Chapter Eight: The Nine Gates Open, the Nine Dragons Devour the Heavens

The purple-gold filaments within Chu Tianchen’s body continued to spread frantically, enveloping even the surrounding vegetation. As time passed, they were encased as if within a silkworm cocoon. This cocoon, however, grew larger and larger—three meters, five meters, ten meters, twenty meters...

About an hour later, the entire cocoon stood a hundred meters tall, engulfing the flora and fauna within a radius of several dozen meters and creating a strange, wondrous sight in the middle of the forest. More miraculously, wherever these purple-gold filaments touched, the earth began to sprout new life, and the encased plants grew with wild abandon. Some first-rank demonic beasts caught in the web found their cultivation levels slowly rising, while certain small animals suddenly gained sentience and moments of enlightenment. In short, the entire area became vibrant, pulsating with boundless vitality.

This force of renewal spread rapidly. Before long, even Gu Ming, who had been floating on the surface of Azure Bay, was touched by the filaments, causing his body to twitch. Gu Ming, who previously had no breath and only a faint heartbeat, slowly opened his eyelids a crack.

"Wh-what is this?" Gu Ming was deeply shaken. He had thought he was on the verge of death, but unexpectedly, he was alive again. He could feel his battered body slowly mending; even his shattered dantian was being repaired, filling him with immense joy. Soon, he too was enveloped by the purple-gold filaments. For Gu Ming, this was a resurrection from the dead. Furthermore, he discovered that as his dantian was repaired by this violent, restorative energy, his aura began to climb steadily.

What kind of power was this? He had never encountered such terrifying regenerative strength in the Great World. However, he did not dwell on it; once his injuries were healed, his only thought was to escape immediately. If his grievous wounds could be mended, so could Ye Nishang’s. Once she was free from the Yin-Yang Huanhe Powder, he would undoubtedly be a dead man.

Meanwhile, Chu Tianchen’s bloodline power continued to boil, and the purple-gold filaments spread wildly until the cocoon reached a height of three hundred meters before finally coming to a halt. The surrounding forest fell into an eerie silence. Sensing the changes, many demonic beasts crept toward the site out of curiosity. They gazed up at the cocoon, which resembled a mountain, and when a stray filament fell upon them, they felt instantly purified.

Before long, one demonic beast after another lay quietly beneath the purple-gold cocoon, appearing as if they were paying homage. Inside the massive cocoon, Chu Tianchen’s heart beat with a steady rhythm. His injuries were already completely healed, a recovery so miraculous that even he found it incredible. His entire body had been washed and tempered time and again by this restorative power until no impurities remained; his pure, ancient bloodline surged and flowed through his limbs and bones.

In the next moment, the ancient ring left by his mother shimmered, releasing a golden radiance. Rays of light filled the air, and after a while, the giant cocoon seemed to be veiled in a layer of golden light—a light imbued with an aura of eternal antiquity. Chu Tianchen was stunned. Back when he had first lost consciousness, he had heard a voice emanating from this very ring, saying that after thirty thousand years, someone had finally unsealed the Zixiao Divine Rune Array.

As the golden light enveloped him, Chu Tianchen felt his consciousness shift, and his spirit entered the ancient ring. It was a vast galaxy filled with a majestic, ancient atmosphere. For a fleeting moment, Chu Tianchen felt a strange sense of familiarity, which he surmised was related to his own bloodline. Just as he surveyed the boundless stars, a dragon’s roar that shook the heavens echoed through the galaxy, causing his soul to tremble and his consciousness to nearly shatter.

Then, a massive head—majestic and awe-inspiring—appeared, blotting out the sky. It took Chu Tianchen several minutes to realize it was a dragon, shimmering with golden light. Its eyes were like twin suns, emitting a dazzling radiance; any creature that met its gaze would surely feel as small as dust. The dragon’s might permeated the entire galaxy, and even Chu Tianchen felt a compulsion to bow. Its body was unimaginably vast, seemingly spanning the galaxy and connecting the ends of the universe. Every scale flashed with brilliant light, containing the power of stars and exuding endless majesty. Its horns, like two towering mountain peaks, pierced the heavens with an intimidating presence. Standing before it, Chu Tianchen felt like an ant.

His bloodline boiled once more, and his body began to emit a purple-gold glow. Man and dragon locked eyes.

"Soul-imprinting at a glance!" the dragon declared.

In an instant, fragments of profound information flooded Chu Tianchen’s mind. With that single glance, the inheritance was left within his consciousness. As the memory fragments pieced themselves together, the identity of the massive dragon in the Nine Heavens Galaxy became clear: this was the Eternal Dragon Emperor!

He had just received the inheritance of the Eternal Dragon Emperor. Only a terrifyingly powerful being at the Emperor Realm could achieve such a feat—a soul imprint forcibly injected into his mind. Moreover, his bloodline was of the same lineage as the Eternal Dragon Emperor. Could it be that he was a descendant of the Dragon Emperor himself? Chu Tianchen was deeply shocked.

As the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance was fully digested, Chu Tianchen gained mastery over the Six Paths: Martial Arts, Alchemy, Soul Cultivation, Weapon Refining, Runes, and Arrays. He gained clarity on everything he had previously struggled to understand. Even more terrifyingly, he now held insights into all six fields. On the continent, mastering just one path was enough to establish a foundation, and being a dual practitioner of alchemy and martial arts was considered the mark of a peerless genius. Mastering three was a one-in-a-billion anomaly. But he, having inherited the legacy of the Eternal Dragon Emperor, now understood all six. If the world were to know this, "shocking" would be an understatement.

As the inheritance concluded, Chu Tianchen wanted to speak, but the majestic figure suddenly vanished.

"The Zixiao Divine Rune Array has had one gate opened, and the first volume of the Nine Dragons Heaven-Swallowing Art has been bestowed upon you. The other eight gates contain the remaining eight volumes."

"When the nine gates open together, the nine dragons shall swallow the heavens."

"Young man, the rest is up to you. I hope that when we meet again, it will not just be me, but the other eight as well."

With these words, the aura of the Eternal Dragon Emperor faded away. Chu Tianchen snapped his eyes open. In the next moment, the purple-gold cocoon began to peel away. A genius reborn was about to emerge from his shell.