Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Mystic Astral Energy

For the first time, delight appeared in Blood Wuy a's eyes when he saw the white deer Little Leopard dragged over. He drained its blood in the same fashion as before.

Little Leopard stood to one side, not daring to disturb him. After draining the deer, Blood Wuy a began regulating his breathing and circulating his energy. Soon, a blood-red mist enveloped him, churning up and down and giving off an intensely bloody odor. Little Leopard could even hear the blood and internal energy within him surging like a mighty river. After an unknown length of time, the crimson mist swirling around Blood Wuy a turned into two blood-colored ribbons, which he drew into his nostrils. Once he inhaled the mist, his deathly pale face regained its color, and he no longer looked on the verge of death.

"You did well this time!" Blood Wuy a opened his eyes and looked with satisfaction at Little Leopard, who stood obediently beside him.

"It was only my duty as your disciple!" Little Leopard seemed somewhat ill at ease.

"Don't be afraid. I was gravely wounded this time. That bastard Lu Shaoyou shattered my bloodflame divine force with a single sword strike. I need powerful blood energy to recover, and plenty of blood sustenance. So while I'm recuperating, your task is to find me as much fresh blood sustenance as you can!"

"I understand!"

Little Leopard answered without daring to say more. By now, he could see that Blood Wuy a had not taken him as a disciple because he admired his aptitude or anything of the sort. He needed someone to find blood sustenance for him. That was the real reason he had abducted Little Leopard; accepting him as a disciple was merely a way to put his mind at ease.

Perhaps while recovering, he would teach Little Leopard some martial arts and give him a few useful things. But once his wounds healed, Little Leopard would likely meet his end.

Members of the Demon Sect were not like the characters in the novels he had once read, each brimming with heroic spirit and righteousness that reached the clouds. Demonic cultivators were demonic cultivators. Blood Wuy a had slaughtered an entire family over a trifling matter, from an eighty-year-old woman to an infant not yet a year old. How could he possibly be a good man?

Masters normally sifted through countless candidates before choosing disciples. Little Leopard, by contrast, had simply been snatched up during Blood Wuy a's escape to serve as a laborer. The benefits he was being offered now were plainly meant to win him over, ease his mind, lower his guard, and make him work wholeheartedly. Had Little Leopard truly been a ten-year-old child, that would have been one thing. But inside this ten-year-old body lived an adult several decades old, and a seasoned old hand at that. How could Blood Wuy a's tricks possibly escape him?

This can't go on. Once Blood Wuy a recovers, I won't have the slightest chance.

Little Leopard considered the matter in silence. Blood Wuy a was badly injured. According to him, the White-Robed Sword Saint, Lu Shaoyou, had damaged the meridians around his heart and scattered the bloodflame divine force he had cultivated for decades. Such injuries could never be healed in a day or two, or with the blood of a single white deer. His face had regained some color, but his unsteady steps and occasional muffled coughs showed that he was merely suppressing his injuries.

As Little Leopard pondered this, his body suddenly grew light. Once again, he left the ground and soared into the air. This time, however, it was different from when Blood Wuy a had first lifted him by the collar. Blood Wuy a had not reached out at all, and Little Leopard could see what was carrying him: a blood-red ribbon. On closer inspection, he realized it had condensed from a thick layer of blood energy, faintly exuding waves of bloody, baleful energy.

"This is my bloodflame divine force, one of the finest methods in the world for condensing baleful energy into astral energy!"

Wrapped in the bloodflame divine force, Little Leopard could hardly hide his astonishment from Blood Wuy a. But Blood Wuy a apparently had no desire to explain further. He said only that one sentence, then fell silent.

After flying with Little Leopard for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Blood Wuy a seemed to discover something. He gave a startled exclamation and descended.

From the sky, Little Leopard could vaguely make out what appeared to be a small valley below.

Before he could get a clear look, his body grew light, and Blood Wuy a tossed him down again.

But as he fell, a gentle force sprang up beneath him and supported his body.

Once he had steadied himself, Little Leopard looked closely and found that they had landed in another dead-end valley.

The valley was shaped like the mouth of a bottle. Sheer cliffs enclosed its floor on every side, shutting out sunlight throughout the ages. The ground was already low and damp, and wild peaches, apricots, and other fruit growing on the cliffs fell into it year after year, rotting into a sodden mire. Foul vapors steamed upward, nauseating anyone who breathed them. Near the Demon Grotto stood a hole roughly ten feet across, backed by a sheer cliff that rose thousands of feet. Even a keen gaze could not discern its bottom, and black vapor bubbled steadily out of it. Five-colored mists appeared from time to time, accompanied by a continuous chorus of rumbling and gurgling. Little Leopard took just one breath, and an extraordinarily foul, bloody odor shot straight into his head. His vision swam, and he nearly pitched headfirst to the ground.

"To think these mountains contain such a place of sinister, poisonous blood-bale! It's perfect for my recovery, but for you, it's utterly deadly. I failed to consider that!"

Blood Wuy a's voice reached his ears. Little Leopard felt his body grow light again as bloodflame true astral energy swept him out of the valley.

"This is-!" Little Leopard raised his head and stared at his surroundings in surprise. Graceful peaks surrounded them, and a waterfall plunged from halfway up the sky to gather into a clear stream below. Beside the cliff ahead stood a Great Camphor Tree. It was only a few dozen feet tall, but its trunk measured fifteen or sixteen feet across. Its branches spread low, their green shade forming a canopy over several acres of ground. Vines draped the cliff behind it, where many strange, nameless flowers and plants grew. Amid the faint traces of moss, there seemed to be a small cave some thirty feet above the ground.

"The scenery here is quite fine!" Blood Wuy a looked around, drawn by the beauty of their surroundings as well. Little Leopard glanced back at him and felt a jolt of alarm. In that brief span, Blood Wuy a's face had turned deathly pale again.

Compared with before, however, he seemed much more spirited.

"You practice the Wu Household's Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art. It originated in the Heavenly Dragon Way and is one of their advanced martial arts. Unfortunately, you've learned only its surface. What a pity!"

"I'm only an ordinary blacksmith in the Wu Household. Having the chance to practice the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art at all is already fortunate!" Little Leopard said, though something stirred in his heart.

What does he mean? Is he planning to teach me martial arts?

Sure enough, Blood Wuy a continued, "Still, you've laid a good foundation, and you cultivate a fire-aspected art. The Wu Household's ancestor obtained this Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art from the Heavenly Dragon Way. Cultivated to its pinnacle, it can be combined with earthfire origin baleful energy to condense nine fire dragons. That is what's called nine-dragon divine fire mystic astral energy. I have this method, and I can give it to you right now!"

As he spoke, he took a book from his clothes and tossed it to Little Leopard.

"Thank you, Master!" Though deeply wary of Blood Wuy a, Little Leopard could not help feeling overjoyed. The Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art! It could even combine with earthfire origin baleful energy to form nine-dragon divine fire mystic astral energy! He was a disciple of the Wu Household, albeit one at the very bottom, and he had heard Qin Xuanlong and the others speak more than once of how profound and invincible the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art was. It was the Wu Household's greatest ancestral treasure. Even their core inner disciples did not practice the complete art. Only direct heirs had the opportunity, and more importantly, that opportunity went to just one person. In every generation, the person who received the complete inheritance of the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art became the head of the Wu Household. Little Leopard had thought he would never obtain the complete art in his lifetime, yet Blood Wuy a had now placed it in his hands.

Yes, the complete art, including the method for condensing nine-dragon divine fire mystic astral energy-he had given Little Leopard the whole thing at once. Little Leopard was not particularly concerned about whether it was genuine. First, someone of Blood Wuy a's standing would hardly deceive a child like him. Second, he knew perfectly well where this nine-dragon divine fire mystic astral energy had come from. Not only he, but everyone in the martial world knew.

Thirteen years earlier, when Blood Wuy a had just reached the seventh grade, he had come into conflict with an elder of the Heavenly Dragon Way. That elder specialized in nine-dragon divine fire mystic astral energy and had reached the eighth grade. One had only just attained the seventh grade; the other had spent several years in the eighth grade and firmly consolidated his realm. The outcome should have been beyond doubt. Yet somehow, through means no one understood, Blood Wuy a had killed that elder of the Heavenly Dragon Way.

The incident caused an uproar throughout the martial world. That battle established Blood Wuy a's standing, and soon afterward, he became the Seventh Demon General of the Demon Sect. Rumors abounded that he must possess an extraordinarily powerful secret technique or unusual art. Otherwise, he could never have defeated an eighth-grade expert.

Over this matter, the Heavenly Dragon Way and the Demon Sect's Blood River Sect fought a fierce clash. In the end, the Blood River Sect returned the three secret manuals to the Heavenly Dragon Way, but kept copies of all of them. The book in Blood Wuy a's hands was one of those original copies.

The Heavenly Dragon Way had been forced to swallow the loss in silence, and its prestige suffered considerably. A few years later, however, three brilliant young talents emerged from the Heavenly Dragon Way. Together, they uprooted every trace of the Blood River Sect's influence in Great Jin, even storming its headquarters to challenge the Blood River Ancestor.

After that battle, the Blood River Sect still existed, and all three young people withdrew unscathed. No one knew who had won or lost. But afterward, astonishing news came from the Blood River Sect: every copy of the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art remaining in the sect had been destroyed. Moreover, the sect promised never to reveal the art to anyone, and that none of its members would ever practice it.

From then on, everyone in the martial world remembered those three names: Lei Xu, Wang She, and Nian Wushuang.

Suddenly, amid his excitement, Little Leopard seemed to realize something, and his body stiffened slightly.

The Blood River Sect had promised never to teach this art to anyone, yet Blood Wuy a had passed the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art to him without the slightest hesitation. That spoke volumes about his intentions.

"Don't be afraid. That old bastard, the Blood River Ancestor, did promise not to pass this art on to anyone else. But that was his promise. What the hell does it have to do with me? He said he'd destroy every copy, yet I still have one on me, don't I?" Blood Wuy a glanced at him as though he knew what he was thinking. "You're so young. Don't make things more complicated than they are!"

If only I were just overthinking things! Little Leopard muttered inwardly. Outwardly, however, he remained meek and agreeable, not daring to show the slightest hint of doubt.

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