Breaking Through to Spirit Blood

Breaking Spirit Blood

The pain throughout his body never grew numb, only intensifying. Huo Hai hoped his soul could go numb, but he found no such relief, feeling it grow clearer instead. The violent agony made him miserable beyond measure.

His physical condition was entirely fine, yet sensually, he felt exceptionally numb. Huo Hai did not know how long he had persisted, nor did he know how much longer he had to hold on. Inside his mind remained only the two words persist, nothing more. Persist, continue to persist; no matter what lay ahead, he still had to persist, leaving even the thought of surrender cast far behind.

It felt as though centuries had passed, and Huo Hai was nearly growing accustomed to this pain. Yet right at this moment, Huo Hai suddenly felt the agony rapidly dissipating. Within his body, a cool sensation swept through him entirely.

A coolness spread all over, incomparably refreshing, as if all his previous torment had existed solely for the refreshment of this single moment. This feeling was far more comfortable than anything else, and Huo Hai even felt an urge to immerse himself within this sensation and never wake up again.

Not knowing how much longer passed, Huo Hai slowly regained consciousness, his eyes filled with a blank haze. After a long while, the haze gradually vanished, replaced by resolve and clarity. I remember now. I am Huo Hai, the Huo Hai of Earth, and also the Huo Hai of the Spirit Realm Continent. I finally pulled through, Huo Hai said faintly, as the things he had forgotten slowly returned to his mind.

Although he did not know how much time had elapsed, to Huo Hai, everything in the past seemed already exceptionally distant. Yet it still felt as close as right before his eyes; this contradictory sensation made him feel very strange.

His entire body felt refreshed, and it was as though something extra had appeared in the air. After a brief thought, Huo Hai understood that these were spirit qi. Unlike in the past, when he had needed to practice the Foundational Spirit Art just to sense the presence of spirit qi.

Haha, I never imagined my current body would be so sensitive to spirit qi. Doesn't this mean I am essentially cultivating every moment of the day? Huo Hai closed his eyes. A large part of this refreshing sensation originated from the surrounding spirit qi. This feeling was rapidly diminishing, eventually fading to a very faint degree.

Yet the surrounding spirit qi still felt distinct. Huo Hai felt as though he were a fish living within an ocean of spirit qi. Looking out with a single glance, the spirit qi seemed boundless and endless, impossible to exhaust no matter how much he used.

His body was naturally absorbing spirit qi, taking it in and releasing it bit by bit. Unfortunately, because he had already reached the peak of the Spirit Body Realm, his Spirit Body was flawless and his compatibility with spirit qi had reached its absolute maximum, making any further enhancement impossible.

The devoured spirit qi, after being refined once, was released back out and merged into the ocean of spirit qi. This was simply a waste. This won't do; I must break through to the next level as soon as possible, Huo Hai muttered to himself, his tone incomparably resolute. Looking back, the hourglass he had placed beside himself earlier showed that only two days had passed.

Two days was nothing. He had said he would go into seclusion for several days. Since that was the case, he might as well simply continue his cultivation. Just as Huo Hai wanted to practice, he suddenly felt a wave of hunger, his stomach letting out a rumble.

Huo Hai's face flushed red, and he looked around guiltily, like a thief. Even for a Spirit Master, going two days without food was no pleasant experience. Smiling sheepishly, Huo Hai hurried over to the table at the side, took out the food he had prepared beforehand, and wolfed it down. After sweeping it all clean, Huo Hai patted his satisfied stomach with an expression of utter comfort.

Eating when hungry is the most comfortable thing of all, even better than the feeling of breaking through, Huo Hai muttered. After resting for a short while, he prepared to continue his breakthrough. Once the Spirit Body reached perfection, Huo Hai could break through his realm at any time.

Sitting back down, Huo Hai's heart stirred, and a massive surge of spirit qi continuously converged toward him. Huo Hai did not know that this was something only a Perfect Spirit Body could accomplish. Even other people who reached the Spirit Blood Realm could not achieve this.

A vast amount of spirit qi was absorbed, instantly flowing through Huo Hai's entire body. The spirit qi did not linger for a single moment, a fact Huo Hai had long since prepared for. With a thought, he began circulating the spirit qi throughout his body according to the method for breaking realms outlined in the Spirit Art.

Previously, without having formed a Spirit Body, true circulation had been utterly impossible. But now, with his Spirit Body at the Greater Accomplishment Stage and his Spirit Veins re-refined, he already possessed a portion of pure spiritual force. While this spiritual force could not yet be used directly in combat, it could barely be set into motion. As it circulated, the spiritual force within his body was gradually drawn in, undergoing a series of changes that Huo Hai could not understand.

Just as the spiritual force was driven to its absolute limit, his entire body's spiritual force suddenly jolted. A massive amount of spirit qi pierced through his Spirit Veins and through his body, entering his bloodline—which had stubbornly refused entry until now—and a tingling sensation rushed to his heart.

It was just like when he had refined his body previously, except that now the spirit qi was refining his own bloodline. Experiencing this sensation, Huo Hai knew he had finally broken through the Spirit Body and reached the Spirit Blood Realm.

The Spirit Body Realm refined the physical body to form the Spirit Body. The Spirit Blood Realm, on the other hand, refined one's own bloodline, awakening and strengthening the power of the bloodline origin. A strong bloodline determined how far one could advance in the future and whether one's physical body was powerful or not. Furthermore, some special, formidable Spirit Arts required bloodline refinement to reach a certain degree before they could be practiced; otherwise, mastery was impossible.

Huo Hai opened his eyes, a brilliant flash of light vanishing within them. Clenching his fists, the corners of his mouth involuntarily split into a grin. Haha, my strength has increased more than tenfold! I am finally no longer an ordinary person, Huo Hai thought, his heart filled with excitement.

If the Spirit Body Realm was basically about refining the physical body without bringing any massive boost to oneself—amounting to little more than a well-exercised ordinary person—the Spirit Blood Realm was completely different. Even upon just barely reaching the Spirit Blood Realm, one's physical constitution was more than ten times that of an ordinary person. For an ordinary person to deal with someone in the Spirit Blood Realm was simply delivering oneself to the slaughter.

Punching the empty air twice, Huo Hai even heard the sound of the air being torn apart. If this were back on Earth, that would be a legend. Perhaps only those legendary supermen could reach such a level; ordinary people could forget about it.

How could Huo Hai not be excited that he could one day reach this degree? Starting from now, Huo Hai finally possessed a bit of the feel of a Spirit Master, feeling that his life had a guarantee. He felt, he felt that he could finally gain a foothold in this world.

This is merely the first step of my ascent in this world. In the future I will grow even more powerful, stronger than anyone else, Huo Hai roared inwardly, claiming the declaration as his own. After venting for a long while, Huo Hai stopped his strikes against the air. The physical strength he had just broken through with was entirely spent, and Huo Hai felt himself panting heavily from exhaustion.

Huo Hai understood this was not because his cultivation was poor, nor because his physical stamina was lacking, but simply because he lacked combat techniques. He had wasted a vast amount of strength for nothing. Just punching the empty air had tired him out thoroughly.

It seemed it was time to learn some combat techniques. Before his breakthrough, his father had told him to build a solid foundation and forbidden him from touching these combat skills. Now that he had broken through to the Spirit Blood Realm, his father shouldn't have anything to say against it anymore.

Also, I should go ask my father for the cultivation method of the Spirit Blood Realm, otherwise I won't know how to continue cultivating. Huo Hai suddenly remembered that he seemed to possess only the cultivation Spirit Art for the Spirit Body Realm. Once he broke through to the Spirit Blood Realm, he suddenly had no Spirit Art left to practice. Really, why hadn't they just handed it all over to him at once? That would have been so much better.

Huo Hai muttered a few complaints as he walked outside. Reaching the courtyard, he looked up at the sky, then turned back toward his room. Really, why has it grown dark? It was still daytime when I was cultivating. Forget it, I'll go tomorrow.

Returning to his bed, Huo Hai tossed and turned, utterly unable to fall asleep. Having just broken through, his energy was exceptionally abundant. Tossed about by the Body-Refining Spirit Formation for so long, not only did he feel no sleepiness, but he was even more alert. Right now, no matter what he did, he simply could not fall asleep. Moreover, having just broken through, his churning emotions refused to calm down; it seemed sleep was out of the question.

Sigh, since I can't sleep, I might as well go look at those cute bugs. What kind of Gu Insects should I refine in the next batch? Huo Hai's strength was too weak to capture powerful bugs, forcing him to rely on low-tier bugs for raising Gu.

True Gu-raising techniques involved cultivating naturally powerful creatures. Gu Insects were merely a compromised method, utilized only by ordinary people. Once one's cultivation reached a certain level, these Gu Insects became completely useless.

Perhaps one could cultivate powerful bugs as well, but doing so would only diminish the bugs' potential, and the cost incurred would be immense, making the losses outweigh the gains. But for now? Gu Insects were still more important. Without a Gu Insect like Little Gold, how could Huo Hai have ever obtained such massive benefits? What should the next one be? It had to be a bit more powerful, or perhaps more imposing.

Mm, it couldn't be too ugly, or else younger sister Yun'er would probably throw a fit. But where to find good-looking bugs? Huo Hai pondered slowly while feeding the bugs that hadn't been properly fed for two days. Thankfully, he had provided them with enough food before his cultivation.

Otherwise, after two days, who knew how many bugs would have starved to death. Time slipped away imperceptibly as Huo Hai fed the insects. Gradually, Huo Hai began to feel a sense of drowsiness. Checking the time, it seemed midnight had already arrived.

Sigh, I'll go rest first and think about these things tomorrow. After all, he had been put through the wringer for a full two days. No matter how abundant his spirit was, his mind was utterly exhausted. As the fatigue deep within his heart washed over him, Huo Hai lay down on the bed and drifted into a deep sleep before long. The room was deathly quiet, and in the courtyard, only the sound of bugs gnawing on food remained.

When the next day arrived, Huo Hai had no idea at all. Awaken from his sleep by the sound of familiar insect chirps, he realized that the day had already brightened. The one making the chirping sound was none other than Little Gold.