In a daze, Luo Zhou felt a force condensing inside him, coming into being!
Essence, qi, spirit!
Essence entered his body, and his entire being silently evolved.
His flesh and bones, five senses and meridians, limbs and organs, spirit and soul—all were strengthened and improved, little by little, as essence flowed into him.
Qi entered his dantian, where strands of true qi appeared.
There were two kinds of true qi: Heavenly Erosion Qi and Earthly Corrosion Qi!
The Blood Parrot—one from heaven, one from earth!
He gained fifteen strands of each kind of true qi, for a total of thirty.
The true qi in Luo Zhou's dantian was:
Fifteen strands of Heavenly Erosion Qi, fifteen strands of Earthly Corrosion Qi, twelve strands of Heavy Water Qi, forty-five strands of Heavenly Water Qi, and twelve strands of Tidal Qi!
Heavenly Erosion Qi and Earthly Corrosion Qi had remarkably powerful properties, no weaker than Heavy Water Qi, Heavenly Water Qi, or Tidal Qi!
Altogether, he had ninety-nine strands of true qi!
Luo Zhou was only at the Body Tempering Realm. No matter how much true qi his dantian could hold, it couldn't exceed a hundred strands.
Otherwise, he would have had even more Heavenly Erosion Qi and Earthly Corrosion Qi.
Luo Zhou smacked his thigh. What a waste! He should have forged more Dragon-Slaying Thrusts to free up some space!
As for spirit, he had gained the Blood Parrot's and Fang Ningshuang's life experiences, cultivation insights, and special abilities.
But it was all a complete jumble, impossible to recall.
Only one set of memories was intact: those of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect, Zhu Mingyao, Duqiong Peak, and Immortal Nan Chun!
The Heaven and Earth Dao Sect was also called the Heaven and Earth Dao Gate!
It had five great main branches: Heaven, Earth, Gods, Ghosts, and Humans, beneath which were twelve sub-branches.
Among them were Zhu Mingyao, Sword Sinking...
Duqiong Peak was one of Zhu Mingyao's sub-branches. Its master was Immortal Nan Chun, who specialized in the Illusory World Pearl.
Whenever Immortal Nan Chun performed a spell, her magical power affected an area thirty-two li around her Golden Core domain, and countless strange things would appear.
They might be treasures, magical artifacts, evil fiends, demons and ghosts, or spirit beasts...
Anything that remained after the spell ended became part of reality!
These things had appeared from nothing, so they needed a real-world vessel to support them.
Each kind had its own way of being dealt with. Spirit beasts, for example, required an outer disciple to fuse with them, preserving them as spirit pets.
But both sides had to agree. It couldn't be forced.
The Blood Parrot that appeared that time seemed to be the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Blood Parrot, the Devil Master's spirit pet.
Under normal procedure, they had to identify exactly what kind of Blood Parrot it was. Only then could a willing disciple fuse with it.
But while they were identifying it, the Blood Parrot might have no real-world vessel to support it and vanish on its own.
Immortal Nan Chun had coveted it. What if it really was the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Blood Parrot?
So she forced Fang Ningshuang to fuse with it.
The next day, she discovered it wasn't.
She drove Fang Ningshuang out of Duqiong Peak, leaving her to fend for herself.
Fang Ningshuang's father couldn't bear to see his daughter suffer like that, so he brought her home.
Three years ago, on the fifteenth night of a full moon, the Blood Parrot inexplicably began a Woodworm Devil ritual and started eating people.
A year ago, City Lord Fang Daoqi discovered the Full Moon Devil. He killed the Blood Parrot several times, but couldn't kill it for good.
Even when burned to ashes, it would return to life.
Fang Ningshuang and the Blood Parrot seemed immortal and indestructible, impossible to kill.
They could only be confined in the rear garden. On the fifteenth night of each month, condemned prisoners were sent to die at a crossroads in the city.
If no one was sent to die, the Blood Parrot would rampage and kill even more mortals.
Luo Zhou had been able to kill the Blood Parrot this time only because Fang Ningshuang had risked her life to suppress it. Otherwise, with its heaven-and-earth nature, it would have been immortal and indestructible.
Luo Zhou silently absorbed all this, his resolve to kill Immortal Nan Chun growing firmer than ever!
As for the rest, Fang Ningshuang's spells and divine abilities from the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect were all a chaotic mess, impossible to comprehend.
However, Luo Zhou had inherited Fang Ningshuang's immortal calling: Curse Master.
Because Fang Ningshuang was the Blood Parrot, and the Blood Parrot was Fang Ningshuang.
Fang Ningshuang had been born a Curse Master, so Luo Zhou had inherited that calling.
But he wasn't the least bit happy!
Midnight had passed, but Luo Zhou couldn't sleep at all.
He thought it over. He had just gained the Blood Parrot's essence, qi, and spirit, so he might as well cultivate.
Luo Zhou began cultivating indoors. First he practiced the Green Profound Body Refining Technique, then the Purple Heavens Body Refining Technique, then the Brown Scale Body Refining Technique, then the Baiyang Body Refining Technique, then the Black Nether Body Refining Technique, then the Green Profound Body Refining Technique again...
He cycled through all three hundred and sixty forms, running a Greater Celestial Circuit and cultivating over and over!
When he reached his limit, he felt as if his whole body were fusing together, shattering, evolving, and being reborn once more—as if everything were starting over.
His body evolved, and his cultivation advanced!
Seventh level of Body Tempering: Blood Ignition!
The Body Tempering Realm had ten levels: Body Tempering, Skull Fortification, Ice Skin, Flesh Refining, Sinew Tempering, Bone Refining, Blood Ignition, Organ Forging, Marrow Strengthening, and Body Integration!
It began with Body Tempering and ended with Body Integration!
After awakening their spiritual nature, cultivators could absorb spiritual energy and temper their bodies. That was the first level.
With the first evolution, they advanced to the second level, Skull Fortification, and began refining their skulls.
As they advanced this time, all five senses grew sharper and spread farther. Their sense of touch improved; they could hear more clearly and see more distinctly.
He continued cultivating and evolving, reaching the third level: Ice Skin.
It made cultivators look radiant, their skin smooth as ice and their bones as fine as jade.
After Ice Skin came the limit. He evolved once more, transforming his body and strengthening every muscle. That was the fourth level: Flesh Refining.
He strengthened his flesh bit by bit until he reached the limit, then pushed for the fifth level: Sinew Tempering.
At the fifth level, Sinew Tempering, the meridians and sinews strengthened automatically, becoming tougher and more resilient!
At the sixth level, Bone Refining, his entire skeleton was tempered, growing stronger and denser!
Now Luo Zhou was at the seventh level: Blood Ignition!
He felt as if his blood were burning without end!
Under its influence, his body seemed to surge with boundless strength. His essence was full, his spirit vigorous.
His senses expanded. He could see farther, hear more clearly, smell more keenly, and taste more richly!
A lustrous sheen emerged beneath his skin. His muscles swelled and compressed, becoming as tough as bronze and iron. His meridians expanded, growing stronger and more resilient.
His bones became hard and dense, and even seemed to take on a faint, jade-like sheen.
Gradually, his blood seemed to ignite, turning into a stream of heat.
The current of warmth flowed through his limbs and along his meridians. He felt warmth radiating from all 108,000 pores across his body.
From head to toe, from the inside out—every inch of bone, every bit of skin, every pore—all responded to his will. His entire body obeyed him, down to the finest thread.
June 29. Cloudy!
Still not a drop of rain. Luo Zhou was starting to go crazy.
Early that morning, Luo Zhou went to the rear garden of the City Lord's Mansion, to the place where Fang Ningshuang had vanished.
He lit three sticks of incense for Fang Ningshuang.
He lay beside where she had once rested, unmoving, watching the white clouds on the horizon.
He lay there like that all day!
At dusk, he rose and said slowly:
"Ningshuang, I'm leaving!"
"I'll come visit you again!"
"I swear I'll kill Immortal Nan Chun. If I don't, may I fall into the Avici Hell and never be reborn!"
After making his vow, Luo Zhou prepared to leave.
Then he heard a voice!
"Young friend, wait!"
Luo Zhou froze and turned around. It was Green Ridge City's City Lord, Fang Daoqi!
Fang Daoqi looked at Luo Zhou and spoke slowly:
"Actually, I've been here all these days!
"I just couldn't speak. All I could do was watch!
"Ningshuang was lucky to meet you. It was time for her to vanish, too."
Luo Zhou didn't know what to say. He just looked at Fang Daoqi!
"I didn't dare say a word or offer you the slightest help—not even a single Spirit Stone!
"I was afraid. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to kill Immortal Nan Chun, and she'd find out I'd helped you.
"She'd retaliate, and all 8,351 members of my clan would die!"
"I'm not even brave enough to think about revenge. I'm afraid she'll sense it!"
At that, Fang Daoqi fell silent. In that moment, he looked unbearably old and afraid.
"But your final vow, that you'd kill her, struck a chord in me!
"I hate her, too. She was my daughter, the one I raised with such care. She was born with the gift of a Curse Master—my child.
"The finest daughter of the Fang family turned to blood right before my eyes, and I didn't even dare make her a grave..."
As he spoke, Fang Daoqi took out an object that looked like a piece of hide. It was covered in all kinds of spirit runes, but they were impossible to make out.
"Yesterday, a merchant caravan found this spirit material in a collapsed cave on Great Xuan Mountain.
"None of them knew what it was. These are ancient spirit runes!
"This is one of the Nine Immortal Paths of the cultivation world!
"No one knows I have it. You found it yourself. If you fail, it has nothing to do with me."
As he finished speaking, the ancient spirit runes flew over. Luo Zhou took off his shirt, and they landed on his back.
Then blood burst from Luo Zhou, covering the entire pattern. The runes seemed to come alive at once, burrowing beneath his skin!
When he looked again, Luo Zhou's back was covered in a huge tattoo!
A full-back piece! He looked like a real gangster!
He'd lost his innocence forever...
The tattoo was especially ugly. You couldn't even tell what it was supposed to depict...
Luo Zhou couldn't help asking, "What is this?"
"The Spirit Rune path of the Nine Paths to Immortality!
"Within the cultivation of immortals lie the Nine Immortal Paths!
"Miracle Venerable Seal, Golden Chapter Seal Scripture, Innate Wisdom Life Evolution, Blessed Land Grotto Heaven, Heavenly Might Mixed Chess, Dao Martial First Spirit, Immortal Bone God Cluster, Demon Viscera Devilish Artifact, and Spirit Rune Witch Blood.
"Each has a positive and negative aspect, an inner and outer aspect; combined, they form one path. Whoever obtains half a path can set foot on the road to immortality, pointing straight to the Great Luo Golden Immortal of the Origin."
Before you continue