Tainted Blood

by Tinalynge

  “They can appear in spatial tunnels, too,” Lan grinned, “but don’t worry. The storms move very slowly. So even if you see one, you should be fine as long as you don’t get caught. You should be able to outrun it.”

  Xue Wei thought through the pros and cons and finally nodded his head with gritted teeth. “I cannot make a decision for the others as this is a question of life and death,” he began, “but I understand that with rewards come certain risks. If I want to get to the Demon Phoenix Continent faster, then I ought to take said risk and hope to not encounter any spatial storms.”

  “I am with you,” Hei Gou said casually. He would follow Xue Wei anywhere, as he was his most trusted friend.

  “I am also going,” Bai Tianyi said with a slight smile on his face. Even if he encountered heavenly tribulation, he would not die.

  Lin Xiao was the one who was quiet for the longest time, but then he spread out his arms in defeat. “Life has been boring for me,” he said smilingly, “so I might as well risk my life and go to another continent. If I don’t make it, then I can only blame my bad luck, but if I make it, then I will be able to experience a whole new world. That will be so exciting! So I am going with you too.”

  “So four people are going through the tunnel,” Lan summarized and smiled with a nod of his head. “That will require a rather large tunnel. I guess I should lend you one of my treasures,” he said, and suddenly a small miniature carriage appeared in his hand. It looked like a toy carriage and was only around ten centimeters high and long.

  The carriage did not have anything pulling it. It was made from gold and looked incredibly exquisite. Four blue phoenixes decorated its four walls.

  “I stole this before I left home,” Lan said with a snicker. “Actually, I stole many treasures from my father before I left home, but he never bothered coming to pick them up again. Now I will lend you this carriage. It is called the Blue Phoenix Carriage.”

  Xue Wei looked at the carriage very curiously. What could a toy carriage like that even do?

  But the moment it left Lan’s hand, it expanded until it was a full five meters long and two and a half meter tall. The carriage was massive!

  “You can ride this,” Lan said smilingly. “Before you leave the transdimensional tunnel, just send it back and it will return to me naturally.”

  Xue Wei felt great gratitude towards Lan for taking out such a marvelous treasure to make their travels much smoother.

  “Don’t mind it,” he said when he saw Xue Wei was about to thank him, “just get me the Thunder Flame Crown. I don’t want anything else.”

  Lan grinned. Xue Wei suddenly had the feeling that this crown would be much harder to get than his initial estimations. If it was easy to get, Lan would not constantly remind him about it. He also would not be as helpful as he was.

  Xue Wei grit his teeth, feeling that he had been cheated by Lan. Was it even possible to get the Thunder Flame Crown?

  Still, he was not going to mention it out loud. He had already agreed, and even if Lan had tricked him, he had his pride. He was going to do everything in his power to retrieve the Thunder Flame Crown for Lan.

  “When you are inside the Blue Phoenix Carriage, you will be safe from basically everything apart from a spatial storm. As soon as the carriage senses a spatial storm close by, it will change course and find a different path through the tunnel.”

  Xue Wei nodded his head. This was truly a great boon. “In that case, I will see you when we return to the Chang’an Continent,” was Xue Wei’s note of departure, but Lan just smiled mysteriously. “We might see each other before then,” he said and laughed. “I might come visit you at some point to see how it is going with the Thunder Flame Crown.”

  Xue Wei could feel a headache coming his way. Lan was truly outrageous. There was no way that he could not get the Thunder Flame Crown if he wanted to do it himself, but he clearly did not want to and instead sent Xue Wei to do it for him.

  “Oh right,” Lan suddenly looked at Xue Wei. “I almost forgot! If you can, get close to the Vermilion Bird Clan. They are at the Demon Phoenix Continent, and they have something that can prove to be very beneficial to you.”

  “The Vermilion Bird Clan?” Xue Wei was surprised. “I am an Azure Dragon. What exactly does the Vermilion Bird Clan have that could be of use to me?”

  Lan smiled mysteriously but said nothing. It was clear that he did not want to tell the young man just yet.

  “Get ready to go now!” Lan grinned. “Also, remember, your mother was the holy maiden of all beasts. There was a reason for this. You definitely have to visit the Vermilion Bird Clan.”

  “Also take this,” Lan tossed a ring to Xue Wei, who caught it out of the air. When he saw it, he recognized it right away. He was stunned. This was the heritage ring that his uncle had given him. Why did Lan have this?

  Unfortunately, he had no time to ask before Lan repeated, “Vermilion Bird Clan!” and then turned around, clearly not willing to talk any longer.

  Xue Wei was extremely puzzled, but seeing how Lan had offhandedly given him the heritage ring and that he had kept reminding him quite a few times about the Vermilion Bird Clan, he could only nod his head. He had no idea what he was supposed to in the Vermillion Bird Clan, but hopefully he would find an answer when he got there.

  “Thank you.” Xue Wei said to Lan, who just raised his hand and waved dismissively.

  “Well then, one thing at a time,” Xue Wei said with a sigh. “Let us first get through this transdimensional tunnel and survive. Then we’ll find the Thunder Flame Crown, and while we’re at it, we’ll find the Vermillion Bird Clan.”

  “Seems like we have a lot of exciting adventures in front of us.” Lin Xiao grinned when he heard Xue Wei sum up their plans, and even Hei Gou and Bai Tianyi gave excited looks.

  “Ever since I split the world into continents, I have not been away from the continent of Chang’an,” Bai Tianyi complained slightly. “I am excited to see how the other continents have developed throughout the many years.”

  Having said this, the group of four stepped up the small ladders into the carriage. All of them were shocked when they saw the luxurious interior. The four sides of the carriage had four benches, big enough for one to lay on them and sleep comfortably. Fierce and Primordial Beast furs were laying all over the benches and cushions made from the finest silks were also placed everywhere.

  The only thing that was lacking for this to be the most extravagant ride was refreshments, but considering that it was a carriage that grew in size, it made sense that there were no such things.

  They each took one of the benches and sat down. Lin Xiao began cultivating. Bai Tianyi also began cultivating, but he quickly stopped as the carriage entered into the transdimensional tunnel. There was no such thing as soul power within this tunnel. There was only heaven-and-earth essence here, and it was even denser than the essence in the center of the Chang’an Continent. This could perhaps very literally be called heaven for Qi cultivators.

  Xue Wei pondered for a moment before he looked at Hei Gou. “So far, we have mutated your bloodline once,” he said. “We are going to mutate it one more time, but we needed somewhere safe to do it all this time. I don’t think that we will find any place safer than here.”

  “Although there is a chance we might run into a spatial storm, the truth is that the carriage will try to avoid it on its own. We should be fine so long as we are inside.”

  Hei Gou’s eyes shone in excitement. He had been the weakest of their group for a long time, but it was likely that he would jump in cultivation base and once more become a reliable support for his friends with that second mutation.

  Xue Wei and Hei Gou each cut a long wound on their arms. The blood from Xue Wei’s arm dropped into the wound on Hei Gou’s arm and mixed with the blood within. A sizzling sound could be heard as the blood mixed. Hei Gou suddenly started grimacing in pain.

  Sweat poured out from his forehead and he was clenching his teeth so hard that
Xue Wei feared that they would shatter. His eyes bulged, his body trembled, and he collapsed on the ground, his entire body spasming.

  “Seems like the second mutation is much more perilous,” Xue Wei said with worry. It was definitely different from last time, but he was not too worried. He was certain that Hei Gou could make it through, and what waited at the end was a much greater and more fearsome version of him!

  All the heaven-and-earth essence in the surrounding tunnel was drawn to Hei Gou. It poured into him like a maelstrom, and his body was greedily absorbing it all. He kept panting in pain and sometimes released a groan.

  Xue Wei, Lin Xiao and Bai Tianyi were all observing the changes in Hei Gou with rapt attention. They were clearly worried that something might go wrong.

  Chapter 37 - Mutation

  Hei Gou was fighting with the pain that was wreaking havoc in his body. He was not losing his consciousness, but the pain was so severe that it made him wish that he could slip into unconsciousness or even die. Still, he understood that his strength would skyrocket if he managed to persevere through this. He could feel it rising as things were right now.

  Xue Wei and Lin Xiao could not cultivate as all the heaven-and-earth essence in the carriage was being greedily absorbed by Hei Gou.

  At first, they were watching over him, fearful that something would go wrong, but after a day they understood that they could do nothing about it.

  Xue Wei sat back on his bench and found all the many different martial art techniques that he had gotten in the auction back in Golden Crow City.

  There were a full twenty-nine techniques in front of him; most of them were superior ranked and there were also a few profound martial art techniques.

  A few of them were sword techniques, some relied on the physical body and some used spiritual energy.

  Xue Wei sorted them all out while sometimes glancing at the pain-riddled Hei Gou to ensure that he was still alive.

  First, he sorted the abilities after their type. One stack consisted of the ones that require spiritual energy, the other of the ones that require Qi.

  After having split them into these two groups, he further split the Qi techniques into another two depending on whether they required a weapon or not.

  After this, he was surrounded by three stacks of martial art techniques.

  He quickly placed the Qi techniques into his storage ring and focused on the spiritual energy techniques.

  The first book he picked up was about a superior skill called Mind Vision. It was a non-combat ability, but it had great uses. It allowed the user to see through the eyes of their targets, without the target being able to sense it.

  He quickly started practicing this ability with Bai Tianyi as his target. The reason he chose Tianyi was very simple—he was the best at using spiritual energy among them, so once he manages to use it without Tianyi noticing, then it would have been perfected.

  Lin Xiao kept watching Hei Gou closely while talking with Bai Tianyi. They could not cultivate and they had no skills to practice so they engaged in casual banter.

  “So you were a genius only seen once in a millennium? What is so special about you?” Bai Tianyi asked in a slightly rude way, but Lin Xiao did not seem upset about it.

  “I can determine whether or not a person is a human or beast with a single glance,” Lin Xiao said with some pride. Bai Tianyi looked at him with praise in his eyes. “That must be very convenient,” he could not help but state in praise. Lin Xiao grinned at him.

  “At the same time, I also have cultivation talent that is almost second to none,” Lin Xiao continued smugly. “I was supposed to be in the army by now, but because of my outstanding performance and value, the temple would not let me go and got a permission to keep me away.”

  “I had looked forward to leaving that stale old temple and seeing the world for once, but I got nothing but old men telling me to train hard. I couldn’t bear living like that for the rest of my life! I had no choice but to escape.”

  Bai Tianyi could see some desperation in Lin Xiao’s eyes, as if his old lifestyle had been dreadfully oppressive to him.

  “Well, I am sure you will experience quite a thrilling life following us around,” Bai Tianyi was not sure of what else to say.

  Lin Xiao nodded his head. “I have no doubt about that,” he said decisively.

  Like this, time passed by. Hei Gou’s groans of pain were growing less frequent, he stopped trembling as much, and at some point he managed to prop himself up and sit with his legs crossed. Although the pain was still wreaking havoc in his body, he had now managed to control it.

  Last time he underwent a mutation, his body had changed and evolved, but now every cell in his body was mutating. He would no longer be a Celestial Dog once his mutation ends. He would be a completely new race.

  Xue Wei glanced at him from time to time, but most of his focus was on learning Mind Vision, which he slowly mastered.

  At the start, Bai Tianyi could clearly sense every time Xue Wei cast the ability, but as time went on he had to actively search his mind to see whether or not his friend had started tapping his vision, and eventually he could not even sense this.

  On the third day, Xue Wei smiled happily as he had finally mastered the Mind Vision to the very limit. At the same time, Hei Gou spat out a mouthful of foul air and slowly opened his eyes, which were glowing golden.

  His hair was still black, but there was a dark purple shine to it. His body seemed much stronger than it had been before, the muscles bulging under his clothes.

  “Are you okay now?” Xue Wei asked curiously and with some concern. “It seemed to be a rather tough mutation compared to last.”

  “It was painful!” Hei Gou instantly wheezed. His voice was slightly hoarse as if his throat had dried up.

  “I have never experienced a pain like this before, but everything about my body has been changed. I cannot wait to see what my original shape has changed to, but I can’t very well try it out in here considering the sheer size.

  “I can feel my entire body bursting with energy. In the future I will no longer hold you back!” He grinned as he looked himself over. “I am now at the ninth layer of the Earth Knight rank with my physical strength, and my Qi level has risen all the way to the fourth layer of the Earth Knight realm!”

  Xue Wei raised an eyebrow in surprise. Hei Gou’s advance was even better than when he had his bloodline awakened the first time around. It was clear how frightening the blood awakening had been this time.

  Hei Gou was ecstatic. He had been the weakest in their group for quite some time, but now he was once more a reliable fighter. His innate talent had also improved drastically now that he had mutated again. It was likely that he would never fall far behind in the future in terms of cultivation alone.

  Xue Wei looked at Hei Gou and nodded his head. It made sense that he had benefited greatly after undergoing such a painful procedure.

  He did not envy Hei Gou. Rather, he was very happy for his friend, and felt that he deserved it after struggling for so long.

  Xue Wei looked at his hand and glanced at the Heritage Ring adorning his finger. He had not activated it since he had gotten it back. He was not sure if he should.

  This was a present from Xiao Lei, and it was clearly not a simple treasure. It was definitely very valuable, but he was still unsure of whether or not he should use it to raise his strength. His emotions towards his uncle were still incredibly complex.

  “That is the Heritage Ring?” Bai Tianyi noticed his complex glance and saw what he was looking at. He quickly guessed Xue Wei’s emotions.

  “It will be a shame not using the ring,” he voiced his thoughts. “The techniques within the Heritage Ring are definitely the cream of the crop. They will make you much stronger, and make our survivability much better.”

  Xue Wei understood what Bai Tianyi meant. Even if he felt complex emotions towards his uncle, he still understood that said uncle cared deeply for him.

  He sighed. He co
uld not completely control his emotions, but he understood what Bai Tianyi meant. If he could raise his strength even if just a little, then he should do so.

  They were about to encounter a new continent, a place they had no idea about, and thus their only option was to prepare brute strength, becoming as strong as possible that is, as their final card.

  Nodding his head, he decided it was time to put his emotions aside. Xue Wei poured his Qi into the ring.

  He was not sure what exactly to expect when he poured the Qi into his ring. It had been a long time since he last used the Heritage Ring, so a lot of skills could appear at once.

  Unfortunately, the skills suited for the earlier ranks were locked because he had exceeded them already, and as a result he could only unlock the skills available to the Ordinary Knight rank.