Dao Companions Help Me Live Forever

Chapter 177: Third Rank Puppets and Blood Demon Sword

As the gates of the palace closed with a bang, the ground became dotted with red spots, and wisps of mist rose from the underground blood sacrifice array.

It's foggy now.

The blood-red mist, with a hint of sweetness, spread throughout the entire Shangyang City and converged towards Shangyang Mountain.

The sky and earth turned a pale red.

Such a blatant act naturally attracted the attention of many cultivators in the city.

Some people vaguely recognized this as a demonic blood array and wanted to shout a few slogans of exterminating demons and upholding righteousness, but when they saw that the center of the array was on Shangyang Mountain...

Hmm, they probably made a mistake.

The Immortal is sitting on the mountain, having just repelled a powerful demon king. If someone were to perform such a fierce and evil formation, how could the Immortal allow it?

So since it doesn't affect everyone, they'll just pretend they didn't see it.

Better to mind one's own business.

Yu Xian didn't originally intend to be so high-profile, but the formation was set up hastily, and it was impossible to do it quietly when collecting such a large amount of refined blood.

Fortunately, everyone still gave face, perhaps because it was nearing dusk, and the strands of blood mist were like evening glow.

A blood pool appeared on the ground at some point, with a bald and sturdy man sleeping inside. His robust body seemed to be made of steel, with a touch of texture.

The surrounding mist was drawn towards the blood pool, swirling around it.

Slowly, the speed increased.

A blood-colored vortex was born.

Yu Xian pinched a finger, and the Foundation Building cultivation in his body quietly spread out. The Foundation Building True Fire ignited on the blood pool.

In the fusion of water and fire, the flesh on the bald man's body, which was actually Jiang Laozu's, melted like ice and snow, revealing the jade-like bones inside.

Faint purple light flickered on the bones, and the water in the pool was continuously absorbed by Jiang Laozu's bones, visibly lowering the water level.

But as the surrounding blood mist gathered, the water level in the blood pool stubbornly rose.

Until both reached a state of balance.

The promotion of the blood puppet was simple and straightforward, just an endless supply of life essence and blood, theoretically capable of infinite improvement.

But in reality, after the blood puppet reaches the third rank, even a slight improvement requires millions or billions of living beings as nourishment.

It is because of this characteristic of the Blood Demon Dao that it has earned the reputation of being universally condemned.

After all, cultivators who practice the Blood Demon Path are not fools. If they want to improve their strength, they will definitely go after ordinary people and low-level cultivators who are easy to bully.

They are like locusts, devouring the lives of all creatures they see.

For them, flesh and blood are resources, they are power.

This cultivation method is destined to be unacceptable in the world.

Without the hard work and contributions of these ordinary people, how can they enjoy their high status? Without the low-level cultivators searching for resources, how can they easily benefit from them?

Work requires manpower.

And the cultivation of the Blood Demon Path is digging their roots.

As Yu Xian continuously used the blood sacrifice array to extract the essence blood from the battle with the tide of beasts, the strength of the blood puppets also increased.

His understanding of the Blood Demon Path also deepened.

What is learned on paper is ultimately shallow. Without actually practicing it, how can he know the pros and cons of the Blood Demon Path?

There was a moment when Yu Xian almost couldn't resist absorbing the essence blood himself.

He had a premonition that if he replaced the position of the blood puppet at this moment, the time it would take for him to cultivate his pseudo Gold Core would be greatly shortened.

Fortunately, he reminded himself from the beginning not to touch external essence blood, so he didn't have a strong desire for it.

He just struggled a little and focused on refining the puppet.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

As the refinement progressed, the blood pool suddenly boiled, and countless small bubbles emerged. The white jade-like skeleton also had bloodlines appearing.

The bloodlines were layered like small snakes, converging into a cluster at the heart, and soon a heart appeared and started beating strongly.

Each beat added a trace of flesh to the skeleton.

Soon, newly formed flesh covered the skeleton, and a bronze-colored skin gradually formed.

The image of Elder Jiang appeared once again.

He opened his crimson eyes, looked up at the sky, and a hint of confusion flashed through his eyes.

At the same time, in Yu Xian's mind, fragmented memories flashed like a revolving lantern.

These were fragments of Elder Jiang's cultivation from childhood to adulthood.

Revealing his natural talent, attracting attention from the clan, the girl he liked falling into someone else's arms, striving to become the number one among his peers, the ecstasy of Foundation Building, gaining fame in clan battles, the confusion at his hundredth birthday banquet, the pain of the young man covered in blood holding the soul banner, the fearlessness in the face of tribulation...

In a few breaths, Yu Xian seemed to have witnessed Elder Jiang's entire life.

Roar!

Jiang Laozu let out a beast-like roar, and dark clouds gathered in the sky.

It couldn't compare to the thunder tribulation when Jiang Laozu broke through the Gold Core stage, nor could it match the tribulation clouds summoned by Chen Yi when he broke through.

It was like a miniature version.

But it was still a thunder tribulation.

Yu Xian knew that the real test had come.

The breakthrough of the Blood Puppet had almost no bottleneck, but its promotion would also attract the heavenly thunder tribulation. If it couldn't overcome it, all previous efforts would be in vain.

Without waiting for Yu Xian to think too much, the first thunder tribulation had already descended.

Instantly, a manifestation of the King of Light appeared behind Jiang Laozu. His blood and qi surged like a furnace as he raised his fist towards the sky.

The King of Light lifts the cauldron!

Boom!

Jiang Laozu was instantly enveloped in purple thunder, emitting a violent burst of light.

When the light dissipated, Jiang Laozu appeared blackened and miserable, but these were just superficial injuries.

The blood water in the blood pool surged out and bathed Jiang Laozu.

Soon, Jiang Laozu's skin regained its ancient bronze color.

Then came the second thunderbolt.

Jiang Laozu, who already had resistance to thunder tribulations, was far less embarrassed in the face of the tribulation than he was in his previous life. He could easily withstand almost every thunder tribulation.

Not to mention that he had a well-accumulated blood pool as a backup energy source.

The third, fourth...

Until the ninth.

Jiang Laozu successfully passed the nine thunder tribulations, and a unique and harmonious aura began to emanate from his body, as if he had refined himself into a magic treasure.

And the thunder tribulation came to a sudden stop, dispersing instantly.

This Transcending Tribulation for the puppet only required nine thunder tribulations.

Yu Xian was quite surprised but also somewhat regretful.

"It's a pity. If Jiang Laozu could undergo another three sets of nine thunder tribulations, his physical body would definitely reach another level of strength. Perhaps there would even be a chance to condense a fleshly divine ability with the attribute of thunder."

For now, at most, it was just an ordinary fleshly divine ability from the Blood Demon Art.

But no matter what, Jiang Laozu had officially become the first Gold Core combat power in his hands. Although he couldn't compare to a genuine Gold Core cultivator, he could still serve as a shield in a fight.

"The second one..."

Yu Xian summoned the blood puppet crafted by Zhao Laozu.

This blood puppet, whose strength was barely at the second stage, appeared particularly weak next to Jiang Laozu.

Moreover, since its creation, it hadn't experienced much combat and hadn't been able to activate its innate formation talent, making it somewhat mediocre.

"Friend Zhao, don't say I didn't give you a chance."

The blood pool surged, engulfing Zhao Laozu, and a powerful aura gradually rose.

Even though the power of the blood sacrifice formation, formed by the blood essence of millions of demonic beasts, had helped Jiang Laozu break through the third stage limit, it had only used less than thirty percent of its power.

Time passed unnoticed during cultivation.

Three days later.

When less than twenty percent of the blood essence power in the blood sacrifice formation was used up, Zhao Laozu's aura reached its peak, the pinnacle of the second stage.

Boom!

Familiar thunder gathered, and a heavenly thunderbolt struck down.

Zhao Laozu met it head-on.

Boom!

Zhao Laozu's figure suddenly froze, then turned into a piece of charred wood. Then, the second tribulation thunderbolt struck, and Zhao Laozu turned into a puddle of blood, with no trace of his bones left.

He failed in his advancement.

Yu Xian wasn't too surprised by this result.

After all, Zhao Laozu, unlike Jiang Laozu, hadn't experienced multiple battles after his creation, hadn't ignited his fighting spirit, and didn't have Jiang Laozu's foundation in body cultivation or the experience of being tempered by thunder tribulations. It was only natural that he failed.

Yu Xian was just conducting an experiment.

"It seems that the success rate of these fast-made blood puppets breaking through the third stage is quite low, even with the assistance of the blood sacrifice formation. In the future, the materials for crafting higher-level blood puppets will have to be of higher quality, otherwise, it would be a waste, and it would also waste my divided consciousness."

Yu Xian wiped away the bloodstains from the corners of his mouth.

Even before Zhao Laozu was destroyed by the thunder tribulation, he had decisively withdrawn his divided consciousness, but he still suffered some repercussions.

"There is still more than fifty percent of refined blood left, which should be enough to refine the prototype of a magic treasure."

With a flick of his finger, Yu Xian dropped a crimson rainbow light into the blood pool.

It was the Scarlet Rainbow Sword that had accompanied him all the way, originally named the Blood Jade Sword, but now it should be called the Blood Demon Sword.

"The Blood Demon Sword, also known as the Bloodthirsty Sword, is born from bathing in the sea of blood. It is one of the classic magic treasures of the Blood Demon Dao. It can extract refined blood and spirituality through slaughter, not only becoming stronger with each battle, but also nourishing the spirituality of the magic treasure. It is extremely easy to produce a sword spirit and advance to the fourth rank spiritual treasure.

The more killings, the stronger the sword spirit.

However, although the sword spirit is powerful, it is also the most ferocious and ruthless. It is prone to devouring its master and its use is unpredictable. It is a double-edged sword among magic treasures."

While recalling the records of the Blood Demon Sword in the Taiyin Blood Demon Technique, Yu Xian threw various refining materials into the blood pool.

Thousand Forged Profound Iron, Golden Essence Copper Mother, Spirit Forging Flower, Tempering Sword Spring...

These were all low to mid-level refining materials. It was already difficult enough to refine spiritual weapons, let alone trying to refine a magic treasure.

After all, Shangyang City was a place where even spiritual weapons were extremely rare. Materials for refining magic treasures were like a once-in-a-century encounter.

Fortunately, one of the characteristics of the Blood Demon Dao was its cheapness and universal applicability.

The refined blood of living beings could replace most of the materials for Blood Demon Dao techniques and magic treasures.

Buzz!

The True Fire transformed by Foundation Building mana once again burned in the blood pool, but this time it used the refined blood in the pool as fuel. The originally dark red flame was tainted with a hint of black, turning into one of the spiritual fires of the Blood Demon Dao - the Crimson Blood Demon Flame.

This kind of postnatal spiritual fire extracted from refined blood was one of the common spiritual fires in the demonic path.

The materials floating in the blood pool quickly melted under the demonic flame.

The Scarlet Rainbow Sword was Yu Xian's blood-refined magic weapon, starting from a low-grade inferior magic weapon and refining it all the way to its current top-grade magic weapon. If it weren't for the lack of time, it would have long been promoted to a spiritual weapon.

In addition, it had been tempered by the Foundation Building mana of the Blood Demon Technique, making it particularly compatible with these powers.

At this moment, after integrating various materials, the originally mediocre foundation of the Scarlet Rainbow Sword began to rise under the endless surge of blood energy.

A blood-colored mass condensed in the blood pool, slowly taking the shape of a blood cocoon, with countless blood energy continuously pouring into it.

This refining process took nearly three months.

The external blood mist had long dissipated, and that day's sky filled with blood-colored mist seemed like a beautiful scenery, leaving beautiful memories in the minds of many people.

And Yu Xian, who had been absent for a long time, solidified his reputation as someone who was not interested in fame and fortune.

The outer city began to rebuild.

This long-trodden land was reborn from the ruins.

As for the funding for construction, it is partly provided by the Lord's Mansion, partly raised by the major families in the city, and a small portion is contributed by the cultivators themselves.

When Yu Xian appeared again.

The outer city has returned to its previous appearance, as if the beast tide three months ago was just a dream.

But the sparse flow of people in the city proves that it was not a dream.

It's just that after experiencing it multiple times, people have become accustomed and numb to it.

But this experience also inspires the younger generation to pursue their dreams of power.

...

Number Three Mansion.

The garden.

Yu Xian sits on the lawn, playing with a small dark red sword in his hand. As the tip of the sword moves, it leaves behind traces of blood in the air, but they quickly dissipate.

Obviously, this small sword is not a toy.

With the help of the blood sacrifice array, the embryo of the Blood Demon Sword has finally been successfully formed without any setbacks.

Although it is still a long way from becoming a true magic weapon, it can be considered a top-grade spiritual weapon, and a spiritual weapon with great potential.

"I just can't put it into my dantian for nurturing and refining anymore. Otherwise, the blood qi in the Blood Demon Sword will contaminate my dantian's spiritual power, rendering my previous efforts in vain.

The Blood Demon Sword also cannot be my main cultivation magic weapon.

Being pure and refined sounds simple, but it is difficult to achieve. None of these blood demon sect's magic weapons are not extremely fierce. If they can be used as the main cultivation magic weapon, my strength will surpass others.

Unfortunately, none of them can be my main cultivation magic weapon.

Refining another magic weapon that does not match my cultivation technique is destined to be less powerful, so it is better to choose an auxiliary magic weapon to refine.

I should pay more attention to this aspect in the future."

Thinking about the ferocity of the Blood Demon Sword after it is refined, Yu Xian almost lost control of it on the spot. He unconsciously exerted some force on the sword.

Watching the records, he didn't feel it, but when he almost lost control of it, Yu Xian realized that the records were not exaggerating the danger.

Of course, such ferocity also represents great power.

Yu Xian estimates that even though the Blood Demon Sword is still an embryo of a magic weapon, its actual strength is already close to an ordinary Gold Core level.

Jiang Laozu can prove this.

Because the Blood Demon Sword was able to injure it.

"My lord, what are you thinking?"

Yulan, who had finished cultivating among the flowers, reached out and shook her hand in front of Yu Xian, bringing his thoughts back.

"Han'er was calling for you just now."

Yu Xian's gaze turned to Luo Han, who was standing beside him, and patted her on the side.

"What's the matter?"

Luo Han sat down next to Yu Xian and was then embraced by him. Feeling the warmth of his embrace, Luo Han closed her eyes comfortably.

"I want to go back for a while. You gave me a lot of demon pills to study a while ago, and I've been thinking of ways to refine them into spirit pills that can promote cultivation."

"You've figured it out already? So quickly?"

Yu Xian was taken aback.

The red-haired girl had cooperated with him that day and brought him many second-order demon beasts as spoils of war. Naturally, all the demon pills went into his pocket.

Of course, he also gave the girl many specialties, all of which were novel little things that were not valuable but enough to please her.

As for these demon pills, they couldn't all be used to refine Foundation Building Pills. There were still several Foundation Building Pills that couldn't be sent out by the Taxation Department.

But they couldn't just sit idle.

So he wanted Luo Han to research ways to cultivate using demon pills. He didn't expect her to come up with ideas so quickly.

Blushing, Luo Han slapped away Yu Xian's mischievous hand, organized her thoughts, and said:

"The use of demon pills for cultivation has long been known, but there weren't enough demon pills before. They were all used to refine Foundation Building Pills, so no one researched the other side of it.

I also picked up some ideas from others, plus the alchemy history book you gave me. Although it doesn't have specific alchemy techniques, it opened my eyes to many ideas.

But I don't have specific pill formulas. If I want to research them, I'll definitely have to waste a few demon pills. You can't be stingy."

He got that alchemy history book from Chen Yi. It was originally meant to help him get started in alchemy, but he didn't expect it to be such a big help to Luo Han.

But that's also because it's a product of the Upper Sect, so the level is different.

"What's mine is yours. In my heart, even if there are more demon pills, they are not as important as one of your fingers. Even if they are all wasted, I won't blame you.

If I have to blame someone, it can only be these demon pills for being defective and not cooperating with your research."

Yu Xian laughed and coaxed her like a child.

But Luo Han felt sweet in her heart and felt a bit hot in her body. She almost wanted to offer herself to him.

But she knew that the main thing was important, so she quickly stood up from Yu Xian's embrace and hurriedly walked out.

"I, I'm going back first. I'll come back in a few days."

Yu Xian didn't stop her. With Yulan around, it wouldn't delay his cultivation.

He turned to look at Yulan and found her staring at Luo Han's retreating figure with envy in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Yu Xian pulled another person over as soon as one left.

"Now that Han'er is gone, you can have me all to yourself. Why aren't you happy? Are you tired of me? Oh no, I'm so sad now that I'm being rejected.

No, you have to kiss me before I can be happy."

Yu Xian's playful tone made Yulan chuckle. The slight gloom just now disappeared. She straightened her body and lightly kissed him.

"Not at all."

Yulan nestled in Yu Xian's embrace and whispered:

"I will always be by your side, and I won't feel tired of you. It's just that I suddenly feel useless. Han'er can help you refine pills, and Xiaoyi is so powerful. I'm the most useless one, I can't help with anything.

If it weren't for Xiaoyi's help, I would still be slow in cultivation."

Yu Xian knew that Yulan had always felt inferior.

That's why, as the first woman to be by his side, she always yielded everywhere, as if she had no personality at all.

He naturally welcomed this. If the women in the harem had different personalities, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy such peace and happiness.

"What are you talking about?"

Yu Xian said seriously, "In my heart, you are the best, even if you don't know anything and are just a little useless, I'm willing to take care of you.

Don't think about these things all the time. Just focus on cultivation. Xiaoyi gave you the Transcendent Pill, and now you have the potential to break through to the Gold Core stage.

After you break through to the Gold Core stage, you can accompany me for hundreds of years. That's more important than anything else."

These words made Yulan feel ecstatic, feeling like she was the happiest woman in the world.

She curled up her body, wrapped her hands around Yu Xian's neck, and a strange floral fragrance emanated from her body, with a slightly ticklish charm in her voice.

"My lord, I want to cultivate now."

Yu Xian immediately snorted, "Today, you can't beg for mercy."

Strands of pink aura emanated from the two of them, as if cocooning them, forming a thin pink film. Only a blurry glimpse of the two lively figures could be seen through the film.

(End of this chapter)