Chapter 312: Heaven-bestowed Fortune, Sealing the Dragon Egg, Forging the Divine Artifact

Zhao Xing didn't linger long at the Black Dragon 'Zhi's' sleeping place and continued his exploration within the Dragon Prison.

Occasionally, he would encounter the carcasses of ancient, prehistoric giant dragons. One such sight was a colossal dragon turtle, thousands of kilometers long, carrying a landmass on its back. On this landmass lay the bones of hundreds of dragon kings. The dragon's head, the turtle's shell, the giant landmass, the dragon kings' bones, and chains crisscrossed the sky. The land was parched and completely desertified, with dragon wells entirely buried under yellow sand.

"What a massive dragon turtle," he mused. "It's a pity it's too big; otherwise, if I dragged it back for its shell, those Fate Officials would surely kneel before me." Turtle shells were the best divination materials for Fate Officials, with dragon turtle shells being the most prized.

"This is a Prison-Warding Dragon Turtle, at least at the Rule Realm, or even the Dao Establishment Realm," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "Using its shell for divination would surpass the capabilities of a Creation Disk in some aspects." Above the First-Grade Fate Palace Realm were the Rule Realm and the Dao Establishment Realm, though these two typically only emerged after spiritual energy recovered. A First-Grade Fate Palace Realm practitioner could alter rules, but such changes were temporary, often fading once the practitioner departed. True Rule Realm abilities, however, could last for a considerable duration, though still not permanently. Only at the Dao Establishment Realm could one's path become an integral part of the Xuanhuang World's rules. For example, True Monarch Lihuo established the rule of "traveling by borrowing fire, returning by walking." Another example was the Ancestor's rule: "Do not enter owned territory without invitation."

However, True Monarch Lihuo had long been deceased, with no Yin Spirit of his own, only statues remaining. He wasn't even a figure of this era. The Ancestor's Dao Establishment rule was primarily focused on protection. When a person died and their soul vanished, their Dao remained, continually exerting influence—this was the Dao Establishment Realm. Nevertheless, the established Dao would fluctuate in strength with changes in the world. Zhao Xing's belief that the Prison-Warding Dragon Turtle was at the Dao Establishment Realm was purely speculative, not based on any specific sensation.

"It's a shame I can't refine it," he sighed. "A turtle shell thousands of kilometers long is far beyond my current ability to process. It would require a team: a forger from the Mechanist profession, a Fate Official, and a martial artist, all cooperating with divine artifacts to refine it." Zhao Xing observed it for a while but did not descend to examine it further. The dragon kings had turned to withered bones, and the land was desertified, utterly devoid of life. Clearly, the dragon wells had long dried up; otherwise, it wouldn't look like this.

Occasionally, he would encounter unique phenomena. Flames rippled like water, manifesting everything that had transpired within the Dragon Prison. For example, it showed scenes of dragons being imprisoned or being led to the Dragon Slaying Platform for execution. "Dragon civilization was truly advanced," he thought. "Showing cautionary tales to the criminal dragons—was this meant to make them repent and become better dragons?" "The Dragon Slaying Platform, that divine artifact, where did it go? Did the ancient dragons ascend, taking some divine artifacts with them?"

Here, Zhao Xing had no worries and let his imagination roam freely. In his previous life, he hadn't heard of dragon races related to the Xuanhuang World in the cosmic version, though there were bloodline races connected to dragons. However, it wasn't certain that the ancient dragons had ascended. Even Fate Officials, when divining the past of the Xuanhuang World's dragon race, encountered various theories. "History too distant to verify," Zhao Xing shook his head.

He flew and searched, indulging in various conjectures, while the Fate Souls within his Sea of Consciousness continuously observed and summarized each other. Time passed quickly, and soon it was August of the 13th year of Dazhi.

Deep within the Dragon Prison, in front of a ten-thousand-meter-tall stele, a twenty-thousand-meter-long five-clawed golden dragon floated, as if asleep. Suddenly, it opened its eyes, a flash of light cutting through the darkness of the Dragon Prison. The light intensified, but its body rapidly shrunk, eventually transforming into a human form. Floating before the stele, Zhao Xing was like an ant, yet his aura seemed to tower even higher than the colossal stone tablet.

"It's already August of the 13th year of Dazhi." "It's been ten years since I entered the Ancient Dragon Court in June of the third year of Dazhi. Excluding six months in the Ancient Ting Kingdom, I've spent essentially nine and a half years exploring the Dragon Prison." "Time truly flies," Zhao Xing sighed. Ever since he reached the High-Grade realm, he felt that time passed very quickly. For High-Grade cultivation, even a slightly longer seclusion would be measured in years. Zhao Xing felt as if time had slipped away in the blink of an eye.

"The Dragon Prison is so vast that it took me nine and a half years to explore most of it." "And this was just a superficial exploration." In many places, out of caution and fear of unforeseen incidents, Zhao Xing merely passed by. For instance, there were several other places in the Dragon Prison like where the Great Dragon King 'Zhi' resided, or like the Prison-Warding Dragon Turtle's location.

"Nine and a half years yielded immense gains." "Firstly, in the process of collecting spiritual energy, through continuous application of the Profound Yellow Separation Art, this miraculous technique actually developed new variations in my hands." "Its purification efficiency improved, and the cultivation effect of this Separation Art, as one of my four fundamental techniques, was already close to the level of a top-tier art."

"Perhaps this technique, originally from Mi Fu, can be researched further," Zhao Xing mused. "Maybe I can reverse its practice to purify primal energy, allowing it to advance towards spiritual energy?" In his previous life, no one had considered improving this spell to convert primal energy back into spiritual energy, because everyone was already living in an era of abundant spiritual energy. At that time, spiritual energy was ubiquitous, so successful research would have been pointless, a complete waste of effort. "If applied to this era, the outcome would be different," Zhao Xing thought. "This research direction will be a primary focus for me in the future." "Later, I'll bring old man Mi into this, and we can all leave our names in history together." He didn't even care for the fame; Zhao Xing's principle was always practicality first, with empty titles being meaningless.

"My second gain is a deeper analysis of the flaws in the Myriad Law Strawman." "Thanks to the continuous use of spiritual energy, deep analysis of the Profound Yellow Separation Art, correct cultivation of the Divine Derivation Technique, and over nine years of mutual observation and recording by my main souls... I have finally preliminarily identified the core issue of the Myriad Law Strawman." "Once I'm out, I'll systematically write it down, then find some practitioners of the Divine Derivation Technique, call Old Liu, and verify it together."

"I also picked up five precious-grade materials and pieces of equipment in the Dragon Prison, accumulated an astonishing amount of spiritual energy, and mastered my first spell—the Dragon King Bone Stripping Curse." "However, none of these gains gave me as much satisfaction as these two," Zhao Xing stretched his body. Picking up divine artifacts or digging dragon wells didn't bring much satisfaction; it just required bending over and having hands. Improving the Profound Yellow Separation Art and resolving the Myriad Law Strawman's flaws—that was true craftsmanship. "This Dragon Prison place is really quite suitable for research." "It's quiet, undisturbed. When bored, I can just pick up a couple of divine artifacts to relax, or drink some spirit liquid." "Powerful dragon carcasses and chains of rules are everywhere." "This isn't a Dragon Prison at all! It's clearly an excellent research institute!"

However, no matter how good the Dragon Prison was, Zhao Xing had to leave. In any case, there would be plenty of opportunities to return later.

"Old Master Xu will pass away in the 17th year of Dazhi," Zhao Xing mused. "I should ideally leave around that time to send him off. And while I'm at it, I can check on Old Liu." Zhao Xing pondered. Liu Tianning's cultivation speed was faster than in his previous life, and having received inheritances at the Shangluo Academy in recent years, who knew what stage he had reached? Xu Xing was his teacher. If Xu Xing died and Liu Tianning was too deeply affected, perhaps overcome with grief, that would be problematic. "If Old Liu were to die and couldn't even transform into a Yin Spirit, I suppose I'd be sad too," he thought.

Zhao Xing composed himself, then once again activated the Ancestral Dragon Transformation. "Roar!" The Dragon Emperor's Tome was expelled, and the Unsealing Spell was activated! The five-clawed golden dragon continuously tapped the ten-thousand-meter-tall stele, golden light flashing and dragon essence surging. This was the Dragon Prison's stone gate array, its activation method recorded in the Dragon Emperor's Tome. "This stele leads to multiple locations, such as the True Dragon Royal City." "If Dragon Emperor Jie wanted to dispatch personnel, he could come directly to the depths of the Dragon Prison from his residence, then pardon certain dragons and release them early to serve him."

"Roar!" Zhao Xing tapped the dragon stele, and soon the dragon script on it combined to form a complex line of characters: "Secret Palace of Sa." The Secret Palace of Sa was located within the True Dragon Royal City. It was akin to a specific palace within the inner court. In ancient times, "Sasa" was both the Dragon Emperor's workplace and residence, as the term itself encompassed multiple meanings. "(Dragon language) Secret Palace of Sa, open!" As Zhao Xing chanted the corresponding spell, the dragon script quickly completed its formation. The enlarged Dragon Emperor's golden script resembled a three-dimensional painting, emitting faint ripples. Zhao Xing shrunk his body and swiftly slipped inside. "How wondrous," he murmured.

After entering the "painting," Zhao Xing felt himself swiftly traversing. "The structure of the Dragon Emperor's golden script not only includes inside and outside, up and down, but also incorporates spatial changes. It's said to even involve temporal changes." Involving temporal changes implied that dragon seers and scholars, similar to Fate Officials, could view the past and future. "Hum." The traversal didn't take long, just three days, and Zhao Xing emerged from the other end of the passage. It was another stele, but this one was much smaller. "The Secret Palace of Sa."

After landing, Zhao Xing found himself above a floating plaza, with clouds and palaces everywhere in the sky. Dragon palaces were typically inverted bowl-shaped, and the Secret Palace of Sa was no exception. "The ruined Dragon Court, I truly wonder what happened here," Zhao Xing looked into the distance. The clouds were black and solidified, motionless, like scenery in a void, or as if torn apart by some terrifying force. Most palaces were damaged, resembling broken bowls. Some palaces were pierced by massive spears, which emitted a dark, ominous aura. Everywhere he looked, there was ruin!

"Only the Secret Palace of Sa is relatively well-preserved," Zhao Xing lamented. He spat out the Dragon Emperor's Tome, which emitted a faint light. The pure white Secret Palace of Sa soon revealed a massive square portal. Zhao Xing slipped inside. The interior was shrouded in mist, entirely composed of colorful auspicious clouds formed from spiritual energy! "Hiss... ah!" Zhao Xing desperately absorbed it. As he absorbed, where the mist dissipated, a colossal water mirror appeared. It rippled gently, simultaneously reacting subtly with the Dragon Emperor's Tome.

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing, engrossed in absorption, suddenly paused. "What is this...?" He walked over curiously. He then consulted the Dragon Court Tome and found illustrations describing the enormous water mirror. "Heaven and Earth Crystal Unsealing Spell... Oh, so that's what it is." Zhao Xing understood. It wasn't a rare item, just a treasure placed by the Dragon Emperor in the inner court to communicate with the Pilgrimage Hall. The crystal, combined with an array, allowed the Dragon Emperor to promptly hear the opinions of his subjects. In essence, it was the Dragon Emperor's administrative panel for handling official matters, sometimes used to issue orders and official documents. Since the Dragon Emperor no longer existed, the Heaven and Earth Crystal operated automatically.

"Its other end connects to the Pilgrimage Hall. Isn't this just the Central Dragon Court's quest hall?" "Am I the backend administrator now?" Zhao Xing's expression immediately became very interesting. Because at that moment, within the Pilgrimage Hall, a dragon was accepting a quest according to the procedure. Previously, when the Secret Palace of Sa was masterless, the Heaven and Earth Crystal operated autonomously, following the array's automatic screening mechanism. But now that Zhao Xing had entered, it would hand over administrative duties to him.

Zhao Xing immediately decided to observe, as those who could come to the Pilgrimage Hall were generally First-Grade practitioners or powerful dragon lords. What was the main purpose of coming to the Pilgrimage Hall? To complete the Dragon King Trial. By completing a certain number of quest rings, one could receive a boon from the Dragon Court and attain the title of Dragon King. "Ordinary dragons can't even get here. Let me see, who has arrived?" "Heaven and Earth Dragon Court, Dragon Emperor's Edict, appear!" The water curtain rippled, instantly revealing the scene in the Pilgrimage Hall outside. As for the outside, Zhao Xing was invisible unless he chose to reveal himself.

When Zhao Xing saw the situation in the hall outside, he immediately chuckled. "Oh, Purple Bone Celestial Venerable and Red Bone Celestial Venerable." Indeed, the two individuals waiting in the Pilgrimage Hall were precisely the two Celestial Venerables from the White Bone Sect who had guarded the Dragon Ascension Platform. Ten years had passed, and he hadn't expected these two to appear here.

"They really are doing the Dragon King Challenge quest," Zhao Xing thought. "Let me see which ring they're on." Zhao Xing waved his paw, activating the array to directly check the Heaven and Earth Crystal's 'backend.' "One hundred and three years ago, they just completed the ninth ring of the Dragon King Challenge quest—the Dragon Soul Icefield." One hundred and three years ago, that would have been completed towards the end of the last opening of the Ancient Dragon Court. "Now he's here to accept the tenth ring." "Hilarious, he ran into me." Without Zhao Xing, after Purple Bone Celestial Venerable performed his ritual, the Heaven and Earth Crystal would activate the array and randomly select and issue a challenge quest from its quest pool. Completing the quest would yield rewards corresponding to the ring number. But now, things were different. "Heheheh..." An eerie chuckle echoed from within the Secret Palace of Sa.

Inside the Pilgrimage Hall, Purple Bone Celestial Venerable obediently lay prostrate, his heart pounding with trepidation as he awaited the water mirror to bestow a new challenge quest. "Completing the Dragon King Challenge up to the tenth ring means only two more steps remain until I attain the Dragon King title." "If I complete all twelve rings, I can obtain the Dragon King position." "Currently, no new Dragon King titles have emerged in the Southern Barbarian Royal Court. If I can complete all twelve rings in one go this time, I will be the sole Dragon King of the Southern Barbarians!" Purple Bone Celestial Venerable's heart burned with excitement.

Although