Watching the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder act so eager to please, Elder Qian helplessly rubbed his forehead. "Xiao Li, the baleful aura around you is far too strong. You've even got Strange Lightning taking a liking to you."
Xiao Li just smiled. Ever since the Black Seal City Auction, he'd spent the past half month at the Blood Sect killing people every day. A few at the least, dozens at the most. There was no helping it—too many people thought he was young and easy to bully. Xiao Li was only protecting himself.
Though he'd also come across people doing bad things and helped himself to their belongings... ahem, meting out justice. By his rough estimate, he'd killed over a thousand people in the two months since he'd set out to train. No wonder the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder had chosen him of its own accord.
Watching the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder press against him, trying its hardest to squeeze inside, Xiao Li smiled helplessly. "Elder Qian, please help Elder Bai guard outside. I expect this is going to take me quite a while to absorb."
Elder Qian nodded. The Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder had existed underground for who knew how long. If Xiao Li wanted to absorb energy as vast as the sea, it would take at least a few months.
After Elder Qian left, Xiao Li furtively took out the refined Blood Pills and stuffed them all into his mouth at once, like handfuls of candy. "Be good. Once I get a little stronger, I'll take you away with me."
The Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder seemed to understand. It obediently let go of Xiao Li's hand and even blocked the entrance, beating its chest as if to say, Leave it to me.
"Haha, then I'll leave it to you." Feeling the Blood Pills' energy erupt inside him, Xiao Li quickly sat cross-legged and began absorbing it.
Xiao Li wasn't really worried about whether he could absorb the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder. It had come to him of its own accord. As long as he absorbed it slowly and didn't exceed a Great Dou Master's limit, he wouldn't be in danger.
Once he'd absorbed the Blood Pills, Xiao Li successfully broke through to the peak of Seven-Star Great Dou Master.
"There are still too many impurities in these Blood Pills. It took five third-tier Blood Pills just to raise me two stars." Xiao Li sighed.
Seeing the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder about to press against him again, Xiao Li hurriedly waved it off. "Wait. I still need to temper my Dou Qi. An unstable foundation is a serious problem."
The Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder crouched gloomily in the corner, rejected QAQ
With everything ready, Xiao Li gave the word, and the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder eagerly leaped onto him. An enormous wave of energy surged into him in an instant, turning his face red.
"Slower, slower! That's too much!"
The blood cloud was ink-dark, so deep a red it was almost black. Even Xiao Li found the baleful aura within deeply unsettling. It felt as though he were taking in all the resentment the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder had accumulated over countless years. This was its test for him, and there was no avoiding it.
With his body spared the torment, he had to endure the torture of the mind instead.
Xiao Li's black robe billowed as if a storm raged within it. A faint red glow shone beneath his skin, proof that the blood-red lightning was merging with his body.
Xiao Li clenched his teeth, fine beads of sweat gathering on his forehead, yet he held firm to his resolve and continued to guide and absorb that terrifying, powerful energy.
For every day it took to absorb the energy, Xiao Li would have to endure a day of mental assault.
If he absorbed it all, the resentment of at least tens of thousands of buried souls would drive Xiao Li insane. So he could only abandon most of the energy, leaving it here to absorb in the future.
"..."
In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan shook the blood from the Heavy Profound Ruler and put the Rock Snake he'd beaten into a pulp into his Storage Ring.
Yao Lao appeared beside Xiao Yan and stroked his illusory beard with satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad. You've become a Five-Star Dou Zhe after only four months out here. That's much faster than back in Wutan City."
Seeing the resentment in Xiao Yan's eyes, Yao Lao burst out laughing. "All right, all right. Hard training is the fastest way to grow. Think about your second brother. If you don't work harder, how will you ever catch up to him?"
At the mention of Xiao Li, Xiao Yan's gaze grew much more determined. He looked toward the cave ahead. "Teacher, you said there's something good in there. Is that true?"
Yao Lao gave a scoff. "Of course. My spiritual perception is powerful. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find something you like."
Xiao Yan felt his way into the darkness. When he saw the enormous stone door, he looked at Yao Lao for help.
Yao Lao murmured thoughtfully, floated toward the door, and began searching for a way to open it.
While Yao Lao was pondering, Xiao Yan had already crouched beside the stone door. He touched a tiny bump beneath it and pressed down lightly with his finger. A creaking sound slowly echoed through the cave.
"Uh, Teacher, I don't think this is the kind of door that needs a puzzle solved." A smile tugged at Xiao Yan's lips.
Yao Lao's face stiffened. His right hand, which had been stroking his chin, froze in place. "I knew that, of course. Your teacher was testing you!"
As the stone door rose, a faint glow spilled from within, banishing all the darkness nearby.
Looking at the brightly lit interior, Yao Lao tossed his hair. "All right, go on in."
With that, Yao Lao pretended to be nonchalant and floated through the doorway.
Seeing Yao Lao step inside, Xiao Yan hurried after him.
The moment they passed through the stone door, the space before them suddenly opened up.
Beyond the door was a vast stone chamber. It looked rather plain and bare, with Moonlight Stones set into the walls for illumination. A chair stood in the center of the room.
A skeleton sat on the chair. Its sunken skull had fallen against its stark white thigh bone. In the stillness, the sight seemed especially eerie.
In front of the chair stood a long, broad Bluestone Platform. Three locked stone boxes were arranged neatly atop it.
In addition, piles of glittering gold coins and other precious valuables filled the chamber's three corners. There had to be hundreds of thousands of coins.
Xiao Yan's eyes curved into a smile. "Well, looks like we've struck it rich. We stumbled across a powerful expert's tomb!"
Xiao Clan
Xiao Zhan sighed as he watched Xiao Yi Xian sitting alone in the pavilion. That Xiao Li—he'd brought the girl back and then just left her to fend for herself. What kind of thing was that?
Fortunately, since Xiao Li was the one who'd brought her back, none of the young troublemakers in the clan had dared approach her, even though Xiao Yi Xian had grown more beautiful with each passing month. Instead, Xun'er had been the one chatting with her all this time.
Looking at Xun'er sitting beside Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Zhan pressed a hand to his aching head. He had no idea where those two boys had run off to. And it would've been bad enough if they'd simply left, but each of them had left a girl behind. Worse, both girls seemed utterly devoted to those two rebellious sons of his.
That reminded Xiao Zhan of the Nalan Family, far away in the imperial capital. Wasn't there a marriage agreement between his Xiao Yan and a girl from the Nalan Family?
Xiao Zhan glanced at the smiling Xun'er and made up his mind. Compared to a mere daughter of the Nalan Family, he preferred this girl. It was just...