Source Blood and... the Contractor!

Chapter 5: Source Blood and... the Contractor!

A thick, pungent stench assaulted him from all sides. After a bout of vertigo, Chen Lin regained consciousness.

Glancing around, Chen Lin offered a bitter smile to himself; he was likely beyond salvation this time. He was currently inside the belly of a giant python. If there was anything to be thankful for, it was that the python did not seem to intend on savoring its meal, instead swallowing all the fierce beasts whole. This allowed all the consumed creatures to survive for a little while longer.

At this moment, Chen Lin was surrounded by powerful beasts and raptors. After a brief moment of panic and chaos, all the beasts sensed the crisis of life and death and began to struggle in despair. But whether they clawed or tore, it was clearly futile. Not only were the python's internal organs tempered to be incredibly tough, but its powerful gastric juices were corrosive enough to dissolve and digest living creatures in a short time.

Watching the once-mighty beasts and raptors ahead scream as they were eroded to death by the python's secretions, the only thing Chen Lin could pray for now was that they would die slowly, so that he might survive a little longer.

However, such prayers were clearly of little use; the python's gastric juices were far too potent, dissolving creatures almost the instant they made contact.

Streaks of pitch-black gas rose from the bodies of the dead creatures. Perhaps because the creatures here were inherently formidable, the black gas was much thicker than usual, rapidly condensing toward Chen Lin's body. But Chen Lin had no time to concern himself with this; his mind raced as he sought a way to escape. He would not give up easily until the very last moment.

"Death energy absorption threshold reached. Main God Inheritance Coffin is automatically waking up..."

"Main God Inheritance Coffin is beginning the contract process..."

"Scanning contractor information..."

As Chen Lin felt a sense of gloomy despair, a mechanized, numb, and cold voice suddenly rang out. It made his entire body jolt, and he immediately looked around in alarm, but he found no source for the voice, leading him to think he was suffering from auditory hallucinations.

"Contractor race: Demon Race. Bloodline rank: Mortal. Innate supernatural ability: None. Potential: Inferior."

The voice appeared again. Chen Lin's pupils constricted as he suddenly realized the voice seemed to appear out of thin air within his own mind. The next instant, he saw a mysterious, archaic coffin floating up and down inside his consciousness, emitting a faint, enigmatic aura. This sensation of introspection was profoundly mystical.

This is... that mysterious coffin!

Chen Lin's mind shook as he stared in astonishment at the coffin in his consciousness. It was identical to the one he had intercepted while on a mission, only now it was several times smaller, existing within his mind.

A thousand thoughts surged through his mind, but before he could organize them, that cold voice sounded once more.

"Warning: Contractor does not meet the minimum requirements for the Main God Inheritance."

"Recommendation: Forced erasure, search for the next host."

"Executing command, erasure..."

Within his mind, the mysterious coffin suddenly radiated a pitch-black light, with wisps of black gas swirling around it. Chen Lin shuddered; he clearly recognized that this gas was the strange black mist he had absorbed when killing the beasts. He had not known where that gas had gone before, but now he realized it had all been absorbed by this mysterious coffin.

Before he could dwell on it, a tearing pain suddenly struck him. The runes on the surface of the coffin flared brilliantly, mysterious and eerie. The entire coffin began to tremble, as if struggling to rise and forcibly break out of Chen Lin's mind to depart.

"Ah!!"

Chen Lin roared internally, feeling as if his entire skull were about to explode. The intense pain surged like a tsunami, threatening to annihilate him completely.

Chen Lin had not expected that he wouldn't die in the python's stomach, but would instead die prematurely at the hands of this damned coffin.

Sensing that death was inevitable, for a moment, Chen Lin almost completely gave up resisting.

"Hum~!"

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

Within Chen Lin's mind, a cold, frigid aura suddenly erupted, making him shudder despite the excruciating pain, as if his very thoughts were about to be frozen solid.

Hum, hum, hum!

In Chen Lin's mind, a drop of blood—seemingly magnified several times over—emitted an eerie, scarlet glow, seductive and dripping with vitality, incredibly strange! A cold, deathly aura radiated from it, and his sea of consciousness felt as cold as the netherworld.

The aura of this blood was cold and evil. As soon as Chen Lin's consciousness drew near, he shivered!

"This is... Source Blood?!"

Attracted by the energy emitted by this Source Blood, the mysterious coffin actually stopped its struggle, slowly rotating as if hesitating. The intense pain in Chen Lin's mind gradually faded, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

Chen Lin stared at that drop of mysterious Source Blood, his heart still filled with doubt and fear, yet he could do nothing.

The Source Blood seemed to be pulled by something; it hovered up and down, then suddenly flew out of Chen Lin's body and began to rotate slowly, then faster and faster. Wisps of dark red blood gathered like thin threads, and as time passed, the dark red blood became more numerous and thicker.

Outside, the giant python that had swallowed so many beasts suddenly shuddered. A look of human-like terror and unease appeared in its massive, scarlet pupils. It suddenly felt its own blood surging uncontrollably, then rushing toward an unknown place, the blood rapidly drying up and vanishing!

No matter how it tried to control it, its blood was disappearing inexplicably, completely beyond its command!

A shrill, miserable scream erupted from the python's mouth. Its entire body curled up in agony, and unable to bear it any longer, its massive frame thrashed in the swamp. Mud splattered everywhere, and countless giant trees and vines were instantly crushed and snapped, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

Even Chen Lin, trapped inside, could hear the python's screams.

Chen Lin watched the Source Blood in mid-air; it was like a bottomless pit, greedily devouring the python's blood...

"What... what kind of monster is this?!"

Chen Lin's heart was in turmoil. Such a bizarre event made him feel uneasy, yet he could not stop it. He knew very little about Source Blood. In his past life, such blood only circulated abroad and was extremely rare. The appearance of even a single drop would trigger violent storms and be fought over by countless people, only to be eventually reclaimed by mysterious foreign families.

"Sss-sss."

After a long while, as if it had absorbed enough blood, the Source Blood slowly writhed, condensing into a blood-colored seed the size of a soybean, which quickly merged into Chen Lin's body and vanished instantly.

"Hah!"

In that instant, Chen Lin felt all the blood in his body begin to surge!

"What... is happening?"

His blood was churning and roiling, yet Chen Lin felt not a shred of warmth, only an endless, frigid chill!

It was as if he had fallen into an abyssal demon realm, threatening to freeze his soul—cold and desperate! It was as if he were placed in an ice cave or a frozen pool, deep into his marrow—icy and bone-chilling!

The evil, cold aura permeated every drop of his blood, spreading throughout his entire body! His blood surged, his consciousness grew delirious, his mind lost its hold, and in an instant, he was on the verge of collapse!

Chen Lin hurriedly steadied his mind, guarding his consciousness to maintain a final sliver of clarity.

He did not know how much time had passed, but finally, the evil aura within his blood slowly receded.

"Warning, warning. The contractor has undergone an irreversible change. The system will re-evaluate and judge..."

The cold, mechanized voice rang out once more.

"Scanning contractor information..."

"Contractor race: Demon Race. Bloodline rank: Mortal Grade (mutated, capable of evolution). Innate divine ability: Blood Drain Healing. Potential: Unpredictable."

"Contractor meets the requirements for the Main God Inheritance. Inheritance initiating."

"Main God Inheritance Coffin automatically bound to host."

The next moment, Chen Lin's consciousness returned to his body. He snapped his eyes open, a trace of scarlet so faint it was nearly imperceptible flashing through his pupils and vanishing in an instant. It felt as if he had just woken from a dream, yet he was immediately clear-headed.

He glanced around. He was still inside the giant python's belly, but the space was completely empty; the flesh and blood within the serpent had long since vanished, leaving only fragile snake bones and soft, shriveled skin clinging tightly to him.

Chen Lin felt his breathing grow difficult. With no time to overthink, he swung his forelimb scythes and slashed out violently. The snake skin was incredibly brittle, as if it had been air-dried and exposed to the sun for years, devoid of any moisture, and Chen Lin tore a rift through it with ease.

Suddenly, Chen Lin froze. He stared at his forelimbs; they were no longer a pure emerald green, but were now covered in numerous blood-red patterns that coiled around his scythes, making them appear even more eerie and sharp. It was as if... he had evolved?

Chen Lin swung his great blades with force, the movement whistling through the air and leaving a trail of afterimages, the strikes causing the air to crackle.

A sensation of reborn power surged from his heart.

This was... the strength of the mid-stage Houtian realm of martial arts?!

Chen Lin was struck with shock. In less than an hour, he had gone from a lowly, unranked fierce beast to stepping through the gates of martial arts cultivation!

Although he did not know how the strength of fierce beasts was classified, Chen Lin clearly sensed the change in his own power and evaluated it accordingly!

In his previous life on Earth, the Houtian realm was considered the level of a first-class expert. One had to know that in his past life, Chen Lin had only reached the peak of the Houtian realm, just one step away from entering the Xiantian realm!