novelraw Chapter 229 - 173: A Grotto Heaven of Opportunities, a Qilin Tattoo, and a Hatching Gu Diao Egg
Chapter 229 - 173: A Grotto Heaven of Opportunities, a Qilin Tattoo, and a Hatching Gu Diao Egg
Lu Mingyuan did not join the battle, but stood watching from a distance.
He was slightly disappointed to see so many people try to corner their target, only to let them escape.
It was incredibly difficult to find a safe hiding place within the Grotto Heaven. He wondered what method Lu Guangjing had used to conceal his location, managing to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the Demon Race’s army.
Lu Mingyuan thought of the places he had recently been: the Hidden Dragon Land he’d infiltrated, Dragon Hanging Mountain, the Poison Barrier Marsh from the divination, the Ghostly Cold Valley, and the Yellow Sand Valley he had stumbled upon by accident.
These four distinct landscapes held numerous hidden Opportunities.
This place didn’t feel like a fabricated world, but a real one.
In other words, this was a true Grotto Heaven!
Some of the Demon Race here had been transported in, but many more were creatures that had always existed within this Grotto Heaven.
’So this Wilderness Grotto Heaven should be my personal treasure trove.’
’Opportunities are everywhere. This is an incredibly rare chance to rapidly increase my strength, and I can’t let it slip by.’
Right now, the situation in the Grotto Heaven was extremely unfavorable for the Human Race. The Twelve Thrones and the Demon Race’s army were like two great mountains, crushing them to the point they could barely breathe.
The same was true for Lu Mingyuan.
Only by breaking through to a higher Realm could he shatter this stalemate.
’If I were in the Twelfth Realm, I could roam this Little World as I pleased, supreme and unchallenged. Why would I need to be scurrying and hiding like this?’
Realm.
’I have to raise my Realm as quickly as possible.’
Lu Mingyuan arrived at a corner of Yingsha Ancient City where the corpses of Demon Kings were piled. A large number of Demon Race bodies lay scattered about, all with their Demon Pills gouged out.
He used his Blood Shadow Legion to scout the area. Once he confirmed he was alone, he began to absorb the Blood Essence from the Demon Race corpses.
The surging, violent Blood Qi of the Demon Race poured into his Acupoints, transforming into nourishment. Every cell in his Flesh Body became intensely active, and the Taotie Visualization Image in his Sea Gazing Acupoint began to flicker once more.
There were seven Eighth Realm Demon Kings and one at the Early Stage of the Ninth Realm. An Eighth Realm Demon King was worth 50,000 points of nourishment. A Peak Nine Realm Demon King was worth 100,000 points, but one at the Early Stage of the Ninth Realm was only worth 70,000.
Moreover, since the Cultivators who killed them had already removed their Demon Pills, the effective nourishment was halved.
Including some assorted Little Demons, he only managed to gain a total of 250,000 points.
As Lu Mingyuan felt his Realm rapidly advancing, he quickly broke through from the Early Stage Dragon Gate Realm to the Mid Stage Dragon Gate Realm.
「Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture - Divine Sensing Chapter (Tenth Floor: 450,000/1,000,000)」
Combined with the points from the previously slain Ancient Ape Demon King and Cyan Lion Demon King, his total had reached 450,000.
As for the Demon Pill from Lady Flower Venerate, Lu Mingyuan still had it as well.
Unfortunately, Lady Flower Venerate’s Flesh Body had been obliterated by Celestial Thunder, leaving only her Demon Pill behind.
’A Demon Pill from a Tenth Realm Demon Venerable should provide over a hundred thousand points at the very least,’ Lu Mingyuan thought. But in the end, he decided not to refine it.
’A Tenth Realm Demon Pill is quite valuable. I’ll keep it on me for now and save it. When I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, I can refine it all at once.’
’Even now, it would be extremely difficult for me to face and kill another Tenth Realm Demon Venerable.’
’Not unless I could find a few Ninth Realm Demon Kings to bolster my Cultivation and push myself into the Tenth Realm.’
Thanks to absorbing the demon corpses, he had replenished more than half of the Primordial Qi he had expended on his Dragon Transformation.
「Emperor Orange Fate Grid - Trapped Dragon in the Abyss, Refinement Level increased to 76%」
「Dragon Fortune (Middle Level): Celestial Mandate is mine; I am Celestial Mandate. Grants a large amount of Dragon Fortune. Greatly increases Destiny. Immune to Demon Fiends.」
Lu Mingyuan stared at the panel, pondering.
’Three divinations, two successful Gua Cheng, and one that hasn’t concluded yet. All in all, "Trapped Dragon in the Abyss" gained 8% Refinement Level.’
’"Dragon Fortune" has reached Middle Level.’
’It went from a trace amount of Dragon Fortune to a large amount. My Destiny has also increased significantly. And "hard for Demon Fiends to invade" has become "immune to Demon Fiends."’
’Combined with "Great Luck," am I about to become comparable to one of those so-called Children of Destiny?’
Pushing those thoughts aside, Lu Mingyuan began to take inventory of the spoils stored within his Acupoints.
He then took out the many strange Magical Treasures he had looted from others. Most of them were low-grade, with the best only reaching the level of a Hundred Treasures Spiritual Artifact. He wasn’t sure what use it was to keep them.
He already possessed the Famous Sword Yang Su, which was a Ten Thousand Treasures Spiritual Artifact.
These other Magical Treasures felt rather useless in comparison.
Taking out Yang Su, Lu Mingyuan felt a deep connection with the saber.
BUZZ!
Suddenly, the blade of the Yang Su Saber began to hum and tremble.
This caught Lu Mingyuan’s attention. He immediately drew Yang Su, and the cloud-and-thunder patterns on the pitch-black blade began to shimmer faintly.
Soon, something miraculous happened.
He discovered that the Spiritual Runes nurtured within the various Magical Treasures were all burrowing into Yang Su.
’Could it be...?’
Lu Mingyuan had a bold idea.
He quickly offered it a Flying Sword Magical Treasure.
A scorching light, like a Divine Flame, flared from Yang Su’s blade. It quickly devoured the Magical Treasure. A new Thunder Pattern appeared on a spot of the blade where there had been none before.
’It can actually smelt Magical Treasures into itself?’
It was as if a door to a new world had opened for Lu Mingyuan. This was the first time he realized Yang Su could devour other Magical Treasures to enhance its own Spiritual Runes.
’If so, doesn’t that mean Yang Su is a Ten Thousand Treasures Spiritual Artifact that can evolve?’
’Come to think of it, Yang Su was forged from an Outer Heaven Demon Stone, so it should be compatible with most materials. It makes sense that it can devour other materials to strengthen itself.’
There was no time to waste.
Without further hesitation, Lu Mingyuan fed all the other Magical Treasures to Yang Su.
He soon discovered a pattern: the more precious the Magical Treasure, the more Thunder Patterns it would generate.
A Spiritual Artifact could generate several Thunder Patterns, whereas a Human World’s Heavy Artifact yielded only one.
After smelting all of them, over a hundred new Thunder Patterns appeared on the Yang Su Saber’s blade.
The Thunder Patterns had been sparse before, but now they were much denser, giving the blade a more intimidating presence.
Lu Mingyuan noticed that Yang Su was even brighter and sharper than before, though he wondered if its power had also increased.
’And in the future, if it devours enough weapons, could it evolve into an Innate Treasure, or even an Immortal Artifact?’
Of all the Magical Treasures, the only one he didn’t smelt was the Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Ridges Spear.
For one, he felt it would be a betrayal to his Third Brother. For another, he was reluctant to part with it; after all, it was the twenty-seventh ranked Divine Weapon.
He didn’t use a spear, but he could give it to someone else.
’I remember Huo Hongling uses a Pear Blossom Spear, I think.’
’But if I take it out now, it would be easy to expose my identity. I also can’t explain how the Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Ridges Spear came into my possession. I definitely can’t give it to her yet.’
His next biggest gains were the two bird eggs and the two Black Pearls containing Ancient Demon Blood.
This kind of demon-forged Magical Treasure had no internal Spiritual Runes, so Yang Su couldn’t absorb it.
Lu Mingyuan decided to see if he could absorb the Ancient Demon Blood himself.
WHOOSH!
The Demon Blood materialized, shimmering like a black sun. It carried an invisible Nether Fire that incinerated everything nearby, releasing a suffocating wave of heat.
He quickly realized something was wrong. No wonder this Demon Blood had been stored within an Arhat’s Relic; each drop of Ancient Demon Blood was incredibly heavy, carried a vicious aura, and even seemed to contain the residual will of a Great Demon.
However, it was undeniable that the Ancient Demon Blood contained boundless Divine Power and immense Blood Qi.
Each drop was as heavy as a mountain. Even someone like Lu Mingyuan could only manage to draw out a single drop and suspend it in his palm.
’Looking at this thing, I have no idea if I can actually refine it.’
’I can only try.’
’Since the Turtle Shell isn’t reacting, it must mean there’s no danger.’
Lu Mingyuan enveloped the drop with his Primordial Qi and began to slowly absorb the violent power within the Ancient Demon Blood.
He quickly discovered something was wrong.
ROAR!
A malevolent impulse surged into his mind. The thought of wanton destruction was overwhelming, seeking to control his very consciousness.
Fortunately, a prompt appeared before his eyes in the next moment.
「Venerable Purple Fate Grid - Nine Orifices Exquisite, Refinement Level increased to 50%」
「Trait Unlocked: Blood Heart (Basic Level)」
「Blood Heart (Basic Level): The Life Master is highly resistant to fear and the corrupting influence of killing intent. Removes all fear from the heart and weakens the effect of oppressive auras.」
Almost instantly, the murderous thoughts in his mind vanished, and his Sea of Consciousness became clear.
The attempt to refine the Ancient Demon Blood had left Lu Mingyuan in a cold sweat.
However, the divine aura of the Ancient Demon Blood now hung in his Dantian like a brilliant star.
The bloody light emanating from the Demon Blood was filled with extremely fine threads, as if it contained something special.
Lu Mingyuan circulated the Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture. All one hundred thousand of his pores opened, and he began to absorb the power radiating from the Demon Blood.
The Ancient Demon Blood was the most difficult substance he had ever tried to refine.
A single drop took an incredibly long time.
GUSH.
As his blood completed a full, swift cycle, the thousands of Acupoints in his waist, abdomen, and arms all erupted with a crimson glow.
The light radiating from his back, chest, abdomen, and arms connected into a web, forming a rather bizarre pattern.
This directly pushed his Realm to the Mid-Stage Peak of the Dragon Gate Realm.
His entire body felt like a raging furnace. The immense power within had nowhere to go, running rampant and crashing through him. He felt stretched to his absolute limit, as if he were about to burst.
Under this immense pressure, new Flesh Body Acupoints actually began to split off and form.
However, as he circulated the Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture, the excess power was quickly stored away into more than ten thousand new Acupoints.
Moreover, the number of Acupoints continued to multiply at a shocking rate.
After opening hundreds of new Acupoints in his chest and abdomen, Lu Mingyuan had spent a total of Half an Hour in Refinement, directly elevating his Realm to the Late Stage Dragon Gate Realm!
「Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture - Divine Sensing Chapter (Tenth Floor: 600,000/1,000,000)」
A single drop of blood had given him 150,000 points, comparable to a Peak Nine Realm Great Demon!
At the same time, his left arm grew intensely hot, and a vivid, lifelike Qilin Pattern appeared!
"This is..."
Lu Mingyuan recognized what was happening.
He recalled the Taotie Pattern from his Dragon Transformation state. Including this new one, he now had two beast-shaped patterns on his body.
It was a chain reaction caused by the ferocity of the Ancient Demon Blood.
Lu Mingyuan sensed the bird egg in his Acupoints make a CRACK sound!
It sounded as if something was about to hatch!
...