Heaven and Earth's Creation, Infinite Bloodline

"Kill! Kill!"

With a furious roar filled with rage, hatred, and unwillingness, Nie Yun gradually regained consciousness.

"Yun'er, you're finally awake. Don't scare your mother like this again!"

The moment he opened his eyes, he heard a slightly choked voice.

Hearing that voice, Nie Yun shuddered. His eyes immediately widened as he hurriedly turned toward the sound. Sure enough, he saw a middle-aged woman sitting by the bed, her eyes red and bloodshot, as though she had not slept for several nights.

"Mother?"

Nie Yun's entire body stiffened. His mind boomed as a scene flashed through it.

His name was Nie Yun. He had been a peak Dantian Acupoint Realm super expert. When the Demon Race invaded, he had entered the continent's most mysterious Myriad Realms Mountain with dozens of sworn brothers, searching for traces left behind by the gods in hopes of making a breakthrough and finding a sliver of survival.

After countless dangers, they had indeed discovered an ancient civilization in the depths of distant time and space. Yet just as he obtained it, before he even had time to examine it, a long sword pierced straight through his chest!

The one who had struck was his most trusted brother! They had long since submitted to the Demon Race and used him to locate these ruins!

Under the Demon Race's overwhelming invasion, Nie Yun had never planned on surviving. Yet being betrayed by the brothers he trusted most still drove him mad. Gravely injured, he used a forbidden technique, burning away his lifespan without hesitation, and slaughtered every person who had betrayed him beneath his sword!

That battle caused Myriad Realms Mountain and the ancient civilization to collapse!

That battle wiped out every person who had betrayed him!

That battle scattered his soul and spirit, shattered his Bloodline Factors, and erased him completely!

"Shouldn't I be dead? Wasn't the family destroyed long ago?"

As that scene flashed through his mind, Nie Yun clenched his fists. When his eyes fell upon the familiar surroundings, lightning seemed to flash through his mind. His mouth fell open as he uttered words of utter disbelief.

"I actually... returned three hundred years into the past? I'm only sixteen this year?"

He knew the scene before him all too well, one he would never forget for the rest of his life. It was precisely when, at sixteen, he had gone out and encountered Nie Chao, his cousin from the same clan. A disagreement had turned into an argument, and Nie Chao had beaten him severely!

This injury had left him unconscious for five days and five nights, while his mother stayed by his side for those same five days and nights! When he finally awoke, his strength had fallen several levels from the Early Qi Cultivation Realm of the third heaven of the Qi Sea Nine Heavens, returning him to the first realm, Qi Guiding!

Because his strength had plummeted, he missed the family disciples' assessment. His branch's status fell to rock bottom, and they were abandoned by the family, forced to leave Luoshui City. From then on, they never recovered, suffering the humiliation of outsiders while their clansmen had no one to rely on and passed away one after another!

It was also because of this injury that his mother, seeking a Pengxin Snow Lotus to save him, deceived everyone and climbed Sunsetfall Peak, only to slip and fall to her death. It became a lifelong regret!

"Stop pretending to be dead if you're fine. Get up and cultivate early!"

Just as Nie Yun's mind was overwhelmed by his rebirth, an unhappy cold shout rang out. The speaker was a somewhat scruffy middle-aged man carrying an enormous Wine Gourd. The stench of alcohol rolled off him as he staggered toward the door.

"Father?" Seeing the man and hearing that rebuke, Nie Yun did not feel any disgust. Instead, his eyes reddened uncontrollably.

His father, Nie Xiaotian, had once been the family's foremost genius. A peak King Grade cultivator who had opened seven Bloodline Factors, he had reached the seventh realm of the Qi Sea Nine Heavens, the Weapon Armor Realm, before even turning twenty-five. He had been the champion of the Luoshui Talented Youth Competition and the recipient of the Luoshui Golden Shield. Just when everyone believed he could break through the shackles of the seventh realm and advance into a Qi Grandmaster, becoming a grandmaster of his generation, he had suddenly suffered cultivation deviation. His qi sea was damaged, and all his cultivation was destroyed in a single day!

A damaged qi sea meant one could never cultivate again. For a peerless genius said to appear only once in a century, the blow was simply too great. From then on, his father never rose again, drowning his sorrows in drink every day.

After falling from genius to cripple, his father's former rivals had crowded in to suppress him. Their branch's position in the family immediately plunged in a straight line. Now, they had been assigned to the very edge of Luoshui City and were not even permitted to enter the family estate!

He had been born into such an environment, bullied and mocked in every way since birth. Therefore, he had always hated the father responsible for all of it, even hating this family!

If not for this father, he could have opened his Bloodline Factors much earlier and obtained more cultivation resources. In that case, his strength would have grown faster. Perhaps he would already have become a genius disciple admired by everyone in the family, instead of falling so low that he lived on the city's outskirts, scorned and looked down upon by all!

If not for this father, he would not have suffered so much humiliation. Everything he did would not have been met with enormous resistance, and his life would not have been so impoverished!

For those reasons, he had grown to hate this father more and more, to loathe him more and more. There had been no familial affection between them whatsoever.

That did not change until that day...

That day, blood-red mist filled the air as the Demon Race army invaded all of Luoshui City. His father's body had stood before him and been pierced through by a spear from the leader of a demon tribe!

Only at the moment of his father's death did he understand. In order to let him open his Bloodline Factors, his father had traded with others and sold the Wenlin Blade he cherished as dearly as his life!

In order to let him cultivate more quickly, his father had knelt before the clan chief and endured humiliation to beg for Spirit Valley Pills, then had his mother pretend she had obtained them by chance and give them to him!

In order to keep him from being implicated by his father's reputation, he had endured the pain of putting on a cold and indifferent face before his own son...

But... what use was knowing all that then? His father was already gone, completely gone from his life!

The tree wished for stillness, but the wind would not cease; the child wished to care for his parents, but they would not wait!

He had understood too late. Had he understood earlier, he would not have been such a bastard. After his mother passed away and he took charge of the branch, he had cursed his father so viciously that he did not dare return home! Had he understood earlier, when the Demon Race arrived, he would not have shouted that he was ashamed to be the son of such a useless father, leaving him so disheartened that he willingly sought death! Had he understood earlier, he would not have...

Too many ifs, too many things that would not have happened—all of them vanished with that spear like wind scattering through the air, never to be recovered!

Father, your son has wronged you!

Father, your son was a bastard!

Father, your son was immature. Your son did not understand your painstaking intentions!

Father, since this life has allowed your son to be reborn, your son is willing to use his life to make up for past mistakes and use his life to defend your honor and dignity!

"Father!"

His emotions surged. Looking at his somewhat ragged father, Nie Yun's eyes reddened as the form of address he had not spoken for hundreds of years slowly left his lips, stiff yet carrying a son's heartfelt longing.

"What did you... call me?" Nie Xiaotian's staggering steps faltered. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, unable to believe what he had heard.

Ever since this son was six, he had been ashamed of his background and ashamed of having him as a father. He had never once called him "Father." How... how could this be...

"Father, drink less. Your old injuries have not fully healed yet," Nie Yun said, suppressing his emotions.

"You want me to drink less? My son called me Father? No, no, I've brought you shame. I don't deserve to be your father..." Nie Xiaotian hurried toward the door. With his back to Nie Yun and the others, two cloudy tears slowly rolled down his face...

My son is willing to call me Father. He is willing to acknowledge me. Even if I die now, it will have been worth it!

"I'll speak to Father later. He's still trapped in the shadow of his failure back then. I must resolve this knot in his heart!" With a sigh, Nie Yun looked at his mother. "Mother, I'm fine. Your eyes are all red. You must be exhausted. Go rest quickly. Tomorrow, I'll come pay my respects."

"It's good that you're fine. You just woke up, so sleep a little longer. I'll find the best healing medicine to treat your injuries and make sure you recover completely!" Seeing that her son had fully awakened, Nie Ling finally felt the pressure she had been holding in her heart suddenly ease. Sure enough, she felt rather tired. After standing and offering a few words of comfort, she returned to her room to rest.

"If I want to change everything, I must possess strength. I can't waste time. I need to cultivate immediately!"

After both his parents left the room, Nie Yun slowly sat up and entered a state of cultivation according to his original breathing method.

Qi sea cultivators had nine realms in total, commonly known as the Qi Sea Nine Heavens: first, Qi Guiding; second, Spirit Valley; third, Qi Nourishing; fourth, True Qi; fifth, Qi Projection; sixth, Qi Formation; seventh, Weapon Armor; eighth, Qi Grandmaster; ninth, Supreme!

Qi sea cultivation judged one's talent by the grade of one's bloodline. The higher the bloodline, the stronger one's cultivation talent and the higher the realm one could reach in the future!

The grade of one's bloodline was measured by Bloodline Factors. Bloodline Factors were fixed from the moment a person was born and represented their talent. The greater the number, the more noble one's status. They were divided into five grades: Emperor, King, Marquis, Noble, and Common. Ordinary cultivators possessed no Bloodline Factors. Opening one made one a Common Grade Upper bloodline; two or three meant a Noble Grade bloodline; four or five meant Marquis Grade; six or seven meant King Grade; while eight or nine were the rarest Emperor Grade bloodlines!

Each grade was further divided into upper and lower ranks according to the number of Bloodline Factors! Even among King Grade bloodlines, an upper-grade bloodline possessed higher standing and greater nobility than a lower-grade one!

Back then, Father Nie Xiaotian had opened seven great Bloodline Factors, becoming a King Grade Upper bloodline. This showed just how immense his potential had been!

With seven great Bloodline Factors, each capable of forming a dantian in the qi sea, he possessed seven great dantians by himself. His cultivation speed was a full seven times that of others!

Where others needed seven days of cultivation to equal one of his, such talent could only be described as terrifying!

"Hm? Where are my Bloodline Factors? Didn't I open them long ago? How can not a single one be here?"

The instant his consciousness entered his qi sea, Nie Yun discovered something was wrong and froze.

Though his talent before rebirth had not matched his father's, it had not been poor either. Otherwise, he could never have cultivated to the peak Dantian Acupoint Realm! He clearly remembered that when he was sixteen, he had opened three Bloodline Factors, entering the Noble Grade Upper bloodline. Why was there not a single Bloodline Factor in his body now?

That was impossible!

Without Bloodline Factors, he was merely an ordinary cultivator. Even with the finest cultivation technique, he could never cultivate to the peak Dantian Acupoint Realm. How would he avenge himself? How would he lead this branch to prosperity?

"And I remember that after waking from my severe injury at sixteen, I still had the first realm of the Qi Sea Nine Heavens. Why... do I have no strength at all now?"

Having no Bloodline Factors was strange enough, yet he did not even possess a trace of strength within his body. Could it be that after his rebirth, not only had he changed, but even his cultivation had changed? And rather than advancing, it had regressed?

"What exactly is going on..."

Rumble!

Just as Nie Yun was filled with doubt and had no idea what was happening, a sudden roar exploded before his eyes. An ancient and profound will instantly resounded throughout his mind.

"Heaven and Earth's Creation, Infinite Bloodline!"

In an instant, an abstruse and unfathomable art emerged from that will. Nourished by this art, the inner breath in his body slowly began circulating according to a special pattern.

As his inner breath circulated, crackling sounds erupted from his body. His flesh was continuously remade by an unknown force, and within his once withered qi sea, light suddenly flickered as an oval sphere emerged.

A Bloodline Factor!

Circulating this Nameless Art could actually alter one's talent and produce Bloodline Factors!

"Infinite Bloodline..."

Seeing the changes in his body and qi sea, Nie Yun trembled with excitement.

Perhaps another sixteen-year-old boy would have been frightened by this situation and not known what to do, but as an old monster who had reached the peak Dantian Acupoint Realm, how could he fail to understand the benefits of producing Bloodline Factors!

Being able to produce Bloodline Factors meant that cultivation could alter one's talent and bloodline, allowing him to cultivate faster and become stronger!

"Haha, it seems that not only did I obtain the ruins left by that ancient civilization, they even accompanied me through rebirth!"

Nie Yun hurriedly held his breath and carefully examined the Nameless Art that had suddenly appeared in his mind. Before rebirth, he and his sworn brothers had entered Myriad Realms Mountain in search of traces left by the gods, hoping to find an opportunity to break through. He had never imagined that he would find such a heaven-defying art!

The art contained over three thousand characters and described in detail how one could produce Bloodline Factors through cultivation, alter one's talent, and become superior to others!

"According to its description, this Nameless Art is extremely difficult to cultivate. Producing each Bloodline Factor requires paying an enormous price. I only produced one after comprehending the art because of a special opportunity. Producing a second one later will be far more troublesome!"

Nie Yun was not blinded by joy and quickly calmed himself.

The cultivation method described in the Nameless Art could only produce Bloodline Factors and change talent. It could not directly increase one's strength or cultivation. Nor was it easy to cultivate. The fact that he had successfully produced a Bloodline Factor immediately upon comprehending it was already a stroke of tremendous luck.

Though he currently had only one Bloodline Factor, lower even than his talent in his previous life, Nie Yun was full of confidence.

The speed at which a person's strength improved depended first on Bloodline Factors—that was, talent—and second on the level of their cultivation technique!

Cultivation techniques, like bloodlines, were divided into five grades: Emperor, King, Marquis, Noble, and Common. After the family was destroyed in his previous life, he had encountered a fortuitous opportunity and obtained an unparalleled cultivation technique. It could even be said to have surpassed Emperor Grade. It was precisely because of that technique and his unrelenting efforts that he had risen from a Noble Grade Upper bloodline to the peak Dantian Acupoint Realm within three hundred years!

The deepest techniques possessed by the Four Great Families of Luoshui City were merely Noble Grade Lower. Even the imperial family might not be able to produce an Emperor Grade Upper technique, while anything surpassing Emperor Grade was something the empire had never even heard of!

This technique was called the Nine Revolutions Nirvana Art. As its name implied, it could circulate through the body nine times. Once all nine revolutions were complete, one's strength would advance enormously!

"When my body accepted the Nameless Art, it was remade by an unknown force. My withered qi sea became full—this is precisely the sign that I have already reached the peak of the second Spirit Valley Realm. What I need to do now is transform my Bloodline Factor into a dantian!"

Of the Qi Sea Nine Heavens, the first realm was Qi Guiding, drawing in the power of heaven and earth and transforming it into nourishment for oneself. For those who had never cultivated, this realm was the most difficult. Even with good talent, it took no less than three to five years to complete. The second realm was Spirit Valley. Spirit Valley was also called Guanyuan, Lower Field, Heavenly Root, Life Stem, and many other names. One had to use absorbed spiritual qi to open up the qi sea, filling it with power.

After being remade by the Nameless Art, Nie Yun's qi sea had become full, proving that he had reached the peak of the Spirit Valley Realm. What he needed to do now was transform his Bloodline Factor into a dantian and nurture spiritual qi.

A dantian was an independent region opened within the qi sea, like a planet floating in the cosmos. It could automatically devour and purify spiritual qi. Ordinary cultivators without Bloodline Factors could not form dantians, making cultivation far more difficult. Their advancement speed was several times slower even than the lowest Common Grade Upper cultivator with a single Bloodline Factor!

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Nie Yun immersed his consciousness entirely into the Bloodline Factor.

An unopened Bloodline Factor resembled a giant egg—oval-shaped, quietly floating in the center of the qi sea without moving in the slightest.

"Open the bloodline, condense the dantian!"

With a low cry, Nie Yun controlled the spiritual qi in his qi sea and sent it rushing toward the Bloodline Factor. The moment the spiritual qi struck it, the oval giant egg that had been completely motionless began to rotate slowly, releasing a hazy gray glow.

The rotation and glow of a Bloodline Factor were signs that it was about to open.

Without pausing, Nie Yun's spiritual force immediately transformed into a sharp giant sword and slashed at the light. Rumble! A heaven-shaking explosion erupted in his qi sea, like the creation of heaven and earth. The Bloodline Factor suddenly expanded into the shape of a planet, rotating as it autonomously absorbed spiritual qi from the outside world and nurtured it.

The Bloodline Factor had completely transformed into a dantian!

"Success! Back then, simply opening my first dantian took me an entire three months!"

Seeing the dantian in his qi sea absorb spiritual qi every minute and strengthen him, Nie Yun's eyes shone with excitement.

Transforming a Bloodline Factor into a dantian was simple for him now, but when he first opened one, he had paid countless prices. Spiritual medicine, external assistance—it had taken a full three months to succeed. When opening a Bloodline Factor, the timing between spiritual qi and spiritual force had to be exact. The slightest error would result in failure!

But to Nie Yun, who had reached the peak Dantian Acupoint Realm in his previous life and now had the experience of two lives, such matters were nothing at all.

Transforming it into a dantian meant the spiritual qi in his qi sea could be nurtured by it. His strength was now equal to what it had been when he was sixteen in his previous life, having returned to the Early Qi Cultivation Realm of the third realm!

Once every trace of qi within the qi sea had been nurtured and purified, he would reach the peak of Qi Nourishing, cast away the false to preserve the true, and charge toward the fourth realm, True Qi!

Cultivators with Bloodline Factors had their dantians autonomously nurture and refine spiritual qi, while ordinary martial artists could only cultivate on their own. The difference in speed was immediately obvious! After all, no matter how hardworking a person was, they could not cultivate twenty-four hours a day without food or drink!

As for King Grade Upper cultivators like Father Nie Xiaotian back then, their speed was even more terrifying. Seven great dantians simultaneously absorbed and refined spiritual qi—their speed was simply horrifying beyond belief!

"Stop talking nonsense to me. Nie Yun has no manners and offended an inner branch disciple while being an outer branch disciple. He has already violated the clan rules. This is the clan's punishment order, personally delivered by an enforcement disciple. You have three days to hand over ten thousand taels of silver in compensation. Otherwise, you will be expelled from the family and forbidden from ever returning!"

Nie Yun had only cultivated for a short while when he heard an arrogant cold snort from the courtyard. The speaker talked as he walked inside.

Like ordinary families across the continent, the Nie Family assessed all disciples once every two years. Based on each disciple's talent and strength, they determined whether one belonged to an inner branch or outer branch. Inner branch disciples could remain in the family's main residence, the Nie Mansion in central Luoshui City, while outer branch disciples could only be sent out to various places to manage the family's businesses!

The Nie Tian Branch that Nie Yun belonged to had once lived in the core area of the Nie Mansion when his father was still powerful. After his father gave up on himself, could no longer participate in the family competition, and suffered further exclusion, they had fallen to this state.

Outer branch disciples and inner branch disciples were like collateral and direct descendants. Their statuses differed, as did the authority they held within the family.

"Ten thousand taels in compensation? Our Nie Tian Branch truly does not have that much money... Could you report back to the clan and show us some leniency?" His mother's voice rang out.

After Father fell into decline and spent every day drinking himself into a stupor, all matters of the Nie Tian Branch had been managed solely by Mother. In truth, she was the branch head.

"Show leniency? Hehe, if you can't produce the money, that's fine. Doesn't your family have a Luoshui Golden Shield? Hand that over, and it can serve as collateral!" The voice sneered.

"The Luoshui Golden Shield was personally awarded by the City Lord of Luoshui City when Xiaotian won the Luoshui Talented Youth Competition. It represents the supreme honor of our Nie Tian Branch and must never be used as collateral..."

"Honor? Your branch wants honor too? You think you have honor?" The voice dripped with mockery and ridicule. "Cheap woman, calling you Aunt is already giving you face. Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. I'm telling you, if you can't produce ten thousand taels, hand over the Luoshui Golden Shield immediately. If you make me angry, do you believe I'll drag Nie Yun out and beat him again, then accuse him once more of offending an inner branch disciple?"

"Drag me out and beat me again?"

Before the arrogant words had finished, the tightly shut door creaked open. Then a calm voice filled with coldness suddenly boomed throughout the entire courtyard.

"I really want to ask you one thing... did a donkey kick you in the head?"