The laws of this realm, however, quickly dissipated, all swallowed into Wu Tao's body. A mysterious aura, faint yet incredibly powerful, slowly emanated from his bloodline. Upon its appearance, boundless spiritual energy gathered from the heavens and earth.
"Keep absorbing. I'll let you absorb to your heart's content!"
Seeing this, Lü Liang roared. His fingers tapped continuously, causing more of the blood law of the Purple Mansion stage Golden Clan king to flow out.
Wu Tao's Nightmare Eyes, his black hair dancing in the wind, began to widen, transforming into a thousand-zhang purple dragon. Its aura blazed, as if intending to devour the world, instantly drawing in all the surrounding laws.
Lü Liang let out a hearty laugh. "Good lad, you've had quite the fortuitous encounter!"
As time passed, a golden blood cocoon, three meters tall, slowly emerged. From the blood cocoon, a faint golden law of power surged out.
"Good! Good! Good! You are indeed my son-in-law!" Lü Liang laughed heartily. "This is the true peerless prodigy..."
...
Half a year later, the golden blood cocoon slowly vanished. Wu Tao emerged from it, a torrent of primal law power roaring outwards like a great river.
Wu Tao's gaze was like an immortal sword, his robes unstained by dust. His black hair danced, his aura so potent it seemed to tear the very air apart.
"This kid actually managed to completely devour this drop of blood from a Purple Mansion stage Golden Clan king. That's good. He's directly entered the middle stage of the Core Formation realm. While he can't compare to veteran Core Formation stage experts, his combat power is definitely enough to rival an ordinary late-stage Core Formation cultivator."
At this moment, Wu Tao himself was somewhat incredulous. Originally, he possessed the Innate Sword Body, but after his journey to the Sea of Origin, it seemed to have undergone a drastic transformation. Devouring this drop of blood from the Purple Mansion stage Golden Clan king had completely refined him.
He now had a different feeling, a sense that he could cleave the heavens with a single sword. The power of law coursed through every inch of his bones and flesh, penetrating to the marrow and nourishing his soul.
He sank into his Sea of Consciousness, where Youmeng also gained immense benefits.
In the next second, Wu Tao formed his fingers into a sword and, with a thought, a layer of faint golden sword energy materialized.
...
"Now that you've advanced to the middle stage of the Core Formation realm, you are truly my son-in-law, Lü Liang. You possess the Innate Sword Body and have absorbed the blood of this Purple Mansion stage Golden Clan king. You need not fear cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage. In another three to five years, I will arrange your marriage!"
Wu Tao nodded. Regardless, Lü Liang was a qualified father-in-law.
As for him and Lü Yuehua, it was a case of mutual affection. It was only natural their relationship would progress rapidly.
"Cough... cough... cough..."
Lü Liang coughed a few times and stood with his hands behind his back. His eyes suddenly fixed on Wu Tao, an invisible pressure emanating from him, disrupting Wu Tao and Lü Yuehua's conversation.
"Father!"
Lü Yuehua, displeased by Lü Liang's sudden interruption, exclaimed playfully. From her father's expression, she could tell he was brimming with jealousy towards Wu Tao.
She turned to Wu Tao with a smile, intending to ease the atmosphere. "My father has a bit of a temper..."
"Enough. I need to speak with my son-in-law. Daughter, you go ahead. You'll have plenty of time to chat later!"
Lü Liang interrupted his daughter again and said solemnly to Wu Tao, "Son-in-law, come with me for a moment. I have something to tell you."
Lü Yuehua's small face fell. She said to her father, "Father, don't be so overbearing. Whatever you have to say, say it here. Why do we need to go elsewhere?"
However, Lü Liang completely ignored his daughter's discontent and did not allow Wu Tao to refuse. He turned and walked out first.
Taking a slow breath, Wu Tao smiled reassuringly at Lü Yuehua. "Yuehua, don't worry. Your father won't have any ill intentions towards me. After all, I am your Dao companion."
As he spoke, he casually adjusted his robes and followed Lü Liang out.
This left Lü Yuehua blushing with shyness after hearing his words.
Lü Liang was standing motionless before a large tree, the breeze rustling his clothes, revealing numerous scars on his broad, straight back.
Seeing this, Wu Tao stopped about half a meter away from Lü Liang, lowering his head, awaiting Lü Liang's lecture.
"If it weren't for my daughter threatening to disown me, you would never have become my son-in-law..."
"I truly don't understand why Yuehua would fall for someone as ordinary-looking as you. Humph, you're quite something to have won my daughter's heart..."
Wu Tao was initially stunned, looking at Lü Liang with surprise.
"Is this father-in-law of mine... jealous?"
Perhaps sensing that his words carried a different emotional undertone, he showed no intention of changing them.
Lü Liang let out a cold snort, turned around, and looked at Wu Tao, saying in a deep voice, "Lad, do you know how much I want to beat you up!"
As he spoke, a vast, mountain-like domain pressure erupted from him, striking towards Wu Tao.
Under Lü Liang's overwhelming aura, Wu Tao gritted his teeth, enduring the discomfort, and replied, "Father-in-law, you speak so honestly. It's only natural for a father-in-law to beat his son-in-law. If you truly wish to hit me, then do so?"
Lü Liang studied Wu Tao with a complex gaze for a long moment before saying, "I didn't realize you were so thick-skinned..."
"I finally understand why you managed to win over my daughter, who has a heart as high as the heavens. Your thick skin is practically strong enough to be made into a defensive artifact..."
Wu Tao's brow furrowed slightly. This father-in-law of his was truly direct.
Following this, Wu Tao and Lü Liang engaged in a prolonged exchange of veiled and open verbal sparring.
Wu Tao found dealing with this old fox, Lü Liang, incredibly tiring.
Every sentence Lü Liang spoke had three layers of meaning, and Wu Tao had to decipher all three to understand his intent, unsure if he was offering guidance or sarcasm.
In contrast, Lü Yuehua spoke with genuine straightforwardness. Though somewhat reserved in personality, conversing with her was a pleasure.
"Father-in-law, what exactly do you want to say? Can you just say it directly? Having me guess half of what you mean is giving me a real headache!"
After a period of conversation, Wu Tao's head was spinning. He decided to be direct with Lü Liang, urging him to speak his mind instead of beating around the bush.
Scoffing at his son-in-law's intelligence, Lü Liang didn't want to dwell on the topic any longer. If they talked for too long and his daughter caught him bullying her new husband, it wouldn't be good.
In truth, when Lü Liang first learned of Lü Yuehua's relationship with Wu Tao, he had been a mixture of shock and anger. If Wu Tao had stood before him then, he would have likely launched a full-blown assault, smashing the head of the scoundrel who had deceived his daughter.
Even now, with his anger mostly subsided, his tone towards Wu Tao was still not particularly pleasant.
It felt as if a pig had stolen his prized cabbage, yet Lü Liang had to endure it, feeling inexplicably stifled. But at least his daughter was happy.
Furthermore, setting aside his biased perspective, Wu Tao was also a good son-in-law.
Thinking this, Lü Liang's mood improved significantly, to the point where he even managed a smile when speaking to Wu Tao alone.
"When do you two plan to become Dao companions? I want a specific date!"
"Seriously, this progress bar is moving way too fast!"
What if I was just playing around with your daughter?
Of course, Wu Tao knew that saying "just playing around" would be an absolute disaster and could result in him being torn to shreds by an enraged Lü Liang.
"How about ten years from now? Any kind of wedding ceremony will do. It would be nice to have a lively celebration. What do you think, Father-in-law?" Wu Tao responded earnestly to Lü Liang's question.
Lü Liang remained calm in the face of Wu Tao's straightforward proposal for a wedding.
"Regarding marriage and becoming Dao companions, I'm happy to help with whatever arrangements you wish. But Xiao Tao, what kind of betrothal gifts will you be preparing? I won't accept anything trivial!" Lü Liang asked.
"Don't worry, Father-in-law. I will definitely prepare the most special betrothal gifts in history to marry your precious daughter!" Wu Tao replied quite seriously to his future father-in-law.
"Are you truly confident? I'm not doubting you, but you only have ten years. Can you really prepare such generous betrothal gifts in such a short time?" Lü Liang questioned with an unreadable expression.
"It's indeed too quick, but Father-in-law, I am confident I can prepare a generous betrothal gift." Wu Tao suddenly straightened his back, looking at Lü Liang with a serious expression.
"What?" Lü Liang suspected he had misheard.
"I am confident I can prepare a generous betrothal gift." Wu Tao repeated.
"Good, then I'll trust you this once." Seeing Wu Tao's resolute demeanor, Lü Liang said with a hint of doubt.
As Wu Tao bid farewell to Lü Liang, the latter suddenly mentioned something that piqued Wu Tao's interest.
...
"In two days, it will be the thirty-year auction of exotic items at our city's auction house. You can go and take a look then; there will be many good things!"
"Are exotic items useful to our human race?" Wu Tao's brow twitched as he asked.
"That's a rather ridiculous question. In this world, all races cultivate by absorbing spiritual energy to improve their realm. One path leads to countless others. Many things, many principles, are the same."
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