Chapter 1015: Chapter 1015

So now, though Tang San couldn't fully subdue it, it was still possible to control it to a certain extent through life energy. And with the Sunborne Nymph Emperor helping him suppress it, he was almost certain that his endeavor would succeed.

"Well, you should be careful either way," the Sunborne Nymph Emperor warned him. Even he held some wariness toward the Scourge Dragon's destructive power. The special attribute of its energy was something he had never seen elsewhere, and it was without equal across the entire Daemon Continent. If it hadn't been so uncontrollable, the dragon race wouldn't have put it up for auction.

Standing atop the dragon's head, Tang San grabbed the collar around the Scourge Dragon's neck, and it started to glow with a soft light.

After the auction, Tang San had been informed about the collar's functionality, and he had also studied it thoroughly, so he knew how to remove it. He slowly activated the arrays carved into it.

With a series of clacking sounds, the collar slowly opened. The moment it was removed, the Scourge Dragon's destructive aura surged violently. Its massive body heaved upward, but the Sunborne Nymph Emperor instantly increased his suppressive might, keeping the beast immobile.

Tang San carefully put away the collar. It was undoubtedly a precious item among precious items; how many shackles of this world had the power to suppress a creature that was nearly on par with an Emperor? It was rather likely that half of that thirteen thousand amethystine coins Tang San had paid had been for the collar alone. Apart from lacking spirituality, it was unquestionably on par with a high-quality divine item.

A surge of rich life energy burst forth from Tang San, accompanied by radiant blue-golden light. The life force flowed into his hands, coating them in a shimmering blue-golden hue.

Reaching out, he slowly grasped the single horn atop the Scourge Dragon's head. Instantly, a surge of deep purple destructive energy erupted from the horn. When it collided with Tang San's life energy, it was like ice water hitting hot oil.

An explosive shockwave of energy radiated outward, and golden-purple light flared from the dragon's head. The dragon let out a strange sound, part roar, part low groan—somewhere between pain and relief. Then, remarkably, its struggles weakened significantly.

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor stared in astonishment. Huh. This... actually worked?

Tang San kept his eyes closed, and the eight sharp spikes on his back slowly extended and pierced into the scales on the Scourge Dragon's head. A thicker wave of life energy gushed from him like liquid, flowing into the Scourge Dragon's skull.

This massive, savage beast began to tremble under the pure, powerful life energy. The faint quivers of its body slowly intensified, turning into full-on trembling.

Yet at the same time, its resistance against the Sunborne Nymph Emperor slowly diminished, and its struggle faded bit by bit.

Tang San's grip on its horn never loosened. With each breath, the blue-golden light he radiated flickered.

A strange phenomenon began to unfold. The Scourge Dragon's annihilation energy, once wildly chaotic, began to flicker in synchronization with the pulsing of Tang San's life energy. The purple glow started to mimic the rhythm of the blue-golden one, flickering in unison.

The dragon's violent thrashing had entirely calmed down, and its vicious purple eyes began to clear.

Tang San's divine consciousness radiated with intent, and it was completely out in the open, allowing the Sunborne Nymph Emperor to perceive everything.

"Your bloodline power is extremely chaotic, and it's impossible for me to stabilize it right now. But I believe, nourished by life energy, you will gradually find balance. Your energy is incredibly powerful, but it has invaded your divine consciousness, causing your mind to fracture. I'm cleansing the destructive instincts from your consciousness. You need to learn to gather your divine consciousness and use it to control your power. When the day comes that you can fully command your body, that will be the day you truly belong to yourself. Do you understand me?"

The Scourge Dragon's massive form trembled. After a long moment, its huge head slowly nodded.

A faint smile spread across Tang San's face. "Good. Then I hope we can become friends. I'll regularly inject you with life energy to protect your sea of consciousness from the corruption of your energy. But I'll also need your help in return. Think of it as repayment. When you can fully control your own power, I'll set you free. Are you willing?"

As he spoke, Tang San traced golden runes in the air with his left hand. The runes drifted and converged into a golden symbol.

The Scourge Dragon let out a reluctant bellow. But then, after a moment of silence, it raised its head and pressed its forehead to the golden sigil.

With a flash of golden light, the symbol sank into its massive head. The moment it entered its sea of consciousness, the Scourge Dragon stiffened slightly, and its eyes rolled upward, as if it wanted to glance at Tang San.

Tang San let go of the horn and gently patted it. "I trust you can feel my sincerity. When you can fully control yourself, you'll be free to go and do as you please. Until then, we're partners. Agreed?"

"Roar—" The dragon's deep growl turned sonorous. In that moment, the Sunborne Nymph Emperor could clearly sense a surge of excitement from the massive creature. The former madness had completely vanished.

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor stared in disbelief. This was something even he hadn't managed. If he could have, the dragon would never have been auctioned off. Yet Tang San had succeeded.

"Your Excellency, you may withdraw your power now," Tang San called.

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor stopped pressing down on the dragon and flew over to Tang San, gazing at him in shock. "Alright, spill it out. How did you do that?"

Tang San smiled. "It all comes down to matching attributes. As you well know, our attribute is pure life, and I'm somewhat fortunate to have inherited the Ancestral Tree's Life-Bestowing and Life Deprivation Domains. In other words, I am able to access the life origin of the plane, the highest level of life energy on Planet Falan.

"As for this Scourge Dragon, it's quite a special being. The moment I first saw it at the auction, I sensed that things weren't what they appeared. They called it a mutated bloodline with great destructive power, but I think that is just because they are fundamentally incapable of sensing its true nature. Due to being so attuned to life energy, I was able to tell that the actual attribute of its energy is the complete opposite of my life energy. In other words, the true nature of its bloodline power isn't just destruction, but absolute annihilation, the antithesis of life.

"Life and annihilation are two extreme forces. From what I can tell, if a plane gives birth to this annihilation energy, it means there is something on the plane that must disappear. The Scourge Dragon couldn't handle this power because annihilation is just too domineering, the complete opposite of my calm and gentle life energy. That's why, as it grew stronger, its divine consciousness was overwhelmed and it became frenzied. So I asked myself—how could I restore its sanity? The answer was to cleanse its divine consciousness.

"My approach was to use my pure life energy through the Life-Bestowing Domain, allowing it to absorb my aura and get rid of the thirst for destruction that this energy triggered. Though its own power will continue to generate destructive instinct, as long as I regularly cleanse it, it can remain lucid. Over time, it will learn to control its power. And when its divine consciousness is strong enough to master this force, it will become a true powerhouse, one at the Emperor level.

"So just now, I formed a pact with it. It's not a master-slave contract, but a pact between peers. Our relationship is balanced. That way, the wounds it carries from being abused and rejected by its clan will slowly heal, and it'll be more willing to accept me."