CHAPTER 277: CHAPTER 277: GAVE BIRTH TO AN EGG; THE RED CARP HITS STAGE 10

Aureon looked serious and said."This isn’t something a throwback Celestial Dragon can choose. As long as it grows normally, it will end up devouring your Life Force."

Johnnie nodded too. "Cecilia, raising it here is the same. You can still stay with it and watch it grow."

"Yeah, Cecilia, this is the better way to nurture a throwback Celestial Dragon." Atlas and the others urged.

Cecilia still looked hesitant, but seeing how much they were doing for her, she couldn’t refuse and nodded.

"Alright, but what do I need to do?" She turned to Maiev for help.

She knew how childbirth worked, but there was no way she could do it in front of so many people.

Seeing her embarrassment, Maiev smiled. "We’re not asking you to give birth. Leave the rest to Lord Skye and Lord Aureon. I can’t help with this part."

Aureon added."Don’t stress. Go sit cross‑legged under the Undead Tree and leave the rest to us."

Skye urged."Stop fussing. It’s not like we’re making you actually give birth."

"Oh." Cecilia answered softly and, a bit nervous, went to sit cross‑legged under the ancient Tree of Life.

Around the ancient tree, a vast Life Force and Death Power swirled, giving off a strange, uneasy feeling.

Aureon and Skye stood on either side of Cecilia, mighty power surging around them, seeping bit by bit into her body.

Their power was terrifying, not something an ordinary person could bear, but their control was precise, and they wouldn’t let it harm Cecilia at all.

Even so, Johnnie stood by with worry, as if Cecilia really were giving birth.

Hum!

Waves of power surged. Cecilia’s lower belly rose slightly; she frowned, looking a bit in pain.

At that moment, Johnnie clearly felt a life ripple in her abdomen, and there was something very subtle about it.

It felt like a special bond—was this what blood ties felt like?

He grew restless. Even though he trusted Skye and Aureon, he still feared an accident.

Whoosh...

The ancient tree swayed. The vast Life Force and Death Power gathered and poured into Cecilia’s belly, and that sign of life grew even stronger.

Johnnie was surprised. This throwback Celestial Dragon could absorb both Life Force and Death Power at the same time.

Then dots of light gathered. The swell in Cecilia’s belly slowly went down, and the light formed in front of her, turning into a milky white, pure-looking egg.

A dragon egg the size of a fist.

Johnnie was stunned and couldn’t accept it for a moment.

"My lord, your wife actually laid an egg." Benz came over and said, shocked.

Johnnie narrowed his eyes and snapped."Get lost!"

He sent Benz flying with a kick, then went to Cecilia and asked with concern."Cecilia, how do you feel?"

Cecilia gave a sweet smile. "I don’t feel anything."

"Don’t worry. It won’t affect this little girl." Aureon said calmly after glancing at the dragon egg.

With a loving look, Cecilia stroked the dragon egg and said softly."Baby, be good, okay? And don’t learn bad things from this evil tree."

Hum...

The dragon egg trembled a little and gave off a gentle glow, as if answering her.

Johnnie was speechless. "It’s just an egg. What could it know?"

Cecilia pouted. "Johnnie, I can talk to her. Try it if you don’t believe me."

"Really?" Johnnie, half doubtful, reached out and touched the dragon egg.

"Bad man!"

Suddenly a voice sounded in his head—young and weak, but clear.

Johnnie stared, stunned. "Was that the little one’s voice?"

Cecilia giggled. "Baby, he’s not a bad man. He’s your dad."

"He wants to hurt me. Mommy good, Daddy bad!" the young voice came again.

Clearly, this throwback Celestial Dragon already had its own mind, and it had heard Johnnie say earlier that he wanted to get rid of it.

The voice was mind to mind; no one else could hear it.

Even so, it was shocking. It hadn’t been long at all, yet the little one already had its own awareness.

A throwback Celestial Dragon really is something else.

"Master, what are you doing?" Maiev and the others watched Johnnie and Cecilia stroking the dragon egg and talking to themselves, totally confused.

Cecilia quickly said."Maiev, we can talk to the baby."

"Really? Let me try." Maiev, puzzled, stepped up, touched the dragon egg, and tried to sense it.

"I don’t hear anything." She frowned. She heard no voice, but she could clearly feel a vast life growing inside the egg.

Aureon explained."It’s probably because the two of them share a blood link with the throwback Celestial Dragon. Others can’t communicate with it."

Is this really my child?

Johnnie looked at the fist-sized dragon egg, still struggling to accept it.

But that feeling of a blood bond couldn’t be fake.

The others accepted it more easily than he did—especially Atlas, who studied the egg with a kindly look.

He glanced at Johnnie and Cecilia and said."I don’t think it’s a coincidence you two could conceive a throwback Celestial Dragon. How about you try harder and make a few more?"

Johnnie was speechless. Were they treating him like a breeding tool?

"Grandpa!" Cecilia’s pretty face turned red. She stomped her foot in anger.

"Not a bad idea. Maybe you could raise a whole Celestial Dragon army!" Skye sounded excited.

Johnnie was full of black lines. He felt it was just a coincidence that he and Cecilia could have a Celestial Dragon.

"Hmph, I’m ignoring you." Cecilia, shy and mad, hugged the dragon egg and hid under the Undead Tree.

The others stopped joking.

Aureon said solemnly."Johnnie, the power of the Undead Tree alone isn’t enough. This time you must get the Dragon Pulse and devour it. That’s the only way to speed up the Celestial Dragon’s growth."

Johnnie nodded. The Map of Heaven and Earth can swallow the Dragon Pulse; he just needs to find it.

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll head out now."

Johnnie still had a lot to do: find the Dragon Pulse, and raise the Dragon Patterned Sword’s rank.

If he killed a bit over ten thousand more Sub-Dragon-type monsters, the Dragon Patterned Sword could reach stage 6, and the Red Carp could also break through to stage 10.

"Wood Emperor, go with Johnnie." Aureon said, looking at the Longevity Wood Emperor beside him.

Johnnie’s eyes lit up.

The Longevity Wood Emperor had revived the Undead Tree, so his source was hurt and his power had dropped a lot. Even so, he was still a Core God‑level powerhouse, far stronger than Maiev and Nalorin Sylvia.

And with the Longevity Wood Emperor by his side, Johnnie wasn’t afraid of Pitiless.

"My lord, I’ll go with you too." Benz said quickly. He didn’t want to stay inside the Map of Heaven and Earth.

Johnnie nodded and led them down again to a lone island in the vast sea.

He had already wiped out all the dragon monsters on this island, and no new ones had shown up.

Looks like he needed to keep searching for islands where dragon monsters gathered.

They traveled across the endless sea, sometimes running into dragon monsters and deep‑sea fishmen, but not many.

Johnnie grabbed another fishman leader and made it lead the way to an island where dragon monsters were gathered.

With the fishman guiding them, they soon found another island.

"Johnnie, aren’t we looking for the Dragon Pulse?" The Longevity Wood Emperor sensed the island. The strongest thing here was only a stage 9, a legendary Land Dragon.

A place like this couldn’t have a Dragon Pulse.

"No rush." Johnnie said. "I need to hunt some dragon monsters first. You guys can rest."

By then, the dragon monsters on the island had been alarmed. They rushed over, roaring.

Johnnie summoned the Dragon Patterned Sword and began the slaughter.

These weak dragon monsters couldn’t take a single hit. He Instant Killed them with ease.

Nalorin Sylvia and Benz didn’t sit idle. They cleaned up the field and collected Magic Cores.

The Longevity Wood Emperor was a bit bored, staring out over the endless sea.

[Killed stage 7 dragon monster, gained 240 experience points]

...

The prompts kept popping up. Johnnie’s exp rose slowly, but he was still far from leveling up.

He was already at stage 6, level 8. He needed 800 million exp to level up again.

If he relied on killing these weak dragon monsters, he might not even gain one level in a month.

If he wanted to level up fast, he still had to find a way to kill Divine powerhouses.

The reason Johnnie rose so quickly after reaching stage 6 was that he had slaughtered so many in the Demon Domain.

If not for these dragon monsters helping the Dragon Patterned Sword advance, he wouldn’t bother wasting time here.

[Killed stage 8 dragon monster leader, gained 1,200 experience points]

[Ding, killed 100,000 Sub-Dragon-type monsters. Dragon Patterned Sword advanced to stage 6, attributes increased]

The prompts popped up. The Dragon Patterned Sword finally broke through to stage 6.

Same as when it hit stage 5—only its base attributes went up. No new skills or effects.

The real boost was to the Red Carp’s power.

"Red Carp, how is it?" Johnnie asked, hopeful.

Buzz!

The Dragon Patterned Sword flashed and turned into the Red Carp’s form. She said excitedly."Master, I broke through to stage 10."

"Stage 10?" The always-calm Longevity Wood Emperor cried out, staring at the Red Carp in disbelief.

Stage 10 is the realm all cultivators dream of. He was a genius himself and had grown smoothly to the God-Emperor Realm, but he’d been stuck at the peak of stage 9 and could never break into stage 10. In the end, he had no choice but to trigger a heavenly tribulation to become a god.

"Master, you’re making me want to scrap my cultivation and start over." Nalorin Sylvia said, full of envy.

Sadly, the Red Carp is special. Others can’t copy her path.

She has already become the Dragon Patterned Sword’s spirit and can advance along with the sword.

Johnnie felt out her cultivation and frowned. "Red Carp, I don’t feel like you improved that much."

The Red Carp was speechless. Then she said."Master, I can’t compare to you—you’re a monster. Even at stage 10, my stats aren’t as strong as yours. But I can feel this isn’t my limit. I might be able to break through to stage 11."