Dead Blood and Living Blood

If I had known the Lighting Method consumed so much blood, I should have found a way to get more beforehand. It was too late now.

Watching the doors and windows shake more and more violently, Yang An had no choice but to grip his knife and retreat. He soon found himself backed into a corner with nowhere left to go.

The only exit from the room was the main door. With Demons and Devils clearly approaching from the front, he had no way to escape. He could only brace himself, hoping the Demons and Devils were timid and would be scared away before the blood in the bowl ran out.

Otherwise, he would have to try lighting the lamp with his own blood.

Buzz buzz buzz!

The wind grew louder, like something terrifying unseen was constantly battering the doors and windows.

Despite being mentally prepared, Yang An only had to wait less than two breaths before the window suddenly let out a dull thud and was blown open.

A fierce wind swept into the room, carrying a faint, foul stench. It instantly messed up Yang An's hair, made his clothes flap noisily, and even made it impossible for him to open his eyes.

But in this moment, Yang An's heart felt incredibly heavy.

His first thought was to check the Blood Bowl on the table. Under such violent winds, it definitely wouldn't stay lit.

As he had expected, the instant he forced his eyes open, the room plunged into darkness.

The lamp was out!

As the room fell into darkness, Yang An's heart sank to the bottom. Along with a strong sense of unease, his consciousness began to waver, like a rootless duckweed.

Without thinking, he made the most logical judgment. Gritting his teeth, he held the knife in his left hand and immediately slashed open his right palm.

The blade wasn't particularly sharp, but it easily cut a inch-long gash on his palm.

A stinging pain shot through his hand, followed by a sensation of something warm gushing from the wound.

Yang An didn't waste time. While chanting the incantation, he immediately formed hand seals.

He could normally cast the Lighting Method within two seconds. This time, it was incredibly fast, a huge improvement as danger loomed.

In less than a second, as he finished the hand seals, a fierce red light, about the size of a human head, suddenly appeared before Yang An.

The fiery light instantly illuminated the darkened room again, and at the same time, dispelled the strangeness in Yang An's heart and consciousness, making him completely sober.

He could clearly feel his blood rapidly draining, being quickly consumed by the red flame in his palm. A wave of weakness washed over him.

But the intense light brought Yang An an unparalleled sense of security.

And when the entire room was illuminated again, a single glance sent chills down Yang An's spine.

Four distorted figures had appeared in the room at some point. Though varying in height, build, and size, they all resembled the Demons and Devils from before in appearance and attire. Four pairs of empty eye sockets stared ferociously at Yang An. The closest Demon and Devil was less than a meter away.

One of the Demons and Devils had clear burn marks on its body. Chunks of black, charcoal-like rotten flesh had detached, leaving only a few connecting tissues. It was terrifying.

Yang An recognized it instantly as the Demon and Devil that had fled earlier. Judging by its appearance, the Lighting Method had indeed inflicted significant damage on it.

He hadn't expected this Demon and Devil to return and bring others with it.

These Demons and Devils clearly hadn't expected that even though the red light in the room had been extinguished by the wind they summoned, Yang An would directly ignite a flame in his hand, one even ten times more intense than the one in the bowl.

In just an instant, as these Demons and Devils were about to attack Yang An, the appearance of the flame caused them intense pain. A hint of human-like fear appeared on their faceless visages.

The first to be affected was the Demon and Devil closest to Yang An.

Yang An made no move, but because this Demon and Devil was so close, the flame in his hand flared up. The Demon and Devil immediately let out a shrill cry as its entire body, like a red-hot iron, ignited. Its hunched-over form instantly turned a translucent dark red.

The other Demons and Devils behind it also began to show patches of red on their bodies.

The scorching heat caused these Demons and Devils immense pain. Black smoke began to emanate from them, paralyzing them and forcing them to endure the burning heat.

Seeing this, Yang An's terrified heart faltered for a moment, then quickly reacted with immense joy.

"They can't withstand the flame ignited by my blood!"

He immediately understood the predicament of these Demons and Devils.

Even he hadn't expected the flame ignited by his own blood to be so powerful. It was vastly different from the flame ignited by the blood in the bowl.

Because Yang An hadn't tried using his own blood when practicing the Lighting Method, he was completely unaware of the difference in effect, nearly costing him his life.

Fortunately, it wasn't too late to find out now, and he could roughly guess why the difference was so significant.

The blood in the bowl came from the deceased, its blood almost coagulated.

The blood in his hand came from him, a living person; his blood was fresh and warm.

Clearly, only the blood of a living person could unleash the true power of the Lighting Method!

Having witnessed the Lighting Method's restraining and damaging capabilities against Demons and Devils, Yang An no longer felt intimidated and gained confidence.

He knew it was best to finish this quickly. Otherwise, the excessive consumption of blood would place a huge burden on him, potentially even endangering his life.

With that thought, Yang An gritted his teeth and extended his hand.

The flame, burning like a human head, like a bright red fireball, Yang An pressed his palm directly onto the Demon and Devil in front of him.

A piercing scream immediately rang in his ears. The Demon and Devil had no ability to resist. Its body, already burning red, instantly intensified.

At the same time, as the flame drew closer, the red patches on the other Demons and Devils also ignited, instantly covering their entire bodies.

These Demons and Devils were already very close to each other. Yang An closing the distance was no different from lighting a fuse.

Once any one of the Demons and Devils was ignited by the flame, the others couldn't escape. The already restless flames erupted uncontrollably.

A blazing red inferno erupted within the small house, so fierce that even the raging wind couldn't extinguish it. Instead, the flames fed on the wind, growing even more intense.

Followed by several screams, silence fell after just a breath.

The fire quickly dissipated, its light receding just as swiftly.

Inside the house, Yang An's flame had shrunk to the size of a fist.

The red light reflected off his face, slick with sweat, but more striking was a sickly pallor, a visible weakness.

In that instant, he felt as if he would collapse, utterly drained, his vision plunging into darkness, temporarily blinded.

He had just unleashed the full power of the flames in his hand to completely incinerate those few Demons and Devils, unaware that it would consume so much of his blood. In a single breath, he felt as though he'd been drained dry.

Consequently, he was extremely weak and dared not extinguish the flame in his hand.

He feared that if he let go of the fire, without the mind-clearing and spirit-calming effect of the Lighting Method to keep his mental state stimulated and alert, he might lose consciousness on the spot.

And if any more Demons and Devils appeared, it would be disastrous.

After waiting quietly for a while, until his vision gradually returned, Yang An forced himself to approach the table. He lit the wick made from hemp rope in the bowl. Seeing a thumb-sized flame reappear in the Blood Bowl, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and extinguished the fire in his hand.

Yang An leaned against the table leg and slowly sat down. He was now so weak he lacked the strength to even close the door.

Although his own condition was dire, at least his life was temporarily safe, and the outcome was satisfactory.

Four Demons and Devils – not a single one escaped, all perishing on the spot.

The figures of the Demons and Devils had completely vanished from the room, leaving only clumps of black ash, which slowly scattered like quicksand in the wind.