Chapter Seventy-Two: Rebirth

Ding Xuewen had someone deliver a Resurrection Scroll; once Yu Xiaomin’s body had entirely lost all signs of life, the Black Dragon would only need to pour magic into the scroll to bring her back. Yet, as the Black Dragon gazed at the blood-tinged scroll, it hesitated.

Lately, the Black Dragon had been studying optics and magic theory, constantly researching and refining its own eyes. While it still couldn't focus automatically, it had no trouble doing so actively. Concentrating intently, it observed the necromantic aura swirling on the scroll and felt a strong, inexplicable sense of aversion and rejection.

Its instincts screamed that transforming a soul into an undead was by no means a good idea.

But if it refused, then it could only watch as Yu Xiaomin passed away…

The Black Dragon was torn. Out of the corner of its eye, it inadvertently glanced toward the gold bar resting on the altar…

Well, it wasn’t entirely unintentional—the Black Dragon kept stealing glances at it, consciously or not.

There was simply no resisting the allure of gold for a dragon; it had already taken all its self-control not to leap upon it.

But this time, the Black Dragon’s gaze was not one of obsession or frenzy, but rather measured and analytical.

“Gold is an excellent conductor for magical elements…”

“Even the gods only grant us transformation after accepting gold from the people of Xia…”

“Could there be a connection here?”

A sudden conjecture arose in the Black Dragon’s mind. After discussing it with Academician Ding, it decided to conduct an experiment.

It took the ten-kilogram gold bar originally intended for Freya into its mouth but didn’t swallow it.

Believe it or not, the Black Dragon was actually an omnivore. While primarily carnivorous, it would occasionally consume earth, minerals, or various metals to replenish essential elements for its body.

Much of the reason dragons so adored gold was that it was vital for their growth—it strengthened their bodies and enhanced their affinity for magical elements.

It was said that some powerful dragons ate several dozen pounds of gold each year just to keep their bodies and souls vigorous and stable.

As everyone knows, gold is highly inert and exists mainly in elemental form in nature, yet in the Black Dragon’s mouth, the ten-kilogram bar began to react almost instantly.

Truly a supernatural being capable of digesting gold—no stomach acid required. Its saliva alone quickly melted the metal.

In less than a minute, the entire bar liquefied and began to flow toward the Black Dragon’s skin and blood vessels, seeking to penetrate deeper.

Fortunately, the Black Dragon had anticipated this, focusing its willpower to guard every barrier, refusing to allow even a single gold atom into its body.

Its trap soon bore fruit—the heart began to act up again!

“Just as I expected. Even the gods covet gold to stabilize their divinity—how could you, my little heart, possibly resist?”

Delighted, the Black Dragon immediately exerted its will to suppress and tame the unruly heart.

Perhaps it was because the heart had only recently been soundly thrashed by the Black Dragon’s will, or perhaps its craving for gold was truly insatiable, but this time the heart was far less rebellious and soon settled down.

“There really is a way…” the Black Dragon muttered as it chewed the remaining gold.

Just now, it had been questioning its heart—was there any way to resolve Yu Xiaomin’s allergic reaction to magical elements?

After some persistent querying, a solution finally surfaced in its mind—

If it supplied its heart with one hundred grams of gold, the heart could produce a drop of golden dragon’s blood.

And with just one drop, any person of Xia could complete the transformation of their life form and henceforth harmonize with magical elements.

“Only a hundred grams…” the Black Dragon mused. “So the gods really are black-hearted, making such a profit…”

It recalled that the gods charged a full jin of gold, and demanded faith as well.

Compared to them, its own heart was practically benevolent!

“Black-hearted indeed… But of course, monopolies are always like this. Without mastery of the core technology, you’re destined to be squeezed dry.”

Sighing, the Black Dragon, half out of curiosity, transferred a hundred grams of gold to its heart.

Unexpectedly, the absorption process was tranquil—like water quenching thirst: neither spicy nor sweet, but absolutely essential.

At the same time, the Black Dragon faintly sensed its whole being lighten, as if invisible shackles were falling away.

It seemed, perhaps, that its heart had grown a bit smaller.

Within seconds, the Black Dragon’s heart secreted a single drop of golden fluid.

“Golden dragon’s blood…”

Staring at this drop of heart’s blood, the Black Dragon couldn’t help but grumble, “The name sounds a little off; I’m a black dragon—why call it golden dragon’s blood? Wouldn’t black-gold dragon’s blood be better?”

Grumbling aside, it didn’t forget its purpose. After aiming carefully, it spat the dragon blood directly onto Yu Xiaomin’s chest.

Why the chest? The Black Dragon couldn’t say—just a matter of instinct.

Yu Xiaomin’s body was still encased in a protective suit, yet the golden dragon’s blood seemed weightless and formless, merging straight into her heart.

The heart, which had been slowing toward death, suddenly surged with new energy, beating at full power as if injected with a powerful stimulant.

Yu Xiaomin’s complexion, however, did not improve; instead, she turned even paler, as if all her blood was being drawn into the heart to receive new orders and transformations.

“Quick, Academician Ding—fetch the Fountain of Life! Yu Xiaomin’s body is being transformed by my dragon’s blood—she’ll soon be able to harmonize with magical elements!”

Seeing Ding Xuewen still dazed, the Black Dragon hurriedly reminded him.

Its golden dragon’s blood could indeed help Yu Xiaomin’s transformation, but the human body was too fragile—it needed much more energy for the process to continue and for her wounds to heal.

“Oh—oh…” Ding Xuewen snapped out of his trance, quickly found a small, emerald-green crystal bottle, carefully uncorked it, and poured a few drops into Yu Xiaomin’s mouth—about 0.5 milliliters.

“Not enough… Add another milliliter,” the Black Dragon instructed after a close observation.

With its heightened energy sensitivity, especially at this proximity, it could clearly see just how much life force the greenish Fountain of Life truly held.

“One milliliter of the Fountain of Life… That’s at least the energy equivalent of two kilograms of TNT, and our country has managed to acquire over a hundred jin…”

“I wonder which wise race could possibly be so prodigal.”