Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
âHeh, stupid bi*ch, your little grandpa will take his time playing with you in this place full of traps and restrictions!â After traveling far enough that the screams of the enraged Ye Guâyin could no longer be heard, Fang Xing finally found a place to sit while heavily panting. Although heâd known how dangerous this place was, he hadnât had any better options than to risk it and pull Ye Guâyin down to enter this dangerous location together.
Although such an action was extremely risky, it was not without purpose. If Ye Guâyin had managed to break free from the formation, neither he nor the golden crow would have been able to escapeâthe Phoenix-Fear Zither she had was just too powerful. Since this crazy woman was already determined to kill him, he wouldnât even be given the chance to surrender. Now that heâd brought this woman with him into the chasm, he was able to borrow the traps and restrictions it had in place to deal with her. This was especially true since he had the Book of Revelationâallowing him to see through the traps and restrictions to avoid calamity and seek fortuneâwhile Ye Guâyin quite possibly didnât have such an ability of her own.
Fang Xing had also had another plan at that time. Because of how many traps and restrictions there were, there was a high chance he and Ye Guâyin wouldâve ended up critically wounded after falling inside. By holding a Blood Lotus Seed within his mouth, even if he were to be met with danger, all heâd have to do is swallow the seed to heal and heâd be able to keep himself alive no matter how fatal the injury was. By contrast, if Ye Guâyin ended up with a fatal injury, the only thing sheâd be able to do is wait for death.
Unexpectedly, however, it seemed as though this woman had luck on her side, and neither of them had ended up wounded at all. Although this mean he didnât end up losing his precious Blood Lotus Seed, Ye Guâyin ended up not losing her life; she was the one who got the better end of the deal.
âOh, right, the Blood Lotus SeedâŠ.â As Fang Xing thought about it, he suddenly realized something. The Blood Lotus Seed had originally been inside his mouth, but it seemed heâd accidentally swallowed it while he was biting down into that woman earlier. âOhhh, my precious treasureâŠ. What a wasteâŠâ he lamented while rubbing his stomach.
Fang Xing nearly decided to cut himself open to retrieve the seed, but just at that moment, a burning heat began to rise up within his stomachâas though a volcano had just become active.
Fang Xing could only cry invisible tears as he hatefully cursed, âDamned Scripture of Revered Spirit. I wouldâve still had the chance to quickly spit it back outâŠ.â He quickly stood up to find a safer location to complete the absorption of the Blood Lotus Seed, since the rising heat in his lower abdomen could only mean the process had already begun. If he didnât immediately find somewhere safe to convert the spirit essence of this Blood Lotus Seed into his own Qi, all of its excessive medicinal powers would go to waste!
The Blood Lotus Seed was a miracle cure for wounds and injuries, so it was incredibly rare for it to be used for cultivation purposes. Thanks to the Scripture of Revered Spirit, however, Fang Xing was able to absorb the large amounts of its blood essence in the form of spirit essence, which was then followed by a conversion into Qi for his own cultivation. The only problem was that there couldnât be any delay or else the spirit essence would dissipate and go to waste.
Fang Xing quickly jumped to his feet and saw that the stone paths in front of him all branched out in different directions, each splitting into numerous stone cells. He quickly picked out a cell that seemed somewhat well-hidden, placed a few traps and protection spells of his own at its entrance, and then moved inside to settle down in a lotus position. Once that was finished, he began to control his breathing and Qi to activate the conversion technique in earnest.
The vast amount of spirit essence inside his body had already started to form small bursts of explosions, and he began to turn it into strands of Qi before finally settling the strands into his meridians. It was only after heâd begun all of this that he was astonished to realize the amount of blood essence contained in this seed was far more powerful than he had originally anticipated. It was as though a live volcano was inside his body, spewing out the extraordinary power of the blood essence without pause. Such amazing medicinal power was perhaps even a million times greater than the Purple Mist Flower heâd used in the past.
Honestly, this was only to be expected. Just how valuable was the Blood Lotus Seed? It was a miracle cure that could even regrow the bones and flesh of a deceased corpse. Such magical properties existed only because of its excessive amount of blood essence power, and it could even be said that a single seed contained medicinal power on par with the essence found in all the combined flesh and blood of a Golden Core Stage cultivator.
An ordinary person wouldnât even be able to use such power to cultivate; only unusual people like Fang Xingâwhoâd studied the Scripture of Revered Spiritâwere able to turn the blood essence into spirit essence, then that spirit essence into Qi for cultivation. Even then, a large amount of blood essence was wasted during the process.
Right now, Fang Xing was covered in a large red mist so thick that his figure looked distorted into something mysterious and terrifying from the outside. The power of this blood essence was terrifying for the ordinary folk, but its benefits were considered top-class for others.
Fang Xing was so completely immersed he didnât realize that the bloody mist had started to spread out, causing some nonsentient ghost spirits to float towards him from this seemingly endless Yin Prison Abyss. They hadnât dissipated completely, but theyâd still lived for far too long, leaving them with only their instincts and a few remaining shards of memories from their former life. They werenât even aware of how many decades or centuries had passed while they floated unceasingly within this placeâŠ.
For these spirits, the power of the blood essence was far too alluring. One or two arrived at first, but more quickly gathered and it didnât take long before there was already several hundreds of them. Although the formations Fang Xing had set up were effective at blocking out humans, they couldnât stop these ghost spirits; the spirits floated inside without any obstruction and began fighting each other for the extra blood essence released from Fang Xingâs body.
Over time, the power of of the cast-off blood essence was no longer able to satisfy these spirits. They were able to sharply sense that the blood essence within Fang Xing seemed to be even greater, and although they initially hesitated, instinct soon caused them to throw themselves at Fang Xing. The first one to do so took on the tiger shape it had in its former life and silently opened its mouth to take a bite out of Fang XingâŠ.
Seeing this, the other ghost spirits all rushed forward as well, afraid they would miss out on even a single drop of this blood essence. Just as they reached Fang Xingâs body, however, they seemed to sense something terrifying and immediately retreated backwards.
While this had all been going on, the Peng Kingâwhoâd been suffering while hiding within Fang Xingâs Sea of Consciousnessâhad also sensed something.
The Peng King was at his most uncomfortable when Fang Xing was improving his cultivation. Fang Xing would always activate the True Samadhi Fire to its maximum output during such cultivation, transforming the entire Sea of Consciousness into a sea of burning flames. Even if the True Samadhi Fire wasnât aimed directly at the Peng King, its close proximity still made him feel incredibly unsafe. Despite this, he was nothing more than a single strand of True Spirit and didnât dare to escape; if he did so, he would immediately become ash and dissipate upon reaching the outside. No matter how painful or uncomfortable things became, he could only clutch on and endure through it all.
At that moment, however, heâd sensed the existence of ghost spirits outside, and a few thoughts ran through his mind before he flew out of Fang Xingâs Sea of Consciousness. If the ghost spirits could survive out there, didnât that mean he would be able to survive as well?
The reason these spirits had all backed away was precisely because theyâd sensed the existence of the Peng King. These ghost spirits had all come closer because they wanted to take some of the blood essence power for themselves, but the nature of such a thing was actually no different from a Spirit Possession, which the Peng King had attempted long ago. The Peng King had already made himself home inside Fang Xingâs Sea of Consciousness, and now that his aura overlapped Fang Xingâs body, the other spirits believed this human had already been possessed by a spirit like themâand one that was much stronger as well. These ghost spirits thus cowered in fear and didnât dare to draw close any longer.
The Peng King flew out from the top of Fang Xingâs head and sneakily checked the surroundings. Confirming that this was indeed somewhere his True Spirit was able to roam free, he let out a sigh of relief and floated into the air.
âWhere did the boy go to this time? Why are there so many ghost spirits?â The Peng Kingâs brows initially creased when he saw the densely-packed spirits, but he began to sneer when he noticed they were all simultaneously cowering away from him in fear yet unwilling to leave because of the blood essence surrounding Fang Xing. âThis blood essence isnât anything I covet. Keeping you from getting close is for your own good, or else the True Samadhi Fire inside his body would have burned you to ashes by now!â
Even the ghost spirits whoâd been weakest in their previous life had been at least Foundation Stage, and some of the stronger ones even had a higher cultivation level than the Peng King before their death. However, it had simply been much too long and their powers had slowly drained away, leaving nothing but mere instinct. The Peng King, however, had been residing within Fang Xingâs Consciousness. Heâd been able to continuously consolidate his True Spirit, and heâd even been contaminated with traces of the True Samadhi Fire whenever Fang Xing decided to roast him, so he was much more powerful than these ghost spirits.
âA chance like this is rare; itâd be best to fleeâŠ.â The Peng King thought to himself, although there were traces of hesitation within. âBut who knows what this damned place is? I can survive, but if I canât leave this place and find someone to possess, Iâll still be trapped here; I might even turn into the likes of these ghost spirits given enough time, floating around aimlessly, unable to free myself for all eternityâŠ. Hmm, if I think about it this way, I may as well get back thereâŠ.
âBut remaining back there isnât much better. This brat has such a bad temper! Iâve helped him so much, yet heâs still either cursing at me or giving me a beating. He doesnât understand how to respect the elderly and be appreciative of his seniors. Who knows if he wants to keep me trapped inside foreverâŠ? But, that True Samadhi Fire inside the bratâs body⊠even though itâs scary, as long as it doesnât kill me, it can still help me consolidate my True Spirit. There are still plenty of benefitsâŠ.
âThatâs too passive, though. When would it endâŠ?â
The Peng King continued to hesitate. Although heâd found freedom, he still couldnât bring himself to act maliciously towards Fang Xing even after being given the chance. He didnât dare to provoke Fang Xing even under normal circumstances, but it was even more terrifying to provoke the boy now that he was in the process of increasing his cultivation level. The True Samadhi Fire had been turned up to its maximum power, making his entire body like a giant cauldronâfor the Peng King to provoke the boy now was the same as inviting fire to sear his body. Only an idiot would do something like that. Still, this was a rare chance at freedom, and he was unwilling to let go of it so easily, making him unable to make up his mind.
The Peng King suddenly remembered the hundreds of ghost spirits surrounding him. His thoughts began to whirl, and he suddenly came up with an idea.
âYou all neednât be fearful of my existence. I am the great Peng King of the Northern Kuruâs Squander Cloud Ridge. I am of the same kind as youâŠ.â The Peng Kingâs True Spirit quivered, using a secret skill to deliver his words in a way the ghost spirits could understand. âI know you all want to devour this blood essence, but this child is my pupil; his blood essence is also my blood essence. I wonât stop you if you wish to enjoy it, but you must give up your most important thing in exchange!â
As the Peng King spoke, he released an aura that turned the air in the room into gusts of chilling wind. His meaning was clear: fair trade.