Chapter 523 — Dragon Blood Pool

A vast underground cavern—this was the sight Liora faced upon reaching the other side of the "ordinary" gate.

Stalactites hung from the ceiling toward the cavern floor like stone droplets.

Near the center was a large lake.

With crystalline waters that glowed with golden radiance, it extended for hundreds of meters in both directions, covering most of the cave.

A divine aura emanated from its surface.

It spread throughout the cavern and attracted the surrounding Cosmic Energy, causing it to liquefy within the cave’s bounds.

Liora felt her strength increase just by taking a single breath.

The Cosmic Devouring Technique in her body surged on its own and attracted the Cosmic Energy, controlling it to pour into her talent genes.

This place was very similar to the Star Chamber.

Though slightly less dense, the Cosmic Energy was more than enough to make it a treasured land.

If Liora had come here while she was still weak, such an environment would have been enough to help her evolve at a terrifying speed.

Unfortunately, having reached her current heights, Cosmic Energy was no longer the main restriction for her advancement.

At most, it could help her recently plundered talents advance.

If she wanted to advance to Rank 7, even with just one of her many talents, she would have to seek something else.

Thinking of this, Liora’s movements only paused for a brief second.

After regulating the energies within her, she quietly approached the golden lake and looked down.

This was the Dragon Blood Pool, the reward promised for this year’s Tribe Competition winner.

According to the information she had received, soaking in this divine lake could help an Awakener improve their physical strength, while serving as a place to temper both their minds and talents.

Awakeners whose talents were related to dragons would receive countless extra benefits.

"The Dragon Blood Pool is said to be the Hydra Tribe’s most treasured possession."

"Even the tribe’s elders can’t access it freely. They have to seek permission from the Nine-Headed Hydra."

"This is why the Tribe Chief promised it as a reward for the competition. If he wants to get his son here, he will have to go through considerable trouble.", Liora thought inwardly.

No one knew how the Dragon Blood Pool came to be.

According to the rumors, this place was discovered by the distant ancestors of the Hydra Tribe. After they realized its value, they built a large settlement around it.

Perhaps the higher-ups of the tribe knew of the exact circumstances, but ordinary tribe members seldom heard its name, much less knew about its history.

Liora had also been the same in the past.

However, after obtaining the elderly Devil’s memories and digesting them, she finally understood the hidden truth.

The name of this pool was not arbitrary. At least, the "Dragon" part.

"Who would have thought that the pool that led to the birth of several powerful Awakeners was merely the tip of the iceberg.", Liora commented.

Her eyes then narrowed, and her expression grew serious.

She was no longer as casual as before.

Both her World of Heart and her various talents were activated, urged to their fullest to conceal her traces.

After that, she jumped into the golden lake.

Following a splash, the Cosmic Energy around Liora surged.

Just by being soaked in the golden water, she felt that the speed of absorbing Cosmic Energy had increased dramatically, while even her physique was being constantly tempered.

Despite this, Liora did not stay there.

With a move of her mind, her body began descending into the water.

One meter. Ten meters. One hundred meters.

The further down she went, the more obvious the effects of the lake became.

Popping sounds kept coming out of her body, while several lights lit up on the surface of her skin.

Several talent genes devoured the Cosmic Energy and evolved to Rank 5.

Without slowing down, Liora formed the corresponding Domains with a thought, fusing them into the talent genes and further increasing her strength.

Liora did not know how far she had gone, nor how many talents she had upgraded during the journey.

All she knew was that her consciousness could no longer reach the outside world, evidence of the large distance she had covered.

Just as it seemed that this would go on forever, a tearing sound rang out in her ears.

As if she had broken through an invisible membrane, Liora’s body was pushed forward.

The golden waters vanished.

Yet, the density of Cosmic Energy did not diminish in the slightest.

Clearly, the effects of the Dragon Blood Pool did not come from the water itself, but from its environment.

Letting herself drop to the ground, Liora unleashed all her abilities and concealed her presence.

Then, her gaze swept through the surroundings.

Passing through the bottom of the Dragon Blood Pool had surprisingly led her to another, far bigger, underground cavern.

As she raised her head, Liora noticed that the water above her head was held back by a thin golden film, serving as its support and preventing it from crashing down.

This barrier illuminated the entire cave.

Aside from the barrier and Liora herself, there was nothing else.

Though the cavern was hundreds of times larger than the one near the surface, there was absolutely nothing.

No creatures, no water, not even the stalactites and stones she had seen before.

Even the overwhelming aura had vanished.

Anyone would mistakenly believe that the underground cave was empty.

Fortunately, Liora was not fooled by this appearance.

She continued surveying her surroundings.

Moments later, her eyes lit up.

Her figure blurred and appeared a few hundred meters away. She lifted her head and stared at the empty space before her intently.

Shortly afterward, she let out a sigh.

"That guy severely underestimated this place. The tomb is not in the underground cave, but in a secret demi-plane."

"Even if he had managed to infiltrate this place through that kid, he would have been unable to retrieve it.", Liora shook her head.

Of course, this was provided that the elderly Devil didn’t possess any trump cards.

Having only obtained the memories of his life in this world, Liora could not judge the other party’s limits.

He might well have prepared for such an encounter.

Either way, Liora did not mull over this matter for long.

A golden pupil appeared in the middle of her forehead.

Then, a beam of light shot out.

It didn’t fall on the cave’s walls nor on the ground.

Instead, halfway through its trajectory, it stopped abruptly.

It dissipated, as though erased from existence.

A black curtain appeared on the spot where it vanished.

A tiny corner of it had been chipped off, though it was mending itself rapidly.

Seeing this, Liora didn’t hesitate. Her body transformed into a stream of black light and passed through the tiny gap.

Only a moment later, the curtain had fully recovered. It returned to invisibility, erasing all its traces.

Yet, the strange visitor had also disappeared with it.

Calm returned to the underground cavern.

No one knew what had taken place here, much less that someone had quietly infiltrated the demi-plane of the Hydra Tribe.