Chapter 205 - 199: Blood-Devouring Realm-Quenching Made Permanent
Li Yuan walked slowly along the outer edge of the Ghost Mist Forest.
He kept his external aura at the level of the Qi Refining Fourth Level, suppressing his presence to be as unassuming as possible. The strap of his storage pouch was deliberately left visible, the bag itself bulging. To any observer, he looked like a lone Loose Cultivator of low cultivation, traveling with a good deal of possessions.
He activated his stealth and perception skills to their fullest, scanning all auras within a radius of several hundred zhang.
Occasionally, a Loose Cultivator would pass by on the paths around the Ghost Mist Forest. Most were of low cultivation, their auras neutral, all hurrying on their way.
Li Yuan walked for about a quarter of an hour. As he rounded a gravelly slope, his Aura Imprint suddenly reacted.
It was a familiar aura.
It wasn’t a specific person, but a characteristic trait—the unique pattern of Spiritual Power fluctuations specific to cultivators from the Li family. He had previously encountered a large number of Li family cultivators in Qinghe Marketplace, on the outskirts of the Secret Realm, and inside it. His Aura Imprint had long since memorized this signature.
Qi Refining Seventh Level.
It was coming from the northeast, about two hundred zhang away, and moving quickly.
And it wasn’t alone.
Behind the Li family cultivator’s aura were two unfamiliar auras. Their cultivations were also at the Qi Refining Seventh Level, and they were faster than the one in front, rapidly closing the distance.
A hunt.
Li Yuan halted, suppressed his presence to the absolute minimum, and darted into the bushes by the roadside.
His Aura Imprint continued to track the movements of the three auras.
The Li family cultivator was fleeing from the northeast toward the southwest, with the two pursuers hot on his heels. The path of all three was heading directly toward Li Yuan’s position.
After a dozen or so breaths, the bushes ahead shook violently.
A figure burst out of the low shrubs, stumbling. His left arm hung limply at his side, dark red bloodstains dripping down from his elbow.
He was a cultivator in his thirties, dressed in a grayish-blue robe. The buckle of his dark-patterned belt was engraved with the Li family crest. His face was pale, with trickles of blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. His Spiritual Power fluctuated erratically, a clear sign that he was seriously injured.
Qi Refining Seventh Level.
After bursting out of the shrubs, he faltered for a moment, as if hesitating on which direction to run.
In the next instant, two figures shot out from the bushes behind him.
Two men.
The one in front had a sturdy build and was in his forties, wearing dark brown leather armor and gripping a blood-stained short blade. The one behind him was tall and thin, in his early thirties. He clutched a dark, Spirit Stone-sized sphere in each hand, Spiritual Power flowing across their surfaces.
Both men were at the Qi Refining Seventh Level.
Blood was still dripping from the sturdy cultivator’s short blade. A residual Spiritual Power fluctuation lingered on the edge—it was the very cut that had injured the Li family cultivator.
"What’s the point in running?" the sturdy cultivator’s voice was deep, laced with an irrepressible rage.
He held his short blade horizontally before him and took two menacing steps toward the Li family cultivator.
"You people from the Li family are all the same. Your leader made a fine promise—to split the profits evenly after the job was done. But what happened? The moment he could, he sold out our boss."
He gritted his teeth.
"You betrayed us, got our boss killed, and now you’re pretending to know nothing?"
The Li family cultivator retreated two steps, his left arm hanging uselessly. His right hand rested on the Magical Artifact at his waist, his face ashen.
"Nonsense. What does your boss’s death have to do with the Li family?"
The sturdy cultivator sneered.
"Still acting tough. Fine. It doesn’t matter if you’re stubborn. You’re not getting away today, anyway—"
"Besides, you’re obviously attacking to—"
The Li family cultivator was cut off mid-sentence as the tall, thin man behind him suddenly made his move.
The two dark spheres flew from the tall, thin man’s hands, one to the left and one to the right, tracing arcs to flank the Li family cultivator.
The Li family cultivator’s reaction was a beat too slow. He had been speaking, his attention focused on the sturdy cultivator in front of him, leaving him unprepared for an attack from behind.
The two spheres exploded at the same time.
Dark Spiritual Power burst from within the spheres, forming two intersecting arcs of light that simultaneously slashed toward the Li family cultivator’s waist.
At the last moment, the Li family cultivator tried to twist his body to dodge, but the injury to his left arm slowed his reaction.
The two arcs of light sliced into his body, one after the other.
The first pierced through his left ribs and exited his right. The second slashed diagonally down from his lower back, leaving a half-foot-long gash on his back.
The Li family cultivator’s body froze.
His mouth hung open, the unfinished sentence caught in his throat. The light in his eyes faded rapidly, and within a few breaths, his Spiritual Power fluctuations dissipated completely.
He pitched forward and fell to the ground, motionless.
The sturdy cultivator sheathed his short blade and knelt to search the corpse.
The tall, thin man walked over, collected the remnants of the two spheres, then straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
His eyes froze.
In a gap between the bushes, a figure stood about ten zhang away.
Li Yuan.
His external aura indicated Qi Refining Fourth Level, his presence suppressed and low. But he was standing too close to the battlefield, and the cover from the bushes wasn’t perfect. The tall, thin man had spotted him.
The tall, thin man’s eyes narrowed.
"We’ve got company."
The sturdy cultivator looked up, followed the tall, thin man’s gaze, and saw Li Yuan behind the bushes.
Two Qi Refining Seventh Level rogue cultivators, having just killed a man, their hands still bloody, turned to find a witness right beside them.
Without needing to exchange a single word, both men moved at once.
The sturdy cultivator whipped the short blade from his waist and infused it with Spiritual Power. The blade’s edge glowed with a dark cyan light as he charged straight for Li Yuan.
The tall, thin man didn’t charge. Instead, he took two steps back and condensed a new dark sphere in each hand, preparing for a ranged attack.
The instant the two men made their move, Li Yuan acted with a single thought.
’Deactivate Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill.’
’Take the Bloodthirsty Stone from the storage pouch. Equip.’
[Equipment Successful]
[Acquired Trait: Bloodthirst Tempering (Green)]
He simultaneously dropped his aura suppression and Concealment.
His full cultivation at the Qi Refining Ninth Level erupted from its suppressed state.
A Spiritual Wave, like a toppling wall, boomed out from within Li Yuan’s body.
The sturdy cultivator had just charged within five zhang. The moment he felt this spiritual pressure, his expression changed drastically, and he came to a screeching halt.
’Qi Refining Ninth Level.’
But it was too late to stop. Inertia carried him forward another two steps, his short blade already raised to strike.
Li Yuan raised his right hand.
’Fireball Technique.’
At a distance of five zhang, his Precision trait locked on.
The Fireball left his hand a split second faster than the man’s blade could fall.
The crimson Fireball slammed squarely into the sturdy cultivator’s chest.
BOOM.
A scorching blast wave ripped through the dense fog.
However, the sturdy cultivator was sent flying backward. His short blade flew from his grasp as he crashed into the bushes three zhang away.
He wasn’t dead. His leather armor had absorbed some of the impact, and as a Qi Refining Seventh Level cultivator, his physical fortitude was considerable. Still, the wound on his chest was severe, and his Spiritual Power was in chaotic collapse.
The tall, thin man’s two dark spheres had already flown over.
One to the left and one to the right, they traced arcs to flank Li Yuan.
It was the exact same tactic they had used to kill the Li family cultivator.
Li Yuan didn’t dodge.
He raised his left hand. ’Fire Arrow Skill.’
A single fire arrow shot out, precisely striking the sphere on the left.
The sphere exploded in mid-air, the dark Spiritual Power splashing harmlessly away. The arc of light dissipated before it could even form.
The arc of light from the sphere on the right slashed toward him.
Li Yuan took a single step to the side, and the arc grazed the outside of his right arm. A film of light from his Golden Armor Body flashed where it was struck. His Scale Armor Body and Spiritual Membrane defense activated simultaneously, and the arc failed to break through.
In the next instant, a Fireball had already formed in Li Yuan’s right hand.
His target wasn’t the tall, thin man, but the sturdy cultivator in the bushes.
The sturdy cultivator was struggling to his feet, blood still pouring from the wound on his chest, his Spiritual Power in severe disarray.
The Fireball slammed down.
BOOM.
The sturdy cultivator’s struggles ceased. His aura vanished completely.
The moment the kill was registered, the Bloodthirst Tempering trait provided feedback.
A subtle stream of power flowed from the corpse’s direction and seeped into Li Yuan’s body.
Seeing his companion killed, the tall, thin man’s pupils contracted violently.
He didn’t choose to continue the fight. He turned and fled.
He was incredibly fast, his toes barely touching the ground as he bolted into the bushes to the north.
Li Yuan didn’t give chase.
’Fireball Technique.’
A Fireball shot after him. The Precision trait corrected its trajectory, and after crossing a dozen zhang, the Fireball slammed into the tall, thin man’s back.
BOOM.
The tall, thin man’s body pitched forward. He rolled once on the ground before coming to a stop, sprawled in a pile of decaying leaves.
He was still moving.
Li Yuan raised his hand. ’Fire Arrow Skill.’
He fired two fire arrows in quick succession. One pinned the man’s lower back, and the other pierced the nape of his neck.
The movement stopped. His aura dissipated.
The Bloodthirst Tempering trait provided feedback once more. Another subtle stream of power surged forth, merging deep within his Dantian.
A panel popped up in his vision.
[Permanence Conditions Met for Bloodthirst Tempering (Green)]
[Make Permanent?]
The Bloodthirsty Stone required cultivators of the same major realm. Strictly speaking, early-stage and Late-stage Qi Refining were considered part of the same realm, just like the classifications for Demon Beasts. These two cultivators met the requirement.
With a thought, Li Yuan chose ’Yes’.
[Permanence Successful]
[Bloodthirst Tempering (Green) is now a permanent trait]
[Equipment Consumed]
The Bloodthirsty Stone in his palm dissolved into a ray of dark red light that submerged itself deep within his Dantian.
The change was not something he could feel immediately. The effect of Bloodthirst Tempering was to increase the probability of a breakthrough, an effect that would only manifest when he was actually attempting to overcome a bottleneck.
However, a new, extremely subtle layer of power now existed deep within his Dantian. It was like a lubricant had been applied to the Dantian’s walls, reducing the resistance for future breakthroughs.
He then walked to the center of the battlefield and began to search the bodies.
The sturdy cultivator’s storage pouch was well-stocked. There were several dozen Spirit Stones, a few bottles of medicinal pills, and the short blade, which was well-crafted but possessed no traits.
The tall, thin man’s storage pouch contained three spare dark spheres, along with a few dozen Spirit Stones and some miscellaneous junk.
The Li family cultivator’s storage pouch didn’t contain much, but as Li Yuan’s fingers brushed the bottom, he felt something.
A porcelain vial.
The vial was small, about the thickness of a thumb. Its mouth was tightly sealed with wax, and a small label was affixed to its side.
Two words were written on the label: Purple Mansion.
Li Yuan took out the vial, pulled off the wax seal, and brought it close to his nose for a sniff.
A crisp, medicinal fragrance wafted from the vial’s opening, carrying with it an extremely pure fluctuation of Spiritual Power. The liquid inside was a deep purple, and when gently swirled, it shimmered with a fine, silvery light.
Purple Mansion Profound Liquid.
’Extremely high purity.’
’So, I’ve finally found one of the three main ingredients for the Breaking Element Pill.’
Li Yuan took all the Spirit Stones and medicinal pills from the three storage pouches, leaving everything else behind.
He stood up and glanced around.
The dense fog flowed slowly around him. Within the range of his enhanced Spiritual Sense, there were no other auras.
Li Yuan turned and headed back along the small path toward the main road.
He activated his Divine Movement Step, picking up speed and quickly leaving the battlefield behind.
On the way back to Yunyang Marketplace, Li Yuan mentally reviewed the day’s gains.
Golden Armor Body was now permanent. Bloodthirst Tempering was now permanent.
The effect of Bloodthirst Tempering was to increase the probability of a successful breakthrough by killing other cultivators. The stronger the cultivator killed, the greater the effect, up to a maximum of a fifty percent boost.
The panel didn’t show a specific number for how much of a boost his currently accumulated kills provided. Still, something was better than nothing.
His preparations for Foundation Establishment were progressing, step by step.
He was still two main ingredients short for the Breaking Element Pill. He had obtained the breakthrough bonus from Bloodthirst Tempering. His cultivation was at the Qi Refining Ninth Level, still a ways from the Great Perfection stage, but at his current cultivation speed, it wouldn’t be long.
Li Yuan hurried along the main road, returning to Yunyang Marketplace before nightfall.