Chapter 60: Chapter 57: Second level Blood Land Vein?_1
At a single glance, Lu Yan noticed a bronze ding placed on one of the altars — trilegged, with a pair of handles, and over a meter tall.
This bronze ding clearly elicited a response in the Dao Book.
Lu Yan’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster. How much would his martial arts improve if he could possess such a large piece of Dao Food?
He was going to strike it rich.
However, the altar was still quite a distance from him, at least a kilometer away. He would have to wait until he was closer to retrieve it.
Aside from the bronze ding, several other locations also triggered a response from the Dao Book. Some were blocked from view, and all of them were located at a considerable distance. They were not immediately within reach.
With nothing else to do, Lu Yan began examining the stone tablets.
The steles were engraved with a variety of different images, remaining clearly legible.
Most of them depicted offering rituals, each one different.
And the object of their offerings, a body of a man with a bullhead and wings on its back, was none other than the greatest statue.
The bull-headed creature towered above, with many humans prostrating before it, each offering various items.
As for what these offerings were, the images were abstract and not clearly discernible.
At this moment, the girl made progress and threw out a stone, saying, "Within a foot around the stone is a safe zone."
A foot?
Lu Yan’s heart sank.
This place was indeed more dangerous than the surface, presenting far fewer safe zones.
A foot, it can barely accommodate one person at a time.
"Drop a drop of blood there." The girl pointed to a location, and Lu Yan squeezed out another drop of blood.
The patterns of willpower emerged. The girl continued her observations, this time spending an entire stick of incense in time before determining the next safe zone.
If not for Lu Yan being skilled in controlling the flow of his qi-blood, his wound would have scabbed over long ago due to the lengthy duration.
After another stick of incense, they located the third safe area and marked it with a stone.
Lu Yan discovered that the safe zones here were incredibly intricate and without any discernible pattern.
In such a place, it would be incredibly challenging to find safe zones without a deep understanding of willpower patterns.
No wonder the two feudal lords chose to use human lives as sacrifices.
"With such dense willpower patterns, how did the ancient ancestors manage? Wouldn’t it be very inconvenient for them?" Lu Yan asked.
"Did you notice the engravings on the stone tablets? The ancient ancestors knew how to perform offerings. After the offerings, they would be boosted by willpower, and as long as they carried the willpower with them, the patterns would not be activated." The girl offered a brief explanation while keeping her focus on the willpower patterns.
Just like that, they advanced step by step, slowly moving forward.
Half a day later, they finally covered several hundred meters and approached a statue that contained Dao food.
Embedded in the statue’s chest was a stone roughly the size of a chicken egg. It looked ordinary and dull, but unmistakably it was Dao Food.
Lu Yan threw a stone that hit the embedded stone. With a ’clunk’, the stone remained immovable.
Lu Yan threw a few more stones consecutively, all of which struck the embedded stone without causing it to budge. It was secured incredibly firmly.
Not willing to give up, Lu Yan made several more attempts, but the result remained the same. He had no choice but to give up.
He felt frustrated at not being able to retrieve it.
Fortunately, when they approached another Dao Food item a while later, Lu Yan successfully retrieved it, soothing his bruised ego somewhat.
So they spent an entire day and night getting closer to the gigantic statue and the deeper parts of the area.
Being qi-blood powerful, Lu Yan didn’t mind going without food for a day and a night. For him, it was no big deal.
However, the girl had become somewhat pallid; her normally beautiful face was now slightly pale, and her eyes reflected deep fatigue.
Her exhaustion was not due to hunger, but due to the toll observing the willpower patterns took on her.
Upon reaching their current location, they could sense a faint, bloody smell in the air.
"Are these traces of Blood Land Vein’s energy? Is there a Blood Land Vein ahead in this area?" The girl’s eyes lit up, her weary eyes radiating excitement.
"A Blood Land Vein? The Liu and Wu families also discovered a Blood Land Vein. Could it be this one, connecting the two areas?" Lu Yan speculated.
Could they actually enter the Blood Land Vein ahead of the two feudal lords?
"It’s uncertain. Logically speaking, we are already quite far from the area explored by the two feudal lords. A first-level Blood Land Vein should not be this long and should not extend to this location." The girl evaluated.
"You’re suggesting there could be two Blood Land Veins?" Lu Yan was intrigued.
If there were two Blood Land Veins, and they claimed one of them, wouldn’t they be set for life?
"We can’t confirm anything right now. We need to pass through this area and enter the Blood Land Vein to be sure." The girl, visibly invigorated, urged Lu Yan to drop more blood and hurry up to get through this area.
Soon after, they approached a large altar beneath the Minotaur statue.
This Bronze Ding was located on this altar, and the Dao Book’s reaction was the most intense here.
Ding!
He threw a stone, and the Bronze Ding didn’t budge.
Lu Yan infused Qi-blood into the stone and fired it out. It hit the Bronze Ding hard, shattering the stone into debris, but the Ding remained unmoved.
Couldn’t take it down again?
Not willing to give up, Lu Yan retreated, picked up a heavier stone weighing almost a hundred pounds, and threw it at the Ding. He had already infused Qi-blood into the stone, and it had enough force to smash a tiger to death. But when it hit the Bronze Ding, it still didn’t move.
Lu Yan was speechless. Along the way, he had failed to obtain three pieces of Dao Food.
Of course, he had managed to collect three pieces, all small in size.
If he failed to take it, Lu Yan could only temporarily give up and find ways later.
A few hours later, they finally crossed the ruins. Ahead were hills of varying heights; everything was bathed in a crimson hue.
The exposed rocks were red, the soil was red, even the flowers and trees were all red.
Even the air, infused with a faint whiff of blood, turned pale red.
This was a Blood Land Vein.
Blood Land Veins continuously emanated Energy of Earth Blood.
As for how a Blood Land Vein was born, no one knows.
Over thousands of years, numerous scholars, Martial Arts masters, even lords and princes, have devoted countless resources to researching it, but without conclusions.
At least, as far as traditional Martial Artists were concerned.
So, people generally considered it to be a naturally occurring phenomenon.
"This concentration of Energy of Earth Blood..."
The young girl lightly brushed the air with her delicate, onion-like hand and sniffed the smell of blood. "This doesn’t seem like a primary Blood Land Vein, but rather a secondary Blood Land Vein."
Lu Yan was shocked and blurted out, "Are you sure?"
What is a secondary Blood Land Vein?
It was a treasure only Grandmaster-level Feudal Lords could possess.
Marquis-level Feudal Lords could only possess primary Blood Land Veins.
In Li’an County, there was only one Blood Land Vein, occupied by a Grandmaster-level Feudal Lord of the Wei Family.
Did a secondary Blood Land Vein actually exist here?
If this news got out, it would definitely cause chaos throughout Li’an County and might even disturb the Grandmaster-level Feudal Lord from other counties.
Both the Liu and Wu Families had only discovered a hidden primary Blood Land Vein, and yet they had deployed heavy forces to blockade the area for years, using human lives as pathfinders. The situation was indicative of the importance of the find.
"I’m about seventy or eighty percent sure."
The girl’s eyes sparkled, and her previous fatigue vanished. "The ancients were smart to build structures above the Blood Land Veins. It makes sense."
"A hidden secondary Blood Land Vein could nurture so many Alien Beasts. I won’t lack Alien Beast meat for my cooking cultivation."
As she spoke, the girl exposed her white teeth. Lu Yan clearly saw the saliva drooling from her mouth.
This wasn’t just a Martial Chef she was a foodie.
Lu Yan judged.
The girl strode forward.
After slight hesitation, Lu Yan followed, because the Dao Book did not give any warnings about this area, indicating there were no Will Power Patterns.
"This is fascinating."
Looking at the crimson flowers and trees growing from the ground, Lu Yan marvelled.
An underground space that was capable of nurturing so many unique plants.
Of course, the girl informed him that most plants grown on the Blood Land Veins were inedible due to blood toxins.
However, there were a few that could be used as Spirit Grass. They could be cooked with Alien Beast meat, interacting with each other, using poison to combat poison.
Rumbling!
Suddenly, they felt the ground trembling, as if a gigantic creature was about to surge out from the ground.
Both of them leapt back several meters.
The next moment, a huge creature burst out from the ground, sending debris flying. A gaping maw full of sharp teeth appeared exactly where they had been standing moments before.
If they hadn’t dodged in time, they would have been bitten.
"A giant lizard."
Lu Yan observed carefully.
This giant lizard was truly ’giant’, four meters long including its tail and nearly a meter high. Its body was covered with grey scales like ironclad armor.
"This is a primary Alien Beast the Ironclad Lizard. This type of Alien Beast is rare. I’ve only read about it in books. Its meat cooked into Martial Food can replenish Qi-blood, which is greatly beneficial for Martial Artists cultivating to accumulate Qi-blood."
The girl mused and her smile grew wider.
