Having received Qi Yuan’s reply, Ice Sword felt at ease.
"I need to cultivate this Ancestral Blood Art as soon as possible, or… if it becomes widespread, my advantage will be reduced."
"Blood Robe is truly impressive; this Ancestral Blood Art feels like it was tailor-made for me."
Because it was tailor-made, the results for him would be the best. If others practiced it, the effect would be somewhat diminished.
"But… how does he know my bloodline so well?"
Suddenly, Ice Sword froze in realization.
He hadn’t interacted much with Blood Robe, meeting only a few times. Moreover, his bloodline had never been exposed to him. There was no way Blood Robe could have obtained a sample of his bloodline.
But how could Blood Robe understand his bloodline so intimately?
A cold shiver ran through Ice Sword as his whole body trembled.
"Could it be… I carry Blood Robe’s bloodline, and that’s why he knows me so well?"
"Otherwise, why would he go through so much trouble to rewrite such a precious Ancestral Blood Art just for me?"
Thoughts flooded Ice Sword's mind, and as he remembered Blood Robe, he suddenly felt a warmth, like the comforting rays of a summer sun shining on his body.
...
In the Ghost Heaven camp, at the stronghold called Ghost Gate.
Ghost Gate and Devil's Pass were both fortresses, defensive bastions.
At this moment, Ghost Gate was packed with prodigies.
"The Black Demon Abyss truly produces talents. Not only do they have Black Sword and Blood Robe, but now they have an egg-laying… Ice Sword," said a young man, graceful and elegant, clad in a golden, hollow-patterned armor. A white bone jade pendant hung from his waist, and when he mentioned Ice Sword, greed flickered in his eyes.
"So, this is his egg? It truly is an excellent… soul servant."
The crowd’s eyes fell on a wooden box.
Inside the box, a large blue egg, about the size of a dinosaur egg, appeared before the many prodigies.
Seeing the egg, their breathing became rapid, their eyes filled with greed.
"This is the most perfect egg I’ve seen in a hundred years!"
"This ice egg is a natural-born soul servant!"
The egg contained only a faint, hazy soul.
And it was perfectly suited to being a soul servant.
Placed within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, it would make the ideal soul servant.
Ordinary, powerful soul servants still needed to be suppressed from time to time to prevent rebellion.
But this egg, as a soul servant, needed no such worry.
"How could such a perfect coincidence exist in this world? Could there be a trap in this ice egg?" one prodigy asked, concerned.
Ghost Heaven and the Black Demon Abyss had just finished battling, and now, all of a sudden, the Black Demon Abyss had something Ghost Heaven needed.
It all seemed suspicious.
Following a typical conspiracy theory, there was definitely a problem.
At that moment, Mo Chong, the man in the golden armor, spoke. "I took this ice egg to the elder, and the elder said… there’s no issue with the egg."
Hearing Mo Chong’s words, the gathered prodigies breathed a sigh of relief.
"If the elder says so, it should be fine!"
"The elder is a Great Supreme Truth master…"
Their hearts settled.
"I’ve just received new information: in the Flower Moon Mystery Land, there are large numbers of ice eggs," Mo Chong said, his voice cold and hiding a trace of killing intent.
The other prodigies stiffened upon hearing this.
Clearly, they had all received the same message.
"Blood Robe is bizarre. After bringing the ice eggs into the Flower Moon Mystery Land, he arrogantly declared that anyone who wanted the eggs would have to defeat him. What arrogance!" one prodigy growled, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"He has the right to be arrogant. Not only did he kill Mo Na, but he also escaped from the hands of a Yang God Heavenly Sovereign!"
"No matter how strong he is, he’s still just like us, a mere myth."
These prodigies were full of resentment.
They were all once-in-a-generation geniuses, each harboring their own pride.
Since none of them had fought Blood Robe before, how could they fear him?
"This time, I’ll enter the Flower Moon Mystery Land, face Blood Robe, and take the ice eggs. Who will join me?" Mo Chong asked, his fighting spirit surging.
"I’ll go!" one prodigy said, his eyes gleaming with ferocity. "I want both the battle merits and the ice eggs!"
"I’ll go too!"
"Blood Robe has gone too far, does he think Ghost Heaven has no one?"
These prodigies, full of righteous indignation, prepared to head to the Flower Moon Mystery Land.
Of course, they knew this might be a scheme by the Black Demon Abyss, but they didn’t care.
In the Flower Moon Mystery Land, an ordinary Yang God would be reduced to the Mythical realm.
Supreme Truth experts were stationed at Devil's Pass and Ghost Gate, unable to move easily.
Furthermore, once inside the Flower Moon Mystery Land, both Ghost Heaven and Black Demon Abyss would have Yang Gods present to confront each other.
At the early stages of war, it was still customary for generals to fight generals and soldiers to fight soldiers.
Though, assassinations targeting prodigies were never out of the question.
...
Meanwhile, at Devil's Pass, discussions were stirring.
"Blood Robe… is far too reckless, heading into the Flower Moon Mystery Land alone. If anything happens to him, the morale of the Black Demon Abyss will plummet," one Yang God Heavenly Sovereign remarked.
Blood Robe’s challenge to the prodigies of Ghost Heaven in the Flower Moon Mystery Land had reached their ears.
"Does he really think he can stand shoulder to shoulder with Black Sword?" a Yang God from Yin Soul Heaven chimed in, his disapproval evident.
If Black Sword had done something like this in his Mythical stage, they would have accepted it.
But Blood Robe? He was nothing more than a little Black Sword.
In the minds of these Yang Gods, only Purple Fate Ancestor treasured him; to them, he was just a larger version of Ice Sword.
As for Blood Robe escaping an assassination attempt by a Yang God, they suspected Purple Fate Ancestor had intervened.
"If he dares to go, it means he has confidence," another Yang God laughed. "It’s a good opportunity to see Blood Robe’s talent and battle prowess, and to see how he measures up against Black Sword."
The others nodded, not paying much mind.
Blood Robe was just Purple Fate Ancestor’s treasure. To them, he was merely another young prodigy.
They’d seen plenty of prodigies like him.
"Zi Yuan Feng, how about you take charge of protecting him this time?" a Yang God Heavenly Sovereign asked, looking at Zi Yuan Feng.
Zi Yuan Feng was a silent and stoic Heavenly Sovereign. He nodded, "Alright."
"With you there, you’ll stop any Yang Gods from Ghost Heaven from making a move," the Yang God said.
Nearby, Wind Decay Heavenly Sovereign was watching all this, his mind churning with thoughts.
Since Blood Robe had pointed him out as an insider, he had been cautious and constantly second-guessing everything.
He couldn’t understand Blood Robe’s actions.
Wasn’t he supposed to be targeting Hui Zeng Heavenly Sovereign?
So why go to the Flower Moon Mystery Land and provoke Ghost Heaven's prodigies?
Was Blood Robe trying to test him? Had he told the same story to every Yang God Heavenly Sovereign to see who would react?
Luckily, he had kept a low profile during this time.
At that moment, a loud and cheerful voice rang out.
"If Blood Robe is in danger, use this talisman to enter the Flower Moon Mystery Land and rescue him," Black Sword, dressed in a moon-white robe, appeared, handing a talisman to Zi Yuan Feng.
Zi Yuan Feng accepted it respectfully. "Thank you, Heavenly Sovereign!"
A slight smile played on Black Sword’s lips. "But I doubt this talisman will be needed."
The Yang Gods were surprised by this.
After all, Blood Robe had just challenged numerous prodigies of Ghost Heaven.
Even in their youth, none of them had dared to be so bold.
"Does Black Sword know something about Blood Robe’s trump card? Does he have confidence in him?" one Yang God couldn’t help but ask.
There had been much debate about Blood Robe’s talent.
Some said that Purple Fate Ancestor had simply pushed him forward to spite the Abyss Lord.
Black Sword shook his head. "I don’t know, but my intuition tells me… he will win."
"If Black Sword is this confident, it seems we only need to wait for good news."
In the Black Demon Abyss, strength was everything.
Black Sword’s strength and talent surpassed theirs, so they addressed him as "Heavenly Sovereign." seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"These matters are trivial… Does anyone have one of Ice Sword’s eggs?" Black Sword asked.
"Is this one?" A Yang God produced the egg Qi Yuan had given him.
"Not this one; I mean the ones that have recently appeared and are coveted by Ghost Heaven," Black Sword shook his head.
He had just emerged from seclusion and had heard about the ice eggs, which piqued his curiosity.
"Shall we summon Ice Sword and ask him to produce another one? I’m curious how he suddenly managed to lay such strange eggs," Zi Yuan Feng suggested, "Is there something special about these eggs that makes Black Sword so interested?"
At that moment, a Yang God Heavenly Sovereign with a complicated expression spoke up. "I happen to have one."
He took out a single ice egg.
Immediately, dozens of eyes were fixated on the egg, curiosity in their gazes.
"This egg… is unusual!"
"It seems as if it was born for the Ten Thousand Souls Banner!"
These Yang Gods, after just one glance, gleaned much information about the egg.
They studied it closely, scrutinizing every detail.
Suddenly, Black Sword’s eyes turned blood-red.
A blood-red light fell on the egg, causing it to explode in an instant.
The blue hue vanished, leaving behind only a drop of blood.
This drop of blood was strange, mysterious, and profound.
As the Yang Gods gazed at it, for some reason, their own bloodlines began to stir.
"This blood… shares the same origin as us. It seems this egg truly was laid by Ice Sword!"
"This egg is indeed extraordinary!"
The Yang Gods began to murmur among themselves.
At that moment, Black Sword spoke, his voice deep. "Did you notice this egg has cultivated the Ancestral Blood Art?"
"What? Ice Sword’s eggs can cultivate the Ancestral Blood Art now?" one Yang God Heavenly Sovereign was astonished.
The other Yang Gods immediately began to investigate.
"It’s true!"
"Wait, it’s cultivating a different version of the Ancestral Blood Art than ours."
The Yang Gods were astounded.
After all, the Ancestral Blood Art was already perfect. Even if the Abyss Lord himself altered it, it wouldn’t surpass the original.
Typically, no one dared modify the Ancestral Blood Art.
But now, they had discovered a different version.
And… it seemed to be better than the one they practiced.
"Did Ice Sword really lay this egg?"
Some were astonished.
Wind Decay Heavenly Sovereign squinted, his heart shaking.
He could sense the egg’s extraordinary nature, as well as what it represented.
If a stronger version of the Ancestral Blood Art existed, wouldn’t that mean his power could grow stronger?
And the strength of the Black Demon Abyss as well?
"Shall we summon Ice Sword to ask him?" one Yang God suggested.
Black Sword shook his head. "Ice Sword is in seclusion. There’s no need to disturb him. This matter likely has something to do with Blood Robe. Once the Flower Moon Mystery Land business is over, I’ll ask him myself."
He had already gone to see Ice Sword after coming out of seclusion, but since Ice Sword was in the middle of cultivation, he hadn’t disturbed him.
"Blood Robe is involved?" Wind Decay Heavenly Sovereign was amazed, feeling as though his head was spinning.
Why did everything seem to be connected to Blood Robe?
At that moment, an elderly Yang God Heavenly Sovereign with a strange expression spoke, "It seems that this version of the Ancestral Blood Art involves producing eggs that cultivate in your place. How… peculiar."
The other Yang Gods fell silent.
They were contemplating whether, if this version of the Ancestral Blood Art was indeed superior, they should consider practicing it themselves.
One Yang God suddenly spoke. "I propose we change the term 'laying eggs' in the Black Demon Abyss to 'divine shedding'!"
The other Yang Gods nodded in agreement, clearly approving.