The moment those words echoed, his entire body went still. A chill crept up his spine.

"Did you really say that? Are you even fucking hearing yourself?"

He doesn’t curse normally, but this time he had to. It wasn’t that this was the first time he was hearing about the Nirvana Flames of a Phoenix.

But it was about the method and the implications of the answer! The Infernal Dragon was basically telling him to be reborn!

"Yes, that’s the only solution I can think of to raise the tier of your Spirit Root. And besides, I’m telling you a method to be reborn with a better Spirit Root, what’s this reaction about?"

At the end, its tone turned curious. Hearing this, Emperal shook his head and sighed.

"It’s not that I don’t want to have a better Spirit Root; more specifically, I am the first person up for the experiment. It’s just that...as trash as this body is, it is unique in its own ways."

"Oh? This is the first time I’m hearing such words...that too, from a half-blood."

"Yes, of course, the side effects are more than the pros. But still, possessing this bloodline erases all the side effects that generally come with that specific bloodline. And it increases one’s general comprehension to a very high degree."

Emperal spoke, his words made the Infernal Dragon nod inwardly.

"This boy...is strangely correct."

"And besides...I am my parents’ last legacy. Though I don’t even know if they are alive."

Emperal chuckled dryly, and the Infernal Dragon remained silent, not adding any comment to it.

"Alright, enough being emotional. I wasn’t entirely serious; the effort I put in and the results I got are more than enough of a reason to be reborn. I am sure, the Nirvana Flames of a Phoenix isn’t the only thing that is required, right?"

Emperal spoke, his tone shifted to his usual persona. No bullshit, straight to the point. Inwardly, the Infernal Dragon was a bit surprised.

"So young and he could already control his emotions to such a degree, a seed worth watering indeed."

It thought inwardly, before addressing Emperal directly.

"Yes, there are a total of five items needed for this ritual. One of which, you already know—Nirvana Flames of a Phoenix. For now, we will keep the last two items aside. The first thing you should acquire is a Verth Spring."

Emperal’s jaw almost hit the crater on the ground!

"Goodness, why are all the things that come out of your mouth either unattainable treasures or treasures that are worth more than a thousand of me?"

The Verth Spring is basically a treasure trove and one of the highest-rated natural treasures on the continent.

It was as rare as Emperal himself. The Infernal Dragon ignored the sarcasm and continued. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"The Verth Spring will be present where the Elves reside, so you should know where to get it, and the second item is the Consciousness Trapping Mirror."

"Alright, enough. Tell me about it once I obtain the Verth Spring."

Emperal immediately waved his hand, stopping the dragon. The information he obtained today required at least a day or two to fully digest. And this dragon already revealed something...he himself didn’t know.

"...True."

The Infernal Dragon went silent, leaving Emperal to contemplate and figure it out on his own.

"First thing, I have to hunt some beasts. My stomach is growling from constant hunger, and secondly, I should really get the hell away from this place before another beast or Verth Practitioner arrives."

Bending his knees slightly, he jumped out of the crater, landing in the spot where the previous trees had been.

Looking at this spot, his mind couldn’t help but wander to Vraelyn—his first lover.

"I, of course, can’t cast this memory aside entirely. Vraelyn, I’m sure you had your reasons at that time. But...your choice was terrible. I hope we meet under better circumstances in the future, where I don’t have to be in your shadows all day."

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, recollecting his memories with that woman. He stood there for a few more seconds until the sun finally rose.

Opening his eyes, he turned back and dashed deeper into the forest.

...

The forest swallowed him as he kept running. The burned perimeter around the crater had left a wide belt of scorched earth that thinned into living forest after a few hundred meters.

The moment he crossed that particular threshold, the typical forest reflected in his eyes.

The birds, insects, wild beasts, and...predators.

The particular noises had been very still while the tribulation was happening, and after it ended, they were now cautiously resuming their lives.

Emperal kept running, he ran for at least twenty minutes before halting. It wasn’t from exhaustion or tiredness. It was from curiosity.

"So you are saying, I have to know Ancient Dragon Tongue to use its abilities and powers?"

"Yes, that is very important. From even the smallest ability to the strongest in the arsenal. You have to know the Dragon Tongue to use it, specifically the Ancient Dragon Tongue."

The Infernal Dragon clarified, guiding Emperal like a live old Daoist.

"Oh, so the earlier, unfamiliar scribbles that were injected into my mind were the Ancient Dragon Tongue?"

When the tribulation had ended, he had received a set of unfamiliar words and an entirely different language. At that time, there were other matters to be focused on, so he had ignored them.

"Yes, use that."

Nodding his head, he felt the Infernal Drake’s nature running deep inside him and hammering like a second heartbeat...way hotter than the first. But steady in a way that his old cultivation had never been.

Raising his right fist, he muttered,

"Kraeth’sol."

The compression was immediate and took place in a second. Verth began gathering inside his veins...in a different and unheard pattern, the heat folded into the structure of his hand rather than radiating from it.

There was no visible flame nor any dramatic glow. Just a fist that felt like holding a bomb from inside.

Standing in front of a huge stone slab, Emperal drove his fist in!

The stone slab, which was at least ten feet high and twelve feet wide, decades old, did not crack.

It detonated from the inside!

BOOM!!