Chapter 190: Flames and Deadly Poison

For three days and three nights, soldiers carried an unending stream of blood into the room, where it formed one enormous floating globule after another. These globules continuously channeled blood into the largest one at the center, replenishing whatever it consumed.

Inside the central sphere of blood, Yu Xian occasionally underwent subtle physical changes. When he refined the Baxia bloodline, dragon horns grew from his head. During the refinement of the Heavenly Horse bloodline, wings sprouted from his back. [1]

After three consecutive days of refinement, his Power finally rose to 43. Through countless small gains, he had increased it by a full 27 points. That was equivalent to the power of twenty-seven God-rank powerhouses.

Moreover, the greatest benefit was that his abilities had become increasingly comprehensive. Individually, these abilities were weak, but together they covered virtually every possible field without leaving any obvious gaps.

The Baxia bloodline not only substantially increased his defense but also allowed him to breathe underwater. The Heavenly Horse bloodline drastically increased his flying speed, giving him a far greater advantage in aerial combat.

There was also the Qiu Niu[2] bloodline, which allowed him to manipulate sound waves while greatly enhancing his hearing. The Pi Xiu bloodline[3] granted him the power to ward off evil, which would make ordinary unclean entities avoid him at all costs. The Huo Dou bloodline[4] allowed him to consume flames and exert a certain degree of control over calamities. When combined with the Blood-Curse Art within his Primordial Pureblood, he could even curse enemies from afar and plague them with relentless misfortune.

He still had many bloodlines left to refine, but they were not nearly as easy to refine as the ones before. Whether it was the Winged Dragon bloodline, the Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline, or the Golden-Winged Great Peng bloodline, each required an enormous amount of energy to refine. He would leave them for later.

With a flicker of his thought, Yu Xian instantly drew every drop of blood remaining in the room into his body. He slowly descended to the floor. A mere ripple of the massive energy within his body was enough to distort the surrounding air.

Both Yu Lie and Bai Jinze felt their hearts pound with fear as they looked at Yu Xian. In the past, Yu Lie could see through Yu Xian's attributes at a glance. Now, however, he could no longer perceive them. All he felt was an intense sense of dread, as though the instant Yu Xian harbored any killing intent toward him, his death would be certain.

Yu Xian also realized that his strength had increased too quickly, due to which the energy within his body was somewhat volatile. Fortunately, he was not a cultivator of this era, so he did not have to worry about his energy running out of control. He was more like a monster born with such power. Controlling the energy within him was as natural as eating and drinking. He just had to take care not to let any "grains of rice" spill out.

Within a few breaths, he reined in his aura and calmed the restless energy within him. Then he walked over to Yu Lie and flashed a smile. "Director, I'm done."

Yu Lie immediately asked, "How large is the gap between you and Edward now?"

Bai Jinze also stared at Yu Xian. After all, the answer concerned the safety of the entirety of Huaxia.

Yu Xian gave them a thumbs-up and grinned. "Edward is at 100, while I'm at 43. So I'm still about 57 points behind."

Bai Jinze did not understand what the values truly represented and could not help feeling worried. "There's still that much of a gap?"

Yu Lie, however, understood the scale. He burst into laughter. "Good! Good, very good! Little Fish, just tell us what other resources you need. As long as the nation can provide them, nothing is out of the question!"

"I need the rest of Little Dummy's brothers," Yu Xian said.

Yu Lie nodded. "That can be arranged. I have the authority to approve it. Later, we'll go to the Bronze Divine Tree and collect the remaining Golden Crows."

The three of them left the room. Bai Jinze had prepared ingredients for a banquet of the highest standard three days earlier, and since it would have been rude to refuse his hospitality, Yu Xian and Yu Lie shared a meal with several staff members. Yu Xian also signed quite a few autographs and took photographs with some of his fans.

After leaving the Extraordinary Substances Research Institute, Yu Xian and Yu Lie returned to Qilin's headquarters. Without stopping to rest, they made another trip to the Supernatural Containment Facility, where Yu Xian established contracts with the remaining Golden Crows on the Bronze Divine Tree.

Yu Lie looked at the nine little golden birds perched above Yu Xian's head and smiled. "All right. Is there anything else you need?"

Yu Xian shook his head. "This is more than enough. Next, I'll increase my strength as quickly as possible and then... defeat Edward!"

Yu Lie patted Yu Xian on the shoulder. "Good. I wish you victory in your battle and everlasting martial fortune."

The two returned to Qilin's headquarters. After bidding everyone farewell, Yu Xian teleported away through a spatial bubble.

***

Yu Xian appeared inside a spatial bubble on the Red Planet. A frown appeared on his face. The nine little Golden Crows were fighting each other for a place to perch. He swept a hand over his head and made them fly a little higher. However, the moment he lowered his hand, they began squabbling again.

Yu Xian grumbled. "You all brought this upon yourselves!"

He imprisoned all nine of them inside spatial bubbles. With them no longer bothering him, he could finally examine the specific changes his body had undergone in peace.

After absorbing a vast number of bloodline fragments, he now possessed many abilities. However, most were either of little practical use or merely enhanced his other abilities. His main abilities were still the familiar ones he had always relied upon.

One ability, however, had undergone a substantial and undeniable improvement. It was Fire Manipulation. He opened his hand, and a mass of blood-red flames blazed in his palm. Under his control, the flames gradually sharpened until they formed a thin crimson thread.

At his command, the fire thread drifted out of the spatial bubble and touched a rock, slicing it in two. Nothing in its path could withstand its cutting power.

The fire thread was unimaginably hot, its temperature reaching approximately five trillion degrees. However, its heat was so intensely concentrated that it barely affected the surrounding environment. Only the matter it cut through would experience just how hot it truly was.

Most importantly, Yu Xian could use this technique through his eyeball bubbles. Wherever one of his eyes was present, he could fire a beam of these ultra-high-temperature flames.

After testing his fire-control ability, he condensed a droplet of venom on the tip of his finger. "Demonic Poison!"

This was one of Deimos's abilities. After Deimos's corpse had been recovered, its blood had been extracted as well. Although Deimos had been an Archdevil, it belonged to a rather underwhelming species. It had not been born with Dragon-rank strength, but had instead grown stronger step by step through countless life-and-death battles. The only part of its bloodline that possessed even a little value was its venom.

Even with the Blood Demon Style: Infinite Self-Devouring Art, Yu Xian had only managed to trace the bloodline back as far as Deimos's great-grandfather. Even so, the venom Yu Xian could now produce was a hundred times more potent than Deimos's.

He let the droplet fall. The ground it touched instantly transformed into a bubbling poisonous swamp.

"Not a bad ability!"

Satisfied, Yu Xian controlled the poisonous swamp and made it contract until it once again became a single droplet of venom. It then returned to his hand. He could control the venom at will, which made it yet another powerful trump card.

Yu Xian was already looking forward to his next battle with Edward.

1. 霸下 (Bàxià) is one of the legendary Nine Sons of the Dragon. Resembling a dragon-headed turtle, it is renowned for its immense strength and ability to bear heavy burdens. In Chinese architecture, it is commonly depicted holding up massive stone monuments and steles. ☜

2. 囚牛 (Qiúniú), one of the legendary Nine Sons of the Dragon in Chinese mythology. It is closely associated with music and is traditionally depicted decorating the heads of stringed instruments. ☜

3. 貔貅 (Píxiū) is a mythical Chinese beast believed to ward off evil and attract wealth. It is often depicted as a fierce, dragon-like creature and is said to have a voracious appetite for treasure. ☜

4. 祸斗 (Huòdǒu) is a dog-like creature from Chinese mythology that feeds on fire and releases flames. Its appearance was traditionally regarded as an omen of fire and disaster. ☜