Chapter 119: The Devouring of Dark Qi

Hearing Rod’s words, the faces of the few members of the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan across from him changed repeatedly. If they hadn’t known Rod’s identity, they would have attacked without hesitation, determined not to give up that Rainbow Glaze. Rod wasn’t that strong, as could be seen from his earlier opponents. The Third Elder was confident he could handle him alone, but now that they knew his identity, they were much more cautious about attacking again.

On the other hand, there were many people present who had seen Rod unleash Dragon Fury. If they continued to attack now, it would surely leave them exposed and vulnerable, causing trouble for themselves. For a moment, they all hesitated.

If there had been no onlookers, they wouldn’t have hesitated and would have attacked anyway. After all, death was common in the Land of Darkness, so killing someone wasn’t anything unusual—just kill them and avoid leaving any evidence! But if they killed Rod’s soldiers and the news got out, it would be difficult to cover up. The Dragon clan was not to be trifled with; it wasn’t a force the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan could match!

“I never expected the Dragon clan to also be eyeing the Rainbow Glaze. Heh, it was our mistake. Mountains remain, and rivers flow on—let’s see how things turn!” Glaring fiercely at Rod and scoffing at his arrogant demeanor, the Third Elder suddenly turned and left, clearly unwilling to continue fighting.

Seeing the Third Elder’s actions, the young clan leader and the others across from him also grew solemn. They glared coldly at Rod before hurriedly following him. Just because the Third Elder could handle him didn’t mean they could too! They had to swallow this humiliation and find no outlet for it.

Watching them leave, Rod smirked coldly. Those with him also breathed a sigh of relief in secret. They retracted Furnace Heaven back into their bodies, feeling slightly more at ease. They hadn’t expected Furnace Heaven to be such a great help! To be honest, they really didn’t want to keep fighting. That old man was very strong—truly strong. Rod wasn’t sure he could defeat him, let alone with several opponents around.

As a few members of the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan left, sighs filled the area. Their retreat was clearly seen as a joke by many, and the way people looked at Rod changed—some with admiration, some with envy, and some with jealousy! The identity of a dragon made many envious, and having godly strength at such a young age was a sign of extraordinary talent. On top of that, having transformed into human form using the rare Shaping Grass was something countless people pursued desperately.

It wasn’t until those few people disappeared from sight that the onlookers began to leave slowly. In less than a moment, hardly anyone was left in the area.

In Dark Moon City, encounters between two godly experts might not be common, but such scenes happened frequently. So, it took no time for everything to return to calm. Only after everyone had left did Rod sigh in relief and hurry forward. His internal energy was surging, and he needed to find a quiet place to recover immediately!

Walking toward the outskirts of the city, Rod smiled bitterly inwardly. He hadn’t expected to encounter such things right after entering the city. The only place he could think of for quiet rest was by the small lake outside the city!

With heavy steps, he moved forward carefully. Once he was outside the city and sure no one was following, he finally relaxed and quickened his pace.

“What are you still following me for?” he asked coldly, turning to look at the girl behind him. After walking a distance, he noticed the girl still following him, and his expression turned icy. The Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan hadn’t followed, nor had anyone else—only this girl kept sticking close behind him!

“I… you took my Colorful Crystal!” The girl said in a low voice, looking at Rod with a pitiful expression after being snapped at.

Rod was momentarily stunned, then smiled bitterly. Indeed, he had almost forgotten about it—the Colorful Crystal was still on him.

“Come with me!” After scanning the surroundings and confirming no one was around, he spoke with relief.

“But…” The girl hesitated for a moment, glancing back at Dark Moon City, which was almost out of sight, before speaking quickly. But Rod didn’t give her a chance to continue.

“If you want the Colorful Crystal, come get it!” With that cold remark, Rod continued walking, ignoring the girl’s reaction behind him.

Pouting in displeasure as she stared at Rod ahead, the girl clenched her small fists tightly. After stomping her foot in frustration, she hurriedly followed him. One after another, they arrived at the small lake in no time. Without looking back at the girl, Rod summoned Fen Tian to protect him and headed straight to the place where he had been practicing a few days ago to heal his internal injuries. With a cough, he spat out a mouthful of blood—his face turning pale, his expression icy cold. “Damn it!” he cursed inwardly. The earlier fight seemed to have left him unharmed, but only he knew the terrifying power hidden in those vicious lightning strikes. His internal combat energy was in chaos. If it weren’t for his divine-level combat energy core stabilizing it, he would have been ruined long ago. He cursed the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles for their ruthless tactics. Fuming, Rod thought that anyone else might have already given up or even lost their life. With each encounter, a bit of that purple lightning’s power seeped into his body, turning his interior into a thunderstorm field. Without his strong physique and formidable strength to hold back the chaos, it would have exploded long ago. His top priority now was to find a way to expel those lightning forces. As for the girl, seeing Rod’s condition, she showed a hint of surprise—clearly shocked that someone who seemed unharmed actually suffered such severe injuries secretly. She watched him with concern, sighed, and soon her attention was drawn again by the beautiful scenery: green mountains and flowing water, just as beautiful as her own home. Meanwhile, Fen Tian circled Rod warily, his dozen-zhang-long body standing out vividly in its fiery red hue, exuding dragon-like might that deterred any hostile magical beasts from approaching. In truth, Rod had summoned it mainly to guard against the girl, preventing her from striking suddenly while he was vulnerable. As his mental energy sank deeper into his body, Rod’s brows furrowed even more—the combat energy had been mixed with the power of lightning. Purple lightning truly was an overwhelming force! Yet he was also pleasantly surprised to find that dark combat energy played a crucial role at this moment, showing its advantages right away.

The devouring ability began to take effect, slowly consuming that invading combat energy. As time passed and Rod gained control, everything proceeded smoothly. After half a day of relentless effort, he had essentially devoured all the Purple Thunder energy and successfully transformed it into his own! The energy contained within the Purple Thunder was incredibly pure. After devouring it, Rod was surprised to find that he had improved slightly, his strength rising again, bringing him one step closer to the mid-stage quasi-divine level. He was secretly pleased—“Those who survive great disasters will surely be blessed” was indeed true. As the lightning energy disappeared, his body recovered rapidly; in less than a moment, he was back to normal. Only then did he slowly open his eyes and exhale a puff of air. How could Rod know that this action was extremely dangerous? Dark combat energy did have a devouring function, but those who practiced it usually wouldn’t dare to consume energy lightly, as it could easily lead to irreversible consequences. Even if successful, it would leave some side effects, after all, that energy wasn’t obtained through their own cultivation. Especially Purple Thunder, which was more terrifying than any other combat energy—no one dared to devour it, not even the dragons. Only this clueless guy, Rod, dared to try, and by sheer luck, he succeeded. Yet, Rod didn’t notice that at the moment he ended his cultivation, the core of combat energy in his dantian suddenly trembled. The originally dark red core showed a glimmer of light—a purple glow! If Rod had noticed at that moment, he would have been shocked—wasn’t that the Purple Thunder energy he had devoured? Unfortunately, everything remained hidden. “Are you okay?” Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was that girl. She was standing less than ten meters away, staring at him with wide, curious eyes. This time, Rod finally got a clear look at her—she was quite beautiful. At around fifteen or sixteen years old, she appeared delicate and cute. Her long black hair hung like a waterfall, covering her shoulders. She had big eyes, a small nose, thin lips, fair skin, and a slender waist. When she grew up, she would surely be as beautiful as a nightingale. In fact, Rod’s mind flashed back to the woman he had seen bathing by that small lake—he believed the girl before him could rival her when she grew up.

“Mm!” Rod nodded slightly and slowly stood up. Turning his back to the girl and facing the lake, he took a deep breath, inhaling the most natural scent of the world, which filled him with great joy.
Watching Rod’s back, the girl’s eyes showed a hint of surprise and shock, her gaze flickering continuously, filled with complexity.