Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

The wounds under Long Han's [Azure Scale Armor] healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even though the bone marrow had been damaged, the powerful "Dragon Blood" allowed it to recover quickly.

Looking at the shattered scales on his body, a bloodthirsty glint appeared in his eyes, and his hideous face seemed to burst out of his body uncontrollably.

A hint of struggle appeared on Long Han's face, as if he was desperately resisting something.

While he was utilizing the precious blood, his will was also constantly being influenced by it.

He disliked this feeling very much!
"This is bad, the precious blood within the Holy Son's body is becoming difficult to suppress." A look of worry appeared on the face of the elder leading the Beast Taming Sect.

The four major families of the Beast Taming Sect each inherit four different types of precious bloodlines. Except for the Ma family, the precious bloodlines of the cultivators from the other three families will bring some negative effects to varying degrees, with the Long family's being the most serious.

The precious blood inherited within the Dragon Clan cultivators can enhance their strength, recovery, and other abilities. The higher the concentration of the bloodline, the greater the enhancement. However, the precious blood will also continuously influence the cultivator's personality and rationality.

The more the power of the precious blood is used, the greater the effect will be. The "demonic nature" will slowly suppress the "human nature", eventually causing the person to completely lose all reason and turn into a bloodthirsty beast.

Even more extreme cases involve physical mutations, transforming the body into a half-demon form covered in scales and sprouting sharp claws—a process known as "demon transformation."

Once one transforms into a half-demon, it means that one's "humanity" has been completely suppressed, and one has transformed into a demon.

Although this process is reversible, the mortality rate is extremely high; it's no exaggeration to say that it's a matter of nine out of ten lives lost.

Even if they successfully survive this ordeal, they will lose their precious blood, which is undoubtedly more despairing than being killed.

Therefore, in the history of the Beast Taming Sect, most of the cultivators who transformed into half-demon bodies chose to escape, and were eventually all captured and killed by the Beast Taming Sect.

As the current Holy Son of the Beast Taming Sect, Long Han possesses a unique bloodline that grants him unparalleled power, but also greater danger.

The elders were all experienced, and some had even personally participated in the hunt for half-demon cultivators, so they were naturally familiar with Long Han's current state.

Ling Xiao naturally wouldn't let this rare opportunity slip by. Amidst the gathering of wind and clouds, his figure flashed like lightning across the shattered void before him. Countless sharp points gathered within his three-foot-long sword, its clanging sound illuminating the entire land.

"Insolence!" Long Han roared, shaking the heavens and suppressing the restless "demonic nature" within him, regaining control of his body.

With a slight bend in his palm, a dragon claw vaguely appeared.

Ling Xiao, dressed in white and wielding a sword, crossed the void and arrived. A glint of cold light appeared, carrying endless sword energy as he pierced straight towards Long An's chest.

"Chong"

To everyone's astonishment, Long Han actually reached out and grabbed Ling Xiao's sword with his claws. At that moment, the tip of the sword was only half an inch away from his heart.

But this mere half-inch distance was like an insurmountable chasm for Ling Xiao at this moment, and the sword energy he had painstakingly gathered was directly shattered.

"How can it be!"

Seeing Ling Xiao's shocked expression, Long An said coldly, "Aren't you surprised?"

"Of course you should be surprised."

You have no spirit body, no bloodline, and mediocre talent. You should be grateful for the fact that you have managed to get to where you are today. Yet you are still not satisfied and have tried to challenge the majesty of this holy son time and time again. You even dared to covet the position that does not belong to you.

Even the light of a firefly dares to rival the brilliance of the moon.

"I severed your arm back then, but that didn't make you face reality. Today, I, the Holy Son, will shatter your delusions completely!"

The blood energy within Long Han roared, causing the surrounding space to tremble slightly. The dense blood energy was almost tangible, and with a single punch, it pierced through the spatial barrier and struck Ling Xiao's chest.

Ling Xiao's chest caved in deeply, coughing up large amounts of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, a horrifying sight.

It moved horizontally for dozens of miles in the air before finally coming to a stop.

"cough cough"

Ling Xiao struggled to his feet in mid-air, barely able to straighten his back.

He calmly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "You're right."

I do not have a celestial spiritual root, a spiritual body, or a powerful bloodline. If it weren't for my master's mercy in taking me as a disciple, I would never have achieved what I have today.

My skills are not up to par; I am no match for you.

"I, Ling Xiao, am unworthy and have failed the training of my sect and the expectations of my master. Now, all I can do is use my meager strength to pave the way for my fellow disciples!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Xiao tossed out the longsword in his hand and formed a strange hand seal with both hands.

In an instant, a surge of energy burst forth from beneath his feet, enveloping him from above. The sword suspended in the air began to spin rapidly, its endless sword energy converging and flashing with a chilling light that caused the heavens to change color.

"It's the Nine Heavens Forbidden Technique!" Ji Shinian couldn't help but take a few steps forward, his eyes fixed on Ling Xiao, who was completely enveloped by the storm formed by the airflow.

"What is the 'Nine Heavens Forbidden Technique'?" Song Changsheng frowned slightly. In the cultivation world, anything that could be associated with the word "forbidden technique" was a strictly restricted technique that would harm both the user and others.

If it can be called a forbidden technique by Ji Shinian, how could the burden on the body be small?
Cai Die replied in a deep voice, "The Nine Heavens Forbidden Technique is a potential-generating secret technique created by the previous palace master. It extracts the potential of cultivators in exchange for the ultimate power."

Song Changsheng was shocked. Although both were about overdrawing their bodies, the meanings represented by the Golden Core Origin and Potential were different.

Gu Xueying and the others burned their own golden core essence to enhance their strength. Although this would put their lives at risk, as long as they did not overexert themselves, they could slowly replenish the lost essence power after returning to the Myriad Manifestations Palace using treasures.

Extracting potential is different. It is not fatal, but it directly overdraws one's future potential. Unless there is a leap in one's life level, there is no way to replenish it. This is a direct sacrifice of part of one's path.

Even ordinary cultivators would find it hard to accept, let alone a top genius like Ling Xiao. He originally had the hope of breaking through that barrier and reaching the Nascent Soul realm, but perhaps because of using this forbidden technique, he might be stuck at the Golden Core stage for the rest of his life.

Ling Xiao did it anyway, using this forbidden technique that everyone in the Myriad Manifestations Palace feared, just to gain absolute power and make a decisive decision!
"Chong"

All the power was poured into the rapidly spinning sword in the air. Even though they were far away, the cultivators watching the battle could still clearly feel the terrifying aura emanating from it.

"cut!"

A long howl.

The sword flashed like a rainbow, its thousand-foot sword energy sweeping out as if to cleave the sky in two.

Long Han's heart pounded wildly. He never expected that Ling Xiao would use such a forbidden technique. It was clear that he wanted to "perish together" with him!
"wishful thinking!"

With a fierce shout, an extreme madness appeared on Long Han's face. The beast that had finally been dormant within him was reawakened, and a powerful force burst forth from his body, instantly overwhelming his reason.

On the other side, the Azure-Scaled Wyvern seemed to sense its master's call, tearing apart Ling Xiao's Kunpeng Dharma Image with all its might, and quickly rushed to join Long Han. The sword energy arrived in an instant, causing the space to tremble violently and shatter inch by inch. Spatial turbulence swept in all directions, but it could not shake the sword energy in the slightest.

This sword strike almost surpassed the limits of the Golden Core stage. Even with the combined efforts of Long Han and the Azure Scaled Wyvern, they could only barely withstand it for a short while.

"Roar……"

The Azure-Scaled Pterosaur let out a painful cry as its right wing detached from its body, blood gushing out.

The sword energy continued its relentless advance, heading straight for Long Han.

Although the Azure-Scaled Wyvern failed to block the sword energy, it bought the Dragon's Hound valuable reaction time.

"scoff"

The already dilapidated Azure Scale Armor was completely torn apart at this moment, turning into clanging fragments that scattered in all directions.

With a flash of blood, a strong arm shot into the sky, and bright red blood gushed out.

Although Long Han avoided vital areas, he still lost his right arm.

Perhaps this is cause and effect. He once severed Ling Xiao's arm, and decades later, Ling Xiao retaliated in this way.

"Holy Son!" The elders of the Beast Taming Sect were furious. If the space where the two sides were fighting had not been forcibly divided by the power of the laws of the five True Monarchs, they probably would have rushed up by now.

Long Han looked at the severed arm in disbelief, feeling his consciousness becoming somewhat hazy.

"Dong dong..."

"Dong dong dong..."

His heart was pounding wildly, each beat seeming to provoke his nerves.

Anger, extreme anger, an endless rage welled up from the bottom of his heart, instantly overwhelming all his reason, and his eyes became bloodshot.

That hideous, twisted face reappeared, its gaze towards Ling Xiao filled with endless killing intent!
At this moment, all he wanted was to tear Ling Xiao to shreds, to devour his flesh and drink his blood, for only in this way could he vent the hatred in his heart!
Seeing this, Ji Shinian quickly said, "Wanxiang Palace Academy concedes defeat!"

Although he had already admitted defeat, Long Han's consciousness was already overwhelmed by the precious blood within him, and he ignored everything else, charging towards Ling Xiao, who was almost unsteady on his feet, like an arrow released from a bow.

"presumptuous!"

The Dragon Elephant True Monarch below let out a roar that shook the heavens and earth. The dragon was struck as if by lightning and instantly lost consciousness. It plummeted like a bird with broken wings. The elders of the Beast Taming Sect quickly caught it and then glared angrily in the direction of the Myriad Elephant Palace.

"Chen Tianye, what do you mean!" Tianpeng Zhenjun's eyes were icy cold.

"After conceding, neither side may continue to make a move; violators will be disqualified from the competition!"
"As one of the leaders of the Five Academies, although I am not a referee, I still have the responsibility to uphold the rules of the competition. I have already shown mercy by not killing him on the spot. What do you have to say?" True Monarch Longxiang looked at True Monarch Tianpeng, not to be outdone, and shut him up.

"You could clearly see that An'er had lost his mind and that his actions were not his intention. You could have simply stopped him. Why did you have to be so ruthless?"

"Losing your mind allows you to break the rules? Then everyone can lose their mind."

"You should thank me for my timely intervention, otherwise your Beast Taming Sect would have gained another monster!" Dragon Elephant True Monarch's words were sharp and precisely hit the Beast Taming Sect's sore spot.

"you!"

"Fellow Daoists, please be patient." True Monarch Yingyue slowly stood up.

"Long Han lost his mind, and it was not wrong for Fellow Daoist Long Xiang to stop him, but the attack was really too heavy."

This time, it's somewhat understandable, so the Beast Taming Sect branch's eligibility to participate will not be revoked for the time being. However, if there is a next time, they will be permanently banned from participating in the Five Academies Grand Competition.

The verdict is as follows. What do you fellow Daoists think?

“Good.” The King was the first to express his opinion.

Since both True Monarch Yingyue and the Human King had spoken, even if True Monarch Tianpeng was unwilling, he had no choice but to obey.

In truth, he knew that Long Han's actions had violated the rules of the competition, and that being allowed to retain his eligibility to participate was already the greatest leniency.

Although he lost an arm, he still made it into the top seven, so there is still a chance for him to make amends.

At the same time, Ji Shinian also brought Ling Xiao, who was extremely weak, back with him.

"Senior brother, Lingxiao is incompetent and stops here... cough cough cough, I have failed the sect's training..."

“Long Han is not what he used to be. You have done your best,” Ji Shinian said softly, trying to comfort him.

The amount of precious blood within Long Han's body exceeded everyone's expectations; even if he personally took action, he would still have to go through a fierce battle.

It wasn't a fault of our fighting spirit.

Ling Xiao was able to become the leading figure of the younger generation of Wanxiang Palace, so his strength was naturally not bad. However, he still suffered from the lack of a spiritual body and bloodline. Compared with these top geniuses with profound foundations, he was still slightly inferior.

This is also the main reason why Yi Tianzheng is vigorously cultivating Song Changsheng as a double insurance; he had anticipated this situation beforehand.

It's not that Ling Xiao is lacking in talent. He has no bloodline or spiritual body, yet he managed to stand out from a group of geniuses. How could he possibly be mediocre?

However, sometimes talent and combat power are not the same thing.

Ling Xiao's comprehension, perseverance, and temperament are rare in the world, which is the reason for his rapid progress in cultivation. However, this is not enough. He lacks the ability to kill, making it difficult for him to become a top genius who is invincible in the same realm.

He may not be a match for Long An now, but he will definitely go further than Long An in the future.

"If I had been stronger and severely injured Long An earlier, this battle would definitely not have ended like this..." Gu Xueying's red lips were already bleeding from biting them, her tone full of self-blame.

"You've done very well... cough cough cough." Ling Xiao coughed up some more blood clots, his breathing becoming even weaker.

He strained to stay conscious, reached out and gripped Song Changsheng's arm tightly, and said earnestly, "Fellow Daoist Zixu, Lingxiao is incompetent, so the heavy responsibility of the sect can only be entrusted to you."

Song Changsheng quickly grasped his somewhat cold hand and solemnly said, "Fellow Daoist, please rest assured and recover from your injuries. I will do my best to enter the top three and take back a [Earth Infant Fruit] to repay the Palace Master and all the True Monarchs for their kindness in nurturing me."

"Then... I'll leave it to you, fellow Daoist." Ling Xiao gripped Song Changsheng's hand tightly, then everything went black as he fell into a deep sleep...

...(End of chapter)