CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 273: SEALING THE HEART, NURTURING THE CELESTIAL DRAGON

Johnnie felt the killing intent behind him suddenly vanish. He was puzzled, but didn’t slow down. He sprinted down the snowy mountain.

Neigh!

A sharp cry rang out—the unicorn.

Johnnie’s eyes lit up. "Grab it!"

He leaped up, seized its horn, and swung onto its back.

Zzzt...

The unicorn thrashed in fury. Sparks of lightning danced along its horn.

Johnnie felt his body go a bit numb, but he still didn’t let go. Instead, he clenched his fist and slammed it into the unicorn’s head.

Thud!

The unicorn let out a pained cry, its mind dazed.

It was only a stage 9 peak monster. Even with Johnnie’s power suppressed, it wasn’t his match.

"Behave, or I’ll kill you."he said coldly. The cold, pitch-black Seven Sword pressed against the unicorn’s neck, leaking a dark, evil aura.

The unicorn trembled. Thinking of when it was poisoned before, it didn’t dare move.

"Take us out of here." Johnnie motioned for the women to hop on and kept up the threat.

Beyond these snowy mountains lay endless desert. Without the unicorn to guide them, they couldn’t get out.

Neigh...

The unicorn gave an unwilling cry, glanced back at the badly injured Pitiless, then kept its head down and dived toward the lower slopes, carrying Johnnie and the others.

The wind was bone-chilling. Johnnie didn’t dare stop for even a moment.

...

High on the mountain, Pitiless watched the two fleeing figures. Pain twisted her face, and struggle filled her eyes.

Images flashed in her mind—Johnnie saving Cecilia, burning his life to use Sevenfold Severance, stepping into death...

And scenes in her Divine Sense Realm of him tangled with Nalorin Sylvia, one after another, indecent and raw...

Cough!She couldn’t help but spit out more blood. Her heart, quiet for years, burned hot and restless.

"N-no... impossible." She stumbled back in fear and helplessness.She had clearly fallen in love—and with a weak human, at that.

"Love tribulation!" Pitiless gritted her teeth, forcing down the discomfort. Pain and confusion filled her face.

She had clearly already passed her love tribulation. Why was it happening again?

"Human, it seems I can’t let you live."Pitiless murmured. Her eyes were cold and full of resolve.

Buzz!

An ice blade slowly formed. She took hold of it, gaze icy and firm, and slowly thrust it into her chest.

Pfft...

Her jade-white skin split open. The wound froze at once, and no blood fell.

In agony, Pitiless clenched her teeth and pulled out her own heart. Ice wrapped around it, sealing it completely.

Phew! After finishing, she finally let out a breath. The pain eased a little, but her face turned even paler, almost lifeless.

With her heart removed, her strength was greatly weakened.

But there was no other way. The Passion-Severing Mantra was too terrifying. She couldn’t dissolve it, so she could only seal her heart to block the pain for now.

Pitiless glanced down the mountain. Snow swirled over a vast white expanse. Johnnie and the others were already out of sight.

"Hmph. You won’t escape." She knew they would head to the Dragon Pulse.

She wasn’t in a rush to follow. First, she needed to heal her wounds.

She had taken Johnnie’s Sevenfold Severance head-on and was already badly hurt. Now, with her heart removed, she was even worse off.

"I hope there won’t be any experts above Core God level in the Dragon’s Lair this time."Pitiless whispered. Space rippled, and she vanished.

...

Riding the unicorn, Johnnie sped away from the snowy mountain and back into the desert.

By now, the suppressing force in his body had faded, but he still didn’t dare relax.

After flying for another half day, there was yellow sand in every direction and no sign of the mountain. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Go, get into the Map of Heaven and Earth." With a thought, Johnnie led the women and the unicorn into the Map of Heaven and Earth.

Buzz!

Space rippled, and Atlas and the others rushed up to meet them.

"Cecilia, are you okay?" Atlas finally let out a breath when he saw her.

"Grandpa!" Cecilia threw herself into his arms, eyes red.

"Sis, are you really pregnant?" Finn frowned, shooting Johnnie a hard look.

Cecilia’s cheeks flushed. She lowered her head and didn’t dare look at anyone.

"Silly girl, why didn’t you tell us something so important? I’m not some stiff old man, and this kid Johnnie suits me well." Atlas scolded her lightly.

He had long planned to marry Cecilia to Johnnie; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let him take over the Yett Family.

Johnnie stood to the side, a bit embarrassed, not sure what to say.

"Grandpa, I only realized it after I was captured."Cecilia said.

"Cecilia, can I take a look?" Maiev stepped over, curious.

She was the Goddess of Life and very sensitive to life force.

Cecilia nodded and held out her wrist.

Maiev took her wrist and sensed carefully.

The others crowded around, full of curiosity.

Nervous, Johnnie asked, "How is it?"

Maiev frowned a little. "Master, it’s strange. There is a life aura in Cecilia, a very strong one, but it also feels weak."

"Strong and weak? Isn’t that a bit contradictory?" Johnnie asked, confused.

Maiev explained, "The aura is strong, but the life force is very faint. At this rate, it might take at least a thousand years to grow."

"A thousand years?"

Everyone gasped.

"How is that possible? How could a person carry a life for a thousand years?" Atlas asked, puzzled.

Maiev nodded firmly. "I’m not mistaken. And with Cecilia’s condition, she can’t bear this life aura. It might bite back and put her life in danger."

So it really was a Celestial Dragon.

Johnnie frowned. Thinking of what the Blade King said earlier, he asked, "Is there a way to abort the baby?"

People say even a tiger won’t harm its cubs, but if Cecilia’s life is in danger, he will never allow it.

Also, what’s growing inside her is clearly not normal.

He and Cecilia are both human. Even though he has Celestial Dragon blood, having a real Celestial Dragon as a child is hard to believe.

"Don’t."Cecilia said quickly. "Johnnie, maybe we’ll find a way later."

The baby had just formed, but she could feel it was her own flesh and blood. Even if it put her life at risk, she would carry it.

"It seems this really is a throwback Celestial Dragon." An old voice sounded. Aureon phantom and Skye appeared.

The speaker was Aureon phantom.

Buzz!

Before Johnnie could speak, the giant axe in his pack flew out and landed in Skye’s hand.

Johnnie shot him an annoyed look, then turned to Aureon. "Senior, is there a way to save Cecilia?"

Aureon nodded, but didn’t answer right away. He looked at Cecilia and asked, curious, "Why did Pitiless capture you? What did she want?"

Cecilia pouted, angry. "That vicious woman wanted to use my baby to devour the Dragon Pulse and wipe out the dragon race."

Wipe out the dragon race?

Johnnie was puzzled. Were there still true dragons around?

The Red Carp and Azure Dragon by his side were dragons, but not pure-blooded.

True dragons were on another level, far beyond today’s races.

Aureon wasn’t surprised. "Makes sense. Pitiless was schemed against by the dragons and ended up like this. Using the Dragon Pulse could indeed save you—but it’s not enough."

Johnnie was shocked. "Senior, you mean letting Cecilia devour the Dragon Pulse to speed up the life inside her?"

Aureon nodded. "But that still isn’t enough. If she devours the Dragon Pulse, the throwback Celestial Dragon will grow very fast and put Cecilia in danger."

"Wouldn’t that end up hurting Cecilia?" Johnnie frowned. He would never let Cecilia get hurt.

Aureon looked over at Maiev. "We’ll need the Goddess of Life to help."

Maiev froze for a moment, then understood. "You want to bring the life inside Cecilia out early and let it grow outside her body?"

Aureon nodded. "Yes. It’s the safest way. It won’t hurt Cecilia, and it will let the throwback Celestial Dragon be born safely."

Maiev gave a wry smile. "It’s a good plan, but I don’t have the power to do it now—unless we can find the Elven Race’s Tree of Life."

The Elven Race’s Tree of Life is one of the Four Divine Trees, but the Elven Race and their homeland have long vanished. No one can find it.

Aureon continued, "We don’t need the Tree of Life. Don’t we already have a divine tree here?"

Maiev blinked, then realized. "You mean the Undead Tree?"

The Undead Tree is also one of the Four Divine Trees. It holds powerful Life Force. Johnnie got it before in the Dark Forest, and it’s sealed inside the Map of Heaven and Earth.

Maiev frowned. "That’s dangerous. The Undead Tree is an evil lifeform. If a Celestial Dragon absorbs it, it might turn demonic. And the Undead Tree is withered. I can’t revive it."

She was clearly against it.

If Cecilia is really carrying a throwback Celestial Dragon, its power would be shocking. If it turns demonic, it will cause a great disaster.

Aureon explained, "Normally, yes, it could turn demonic. But this throwback Celestial Dragon is from Johnnie and Cecilia. With the two of them guiding it, it won’t. As for reviving the Undead Tree, the Longevity Wood Emperor can do it."

The Longevity Wood Emperor was the one Johnnie saved when he was trapped in the Mecha Divine Nation. But he has fallen and is now cultivating in the God-Burial Realm inside the Map of Heaven and Earth, rebuilding his body.

But now that the Dragon Pulse has revived, the Longevity Wood Emperor can’t rebuild a body and return to life quickly.

Seeing their doubts, Aureon added, "Before, it might have been impossible. But now we have the Gastro‑sac Transmuter. It can convert Magic Core energy to speed up the Longevity Wood Emperor’s body reconstruction. With our help, as long as we have enough energy, he can rebuild a body in at most seven days."