While Zhang Ruochen and the others were sizing up Xuemo, he was doing the same to them. After all, they were following the Blood Empress and had entered a place that was considered forbidden grounds by the Blood Empress. There must be something special about them.
Suddenly, Xuemo locked his eyes onto Zhang Ruochen and said with a snigger, “Boy, I remember you. I really need to thank you. Back then, on the first level of the Endless Abyss, your killing of that Immortal Vampire whelp allowed me to wake up.”
“In just a few short years, you actually cultivated from a Demi saint all the way to a Nine-Step Saint King. You sure are good, boy. Blood Empress, is he your disciple?”
Seeing that Xuemo recognized him, Zhang Ruochen was not surprised, and he could not help but smile lightly. “I never thought the skeleton that flew out of King Naxianlan was actually the famous Xuemo of yore.”
“According to rumors, Xuemo and the Blood Empress should have been enemies, but now, it seems like that is not the case.”
Xuemo was indeed very strong, but his strength was not enough to inspire fear in Zhang Ruochen. Of course, Zhang Ruochen dared not underestimate him either.
Back then, the Divine Scripture Maiden had told him that Xuemo was an out-of-the-world genius. At the same time, he had cultivated the Demonstone Engraving, and using the nine engravings, created nine different legendary saint arts, causing much fear as people worry that he will become the second Lord Ming.
Over the years, Zhang Ruochen had met many cultivators who had cultivated the Demonstone Engravings. However, forget cultivating all nine of them, even those who managed to cultivate two at the same time were very few. So, no one knew how Xuemo managed to pull that off.
If there had been no accidents back then, Xuemo would have been even more terrifying, and he could have already become a god by now.
“Boy, there are many things that you hear are falsehood, but what you see may not be necessarily the truth either. Speaking of which, I do miss the days of fighting the Blood Empress. It is lonely to have no opponents.”
“Although the Blood Empress has joined forces with humans to defeat me, as a loser, there’s nothing else to be said. Plus, being asleep for eight hundred years isn’t all that bad.”
Xuemo looked very indifferent as if he did not care about what had happened in the past.
Hearing this, a thought struck Zhang Ruochen as he could faintly hear that there seemed to be something hidden behind all this.
As his thoughts ran, Zhang Ruochen seemingly asked a casual question. “Why would humans intervene in an internal struggle of the Immortal Vampires? Even if there was, shouldn’t they take both you and the Blood Empress out?
“You think I’m lying? If not for that Emperor Ming and Yan Liren interfering, it would not have been easy for the Blood Empress to defeat me.” Xuemo snorted coldly.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen was shocked. He believed that the Emperor Ming that Xuemo had mentioned must have been his father.
Based on what Zhang Ruochen knew, the Blood Empress had only gotten close to Emperor Ming after becoming Kong Shangling’s daughter.
However, after hearing what Xuemo had said, it was clear that both Emperor Ming and the Blood Empress had come into contact long before that. Emperor Ming had even helped the Blood Empress before. Why had he done that?
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen also understood the meaning of the Blood Empress having a friendship with Yan Liren.
Zhang Ruochen then looked at the Blood Empress as he stared at her eyes intently, asking, “Are Xuemo’s words true? What is the deal between you and father?”
“Yes, it was indeed your father and Yan Liren who helped me back then. Some things between your father and I, I cannot yet tell you, for the time is not right.” A look of slight hesitation appeared in the Blood Empress’ eyes.
Immediately after, she looked at Xuemo and spoke icily. “Xuemo, shut your mouth. You are not allowed to speak of my matters from now on.”
Xuemo glanced at Zhang Ruochen in surprise before shrugging and saying, “Right, right, I won’t say it. You’re still as boring as ever.”
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fist tightly and soon he released it. He wanted to continue asking, but after a little thought, he dispelled the idea. The Blood Empress was concealing this deliberately, so asking was pointless.
No matter what, he finally knew something, and with this as an entry point, he might be able to find all the answers he sought.
“Come with me.” The Blood Empress said as she continued to walk towards the depths of the cave.
Recomposing himself, Zhang Ruochen quickly followed behind. He had not forgotten the purpose of coming to this place.
Not too far away, the space before them suddenly became wider and brighter as clusters of terrifying flames floated in the air. They seemed to be full of intelligence, as though they were guarding the place.
As soon as he approached, Zhang Ruochen discovered that there was a powerful barrier in the space before him, and he could not easily break into it.
Through the barrier, Zhang Ruochen clearly saw what was going on inside.
With this glance, Zhang Ruochen’s gaze froze as it was affixed onto the cloud of red blood floating in the air.
The mass of red blood was large, elliptical in shape, and was about ten feet long. There were flames burning on its surface, and by the looks of it, it looked like a huge fireball, and like a phoenix in rebirth.
The surrounding space was faintly distorted by the flames as if it was about to melt away.
In the blood lay a person, and the person was an extremely beautiful young man. His eyes were closed, and his chest undulated with regularity like he was sleeping.
One could vaguely see that there were strands of chaotic Qi outside the young man’s body. Each strand was extremely dense, if it were not for these strange blood wrapping around him, they were enough to cost the space to collapse.
Badump, badump, badump…
Even if they were far away, they could hear the strong heartbeat of the young man’s body. With every beat sounding like a deafening divine thunder.
Not only that but the sound of the blood flowing inside the young man’s body was clearly transmitted into the ears of Zhang Ruochen and the others. It was reminiscent of an endless divine stream that was unstoppable.
Kong Lanyou was shocked as she said, “What a powerful Immortal Saint Body. The immense power inside it is more than ten times stronger than the power I cultivated as a Supreme Saint in the past.”
Kong Lanyou secretly surmised that if this young man woke up. He would only need one move to blast her—a person who was once a Supreme Saint—into oblivion.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the young man lying inside the blood. Even with his stable state of mind, he was a little confused at the moment.
“What have you done?” Zhang Ruochen looked at the Blood Empress and asked grimly.
The Blood Empress smiled and said, “Chen’er, the reason why I summoned you to the Endless Abyss is to give you this gift.
“Back then, I discovered the arcane nature of this place, so I got Shangguan Que to steal the body of your previous life from the ancestral halls and placed it here.
“Eight hundred years on, this body has become extremely powerful. As long as you merge with it, you will obtain the most powerful physical body, and easily step into the realm of Supreme Sainthood in the near future.”
Hearing this, before Zhang Ruochen could react, Xuemo said in surprise, “So this body turned out to be your son, Blood Empress. No wonder you treasure it so much, and refuse to give it to me no matter what.”
Soon after, Xuemo turned to Zhang Ruochen and said. “Boy, even I am a little envious of you, to have such a perfect and powerful body. This is more than an Immortal Saint Body, it is a Demigod’s body. If you merge with it, you’ll get power beyond any ordinary Supreme Saints, and it is not an exaggeration to call you a Demigod.”
Hearing the powerful heartbeats, Kong Lanyou could not help but ask. “Why is cousin’s body still alive? Has the soul been reborn?”
“No, there is no soul in this body. I’ve used the Blood Phoenix’s essence blood and my own essence blood alongside a chaotic stone, refining them together to envelop Chen’er’s body. After eight hundred years of nurturing, it has finally become a chaotic Immortal Saint Body. Chen’er has also cultivated the innate Five-element Chaotic Body in this life and can fuse with it.” The Blood Empress shook her head as she explained.
In order to nurture the body of Zhang Ruochen’s previous life, the Blood Empress had expended a lot of effort as the treasures she had invested into the effort would make the eyes of a top-level Supreme Saint water.
If this had been other cultivators, they would have agreed to all the Blood Empress’ conditions without even blinking and accepted the flesh in an instant. After all, it could save them, who knew, how many years of cultivation.
Yet, Zhang Ruochen was very calm as he said, “For you to want me to fuse with this body, you want me to become an Immortal Vampire? I will walk my own path myself, and I don’t need your help.”
“What’s the matter with the Immortal Vampires? The Immortal Vampires are born with great vitality and longer lifespans than human beings. As far as physical bodies are concerned, a human’s body is just incomparable. So many people want to be an Immortal Vampire but do not have the chance.” Xuemo looked unhappy.
After a pause, Xuemo continued, “What’s more, this body is not at all comparable to a body of a normal Immortal Vampire. It is perfect, yet you do not want it.”
Upon seeing the body, Xuemo was eager to get it, wanting to use it as his own new body. Sadly, the Blood Empress never gave him the opportunity to get close to it.
“So what? If you want me to become an Immortal Vampire, a blood-sucking demon… Impossible!” Zhang Ruochen said firmly.
A pleading look appeared in the Blood Empress’ eyes as she said, “Chen’er listen to Mother. I would never do you harm, and you have no need to worry about the need for blood. I have already resolved that problem for you long ago. I did all this just to make you stronger.”
“I’ve told you that you don’t have to worry about my affairs, and I don’t need you to arrange the path that I will take,” Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
As long as it involved the Immortal Vampires, Zhang Ruochen would have a great revulsion in his heart.
Before waiting for the Blood Empress to say anything, Zhang Ruochen turned around and walked straight out.
“Chen’er… Sigh… It looks like I was too hasty.” The Blood Empress shook her head and sighed, her eyes full of helplessness.
Mu Lingxi did not react at first, but after seeing Zhang Ruochen leave, she immediately trailed after him.
Kong Lanyou took a deep look at the body wrapped in divine blood. Many memories came to her mind as she could not help but sigh heavily.
After that, Kong Lanyou also turned around and quickly followed Zhang Ruochen’s pace.
Looking at Zhang Ruochen’s departing figure, Xuemo could not help but whisper, “What a stubborn guy. Since he doesn’t want it, how about you give it to me, Blood Empress?”
A cold light suddenly appeared in the Blood Empress’ eyes, as she gave Xuemo a cold look.
“Ugh, just saying.” Xuemo’s expression immediately changed as he responded sheepishly.
He was far from being a match for the Blood Empress at the moment, so it was better if he did not provoke her and find unnecessary trouble for himself.
The Blood Empress did not pay mind to Xuemo as her figure flashed and disappeared without a trace.
She had wanted Zhang Ruochen to fuse with his body from his previous life. Then, there would be a blood connection between the two, and perhaps, Zhang Ruochen would quickly accept her.
However, the Blood Empress did not expect Zhang Ruochen’s resistance to it would be so strong.
While she could force him to accomplish this, what would happen afterward was beyond her ability to predict. The situation would perhaps get even worse because of it, so it was better for her to put the matter aside first.
Seeing the Blood Empress leave, Xuemo could not help but appear contemplative as he said to himself, “The Blood Empress expended so much effort to understand the secret method of removing the Immortal Vampire’s craving for blood. It can’t be just for her son… What kind of plan is she hatching?”
“Nevertheless, the Blood Empress sure is amazing, to comprehend such a mysterious technique. Being without the constant craving for blood has plenty of benefits, and that is just right up my alley.”
Glancing at the perfect body within the barrier once again, Xuemo shook his head before he turned and left.
Since there was no way he could get this perfect, ready-made body, then he could only refine a perfect body out himself, and he had always liked such challenging things.
Led by the Blood Empress, Zhang Ruochen and the others returned to the garden in the palace.
“There is one thing that I need to figure out. Eight hundred years ago, is father’s sudden disappearance related to you?” Zhang Ruochen looked at the Blood Empress in the eyes and asked very seriously.
The Blood Empress looked at Zhang Ruochen’s eyes and sighed. “Chen’er, your mother and your father are indeed opposing foes, but do you really think that there are no feelings between us? Your father’s disappearance and your assassination… I only found out after the fact. Otherwise, you think I would just sit back and watch while you were harmed? Mother would have cast whoever that dared to lay a finger on you into an unceremonious death. But… what a pity… For certain reasons, I was unable to leave the Endless Abyss. Otherwise, Chi Yao and Emperor Qing would have already paid a painful price.”
Hearing this answer, Zhang Ruochen’s heart trembled, and he asked, “Father is still alive, right?”
“Your father… should still be alive. I can still sense him. But, forget it, when the promised time comes, I will go meet him personally.” The Blood Empress said.
For some reason, Zhang Ruochen did not have any doubts about the Blood Empress’ words.
For a time, the large rock that was suspended in his heart could finally be laid to rest.
As long as Emperor Ming was still alive, everything else seemed unimportant.
