In reality, the original intention and ideal of the Golden Order were Marika's exploration of eternity and life, and its essence was to allow all beings to live better lives and enjoy happiness forever.
Furthermore, if the Two Fingers had not caused internal turmoil, Marika would only have needed to govern The Lands Between and improve the human rights and spiritual well-being of its people.
In that case, the Golden Order would undoubtedly have become everyone's ideal.
Immortality, longevity, eternal youth, and invincibility—all of these fulfilled humanity's fantasies of eternal life.
It was a pity that the Golden Order was born in the wrong era: a medieval age where divine authority reigned supreme, a dark age in which commoners possessed virtually no status whatsoever.
The Two Fingers acted recklessly in the name of God, wantonly interfering in human affairs, while the nobles regularly harvested lives to satisfy their own selfish desires.
This ultimately caused the common people at the bottom of the Golden Dynasty to prefer abandoning their faith and embracing death rather than continuing to live.
It was difficult to imagine how much tragedy and suffering must have occurred to drive the Golden Lineage to such despair.
Looking at the Sakura Dragon's power of immortality, the tragedies of this entire world and the twisted nature of its immortal power were all caused by the Sakura Dragon's own selfish desires.
Because its original purpose was impure, it naturally could not produce good results.
Its earliest goal had been to harvest the lives of all beings, making Ashina's tragedy almost inevitable.
One was well-intentioned yet did bad things; the other was ill-intentioned and also did bad things. There was a fundamental difference between the two.
Whoosh~~~
The Okami Clan followed the Blasphemous Serpent's trail and pursued them.
Only now did Xiao finally get a clear look at their appearance.
They were monsters that resembled a fusion of humans and slugs, possessing four slender arms, translucent skin, and mummified faces with hollow eye sockets.
Most wore blue robes resembling those of court officials and carried long flutes.
This was the appearance of the Okami Clan after receiving the Sakura Dragon's blessing.
Because of their loss of vitality and their desire to seize Treasure Carp Scales, the Okami Clan had descended into internal conflict, fighting over golden scales while draining the vitality of their own kind in order to survive.
Yet at this moment, they set aside all past grievances and gathered together, for they shared a common enemy and a common goal:
To reclaim the Great Colored Carp that belonged to the Okami Clan.
The moment they saw Xiao, they stopped.
All of them were shocked by the immense vitality contained within his body.
Like starving people suddenly seeing food, their eyes immediately began to glow with blue light.
They desperately played their flutes toward Xiao.
The surrounding air vibrated.
Several clusters of white light floated out of Xiao's body, and Xiao immediately felt his body become slightly heavier.
"Absorbing vitality? What an interesting ability."
Xiao looked at these monsters, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
He casually waved his hand, releasing a powerful force that sent the Okami Clan flying.
However, the members of the Okami Clan were not intimidated.
They continued playing their flutes, attempting to absorb Xiao's vitality once more.
The few Okami who had already absorbed some of Xiao's vitality became even more frenzied, completely disregarding everything as they pressed closer, eager to obtain more.
Xiao frowned.
Then a gigantic golden dragon head emerged from behind him and swept across the area from left to right, swallowing the city wall and every Okami Clan member present, instantly clearing the battlefield.
"Didn't we agree not to eat random things?"
The Blasphemous Serpent looked at Xiao and asked pitifully.
"That's different. I eat them to obtain the Okami Clan's useful abilities. You eat things purely to satisfy your appetite."
"Besides, it was my other mind that did the eating!"
Xiao shrugged indifferently and argued loudly.
"My King, have you forgotten that the Blasphemous Law requires the constant blasphemy of life?"
The Blasphemous Serpent sighed helplessly.
Xiao stood beneath a giant cherry blossom tree, feeling the powerful energy plundered from the Okami Clan.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, attempting to unleash this power.
Suddenly, a powerful suction force erupted from his hand and directly acted upon the cherry blossom tree before him.
As the power activated, an enormous amount of vitality was continuously extracted from the cherry blossom tree, pouring into Xiao's body like a raging torrent.
This vitality rapidly merged with his body, filling it with renewed vigor and vitality.
Xiao could feel his strength continuously increasing, while even more potential hidden within him seemed ready to be awakened.
As for the cherry blossom tree that had its vitality drained, its blooming flowers rapidly withered, its leaves turned yellow, and its branches gradually died.
After losing all of its vitality, the entire cherry blossom tree instantly withered and died, becoming nothing more than a lifeless dead tree.
The terrain of Fountainhead Palace clearly displayed a pattern of being lower in the south and higher in the north.
And the place where the Sakura Dragon resided was precisely the peak of the northern mountain.
Upon that mountain stood an incomparably enormous cherry blossom tree.
Its canopy spread like a magnificent umbrella, covering the entire mountaintop.
The waters flowing throughout Fountainhead Palace also originated from this place.
This mountain could be considered the source of life for the entire Fountainhead Palace.
Xiao set foot on the path leading up the mountain and steadily climbed upward.
At last, he arrived at the summit.
Yet he found no trace of the Sakura Dragon.
Upon the mountaintop, he discovered only an ancient stone altar bearing clear signs of worship.
Lying upon that stone was a beautiful woman who had clearly been dead for a very long time.
According to the ancient records, this woman had been the Sakura Dragon's bride, and the child she bore inherited the Dragon's Heritage.
"Not here?"
The Blasphemous Serpent looked around, feeling somewhat disappointed.
She had expected to see the legendary Sakura Dragon here.
"No, he must have hidden himself somewhere. Perhaps within a dream, or perhaps within the spirit world."
Xiao frowned and sank into thought.
The power of the spirit world was what he understood the least.
In The Lands Between, he had attempted countless times to approach the spirit world and understand Trina's power.
Yet the only thing that ever responded to his summons was his spectral steed.
"It seems I can only borrow your power."
Xiao sighed and drew St. Trina's Sword.
This sword had been abandoned in Caelid during the battle between Malenia the Severed and General Radahn, later recovered by the Xiao Family and brought into the Cyber Dimension.
Holding St. Trina's Sword, Xiao lay down against the stone altar and released a hypnotic mist that enveloped his body.
A dizzy sensation washed over him.
The next moment, Xiao had already entered a dream.
In a daze, he stepped into a dense fog.
Far away, there seemed to be the faint outline of a tree.
But in the next instant, the head of a withered old man emerged from the mist.
It was a monster with a dragon's body and a human head.
The combination of an elderly human face and a dragon-like body resembling dead wood created an unsettling appearance.
The old man stared fixedly at Xiao.
Then he vanished into the fog, only to reappear directly before him.
Wielding the long flute in his hand, he struck at Xiao.
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