It took Laex an entire day to wake up. He was too weak at the moment, so Krune and the others helped him recover. Around a week later, he finally could move normally. However, it would take another two weeks for Lex to go back to his peak state.
As expected, Laex wanted to try using the Purple Flame Dragon Pearl straight away. Krune, of course, stubbornly denied. It didn't matter how many times he asked, Krune did not relent. He didn't even show the Purple Flame Dragon Pearl to him.
Finally, three weeks went by, and Laex could be said to be back to his peak state.
"Give me, give me! Let me see it."
Krune sighed and finally took out the Pearl. As soon as Laex saw it, he felt the connection between his Dragon Blood and the Pearl. But before passing it over, Krune warned.
"If you feel like you are losing control over your energy, immediately cancel the fusion, understood?"
Laex nodded vigorously.
"Don't worry, it won't happen. Even though it is a Purple Flame Dragon Pearl, I can feel the compatibility with my body. Most likely, what you think isn't going to happen."
"That would be good."
Laka was also here for this moment. Krune asked him to challenge Laex, after all. Laex, of course, accepted it too. He really wanted to see if the Purple Flame Dragon Pearl could make up for the Heavenly Divine Soul.
Laex then absorbed the Pearl, and it fused with his body almost instantly. Both of them could be said to be a single being now.
When the Pearl Fused with Laex, its power that had been contained inside broke free and spread through Laex's body. Immediately, Laex felt his overall strength swelling. His body got sturdier, he could feel the laws and elements easier, and his Spiritual, Elemental Source, and Chaos energy output increased. At the 9th Stage of the Void breaking Realm, Laex could fight ordinary 2nd Stage Divine Path Realm cultivators and demon beasts.
However, with the Purple Flame Pearl's addition, he felt like even a 5th Stage wouldn't be much of a problem. A standard Dragon Pearl would never bring his strength up to this point.
Of course, it wasn't just good news.
If he wanted to sustain this power, a lot more energy was necessary, so he would definitely lose in a battle of endurance. Also, he could feel sparks of Purple Tribulation Lightning running in his Foundation. It stimulated his Energies, but at the same time, making them a lot harder to control.
Fortunately, what Krune mentioned didn't happen. The Pearl wasn't able to make Laex's energies go berserk. Krune let out a sigh of relief after confirming that.
"Good! It seems like it is doable."
Krune then looked at Laka and nodded.
"Alright, show me what you two can do."
They opened a Spatial Gate and moved to a deserted place in the Wisp Main World. There, Laex and Laka immediately started their fight.
Just as Krune expected, Laex was able to contend against Laka. In fact, Laex was even a little stronger than him. Of course, Laex is two stages of cultivation above Laka and have his Purple Flame Dragon Pearl, so it was to be expected.
Krune also noticed a change in Laex's power. Any form of elemental attack that Laex used always had a purple hue to them. That was obviously the effect of the Purple Flame spreading through Laex's body. It really increased the attack power a lot more than common Dragon Pearls.
In the end, the fight ended without a victor. Although Laex was ahead in combat power, his consumption of energy was a lot higher. Also, it was evident that he was having a hard time controlling them. By the time Laex came back, Krune had already sent him a Divine Sense message.
"I really think you should use the Myriad Energies Technique. I know you don't want to because you like to rely on your body's Meridians. Still, it would improve your control over your energies several times. It is perfectly fit for your Purple Flame Dragon Pearl."
Krune had indeed offered the Myriad Energies Technique for Laex in the past. But because it would make his own meridians obsolete, Laex had refused. It was merely a Dragon's pride, simple as that. He didn't want to give up the meridians of his own body for the new ones.
However, this time Laex couldn't help but ponder about it. He is extremely happy with the results of the Purple Flame Dragon Pearl. Unfortunately, Krune was right. It was really difficult to control the energies in his body. His combat power would have been a lot higher if Laex could do it. He would probably have won against Laka just now too.
"Give me some time to think. I'll give you an answer after you finish forging Laka's Pearl."
Krune nodded and didn't insist any further.
After they returned, Krune told Laka that they would start his in a week's time. He was still digesting the experience he got during the Purple Flame Dragon Pearl's creation. Although the next one would be the same, Krune thought that he could reduce the time and the blood necessary.
A week quickly went by, and Krune finally started Laka's Pearl. Just like Laex, Laka needed loads of Blood Recovery Pills. It was a good thing that Krune's proficiency in creating the Pearl increased after last time. That is because only 80% of Laka's blood is from the Dragon's side; the other 20% is part of the Phoenix Race, which wasn't useful during the process.
That being said, Laka would need to give a lot more blood to Krune if he wanted to complete his Purple Flame Dragon Pearl. Of course, that wasn't necessary anymore. Krune was able to finish Laka's Purple Flame Dragon Pearl almost at the same time as Laex's one.
Just like Laex, Krune refused to give the Pearl to Laka for testing. Although it seemed like it would be fine, Krune didn't want to take risks.
"Stingy!"
Ignoring him, Krune went back home. During the next week, Krune didn't cultivate or did anything else. He just relaxed with Feifei and Fie. Recently he had been busy with too many things, so he also needed some time to rest.
The others had also been doing their own things. With Liriu's Blood Sealed, Tiane and Ruik had gone somewhere else with him. Dilo and Xankruan were doing a few missions to gather some Spirit Stones. As for Cinty, she stayed in her house with Kiirion, those two seemed to be a lot closer recently.
Finally, another month went by, and Krune gave Laka's Purple Flame Dragon Pearl to him.
"Thank you, Ancestor!"
Krune's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
"Can you stop with this Ancestor thing? I don't remember to have such a shameless descendant. Besides, Wisps don't even look like Dragons to start with, let alone a mix of Dragon and Phoenix."
Laka laughed out loud but didn't deny it.
"Anyway, there is still another 2 months before the Holy Land opens. When do you plan to move there?"
Krune pondered a bit.
"There are a few of us who aren't here at the moment, but they said they would be back soon. Once they are here, we can go together."
Laka nodded and didn't say anything else. He had nowhere to go anyway, so he would just join Krune's troupe.