He circled around and then made a feint, returning to his original spot.
"You're quite clever, kid!" the Heavy Xuan Turtle chuckled.
With that, it tossed the Dragon Pearl to Zheng Dong, a reward for passing the test. It was a Overlord-tier Water Dragon Pearl.
The Heavy Xuan Turtle hadn't actually thrown the Dragon Pearl out before; it was just putting on a show.
Anyone who genuinely searched the vastness of the relic space would likely not find it even by the New Year.
Of course, Zheng Dong was in the same boat. If he didn't return within an hour, he would also be eliminated.
It wasn't that the Heavy Xuan Turtle had broken its promise; it was just that Zheng Dong hadn't guessed the turtle's intentions and had missed his chance.
Next, the Heavy Xuan Turtle led Zheng Dong to meet Emperor Qin.
As for Shen Bing and the others who were still searching for the Dragon Pearl, they were all teleported out of the relic space.
Shortly after, Zheng Dong followed the Heavy Xuan Turtle to the outside of a massive palace.
"You go in. Emperor Qin is inside!"
Zheng Dong nodded, thanked the Heavy Xuan Turtle, and walked into the palace.
The architectural style of this palace was pleasing to the human aesthetic, specifically the grand and magnificent style of ancient Yanhuang architecture.
As Zheng Dong walked, he pondered what Emperor Qin looked like.
After so many years, wouldn't he have turned into a skeleton or a mummy?
However, historical records were said to mention that Emperor Qin had countless beautiful women during his reign. He wondered if he had been driven mad by loneliness over the years.
Zheng Dong's thoughts were mainly focused on what kind of trials Emperor Qin might present him with, and whether they would be similar to the Heavy Xuan Turtle's.
After all, the beast masters were as their pets were.
Without realizing it, Zheng Dong had already entered a magnificent and resplendent hall. There wasn't even a ghost in sight, let alone a person.
Zheng Dong frowned and looked around.
Suddenly, a figure appeared, floating in mid-air before Zheng Dong. It was a man no bigger than his fist.
"Are you the beast-taming genius chosen by that lecherous turtle and who passed the trial this time?"
Zheng Dong was taken aback.
He couldn't determine if this man before him was the spirit of the relic space, Emperor Qin, or both.
"Don't be nervous. I am Emperor Qin, and also the spirit of this relic space. Summon your pet beasts for me to see."
Zheng Dong understood Emperor Qin's intentions and could only nod, summoning Xiao Zi and You You.
Emperor Qin glanced at Xiao Zi, and then his gaze settled on You You.
"You are very lucky. Do you know why no one has obtained my legacy in the previous six trials? It's not that I was unsatisfied with them, but rather that I wanted to live a few more years.
I built this relic space with the intention of waiting for the day to resurrect myself. Unfortunately, my luck was poor, and all my attempts to defy fate failed.
As the era of myth revival is about to begin, I can barely hold on." Emperor Qin stated calmly.
He seemed to have accepted this outcome long ago, but there was still a sliver of unwillingness in his heart; he wouldn't give up until the very end.
This was quite surprising to Zheng Dong.
He had originally thought that Emperor Qin built this relic space to benefit future generations.
Now, it seemed he had overthought things.
That made sense; who wouldn't want to live a few more years?
At least Emperor Qin knew he was nearing his end but still opened the relic space to leave some foundation for the descendants of Yanhuang.
Emperor Qin seemed to see through Zheng Dong's thoughts and smiled:
"Actually, the reason I had the Heavy Xuan Turtle test you all was not only to have it use its Eye of Insight to help me select people, but also to let it have some fun. Because although I didn't contract this lecherous turtle, it has stayed with me the longest. So, I let it enjoy itself.
However, if you fail my next trial, I would rather take the Infinite Evolution into the grave than pass it on to you!"
"Senior Emperor Qin, please rest assured. I will do my best to pass the trial!" Zheng Dong said.
Emperor Qin nodded.
"This is the Illusion Dragon Pearl left by the Totem-tier Mirage Dragon. It allows your consciousness to enter an illusionary world. Everything that happens in this world is what I experienced in my youth. If you can ultimately remain guiltless, you will have passed the trial," Emperor Qin said.
The trial wasn't difficult; it didn't test talent or luck, only character. Zheng Dong believed his character was fine and that he could make the right choices in major matters.
Of course, he was usually quite lazy, but when something happened, he would charge forward, just like when he dealt with Wei Peng and others in the ancient battlefield of Shendu.
Thus, Zheng Dong took the Illusion Dragon Pearl that appeared before Emperor Qin and sank his spiritual consciousness into it, immediately entering the illusionary world.
This was the era Emperor Qin lived in. There were no countries dominated by humans; they were all totem countries.
Humans were more like slaves raised by totem-tier extraordinary beings, assisting the extraordinary beings within the totem countries to continuously evolve.
Emperor Qin awakened his beast-taming talent very late and was deemed to have no beast-taming talent, thus becoming a slave mining in the mines.
For a long time afterward, Emperor Qin was engaged in mining.
After awakening his beast-taming talent, he didn't tell anyone, secretly contracted an inconspicuous extraordinary plant, the Tongxin Grass, and slowly looked for opportunities to let the Tongxin Grass grow and evolve.
The entire process took a considerable amount of time.
Only after becoming a Grandmaster-tier beast master did Emperor Qin reveal his prowess, secretly cultivating beast masters and organizing forces to resist the oppression of the totem countries.
The key to the trial was whether to save his beloved or his brother.
Unfortunately, no matter who he chose, the final outcome was betrayal.
His beloved betrayed Emperor Qin for her family, and his brother betrayed Emperor Qin for power.
In the illusionary world, if Zheng Dong's spiritual power hadn't been strong enough, facing successive betrayals, he would have gone mad.
Emperor Qin's growth experience was very arduous. He established three nations, and all three were destroyed by the surrounding totem countries working together.
It wasn't until Emperor Qin's strength was sufficient to completely kill the totems of the surrounding totem countries that the human-dominated nations could establish a firm foothold.
Zheng Dong also experienced these events in the illusionary world, but most of them felt like a dream. Only the crucial events of the trial did he become immersed in, as if he had truly experienced them.
This way, Zheng Dong wouldn't have his personality drastically changed by the illusionary world, and Emperor Qin could also understand Zheng Dong's situation through the illusionary world.
The trial didn't last very long, only about half an hour.
However, Zheng Dong experienced most of Emperor Qin's life within the illusionary world.
As the trial concluded, the Illusion Dragon Pearl also exhausted its power, crumbling into countless light spots and disappearing.
Zheng Dong opened his eyes and felt a pang of regret looking at the vanished Illusion Dragon Pearl.
Such a good Level 9 resource was gone.
"Don't regret it. The Illusion Dragon Pearl has been used many times. Its exhaustion of energy also signifies that my trial should end here," Emperor Qin said with a smile.
Zheng Dong was stunned.
So, he had passed the trial?
"Don't get happy just yet. For others, the trial ends here, but yours is not over.
You possess the bloodline power of the Azure Dragon. I don't want to choose someone with a short lifespan. You need to find a way to resolve this issue.
Of course, I'm not making it difficult for you. You don't have to solve it immediately, but you must have a mature solution," Emperor Qin continued.
This wasn't difficult for Zheng Dong at all.
The Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds of the Undead element he obtained from previous experiments had already shown him hope.
Moreover, he also wanted to ask Emperor Qin about plant symbiosis.
Therefore, he said:
"Senior Emperor Qin, I have actually been trying to resolve the issue of mixed blood, and I am attempting the method you proposed, symbiosis with plant pet beasts.
I have almost completed the experiments, and if you give me some more time, I should be able to resolve it."
This was somewhat unexpected for Emperor Qin. Although the method was proposed by him, he had too many other matters to attend to and didn't have the time to perfect it himself.
Now that Zheng Dong said so, he was willing to take a look.
"Is that so? Then try it here. Perhaps I can offer some suggestions."
Zheng Dong nodded, explained his plan and the results of his experiments in detail to Emperor Qin, and asked some questions about plant symbiosis.
This made Emperor Qin even more interested.
Subsequently, Emperor Qin decided to use his beast-taming talent, Infinite Evolution, to help Zheng Dong deduce the evolutionary path of the Spirit Nurturing Grass.
Infinite Evolution was an incredibly powerful beast-taming talent. After continuous development and refinement by Emperor Qin, it could form the Light of Evolution, Eye of Evolution, and Domain of Evolution.
When pet beasts evolved, using the Light of Evolution could accelerate and strengthen their evolution, increasing the success rate.
The Eye of Evolution could view the hidden evolutionary paths of pet beasts.
The Domain of Evolution could simulate and deduce new evolutionary plans for pet beasts.
This meant that evolving using hidden evolutionary paths, without breaking racial limitations, would have fewer obstacles.
However, deduced evolutionary plans that violated the pet beast's original bloodline inheritance and broke its racial limitations would have the greatest obstacles and consume the most resources.
Emperor Qin was currently alive as the spirit of the relic space, meaning a spiritual body. His physical body had been sealed by him.
To use the Infinite Evolution beast-taming talent, he still needed the help of the Talent Flower.
The Talent Flower came from the Dimensional Divine Tree and could seal a beast master's beast-taming talent and pass it on to others.
However, the Dimensional Divine Tree had gone extinct at the end of the Mythological Era. Emperor Qin had only obtained three Talent Flowers and the heart of the Dimensional Divine Tree.
A blue flower appeared before Emperor Qin.
Furthermore, Emperor Qin asked Zheng Dong to provide the Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds for him to deduce.
Zheng Dong was very willing and readily gave all the Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds to Emperor Qin.
With Emperor Qin's help, the symbiosis experiment would likely be completed quickly.
As Emperor Qin used the Talent Flower to activate Infinite Evolution, an invisible Domain of Evolution expanded, covering all the Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds floating in the air.
These Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds were floating in the air due to Emperor Qin's mental power; otherwise, in his current state, he wouldn't be able to hold them.
Immediately after, these Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds began to root and sprout, growing continuously, and soon awakened.
Of course, these were all illusions, simulated situations.
As the simulation deepened, Emperor Qin would use various resources to evolve the Spirit Nurturing Grass.
Because the racial limitations of the Spirit Nurturing Grass needed to be broken, the resources used would be extensive, and the quantity needed to be precise, otherwise, it would be overfed.
Emperor Qin said as he deduced:
"Your idea is excellent. If you can't get rid of the Azure Dragon bloodline, you can fuse with it or absorb it.
After all, it's practically impossible for the Spirit Nurturing Grass to evolve to a level that can contend with the Azure Dragon bloodline all at once, unless it's a plant-type extraordinary being like the Dimensional Divine Tree, the Sun Divine Tree, or the World Tree.
However, the Spirit Nurturing Grass now possesses the Undead attribute, which can only barely allow it to adapt to the power of the Azure Dragon bloodline, far from being able to fuse or absorb it."
Zheng Dong understood this. It was already quite impressive for him to have reached this point.
After all, his experience and the resources he possessed were limited.
"Does Senior Emperor Qin have any good suggestions?"
"Kid, you're indeed as that lecherous turtle said, quite lucky. I can help increase the vitality of your Spirit Nurturing Grass.
The Life attribute, like the Spirit attribute, is possessed by all living beings, but only extraordinary beings of the Life or Spirit element will have it particularly pronounced. My Tongxin Grass was originally evolving towards the direction of the Life Divine Tree. Later, I obtained the heart of the Dimensional Divine Tree and changed its evolutionary direction, making it the Life Dimensional Tree.
However, it still died in battle, leaving only a tree heart. Although it's not comparable to the heart of the Dimensional Divine Tree, it's sufficient to assist your Spirit Nurturing Grass in evolving.
Moreover, the power of the Life attribute will not cause any harm to your body, making it very suitable for symbiosis with you."
As Emperor Qin spoke, he took out another tree heart and placed it within the Domain of Evolution, further simulating the evolution.
Throughout the entire simulation process, Emperor Qin continuously added various resources to ensure the successful evolution of the Spirit Nurturing Grass.
After numerous attempts, the Spirit Nurturing Grass finally evolved successfully.
Of course, this was only a successful simulation and deduction.
Whether it could succeed in practice remained to be seen.
Next, Zheng Dong didn't directly have the Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds grow, awaken, and evolve. Instead, he continued to iterate, so that in addition to having Undead and Wood attributes, it would also possess Life, Space, and Dragon attributes.
With Emperor Qin's help, coupled with the Mutation Bead, the iteration process was much faster.
However, it still took Zheng Dong over three days to obtain a Spirit Nurturing Grass seed with five attributes.
Immediately after, he adjusted his state and began to attempt symbiosis with it.
Zheng Dong extended his left hand, made a cut, and placed the Spirit Nurturing Grass seed within it. Under the effect of Emperor Qin's Light of Evolution.
The Spirit Nurturing Grass quickly took root and sprouted, growing.
Concurrently, Zheng Dong also had You You use its Undead Clone to possess the Spirit Nurturing Grass, assisting it in resisting the Azure Dragon's bloodline power.
As the Spirit Nurturing Grass continued to grow, it soon awakened successfully.
The awakened Spirit Nurturing Grass only had a faint consciousness and intelligence. After communicating with You You's Undead Clone, it readily agreed to symbiosis with Zheng Dong.
This was because it wanted to survive, and instinct also drove it to do so.
Next was the most crucial step: symbiotic evolution.
This meant that Zheng Dong needed to assist the Spirit Nurturing Grass in breaking through its racial limitations and achieve symbiosis with it during evolution. Only then would it be considered true symbiosis.
Zheng Dong's body would also gain many benefits from this.
According to the plan deduced by Emperor Qin, the evolution used a portion of the Life Dimensional Tree's heart and hundreds of other resources.
The quantity of these resources was not large, nor were they rare. They were all available within the relic space and served as auxiliary evolutionary aids, all provided by Emperor Qin.
The Light of Evolution covered Zheng Dong and the Spirit Nurturing Grass, and the evolution lasted for a long time.
During this period, Zheng Dong and the Spirit Nurturing Grass experienced shared sensations, their spiritual consciousnesses merged, and they jointly bore the various side effects of the evolution, sometimes experiencing unbearable pain, and sometimes extreme comfort.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and it was finally successful.