BZZZT!
The air trembled, sending out ripples.
When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had changed dramatically.
Qin Xuan found that he was now standing on a massive, cyan-colored boulder.
Surrounding him was a boundless, crimson Blood Pool.
It was like a vast sheet of blood-red agate inlaid upon the dark Earth Veins—bewitching, sinister, and bubbling with blood. GURGLE. GURGLE.
’Is that Tang Tianhe?’
Qin Xuan’s eyes narrowed. He spotted a familiar figure on a boulder several hundred ters away.
But this Tang Tianhe was as thin as a bamboo pole, his excess fat completely gone. Instead, small, dark bumps were multiplying under his skin, writhing together in a dense, disgusting mass.
In the sa area, Qin Xuan also saw Hou Qi and more than a dozen other unfamiliar Demon Disciples at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.
Each of them stood on their own boulder, hesitating.
One Demon Disciple had clearly not been warned beforehand. He foolishly stepped off his boulder and tried to enter the Blood Pool to the east.
"AHH!"
The next mont, a blood-curdling scream erupted.
The thick, almost tangible aura of resentnt and fiendishness, along with the scarlet liquid, writhed and boiled like a living creature. It instantly devoured the Demon Disciple, sucking him dry until not even a speck of bone remained.
The faces of the surrounding Demon Disciples changed drastically, their hearts pounding with fear.
However, other Demon Disciples, who seed to have been instructed, cautiously walked westward. Their bodies slowly subrged into the Blood Pool, completely unhard.
Tang Tianhe was one of them.
He gritted his teeth, resolutely walked due west, and his figure gradually vanished into the Blood Pool. He had clearly decided to obtain the Burning Lamp Blood Talisman.
"Junior Brother Qin, you’re also participating in the Blood Pool Trial?" Hou Qi’s Cultivation was now also at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, exactly the sa as Qin Xuan’s.
Qin Xuan replied, "Greetings, Senior Brother Hou."
Hou Qi asked, "Which direction are you planning to go, Junior Brother Qin?"
Qin Xuan shook his head. "I haven’t decided yet. Do you have a recomndation, Senior Brother?"
"I feel a faint voice calling to from the north. Would you be interested in going with , Junior Brother?"
An extrely enthusiastic smile appeared on Hou Qi’s short, ugly face as he tried to invite Qin Xuan.
But Qin Xuan noticed an indescribable, profound aura now emanating from Hou Qi. The mont he got close, the illusory petals of the Nether Lotus Dharma Aspect in his sea of consciousness began to solidify.
’Could it be that he’s about to awaken his Innate Wisdom?’
A chill ran through Qin Xuan’s heart.
He imdiately realized the problem.
Of course. As the reincarnation of a Golden Core True Demon, Hou Qi must have left a contingency here.
The Blood Pool Sword Tomb was the burial ground for many Demons of the Blood Demon Sword Sect. If Qin Xuan were in his shoes, he would definitely have chosen to hide a part of his own legacy here too.
Qin Xuan recalled the contents of the Divination and imdiately refused.
’Like hell I’m going north with you.’
’You’re going to retrieve a treasure from your past life. If I go with you, it’ll be a death sentence.’
Failing to trick Qin Xuan, Hou Qi left with a look of regret.
Just then, a thread of blood suddenly appeared, and the Blood Pool began to change, boiling violently.
The sudden turn of events terrified the remaining Demon Disciples.
’Here it is! The blood thread has appeared!’
Qin Xuan acted decisively, stepping off the boulder and walking toward the eastern side of the Blood Pool.
His actions shocked the few Demon Disciples who were left.
One of them, a Demon Disciple nad Wang Feng, stared wide-eyed. "Is this guy suicidal? Soone already went east and vanished without a trace. The situation is unclear, yet he still dares to go?"
"He’s probably an idiot, likely tricked into coming here by an Instructor."
Wang Feng concluded.
The next mont, however, Wang Feng’s words ca back to bite him.
"How is that possible? He’s completely fine!"
Wang Feng’s jaw nearly dropped in shock.
The instant the blood thread appeared, Qin Xuan’s figure slowly sank into the Blood Pool.
Nothing happened.
Qin Xuan’s figure finally disappeared into the boiling Blood Pool.
"Could it be that the Instructor lied to ?"
Encouraged by Qin Xuan, Wang Feng stepped off his boulder, also intending to walk toward the eastern part of the Blood Pool.
But by now, the blood thread was gone.
The mont he stepped into the Blood Pool, an imnse suction force surged from the boiling scarlet liquid, draining all the blood from his body in an instant!
"AHH! Senior Brother, save !"
Wang Feng’s shrill, regretful scream echoed across the Blood Pool once more.
...
「anwhile, above June Valley.」
Several Inner Sect Foundation Establishnt Incense Masters, each holding a silver-white Lifebound Longsword, stood upon the void, their Demonic Qi raging.
The rough-featured Zheng Qi was among them.
However, Zheng Qi stood at the very edge, clearly the weakest and least influential among the Incense Masters.
A massive black-and-white ink Landscape Scroll slowly unfurled.
It was a still image of the mont Qin Xuan and the others had just entered. The Blood Pool churned, and the Demon Disciples sat cross-legged and motionless on their boulders.
"Everyone, the new Blood Pool Trial has begun. Who are you all placing your bets on?"
A handso young man spoke with a smile.
On the ink Landscape Scroll, a number representing a price hovered above the head of every Demon Disciple participating in the trial, including Tang Tianhe, Hou Qi, and Qin Xuan.
Tang Tianhe: 40/bet, Payout 1:10
Hou Qi: 35/bet, Payout 1:15
Wang Feng: 30/bet, Payout 1:23
Zhou Kai: 23/bet, Payout 1:25
Chen He: 21/bet, Payout 1:28
Qin Xuan: 10/bet, Payout 1:40
...
A series of numbers appeared on the Incense Masters’ Identity Tokens.
This was one of the financial gas offered by the Blood Loan Money Shop: investnt betting.
Every Demon Disciple in the Blood Pool Trial was now an investnt product for the Incense Masters to choose from. The higher a disciple’s chance of success, the lower the payout offered by the Blood Loan Money Shop.
Conversely, the lower the chance of success, the higher the payout.
The minimum investnt was one hundred bets.
The payout rates would also change in real-ti during the betting process, but just like with stocks, the rate you got when you placed your bet was locked in.
For so reason, Qin Xuan had the highest initial payout, seemingly the one least favored by the Blood Loan Money Shop.
"Senior Brother Ji, is there even a need to think? I’m still choosing Hou Qi. This is the third ti this humble servant has bet on him. I’ll wager 3,000 bets!"
A Female Cultivator in a purple dress with a graceful figure and a gorgeous face giggled, covering her mouth. Her every frown and smile exuded charm.
A ray of blood-red light shot into the Landscape Scroll.
The number above Hou Qi’s head instantly jumped to 38/bet, and his payout dropped to 1:12.
Three thousand bets was over one hundred thousand Contribution Points. A pitiful Low-Level Qi Cultivation Demon Disciple might have to risk their life for a hundred or so Contribution Points, yet to a Foundation Establishnt Incense Master, it was less than pocket change.
After Su i, many other Incense Masters followed suit and placed their bets.
"I think that kid with the surna Tang isn’t bad. His Poisonous Insects aren’t exactly high-class, but they’re a decent trick. I’ll bet 2,000."
A child’s voice let out a strange, cackling laugh.
The next mont, two rays of blood-red light shot into the Landscape Scroll.
The number above Tang Tianhe’s head also changed.
With each injection of blood-red light, the expression of the corresponding figure in the Landscape Scroll beca more vivid, and their colors grew more vibrant.
Following the voice, one would see that the person who bet on Tang Tianhe was the Evil Spirit Child, who appeared to be seven or eight years old. With red lips, white teeth, and his hair in a bun, he looked as cute as a porcelain doll.
But his eyes were as black as ink, with only a ghastly white dot in the very center, making for an extrely unsettling sight.
The Evil Spirit Child cackled. "Plague Bone, you old coot, what do you think?"
The Plague Gu Daoist was an Incense Master from the Inner Sect’s Plague Poison Altar. He was tall, thin, and stooped, like a tall bamboo pole, and wore a loose-fitting black robe.
"Wang Feng, Zhou Kai, Chen He. 1,000 bets on each." The Plague Gu Daoist was clearly a cautious Demon Cultivator. Shrouded in the shadow of his black robe, the only visible parts of him were two faintly glowing green eyes.
Three rays of blood-red light shot forth.
The Plague Gu Daoist’s bet caused the prices for Wang Feng and the other two to each rise by a point, while their payouts dropped slightly.
"Plague Bone, you’re as stingy as ever. No wonder you’ve been stuck at the Second-Layer Foundation Establishnt. I’ve changed my mind. I’ll also bet on Wang Feng, Zhou Kai, and Chen He—3,000 bets each!"
The Evil Spirit Child’s eyes darted around, as if he had been planning to follow the Plague Gu Daoist’s lead all along.
Two hundred forty thousand Contribution Points were tossed out so casually.
Three rays of blood-red light shot into the Landscape Scroll. The betting prices for Zhou Kai and the others instantly surged by ten points, and their payouts dropped by ten points as well.
After placing his bets, the Evil Spirit Child turned to the young man beside him and snickered. "Senior Brother Ji, what about you?"
Senior Brother Ji said calmly, "Qin Xuan. Twenty thousand bets."
BOOM!
Two hundred rays of blood-red light flooded into the Landscape Scroll. Qin Xuan’s price instantly skyrocketed, and his payout was dragged down to its lowest possible value.
Qin Xuan: 110/bet, Payout 1:1.00001
Su i’er’s lovely mouth fell open in shock. "Senior Brother Ji, why would you choose him? Qin Xuan clearly has the lowest chance of success!"
Twenty thousand bets was two hundred thousand Contribution Points.
Because of Senior Brother Ji’s massive wager, Qin Xuan’s payout had been driven to a rate infinitesimally close to one-to-one, making it impossible for other Incense Masters to profit by betting on him.
The Evil Spirit Child flew into a rage. "Little Zheng Zi, you son of a bitch, get over here! You’re the most familiar with the Demon Disciples in this Blood Pool Trial. Didn’t you tell not to pick Qin Xuan? Explain yourself!"
"If you don’t give a perfect explanation, I’ll skin you alive and feed you to the dogs!"
Incense Master Zheng Qi, who had been treated as if he were invisible until now, trembled in fear and forced himself to step forward.
If Zhao Youliang and the others were here, they would have found it impossible to reconcile the once high-and-mighty Incense Master Zheng from the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion with the terrified Zheng Qi who now stood silent with fear.
"Senior Brother Ji, please reconsider! This Qin Xuan has been marked by the Outer Sect Instructor Li Cang as a vessel for possession. He must have already set up a Soul Stealing Secret Technique. That’s why the Blood Loan Money Shop gave him the highest payout. The betting isn’t closed yet. This humble one advises you to withdraw your bet imdiately."
Zheng Qi said, his voice trembling.
"Li Cang? I rember that old codger. Back in the day, he and Sun Yuan competed against for the position of Incense Master. He couldn’t last a single round against , but he had a few tricks up his sleeve."
The Evil Spirit Child, who had been furious just a second ago, burst out cackling again. "Senior Brother Ji, you’re going to lose your shirt this ti!"
"I’m adding ten tis leverage on my bets for Wang Feng and Zhou Kai!"
...
Within the Blood Pool, Ancient Swords Stood in Array.
Qin Xuan had no idea that at this very mont, he was being treated as an investnt product for people to bet on outside.
Demon Sect Ancient Swords of various shapes, all radiating sharp auras, stood silently suspended in the water. Their blades were sealed with several complex, blood-red runes.
So Demon Swords were mottled and rusted, as if bearing the vicissitudes of countless ages, sealed with several blood-red runes.
So Demon Swords had endured endless baptisms of Blood Fiend and now glinted with a Bloodthirsty, cold light... Others radiated a domineering and arrogant aura capable of overturning heaven and earth, as if about to break their seals and slaughter everything in existence!
Qin Xuan’s scalp tingled, and a tremor ran through him, originating from the depths of his soul.
’The souls of the dead claid by each of these Demon Swords must number in the millions!’
Qin Xuan saw the Demon Sword closest to him.
This Demon Sword had a very weak presence. Its entire body was wreathed in black qi, and its edge was coated in a scarlet, bloody light, making it look as bewitching and sinister as a viper flicking its tongue.
Carved onto its body were two words in ancient seal-script: [Breaking Gold].
A realization dawned on Qin Xuan.
This was the Breaking Gold Blood Talisman ntioned by his Golden Finger!
The pressure from the surrounding blood-red pool water was imnse, making him feel like he was stuck in a mire. Qin Xuan’s movents were slow and difficult.
BOOM!
The mont he touched the blade, the unknown Demon Sword let out a low hum.
Qin Xuan’s pupils shrank, and his entire body trembled.
The next mont.
An endless tide of sinister energy, like scorching magma suppressed beneath glacial ice—both cold and searing hot—madly invaded Qin Xuan’s Lifebound Longsword from the Demon Sword.
The last trace of steel-blue color vanished as the Lifebound Longsword transford completely into a coppery-bronze hue.
Rampant Demon Patterns spread across the Lifebound Copper Sword, slowly etching out a complex and ancient blood-red rune.
An arrogant, domineering Demon’s laughter instantly echoed in Qin Xuan’s mind.
"I am Giant Spirit, peerless in close combat! He who obtains my legacy shall wield this sharp sword and be invincible!"
The next mont, a stream of information flooded into Qin Xuan’s mind.
[Breaking Gold: A Blood Evil Level Sword Pattern. Wherever its Sword Qi passes, dark golden cracks appear. The sword’s edge can break any object and damage any weapon!]
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