As night deepened, the room at Listening Tide Pavilion Inn remained brightly lit.
Tang San placed the Crystal Box containing the seed on the table in the center of the room, then sat cross-legged before it with a solemn expression, as though conducting a sacred ritual.
Xiao Wu put away her usual playfulness as well and sat quietly to one side, propping her chin on her hands as she watched with nervous curiosity.
"First, I'll try the oldest method—Bloodline Resonance," Tang San murmured to himself.
He extended his right index finger and circulated the Mysterious Jade Hand, forcing a drop of crimson blood from his fingertip.
This drop was no ordinary blood. It contained the aura of the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline and glimmered with an exceedingly faint Amber Blue Gold radiance.
Carefully, he let the drop fall onto the surface of the withered yellow seed.
The blood slowly rolled along the spiral pattern on the seed's surface, yet it could not seep in at all, like mercury falling onto a lotus leaf.
That invisible Life Divine Mark seal did not merely block energy; it seemed to block matter as well.
The drop finally slid off, leaving a tiny red spot on the tabletop, while the seed remained withered and yellow, completely unchanged.
"No. Physical contact, including blood, is completely blocked." Tang San was not discouraged. He had expected this result.
If something as simple as recognizing a master through blood could establish contact, this seed would never have ended up at an auction house.
"Next, I'll try soul power." Tang San closed his eyes, and a faint glow flickered at the center of his forehead.
He focused his Spiritual Power to the utmost. Though the Purple Demon Eye at the Mustard Seed Realm was not fully activated, his formidable