Minghe Seizes the Magpie's Nest!

Minghe paused, his blood-red robes stirring though there was no wind.

A chill, foul yet vast and boundless aura from the depths of the Blood Sea faintly spread out, seeming to lower the temperature throughout the entire hall by several degrees.

"As I said before."

Minghe's voice carried a peculiar rhythm, like countless Vengeful Souls whispering in the depths of the Blood Sea.

"The foundation of my, Minghe's, Eternal and Undying existence lies in dividing myself into billions of incarnations and lodging all those billions of origins within the Blood Sea. So long as the Blood Sea does not dry up, I shall not die! This is the cornerstone of my Dao."

His gaze shifted to Lu Jun, seeming to pierce through flesh and stare directly at the Taotie-like origin deep within his soul.

"I believe the Sixth Prince wishes to embark upon the Path of Incarnating Billions, and Dao Friend Eastern Emperor specifically invited me here—the intention could not be clearer."

"You must wish to inquire into my method of incarnating billions, to use it as a reference."

Minghe changed the subject, his tone becoming exceptionally solemn, even carrying a faint note of warning.

"However! I must make this clear in advance: my method of incarnating billions is not a fundamental Great Dao of cultivation, but rather my innate divine ability!"

"It is a talent born from relying upon the Blood Sea, this one-of-a-kind place of origin, combined with the Characteristics of my own origin."

"Its method may differ at its very root from the path of 'One Attainment, Eternal Attainment' that you envision."

Tai Yi nodded. "I understand. But when it comes to incarnations, Dao Friend Minghe is the greatest from ancient times to the present."

"If my Nephew is to follow the path of incarnating billions, we can only seek Dao Friend Minghe's aid. We understand the dangers involved."

Only after receiving Tai Yi's assurance did Minghe nod in satisfaction.

He, Minghe, had always been cautious. With something this dangerous, he naturally had to explain matters clearly beforehand.

Blocking Hong Yun's soul had already been the riskiest thing he had ever done.

The facts had proven that taking risks truly was not worth it.

Not only had he failed to obtain the Primordial Violet Qi, he had also offended Zhen Yuanzi.

Now, he absolutely could not offend Tai Yi again.

"It is good that Dao Friend Tai Yi understands, but I must still explain this beforehand." Minghe continued to excuse himself.

"I cannot directly impart to you a supreme method capable of dividing into billions of independent Dao Seeds."

"I can only use my own insights to briefly describe how I fortuitously comprehended and refined these Blood God Son incarnations."

"Fortuitously?" Tai Yi and Zhen Yuanzi spoke almost in unison, their brows furrowing at the same time.

Given Minghe's status and the Blood God Sons' fearsome reputation, he actually used the words "fortuitously"?

"That's right—fortuitously!"

Minghe admitted it frankly. A trace of reminiscence flashed through his eyes, along with a faint, almost imperceptible self-mockery.

"You both know that my Blood Sea is the final gathering place of all that is most yin, most evil, most foul, and most defiled within the Great Desolation Heaven and Earth."

"So long as the Great Desolation remains undying and living beings continue to fight and slaughter one another, these yin, evil, resentful, and baleful things will flow in without end, pouring into the Blood Sea."

Tai Yi and Zhen Yuanzi instantly held their breath and focused their minds.

They knew that what came next would be Ancestor Minghe's core secret, one he had never spoken of to outsiders—a secret that even directly concerned the foundation of his existence!

That Minghe was willing to reveal it now showed that his hopes for the path of "One Attainment, Eternal Attainment" had already outweighed his instinct to safeguard his own secrets!

Minghe's voice deepened, as though he were uncovering a truth buried beneath the dust of countless ages.

"In the early days after Pangu's Creation of Heaven, the Blood Sea had yet to become the vast ocean it is today. It was merely a 'blood lake.'"

"After Cataclysmic Tribulation upon Cataclysmic Tribulation, it became a convergence of the tainted blood and resentment left behind by immeasurable living beings who perished in grievance, their True Spirits extinguished."

"On one occasion, after the blood lake absorbed a great quantity of newly formed tainted blood, I attempted to control it."

"But I discovered that these newly gathered things—most yin, most evil, most foul, and most defiled—were, at the depths of their origins, beyond my control!"

"Beyond your control?" Zhen Yuanzi cried out in surprise. The Book of the Earth in his hand flashed violently.

Though Tai Yi said nothing, the pupils in those majestic, sun-like eyes abruptly constricted as well!

This completely overturned their understanding that the Blood Sea and Minghe existed as one, symbiotically intertwined!

So the original Blood Sea had not belonged wholly to him?

Minghe nodded heavily, confirming their shock. "Yes, beyond my control!"

"At that time, I was merely a living being birthed from the first blood lake. What I could control was only the blood lake itself."

"The newly arrived tainted blood was like ownerless power brimming with poison and malice, entrenched within my home."

"It was utterly incompatible with me, and even faintly showed signs of backlash, of Contamination to my origin! It made me feel an unprecedented crisis."

"If I allowed this ownerless tainted blood to grow unchecked, then one day, I, the 'Lord of the Blood Lake,' feared I would have my magpie's nest seized by a dove—or be completely assimilated by the boundless resentment and balefulness within it, losing myself!"

A trace of resolve entered his voice. "Therefore, I had to find a way to seize this entire lake of tainted blood that was still growing!"

"So that all who came after, no matter how foul or bizarrely evil, would have to bear the mark of Minghe and remain under my control!"

"That was the beginning of my attempts, and the beginning of everything."

Minghe's voice carried the weight of destiny.

"Perhaps it was ordained by heaven, perhaps a fortuitous coincidence, or perhaps a flash of Spiritual Light that burst forth from a Dead End amid those endless attempts and struggles."

"During one exceptionally perilous experiment, when I tried to forcibly fuse with fresh tainted blood, my origin... split apart!"

"I forcibly tore away a portion of my own origin."

"Bearing the mark of my 'existence,' it was cast like a seed into that newly formed, ownerless tainted blood!"

The bloodlight in Minghe's eyes surged wildly, as though that heart-stopping scene had reappeared before him.

"It was an indescribable pain, like severing one's own soul! But it succeeded!"

"That tainted blood, once unruly and filled with rejection, actually calmed down after absorbing this strand of my split origin."

"Like an extension of my limbs, it began to accept my will!"

"From then on, I understood that the only way to control the entire Blood Sea was to keep splitting my own origin."

"Using it as 'seeds,' planting it within every drop of newly converged tainted blood, completely transforming it into a part of 'me'!"

"The more tainted blood converged, the more I split, and the more marks I imprinted!"

"Later, Cataclysmic Tribulations came one after another, and tainted blood was without end... so too were my divisions."

"From one strand, ten strands, a hundred strands at first... to later, splitting my origin and refining Blood God Sons had practically become my instinct."

Minghe's voice carried a cold, immense pride.

"Now that the Blood Lake has grown into the vast Blood Sea it is today, I have divided into Four Hundred and Eighty Million Blood God Sons incarnations!"

"At the core of every drop of tainted blood rests a mark of my origin! The Blood Sea is me, and I am the Blood Sea!"

The instant Minghe's words fell, the entire hall sank into dead silence; one could hear a needle drop!

The light of the Book of the Earth in Zhen Yuanzi's hand froze completely, and even its pages seemed to have stopped turning.

The habitual gentleness and composure on his face vanished utterly, leaving only shock!

Though Tai Yi remained seated, the void behind him trembled faintly, revealing the towering waves raging within his heart.

So there was such a secret between Minghe and the Blood Sea?

No wonder he had said before that this was merely his innate divine ability!

This was fundamentally an irreplicable path of survival, one unique to the master of the Blood Sea!

Lu Jun, at the side, looked thoughtful.

"So that's how it is. Then Mosquito Daoist's appearance makes sense!"