Han Sen spent another two weeks in the White Bone Hell. The blood kirin came down from its mountain to absorb blood bone air every day, and during such times, Han Sen got to interact with it very closely.
The blood kirin had initially seemed like a cruel beast, but it wasn’t showing any animosity toward Han Sen now, which made him curious. The most probable cause for the blood kirin’s change in behavior, he figured, was the blood kirin having tasted his blood.
That had only transpired once, though. The blood kirin had consumed Han Sen’s old blood as he leveled up, but he had no plans to feed the beast with his blood again.
The Blood-Pulse Sutra had become Duke, and Han Sen continued to fuse his blood with the Blood Scorpion Jade Drum. His connection with the Drum progressed by leaps and bounds. Now, he was able to use the Blood Scorpion Jade Drum without Bao’er’s help. That made things quite a bit easier.
That day, after the blood kirin absorbed more of the blood bone air, it roared at Han Sen. Then, it turned around and returned to the lotus mountain. When it saw that Han Sen wasn’t following, the beast turned around and roared at him again.
Han Sen realized the blood kirin was inviting him to the lotus mountain. Han Sen followed after the creature without hesitation. If he was being invited to enter the blood kirin’s lair, it might signify that the blood kirin was growing more comfortable with him.
He followed the blood kirin to the lotus mountaintop. Most of the blood rain had drained off of the peak, but some of the runoff had collected into a small pond. Vines lay in tangles around the pond, and Han Sen spotted blood pears hanging off of them.
The blood kirin jumped into the blood pond and made a grunting noise at Han Sen, inviting him to enter.
Han Sen hesitated this time, but he still followed the blood kirin in. Based on his experience with his other pets, he had learned that showering with a pet was a great way to strengthen his bond with them.
Han Sen was planning to begin scrubbing the blood kirin’s scales, but the blood kirin did something instead. It put its head in the water and dived in deep.
Han Sen stared after the creature in surprise. It was obvious now that the blood kirin hadn’t just invited him in for a simple shower. He quickly used his Dongxuan Aura to follow the blood kirin.
Upon seeing Han Sen trailing along behind, the blood kirin dived in deeper.
The blood pond was only a thousand meters deep.
They both reached the bottom fairly quickly, where the blood kirin disappeared into a tunnel that had been dug through the white bones.
Han Sen continued to follow the creature. He was curious, not knowing exactly what the blood kirin wanted.
The blood kirin led the way. It followed the white bone tunnel and soon splashed out of the blood water.
As his head broke the surface of the blood water, Han Sen noticed that they had emerged into a giant white bone cave. Before him lay the corpse of a giant, black xenogeneic.
The black kirin was as big as a mountain. However, its head had been sundered, and its belly had been split open. It had been dead for many years, and while the body might not have rotted, the air had dried it into a husk.
“This must be the blood kirin’s mother. It doesn’t look very much like the blood kirin, though. Perhaps the blood bone air it has absorbed has simply changed its genes dramatically,” Han Sen thought to himself.
The blood kirin leaped onto the mountain-sized body of the black kirin. It then grunted at Han Sen, as if it was asking him to join it.
Han Sen flew in the air, but he didn’t dare set his feet upon the back of the black kirin. Although the blood kirin had called him up, stepping on its mother’s corpse didn’t seem like an appropriate thing to do.
When Han Sen saw the corpse from above, he noticed something glinting in the black flesh. There was a weapon embedded in the black kirin’s back.
He couldn’t get a good look at the weapon, as only the handle was protruding from the body. The rest of it was lodged deep within the corpse of the black kirin.
Fox Queen had said that the blood kirin belonged to a no-name race, but seeing that black kirin, Han Sen didn’t think that was true.
The other creatures had all turned into bones. Some of the bones had decayed into little more than dust, but that black kirin’s body was still mostly complete. This point alone made it seem like something special.
And the curious xenogeneic still had a weapon lodged inside it. It certainly added to the dead creature’s mystique.
Han Sen carefully examined what he could see of the weapon. The handle was only two feet long, which was definitely too small for a greatsword. But for a smaller sword, the handle would probably have been too long.
The handle gleamed silver, and there was a weird symbol engraved across it. Han Sen was unsure what the symbol meant, but he hypothesized that it could be a meaningless adornment.
All he knew for certain was that the weapon hadn’t belonged to General Ghost Bone. The weapon lacked the aura and presence that General Ghost Bone carried with him.
The blood kirin made some barking noises at Han Sen.
Han Sen frowned, unsure what the blood kirin wanted.
The blood kirin, seeing Han Sen’s lack of understanding, tried to grasp the weapon with its claws. But when it touched the silver handle, silver lightning arced around the handle and into the blood kirin. With a blinding flash, the blood kirin’s body was electrified and blasted down onto the ground.
Han Sen was frozen. The blood kirin was a force to be reckoned with. It was a powerful half-deified xenogeneic, the son of White Bone Big Hell. If it had been tossed back so simply, then the power of the weapon must have been unimaginable.
The blood kirin picked itself up off the ground. It didn’t look particularly injured, but its legs moved a little shakily from the shock it had just received.
The blood kirin leaped back atop the black kirin. Then it made that barking noise as Han Sen again.
Now Han Sen knew what it was suggesting. “You want me to help you remove that weapon?”
The blood kirin nodded. It then made more encouraging noises to Han Sen.
Han Sen didn’t have a good feeling about this. Despite its power, the blood kirin had just been sorely electrified by the lodged armament. Han Sen was just a Duke, so there was a chance that the electricity might kill him.
Han Sen gritted his teeth and approached the weapon embedded in the black kirin’s back. He wasn’t confident in his ability to pull the weapon out, but if he didn’t at least try, then all the time he had spent building a relationship with the blood kirin would go to waste.
“Even if it doesn’t work, I have to give it a shot. Getting shocked is better than making the blood kirin mad,” Han Sen thought to himself. He summoned his King class Galaxy Lobster armor.
Han Sen didn’t want to be killed by lightning that not even the blood kirin could withstand.
Landing on the black kirin’s back, Han Sen gazed at the silver handle. Then, he looked back at the blood kirin. The blood kirin looked very excited. Han Sen took a deep breath and slowly reached for the silver handle.
