Chapter 21: Spirit Tribe Blood Essence
Inside the inn's room—
Yao Yan was locked in a staring contest with the little Greenwood Fox. He frowned, puzzled, as he scanned it with his soul force again. He was trying to figure out what made this little thing special. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time he had tried—by all appearances, it was just a slightly mutated Tier 2 Greenwood Fox. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. In fact, it seemed a bit too ordinary.
Its most valuable features might just be the Tier 2 magic core in its brain and its silky-soft fur.
Ying ying~
The little fox drooped its ears and pressed its front paws together, looking pitifully at Yao Yan, as if asking why he was being so harsh.
"Was it just my imagination?"
Yao Yan muttered to himself, unsure. He had always felt something was off about the fox—but he couldn't say exactly what. After a moment of thought, he gave up and took the fragmented map from his storage ring, slowly bringing it closer to the fox.
Woo woo!
The fox instantly shed its innocent demeanor. Its fur stood on end, ears shot up, and it stared at the map with intense wariness, clearly frightened by whatever it sensed within.
Seeing this reaction again, Yao Yan frowned. He extended his soul force to the map. But even with his strength, he couldn't sense anything unusual—no Dou Qi, no soul force, not even the faintest trace of natural energy. Just an old, ordinary fragment.
"Hey little guy, what's so scary about this?"
He waved the map in front of the fox and asked curiously, trying to glean any clues.
But the fox just shook its head, baring its teeth at the map and assuming a defensive stance. It absolutely refused to let Yao Yan bring it any closer.
It was... oddly amusing.
After a while, Yao Yan gave up, unable to figure out the mystery. He stored the map back in a separate ring—not the one connected to Hun Xuzi's communication token. Then, he pulled out the maps he had bought earlier to jot down key locations. He especially wanted to confirm the position of the Jia Ma Empire.
Based on the Black-Corner Region's position, locating it shouldn't be difficult.
Huff~
At that moment, a puff of black flame flared from his ring, immediately startling the little Greenwood Fox. As the flame surged and froze the surrounding space, the fox panicked and darted under the bed, trembling uncontrollably.
Yao Yan paused his study of the maps and didn't bother hiding them. He left them out in plain view for Hun Xuzi.
Whoosh~
The black flames quickly took form, coalescing into Hun Xuzi's translucent figure. Shrouded in black flame, his ghostly form hovered in midair. He glanced at the fox trembling beneath the bed, then turned his burning gaze to Yao Yan.
"You've completed the first level of the Vajra Indestructible Body?"
"I have, Teacher. I'm currently working on the second level."
Yao Yan calmly replied, his tone steady.
Hun Xuzi's eyes flickered red. He studied Yao Yan for a moment and then said, "Show me."
Yao Yan nodded, took a deep breath, and clenched his fists. His blood energy surged. Without using any Dou Qi, his skin turned a bronze hue. A powerful glow enveloped his body, and his aura became impossibly dense and strong—like he could move mountains.
"Good. It seems you haven't been slacking these past two months."
Hun Xuzi nodded in satisfaction. He knew how hard body refinement was—especially at this level. Even after absorbing the Stone Clan's bloodline, reaching the first level of the Vajra Indestructible Body so quickly still required serious effort.
Doing so without supervision showed a level of discipline that pleased him greatly.
He smiled faintly and added, "That little thing can't be raised. Even if you wanted to, the cost would be ridiculous and not worth it. If you really want a magical pet, I'll find you a more suitable beast in the future."
Yao Yan responded, "It's just a way to pass the time, Teacher. I don't intend anything serious."
Hun Xuzi didn't press the issue further. His gaze turned toward the table, especially to the map of the Black-Corner Region. With a wave of his hand, he pulled it toward himself. After skimming it, he asked, "So, you want to leave the Shennong Mountains?"
"Cultivating here is becoming monotonous. I heard about Canaan Academy in the Black-Corner Region while I was studying in the clan academy, and I got curious."
Yao Yan recited the excuse he had prepared in advance.
Hun Xuzi considered it for a moment and then said, "Canaan Academy… that place does house a Fallen Heart Flame. Unfortunately, it's tied to the Lei Clan. Otherwise, it'd be perfect for you."
The greatest strength of the Fallen Heart Flame was its autonomous cultivation—it could enhance its master's training speed. However, from Hun Xuzi's perspective, that boost was negligible. It had value early on, but to true powerhouses, it was virtually useless. In the long run, it couldn't compare to a subflame of the Void Devouring Flame.
Yao Yan understood what Hun Xuzi meant—if not for the Lei Clan, he would've just taken it.
Unfortunately…
The Lei Clan's involvement meant Hun Xuzi couldn't make a move. It wasn't worth attracting their attention just for one flame. Besides, the Soul Clan didn't value heavenly flames that much. The Void Devouring Flame could produce subflames en masse—and each one far surpassed ordinary flames.
For Dou Saints and above, most heavenly flames didn't offer much of a boost anyway.
By contrast—
Soul Essence was far more appealing to the Soul Clan. Especially the soul power of powerful alchemists.
Hun Xuzi gazed down at Yao Yan, black flames swirling in his eyes. His voice was low:
"If you want to go, fine. But first, you must take care of your business here."
"…I haven't forgotten my parents' deaths."
Yao Yan's expression turned cold. He clenched his fists and spoke in a low, steely voice.
Hun Xuzi gave a quiet laugh. "Heh… with your current strength, it's possible now. I'll arrange a chance for you to get your revenge. After that, you can leave the Yao Clan. I'll take you back to the Soul Clan personally—to help you awaken your Soul Clan bloodline."
"Thank you, Teacher."
Yao Yan bowed respectfully.
Hun Xuzi raised a hand, lifting Yao Yan gently with invisible soul force. "No need for thanks. I am your teacher, after all."
Yao Yan nodded, saying nothing more.
"Enough of that. Take a look at the gift I brought you."
Hun Xuzi grinned sinisterly. With a twist of space, he summoned three drops of amber-like blood essence.
"This is Dou Emperor blood from the Spirit Tribe. I originally wanted to abduct one of their promising youths, but they're so rare now that I couldn't even find someone with a Tier 6 bloodline. So, I settled for refining a Dou Venerate instead. All energy has been stripped away by the Void Devouring Flame—what remains is pure bloodline essence."
As he spoke, he pushed the three glowing drops toward Yao Yan, his eyes blazing with fervor.
Shit… does this old freak want me to devour every single Dou Emperor bloodline out there? Yao Yan's scalp tingled. He was beginning to realize that his path had turned completely dark. Once he started down this road, he'd become an enemy of every imperial clan. This was no trap—this was a public scheme. A path with no return.
The Dou Emperor families were all extremely proud. He was already crossing a line that could not be uncrossed.
Clearly, he had underestimated things.
Then Hun Xuzi added, "No rush. We'll take our time. Later, we'll get bloodlines from the great magical beast clans as well…"
All alchemists had some degree of obsession or perfectionism.
Hun Xuzi was no exception. Since he had created Yao Yan, he wanted to see just how far his "masterpiece" could go. Who knew—maybe this creation would one day allow him to break through to Dou Emperor. After all, even Xiao Xuan had taken this route, reaching Half-Emperor by combining multiple bloodlines—and that was just from one clan.
Yao Yan was completely silent.
(END CHAPTER)
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