True Blood, False Blood

"Master, do you still remember how many chickens it took for me to meet your standards when you taught me how to butcher them back then?"

After entering the room, Yan Ming kept his eyes fixed on the portrait on the wall, muttering to himself incessantly.

"Eighty-seven, a full eighty-seven!"

"And even then, you still called me a peerless genius at refining demons among the Blade-Catchers, someone my fellow disciples couldn't hope to catch up to."

"But now..."

Yan Ming said to himself, his heart aching with grief, "What genius? I am not worthy!"

"Seven chickens! Only seven! Do you know that? Little Junior Brother's talent is far beyond my expectations; he reached the threshold of demon refining after only seven chickens."

"Master, are you smiling from ear to ear in the afterlife hearing this?"

"The sky seems to be brightening. With Little Junior Brother here, I will definitely make them pay for what happened back then!"

"I will!!!"

The more Yan Ming spoke, the more agitated he became. Not only did his whole body begin to tremble, but a thin mist even gradually welled up in his eyes.

After a brief surge of emotion, a long silence followed.

Yan Ming lowered his head in silence for a long time before finally looking up, stepping forward to light a stick of incense, and placing it steadily into the burner.

His gaze flickered as he stared fixedly at the curling smoke, which seemed to transport him back to the past.

Just then, a knock on the door shattered the bubble of his memories.

"Come in."

Yan Ming wiped his face haphazardly and spoke in a flat tone.

With a creak, the door opened.

Chen Zhuo walked in, bowed to the spirit tablets of his master and three senior brothers, and lit a stick of incense as well.

"Did you read the manual?"

Yan Ming asked suddenly.

"I did."

Chen Zhuo nodded in affirmation.

Recalling the contents regarding the Five Desires Demon Soup, he asked, "Senior Brother, was the soup you used on us last night the Killing Desire Soup? In other words, the Tiger Soup?"

The manual recorded:

Among the Five Desires Demon Soup, Killing Desire ranks first, using Blood-Strengthening Soup as a base with Tiger Demon True Blood as the core.

It can boost vitality and blood, and fortify one's foundation.

The longer the tiger demon has lived, the better the effect of the demon soup.

"That's right. You read it very carefully."

Yan Ming nodded.

"Then is there still..."

"It's gone. That bottle of Tiger Demon True Blood from last night was the only one I had left. Little Junior Brother, I really broke the bank for your sake."

Before Chen Zhuo could finish his question, Yan Ming seemed to know exactly what he was going to ask, sighing and shaking his head in response.

"The other True Blood is gone too. When I left the Capital City, most of the True Blood I had was made into demon soup. I tried to repair my injuries, but it was all in vain."

Chen Zhuo's heart sank, but there was nothing he could do about it.

It seemed he would have to rely on himself for the demon beast True Blood...

Chen Zhuo did not feel discouraged, however.

Even though the requirements for extracting True Blood were extremely high—requiring the precise separation of the demon beast's blood vessels without any contamination from other bodily fluids—he believed he could do it soon enough as long as he dissected more creatures and steadily improved his Dissection Technique.

The only problem was that finding a complete demon beast was difficult, and the price was exorbitant.

With his current poverty, he couldn't even dream of it.

He would have to rely on himself to hunt them.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhuo almost rolled his eyes at himself.

A martial artist who hadn't even reached the Bone-Entering Realm going into the mountains alone?

That was no different from courting death.

What, was he going to slide into a tiger demon's stomach and choke it to death?

But without the demon soup, his martial arts progress would be strictly by the book.

Once the Autumn Hunt arrived, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Whether he could actually catch a demonic beast was one thing, but the odds of dying a violent death were certainly not low.

"No true blood, but do you have any Tiger Demon Fake Blood?"

Chen Zhuo was not ready to give up, though he had to settle for second best.

Fake blood was simply true blood mixed with a fair amount of other bodily fluids.

It had impurities, but it was still usable, even if the effects were far inferior to true blood.

"Only this one bottle left, nothing else to spare."

Yan Ming fumbled around his person, pulled out a porcelain bottle, and handed it to Chen Zhuo.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother."

Chen Zhuo felt a hint of disappointment.

"No need for formalities, we are brothers under the same master."

Yan Ming waved his hand, but then suddenly changed his tune: "You'll have to pay for it."

"Huh?"

"What are you 'huh'-ing at? Even brothers settle accounts clearly. But I know you're broke right now, so I won't demand immediate payment."

A standard merchant's grin appeared on Yan Ming's face: "One bottle of Tiger Demon Fake Blood is ten taels of silver. Based on market rates, with a nine-out-thirteen-return interest, you have no objections, right?"

Chen Zhuo stared at Yan Ming's face for a long moment, let out a soft sigh, and then bowed toward the portrait on the wall:

"Master, there is a profiteer swindling me. Please give him a good beating when he's dreaming."

Yan Ming teased, "The old man hasn't even met you. Do you think he'd help you or me?"

"Fine!"

Chen Zhuo gritted his teeth, tucked the porcelain bottle into his robes, and asked, "Is there anyone in Baiyun County selling true or fake blood?"

One bottle of fake blood was nowhere near enough.

Yan Ming nodded: "I knew you would ask that."

As he spoke, he handed over a slip of paper with only a time and location written on it.

"Fortunately, Baiyun County is a major county teeming with experts. You can find fake blood at the Ghost Market, though I've never seen true blood there."

Chen Zhuo nodded, carefully studying the contents of the note and silently committing them to memory.

"Wait, are you actually going? Do you even have the money to buy it?"

"I don't."

"Then why are you still going?"

"I don't have money, but you do."

After a fierce confrontation, Chen Zhuo had a fifty-tael silver note tucked into his robes.

"Remember to pay me back!"

Yan Ming's face was black with rage.

"Rest assured."

Chen Zhuo walked out of the room with a smile, not forgetting to turn back and ask one last question.

"Senior Brother, how many chickens did you use back then?"

After reading the manual, he finally understood why Yan Ming had left in such a flustered rage earlier.

"Get lost."

Sure enough, Yan Ming's roar echoed from inside the room.

Chen Zhuo closed the door to the adjacent room, flicked the silver note in his hand, and chuckled to himself.

He borrowed the money based on his own ability; why would he ever pay it back?

The Blood-Strengthening Soup from last night had not lost its potency; at most, its color had faded slightly.

Chen Zhuo took off his clothes, slowly walked to the center of the pool, and uncorked the porcelain bottle.

A scarlet liquid sloshed inside, looking similar in color to true blood, though it lacked the same viscosity.

After only a few glances, he poured the entire bottle of Tiger Demon Fake Blood into the pool.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

Just like last night, the soup began to boil.

Chen Zhuo felt that familiar burning sensation.

At the same time, a murderous urge inexplicably surfaced in his mind, though it was far less intense than the night before.

Even under the shroud of that murderous intent, he was still able to maintain a degree of clarity.

Having gained experience, he calmly crouched and set his stance.

Jet-black veins coiled around his body.

"Snap."

"Snap."

The burning sensation wasn't intense enough, so he began using the Patting Technique.

Soon, he had finished one full cycle of the Iron Cloth Shirt.

[Iron Cloth Shirt +1]

"No bonus?"

Chen Zhuo frowned, feeling that the ten taels of silver had likely gone to waste.

But soon, he discovered something unusual.

"There's no bonus, but my stamina... it doesn't seem to have drained? I'm not tired at all?"

Chen Zhuo finally discovered the marvelous utility of the fake beast blood.

It turned out that as long as there was enough fake beast blood, he could ignore physical exhaustion and truly practice martial arts for twelve hours straight without stopping.

"Let's see just how long this bottle of fake beast blood can last."

Adjusting his breathing, Chen Zhuo began to practice the Iron Cloth Shirt over and over again.

Bursts of humming sounds rang out incessantly.

The Bone-Entering Realm was right before his eyes.