Several basin-sized rocks flew towards Chen Xuan. He was airborne, his feet not firmly planted. If hit by the stones, he would be severely injured if not killed.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..."

Flickering shadows appeared as Chen Xuan displayed the Phantom Nine Changes, barely avoiding the rock attacks. He descended gracefully and landed ten meters in front of the dragon.

The dragon glared angrily at the puny human before it. Despite the dragon's bloodline being nearly imperceptible within its body, dragons were inherently proud creatures. In ancient times, they ruled over everything, looking down upon all living beings.

Chen Xuan noticed the wounds he inflicted on the dragon slowly healing. The dragon's recovery ability was formidable. He knew he had to finish the fight quickly.

Gripping his engraved steel sword, he charged once again.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A fierce clash ensued, turning the once picturesque valley into chaos, with shattered wood and rocks flying everywhere, heading towards Chen Xuan.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh."

Chen Xuan continuously dodged attacks. Since his last injury, it was difficult to get close enough to the dragon to attack. Without the ability to release his spiritual power from a distance, he had to engage in close combat to harm it.

He swallowed several pills. Evading attacks wouldn't be a long-term strategy; he had to defeat the dragon.

"Void Slash!"

Chen Xuan brandished his newly mastered Void Slash. Blade shadows slashed towards the dragon, leaving dozens of fine wounds on its body.

At this moment, the dragon's tail swept over a small hill behind, flattening its top. Chen Xuan quickly retreated, realizing the dragon had lost its sanity. Everything in its path was swept away.

"I'm going all out. It's either you die or I perish."

Chen Xuan unleashed another Void Slash.

The dragon was covered in numerous wounds, but they weren't fatal.

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"Kid, your attacks won't threaten it. Find a specific spot to attack. The defense of a Ninth-Rank Magic Beast isn't something you, a Seventh-Rank cultivator, can break through just by brute force," Elder Li reminded him.

These words awakened Chen Xuan. He was pondering how to defeat the dragon when Elder Li reminded him.

"I understand," Chen Xuan said, aiming for the longest wound on the dragon's body. He reopened the almost healed wound, causing the dragon to roar in pain, scaring off all nearby beasts.

"What's wrong with the boss today? Why is he going crazy?"

A group of beasts fled from the valley perimeter.

Chen Xuan leaped onto the dragon's body, clamping his legs tightly around it. He deeply slashed into the newly opened wound, causing the dragon to writhe in pain, trying to shake Chen Xuan off. Chen Xuan jumped down from the dragon's body, dodging its crushing, and once again approached the exposed bone wound, delivering another blow.

After each strike, Chen Xuan retreated. The blood flowing from the dragon dyed the valley red.

He continuously attacked the wound on the dragon's back, severing its body at the waist. The dragon hadn't died yet, its eyes staring fiercely at Chen Xuan, as if asking why he, a mere human, had provoked it. Only when its blood ran dry did the dragon finally die, unwillingly.

This dragon was in the midst of evolution but was provoked and killed by Chen Xuan. Naturally, it died with resentment. After four evolutions, a dragon would transform into a true dragon. Each thousand years of evolution marked a transition. This dragon had already evolved once. If it had completed its evolution, it would have awakened its dragon lineage, making it a formidable opponent. Just as he had entered the valley, Elder Li had advised Chen Xuan to retreat. Who would have thought that Chen Xuan would interrupt the dragon's evolution halfway through?

Looking at his torn clothes, now mere scraps, and his body covered in cuts and bloodstains, Chen Xuan realized that his clothes had been shredded by the dragon's stones, and he was only suffering from superficial wounds.

Approaching the dragon's body, Chen Xuan knew that dragon skin was valuable and could be made into armor. Ignoring his injuries, he took out the dragon's inner core. It was as large as a fist, bigger than an Eighth-Rank inner core, and contained several times more spiritual energy.

"Kid, there's another valuable item on the dragon. With it, you can reach the Ninth Rank in less than half a month," Elder Li's voice rang out.

"What is it?" Chen Xuan asked.

"This dragon has awakened part of its true dragon bloodline due to its halfway evolution. Take out a porcelain bottle, break open the dragon's chest, and inside you'll find its essence blood. That is the inheritance of the true dragon bloodline. If you refine it, you can inherit the true dragon bloodline, and your body will contain a trace of dragon's blood. Don't underestimate this trace. In the ancient continent, humans had no say. The rulers of the continent were the true dragons. The strength of true dragons is beyond your imagination. After experiencing several continental changes, the dragon lineage has become scarcer. Whether dragons still exist on the continent is now unknown."

Chen Xuan recalled the descriptions of dragons from his previous life. They could control the wind and rain, ride on clouds, and mist. Could they be related to the dragons in this world?

Despite his thoughts, Chen Xuan took out an empty porcelain bottle and slowly tore open the dragon's flesh, pouring out three drops of essence blood. Chen Xuan felt the terrifying power contained in each drop. If he swallowed the blood directly, he would explode. That was his instinctive feeling.

"Kid, with just a few drops of this essence blood, your strength will rapidly increase," Elder Li exclaimed excitedly.

"How do I refine these drops of essence blood? Do I swallow them directly?" Chen Xuan asked.

"If you want to die, then swallow them directly. Each drop of essence blood will burst you. You must divide each drop into ten parts. Take one part at a time. After refining it, you can take the next part. Also, the dragon's essence blood has another use. You can add some to your bathwater along with some medicinal herbs to allow your body to absorb it. Your physique will then rival that of the dragon."

Chen Xuan realized the significance of this. With his clothes torn to shreds and his body covered in cuts, he had struggled to break through the dragon's defenses. If his body were as powerful as the dragon's, he could reach the Ninth Rank solely through his physical strength. The thought excited him.

First, he absorbed the dragon's inner core. Chen Xuan had been close to breaking through to the Eighth Rank for almost a month now. The saturation of his true power was close to the Eighth Rank. After absorbing this inner core, he believed he would immediately reach the Eighth Rank. Returning to the clan this time, they wouldn't expect him to have risen three ranks in just two months.

Activating the Swallowing Heaven Technique, the dragon's inner core's spiritual energy surged into Chen Xuan's body. The Ninth-Rank spiritual energy was massive.