Chapter 862: The Body Immune to Venom
Leon didn't say a word. He quietly felt the changes happening within his body. To be honest, it was impossible not to be nervous—this was far too dangerous. If anything went wrong, he'd be dead for real.
The antidote to the Primordial Venom Dragon Venom was itself a deadly poison. If you drank it under normal circumstances, you'd die a miserable death. But once poisoned by the Primordial Venom Dragon, taking it would turn it into a cure.
To neutralize the Primordial Venom Dragon Venom, you had to use the dragon's own venom as the catalyst. It was a bold and contradictory idea—no wonder, after countless years, no one had ever managed to produce an antidote.
But if you did manage to break the venom's hold, there was a special effect: you'd never again be affected by that particular Primordial Venom Dragon's venom. In fact, you'd gain some resistance to other Primordial Venom Dragons' venom too—at the very least, you wouldn't die just from a single touch.
Watching Leon gently stroke the corpse of the Primordial Venom Dragon without suffering any ill effects, Reina—the Frost Dragon who was usually expressionless—almost had her eyes pop out of her head.
Among everyone present, Reina probably understood the terror of the Primordial Venom Dragon best. As a child, whenever her father told stories, the Primordial Venom Dragon was always the villain, unchanged for millions of years. In her clan, its name was used to frighten hatchlings.
Reina still remembered, back when she was young and living with her clan, she once saw a powerful Frost Dragon elder. That elder had accidentally picked up a Primordial Venom Dragon scale, and after being poisoned, suffered for over a decade before dying.
Now, the Primordial Venom Dragon's venom had been neutralized—just like that, as if it were nothing...
She'd expected it, but still couldn't accept it at all...
Leon circled around the Primordial Venom Dragon, carefully inspecting it and calculating how best to collect its remains. But after a full round, he realized the others were still standing there, dazed...
"Why are you all just standing there? Go touch the Primordial Venom Dragon's corpse. The moment you're poisoned, drink the antidote—then you'll be fine."
His words snapped everyone out of their stupor. One by one, they nervously approached the dragon's corpse, clutching open vials of antidote in one hand and, with trembling fingers, touched the Primordial Venom Dragon's body.
Reina, Anderson, and the Alchemical Golem each stepped up in turn, touching the Primordial Venom Dragon's corpse and immediately downing the antidote at the moment of poisoning.
Hubert wore a look of tragic heroism as he approached, clutching the antidote. Carefully, he tapped the dragon's corpse with his finger—only to realize he hadn't even opened the vial. In a panic, he shoved the glass bottle into his mouth, bit down, and swallowed it whole.
Leon was left momentarily speechless. Anderson scoffed, completely forgetting how close he'd come to wetting himself in fear.
"Idiot..."
Once everyone had been cured, Leon began pondering how best to collect the dragon's remains.
The Primordial Venom Dragon's corpse before them was clearly ancient. The innate magical patterns on its scales had long since lost their power, leaving only a tiny bit of reference value and use as raw material.
Which was also why it was possible to tear the dragon's scales off by hand...
After making a circuit, Leon only tore off a few battered scales—some still retained a faint trace of magical pattern. The seemingly intact scales, aside from being a special kind of raw material, held no particular value anymore.
Having collected the damaged scales for materials, Leon stopped and had Hubert pry open the Primordial Venom Dragon's jaws, then climbed inside its body.
Inside the dragon's mouth, at least half the teeth were shattered, evidence of a brutal battle before its death. Leon pulled out the only two intact fangs and left the rest.
Those fangs would make perfect weapon handles for Hubert's warhammer—tough, resilient, and hard as stone. Even a Sky Rank Swordmaster could use them as weapons.
Leon crawled deeper into the dragon's body, with the Alchemical Golem clearing the way. They quickly reached the dragon's head. As expected, the Dragon Core was still there, but its magic was completely depleted—now it was just an empty, ink-black crystal shell.
Seeing the powerless Dragon Core, Leon couldn't help but smile.
If even a sliver of magic remained, the core could only be used as a weapon's ornament. The Primordial Venom Dragon's magic—even the tiniest trace—could kill a Sky Rank powerhouse, since the last lingering magic would be the purest, most toxic essence.
If used as a staff ornament, any spell cast would carry a touch of the Primordial Venom Dragon's toxin. For a poison mage, their power would jump by an entire rank!
A Ninth-Rank Title Archmage specializing in poison magic could use a staff inlaid with this Dragon Core to ambush a Sky Rank powerhouse—and might just succeed...
Of course, for humans, that's the best use. But with Reina the Frost Dragon right here, if she were to fuse with this empty Dragon Core, the benefits would far surpass what any staff could offer.
The Primordial Venom Dragon was truly ancient—its essence far surpassed that of any Frost Dragon. If there had been even a trace of magic left, Reina would never have been able to fuse with it; she might've ruined her own Dragon Core. But now, with only an empty shell remaining, it was actually ideal.
The fusion would go smoothly. Based on this empty shell, Reina's Dragon Core would evolve—and her very life essence would undergo a transformation.
She'd evolve from a Frost Dragon into a higher species, breaking through the shackles of her race. Words couldn't begin to describe the benefit.
[Irrelevant system message skipped]
When the Northend World reached its peak, there was a widely supported theory about why humanity was the strongest—even other races agreed with it.
Humans with innate talent were exceedingly rare. In fact, the race itself had almost no special gifts; everything had to be learned through effort.
This natural starting point was weaker than every other race.
But precisely because there was no starting point, there were no limitations either.
Other powerful races—be they various orcs, elves, or dwarves—each had their own innate gifts.
Take the Dark Elves, for example: every member of their race is a born mage. Even their children can cast spells. That kind of talent is beyond terrifying.
But that same bloodline talent comes with shackles—their achievements are capped by their ancestry.
A race's bloodline almost predetermines the highest heights it can reach.
Among these races, it's nearly impossible for someone with mediocre talent to become a legend.
The stronger the bloodline, the stronger the shackles it brings.
In the Dark Elf clan that followed Leon, there were more than a dozen prodigies. Many of them became Title Archmages within their first hundred years, and some even reached Ninth-Rank Title Archmage before turning two hundred...
But for the next thousand, even two thousand years, they might remain stuck at that rank, unable to advance further—until they died in battle or simply faded away, never moving beyond that point...
Humans are different. Despite their mediocre talents, countless legends have emerged—at least half of the most famous figures started out with nothing special.
This idea was the most popular theory at the height of the Northend World's development, and other races agreed with it.
When the essence of life is elevated, the limit of what's possible is raised as well.
If Reina fuses with this empty Dragon Core, her strength won't skyrocket overnight, but in the future, she'll have the potential to surpass every Frost Dragon in history—even the very first.
Leon pressed the empty Dragon Core into Reina's hand without a word. She trembled with excitement—no one understood its value better than she did. Just holding it, she could feel a powerful essence seeping into her being.
Now that she had it, Reina lost all interest in exploring further. She hurried out of the Primordial Venom Dragon's corpse and immediately began fusing with the empty Dragon Core...
Leon pressed onward, heading straight for the Primordial Venom Dragon's liver.
The Primordial Venom Dragon, also known as the Plague Dragon, was infused with deadly toxins in every part of its body—except for one: the liver.
The liver couldn't neutralize the Primordial Venom Dragon's own venom, but it was a legendary antidote for every other poison in the world.
Alchemical potions made from the Primordial Venom Dragon's liver were a staple among gods and demons during the God-Demon Era.
Gods and demons who opposed the Plague Lord were obsessed with hoarding the liver. Whenever a weaker Plague Dragon appeared, they'd personally hunt it down.
The extinction of the Primordial Venom Dragons was largely their doing—they hunted the young to the brink, and when the mighty fell, the species vanished...
Ten thousand years later, the corpse of a Primordial Venom Dragon was found, and its liver was excavated. Researchers discovered it could be used to make a universal antidote—and a special potion for swordsmen.
This potion wasn't for drinking—it was applied to the body, granting a rare Venomproof Physique. All toxins became harmless to its bearer.
Unfortunately, it severely disrupted magical power—so only swordmasters could use it.