Cloud Province Palace, a city of bones.
Ten thousand stone pillars formed a circular grand formation, with a living person bound to each one.
There were both men and women, dressed in rags and emaciated down to their skeletons. The wounds where iron chains had cut into their wrists and ankles were deep enough to expose bone. Their blood had long dried into dark red-black scabs.
Yu Lie sat cross-legged at the center of the formation, his hands forming seals as an immense amount of blood energy surged like a sea of blood.
The blood and qi of a Second-Layer Human Immortal were like a furnace and a cauldron. Blood energy churned around him as he continuously refined the blood energy he absorbed and merged it into the foundation of his flesh.
A layer of crimson radiance spread over his skin. The veins beneath it writhed like earthworms, while his muscle fibers thickened and compacted under the nourishment of blood energy, faintly gleaming with crystalline luster.
The blood energy extracted from the sacrifices continuously flowed into his body. With every fraction he absorbed, his aura rose another step.
Second-Layer Human Immortal, the peak of Substantial Fist Intent.
One step further, and he would achieve Fleshly Derivation.
At that stage, the body would transform and blood and qi would become inexhaustible. Wounds could instantly stop bleeding and regrow flesh, while fist intent would become even more condensed. A single punch would be enough to shatter mountains and rocks or blast through city walls.
"Almost there." Yu Lie opened his eyes, bloodlight flowing through his pupils. A trace of intoxication appeared at the corner of his lips. "Fleshly Derivation will be achieved today."
At the edge of the plaza, several dozen Royal Clan Players stood with their hands behind their backs, chatting