Chapter 585

Chapter 585

I Can See Through Everything

After crushing the Blackscale Venomrat with one hand, Lu Qing stowed its corpse away.

Daoist Wubao didn’t say anything in response.

This was, after all, Lu Qing’s trophy.

Had Lu Qing not reacted swiftly earlier, he himself might have been ambushed and injured by that creature.

The two resumed their journey, though this time with far greater caution.

Not only did they increase their flight altitude again, but they also paid closer attention to the movements within the sea of trees below.

Daoist Wubao even disregarded the cost of spiritual power and activated a protective artifact, forming a barrier around himself to avoid being caught off guard again.

Lu Qing, meanwhile, continued flying while sending a strand of his consciousness into the Li Huo Cauldron.

He hadn’t stored the Blackscale Venomrat’s corpse in the Heaven and Earth One Qi Bag, but had placed it directly into the Li Huo Cauldron.

That was because he remembered the note he had just read describing the creature’s bloodline.

“The lifeforms in this trial secret realm carry unusual bloodlines…”

Recalling those words, Lu Qing looked at the corpse of the Blackscale Venomrat before him.

“Master, what is this?”

At that moment, Yan, having sensed Lu Qing’s presence, manifested its form and curiously eyed the corpse of the Blackscale Venomrat.

It had been busy deep inside the Li Huo Cauldron, forging sword embryos as per Lu Qing’s instructions, and hadn’t paid attention to the outside world.

“This is a strange beast I just killed in the Sacred Mountain Secret Realm. It seems to possess an unusual bloodline. Senior Yan, how are the sword embryos coming along?”

“They’re basically complete. After a few more days of tempering, we can proceed with the next stage.”

“Perfect. I’m traveling through the secret realm now and can’t afford to split my focus. Help me extract the bloodline from this beast.”

“Leave it to me.”

Yan agreed without hesitation.

Ever since witnessing the Void Flying Boat become a superior-grade artifact, it had felt a sense of urgency.

Now that the Li Huo Cauldron was no longer Lu Qing’s most powerful artifact, Yan was eager to prove its worth and be more helpful to Lu Qing.

Immediately, Lu Qing handed the Blackscale Venomrat’s corpse over for Yan to refine while he focused on the journey.

The forest they were crossing turned out to be unexpectedly vast. Even after flying for half an hour, they still hadn’t emerged from it.

During that time, they were ambushed several more times by Blackscale Venomrats, confirming that this forest was indeed their habitat.

All the attackers were Foundation Establishment-stage Blackscale Venomrats.

But now that they were on guard, these little creatures no longer posed much of a threat.

Lu Qing captured and killed them one by one, tossing their corpses into the Li Huo Cauldron for Yan to handle.

He didn’t even need to use a powerful Technique like the Five-Colored Glazed Law Palm anymore—his control over the force of magnetism alone was enough to easily suppress and dispatch them.

Time passed, and after another quarter of an hour, they were still within the bounds of the forest. Daoist Wubao, however, was starting to struggle.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, flying like this consumes too much spiritual power. Why don’t we find a place to rest for a bit?” he said, slightly embarrassed.

He not only had to fly but also constantly maintain the activation of his protective artifact.

Under normal circumstances in the Tianyuan Great World, this wouldn’t be an issue.

A simple circulation of his Golden Core would’ve replenished his reserves.

But in this secret realm, spiritual energy was extremely scarce—almost nonexistent.

Combined with the sluggish spatial rules, any Technique used consumed far more spiritual power than usual.

As a result, while his reserves weren’t completely empty, most had already been drained.

“Alright, let’s descend for now.”

Lu Qing had no objections.

He knew that with his solid foundation, this level of consumption didn’t matter much.

But for other Golden Core cultivators, it wasn’t something easily endured.

Coincidentally, Yan also sent him a transmission saying it had finished extracting the Blackscale Venomrat’s bloodline.

It was a good opportunity for him to examine what was so special about this bloodline.

The two of them descended into a spot where the forest canopy was relatively sparse and landed on the ground.

“Daoist, you go ahead and recover. I’ll keep watch,” Lu Qing said.

“Much appreciated, Fellow Daoist Chen.”

Daoist Wubao was visibly grateful.

He could tell from Lu Qing’s composed demeanor that the flight hadn’t affected him much and that the offer wasn’t just a polite gesture.

Without further ado, he took out a mid-grade spirit stone, sat cross-legged, and began absorbing the spiritual essence within to recover.

Lu Qing didn’t stay idle either. He casually embedded several talismans into the surrounding ground, setting up a basic defensive array.

Of course, “basic” was relative. The array formed from talismans refined by Lu Qing would be difficult to break even for early-stage Golden Core cultivators.

Once the formation was complete, he had Xiao Li help with sentry duty, then sent a wisp of his consciousness back into the Li Huo Cauldron.

“Master!”

Yan greeted him immediately.

“You said you extracted the beast’s bloodline?”

“Yes, Master. I’ve extracted the bloodline from the first of those exotic beasts you sent in.”

There was a peculiar look in Yan’s eyes.

“Master, this beast’s bloodline is extremely strange. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ll need you to identify it.”

With a wave of its hand, a strand of bloodline essence appeared before Lu Qing, enveloped in spatial force.

Lu Qing focused his gaze.

The strand shimmered like a crimson diamond—small, but with a mysterious aura that made even the spatial force around it quiver slightly.

It was clear this bloodline was of an extremely high tier, able to affect the spatial laws around it.

More importantly, Lu Qing felt a deep yearning within his own body as he looked at it.

His instincts told him that if he could devour and refine this bloodline, his physical body would gain a significant boost.

Lu Qing was shocked.

Even when he faced the True Blood of the Ancient Dragon Tortoise, he hadn’t experienced such desire.

Yet this unknown strand of bloodline gave him an utterly unprecedented sensation.

Still, he didn’t act recklessly. He activated his Spiritual Powers and peered into the bloodline.

After a moment, a rich purple radiance emerged, and several lines of text floated into view.

“Purple light?”

Lu Qing’s heart stirred, and his eyes gleamed.

Earlier, when examining the Blackscale Venomrat’s corpse, the radiance had only been golden.

But now, the bloodline refined from that very creature was exuding a rich purple glow—something that genuinely surprised him.

He immediately read the lines of information:

[Primordial Blood of the Wu: A powerful bloodline containing origin power.]

[This bloodline descends from an ancient ancestral Wu being. It is of extremely high rank.]

[Refining this bloodline will significantly enhance physical strength. The more one refines, the stronger the body becomes.]

[However, refining the Primordial Blood of the Wu carries risks. It contains baleful energy that can affect one’s mind. If too much is refined, the soul may succumb to the bloodline’s influence, leading to loss of self.]

…

“Primordial Blood of the Wu, an ancient ancestral Wu?”

Lu Qing was deeply shaken as he finished reading the strands of information.

The word “Wu” reminded him of certain legends from his previous life.

But he wasn’t sure if the “Wu” mentioned here was the same as those he knew.

“Refining the Primordial Blood of the Wu can greatly strengthen the physical body. No wonder the Blackscale Venomrat had such a powerful physique—it must’ve been because of this bloodline.”

Yet this same bloodline was said to affect one’s mind. No wonder the Blackscale Venomrat had been so vicious and utterly uncommunicative.

From those few pieces of information, Lu Qing had learned quite a bit—and was left hesitating.

This Primordial Blood of the Wu was clearly a major opportunity, but refining it came with equally great risks.

The baleful energy within it could erode one’s soul. If one failed to endure it, they would lose their sense of self and become a puppet controlled by the bloodline.

“But… just one strand shouldn’t be a problem.”

Lu Qing could feel his body instinctively yearning for the Primordial Blood, and he quietly reassured himself.

He had some confidence in the strength of his will and soul.

Not to mention, he had refined a Perfect Golden Core, which in itself offered a significant boost to the soul.

On top of that, the soul sigils he had cultivated were extraordinary.

And the Five Elements Treasure Pearls had been constantly nourishing his divine soul without pause.

This had brought his soul power to a level so astonishing that, while he wouldn’t claim to rival a Nascent Soul expert, within the Golden Core realm, few could compare.

In that case, refining just a single strand of the Primordial Blood of the Wu shouldn’t pose a problem.

Having made up his mind, Lu Qing spoke to Yan, “Senior, I’ll be taking this strand of bloodline for now. As for the rest of the beasts, please extract their bloodlines as well—I’ll be needing them later.”

“Of course, that’s no problem at all,” Yan readily agreed.

It could tell that Lu Qing likely knew something about this mysterious bloodline.

But since Lu Qing hadn’t volunteered the information, Yan tactfully didn’t press for details.

It was well aware that if Lu Qing wanted to share, he would do so on his own.

Lu Qing carefully stored the strand of bloodline in a jade vial and exited the Li Huo Cauldron.

Daoist Wubao had not yet finished his meditation. Judging by his aura, Lu Qing estimated it would take a while longer for him to fully recover.

He thought for a moment, then embedded over a dozen more talismans into the ground.

This expanded the simple formation he had laid earlier into a complete grand array.

With this enhancement, even late-stage Golden Core cultivators would find it difficult to break through the formation in just a few moves.

“Xiao Li, help stand guard. I’ve got something to do.”

Lu Qing gave a quick instruction. Once Xiao Li nodded, he sat down cross-legged, briefly regulated his breathing, then uncorked the jade vial and swallowed the strand of bloodline.

The moment the Primordial Blood of the Wu emerged, Xiao Li’s eyes widened in shock.

But before it could get a good look, Lu Qing had already swallowed it whole.

All that remained in Xiao Li’s heart was a lingering, irresistible sense of desire.

Boom!

The instant Lu Qing swallowed the bloodline, he felt his body respond at once.

It greedily absorbed the bloodline, devouring it completely.

And as it was refined, his physical body visibly strengthened by a noticeable degree.

“It really works!”

Lu Qing was delighted.

Ever since refining the Perfect Golden Core, his physique had already far surpassed what any ordinary Golden Core cultivator could imagine.

Even those who cultivated the body path might not be as physically formidable at the same level.

And his Perfect Golden Core was endlessly mutable, formless and without shape, able to disperse into his body and transform into a true body cultivator’s foundation.

His physical strength was already exceptional.

So much so that even Golden Core-level body-enhancing pills had ceased to work on him.

Yet this single strand of the Primordial Blood of the Wu had still managed to boost his body further.

Its potency was truly astonishing.

What surprised him, however, was that he hadn’t felt any of the “baleful energy” mentioned in the information strand.

If anything, there had only been a faint “breeze” trying to invade the brow-point acupoint at the center of his forehead.

But ever since he reached the Golden Core realm, that point had been nearly impervious.

Combined with the guardianship of the Five Elements Treasure Pearls and the soul sigils, the “breeze” hadn’t even made it halfway before it was utterly annihilated.

Lu Qing had barely felt a thing.

“Could that ‘breeze’ have been the baleful energy mentioned in the information?”

Lu Qing wasn’t quite sure.

If it was, then the so-called “baleful energy” was far weaker than he had expected.

“Looks like I’ll have to experiment a few more times to be sure.”

If that “breeze” really was the baleful energy, then the implications were excellent.

It meant the upper limit of the Primordial Blood of the Wu that he could devour might be extremely high.

Perhaps he could use it to elevate his physical strength to an entirely new level!

“This might be one of the opportunities hidden within this trial secret realm.”

The thought brought clarity to Lu Qing’s eyes.

Still, he would need to refine more of the bloodline before drawing any conclusions.

Once Yan finished extracting the bloodline from the remaining Blackscale Venomrats, he’d know for sure.

“Ah Qing! Ah Qing! What did you just eat?”

As soon as Lu Qing opened his eyes, Xiao Li pounced toward him, its eyes sparkling.

“Oh? You felt it too?” Lu Qing raised an eyebrow.

“Mhm!” Xiao Li nodded eagerly. “It felt like something incredible! I think it would be really good for me!”

So the Primordial Blood of the Wu held strong appeal for spirit beasts like Xiao Li as well.

Lu Qing understood instantly.

Which made sense—after all, it had been extracted from the body of a strange beast like the Blackscale Venomrat, so it would naturally be effective for spiritual and demonic beasts too.

“That was a strange bloodline I extracted from that black creature earlier. It seems to have a powerful effect on strengthening the body. I was just running a little test,” Lu Qing explained.

“How was it? Did the test go well?” Xiao Li asked with anticipation.

“It went very well. I think… we might have finally found one of the secret realm’s true opportunities,” Lu Qing said with a smile.

Hearing this, Xiao Li’s eyes lit up immediately.