67 The Crystal Dragon King’s Tribulation

Gaia watched with astonishment as the majestic Crystal Dragon wreathed in Violet coloured flames soared into the air.

She couldn't understand how a World who had not seen Magic Energy for more than 127 years could possibly produce an Earth Flame. Such things normally took at least 1000 years to form and yet here she was, witnessing an Enlightened Beast successfully assimilate with the precious flames in a World like this.

'Could this Dragon be a foreign invader as well?'

Gaia just couldn't believe that such a low level World could keep producing such results! It didn't make sense!

The Crystal Dragon maintained its position in the air with its wings whilst looking to the sky with intense focus. As the burn injuries began to fade thanks to the obviously recent upgrade in Anatomy Refinement, new scales replaced the tarnished ones and the true beauty of the Crystal Dragon began to reveal itself.

'A Crystal Dragon… indeed impressive, especially so for this World. At the very least, even if this World is so abnormal; there is nothing here that I haven't seen before and I should be okay.'

Gaia sighed in relief.

Even before she arrived in this World she had already had her future goals planned out and she didn't want any deviations. However, even though the World she had arrived in was way out of her expectations, it actually turned out to work in her favour!

She wasn't a Beast in her past life so when she first opened her eyes she was disappointed. In truth, her most primary dissatisfaction was the fact that almost all the cultivation techniques and skills in her memory were now redundant and on top of that, she could no longer absorb Magic Energy from the air but now had to eat it from essence rich foods such as meats and herbs.

That in itself was fine, but where would she find such coveted treasures? Moreover, as a newborn could she even fight to possess them if she was even lucky?

Alas, reality seemed to paint a different picture and fate seemed to favour her, apparently every Herb in sight was a Magic one and unless she was lazy there shouldn't be a situation where she found herself unable to gather strength.

As a Beast, this entire World, or at least this Forest (because she hadn't seen outside of it), was an absolute paradise!

Gaia began to think back on her plans to calibrate the ones that needed to be adjusted to the new reality presented before her. And she found herself…

Troubled.

Like trying to look at a ridiculous maths equation. Her soul was not the same as before and it was extremely hard to connect with the vast amount of intricate thoughts that went into creating a single step of a plan.

It was very confusing.

'I'll just have to adjust as I go… just like back then when I was Mortal. At the very least, I am still able to cultivate my soul-'

!!!

Shock ran through Gaia's senses as she found herself suddenly at risk of sudden doom. Every muscle in her body tightened with tension as she forced herself to look up at the sky where she sensed the danger coming from.

Above the awaiting Crystal Dragon King, a cloud of the purest white swirled into existence. In the middle of the cloud there was a large hole that was filled with a golden Magic Circle. However Gaia was unfamiliar with that term and thought-

'A Rune Formation?! What is going on!'

Gaia was once more dumbfounded as she peered at the ominous yet heavenly looking cloud that seemed to be preparing something. And from the solemn expression on the Crystal Dragon's face, she could decipher that whatever was coming was not going to be a dance in the wind.

…

The Crystal Dragon King couldn't help but let a trace of fear creep into his heart. He had flown up here with so much confidence after overcoming the ordeal with the Heavenly Dragon Flame, thinking that if he could tame that flame then the Tribulation that was sure to come would be nothing in comparison.

But fate decided to give him a tight slap to the face.

The Crystal Dragon King could only watch with helplessness as the Tribulation Cloud that was already bigger than any other Tribulation Cloud he had ever seen just kept on growing.

He had actually forgotten that depending on the being who received the Tribulation, the size and power of it was increased or decreased. Obviously, gaining the untried power of the Heavenly Dragon Flame along with the breakthrough in his Anatomy Refinement was what was causing his perilous situation.

Right now, he was really beginning to dread the close distance that he himself had made with the Cloud and wished that he was on a hard stable ground where he could increase his safety. Alas, he was already here and it would be asinine to turn his back to the obvious danger above him.

Resigning to his fate he gritted his teeth and glared at the Tribulation Cloud above him, more specifically the golden Magic Circle in the centre.

'I'm sure I can withstand the first strike. With that I can use the force to once again reach the ground and regather myself. As for the second and third… Hopefully the Heavenly Dragon Flames can fix the problems that they have caused.'

The Magic Circle pulsed.

'Here it comes!'

"ROOOOOOA-"

The Crystal Dragon King roared towards the Tribulation to rev himself up only to be cut off by a flash of golden light that filled his entire vision.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"NNNGGH!"

The Crystal Dragon King groaned in agony as the essence from the Tribulation wracked itself through his body. It felt like being burned all over again and he was really beginning to feel tired of all this pain.

However, it wasn't over yet and when his senses were restored he found himself plummeting to the ground at a speed that would turn him into paste if he made contact.