The essence drifting between heaven and earth swarmed toward the black egg, forming a vast vortex above it that poured essence inside.
The black egg atop the circular altar kept absorbing that essence, devouring it like a black hole that could never be filled.
The process seemed to be growing ever more intense, and the vortex above the black egg spread outward.
Each time it absorbed more energy, the light upon the black egg brightened.
Suddenly, Shi Qingyun heard something surging beside him, a sound like flowing water.
Shi Qingyun hurried to the edge of the Dao Platform to see what had happened.
Streams of blood-red liquid bubbled up beneath the nine-tiered Dao Platform, brimming with rich energy.
Within that liquid, Shi Qingyun seemed to see countless wandering souls wailing. A thick stench of blood filled the space.
The rushing sound of flowing water reached Shi Qingyun's ears. He involuntarily swallowed, feeling as though blood were slowly trickling down his throat into his stomach.
He could not help shuddering.
This flesh-and-blood essence, drawn from the dead vicious beasts of the Starfall Mountain Range, had all gathered here through the formation. The sight's impact was easy to imagine.
The next instant, the flesh-and-blood essence slowly flowed toward the grooves atop the Dao Platform.
The sight of that essence flowing through the grooves like an endless, surging river left Shi Qingyun deeply shocked.
"How many living creatures had to be killed to gather this much flesh-and-blood essence?"
As the flesh-and-blood essence poured in, the life fluctuations emanating from the black egg immediately grew stronger.
Faintly, he seemed to hear heartbeats coming from inside the black egg.
Chapter 57: The Qilin Cub
An endless stream of flesh-and-blood essence flowed through the grooves into the black egg atop the altar.
Waves of suction came from the black egg, crazily devouring the flesh-and-blood essence. Shi Qingyun vaguely thought he heard swallowing sounds.
After absorbing this flesh-and-blood essence, the entire black egg began undergoing some inexplicable transformation.
Under Shi Qingyun's gaze, the black egg began to change. Yet despite watching without blinking, he still failed to notice the moment those tiny changes appeared.
It was as though everything had happened naturally, without leaving the slightest trace.
Strange patterns crawled across the black egg's surface, resembling imprints of the Great Dao.
They also resembled blood vessels, absorbing the flesh-and-blood essence. With every bit they absorbed, the patterns grew a little more vivid.
Illuminated by those blood-colored patterns, the entire black egg radiated red light, lending the otherwise ordinary egg an alluring, sacred air.
As those blood-colored patterns appeared, the black outer layer slowly turned transparent, as though the patterns were growing inward.
Wherever the patterns passed, the egg's black shell could no longer conceal what lay inside.
Shi Qingyun's eyes gleamed. With a glance, he could see inside the black egg, where densely packed runes flowed beneath its shell.
At the center of those runes, a small beast on its last breath lay sealed inside.
Its four limbs were curled together, and its head bore pointed horns. Its multicolored fur lent it a sacred air, while tiny scales were arranged tightly along its limbs.
Intricate runes flickered in and out of sight all over its body, with the greatest concentration flashing around its abdomen.
From Shi Qingyun's angle, the little creature looked like a sprite sleeping among enormous flower petals.
Yet a very deep, conspicuous wound marked the little creature's abdomen.
Mysterious runes flickered over the wound, their densely clustered glimmers becoming the only light within the pitch-black egg.
That cluster of light was embedded firmly in its flesh, like a luminous pearl.
There was no telling how long it had been there. It was as though those runes had grown there from the beginning.
Yet even with those densely packed runes blocking the wound, thick black mist still bubbled out of it.
That tiny light still could not fully illuminate the darkness around it, merely flickering within the gloom.
Shi Qingyun felt that before long, the black vapor would completely wear away those runes. When that happened, the little creature probably would not have much longer to live.
At that moment, it relied entirely on those runes to sustain its last thread of life.
The black vapor flowing from the wound continually ate away at the little creature's body.
Shi Qingyun guessed that the strange sounds coming from it were delirious murmurs brought on by unbearable pain.
Just as he began to feel sorrow over the little creature's plight.
The flesh-and-blood essence circling above the black egg passed straight through its black shell and poured into the little creature's body.
As that flesh-and-blood essence passed through the black shell, mysterious runes on the egg began flowing rapidly.
Faintly, those runes seemed to transform into an enormous millstone. All the flesh-and-blood essence passed through it, as though being tempered and purified.
The sight of that somewhat illusory, ethereal millstone left Shi Qingyun entranced.
Only the endlessly turning millstone remained in his vision. Standing before it, Shi Qingyun seemed utterly insignificant, and his soul slowly drifted toward it.
Just as that great millstone was about to grind over him, Shi Qingyun abruptly came to his senses.
Strange sounds reached his ears.
Faintly, Shi Qingyun seemed to hear howls coming from the black egg, like the final cries before souls scattered into oblivion, bleak beyond description.
The refined flesh-and-blood essence slowly poured into the little creature's body.
Streams of energy also flowed into the somewhat dim runes. As though infused with vitality, those runes instantly blazed with light.
After receiving such an endless supply of energy, the little creature's lifeless appearance changed, and the sound of a heartbeat began coming from its body.
Although that heartbeat was extremely faint, Shi Qingyun still detected it. Even the essence of heaven and earth in the air seemed to pulse in time with it.
The essence of heaven and earth instantly became highly active, continually swarming toward the black egg.
The flesh-and-blood essence slowly flowed onto the wound, trying to repair it.
A sizzling sound rang out, audible even to Shi Qingyun outside.
It was the sound of the flesh-and-blood essence and the black mist flowing from the wound annihilating each other.
The runes over the wound slowly emitted bright light. When the essence of heaven and earth outside surged into them, those intricate runes began rotating.
They slowly ground away the black mist clinging to the flesh and bones.
Under this combined assault from within and without, the black vapor slowly diminished. Yet the pain produced in the process made the little creature's body tremble incessantly.
"What an enormous undertaking! Using an entire world's living creatures to nourish it!"
Watching the scene before him, Shi Qingyun finally understood, his heart filled with shock.
Perhaps the little creature simply was not fated to die? Even after suffering such grievous injuries, it had retained a thread of life for all this time.
"Could this be a qilin cub?"
Shi Qingyun was somewhat startled by his own thought, then quickly suppressed it.
If a qilin cub truly appeared in the world, there was no telling how much bloody wind and rain it would stir up.
Instinctively, he did not want to believe it. Yet both the little creature's appearance and the enormous effort expended for its sake forced him to consider the possibility.
But another look at the thick deathly aura constantly circling and churning above the little creature's head left him worried.
With such a dense deathly aura, Shi Qingyun had no idea how it had survived.
Still, all this had to be inextricably tied to the master of this Secret Realm. Perhaps he was the one helping the little creature.
Seeing the thick deathly aura circling above the black egg, he guessed that it had first been transferred outside, then blocked by the black eggshell.
He had no idea what material that black eggshell was made of, to actually hold back such a dense deathly aura.
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Chapter 58: Qilin Battles the Black Snake
Suddenly, Shi Qingyun's ears twitched as he detected a series of sounds coming from overhead.
Clang! Clang!
They were the sounds of iron hooves striking down, and he hurriedly turned his head to look.
An enormous exotic beast filled his vision, completely occupying his sight.
A divine qilin brimming with life essence walked toward him through midair, as though treading level ground.
Every step sent ripples through the underground space.
It was like stepping onto a tranquil lake. The spreading ripples struck the smooth ravine walls around it like blades of light.
Immediately, a tremendous metallic clash rang out, and deep marks remained on those ravine walls.
The qilin's four horse-like hooves stamped heavily against the void. As though piercing straight through space, it kept flashing through midair.
Its figure flickered indistinctly through the air like a gust of wind; its sound could be heard, but its form could not be seen.
In the blink of an eye, it arrived above the black egg and circled there incessantly, its tail, like divine metal, swinging freely through the air behind it.
That tail, shimmering with a green halo, lashed the void with a tremendous report that rang especially loudly within the deep rift.
As the enormous qilin paced back and forth, specks of green light radiated from its body.
They fell upon Shi Qingyun, and the rich life essence made every pore across his body open involuntarily.
Especially when its tail lashed the void, specks of green light showered down from its body.
They fell into the black mist coiled above the black egg, and the mist instantly reacted as though it had encountered some terrifying natural predator.
It churned incessantly, and a grating crackle immediately came from the void wherever it touched, as though space itself were being corroded.
It sounded like biting into a piece of glass, utterly unnerving.
The moment the green life essence fell into it, the black mist parted along its descending path.
But once the green life essence entered the mist's interior, the black mist filling it swiftly devoured the essence.
Shi Qingyun's body greedily absorbed the green Treasure Liquid scattering down from midair.
As he absorbed the Treasure Liquid, a hazy, precious radiance appeared over his flesh.
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