Bloodline Power

Smack!

Qingfeng reacted swiftly, reaching the offering table and firmly slapping a yellow talisman onto the chunk of meat.

The struggling meat instantly went still, showing no further signs of anything unusual.

Wang Yu let out a long breath, released the small wooden sword with both hands, and stepped back.

"Good. Thankfully, you were here to help, junior brother. Otherwise, sealing this Yin Spirit would have been quite troublesome." The young Daoist tossed the meat back into the jar and sealed its mouth again with the thick cloth, then smiled faintly at Wang Yu.

"That thing is called a Yin Spirit?" Still shaken, Wang Yu instinctively asked.

"Yes. Yin Spirits are low-level vicious spirits born from yin energy. They have little intelligence and act only on instinct, but if one burrows into an ordinary person's body, it can cause a serious illness or even snuff out their life. Even after capturing one, we have to seal it so we can slowly purify it later," Qingfeng replied unhurriedly as he placed the jar among the others.

"What is yin energy? Are there many of these ghostly things? Why have I never heard of them before?" Wang Yu asked, countless thoughts churning through his mind.

No matter how he looked at it, this thing resembled the ghosts of Blue Star's legends.

"I'll explain yin energy when we have time later. But Yin Spirits really are rare. They've only become more numerous in recent years for certain special reasons. It's perfectly normal that you never knew about them."

"The other Yin Spirits in these jars were caught and brought back to the abbey by Master and me over the past two years. These things are like cloud patterns-ordinary people can't come into contact with them. Only those with spiritual perception can see them. Otherwise, I would have asked Dongyue for help instead of you," Qingfeng said with a chuckle.

Wang Yu finally understood somewhat, and he did not find Dongyue's lack of spiritual perception strange. After all, Daoist Chongyun had said it was a gift possessed by only a few. But after looking at the jars on the floor, he could not help asking:

"Eldest Senior Brother, was that lightning in your hand a spell? Can these talismans really seal these things?"

"You know about talismans too, junior brother? That's quite rare. The ones pasted on the jars are indeed talismans, but they differ from ordinary ones. To be precise, these are spirit talismans containing genuine dharma power. Ordinary talismans can't suppress Yin Spirits." Surprise crossed the young Daoist's face. He raised one hand and spread his fingers, revealing a pitch-black wooden token inscribed with several seemingly intricate patterns, then continued:

"Although I know a few spells, what I used earlier wasn't one. I merely activated the lightning power in this object. This token was made from hundred-year-old lightning-struck wood. By activating it with dharma power, I can make it release lightning. It's extremely useful against evil entities such as Yin Spirits. The wooden sword in your hand was also made from scraps of lightning-struck wood, but nothing has been inscribed on it, so it can't release lightning power. Still, it can ward off evil. You can keep it, junior brother. I can't let you help for nothing."

"Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother."

He really had dharma power, and he knew spells too!

Overjoyed, Wang Yu carefully tucked the wooden sword into his robe, while pondering what Qingfeng meant by "inscribed."

Seeing Wang Yu's delight, a thoughtful look flickered across the young Daoist's face. After a moment's consideration, he asked:

"Junior Brother Autumn Leaf, would you like to learn how I suppress and seal Yin Spirits?"

"What? You're willing to teach me, senior brother? Would the abbot agree?" Wang Yu was surprised, then spoke with delight.

"Don't worry about that. What I intend to teach you isn't one of White Cloud Abbey's secret arts passed down to its direct disciples, just one or two methods specifically for suppressing Yin Spirits. There are more and more of them down the mountain now, and I urgently need a helper with spiritual perception. As long as you agree, I'll persuade Master myself," Qingfeng said without hesitation.

"If the abbot has no objections, of course I'd like to learn." Wang Yu nodded repeatedly, looking entirely willing.

"Good. Wait for my news, junior brother. It's getting late, and I need to check the seals on the other Yin Spirits. You should leave now." Without saying more, the young Daoist peeled the yellow talisman off the door again and began ushering him out.

Wang Yu bowed in farewell and turned to leave. As soon as he passed through the doorway, the dark stone door slowly closed, hiding everything inside from view.

Outside, Wang Yu stood looking at the stone door for quite a while, his gaze flickering, before leaving with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

He did not know whether it was his imagination, but after all that exertion, the burning heat inside his body had vanished without a trace. Only a faint itching remained on his skin.

That night, he had a very long dream. First, he dreamed of returning to Blue Star laden with riches, surrounded by astonished friends and family. Then, inexplicably, he fell into a sea of fire. His skin melted away piece by piece in the flames, yet he felt no searing pain. Instead, waves of coolness washed over him, leaving his whole body wonderfully comfortable, before he sank into a blissful, deep sleep.

The next morning, in a side room at White Cloud Abbey.

Wang Yu stood beside the table, holding half an earthenware cup, his face blank with bewilderment.

Just moments earlier, after getting out of bed, he had felt thirsty and reached for the cup on the table to drink some water. Yet the moment he grasped it, its upper half shattered between his fingers as though it were made of sand.

It took Wang Yu a long while to recover his senses. Then he tightened his grip slightly around the remaining half of the cup.

Crack!

The rest of the cup shattered too, fragments slipping between his fingers and scattering all over the floor.

"Impossible."

He murmured and raised both hands to examine them closely. Only then did he notice that his palms seemed a size larger than before. His eyes widened, and he abruptly reached for the corner of the table and wrenched it hard.

Snap!

The seemingly sturdy wooden corner broke off easily, as though it were made of dough.

"Hiss!"

Wang Yu sucked in a cold breath. Only now was he truly convinced that his strength had become tremendous overnight. Looking down again, he saw that his legs seemed thicker too, and the cuffs of his formerly well-fitting trousers appeared to have grown a little short.

With a slight push from his knees, he sprang more than ten feet into the air, easily touching the seemingly lofty roof beam with one hand. Then he bent down and did nearly a hundred push-ups in one go, without feeling the slightest exhaustion.

This was the effect of the medicinal meat!

Wang Yu was utterly astounded. It was the only explanation he could think of.

Although both Dongyue and Qingfeng had said the first few servings of medicinal meat were exceptionally effective, he still could not imagine it causing such enormous changes to his body overnight.

Such a heaven-defying effect, akin to cleansing the marrow and transforming the sinews, probably existed only in certain tales and novels on Blue Star.

As a modern man familiar with the physiology of ordinary human bodies, he could not help worrying that such drastic overnight changes might carry some hidden danger.

The excitement gradually faded from Wang Yu's face. Deciding to find Dongyue and get a clear explanation, he immediately pushed open the door and walked out.

A young Daoist stood quietly in the middle of the abbey courtyard, apparently resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the noise, he opened his eyes and immediately spotted Wang Yu hurrying out.

"Good morning, Eldest Senior Brother."

Somewhat surprised, Wang Yu hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Autumn Leaf, what happened to your face? And why have you suddenly grown so much taller?" Qingfeng looked Wang Yu, whom he had only just seen the previous night, up and down with a strange expression.

"My face?" Wang Yu asked in surprise.

"See for yourself." The young Daoist's mouth twitched. He actually took a bronze mirror from inside his robe and handed it over.

Full of questions, Wang Yu accepted the bronze mirror and glanced into it. Its smooth surface reflected a strange, two-toned face. The lower half looked normal, but the skin on the upper half was scarlet, like a freshly boiled prawn. Yet he himself felt nothing unusual at all.

As for his height?

He glanced at the young Daoist opposite him and only then noticed that, from his perspective, Qingfeng seemed much shorter.

He really had grown considerably taller overnight.

This was...

Holding the mirror, Wang Yu was at a loss.

"After you went back yesterday, did you encounter anything strange or eat anything you shouldn't have?" the young Daoist asked curiously.

"I went straight to bed after returning last night. I didn't even drink any water. As for anything strange... right, I ate medicinal meat yesterday. Could that have something to do with it?" Wang Yu returned the mirror to the young Daoist and answered thoughtfully.

"If your first serving of medicinal meat worked well, the improvements to your body would indeed be fairly noticeable. But it would only make you stronger. It couldn't change your body so drastically." Qingfeng shook his head.

"Eldest Senior Brother, my strength has suddenly increased a great deal too," Wang Yu said cautiously after a brief hesitation.

"A great deal? How much could it have increased?" Qingfeng glanced at Wang Yu, looking rather unconvinced.

Wang Yu stretched his mouth into a grin and said nothing more. After looking around, his gaze settled on a stone cauldron half a man's height beside the young Daoist, and he walked over to it.

The young Daoist watched Wang Yu without stopping him.

Wang Yu roughly estimated the stone cauldron's weight from its size, then gripped its lower sides with both hands and gave a low shout. The cauldron, which appeared to weigh three or four hundred jin, began rocking from side to side. Then, with another heave of his arms, he lifted it above his head. He walked a circle around the young Daoist before setting it back in its original place with a thunderous boom, his face flushed red. Even the nearby ground trembled.

The smile at the corners of Qingfeng's mouth froze instantly.

He too walked over to the stone cauldron, grabbed its rim with one hand, drew a deep breath, and pushed hard.

The stone cauldron rocked slightly but remained where it was.

"You... Autumn Leaf, come with me to see Master." Qingfeng turned and seized Wang Yu's arm, speaking without hesitation, excitement showing in his expression.

"See Master? All right, Eldest Senior Brother." Wang Yu paused in surprise, then hurriedly nodded and followed the young Daoist toward the main hall.

They entered the main hall, went around the enormous statue of the Nine Heavens Horned Sun Celestial Master, then passed through a corridor and arrived outside a quiet chamber.

"Master, your disciples Qingfeng and Autumn Leaf request an audience," Qingfeng said respectfully from outside after knocking twice.

"Qingfeng, why have you come now? Didn't I already agree to what you asked of me yesterday?" Daoist Chongyun's calm voice came from inside the quiet chamber.

"Master, I've come about Junior Brother Autumn Leaf again. But this time, I would like to ask you to personally accept him and make him a direct disciple of White Cloud Abbey," Qingfeng replied quietly.

The young Daoist's words greatly surprised Wang Yu, and silence fell inside the room as well. Only after quite a while did Daoist Chongyun's surprised voice sound:

"Qingfeng, you've always been levelheaded. Surely you wouldn't say this without good reason."

"Master, after his first serving of medicinal meat, Junior Brother Autumn Leaf seems to have awakened his bloodline power. But I don't know exactly what bloodline it is," Qingfeng replied bluntly.

"What? He awakened his bloodline? Both of you, come in at once." Daoist Chongyun's voice rose several notches inside the quiet chamber.

Wang Yu was bewildered and uncertain, but under the young Daoist's urging, he could only steel himself and follow him into the quiet chamber.

The quiet chamber was empty, its walls entirely built from blue-gray stone bricks. Apart from a yellow meditation cushion on the floor, there was nothing else inside. Seated cross-legged on that cushion was Daoist Chongyun.