Chapter 514: Rebirth Complete, Wei Tu’s Reprimand
"Let’s give it a try."
Kou Hongying’s mind stirred as she began attempting to siphon life force from Yuwen Liangu.
As a righteous cultivator, she had always rejected the idea of using people as cultivation resources. But now that her own life was on the line, she wasn’t about to let old notions hold her back.
The moment she tried it...
She instantly felt a surge of vibrant energy flowing through the spiritual blood in the pool, moving along her meridians, circulating through her acupuncture points, and rapidly filling her entire body.
Her skin became smooth and delicate again, like she had regained the youth of her prime.
Meanwhile, Yuwen Liangu’s appearance visibly withered. Her face grew gaunt and aged in just moments, like time had fast-forwarded her into an old woman.
'Blood leech!' That thought suddenly popped into Kou Hongying’s mind.
At this moment, she was like a giant blood leech latched onto Yuwen Liangu, devouring her host to strengthen herself.
Besides the abundant essence flooding in, Kou Hongying could also feel her cultivation rapidly rising at a pace visible to the naked eye.
"This Reversing Spirit Blood Exchange Art is insanely domineering..."
The sheer power of it made Kou Hongying uneasy. Compared to this, all the fourth-rank demonic techniques she had browsed through at Mirror Water Pavilion were garbage.
What she didn’t know was...
With Ancestor Chìlóng guiding him, even the weakest of the demonic techniques Wei Tu had access to were top-tier among fourth-rank arts—secret inheritances never shared outside their sects.
What she had seen at Mirror Water Pavilion might be decent, but there was no way the Pavilion’s founder could compare to someone like Ancestor Chìlóng, who stood near the peak of the entire cultivation world.
If she’d just consulted Wei Tu earlier about switching to demonic arts, she would’ve avoided a whole lot of detours.
"I... I can’t hold on much longer..."
Joy for one meant misery for another.
Under Kou Hongying’s conscious draining, Yuwen Liangu, who had already been barely hanging on, was about to lose all control of her mind. Her awareness was fading fast.
"Five days. I have to make it through five days. Only two more days left—I can’t give up!"
"I have to get revenge!"
"Wei Tu, Kou Hongying, I swear I’ll make sure you both die horribly!"
Just as she was about to pass out, Yuwen Liangu bit through her tongue, using the pain and her deep hatred to force herself awake again. She willed herself to stay conscious.
…
At the same time—
As the parasitic "blood leech" feeding on Yuwen Liangu, Kou Hongying could clearly sense that just as her host was about to collapse, another burst of life force suddenly erupted from within her.
That vitality felt like a never-ending spring.
It wasn’t a huge amount, but it was inexhaustible.
'This woman’s will to live is insane... What a pity she lacks fate.'
A flicker of sympathy passed through Kou Hongying’s eyes as she thought this.
Three days ago, Yuwen Liangu had defeated her on the battlefield, leaving her seriously injured and nearly dead.
But victory in a Golden Core battle wasn’t the final outcome.
After Liu Yu Daoist died, that victory turned to dust. Yuwen Liangu became a prisoner, reduced to a blood slave.
It wasn’t that Yuwen Liangu was weak—
It was just… she lacked an Uncle Wei who could change the course of fate.
'Still, since you’re so determined to survive, then live a bit longer. Be a better offering for me! Help me recover completely and return to life!'
Kou Hongying’s eyes took on a reddish hue. Crimson shadows formed around the corners of her eyes. She deliberately slowed the absorption rate of Yuwen Liangu’s “spiritual blood” to avoid killing her outright.
Time passed slowly.
Before they knew it, another day had gone by.
It was now the fourth day of Kou Hongying’s "blood exchange and resurrection."
That day, in the blood pool, the injuries on Kou Hongying’s body completely healed. Her figure was tall and flawless, like snow piled on flowering branches—flawless and untainted. A faint red sheen resembling a layer of feathered blood cloaked the surface of her skin.
With that blood cloak, even without Qiu Huaisu’s mist technique, not a single trace of her beauty would be visible to others.
"Blood Demon Cocoon Robe..."
At that moment, Wei Tu, sitting by the pool, seemed to sense something. Golden light flickered in his eyes as he recognized the strange change on Kou Hongying’s body.
The Blood Demon Cocoon Robe was a rare phenomenon that appeared in blood path cultivators from the Blood God Sect when they reached deep mastery in their arts.
It was like a divine ability born from extreme skill.
That said, the fact that Kou Hongying—having only practiced the Reversing Spirit Blood Exchange Art for a few days—had already formed this cocoon was indeed surprising.
"It must be because the first person she absorbed during the exchange was a peak Golden Core stage cultivator..."
Wei Tu pondered this for a moment.
Even if Yuwen Liangu meant little to him, she was still a peak Golden Core True Lord—one step below Nascent Soul—and counted as a national-level elite in the cultivation world.
In other words, Kou Hongying had used a top-tier cultivator as her first source of energy when switching to blood path demonic arts. That alone gave her a major head start over most Blood God Sect cultivators.
And on top of that, she was cultivating Reversing Spirit Blood Exchange Art, the sect’s core legacy technique. Its level far exceeded that of common demonic methods.
All things considered, it was definitely shocking that she had formed the Blood Demon Cocoon Robe so quickly… but not impossible.
In the end, the Blood Demon Cocoon Robe wasn’t some powerful divine ability, nor was it a fundamental expression of innate blood-path talent.
It was simply a postnatal divine ability that naturally formed after a blood-path cultivator reached a certain level of mastery in their blood-path techniques.
"Still, the fact that Hongying could form the Blood Demon Cocoon Robe at this stage does prove she has a solid aptitude for blood-path cultivation. She’s not hopeless or untalented."
Wei Tu shook his head with a faint smile, genuinely happy for Kou Hongying.
Two months ago, when he’d heard from Divine Master Donglai that Kou Hongying had switched to demonic cultivation, he hadn’t been angry at her for "turning to the demonic path."
The only thing he’d truly been worried about was whether Kou Hongying was suited for practicing demonic techniques—and whether she could make progress, eventually using it as a springboard to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
Now, her performance with blood-path cultivation had completely put his concern to rest.
After all, he was not like those self-righteous cultivators who prided themselves on impartial justice. Wei Tu had always believed in protecting those close to him.
However—
Just as Wei Tu was about to stand up and congratulate Kou Hongying for her successful rebirth, something unexpected happened.
On the other side of the blood pool, Yuwen Liangu—who had been continuously drained and now looked like a shriveled old corpse—suddenly muttered to herself and started laughing hysterically.
"Five days, the five days are up!"
"Liu Yu Daoist is coming to get me! Wei Tu, you’d better run! If you’re too slow, this princess will make your life worse than death…"
Yuwen Liangu rambled nonsense.
From the sound of it, it was clear to Wei Tu that this princess of the Sun Shooting Tribe had already gone mad from the torment. She was hallucinating, couldn’t even keep track of time anymore.
Seeing this, Wei Tu turned and glanced at Kou Hongying soaking in the blood pool.
Kou Hongying instantly understood. She activated the Reversing Spirit Blood Exchange Art again, stripping away the last trace of life force inside Yuwen Liangu and ended her enemy's life.
In the next moment...
The cave fell silent once again.
"Congratulations, Master, on your successful rebirth."
Qiu Huaisu, ever clever and perceptive, saw that Yuwen Liangu had lost all vitality. She immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully toward the blood pool.
At the same time, she quickly pulled out a fresh set of clothes from her storage pouch and used her spiritual power to hand them over to Kou Hongying.
"Huaisu, you did well this time."
Seeing the clothes, Kou Hongying nodded slightly with a pleased expression and gave her a word of praise.
With that, she began dressing under the cover of mist, the soft rustling of fabric echoing faintly.
"Thank you, Uncle Wei, for saving me."
A little later, Kou Hongying stepped out of the blood pool like a blooming lotus from water. She bowed deeply to Wei Tu, her face full of sincere gratitude.
Even though their relationship didn’t require such formalities, right now, there was really nothing else she had that could repay a Nascent Soul cultivator like Wei Tu.
"You nearly died this time. I bear some responsibility for that. No need for all these formalities."
Wei Tu waved his hand, signaling that she didn’t need to be so distant.
After all, without him, Kou Hongying—no matter how exceptional as a Golden Core cultivator—wouldn’t have attracted the attention of Liu Yu Daoist and Divine Master Jinxia.
Her near-death experience was partially his fault.
Seeing her successfully return to life did ease some of the guilt weighing on his mind.
"I’ll get the Nascent Transformation Pill for you within one hundred years. Until then, stay in Mirror Water Pavilion and cultivate quietly. Don’t leave without reason."
After a short while, Wei Tu brought up the matter of Kou Hongying’s breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm and patiently instructed her.
Over fifty years ago, he’d returned from the secret auction held by the Flying Immortal Alliance and signed a spiritual contract with Kou Hongying. They had agreed to exchange a Nascent Transformation Pill for the three Yin Star Stones she had lent him earlier.
That contract wasn’t just about support—he wasn’t planning to lose too much in the deal.
After all, he had used the Yin Star Stones to trade with the Alliance Leader and obtained two Emerald Radiance Pills, which helped him advance early to the mid Nascent Soul stage.
Trading resources for time was very worthwhile for someone as busy as him. The gains he made had already offset the cost of repaying the Nascent Transformation Pill.
Looking at it another way—
If he hadn’t gotten those two Emerald Radiance Pills, and his breakthrough had been delayed, the outcome of his fight with Liu Yu Daoist might’ve been very different.
"Remember—do not leave without permission again!"
Wei Tu repeated, this time with a firmer tone.
He was scolding her as an elder would, sternly and with care.
Two months ago, he hadn’t been able to understand—why, after he had already promised her a Nascent Transformation Pill, would Kou Hongying still go down the demonic path and ruin her future?
If not for that decision, she wouldn’t have gone to the Zheng Kingdom to buy demonic cultivation materials… and wouldn’t have fallen into Liu Yu Daoist’s trap.
But everyone had their own fate. That wasn’t something Wei Tu could fully control.
Besides, over the last century, he himself had practiced plenty of profound demonic arts.
Still, as an elder and a friend of several hundred years, Wei Tu truly hoped Kou Hongying would take his advice to heart—stay put for now and wait for good news.
"Yes, Uncle Wei."
When Kou Hongying heard the stern reprimand, she was briefly stunned, then smiled sweetly and happily agreed.
To have an elder who cared for her and would scold her out of concern—even after all she’d gone through—how could she not be deeply moved?
After all—
The path of immortality only grew lonelier the further one walked.
The longer your lifespan, the fewer loved ones would remain by your side as time passed.