While Ashara opened the gate for his grandson's departure, all the golden-blooded humans of house Serkar, a total of 124 individuals, gathered within the Merit Hall to go through Konrad's experiment. Under Berken's orders, all formed circles around the glittering Blood Tablet and held their breath in a mixture of awe and uncertainty.
Konrad snapped his fingers and the new entrants all collapsed on the floor, with their internal organs no longer functioning and their soul at rest. A breeze of silence passed before the fallen rose again, their black eyes shining with newfound purpose.
Konrad stretched out his hand, causing the Blood Origin of all the golden-blooded Serkar to emerge from their chests and fly toward the Blood Tablet! As non-deities, without Blood Origin, their lives should have ended. But since in perfect undeath they lay, that rule no longer applied.
Chimera's Blood Origin joined the mix, making the tablet blaze with a brighter red. The Golden Blood Origins superimposed within the tablet, mixing with Chimera's Icy-Blue Blood Origin before turning into a ball of golden-blue flame.
If quantity didn't ensure quality, then through the Blood Refining Tablet and his own brilliant skills, Konrad would build quality out of quantity.
Massive waves of chthonian energies erupted from his palm to barrel into the Blood Tablet's nucleus where the bloodlines intertwined. With the black and icy-blue force fueling it, the mixture burned brighter, the imperfections vanished into nothingness, and the energy signature it released rose to new levels. With his left hand, Konrad manipulated the Blood Refining Tablet, using it to perfect the fusion and enhance the result.
One hour passed before Konrad's refinement of the new lineage ended. And as he pulled back his right hand, within the Blood Refining Tablet, an icy-blue Blood Origin remained, rippling with a might that rivaled titans. Konrad's hands flashed in incantation gestures, and that Blood Origin emerged from the tablet to fly toward his chest and merge with his Chthonian Heart.
Dazzling, icy light erupted from him as his Chthonian Heart refined the resulting Blood Origin and brought it to another level. Now, as Konrad appraised the result, he realized that even titans were left behind.
The icy Blood Origin emerged from his chest to hover within his palm. And from it, light beams erupted to fly toward Chimera and all the gathered Serkar scions. Gulistan was no exception. When the new Blood Origin lodged within their chest and releasing fresh blood within their veins, they could feel their strength rise to greater heights than ever before.
The state of their existence changed, and they went from undead humans to become new life forms within which chthonian energies overflowed!
Their hearts became chthonian hearts, their eyes turned icy-blue, their olive skins became snow-white and only their black hairs remained unchanged.
"Formidable."
Else, who lay perched on Konrad's shoulder, muttered in clear astonishment.
Not only did this new lineage not carry any suppression, but in terms of level, it had already gone way beyond royal demon or deva blood. Worse, she could see that just like with Gulistan, Konrad could bestow that lineage to the living, and pull them into this new race without having to go through death.
Stretching out her paw, she released a wave of Divine Power that destroyed one of the Serkar inheritors, and was startled to see him reform instantaneously! Those people couldn't be killed! At least not in conventional manners. However, a startling scene occurred. As the new lineage took place within them, the cultivation of all the recipients dispersed, vanishing into nothingness!
Demigod, Sage, Saint, it mattered not, all returned to zero! Gulistan was scared out of her wits! However, Konrad was undisturbed for this indeed was his doing.
"From now on, you belong to the Chthonian Immortal Race. Congratulations. But henceforth, your cultivation path will never again be the same. You cultivate flesh and are restricted to the laws of Blood, Nether, and Death. Of course, your ability to understand them transcend that of all others.
Moreover, akin to me, chthonian forces make you mightier. Ghosts and those you kill become nutrients for your growth, their strength is added to your own. Unfortunately, unlike me you can't rob the abilities they cultivated in life…or unlife for that matter.
Among other things, you also possess a -lineage weapon- and may use Chthonian Bestowal to bring humans into our ranks. However, the bloodline of those created in that manner will always be one level weaker. Naturally, unless I command it, only those scant few of you with free will can make the choice.
Meanwhile…"
Konrad paused to extend his right index toward the floating God-Corpses. The Minor God corpses all flew toward the Serkar scions, with the True God corpses landing before Gulistan, Berken, Chimera, Diyana, the inheritors and top elders.
For such matters, Konrad didn't practice blind favoritism. Those he picked for True God bodies were a cut above the rest even among their golden-blooded peers. After all, even among individuals of equal bloodline levels, there was a hierarchy. By virtue of comprehension skills, some would inevitably stand out.
Never could Ashara imagine that as he dispatched troops to the Ancient Crystal World, the corpses he sent out would be used to breed stronger Gods!
Or "Chthonic Gods," in this case.
"Absorb them and your flesh and bones shall obtain the deceased strength."
Konrad ordered, and without hesitation, all pressed their hands against the fallen deities. The dead Gods turned into icy-blue dust to merge with the Chthonian Corps' flesh and bones! And though they still possessed no cultivation, their might rose to Minor God and True God levels!
Thus, the Blood Shadow Pavilion was formed, with Gulistan, Berken and Chimera serving as its chief commanders.
But Gulistan quickly saw a critical issue that prevented her from feeling elation at this meteoric rise in strength.
"This cultivation manner is too restricted and doomed to make us the enemy of the Three Realms."
She directly said, pulling an approving nod from Berken. And indeed, they were right. If laws aside the only way for them to increase their might was through slaughter and the refinement of the deceased, it wouldn't be long before demons and devas alike gathered to exterminate them all.
"That is a risk we have to take. The cultivation path of the Three Realms is a False Bridge we all need to get out of before it's far too late."
Konrad replied, speaking words as startling as they were incomprehensible. But he explained no further and from the right side of his chest, his World Devourer Blood Origin flew out to merge with the Blood Matrix. The Chthonian Immortal Blood Origin followed, and the two intertwined in jade and icy-blue flames.
Again, Konrad released the full might of his chthonian forces to control the changes ongoing within the Matrix, whose own blood energy tinkered with the mix. The process carried on for three more hours, before a brand-new lineage combining the might of the Chthonian Immortal and World Devourer bloodlines appeared.
That new lineage flew back into Konrad's chest, and filled his Chthonian Heart. And as a new, grander blood and force filled his veins, Konrad chose to name this new lineage, the Myriad World Immortal Blood.
Alas, this name would never resound throughout the Three Realms, for all living things would come to dub him as…the Chthonian Primogen.
