanfu world.

Perched on the Dragon Almond Tree, the Dragon Almond Spirit nodded its head contentedly. Seeing that the Dragon Almond fruit was indeed beneficial to the human boy, it finally rested and disappeared.

Just moments ago, it had even thought its Dragon Almond fruit had turned into poison!

But clearly, it wasn't; judging solely by the outcome, regardless of the process, the Dragon Almond fruit's enhancing effect on humans was still within the normal range.

Hmm, the abnormal process must have been the human boy's own issue...

Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoshou, who had only just recovered from the side effects of the medication, lay completely sprawled on the ground, helplessly gazing at the sky.

"I survived…" Xu Xiaoshou mused silently, his face ashen.

Although his physical condition was excellent after consuming the Dragon Almond fruit, his mental state felt as if he were on the verge of death, leaving him utterly exhausted.

"What a clear world!" Straining to move his eyeballs, Xu Xiaoshou could clearly perceive the incredibly powerful effects the Dragon Almond fruit had on his body, even without using "Perception."

For instance, even though he lay motionless, his eyesight was hundreds, if not thousands, of times better than before.

Dust particles in the air, tiny spiritual entities, and even faint life forms he had never noticed before, were now presented with astonishing clarity in his vision.

"So, my Yuanfu world is already beginning to give birth to life forms?"

Although these weak creatures couldn't even be called mayflies, Xu Xiaoshou had no idea how to name them.

However, the emergence of "spirits" and the initial birth of autonomous life forms... all indicated that the Yuanfu world was beginning to evolve towards a Great Thousand World.

In due time, this place would become a true interdimensional plane.

If he continuously added World-Suppressing Treasures and helped this world evolve, using the Dragon Almond Tree, one of the Nine Great Ancestral Trees, as its foundation, who's to say this place couldn't truly develop into something akin to the Sacred Divine Continent?

It would, however, require a very long time.

"Is this the power of a 'Dragon'?" Xu Xiaoshou continued to move his eyeballs; purely by sight, he could see everything within a fifty-mile radius, as long as his line of sight was unobstructed.

Such a change was truly incredible, as Xu Xiaoshou wasn't even using his spiritual sense or "Perception" at the moment; he was simply observing the world with his physical body's strength.

"Just one Dragon Almond fruit can bring about such an effect?"

Xu Xiaoshou was quite shocked. After his body recovered a little, he continued to examine his physical changes, and in a daze, he felt as if he had discovered another secret.

Without needing to consciously "Perceive," Xu Xiaoshou instinctively noticed the "flow" patterns in the air.

"Wind…" As his thoughts stirred, without using any spiritual essence or summoning Cangkou for Reverse Sword Control, his body, which had been limp on the ground, slowly floated into the air by leveraging these "flow" patterns.

"Holy crap!" Xu Xiaoshou exclaimed in surprise.

He could fly using only his physical body's strength?

"A dragon?"

"Summoning wind and rain?"

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't yet felt the ability to "summon rain," but he felt the ability to "summon wind" had been etched into his very bloodline, becoming an innate talent.

Maneuvering and adapting to the ability to fly purely with his physical body in mid-air, Xu Xiaoshou keenly noticed that the changes brought by the Dragon Almond fruit didn't stop there.

When he clenched his fist, activating his physical strength, faint, extremely illusory golden scale patterns subtly appeared across various parts of his skin.

"Dragon scales?"

"No! Not yet at the level of dragon scales."

"But the appearance of these 'scale patterns' can almost double my physical strength, whether it's for offense, defense, or speed!"

Xu Xiaoshou was once again stunned.

When he exerted all his might to activate the hidden, higher potential within his physical strength, the 'scale patterns' became even more prominent, and his physical strength continuously surged.

From one time, to two, then three times... It wasn't until a faint pain throbbed in both temples, as if something was about to burst forth, that Xu Xiaoshou felt the limit.

"At full power, it's nearly five times my previous physical strength!"

"So, one punch like this is equivalent to five stacked punches?"

"No, that's not right... This is actually equivalent to the attack power of five integrated Sovereign bodies, each imbued with my passive skills."

"The amplification of one punch is definitely more than five times; it could even be fifty times!"

His bones crackled, and blood surged like a relentless tide. Xu Xiaoshou felt his skin was burning, glowing crimson, with steam rising from his body.

He halted the impulse to unleash his full power, left only with an unstoppable expression of astonishment.

"Too strong!"

One must know that all these changes were brought about by just one Dragon Almond fruit!

"Is this the power of a peak Holy Elixir?"

"My current physical strength can almost instantly kill an ordinary Sovereign body, meaning I could instantly kill Old Man Sang?"

"Even against my former self, one punch would definitely knock me out!"

Xu Xiaoshou's expression was odd; the amplification provided by the Dragon Almond fruit was so immense, it far exceeded his expectations.

If he could raise the level of his passive skills on his own, Xu Xiaoshou believed his extended passive skill 'Robust' would definitely be beyond Lv.1 by now, surely climbing several more levels.

"Is this the influence of the 'Ancestor Dragon's Power'?"

"Then, after truly consuming all ninety-nine Dragon Almond fruits and obtaining the complete 'Ancestor Dragon's Power', will I be able to tear apart giant dragons with my bare hands?"

Amidst his astonishment, Xu Xiaoshou had a sudden realization and understood why this transformation was so powerful.

Firstly, Holy Elixirs are inherently beyond reason. Secondly, the Dragon Almond fruit is designed for the Dragon Clan of the Dragon Cave. While it offers a significant physical boost to humans, it might only be a minor enhancement for dragons.

Therefore, when calculating his combat power after consuming all ninety-nine Dragon Almond fruits and gaining the 'Ancestor Dragon's Power', he shouldn't compare it to humans, but truly to dragons!

"A humanoid dragon?"

"The direction of physical growth?"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes gleamed with eagerness; he felt an irresistible urge to devour all ninety-nine Dragon Almond fruits.

However, looking at another Dragon Almond fruit lying on the ground, stained with dust, he decisively suppressed that thought.

"Breakthrough to Sovereign!"

"Once I reach the Sovereign Dao Realm, my body's endurance should be stronger. At that point, I won't immediately activate 'Breathing Techniques'. I'll take some time to fully unleash the 'Ancestor Dragon's Power'."

"Right now, it's impossible to keep eating Dragon Almond fruits. Even if I wanted to, consuming one takes half a day, and the Void Island's 'Death Countdown' won't wait for me to get stronger!"

"Hmm, I still need to calm down…"

Suppressing the impulse, Xu Xiaoshou turned his attention inward to his Sea of Qi.

As a Holy Elixir, even though most of the Dragon Almond fruit's power was used to enhance his physical body, the excess medicinal energy permeated and was absorbed by his Sea of Qi. Xu Xiaoshou could barely suppress a breakthrough in his cultivation realm at this point.

Within his Sea of Qi, various formidable forces, such as the All-Illuminating Primordial Seed, the Three-Day Frozen Tribulation, Sword Will, and Holy Power, were in precarious balance, highly unstable.

This situation had already appeared after he consumed the Holy Relic Fruit. With the added intervention of Holy Power, his Sea of Qi became extremely turbulent, with minor clashes occurring frequently.

The only resultant change was Xu Xiaoshou's impending breakthrough in cultivation.

He had been able to suppress it before, but now, with the Dragon Almond fruit consumed, the excess medicinal power converged in his Sea of Qi, forming an illusory 'Dragon Pearl' capable of contending with the various Saint-tier powers.

Although this Dragon Pearl was currently very weak, formed only from the power of one Dragon Almond fruit, its fundamental tier was exceptionally high.

Its intervention in the Sea of Qi caused the already unbalanced structure of his Sea of Qi to riot once more.

"Boom, boom, boom…"

In his introspective state, Xu Xiaoshou could feel the majestic, ocean-like waves of his Sea of Qi surging, one after another, continuously assaulting the peak of the Star Shrine Realm's shackles, pushing to break through beyond the world.

"It'll happen in the next few days."

For the first time, sensing so clearly how close he was to the Sovereign Dao Realm, Xu Xiaoshou knew that his Sea of Qi could no longer contain the various powers that were almost overflowing within him.

He needed a larger vessel to hold the multiple Saint-tier powers within him.

Breakthrough was the only path.

"But, not now!"

Xu Xiaoshou thought solemnly. He still had one task incomplete; as soon as it was done, he could immediately break through to the Sovereign Dao Realm.

He looked at the red interface of the system in his mind. The first thing Xu Xiaoshou saw was the extended passive skills section.

He no longer wanted to suppress his cultivation realm; his enemies were growing stronger, so an early breakthrough was better.

However, a breakthrough to a major realm, based on past experience, would inevitably be accompanied by a system upgrade.

And once the system upgraded, items in the shop would increase in price, such as 'Passive Keys' and 'Awakening Stones'.

The former, initially priced at one thousand passive points, had risen to five thousand, and now to ten thousand, with system upgrades.

As for the latter, Xu Xiaoshou had never expected it to increase in price. He had been tricked once, as it rose from ten thousand passive points to thirty thousand now.

'Passive Keys' were used to draw passive skills. Xu Xiaoshou didn't want to waste passive points now; he felt his current array of passive skills was sufficient. He would save them to aggressively upgrade skill levels once he reached the Sovereign Dao Realm.

However, in the extended passive skills section, two major skills, 'Transformation' and 'Resilience', had not yet been awakened.

"If I don't awaken them now, I'll have to awaken them later."

"But if I wait until after the breakthrough to awaken them, I'll definitely be fleeced again. I'm supposed to be the one fleecing others; how can I let the system keep fleecing me?"

Xu Xiaoshou sneered, looking at the passive points displayed under the information bar.

"Passive Points: 2,530,206."

"Not much of an increase," he sighed faintly.

The enemies he had recently encountered were powerful, either Void Sovereigns or Half-Saints, but there were very few of them, usually one or two at a time, which was not conducive to increasing passive points.

This was because the passive system's judgment occurred once per second, its accumulation dependent on the number of people, not their cultivation realm.

"Never mind, it's enough."

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou decisively bought Awakening Stones.

Given the price of thirty thousand passive points per Awakening Stone and his past frequency of awakening with seven or eight stones, he figured that even with the worst luck, spending five hundred thousand passive points should be enough to awaken the remaining two extended passive skills, right?

"Ugh, can't jinx it, children's words are innocent, children's words are innocent…"

"I just said nothing at all!"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly spat twice, casting aside all thoughts, and began binding skills to the Awakening Stones, making them skip like stones on water.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Supreme Lord Laozi, quickly manifest, hmph!"

The Awakening Stone cut an elegant arc across the Awakening Pool and sank to the bottom...

"Awakening failed!"

"Awakening failed!"

"Awakening successful!"

"Resilience (Awakened: Immovable Wisdom King)!"

In an instant, Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up.

Three times, and it successfully awakened?

Had the Emperor of Luck finally favored him this time?

"Immovable Wisdom King…"

"A defensive awakened skill? Just from the name, it sounds pretty cool!"

Muttering to himself, Xu Xiaoshou didn't immediately jump to conclusions. Without a second thought, he activated the awakened skill to test it.

"Hmph!"

"Immovable Wisdom King, activate!"

As soon as he made the seemingly useless, yet satisfying, hand seal, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt his body turn to stone, a faint golden light emanating from him.

He then became rigid in mid-air, and even the speed of his thoughts slowed down, as if everything had frozen.

"What... the heck... is this…"

Decisively ending the awakened skill, Xu Xiaoshou regained his mobility and then scratched his head.

"No spiritual essence consumed, nothing else consumed either. Is this awakened skill meant to control myself and help my enemies?" Xu Xiaoshou looked utterly bewildered.

Soon, he realized something was wrong.

Perhaps this defensive awakened skill was meant to freeze himself to resist enemy attacks?

"But, when I'm in 'Immovable Wisdom King' state, I can't move, nor can I use any other techniques. This is an awakened skill that forcefully immobilizes me... a bad skill?"

Xu Xiaoshou never believed an awakened skill would trick him; all the divine skills he had encountered before told him this was impossible.

The path might be set, but one must find various ways to traverse it.

"Then let's do it! Let's see how much damage this 'Immovable Wisdom King' can withstand!"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced left and right, then teleported to an empty wasteland within his Yuanfu world. With a flick of his hand, he manifested the power of the All-Illuminating Primordial Seed.

"Five-Finger Seed Imprint Art!"

Five compressed fire seeds condensed. Under the influence of the All-Illuminating Primordial Seed, which had already ascended to a Saint-tier treasure, this explosive move even frightened Xu Xiaoshou himself.

"Theoretically, if I don't defend and only rely on my physical body to resist… these five compressed fire seeds could blow up my body. Not necessarily to smithereens, but definitely into fragments."

"If it were the 'Saint: Five-Finger Seed Imprint Art', then after being hit, I would definitely die!"

Suppressing his trembling heart, Xu Xiaoshou threw the five fire seeds directly beneath him.

He was going to blow himself up!

He wanted to test what level of attack his new awakened skill could defend against!

With a hand seal, Xu Xiaoshou flashed to the center of the explosion, then roared, "Immovable Wisdom King, activate!"

"Om…"

A faint golden glow diffused.

This time, he was prepared. Even though his entire body was frozen and he couldn't move, Xu Xiaoshou could see things more clearly.

He could "Perceive" that the golden light on his body had formed an illusory Buddha statue, which looked very sacred. But upon closer inspection, the face was still his own... Yes, a sacred version of Xu Xiaoshou!

Besides that, his slowed thoughts could still observe the five compressed fire seeds beneath him, rapidly expanding, then exploding!

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—"

A colossal roar reverberated throughout the entire Yuanfu world.

Tears of Joy at the Broken Tower instantly flashed out, thinking someone had invaded. But after a quick spin of her Divine Demon Eye and a closer look... the World Lord Xu Xiaoshou was causing destruction again?

"Phew!"

Tears of Joy puffed out her cheeks in anger, then with a whoosh, she flew to the site of Xu Xiaoshou's destruction.

"Didn't I tell you? No more explosions in the Yuanfu world! The Shennong Medicinal Garden is still here. Do you want to blow up all the Holy Elixirs and destroy everything here?!"

The enormous mushroom cloud dissipated, but Tears of Joy remained incredibly furious.

However, this time, she didn't see the usual big fool who was blown to black ash in the explosion. Instead, she saw an even bigger fool: clean, unblemished, without a single scratch, but with a completely crazed expression.

"Junior Sister!"

Xu Xiaoshou was clearly overjoyed. Turning his head and spotting Tears of Joy's arrival, he became so incoherent that he directly embraced her, then, amidst cheers and celebration, tossed her high into the air…

"Damage immunity!"

"It can actually gain immunity to attacks nearly at the Saint-tier level of power!"

"We're rich, Junior Sister, we're rich!"

Tears of Joy, inexplicably thrown into the sky, was left flustered in mid-air, completely unable to comprehend Xu Xiaoshou's actions.

Had this guy gone crazy again?