Chapter Nineteen: Value (Part 1)

In the core area of the Yin Clan City-State, the dark Heaven and Earth Tower stood majestically. The Blood Mist Barrier that enveloped the entire Yin Clan City-State only churned around the tower's waist. The Heaven and Earth Tower was the only building in the entire Yin Clan City-State exposed outside the Blood Mist Barrier; it was simply too tall!

Named "Heaven and Earth," this name alone revealed the fervent ambitions held by some of the elders of the Yin Clan.

The Heaven and Earth Tower was a colossal structure with a base edge of nearly a hundred meters and a height of almost a thousand meters. It resembled a stretched, stepped pyramid, entirely black, like a giant pillar planted firmly in the earth. This tower was the symbol of the Yin Clan and the primary residence of the Yin Clan elders.

At this moment, Yin Xuege stood squarely on the highest level of the Heaven and Earth Tower. The walls here were open, allowing the bright sunlight to stream in, offering a view of the mountain forests hundreds of miles away. Sunlight illuminated the area from all directions. The highest level of the Heaven and Earth Tower was not a place ordinary Yin Clan members could set foot.

Even the brothers Yin Jihuang and Yin Jiwu could not come here during the day. Firstly, their status was insufficient. As fourth-generation descendants of the Yin Clan, without a summons, they had no right to be here. Secondly, their strength was inadequate. With their power, being exposed to the sun here during the day would instantly turn them into a wisp of smoke.

After openly revealing his Sunwalker physique in front of thousands of clan members, Yin Xuege was immediately brought here by the family elders who had heard the news. Yin Xuege felt the resentful and uneasy gazes of Yin Xuejiao and the father-son duo Yin Jiwu, but he merely sneered inwardly!

As long as the elders of the family had even a single drop of brain matter left in their aged heads, they would absolutely not allow anyone else in the family to do anything to Yin Xuege! A Sunwalker was a legend among the Blood Demon race. Yin Xuege represented an incredibly glorious future for the Yin Clan!

Sunlight shone upon Yin Xuege. He stood with his hands clasped naturally over his abdomen. He stood there properly, without the slightest hint of unease or panic in his eyes or brows. He even found himself curiously appraising the nine large Golden Silk Nanmu sarcophagi placed on this level. These were nine enormous, exceptionally heavy sarcophagi, each exceeding ten meters in length.

These nine sarcophagi, with their distinct Eastern characteristics, were unadorned with any carvings. However, the natural grain of the Golden Silk Nanmu formed grand murals of swirling winds and surging waves. The nine sarcophagi rested there quietly, yet they seemed poised to take flight at any moment. Amidst their solemnity and majesty, there was an elusive dynamism.

Yin Xuege stared intently at the nine sarcophagi.

Among the pure-blooded Blood Demons of the West, elders like old Counts or seasoned Marquises and Dukes preferred to forge magnificent, intricately arrayed, and powerfully defensive coffins from precious materials. They would hide these coffins in their most secret lairs. When they could no longer bear the loneliness and boredom of their long lifespans, they would slumber within these coffins, taking a nap to refresh their spirits.

These coffins also served as fortresses for powerful Blood Demons to heal after suffering severe injuries. Especially in the ancient era, a magnificent and powerful coffin held extraordinary significance for a powerful Blood Demon.

Undoubtedly, the elders of the Yin Clan had also adopted the habits of the pure-blooded Western Blood Demons. They had forged these nine sarcophagi for their slumber. However, their origins were, after all, Eastern cultivators. The design of these sarcophagi was very Eastern, and they were all crafted according to the specifications of ancient Eastern imperial coffins.

"No pure-blooded Blood Demon powerhouse would place their slumbering coffin a thousand meters in the sky, exposed to the sun!" Yin Xuege shrugged his shoulders and muttered in a low voice, "If they did that, not only would they gain no benefit, but the sun's power would continuously weaken them and inflict immense pain!"

With a loud bang, the three-foot-thick lid of the central sarcophagus was blasted open with a single punch.

A faint scent of dragon's saliva incense wafted from the open coffin, accompanied by the crisp sound of countless pearls and fine jades colliding. A handsome young man, clad in a purple-gold robe adorned with nine five-clawed dragons, slowly stretched and stood up from the coffin.

This enormous sarcophagus was filled with countless luminous pearls and exquisite jades. As the young man stood up, large pearls and massive pieces of jade continuously cascaded from his body. These pearls and jades shimmered with radiance; each was a priceless treasure.

Yin Xuege bowed slightly to the young man, then fearlessly met his gaze, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

A faint layer of blood-red mist swirled around the young man. Sunlight shone upon this mist, reflecting a faint, seven-colored halo. The young man narrowed his eyes, yawned towards the sky, and then began muttering calculations, counting on his fingers.

"Slept for another eleven years! Such a boring and uninteresting life!" The young man's figure flickered, and he appeared before Yin Xuege out of thin air. With a wave of his arm, before Yin Xuege could even see his movement, a thin slit was cut into his face by the young man's sharp fingernails. A drop of Yin Xuege's blood flew out. The young man picked up this drop of viscous blood with his fingernail and casually smeared it into his mouth.

"Sweet blood of youth! Blood filled with masculine energy!" The young man's eyes widened in surprise. He extended his hands and vigorously ruffled Yin Xuege's long hair, messing it up completely. Suddenly, he grabbed Yin Xuege's ear and shook his head from side to side, lifting him to his face and examining him closely from all angles.

"It really is the Sunwalker physique! I never imagined my Yin Tianjue bloodline would be so excellent! Those damned bats have dreamed of Sunwalkers for countless years, and it actually appeared in the descendant of a 'half-breed bastard' like me. They'll be so angry they spit blood, won't they?"

Gently patting Yin Xuege's face, Yin Tianjue, the founder of the Yin Clan and its supreme Grand Elder, let out a sinister chuckle. His eyes darted rapidly, a cunning glint flashing within his crimson irises.

"If I recall correctly, you are the child of that girl Huangwu, aren't you? That girl was rebellious from a young age. As soon as she broke through to the Baron realm, she dared to draw her sword against a family elder and almost castrated her grand-uncle. She was quite a troublesome girl!"

"My mother!" Yin Xuege vigorously shook his head, trying to break free from Yin Tianjue's rough handling.

But Yin Tianjue's palms seemed glued to Yin Xuege's head. No matter how he shook his head, his hands just held his hair, messing it up.

"Hmm, your mother!" Yin Tianjue narrowed his eyes, his smile becoming exceptionally sinister and eerie. "Yin Huangwu, since we established the Yin Clan's foundation, she is the most exceptionally talented descendant of our Yin Clan!"

Yin Xuejiao's arrogant and fierce face flashed before Yin Xuege's eyes. He immediately tried to correct Yin Tianjue's mistake: "Yin Xuejiao, the fifth-generation legitimate son of the Yin Clan. He broke through to become a Star Warrior at fourteen. Everyone says he is the most outstanding genius of the Yin Clan!"

Yin Tianjue's long, fair fingers firmly pinched Yin Xuege's left earlobe. He toyed with Yin Xuege's ear and sighed in a low voice, "Fourteen years old, you say? But your mother, Yin Huangwu, broke through to become a Star Warrior at nine, a Moon Warrior at eleven, and by fourteen, she already possessed the strength of the late stage of a Night Warrior. She became a Baron at twenty-three and a Viscount at thirty-five."

He let out a few mocking laughs and shook his head vigorously.

"Your mother, at the young age of fifty, already advanced to the rank of Count, becoming the youngest Count recorded among the Western Blood Demon race! Before your mother, the youngest Count in the Blood Demon race only achieved the breakthrough at the age of one hundred and seven. Your mother's talent is simply monstrous!"

Yin Xuege's long, slender sword eyebrows furrowed tightly. He tried to break free from Yin Tianjue's fingers, but after wasting considerable effort in vain, he could only sigh helplessly and silently. He looked at Yin Tianjue and said coldly, "I've never heard of this."

"Understandable!" Yin Tianjue let out another meaningful, mocking laugh. "Because your mother is a woman. In the purest and most traditional Blood Demon families, women can also hold great power and control the future of a family, as long as she possesses sufficient strength and means."

"But our Yin Clan comes from the East!" Yin Tianjue chuckled sinisterly. "A married daughter is like spilled water! How could those proud men allow a woman's brilliance to overshadow them? Therefore, after your mother married, all records of her vanished."

He flicked Yin Xuege's forehead with his finger and let out a soft hum.

"Including the few personal Blood Servants your mother left in the Yin Clan! After you were old enough to understand, you never saw them again, did you?"

Yin Xuege's body suddenly tensed. Blue veins bulged beneath his fair skin, and the sound of cracking joints emanated from within him. He looked coldly at Yin Tianjue and spoke each word with a chilling roar, "So, you know everything?"

Yin Tianjue finally released Yin Xuege. He shook his hands, then crossed them over his chest, looking down at him with a smiling gaze. Yin Xuege initially met Yin Tianjue's gaze fearlessly, but gradually, a scorching and violent aura began to surge from Yin Tianjue's crimson eyes, spreading out like a tidal wave. Yin Xuege felt his eyes swell and ache intermittently, until finally, his eyes burned with pain, and tears flowed uncontrollably, forcing him to turn his head towards the distant mountains.

"Yes, I know everything!" Yin Tianjue murmured to himself slowly.

"Even though I have been in slumber, nothing that happens within the Yin Clan City-State escapes my notice!"

******

Another new day. Everyone, please cast more recommendation votes for Pig Head!

Oink oink! (To be continued)