Chapter 188: Chapter 186: Blood Like Mercury
"A warning flare!"
A firework shot straight into the sky, bursting open in layers like a blooming flower and emitting a unique fluctuation.
Bai Zichen and Longx Longx exchanged a solemn look. This was the warning flare used exclusively by cultivators of the Law Enforcement Hall.
The three of them had agreed before setting out that if this flare was used, it meant someone had encountered a Blood Dao Demon Cultivator.
"Senior Sister Longx, you stay behind and watch for any other Demon Cultivators providing support. I’ll go on ahead and lend Brother Qi a hand!"
Since the Blood Dao Demon Cultivator had appeared, it meant their current location was safe. Naturally, Bai Zichen had to rush to the battlefield.
With a leap of the Willow Leaf Sword, he merged with its faint Sword Light, crossing hundreds of yards in an instant.
’So fast! No wonder he can kill enemies above his level. How could an ordinary person possibly defend against that...’
Everyone knew that the speed of a Flying Sword was comparable to a Top-Grade Flying Spiritual Artifact.
But the general populace was more focused on a Flying Sword’s lethal power. Only those who had witnessed it up close could truly appreciate the lightning speed of a Sword Cultivator, moving freely as if through the Cyan Nether.
Watching the Sword Light vanish, Longx Longx felt for the first time that for someone her age to have not yet reached Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment was truly slow progress.
She spat out a longan-sized Treasure Bead, and layers of moonlight fell upon the Flying Spiritual Artifact beneath her feet.
With no other enhancements, her flying speed surged by fifty percent, reaching a level at least comparable to a Mid-Grade Flying Spiritual Artifact.
Bai Zichen had been to Double Ring Mountain once during his Qi Refining Stage, and the memory was still fresh in his mind. He immediately recognized from the warning flare in the sky that Qi Yue was near the territory of the Fire Phoenix Mo Family.
When he arrived, he saw a Scarlet Streak darting back and forth on the field, moving so fast it left afterimages that the eye couldn’t follow.
Qi Yue had his back to a towering ancient tree, its massive canopy condensing a thick, cyan light that cascaded down. Clusters of Divine Thunder gathered and swirled around him, containing a terrifying power within, capable of heaven-and-earth-shattering might if unleashed.
But the Scarlet Streak’s speed was astonishing, and it possessed an ability that almost seemed to traverse space. It had dodged the Primordial Yang Divine Thunder several times, the blasts only leaving massive craters in the ground and on the mountainside.
Qi Yue decided to simply condense the Primordial Yang Divine Thunder without releasing it. He had only just mastered it, and the fact that he could fire nine bolts of Primordial Yang Divine Thunder was only thanks to a Secret Treasure he possessed.
Ancestor Ge Cang had lightly refined a naturally formed Thunder Bead. It was unranked, but carrying it allowed one to absorb the Thunder Element Spiritual Power within.
This allowed his disciple, who had only just begun to master the Primordial Yang Divine Thunder, to be able to form clusters of Divine Thunder.
’What a bizarre Body Technique, and so much faster than me. I can’t do anything to him... Although it fears the Divine Thunder and doesn’t dare get close, once my Magical Power runs low, it will find an opening!’
The moment Qi Yue had arrived at Double Ring Mountain, he had seen a Blood Shadow treat the All Heaven Fiery Array as if it were nothing, strolling through it like a walk in its own backyard.
It would pounce on a Mo Family Cultivator, a scream would ring out, and a withered corpse would be left on the ground.
The All Heaven Fiery Array was a Tier Two Top-Grade Grand Array, and with two Mo Family Foundation Establishment Cultivators presiding over it, it shouldn’t have been so easily breached—not even by a Demon Cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection, let alone one at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.
Back when the Qingfeng Sect had attacked the Mo Family, they had mobilized large warships, a Cultivator Army Array, multiple Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Talisman Treasures, Warrior Talismans, and more, and it still took them over two hours to break the array.
Although this Blood Shadow’s aura was powerful and accompanied by an assault of chaotic Divine Thought filled with tyranny, bloodlust, and chilling cold, it was definitely only at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, not even having reached the Late-Stage.
Yet it had easily broken into the All Heaven Fiery Array, and the two Mo Family Foundation Establishment Cultivators had lost their lives in a single encounter, their faces frozen in shock and disbelief.
Moreover, Qi Yue didn’t dare move from his spot. Whenever the Blood Shadow drew near, the blood in his body would begin to boil as if it would burst from his skin.
Terrified, he had hurriedly summoned his strongest Spiritual Artifact, manifesting the illusion of the legendary Ancient Divine Wood. Only then did he block the Blood Shadow’s influence and calm his boiling blood.
But once this Spiritual Artifact was summoned, the Divine Wood it manifested connected to the ground, rooting him to the spot.
’We’re both at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, yet I’m so much weaker than this Demon Cultivator...’
A bitter taste filled Qi Yue’s mouth. He had left the Sect full of confidence, eager to prove himself, only to be met with such a crushing blow.
Seeing Junior Brother Bai approach, the Scarlet Streak let out a piercing shriek and sped toward him. Qi Yue hurriedly shouted a warning, "Be careful! This demon can agitate your blood and corrupt Protective Spiritual Artifacts!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the Scarlet Streak inexplicably split apart, becoming two halves.
Qi Yue focused his gaze and realized that Junior Brother Bai held a translucent Flying Sword, and it was a single strike from this sword that had sliced the Demon Cultivator in two.
However, the Sword Light was so faint and its path so elusive that it had looked as if the Scarlet Streak had split in two on its own.
"Well, well. To think the Qingfeng Sect actually produced a Sword Cultivator!"
The two halves of the Scarlet Streak merged in midair, revealing the Blood Shadow. A chilling voice echoed across the area, though its mouth never moved.
"Neither of you are among the Qingfeng Sect Elders I remember. You must be hidden Core Formation Seeds... If I bury you all here, I imagine the Qingfeng Sect will feel the sting of this loss!"
Alarm bells screamed in Bai Zichen’s mind, and a horrifying chill ran down his spine.
Just as Qi Yue had said, when the Scarlet Streak had approached, the blood in his own body had begun to boil uncontrollably.
It was only by simultaneously activating his Five Crystal and Glazed Body that he managed to regain control. His mastery over his physical body was even stronger than that of a typical Body Refining Cultivator.
With bones like glass, skin like crystal, and blood like mercury, he had finally calmed the turmoil in his veins.
But he had never encountered a situation so bizarre.
’If the Blood Shadow’s Cultivation were any higher, wouldn’t it be able to make a cultivator’s blood explode with just a flick of its finger, ignoring all defenses... And even after taking a direct hit from my sword, it reformed in an instant as if nothing had happened!’
Bai Zichen could clearly see that the Blood Shadow was at the same Realm as himself, still a small step away from Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.
But its Cultivation Technique was simply too bizarre—agitating blood, transforming into a Scarlet Streak, and seemingly immune to his Flying Sword’s attacks.
"Wait, that Scarlet Streak... it looks so familiar... You’re Mo Changzhi, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Mo Family who escaped back then!"
It had been in a similar location when he, standing on the Wind Shuttle, had taken a blow from the Scarlet Streak and nearly lost his life.
Although back then the Scarlet Streak had only been nimble and unpredictable, unlike the sky-filling malevolence and thick, bloody stench it carried today, Bai Zichen still recognized it.
This man’s entire clan had been wiped out by the Qingfeng Sect. It was a blood feud that would only end with death, a hatred that would only cease when one side was completely annihilated.
This wasn’t an ally summoned by the Ghost Spirit Sect; this was a mortal enemy of his own Sect!
’But Mo Changzhi ran off with the most valuable treasures from the Mo Family’s Secret Vault. Did he not join the Ghost Spirit Sect, and instead find a new master elsewhere?’
Within the Ghost Spirit Sect, there wasn’t a single Core Formation True Man who specialized in Blood Dao Techniques. The Divine Techniques Mo Changzhi displayed meant he must have been taught a Top-Level Cultivation Technique and received personal instruction to have progressed so rapidly and displayed such astonishing strength.
’Could he have become a disciple of the Blood God True Man?’
Bai Zichen’s heart went cold. When it came to Blood Dao Techniques, the first name that came to any Liang Country cultivator’s mind was the Blood God True Man.
The Blood God True Man was a master at the Perfect Core Formation Realm, a true titan of the Demon Path. The Blood Demon Sect he had founded had, in just a century, become a prominent Demon Path Sect, commanding several counties on its own.
During the previous great war between the Righteous and Demonic Daos, if not for the intervention of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, the Demon Path sects under the Blood God True Man’s leadership would have already gained the upper hand and been on the verge of sweeping through the lands.
If Mo Changzhi had truly become a disciple of the Blood God True Man, then things would become much more complicated.
He could only hope that this was Mo Changzhi’s personal undertaking and didn’t represent the will of the Blood God True Man. Otherwise, the implications were too frightening to contemplate.
"Eh? You’ve seen me before, boy?"
Hearing his name, the Blood Shadow trembled violently, then unleashed a towering wave of hatred.
"You must be one of the villains who besieged my Mo Family! I’ll drain just half of your flesh and blood and let you die a slow, agonizing death!"
The Blood Shadow transformed back into the Scarlet Streak. A Profound Bead rose above Bai Zichen’s head, its brilliant Divine Light cascading down.
The Scarlet Streak darted about unpredictably. By fully activating his technique, he could lock onto a target within thirty yards. As long as their Cultivation was not higher than his, he could control their blood.
Against an unguarded opponent, he could make their blood burst from their body, draining them in an instant and leaving them to die a mysterious death.
If they had a Defense Spiritual Artifact, this ability would be weakened, depending on the artifact’s strength and whether it countered his technique.
But he could at least make an opponent’s blood flow faster, slower, or even in reverse.
In a battle between evenly matched opponents, this could create countless openings to be exploited.
’Damn it! The Hundred Demons Blood Sea Technique is a Top-Level Cultivation Technique, and I even refined my own bloodline to increase its power! I should be unrivaled among those of the same realm... How have I run into two cultivators who can resist the blood tide’s surge in this insignificant Black Mountain!’
Mo Changzhi’s frenzied and uncontrolled state was partly due to his Cultivation Technique and partly due to his own deliberate indulgence.
His clan was annihilated, and his grandfather had died protecting his escape, filling Mo Changzhi’s heart with hatred.
After leaving Black Mountain County, fearing the Ghost Spirit Sect would covet the Mo Family’s centuries of accumulated wealth that he carried, he had made his way to the Blood Demon Sect, where he had been noticed by the Blood God True Man and taken as a disciple.
The Hundred Demons Blood Sea Technique was a top-tier Blood Dao Technique. In the early stages, one could transform into a formless, ever-changing Blood Shadow. In the later stages, one could directly transform into a Blood Sea.
As long as the Blood Sea was not exhausted, one was immortal and undying. It was known as one of the top-level techniques with the greatest survivability.
Furthermore, the Hundred Demons Blood Sea Technique had a special characteristic: its quality could be improved by refining various powerful bloodlines.
Mo Changzhi had directly refined his own Fire Phoenix Bloodline. Although it was from a branch so diluted as to be almost nonexistent, it still boosted the power of his Hundred Demons Blood Sea Technique by a significant margin.
But of the two men before him, the first to arrive—a young man with sharp brows and bright eyes—had an extraordinary Spiritual Artifact that could manifest a great tree. The canopy’s cover and the cyan light enveloping his body completely severed the connection to his blood, leaving not a trace of a sensation.
His protective Divine Thunder held a terrifying power that made one instinctively want to dodge.
The second arrival, a handsome cultivator, had a special Secret Technique that had fixed all the blood in his body.
He could clearly sense the blood—sweet, vibrant, full of life, and powerful—but no matter how he tried to activate his blood-surging Divine Technique, not a single drop would obey.
It was as if he wasn’t facing liquid blood, but solid bedrock.
Mo Changzhi had only encountered such a situation once before, when facing a Body Cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection. Many of his techniques had been useless, and he had nearly been pummeled into smithereens, punch after punch.
Smithereens from which he could not recover, fragments representing the annihilation of his Divine Soul.
Perhaps the Blood Shadow would slowly reform and be reborn, but the Demon that emerged would only know slaughter, possessing no Spiritual Wisdom. What would that have to do with him?
Thankfully, on that day, the Blood God True Man’s eldest disciple had intervened, tearing the body of that Foundation Establishment Perfection Body Cultivator apart with a single claw strike and saving Mo Changzhi’s life.
’But you’re no Body Cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection! You’ve just cultivated a special Secret Technique that lets you maintain your blood in a mercury-like state...’
Mo Changzhi refused to believe that someone could be both a Sword Cultivator and practice Body Refining Techniques, achieving remarkable success in both simultaneously.
The Blood Shadow flickered, scattering into dozens of streaks that stained the sky blood-red as they lunged straight for Bai Zichen.
