Above The Sky
Chapter 330 - 330 307 Fully-Automatic Cultivation and Leaving the Ruins 33

330: Chapter 307: Fully-Automatic Cultivation and Leaving the Ruins (3/3) 330: Chapter 307: Fully-Automatic Cultivation and Leaving the Ruins (3/3) Pale particles of light exploded the moment Ian touched the vortex of light, rushing directly towards the inside of his body.

In an instant, a heart-wrenching, excruciating pain spread, as if the muscles in his entire arm were being torn apart and then crushed.

The youth sharply inhaled a breath of cold air, unable to restrain himself any longer.

This agony was even worse than being hit by an alchemic cannonball, as the pain choked him to the point where he could not even cry out.

To the naked eye, the pale particle streams appeared alive, transforming into flowing beams of light seeping into Ian’s left arm beneath the skin, creating a circuit board-like pattern of silver-white etched lines, or perhaps metallic blood vessels.

The living metal that served as an arm guard on his left arm seemed to be catalyzed by the power of the Spark Furnace Core.

As the pale beams of light wriggled continuously, they gradually fused with Ian’s left arm, permeating deep into the muscles and bones.

—This was a transformation…

a transformation much like taking a Demi-Magic Potion!

Having taken Fairy Wings, a Demi-Magic Potion once before, Ian was painfully aware of what this sensation meant: it was the process of forcibly creating a new Origin Structure within an already established one.

Furthermore, this time, the Spark Furnace Core had no connection to the previous structure, forcibly carving out a domain within his body exclusive to “it.”

Morien Steel was one of the materials for this nascent Sublimation Organ, and this was by no means a bad thing.

In fact, it was immensely beneficial; it was better to have materials than none, and it wasn’t a waste so long as the Morien Steel proved useful.

The problem was—it was too painful!

“Ah!

Damn it…

Even if my hand were to be crushed inch by inch, it wouldn’t be this painful!”

Like a bolt of lightning, the stimulus struck, and Ian’s forehead and back were instantly drenched in stress-induced sweat.

He almost collapsed to his knees inside the mouth of the Crystal Dragon.

But Ian ultimately endured, standing in place with sweat pouring down his face.

His left hand was now wrapped in a cocoon of silvery metallic light.

The youth could sense a vast entity, composed of numerous Essence Inscription structures, transferring from the Crystal Dragon’s ossature to his left hand.

Ian used the Silver Chip as a universal port, directly linking it to the Ancient Dragon Core…

and his own brain.

This was also why the pain was so intense because Ian, in an effort to fully control the Spark Furnace Core, connected it directly to his central nervous system.

The light cocoon enshrouding Ian’s left hand continued its cycle of expansion and contraction, its brightness fluctuating.

Through the semi-translucent cocoon, one could barely discern the contour of his left arm and the luminous pathways spreading across it.

After a dozen breaths or so, the metallic cocoon abruptly contracted, and all the metal veins and lines withdrew into Ian’s left hand—his arm suddenly felt heavier, and the young man sensed waves of wildly intense Natural Spirit Energy fluctuations coming from his left arm.

The Natural Spirit Energy from the surrounding world was pouring incessantly into his left arm, which had started to assimilate with the living metal and the Spark, dramatically boosting his momentum, wildly, explosively!

But this energy could not be utilized by him in full…

Only by channeling it into the Ancient Dragon Core, for time to convert, could it become usable Essence.

“Connect!”

Without any hesitation, Ian decisively gave the command, and the Ancient Dragon Heart Core obediently complied with the words of its master, beginning to absorb the natural Essence emanating from the slowly forming light azure pathways in the young man’s left arm.

Morien Steel, as the material constructing the conduit system of the Spark Furnace Core, had already integrated into Ian’s body, which was the true form of the shallow azure Essence channels on the surface of his arm.

Finally, the Ancient Dragon Core had acquired its long-missing ‘self-supplementing energy module.’

A sense of fulfillment washed over Ian; he knew that if the Ancient Dragon Core’s completion status was previously only at ten percent, then with the addition of the Swamp Crocodragon and the Spark Furnace Core, its completeness had now exceeded fifty percent!

Although many functions were still locked, at the very least, the energy furnace core and refining functions were now accessible to Ian!

And at that moment, Ian suddenly had a realization.

“I can…

advance to the Second Energy Level now?”

Ian’s face showed surprise, but he did not find it strange.

The Second Energy Level, in essence, meant that the Sublimation Organs in the body formed a complete cycle, and with the addition of the Spark Furnace Core and the Ancient Dragon Heart Core, Ian obviously met the criteria.

The energy circulation system centered around his Spark-infused left arm and heart had already pervaded his entire body.

But the problem was…

this Second Energy Level had no lineage to speak of.

It was merely that Ian’s strength had already surpassed that of a Sand Armor Apprentice, which naturally induced the desire to advance to the Second Energy Level.

Of course, Ian suppressed this desire.

Not to mention that the Magic Potion for the Second Energy Level was not yet concocted, advancing now would only waste his potential on a primitive Sublimation Organ that had not been researched.

Even if there were one available, he still planned to create a fourth First Energy Level Sublimation Structure.

After his journey to the Southern Sea Ruins, he had already planned to place the Essence Organ of the fourth Sand Armor Apprentice in the “digestive system”.

The transfer of the Spark Furnace Core had come to a conclusion.

The eyes of the Aether Crystal Dragon almost completely dimmed, and after it issued its final Dragon’s Chant, it slightly opened its mouth.

Ian stepped out from its mouth and locked gazes with the behemoth.

“Rest easy, I will give it my all.

I seldom make promises to other lives, but once I do, I commit myself fully,” he said.

Ian reached out and closed the dragon’s unblinking eyes with a touch, and as he did so, the Aether Crystal Dragon gradually ceased its breath in response to his caress.

It had died.

Ian fell silent for a moment, gazing at the behemoth before him and let out a long sigh.

“The continuation of life…

Worm Nests rely on parasitism and the Spirit Energy Network while ordinary life can only depend on offspring.”

“In the end, everyone desires to exist or to continue in this world,” he added.

Shaking his head slightly, he turned away, leaving the body of the Aether Crystal Dragon behind, with three dragon eggs in tow, walking toward the shore.

Everyone welcomed Ian when he arrived, and although he appeared unharmed at a glance, everyone was still very anxious.

After all, being swallowed by the Crystal Dragon was a bizarre and terrifying thought.

“Ian, your left hand…”

Yisen Gard was the first to notice something off about Ian’s left arm, and asked with a slight frown of concern, “Is this a side effect from the Labyrinth Master Authority’s transfer?”

At that moment, Ian’s left arm had taken on a peculiar metallic texture, resembling the shell of a Crystal Dragon, with pale blue intricate metal lines starting at the back of his hand and spreading upward to his elbow, with several main, thicker lines reaching up his arm toward his shoulder, converging near his chest.

Of course, most of it was concealed by clothing, with only the arm visible to outsiders.

“Ah?

Yes.

Right, it is a side effect of the Labyrinth Master Authority’s transfer,” he admitted readily.

Since Yisen Gard himself had offered the speculation, how could Ian not go along with what the other had said?

He acknowledged it candidly, then lifted his head to look seriously at the crowd and slowly said, “I now know many paths in the labyrinth, the ways leading from here to the outside…

But the Crystal Dragon had one condition before it died, and that was to help it continue its bloodline.”

“That was our goal to begin with.

Ian, you are the biggest contributor to this relic exploration, I won’t make things difficult for you and am happy to let you fulfill your vow,” they responded.

Stroking his beard, Master Gossay looked at the patterns on Ian’s arm with curious eyes.

He had never seen a human Labyrinth Master, but he had seen similar patterns on Magical Beasts—this wasn’t surprising; what was surprising was Ian himself.

Taking his gaze back, the old man looked at the three dragon eggs Ian had brought.

After carefully examining them, he nodded and said, “Of these three dragon eggs, only one seems healthy and can hatch naturally, while the other two might require artificial assistance to complete the hatching process.”

“Harrison Port does not have the conditions to assist these two dragon eggs in hatching; it would be best if we take them back to the Imperial Capital, where professional labyrinth scholars will do everything in their power to hatch them and then breed them within a national labyrinth…

At least, it’s better than living in the wild,” he went on.

Master Gossay didn’t speak of what should be done with the one healthy egg, nor did Ian or Yisen Gard.

Andor, on the other hand, didn’t even come near; instead, he was chatting with Shasha—God knows how he managed to talk to a shark.

Everyone understood that some things need not be spoken so clearly.

And Bishop White Mist simply wasn’t part of this conversation; instead, he made two concentric circles with his hands over his chest in the direction of the Aether Crystal Dragon’s body and muttered a prayer.

After reaching a consensus, Ian no longer planned to rest…

At the moment, he was no longer tired; the power from the Spark was continually flowing into the Ancient Dragon Heart Core, making him feel as though he was constantly in a state of cultivation, refining origin essence.

This feeling of automatic cultivation was indeed a first for him.

“Let’s go, it’s time to depart from this relic site,” he announced.

With that, the guide once again took his position at the forefront of the team.