Chapter 92 - Parting Ways!

Sun Hao’s words were filled with determination. Leng Yan observed his expression and it didn’t seem like he was lying. It appeared that the blood seal orb truly didn’t contain the method for the blood seal cultivation. It was likely that Sun Hao had learned the blood seal in the so-called immortal’s abode.

Then this blood seal orb might just be the “key” to that immortal’s abode. Leng Yan closed his eyes slightly, his thoughts racing as he devised a plan.

“Do you think I can’t open the blood seal orb?” Leng Yan said coldly, his eyes still closed.

“Hmph, you can try. But I’ll remind you, this blood seal orb is essential for entering the immortal’s abode. You can break it, I don’t care, either way, it’s a death sentence for me!” Sun Hao was a clever person, but his flaw was his excessive greed. Whenever his greed surfaced, it overshadowed his wisdom; otherwise, he wouldn’t have fallen into Leng Yan’s grasp.

“I suppose you don’t know what kind of Barbarian Tribe magical treasure I possess?” Leng Yan took out the spirit-fixing needle and played with it between his fingers.

Upon seeing the pitch-black needle adorned with Barbarian Tribe runes in Leng Yan’s hand, Sun Hao’s face turned ashen.

He recognized this item. Years ago, when he had mistakenly entered that immortal’s abode, he had seen an introduction to this item on the walls.

“The spirit-fixing needle! How did you get that?” Sun Hao exclaimed in surprise.

Leng Yan chuckled slyly and said, “Since you recognize it, I don’t need to explain its function, do I? I want to see if the blood seal orb, without the support of your soul, can resist my spiritual awareness!”

Leng Yan’s expression turned icy as he thrust the spirit-fixing needle toward the blood seal orb with force.

“Let’s see if the spirit-fixing needle can pierce through the blood seal orb first! Hehe…” Sun Hao spoke confidently.

Ignoring Sun Hao’s words, Leng Yan was determined to give it a try. If it proved impossible, he would have to end Sun Hao’s life swiftly.

Under Leng Yan’s control, the spirit-fixing needle gradually approached the blood seal orb. As the two neared each other, they seemed to form a connection. The needle began to change from black to red, and its red glow started to spread.

This was just the beginning. When the spirit-fixing needle reached the blood seal orb, the orb began to resist. Leng Yan could feel that the needle was meeting an obstruction and couldn’t move further.

Just when Leng Yan thought he was about to fail, the runes on the spirit-fixing needle suddenly began to dance. Countless blood-red runes circled around the blood seal orb and then started to be absorbed by it.

The runes of the blood seal were absorbed into the blood seal orb, beginning to assimilate with it. Leng Yan felt the spirit-fixing needle starting to disintegrate. He thought to himself, “This is bad!”

Now, the spirit-fixing needle was out of Leng Yan’s control. Everything was happening independently, and though Leng Yan wanted to stop it, he was powerless.

If he couldn’t open the blood seal orb and the spirit-fixing needle continued to disintegrate, losing all its runes and thus its function, Leng Yan would have lost both his valuable asset and his troops.

Sun Hao was equally tense; such a turn of events was also beyond his expectations, and all he could do now was pray that the blood seal orb would not be opened.

Those few minutes felt like years for the two of them-one concerned about his magical treasure, and the other frightened of being tormented.

Suddenly, Leng Yan’s spiritual awareness felt something again, but his imprint was no longer on the spirit-fixing needle; it had transferred to the blood seal orb. Meanwhile, Sun Hao felt his imprint of spiritual awareness disappear without a trace!

“How could this happen!” Sun Hao exclaimed in disbelief.

Leng Yan coldly said, “Now, you’re really caught in your own trap!”

His spiritual awareness, sharp as a sword, pierced into Sun Hao’s soul. Forcibly browsing through Sun Hao’s memories, Sun Hao screamed in agony, while Leng Yan showed no mercy. For an enemy, one must be ruthless!

Scene by scene, Leng Yan watched Sun Hao’s memories. After a while, Leng Yan withdrew his spiritual awareness, a hint of joy and a trace of confusion on his face.

He was pleased because Sun Hao’s memories indeed contained the cultivation technique of the blood seal, although it was incomplete. He was puzzled because the spirit-fixing needle, made by Mo Sang, had somehow merged with the mysterious blood seal orb of the immortal’s abode.

“Your value is now gone. Next, you will enjoy your time inside this blood seal orb until you are utterly annihilated!” Leng Yan watched the agonized Sun Hao, a smile on his lips. A crimson flame ignited within the blood seal orb, and with Sun Hao no longer the master of the orb, escape was impossible!

The burning crimson flames caused Sun Hao to scream and writhe in agony. Leng Yan couldn’t be bothered to watch his suffering and with a wave of his hand, he put away the blood seal orb along with the spirit-fixing needle. He planned to find a way to reforge the needle later, as it held significant value for him.

After consuming a few primordial spirit elixirs to adjust his condition, he collected Sun Hao’s storage bag, which contained considerable wealth, including several treasure tools and magical treasures. He pushed aside his lingering doubts and headed towards the Volcano.

“Are you alright?” Dongfang Caiyun’s voice, which seemed cold, was filled with concern as she watched Leng Yan return.

Dongfang Caiyun had been suppressing her feelings for Leng Yan, but she found that the more she did so, the more she cared about him. During the short time Leng Yan was away, she couldn’t help but worry for him constantly. Despite her reminders to stay detached, love was elusive and unpredictable.

“I’m fine. It’s safe outside now, you can leave. Be careful,” Leng Yan replied, feeling a tinge of bitterness inside, unsure if it stemmed from the impending separation or guilt for deliberately avoiding his emotions.

Leng Yan was sure that his choice was correct; he only loved Shui Yunyao. He believed that he shouldn’t have any other feelings for Dongfang Caiyun. Maintaining distance was the best solution.

“Alright, goodbye then!” Dongfang Caiyun turned decisively, her eyes slightly wet, and stepped onto her flying sword, heading out of the Volcano.

Watching Dongfang Caiyun’s beautiful silhouette fade into the distance, Leng Yan could only shake his head slightly. He sensed the sadness emanating from her, but he believed this was the best resolution.

He used his spiritual awareness to clear a path for Dongfang Caiyun and only withdrew it once she was far away. He then directed the nine queen bees to spread out and guard him.

Originally, Leng Yan had intended to go to Thunder Marsh to absorb the power of lightning and condense his essence. However, he decided first to practice the incomplete blood seal technique. Enhancing his strength would increase his safety.

The foundation of blood seal cultivation involves constructing an altar within the sea of consciousness, which is why many Barbarian Tribe magical techniques often feature an altar.

The construction of the altar required the extraction of essence energy from Leng Yan’s essence blood. Sitting cross-legged, he drew the red essence energy from his essence blood, allowing it to converge in his sea of consciousness.

Leng Yan then followed a cultivation technique to begin building the altar. While constructing the altar itself wasn’t particularly difficult, engraving it with numerous blood seals was challenging. Fortunately, Leng Yan was well-versed in blood seals, which made the process relatively straightforward. Even so, building the altar took three days.

Upon the altar’s completion, Leng Yan felt a faint connection to a distant place.

Sun Hao only knew how to construct the altar; the rest involved various incantations for offering life force in exchange for power.

Life force had to be drawn from humans, animals, or plants. Luckily, Sun Hao’s storage bag contained some remaining life force, enough for a single offering by Leng Yan. Fortunately, Sun Hao hadn’t expended all the life force; otherwise, he might have advanced to the golden core realm. At that point, Leng Yan would have no choice but to activate the immortal land and escape.

…

Elsewhere, while it was a sunny day, above Thunder Marsh, the sky was shrouded in dark clouds. Bolts of electric snakes shot down from the clouds, crackling in the marsh.

Leng Yan stood at the edge of Thunder Marsh, the lightning essence in his sea of consciousness resonating with the lightning in the sky.

With a step into Thunder Marsh, a finger-thick bolt of lightning struck down on Leng Yan’s head.

For an ordinary unification realm cultivator, such a strike would likely be devastating. However, Leng Yan, possessing the lightning essence, felt only a tingling sensation spreading throughout his body.

This tingling sensation was not painful; rather, it was invigorating.

Step by step, Leng Yan moved deeper into the marsh. The deeper he went, the denser the lightning became. Gradually, he found himself engulfed in a sea of lightning, surrounded by surging electric snakes, as if he were in a domain of thunder.

Even though Leng Yan had the lightning essence, he slowly began to struggle with the intensity of the lightning, as a burning sensation spread across his skin.

“I can’t go any further; otherwise, I’ll injure myself. I’ll cultivate here for now and move forward once the essence has advanced,” Leng Yan decided. Watching the enormous crater in the distance, surrounded by blue electric snakes, he seemed akin to a thunder god from afar.

Sitting cross-legged, the lightning essence transformed into a sphere of electricity above his head, absorbing the dense power of the lightning.

As the lightning essence rotated, electric snakes within a hundred meters began converging toward Leng Yan’s head.