Chapter 193 - 186: Third Bloodline Enhancement
"A month has passed. Why isn’t he out yet? Don’t tell me something really happened to him."
In the clearing outside Nangong Daoist Lord’s cave abode, Yan Bocheng paced back and forth anxiously.
With Jiang Zuo still not having returned from the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm, Yan Bocheng was growing increasingly uneasy.
Just a moment ago, the closing time for the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm had passed, but there was still no sign of Jiang Zuo.
At this point, Yan Bocheng truly couldn’t sit still.
"Elder Yan, don’t be anxious. It could be that this place is too far from the Secret Realm’s exit."
"Besides, even if something did go wrong, Zhou Yong has the Phoenix Blood Hand Order. He won’t be in any danger."
Nangong Daoist Lord said after a moment of quiet contemplation.
She had never encountered a situation where someone failed to return from the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm after its closing time.
However, many Secret Realms would randomly teleport people to a different location upon exiting than where they entered.
The Black Tortoise Dao Sect was very far from the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion. It was possible that something similar happened when Zhou Yong was returning.
Just as Yan Bocheng was about to say something more, a flash of light appeared before them.
Seeing the figure within the light clearly, both Yan Bocheng and Nangong Daoist Lord breathed a sigh of relief.
"You’re finally back... Huh? Your Cultivation is at the ninth level of Qi Cultivation?"
Yan Bocheng suddenly noticed that Jiang Zuo’s Cultivation had progressed at an astonishing rate compared to a month ago.
"For his Cultivation to advance so quickly, he must have spent a considerable amount of time in the Enlightenment Tower."
Nangong Daoist Lord was not surprised by this.
Back then, her own Cultivation had risen by several levels consecutively inside the Enlightenment Tower.
Among the former disciples of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion, there were many who had experienced the same.
If Zhou Yong had improved his aptitude after eating a Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruit, and if he already possessed some other special talent, it wouldn’t be too strange for him to achieve such an improvement by entering the Enlightenment Tower for Cultivation during the Qi Cultivation stage.
However, what Nangong Daoist Lord would never have expected was how terrifyingly vast Jiang Zuo’s Qi Sea was.
His time in the Enlightenment Tower wasn’t just a matter of a few days; he had stayed for nearly a month, saving himself dozens, if not hundreds, of years of arduous cultivation.
"I did indeed spend a good amount of time in the Enlightenment Tower." Jiang Zuo didn’t elaborate. He then took out two jade boxes containing Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits. "These are the two remaining Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits. They’re all for you, Nangong Daoist Lord."
"I do need them very much. I’ll consider myself in your debt this time."
Nangong Daoist Lord nodded. She didn’t refuse or make any grand promises, offering only that simple sentence.
But with those words, Jiang Zuo knew it was enough.
He had taken out the two Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits precisely to make Nangong Daoist Lord owe him a favor.
Nangong Daoist Lord’s master was an Ascension Cultivator, and her own aptitude was far beyond that of an ordinary person. It was only a matter of time before she reached the Manifestation realm.
And Jiang Zuo felt that it might not even take that long.
The Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits weren’t of much use to Jiang Zuo; keeping them would only mean he could trade them for other things.
Keeping one for himself as a spare was more than enough.
Using the extra one to make Nangong Daoist Lord owe him a favor was well worth it.
"Junior Brother Zhou, if you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to come find your Senior Sister!"
Yu Xueyan was moved beyond words.
"You rascal, your luck seems pretty good. You managed to get all three Phoenix Blood Fruits."
"Besides the Phoenix Blood Fruits, did you get anything else good? Take it all out and let’s have a look."
Seeing this scene, Yan Bocheng was also in a very good mood.
If Nangong Daoist Lord’s injuries recovered, it would be like the Black Tortoise Dao Sect gaining a powerful ally.
If the Black Tortoise Dao Sect faced trouble in the future, having Nangong Daoist Lord around might make it easy to resolve.
"I did! Inside the Secret Realm, I obtained a Sword Dao inheritance called the Taixu Sword Technique. And in the Sword Tomb, I found a Sword Pill."
Jiang Zuo said after a moment of thought.
He would have to use the Sword Technique and the Sword Pill sooner or later.
Explaining their origins then would be more trouble than just revealing them now.
Moreover, Jiang Zuo had a feeling that if he were to practice the Taixu Sword Technique, he would probably need to ask Nangong Daoist Lord for guidance.
After all, it was a Sword Dao inheritance from the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion, so Nangong Daoist Lord was likely very familiar with it.
With a flick of his hand, Jiang Zuo took the Sword Pill out of his storage bag.
"A Sword Pill? You rascal, your luck is really something else!"
"A Sword Pill... that’s a third-tier Spiritual Artifact at the very least!"
Yan Bocheng was no stranger to Sword Pills and looked at the one in Jiang Zuo’s hand with great interest.
However, Yan Bocheng knew full well that a Sword Cultivator’s sword was not something others could easily touch.
Although Zhou Yong wasn’t a Sword Cultivator yet, he might pick up their peculiar habits in the future.
Elder Yan was being considerate in advance and didn’t plan to ask to inspect Jiang Zuo’s Sword Pill up close.
It was just a Sword Pill, after all. It wasn’t as if he had never seen one before.
Only Nangong Daoist Lord gave Jiang Zuo a deep look, an indescribable shock hidden in the depths of her eyes.
Yan Bocheng didn’t know the situation inside the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm, but Nangong Daoist Lord knew it better than anyone.
Any Sword Pill that could still be found in the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm now would be a fourth-tier Spiritual Artifact at minimum!
It was even highly possible for it to be upgraded into a fifth-tier Spirit Treasure in the future!
"The Taixu Sword Technique... Does the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion have such a Sword Technique? How come I’ve never heard of it?"
Yan Bocheng then asked curiously.
"It exists, but this Sword Technique is very special. Very few disciples in the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion are qualified to practice it. And even among those who are qualified, almost no one can master it to the Great Success stage."
Nangong Daoist Lord said, feigning composure.
Compared to the Sword Pill, what truly shocked Nangong Daoist Lord was the Taixu Sword Technique!
The Taixu Sword Technique was, of course, recorded in the annals of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion.
However, only information about the Sword Technique was recorded; the Cultivation Technique itself was not passed down.
To learn this technique, one could only receive the impartation from the Sword Dao Stele.
In the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion’s history of over ten thousand years, only a mere dozen or so people had ever learned this Sword Technique.
As far as Nangong Daoist Lord knew, all the disciples who had managed to learn this technique had opened their Sea of Consciousness and birthed their Divine Sense while still in the Dao Foundation realm.
The first Chapter of the Taixu Sword Technique also required Divine Sense to be practiced.
In other words, the person before her had already opened his Sea of Consciousness back when he was at the third level of Qi Cultivation!
And he also practiced Body Cultivation; in her eyes, his physical body was comparable to a peak second-tier Demon Beast.
Furthermore, this boy possessed a terrifying talent in the way of Beast Taming.
For a moment, even Nangong Daoist Lord couldn’t help but feel that Jiang Zuo’s talent was simply too frightening.
If there was a single flaw, it would probably be his poor Spirit Root aptitude, which resulted in a slow Cultivation speed.
Otherwise, this person could truly be called a peerless genius of his generation.
Nangong Daoist Lord saw through to these talents of Jiang Zuo, and she could also tell that he wanted to hide them and didn’t want others to know.
After some thought, Nangong Daoist Lord didn’t say anything more.
She also understood why Jiang Zuo chose to hide his abilities.
He had already attracted an assassination attempt by a Death Warrior just by revealing his talent in Beast Taming.
If people were to find out about his other heaven-defying talents, there would be no telling how many more assassins would be waiting for him in the future.
"This Taixu Sword Technique, you should practice it well. If you can achieve success in your Cultivation, it will greatly enhance your combat abilities."
"During your Cultivation, if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can always come and ask me."
Nangong Daoist Lord added.
To the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion, the Taixu Sword Technique was not just a simple Sword Technique; it was the one the founding patriarch brought with him from the Five Elements Sword Pavilion.
It’s just that this Sword Technique was too difficult to practice, with absurdly high requirements for aptitude, opportunity, and Comprehension.
In the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion’s history of over ten thousand years, the number of disciples who could cultivate it to the Perfection stage was pitifully small.
If possible, Nangong Daoist Lord also hoped that the Taixu Sword Technique could one day awe the mortal world, so that even Sect Elders like Yan Bocheng would not be ignorant of its name.
Jiang Zuo nodded in agreement. This was exactly what he had been planning.
Yan Bocheng then led Jiang Zuo away. After telling Jiang Zuo to focus on his Cultivation on Taihao Peak, he left in a hurry.
He had put off many matters these past few days while waiting for Jiang Zuo to come out.
Now, he had to go and tie up the loose ends.
’A Fire Phoenix Egg, an Enlightenment Stone, Phoenix Essence Blood, Phoenix Blood Spiritual Soil, an unknown Withered Branch Spirit Seed, a Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruit, and a Sword Pill!’
Jiang Zuo returned to his Cultivation Room and laid out all the items he had obtained from the Secret Realm this time.
’The Enlightenment Stone, Phoenix Blood Spiritual Soil, and the Withered Branch Spirit Seed are all things I can only use later.’
’What I need to do now is hatch the Fire Phoenix Egg as soon as possible.’
’But before that, I need to enhance the bloodlines of Great Black and Xiaoqing.’
As Jiang Zuo thought this over, he put away everything on the ground except for the Fire Phoenix Egg and the Phoenix Blood Essence.
’The Phoenix Blood Essence should be able to replace the blood of a second-tier Mutated Spirit Beast to enhance Great Black’s bloodline.’
’I just don’t know how effective it will be. Also, after using such high-quality blood as the material for bloodline enhancement, I wonder if the requirements for future enhancements will become even higher.’
’But even if they do get higher, it doesn’t matter.’
’Since I have the best, I should naturally use the best.’
’I’ll worry about what comes next when it comes!’
Jiang Zuo thought.
With his current abilities, it wouldn’t be too difficult to obtain the blood of a second-tier Mutated Spirit Beast.
But Jiang Zuo still decided to use the Phoenix Blood Essence to enhance Great Black’s bloodline.
Great Black was already on a Fire Attribute path, so the Phoenix Blood Essence was a perfect match for it.
As for the future, once his Cultivation increased, even if he couldn’t find blood better than Phoenix Blood Essence, obtaining some High Tier blood wouldn’t be a problem.
Jiang Zuo wasn’t going to use the entire bottle of Phoenix Blood Essence at once; he only poured out a quarter of it.
Summoning Great Black, Jiang Zuo told it to prepare for its third bloodline enhancement.
Upon hearing this, Great Black immediately became incredibly excited.
Having cultivated from an ordinary mortal dog to its current state, Great Black understood all too well how important a bloodline was to a Spirit Beast.
Bloodline enhancement!
Seeing that Great Black was ready, Jiang Zuo wasted no time and immediately began the third bloodline enhancement.
Just as Jiang Zuo had predicted, the Phoenix Blood Essence could indeed substitute for the bloodline of a second-tier Mutated Spirit Beast.
Beast Soul Power was deducted, and the Phoenix Blood Essence also vanished from Jiang Zuo’s hand.
BUZZ!
It was different from the previous two bloodline enhancements. Perhaps the effect of the Phoenix Blood Essence was simply too powerful. Great Black was instantly engulfed in blazing flames.
This time, Great Black didn’t just feel its bloodline about to burn; it was truly burning.
However, it couldn’t feel the sensation of being burned.
It only felt an endless power madly surging from within its body.
Great Black couldn’t help but start running around frantically, just like it had at the very beginning.
Jiang Zuo keenly sensed that Great Black’s aura was continuously rising as it ran.
Great Black had only been in the early stage of the second tier, still a little ways from the middle stage.
Now, Jiang Zuo watched with his own eyes as it advanced to the middle stage of the second tier, and then to the late stage.
In the end, Great Black even broke through to the early stage of the third tier!
After breaking through to the early third tier, Great Black’s presence surged, faintly exuding an extremely ferocious and vicious feeling.
And after breaking through to the third tier, the flames on Great Black’s body gradually subsided.
Great Black still had a coat of black fur.
But upon closer inspection, one would notice a difference.
Its fur now seemed to have a faint, dark-red sheen.