Chapter 1810: Dragon Blood Found

Earlier, Wu Hun had circled the Spirit Imperial Palace once, and the layout of the various halls was already etched in his memory. Before long, he arrived at the bedchamber.

He took out a token, gently swiped it, and the seal slowly opened. He stepped inside.

The Spirit Emperor's bedchamber was no different from the outside: a spacious courtyard with lush vegetation growing densely, and what met the eye was a medicinal garden filled with all kinds of rare herbs.

Extending his divine sense, he quietly surveyed the area. Zhang Xuan frowned.

The herbs in this garden numbered in the hundreds, each containing vigorous medicinal power, but there was no Dragon Scale Grass that Bo Xun Ancient Saint had mentioned.

Could it be that the dragon blood simply didn't exist?

Letting the Dragon Bone Spear, disguised as a belt, carefully sense where the dragon blood was, Zhang Xuan walked slowly along the path.

"Lan Ya, hurry up!"

As he was moving forward, probing the surroundings with his divine sense, a voice sounded. Turning his head, he saw an old man looking at him with a puzzled expression.

He appeared to be in his sixties, his eyes somewhat murky, and his aura seemed unremarkable, yet it still gave a sense of soul-crushing pressure.

"Ancient Saint Second Layer, the Hundred Schools of Thought realm?"

In an instant, he understood the other party's exact strength.

At the Confucian Temple, he had seen dozens of Ancient Saints, and in his ring were even several corpses of Heterodox Ancient Saints; he was already thoroughly familiar with their realms.

This old man before him, though unremarkable in appearance, had a cultivation even stronger than Lan Ya Ancient Saint.

"Yes!"

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. Zhang Xuan quickly nodded and hurried over.

Seeing his somewhat odd behavior, the old man frowned. After a careful look, confirming it was indeed Lan Ya Ancient Saint without mistake, he lowered his voice: "Today is the last day. We must not make any mistakes, or else we'll all lose our heads!"

"Mm."

Though he didn't know what the other meant, it was certainly not the time to ask. Responding, Zhang Xuan followed the old man into the hall.

The hall had no luminous pearls or candles for illumination, making it exceptionally dark. Once inside, it felt as if he had entered another world, with all surrounding aura completely isolated.

"Such a strong seal!"

Without changing his expression, Zhang Xuan quietly glanced around.

Truly the nest within the nest of the Spirit Emperor; talismans were inscribed everywhere, perfectly sealing the surroundings, as if the entire hall were cut off from the world.

If one did not enter through the main door, even a powerhouse at the Ancient Saint Third Layer, the Blood Rebirth realm, would probably be unable to spy on the true situation here.

In the center of the hall was a circular altar, atop which a ball of flame blazed fiercely. Around it sat a circle of Heterodox cultivators clad in black armor.

All were at the Great Saint level, over a hundred in number.

Zhang Xuan's brows twitched.

Although Great Saint-level powerhouses were not as rare as Ancient Saints, they were still peak existences. Of the 110,000 Heterodox he had killed, only a few dozen were of this level, yet here there were over a hundred...

Was the Spirit Emperor's foundation so deep?

"The spring water?" Seeing him standing there in a daze, the old man frowned: "Aren't you going to pour it quickly?"

"Here!"

Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and tossed the gourd to the old man.

"Why give it to me?"

Catching it, the old man was stunned.

"You pour it."

Zhang Xuan said.

Not knowing how to use the thing, if he poured it wrong, he would surely be exposed. Better to play the hands-off manager.

"The Spirit Emperor personally instructed that you do it. If I pour it, it won't be according to the rules."

The old man frowned.

"His Majesty won't mind..." Zhang Xuan said with a dry laugh.

Come on, if I knew how to pour it, would I need your nonsense?

"You..."

Hearing him say this, the old man was full of curiosity. Just as he was about to say something, he felt the ground tremble and the platform shake.

"No time..."

His face darkened. No longer bothering with the other, he pulled out the stopper of the gourd and gently shook it.

Whoosh!

The spring water inside flowed out, following the patterns on the altar to form a special design.

Rumble!

The flame above, upon contact with the water, immediately released astonishing heat and burned even more fiercely.

"Begin quickly!"

As the flame intensified, the patterns underwent dazzling changes. The old man called out in a low voice.

The Heterodox Great Saints around the altar all simultaneously cut their fingers and flicked drops of blood toward it.

Hum!

Upon contact with the blood, the flame burned even more violently, distorting the entire space.

Zhang Xuan then noticed that in the very center of the flame, a mass of bright red blood was being continuously burned, as if being refined by some special method.

This blood, about the size of a fist, emanated a force of unwillingness, roaring incessantly, like a dragon circling and lingering.

"Master, this is dragon blood... They are purifying dragon blood..."

His heart stirred, and an urgent telepathic message sounded in his ear.

The Dragon Bone Spear, now a belt, trembled with excitement.

"This is dragon blood?"

Zhang Xuan was shaken.

He had thought he would need to spend effort searching for it, but it had come without any effort.

However, with so many people surrounding it and it being in the very center of the altar, stealing it was nearly impossible.

"What are they doing?"

Having confirmed the dragon blood, Zhang Xuan was full of doubt.

Placing it on the altar and burning it with cultivators' blood and flame—what did they intend?

"It's our turn, Lan Ya. Hurry up..."

Just as he was wondering, the old man's voice sounded again. He quickly turned his head and saw the other flick a drop of his own essence blood toward the altar.

Knowing that hesitation would arouse suspicion, Zhang Xuan quickly took out a drop of blood and flicked it over.

Sizzle!

As soon as the altar devoured his blood, he felt as if he had been drained, his face turning pale. Turning to look, he saw the old man and the other Great Saint powerhouses also trembling, their losses immense.

"It doesn't just devour blood; it also devours one's essence, energy, and spirit through the blood?"

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

Now he finally understood why that Lan Ya Ancient Saint had been so easy to kill.

Having contributed only a single drop of blood, he already felt mentally fatigued and weakened. That fellow, having presided over this altar all along, constantly contributing essence blood, must have been utterly debilitated.

In such a state, encountering someone like him, whose own cultivation rivaled an Ancient Saint First Layer and who possessed a divine weapon of the same level, a sneak attack... naturally resulted in instant defeat, without even a chance to resist.

It wasn't that the other was too pathetic, but that he was too strong... Excellence, such as this, could not be concealed.

Roar!

After devouring his and the old man's essence blood, the dragon shape within the blood became clearer, its roar louder, as if it might break through the air at any moment.

"This is..."

Seeing the scene before him, the Dragon Bone Spear trembled immediately, its voice filled with excitement and surprise: "This isn't purifying dragon blood, but... using a special method to nourish the dragon blood, trying to elevate it to a higher level!"