The Bloodline Power Left Behind by a Half-Saint?

"The Blood Exchange process carries some risks. You must be careful in every way."

Ling You still couldn't help reminding him.

"Please rest assured, Teacher. I'll be back in a moment."

Ling Xi bowed slightly to Ling You, then wasted no time. With a flash, he had already stripped off all his clothes.

"Splash!"

The next moment, Ling Xi's body dropped into the great cauldron with a somewhat muffled sound.

The instant Ling Xi entered the cauldron, the bright red liquid inside began to churn violently.

Threads of Bloodline Power poured into every pore on Ling Xi's body, as if mercury were flowing over the ground.

"Hiss..."

A bone-deep, intense itch accompanied by sharp pain made Ling Xi suck in a breath. His face even turned pale.

"The so-called Blood Exchange is the process of washing away the useless blood of a Descendant Citizen from your body, then infusing you with our clan's Bloodline Power."

Seeing the pain on Ling Xi's face, Ling You couldn't help reminding him.

Ling Xi gritted his teeth and gave a slight nod.

Having swallowed the Mysterious Origin Saint Sculpting Pill, Ling Xi had once endured the pain of body tempering, so he had developed some resistance to this kind of suffering.

But the problem was that the Blood Exchange process involved more than pain.

What was harder to endure was the piercing, bone-deep itch, as if tens of thousands of ants were constantly gnawing at Ling Xi's bones. It was truly unbearable.

And amid the sharp pain and itching, Ling Xi could also feel his blood draining away at an incredibly rapid rate.

As his blood drained, an overwhelming sense of emptiness and a drowsiness that seemed to rise from the depths of his soul washed over him.

Even with Ling Xi's powerful soul at that moment, his head began to droop.

"You mustn't fall asleep!"

"If you do, the useless blood in your body won't be fully purged, and our clan's Bloodline Power won't be able to completely merge with you!"

Ling Yang's expression was exceptionally grave. His sharp shout rang beside Ling Xi's ear like a sudden revelation.

Ling Xi's body jolted, and the soul power that had begun to sink into silence was roused once more.

He lightly bit the tip of his tongue, steadied his breathing, and focused his mind, holding fast against the pain and itching.

"Blood Exchange techniques aren't uncommon among the other Ancient Races and Magical Beast clans. The most dangerous part is purging the useless blood from the body."

Seeing Ling Xi regain his senses, Ling Yang also let out a slight breath of relief.

"He's steadied his mind and stayed conscious. If nothing goes wrong, he should be able to make it through this stage."

After a pause, Ling Yang added with some emotion,

"But just the fact that he can steady his mind and remain conscious already puts your disciple ahead of most members of our clan."

Ling You said nothing, simply watching his disciple in the cauldron with a worried expression.

Blood Exchange required all the useless blood in the body to be expelled, so it naturally took quite some time.

In this cave, whose location was unknown, time flew by. Several dozen days passed in the blink of an eye.

Throughout those several dozen days, Ling Xi sat in the cauldron without moving a muscle.

But his once well-proportioned figure had become little more than skin and bones, and all color had drained from his face.

If not for his chest rising and falling faintly, anyone would have taken him for a corpse.

"That should do it... His Ling Clan Bloodline Power was simply too weak, or it wouldn't have come to this."

After inspecting Ling Xi's current condition, Ling Yang couldn't help saying.

"He's made it through the most dangerous part..."

Ling You relaxed a little at the sight, but before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred inside the cauldron.

"Heh heh, all those years of waiting weren't in vain. At last, I've found a promising junior."

The Ling Clan Bloodline Power inside the cauldron suddenly surged, and an aged voice rang through the cavernous cave.

Ling You and Ling Yang both changed expression at almost the same time.

The Bloodline Power inside the cauldron slowly rose into the air as if it had been roused. In the end, it transformed into a blood-red figure.

"A soul?"

Ling You gritted his teeth.

The Ling Clan had once been renowned across the entire continent for the strength of its soul power.

Even Ling You and Ling Xi had never seen anyone conceal a soul inside their Bloodline Power like this.

"I am Ling Huan Tian. You could say I'm your ancestor."

The blood-red figure's gaze fell on Ling Yang and Ling You, and his voice rang in both their ears.

"You two juniors aren't bad. Once I take over this body, I'll reward you handsomely."

"Ling Huan Tian... Are you the Ling Huan Tian who disappeared a thousand years ago?"

Ling Yang raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. A moment later, he asked in a low voice.

"Heh heh, I never thought anyone in this era would still recognize me."

The blood-red figure laughed heartily, sounding rather pleased with himself.

"You know him?"

Ling You's expression was frighteningly grim, but he still couldn't help asking Ling Yang.

"Mm. A thousand years ago, while the Eight Ancient Clans were fighting over the Tuoshe Ancient Jade, this fellow snuck into the ancestral hall. He supposedly stole one of our clan's treasures, then disappeared."

Ling Yang's expression was even grimmer than Ling You's.

"I remember now. It was him!"

Ling You abruptly looked toward the blood-red figure formed from Bloodline Power.

"Back then, all the clan's experts had gone out to fight for the Tuoshe Ancient Jade. That was how a One-Star Dou Saint like him managed to sneak into the ancestral hall!"

A One-Star Dou Saint!

He wasn't a Half-Saint, some half-baked practitioner, but a genuine Saint!

"We can't let him take over Ling Xi's body!"

In the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint, Ling Yang had made up his mind. With a sweep of his sleeve, a surging torrent of Dou Qi shot toward Ling Xi, who sat cross-legged inside the cauldron.

"How dare you, junior!"

Powerful soul force surged from the soul, directly forming a crimson barrier over the cauldron.

The torrent of Dou Qi Ling Yang had unleashed slammed into the soul barrier above the cauldron. The barrier trembled, but ultimately remained intact.

"If I hadn't lost so much of my power, I could kill you both with a backhanded slap!"

Ling Huan Tian's body, formed from Bloodline Power, flickered and grew indistinct. His voice turned somewhat flustered and exasperated.

"This fellow is only a soul lingering in the Bloodline Power. His soul is even incomplete!"

Ling Yang saw through Ling Huan Tian at a glance and immediately shouted to Ling You.

"You're an Eighth-grade Alchemist. Hurry and attack with me! We absolutely cannot let him take over Ling Xi's bo—!"

Before Ling Yang could finish, surging soul force burst from Ling You. It also took the form of a spirit, which slammed fiercely into the soul barrier Ling Huan Tian had set up.