Chapter 0025: Refining the Bloody Aura

Wan Lanxin covered Yang Wu with her jade umbrella although doing so left her vulnerable and having to face the bloody shadows alone. Fortunately, she could rely on her Profound Energy armor, a General Realm ability, to guard her against a few incoming strikes.

She wanted to rush past these bloody shadows and reach the blood altar, but as she approached, the shadows grew more savage, and her armor could no longer withstand their attacks. Some of the bloody aura reached her, and both her mind and flesh suffered excruciating pain.

She tried to expel the bloody energy, but it was like a maggot. Once it got in, it was very difficult to remove. This energy corroded her mind and body simultaneously.

Wan Lanxin’s agonized cries startled Yang Wu, awake now after reaching a new level of strength. Noticing the jade umbrella, he realized Wan Lanxin had risked her life to save his. The gesture touched him deeply, and he wrapped a hand around the handle of the umbrella before rushing to her side.

Unfazed by the continued onslaught, he circulated the Supreme Nine Profound Art, drawing any bloody aura that reached him into his dantian. The peach pit dantian rapidly refined the energy, purifying and using it to strengthen him.

This environment had become an optimal location for his cultivation.

Yang Wu dashed forward, sweeping the jade umbrella toward the shadows preying on Wan Lanxin. As he covered her with it, she felt an immediate sense of relief.

The woman’s expression betrayed her anguish. She fought with all her might, which was harder than usual thanks to the bloody aura’s tenacity.

“Hold on, Big Sister Lanxin!” Yang Wu was at a loss; his only option was to pull her to a safe place where she could catch her breath.

Under the shelter of the jade umbrella, Wan Lanxin’s situation improved dramatically, but the bloody aura within her still needed to be expelled. She retrieved a pill from her cloth belt, popping it into her mouth before settling down with crossed legs to force the aura out.

[TL Note: Ancient Chinese clothes that are typically worn in Chinese historical dramas or settings like this novel tend to have places to store small items in various places. Common places would be their sleeves, tunics, or belts. While some versions might have pockets in these places, that is not always the case. For belts, items could just be held there by the pressure from the tightness of the belt, for sleeves it could be the result of a small opening with wide sleeves, resulting in a sort of pouch where things do not fall out easily. Another reason for storing items in such places is because the traditional Chinese clothing mostly does not have pockets like our modern clothes.]

“Stay here, Big Sister. I’ll go in ahead and see if I can save Uncle Wan.” Yang Wu told her softly.

“No …! Don’t …. The bloody aura is far too much for you.” Struggling, Wan Lanxin urged him to stay.

“Don’t worry. It can’t harm me. Just take care of yourself and don’t do anything reckless!” He patted the back of her hand before running toward the bloody altar.

Unable to stop him, she watched as Yang Wu’s high-spirited figure darted ahead unobstructed. Astonishment flashed in her gorgeous eyes, and her red lips parted as she muttered, “Why isn’t the bloody aura affecting Little Brother Wu?”

The aura had bombarded him moments ago, yet now he was safe and sound. It left her stunned.

The bloody aura condensed into shadows, roaring and attacking without mercy, but Yang Wu ignored them. He had never circulated the Supreme Nine Profound Art as smoothly as he did now. The countless pores in his peach pit dantian absorbed every last trace of the aura that infiltrated his body, churning out a great deal of pure energy in return. Wave after wave of this energy surged through his twelve major meridians, granting the young man an incredible strength boost.

As he neared the bloody altar, he felt the intense density of the bloody aura. Pushing through it, he heard another odd chime from his body. His strength soared to seventeen stones, only two away from reaching the peak of the Consummate Grade Foot Soldier Realm.

Pure energy flooded from Yang Wu’s dantian, and he diverted it to the opened acupoints in his feet. With sixteen of those acupoints open, he used the Yongquan points’ connection to his kidneys, increasing his vitality.

Mounds of old, white bones, from both animal spirits and humans, formed the sacrificial altar. As he examined the pile, he noticed that these bones were the source of the bloody aura.

Unusually composed, Yang Wu felt the energy within him circulate even faster as if begging him to reach out to the bloody altar. It seemed almost as if it were attracted to something.

He walked closer, unprotected and with the limited strength of a Consummate Grade Foot Soldier. Could someone like him truly venture deep into the bloody altar?

This altar was little more than a pile of corpses, and around it, someone had set up a bloody ritual array, which had already built up a thick aura. The earthly spirit spring surrounded the whole display, and it seemed to nurture some kind of odd creature.

Suddenly, a bloody hand materialized before Yang Wu, engulfing him instantly.

Seeing this, Wan Lanxin shouted from the edge of the room, “Run, Little Brother!”

She raised her jade umbrella instinctively, moving to rush toward him. Unfortunately, fatigue overwhelmed her, leaving her weak.

The hand was comprised of that same bloody aura, yet it was far more substantial than the shadows they had faced thus far. Worse, it was frighteningly powerful.

Yang Wu had no means of resisting and was captured as a result. Its grip was suffocating as if he might explode under its might.

“Little Brother Wu!” Wan Lanxin cried out.

With unimaginable speed, the Supreme Nine Profound Art circulated energy through his body, and the peach pit dantian drank in astonishing amounts of the energy. As his body absorbed the bloody hand’s energy, its power began to fade, softening its grip on Yang Wu.

“Scram!” Yang Wu snarled, and after struggling a little, he broke free.

Who knew how envious the late Zhao Chandao would have been if he had seen this.

A Consummate Grade Foot Soldier had accomplished something even a Superior Grade General failed to do.

Seeing him unharmed, Wan Lanxin’s thundering heart began to calm. The expression on her face exposed the depth of her worry for him.

Free now and moving closer to the altar, Yang Wu noticed a long saber sticking out of the ground. Cold light flickered across the smooth blade’s exceptional brilliance. He drew the saber without a second thought, the metal ringing against the stones in the dirt. “What an amazing saber!”

This was the Tiger Fang Saber, Zhao Changdao’s weapon. It had been crafted from the fangs of a Tiger General and combined with a variety of high-quality materials. The weapon was still quite sharp and could inflict deadly wounds.

However, he did not have time to stop and admire the blade as two more bloody hands reached for him.

Surprised, Yang Wu failed to defend himself from the attack. The two hands slapped him into a stack of bones and bodies, the impact making him vomit blood. He felt as if the blow was enough to tear him limb from limb.

If he had not already secured a level of immunity to the bloody aura, the strikes would have done just that, smashing him into a pulp.

Silently, Yang Wu cursed, Damn it! Someone has to be controlling this bloody aura. Why else would it attack without reason? I must absorb all of it before it can be used again!

Yang Wu focused, opening his peach pit dantian completely and absorbing as much of the bloody aura as he could.

Every one of the thousands of pores in his dantian opened to consume the bloody aura, as did the pores in his skin. There was too much of the aura to absorb it quickly, and he held the excess within his body. It attacked every part of him as he worked, forcing a pained cry from his throat.

“Aghhhhhh!”

He appeared to transform into the bloody form of a man, his body covered in the aura. His own blood began to flow, making him look even more gruesome.

The bloody aura attacked his limbs, bones, internal organs, and meridians, inflicting severe pain. Even his mind endured some kind of torture. If he failed to withstand this pressure, his life would soon be over.

In the distance, Wan Lanxin watched in distress. She burst into tears, saying, “It’s all my fault! I should not have let you follow me!”

She moved towards Yang Wu, using her umbrella for support.

Despite his limited consciousness, Yang Wu was aware of Wan Lanxin’s motions. Strained, he begged her, “Big … Sister … please, stay. I’m trying to refine the energy. Please … do not distract me.”

Hearing the request, she stumbled to a halt. “Then you must hang on! I refused to live this life alone! If you die, I die!”

Her words were loud, strong, and determined.

Yang Wu could not respond. He had to focus everything on circulating the Supreme Nine Profound Art and purifying the bloody aura. The peach pit dantian continued to expel pure energy, and it flowed toward his injuries, healing him and allowing him to carry on.

Meanwhile, blood began to pool at the altar. Within the pool lay two figures, and despite the bloody aura that blanketed them, their circumstances were diametrically opposed.

One of them had been chained down by the power of the ritual array. It looked like crimson chains, pinning him at his vital spots. He was little more than skin and bones now.

The other figure sat cross-legged with the evil-warding bead secure between his brows. It guarded his mind, allowing him to maintain some clarity of thought. However, the bloody aura had already corroded so much of his life force away that he could easily die any moment.

If she saw this, Wan Lanxin would instantly recognize the second person. It was none other than her father, Wan Tianlong, and his very life hung in the balance!