Chapter 997: Chapter 996 Who Gave the Courage_1
"Is this the blood of the Witch Ancestor?"
Inside Shi Xiaole’s body, eighty percent of the essence of Witch Blood had gathered together, forming a drop of blood thick like a black diamond, not only dull on the surface but seemingly capable of swallowing light.
As Shi Xiaole’s thoughts moved, this drop of blood flowed unrestrainedly throughout his body, and where the Vigorous Air passed, it would automatically part.
Buzz!
Suddenly.
The drop of the Witch Ancestor’s blood surged into the crystal Demon Bone and disappeared. Faintly, the crystal Demon Bone seemed to undergo subtle changes.
"Could it be that the Demon Bone needs to be nourished with the blood of the Witch Ancestor?"
Shi Xiaole had a preposterous thought.
Fortunately, he had mastered the eighth level of the "Wizard Scroll" quite skillfully. A day later, the eighty percent blood converted back into Witch Blood, and before long, a second drop of the Witch Ancestor’s blood was born and absorbed again.
The third drop, the fourth drop, the fifth drop...
In the following days, the crystal Demon Bone greedily absorbed the blood of the Witch Ancestor, and what puzzled Shi Xiaole was that his own blood and energy did not weaken.
Various images flashed through his mind, and at a certain moment, Shi Xiaole suddenly realized with a start.
"So that’s how it is, the source of the Witch Blood is some kind of aura from the Witch Queen’s temple; in this process, I am merely a conduit."
Why only the descendants of the Witch Queen could cultivate the "Wizard Scroll," why the speed of cultivation was faster in Wuzi Temple, the ten stone steps, and even the Witch Queen’s temple—when this foundation was established, everything made sense.
All evidence pointed toward that mysterious woman—the Witch Queen.
It was not hard to deduce from this that the crystal Demon Bone must have some sort of connection to the Witch Queen, otherwise, it was inexplicable that Shi Xiaole was able to cultivate the "Wizard Scroll" before entering Wuzi Temple, which made his heart contract.
The Great Witch Servant visited Shi Xiaole every few days, amiable and compassionate, leading him to become familiar with the various rules of the Witch Queen’s temple. Anyone who saw this would exclaim in admiration for the demeanor of an elder.
Only Shi Xiaole knew the malicious intentions the other harbored.
The black speck imprinted in his sea of spirituality had grown from the size of a dot to that of an egg and now appeared in chunks, usually unaffected by anything.
But during this time, through indirect inquiries, Shi Xiaole had already guessed that this spiritual martial art—Witch Heart Destruction Great Method, was said to be so potent that any Martial Emperor at the Void Origin Realm would be reduced to lambs for the slaughter once hit.
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but secretly rejoice, feeling that he had underestimated others. If it weren’t for his exceptional spiritual talent, he really would have been finished this time.
It was worth mentioning that, as the sixth Great Witch Servant, Shi Xiaole was entitled to observe the martial arts of the Witch Queen’s temple. Despite searching, he could not find the Witch Heart Destruction Great Method or the last four methods of the Witch God Eight Methods.
"They are really guarding against me at all times."
Without the two top-tier martial arts, Shi Xiaole was not concerned; he casually converted the other martial arts into reward points.
At the time in the Valley of Joy, his reward points had reached 2,260,000, and later, he obtained the twenty-fourth-floor ultimate arts, deducting the 100,000 spent on buying assassination techniques. Now, with the additions from here, his reward points had reached a staggering 23,360,000.
What did this imply? It was enough for Shi Xiaole to purchase nearly forty sets of top-tier martial arts!
Of course, he couldn’t buy that many, because the entire fourth level of the Martial God Hall didn’t even have that many top-tier martial arts. But at least, he no longer had to worry about acquiring top-tier martial arts in the future.
Moreover, this would become one of the most important foundations for Nine Heavens Mountain to stand tall in the world, nurturing one after another earth-shattering, unparalleled masters!
Who in the world had a force with more than ten sets of top-tier martial arts?
As far as Shi Xiaole knew, there were none, not even the Witch Queen’s temple!
Another half-month passed.
Shi Xiaole noticed that the progress of cultivating the "Wizard Scroll" began to slow down considerably. To be precise, there was almost no improvement, and his Demon Martial Way was fixed at the level infinitely close to ninety percent of the late stage.
At this rate, even if he were given several more years, there might not be any change.
For the time being, Shi Xiaole was unclear about the reason and didn’t have the time to figure it out because the black imprint in his sea of spirituality had grown even larger. If this continued, he wasn’t confident that he could maintain control.
"Sixth Great Witch Servant, how is your progress? Have you managed to condense the blood of the Witch Ancestor?"
On this day, after several hours of chanting, the Great Witch Servant seated on the uppermost cushion casually asked Shi Xiaole.
At these words, the other four Great Witch Servants immediately pricked up their ears, and even the still-lingering Heavenly Guards focused intently.
Shi Xiaole smirked inwardly, his face showing hesitation: "This..."
The Second Witch Servant’s eyes lit up immediately. During past inquiries, the other had always clearly denied it, unlike his reaction now. He smiled and said, "Sixth Great Witch Servant, we are both descendants of the Witch Queen and friends in the same temple. Could there really be secrets that you can’t share?"
"Yes, Sixth Great Witch Servant, are you treating us as outsiders?"
"Speak up, what’s the use of holding back?"
Several Great Witch Servants spoke up one after another.
Shi Xiaole noticed that even the always composed Great Witch Servant’s hands within the sleeves trembled slightly, though they refrained from speaking out.
"Well, to be honest, I indeed managed to condense the blood of the Witch Ancestor a few days ago."
The scene fell into complete silence, followed by a chaotic buzz of discussion.
The four Great Witch Servants were first shocked, then their faces revealed an ecstatic delight, even the Great Witch Servant’s face convulsed a few times.
Although most people believed that Shi Xiaole was the person most likely to achieve this feat, hearing it with their own ears still felt unbelievable.
"Sixth Witch Servant, this matter is of great importance, it’s no laughing matter!"
The Fourth Witch Servant said with a trembling voice.
Shi Xiaole smiled, spread open his palm, and a drop of blood resembling a black diamond emerged, only to be quickly retracted by him, but the brief strange aura it brought made all the Witch Heavenly Guards tremble violently.
"Hahaha, good, very good, what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry to open the stone door and find the secret left by the Witch Queen."
The Third Witch Servant laughed heartily and stood up, looking deep into Shi Xiaole’s eyes with a hint of cruelty.
The atmosphere at the scene grew restless, after all, the mystery of the stone door had tugged at every heart for many years—everyone wanted to know what exactly was inside.
But Shi Xiaole remained calmly seated throughout.
Seeing this, the Great Witch Servant smiled and said, "Sixth Witch Servant, could it be that you have some concerns?"
Only those who have condensed the blood of the Witch Ancestor can enter the stone door, once the Witch Heart Destruction Great Method is initiated, the other party will become a puppet and instead cannot explore the secret, so it wasn’t time to turn against each other yet.
Shi Xiaole sighed and said, "I’m thinking that whether fortune or misfortune lies behind the stone door is still uncertain, perhaps it’s fraught with peril. With my humble martial skills, it’s inappropriate for me to enter at present."
The Third Witch Servant was furious and said anxiously, "What are you talking about, how can this be acceptable!"
Shi Xiaole looked up at him.
Realizing that he had lost his composure, despite wanting to slap the other to death, he still squeezed out a smile: "I didn’t mean that. It’s just that the matter concerns the grand plan of our temple, we need the Sixth Witch Servant to step forward."
Shi Xiaole shook his head: "I am of low ability, better to forget it. What if I die inside, I wouldn’t gain anything."
The crowd was so anxious they felt like cursing, but at such a critical moment, of course, they couldn’t afford to offend Shi Xiaole, so one by one they put on what they thought were amiable smiles and began to coax him with kind words.
Yet Shi Xiaole was impervious to their flattery, some with fiery tempers were already thinking of using force.
Among the Witch Heavenly Guards present, many were confidants of the various Great Witch Servants, which naturally knew Shi Xiaole’s situation, so they only showed him superficial respect, in their hearts, they didn’t care at all.
It was the Great Witch Servant who saw through Shi Xiaole’s intentions, and with suppressed impatience, said with a smile, "Sixth Witch Servant, it is indeed unfair to ask you to take such a risk, so here’s what we’ll do: if you return safely, you alone will keep fifty percent of the fortunes found behind the stone door."
The crowd marveled at the Great Witch Servant’s generosity.
Only the four Great Witch Servants sneered secretly, knowing that Shi Xiaole at this point was like a puppet of the Great Witch Servant. What was his, was also the Great Witch Servant’s, really old and cunning.
"It’s not even certain if I can make it back alive, what use is coveting those fortunes, better not to go. Besides, the Great Witch Servant is wise and martial; I believe in a few years, you too will be able to condense the blood of the Witch Ancestor, at which time I will open the way for the Great Witch Servant!"
The Great Witch Servant’s eyes twitched in irritation, damn it, if I could, I would’ve slapped you into a meat patty by now. Seeing Shi Xiaole getting up to leave, several Great Witch Servants quickly restrained him.
"What are you doing?"
"Haha, don’t hurry, everything can be discussed."
After some wrangling, the Great Witch Servant, holding back his anger, said: "Sixth Witch Servant, just say what you want, for the future of our temple, everyone will accept it."
Naturally, the crowd echoed this sentiment.
Shi Xiaole bowed his head, appearing embarrassed to speak, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Since this is the case, I’ll be blunt. During this time, I’m sure you all are aware that I haven’t been truly trusted. Hehe, I’m not even qualified to peruse the Witch Heart Destruction Great Method and the Witch God Eight Methods. If I were to die in there, wouldn’t it be too unworthy."
As it turned out, the Third Witch Servant sneered endlessly, verbally, "That must be someone’s oversight, once we find out, they will be severely punished!"
These two top-level martial arts, even in the entire Witch Queen Temple, only a few people could view them, so even though Shi Xiaole was controlled, to prevent a leak, they still hadn’t given him access.
But now was a special circumstance, they must cajole him. Threatening and coercing him was the last resort.
Shi Xiaole shook his head: "What I want is not this, but an attitude, a certain status, a status that is not subject to any restrictions."
The crowd was at first stunned and then each sucked in a breath of cold air, mainly out of sheer fright.
Goodness gracious, this youngster wanted to be on equal footing with the Great Witch Servant—whose gall gave him such an audacious thought!
The several Great Witch Servants instinctively wanted to blow up, but after a moment’s thought, their faces successively flashed with a sinister hue, followed by feigned anger and intense debate.
It wasn’t until the Great Witch Servant spoke, pretending to have given it serious thought: "Fine, whoever contributes to our temple should indeed receive what they deserve."
"I want each of you to swear on your martial hearts."
The crowd all scoffed, but seeing the five Great Witch Servants take the oath first, they were stunned for a moment and then hurriedly pressured by shouts, thinking the bet was too high, yet they dared not disobey, and so each took the oath.
"Since you all show such sincerity, I can only take the risk."
Shi Xiaole stood up, full of righteous indignation.
The Great Witch Servant and others smirked to themselves.
Fool, when you come out alive, you will be a puppet without consciousness. What does it matter if we swear loyalty to you?
