Bai Ji

According to the records of the Blood Fusion Art, this was an exceptionally precious auxiliary material. Once used, it could replace one's heart and grant abilities beyond those of ordinary people.

Its refinement was also exceedingly complex. It required nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people of pure yang, along with nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people of extreme yin. Their blood had to be fused together, then refined with negative emotions such as despair and rage.

Once successful, it was said that the heart would never die and the fleshly body would never perish.

Of course, this Blood Bodhi before them was the bargain-bin version. Its abilities were probably not even one percent of the genuine article's.

Even so, it had required the sacrifice of the entire Deng Family, dozens of martial artists, and Deng Lun as the final main ingredient before it could fully mature!

"Brother Ling, that kid just died like that?" Watching Deng Lun turn into a puddle of blood on the spot, Zhang Mu was utterly dumbfounded.

Ling Yun ignored him, calmly walking toward the Blood Bodhi. He did not stop until he was several meters away.

This distance was already within the Blood Bodhi's sphere of influence.

From Ling Yun's perspective, the Blood Bodhi now seemed like the most perfect thing in the world. Even with his current strength, he found it difficult to steady his mind and wanted to swallow it regardless of the cost.

As for Zhang Mu beside him, there was even less need to mention him. His consciousness had been completely drawn in by the Blood Bodhi, and his body moved forward of its own accord.

"Hehehe... hehehe... It's mine... It's all mine..."

However, when Deng Lun passed Ling Yun, he seemed to sense something and jolted awake with a shudder.

Seeing the expressionless Ling Yun beside him, he immediately retreated several steps without hesitation.

He was a smart man. He knew there were things he could not touch and should not desire.

Naturally, Ling Yun had no idea what this fellow was thinking. Of course, even if he did, he would not have cared.

He borrowed a scrap of cloth from a corpse nearby and stepped forward, wrapping up the entire Blood Bodhi.

Looking at the Blood Bodhi wrapped in the scrap of cloth, Ling Yun felt somewhat troubled, unsure how to deal with it.

The heart was the source of strength.

For martial artists, it was all the more the top priority.

Although this thing had powerful effects and could indeed raise one's strength at a tremendous speed in a short time, its drawbacks were equally obvious.

This kind of enhancement had its limits. Once that point was reached, it would be nearly hopeless to improve any further.

Moreover, once it was consumed, one would have to rely on drinking vast amounts of blood every day to suppress its evil nature. Otherwise, it would devour its owner in turn.

With the system by his side, he had no need for such things at all.

But taking it away was not feasible either. Once the Blood Bodhi matured, if it was not used within a day, it would wither away directly.

Perhaps this was what they meant by something tasteless to eat, yet too precious to discard.

But compared to the Blood Bodhi, there was something more important that needed handling right now.

Ling Yun swept his gaze around and spoke in an icy voice.

"Your Excellency has watched from the sidelines for so long. Isn't it time you showed yourself?"

When he had fought Situ Ying, he had already sensed a deeply concealed gaze lurking in the shadows.

But because the distance had been too great and the other party's concealment methods were exceptionally clever, he had never been able to determine their location.

Yet at one particular moment, the other party's emotions seemed to fluctuate intensely, directly exposing their position.

Deng Lun was also stunned by Ling Yun's sudden words. He looked around in suspicion, but found no suspicious traces at all.

Just as he was about to ask, a wavering woman's laughter suddenly rang out from every corner of the cave.

"Hehehe... hehehe..."

Under the two men's gazes, a beautiful woman in white slowly materialized from illusion into reality atop a stone pillar not far away.

The woman was tall and had a head of snow-white hair that reached her waist.

Under the swaying firelight, the body beneath her white clothes appeared and disappeared faintly, enough to make one's blood surge.

Looking at the seductive woman before him, Ling Yun's eyes flashed with gravity, unlike Zhang Mu, whose face was full of lecherous infatuation.

"An evil spirit?"

That was right. In his perception, although this mysterious woman resembled a human in appearance, her aura was chaotic and brimming with malice, no different from the bizarre creatures he had encountered before!

Zhang Mu was startled as well. He could scarcely believe that such a beautiful woman was actually one of those terrifying monsters.

At that moment, the woman happened to turn and meet his eyes. Zhang Mu's entire body went cold. As though he had encountered snakes and scorpions, he quickly looked away and dared not look at her again.

"Hehehe... Look at everything around you. Whether evil spirits or humans, what difference is there?" Watching their reactions, the woman covered her mouth and chuckled, sounding rather dismissive.

Ling Yun glanced over the countless corpses around them without the slightest reaction. "If you only came to spout this nonsense, then get over here and die!"

Hearing Ling Yun's utterly impolite words, the woman's expression stiffened and her eyes turned cold.

"Come to think of it, you should have been badly injured when dealing with that old fellow earlier, right? How much strength do you have left now?"

Ling Yun's gaze was cold and indifferent. He did not answer.

But the aura around his body surged explosively, like a fierce tiger!

The two locked eyes, and the atmosphere instantly congealed.

Watching from the side, Zhang Mu inwardly groaned in misery. Before he could slip away, the two confronting sides nearly vanished from their spots at the same moment!

Bang!

Like a volcanic eruption, two blurred figures slammed viciously into each other!

With the two of them as the center, terrifying wind pressure instantly spread in all directions.

Zhang Mu had not even run more than a few steps before a flying stone smashed heavily into the back of his head. He only had time to let out a miserable scream before fainting on the spot.

Neither combatant paused in the slightest. In only a few seconds, they had already exchanged dozens of moves.

At last, the evil spirit woman seized an opening and fiercely planted a palm on Ling Yun's chest, sending him flying away.

Crash.

Ling Yun sprang out from the rubble, his gaze sharp and cold.

A small, jet-black palm print still remained on his chest. Wisps of black qi seeped out from it, seeming to burrow into his flesh and blood like a living thing!

Ling Yun casually wiped at it with force, roughly tearing away his tattered clothes and revealing muscles like cast bronze beneath.

The next instant, his blood and qi burst forth. The black palm print twisted for a moment before dissipating in an instant.

Watching this scene from midair, the evil spirit woman's eye twitched slightly. She began to wonder whether this guy was even human anymore!

Where Ling Yun could not see, her hands were trembling faintly. Clearly, she had not emerged from the previous collision as easily as she appeared to have.

Seeing Ling Yun's aura grow ever stronger, the evil spirit woman suddenly withdrew her own aura and forced a smile onto her face once more.

"Hehehe, I was merely joking just now. Why must Young Master take it so seriously?"

"My name is Bai Ji. I actually came this time to discuss a business deal with Young Master."

"A business deal? Interesting. Let me beat you half to death first, then we can talk!" Baleful Intent filled Ling Yun's eyes as he shot into the air like a cannonball.

Boom!

Bai Ji failed to dodge in time, and she had never expected Ling Yun to attack so suddenly. His fist struck her directly in the chest, smashing her heavily toward the ground.

"Human! Do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"

Within the smoke and dust, the pile of rubble suddenly exploded, and a figure shot out.

The evil spirit woman's chest had caved in, and madness filled her face as she completely flew into a rage.

"Come on!" Ling Yun was utterly fearless. He used his palm as a blade, its might tyrannical and terrifying.

Rumble!

At the center of the cave, the two figures became entangled, each collision erupting with terrifying force.

The power trembled, accompanied by thunderous roars, and the entire underground cavern began to shake violently.

The more Bai Ji fought, the more alarmed she became. Ling Yun's momentum was growing increasingly fierce, his attacks becoming faster and faster, like an ancient ferocious beast that knew no exhaustion.

Though unwilling, Bai Ji could not help cursing inwardly: Just who is the evil spirit here?!

After exchanging another palm strike and barely forcing Ling Yun back, Bai Ji suddenly swayed and drifted backward.

"No more, no more. Young Master, I truly wish to make a deal with you this time."

As Bai Ji stopped fighting once again, the cave finally returned to silence.

Ling Yun stood where he was and exhaled a mouthful of hot air, his eyes flashing like lightning.

His body was covered in wounds of varying sizes. The smallest were no thicker than strands of hair, and it was unknown what had caused them.

Bai Ji in the air was not much better off. Her earlier grace and composure were gone, more than half of her white clothing was torn away to reveal her snow-white skin, and for some reason, a huge shoeprint had appeared on her face!

Now that the two sides had ceased fighting and faced each other, each held a measure of wariness in their eyes.

After a moment of silence, Bai Ji rubbed her somewhat swollen cheek and spoke again. "Young Master, if we continue fighting, it will only end with both sides wounded. Why not stop here?"

"I sincerely wish to trade with Young Master. Please consider it carefully."