Chapter 147: The Pearl of the Fish-Dragon

The path of trials through the Gate of Rebirth allows no turning back, so I didn’t worry in the slightest about it flying backward.

Watching the shadowy swamp below swiftly recede, I exhaled deeply and laughed triumphantly. It seemed that this time I would pass the first level of the Gate of Rebirth’s trial path—with the key being to use my wits.

“I laugh in triumph, I laugh in triumph…” I hummed excitedly. Once I cleared this first level, I would obtain the complete image of the Nether Dragon.

But just then, a colossal, pitch-black, two-headed giant eagle, tens of meters long, swooped toward the soul-eating bird.

My triumphant expression froze instantly. The aura of this two-headed giant eagle was terrifying—reminding me of the Red-Clad spirit in the underworld, that Ghost King.

This two-headed giant eagle possessed the power of a Ghost King.

“Damn…” Before I could even think about how to deal with it, I panicked and somersaulted, plummeting from the air.

The next moment, the soul-eating bird was torn apart by the two-headed eagle, which then dove straight at me.

Perhaps because my soul form was restricted from ascending, as soon as I fell, I instantly returned to the ground. In a way, I was relieved by this limitation—if I had remained suspended in the air, I would have been shredded immediately.

I pushed my Nether Ghost Step to its limit, condensing all my soul power into my legs. With a fierce leap, I darted behind a blood-red giant tree.

Almost simultaneously, the claws of the two-headed eagle grazed past my soul form, and with a powerful impact, the blood-red tree was ripped apart.

I shrank into the shadows, not daring to move.

The two-headed eagle circled twice in the air before vanishing into the dark sky.

I exhaled long and deeply, leaning against the tree as I began to survey my surroundings.

This was a gloomy forest filled with grotesque trees, some of which had corpses hanging from their branches—an eerie and disturbing sight.

Suddenly, I felt a liquid trickle down my back. Turning around, I was shocked to see black liquid seeping from the cracks in the blood-red tree.

“What the hell is this?” I wondered.

At that moment, the blood-red tree began to dissolve visibly before my eyes.

The next second, a medicinal herb emitting a rich fragrance appeared before me, its golden flowers shining like the sun, as if formed from solid rays of gold.

“A Millennia Golden Sunflower.” My pupils dilated in astonishment.

This was a millennia-old spiritual herb, and I was both excited and puzzled. But how did such a precious herb come to be here? Its roots were fully exposed, clearly indicating it did not originally grow here.

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

The blood-red tree, after being struck by the two-headed giant eagle and cracking open, vanished—and then this Millennia Golden Sunflower appeared.

Could it be that the blood-red tree was a formidable boss? And by some twist of fate, it was killed by the even mightier two-headed eagle, thus dropping this reward?

“Haha, it seems fortune and misfortune are intertwined in life…” I pocketed the Millennia Golden Sunflower, dazed by this unexpected windfall.

At that moment, a shadow suddenly lashed out at me.

My heart skipped a beat; I flipped aside and saw that the shadow was a black tree branch.

Turning again, I saw dozens of black branches, filled with boundless resentment, sweeping toward me.

I transformed my soul power into blades, slashing through the dark light as I quickly retreated.

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At that moment, a massive black tree swung countless branches as it chased after me.

“A tree demon? I hate tree demons the most!” I gritted my teeth.

Now I was certain—the previous blood-red tree was also a tree demon, which explained the drop of the Millennia Golden Sunflower.

But the situation was beyond my control; I had to run.

As I fled, I realized more and more tree demons were joining the chase. This place was truly a jungle of tree demons.

Fortunately, though they could move, their speed was not fast enough—otherwise, even a hundred of me would be doomed here.

Still, while tree demons were slow, they seemed endless, and I was already feeling my soul power draining.

At this rate, I would soon be surrounded.

Suddenly, a black river appeared before me, and I slammed on the brakes.

With tree demons closing in from three sides, I clenched my teeth and jumped into the black river.

No sooner had I entered the water than countless vengeful spirits lunged at me.

Damn! I cursed inwardly, condensing my soul power into blades glowing like blood. One after another, I struck in every direction, shredding the vengeful spirits upon contact.

I forced my soul form forward, carving a bloody path through the encirclement.

The black river’s current was swift, making it difficult to maintain direction.

Fortune smiled upon me when I touched the rocky riverbank, formed entirely of piled stones. I plunged my soul blade into the crevices, finally stabilizing myself.

There, I spotted a cave in the riverbank. Overjoyed, I struggled upstream, intending to enter and use the Nether Crystals I had obtained to restore myself to peak condition.

But just as I was about to enter, a huge mouth suddenly lunged at me from the river.

In that critical moment, I roared and used all my strength to dive into the cave.

“Ah…” My body passed into the cave, but one leg was bitten and torn off by the monstrous jaws.

My soul form weakened sharply, nearly passing out. Fortunately, being a soul form, it could regenerate.

*Bang!*

The gigantic, flat-bodied, ugly fish covered in scales and bristling with sharp teeth kept smashing the cave entrance.

Luckily, its immense size prevented it from entering.

However, the rocks at the cave’s mouth began to loosen and fall under its relentless battering.

The cave was shallow; if the beast collapsed the entrance, it would surely swallow me whole.

*Bang!*

A loud crash echoed as large chunks of rock fell. Seeing the gaping jaws snapping at me, I sighed in despair, knowing escape was impossible.

*Clack.*

At that moment, I felt myself collide with something.

A faint glow flashed, and the ugly fish shattered into fragments in an instant.

Where the fish had vanished, a pearl appeared.

The pearl was pale blue. The moment I held it, my mind grasped its nature.

The Fish-Dragon Treasure Pearl! It allows one to live in water like a fish.

Moreover, it can transform into a fish.

Damn, this treasure is extraordinary.

Onmyoji can survive underwater, but even with water-avoidance talismans, it only lasts a few hours.

Purely relying on magic, even the strongest Onmyoji can only remain underwater for a few days at most. Those using turtle-breath techniques might last ten days or half a month, but with many restrictions, such as remaining immobile.

But to live in water like a fish—mind you, to live, not merely survive—such an Onmyoji was unheard of.

Transforming into a fish was an even more astonishing ability.

In short, the Fish-Dragon Treasure Pearl was a supreme treasure.

If this treasure dropped from that ugly fish, what had slain it?

Carefully, I searched the ground, peeling away stones and mud bit by bit.

Then my gaze sharpened as I spotted a thin, black metal shard.

Slowly, I stretched out my hand, condensing soul power into a sphere to envelop the shard.

In an instant, a powerful suction emanated from the shard, draining most of my soul power.

Panic surged within me—I struggled desperately but could not break free.

It was over. I had just acquired a treasure, and now I was about to perish.

The swing between heaven and hell was truly swift.

My consciousness blurred, and when I came to, I was stunned—I had returned to the Nether Dragon Hall.

But something was different.

Yes, the Dragon Monument before me was unlike before; it was larger.

“The first level of the Gate of Rebirth trial path completed,” a voice echoed in my mind.

Then, the rewards I had obtained appeared before me: the Fish-Dragon Treasure Pearl, the Millennia Golden Sunflower, and a pile of Nether Crystals.

But what about the complete image of the Nether Dragon?

Just as I thought this, a jet-black dragon silhouette surged from the monument, lunging at me.

In an instant, everything around me vanished, leaving only this image of the Nether Dragon before my eyes.