Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 216 Harvest and Late Stage of Second-Order Body Refinement

"My name is Mu Jianshi. I must thank this junior brother for saving my life. I'll definitely treat you to a good drink after we get back to the city!"

At this moment, Mu Jianshi, who was pale-faced, walked over and bowed to Zhou Ling to express his gratitude.

"Senior Brother Mu, you're too kind. My name is Zhou Ling. Killing the Blood Soul Sect prodigy is a duty that we cultivators cannot shirk!"

Zhou Ling returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

His tone was somewhat indignant.

He had witnessed the Blood Soul Sect's methods back in Lingxia Immortal City. His father and Uncle Chu joined forces to deal with a Blood Soul Sect prodigy, and Uncle Chu was also severely injured.

This time, he killed dozens of blood corpses, which shows how many cultivators died at the hands of the Blood Soul Cult's monsters.

Moreover, almost all of them are independent cultivators.

But this was just one of their strongholds in Qingyun Immortal City.

Moreover, Qingyun Immortal City may have more than one stronghold.

"So you're Zhou Ling, who recently succeeded in achieving the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment at Xuan Yuan Dao Academy!"

"With you joining our Demon-Slaying Division, it will be much easier to kill the Blood Soul Cult's monsters in the future!"

Upon hearing Zhou Ling's words, Mu Jianshi also praised him with a joyful expression.

The news that Zhou Ling had successfully established a Heavenly Foundation Establishment has now spread throughout Qingyun Immortal City.

Mu Jianshi and the others were naturally aware of this as well.

"Boss, I unexpectedly discovered traces of the Blood Soul Cult prodigy this morning, but I didn't have time to report it to you in time."

"I never expected I'd almost get caught!"

"Thank goodness you arrived in time!"

Mu Jianshi then cupped his hands in greeting to Wang Qingshang.

"It's okay!"

Wang Qingshang nodded and said.

"Sister Qingshang also has this bloodstain; it belongs to the Blood Soul Cult leader's treasure!"

"However, it has already suffered considerable damage under my spiritual flame attack."

Zhou Ling picked up the bloodstain and said to Wang Qingshang.

"Since it's already damaged and serves no purpose, you can keep it!"

Wang Qingchang glanced at the bloodstain and spoke up.

For the Blood Soul Cult's monsters, the Demon Slayer Division has only one word: Kill!

As for taking his storage ring, the main reason was to find more clues about the Blood Soul Cult's prodigies.

In addition, it also prevents any evil or malevolent artifacts from entering the market.

As for this bloodstain, it poses no threat at the moment and can be considered another reward for Zhou Ling.

After all, Zhou Ling's performance this time was truly outstanding.

If it weren't for Zhou Ling, not only would they have been able to save Mu Jianshi and kill the Blood Soul Cult prodigy, but it would have been difficult to say whether the two of them could have escaped unscathed.

When Zhou Ling heard this, he didn't react at first. He originally thought that Wang Qingshang would definitely handle it in a businesslike manner, given her personality.

Unexpectedly, she actually asked him to put away the blood seal.

You should know that although this blood seal is somewhat damaged, it is still a third-tier treasure.

The materials alone are quite valuable.

He felt a pang of regret, wondering if he had been too honest and shouldn't have handed over the storage ring.

However, having this bloodstain now is a small compensation.

After all, the blood seal is driven by blood energy, and his own blood energy cultivation is not low, so he is fully capable of driving this blood seal.

Without further ado, he put the bloodstain into his storage ring.

"This valley appears to be a place that the Blood Soul Sect has been cultivating for many years. Although the Blood Fiend Soul Array has been destroyed, the underground fiend energy is still constantly accumulating, indicating that there are other arrays. We must completely destroy them!"

Wang Qingshang looked around and then spoke to everyone.

The malevolent energy here is far too dense, clearly indicating that the Blood Soul Cult has set up a grand formation to cause this.

Only by completely eliminating it can the hidden danger be removed.

"Boss, my mana has been depleted too much, so I can only wait here for the time being!"

He Zijian said with a wry smile. His face was pale. The battle just now had exhausted all the magic power in his body.

He is currently taking a pill to restore his cultivation.

Mu Jianshi was also pale-faced. If it weren't for the family's defensive artifact, he probably would have already become one of the blood corpses on the ground.

“Zhou Ling, let’s split into two groups and find the evil formation as soon as possible to completely eliminate it.”

Wang Qingshang said to Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling nodded. The three members of the Blood Soul Sect had now been completely killed.

The [danger avoidance scenario] did not occur, so there should be no other dangers in the valley.

Moreover, destroying the evil formation might even earn them more military merits.

This time, instead of acquiring a storage ring, we can only accumulate military merits to exchange for rewards.

After observing for a while, Wang Qingshang said to Zhou Ling, "Zhou Ling, you go south, and I'll go north."

"it is good!"

Zhou Ling replied, and then the two flew off in opposite directions, one to the north and one to the south.

He Zijian and Mu Jianshi, on the other hand, stayed put to recuperate.

Zhou Ling leaped into the air and, using his Intermediate Observation skill, quickly located the area within the valley where the malevolent energy was most concentrated.

Soon, he arrived at a rock wall.

This place was also shielded by a protective array. If Zhou Ling hadn't used his [Intermediate Observation] skill to find the area with the densest baleful energy, it would have been impossible to detect.

It's hard to find this place.

With his [Intermediate Analysis], he quickly discovered the flaw in the shielding array, and then used his Beast Flame to break through it.

What appeared before him was a spacious cave dwelling.

An incredibly dense aura of bloodlust surged forth from it.

Zhou Ling walked inside.

In the center of the cave was a blood coffin, with a blood array carved on it, and eight other wooden coffins were placed around it.

A strange magic circle was carved on the ground.

The array patterns flickered with a blood-red light.

Through these crimson rays of light, streams of pure bloodthirsty energy flowed toward the coffin in the center.

[You are observing the Blood Coffin Gathering Array, Intermediate Observation +1]

[You are analyzing the Blood Coffin Gathering Array, Intermediate Analysis +1]

"Blood Coffin Gathering Array!"

Zhou Ling's gaze sharpened.

With the help of the [Intermediate Analysis], Zhou Ling roughly discerned the operational trajectory of the magic array. Carefully following the array patterns, he walked to the coffin in the center.

Inside the coffin, the blood-red aura was incredibly dense, condensing into pieces of blood-red crystals.

"It's actually a Blood Fiend Crystal, and it's even of superior quality!"

"This Blood Soul Cult prodigy not only uses blood evil to refine blood corpses, but also condenses blood crystals."

Zhou Ling murmured to himself.

"Twelve high-grade blood fiend crystals, if sold on the market, would be worth no less than twelve high-grade spirit stones."

Zhou Ling let out a soft breath.

This Blood Fiend Crystal will definitely be of great use to the Blood Soul Cult cultivators.

It can also enhance physical cultivation and blood energy cultivation, but first, the evil energy contained within it must be removed.

This time, Zhou Ling learned her lesson.

He directly put the Blood Fiend Crystal from the Blood Coffin into his storage ring.

"Destroying this Blood Fiend Formation like this seems a bit wasteful!"

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

However, if the Blood Soul Cult disciples were to make a comeback in the future, it would truly be a source of endless trouble.

It still needs to be destroyed to prevent it from being used again.

His gaze then swept across the blood coffin, searching for the core of the Gathering Evil Array.

"There are actually third-tier spirit-gathering stones set up inside this evil-gathering formation."

As Zhou Ling's gaze swept across the bottom of the blood coffin, he spotted a spirit-gathering stone.

Through [Intermediate Observation], he learned that the Spirit Gathering Stone could absorb and condense spiritual energy, blood and evil energy, etc.

The Blood Fiend Array is able to absorb Blood Fiend Qi and condense Blood Fiend Crystals, which is also due to the effect of the Spirit Gathering Stone.

Immediately, Zhou Ling collected the spirit-gathering stone.

After carefully confirming that there were no other items, he left the cave.

Outside the cave, Zhou Ling chanted an incantation, and the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword condensed, then slashed down at the coffin in the middle.

Rumble!
As the sword light struck, the coffin exploded with a deafening roar.

The blood-red aura on the ground dissipated.

The cave suddenly trembled, followed by a burst of blood-red light shooting into the sky. The entire valley shook violently.

After a few breaths, it gradually calmed down.

The cave was in complete disarray.

All the coffins burst open, and the bloodstains on the ground disappeared.

The blood-red light that shot into the sky gradually dissipated into the darkness.

Zhou Ling then sheathed the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword and flew towards the place where He Zijian and the others were resting.

When they arrived, Wang Qingshang had already returned.

He Zijian and the other man's complexions had also improved considerably.

"Zhou Ling, it was you who broke this evil vein again!"

"After we get back, it will all be counted as military merit!"

Wang Qingshang said to Zhou Ling with a smile.

"Eliminating the Blood Soul Cult's monsters is the most important thing; military merit is secondary!"

Zhou Ling said with a serious expression.

In his heart, however, he was calculating how much military merit he would likely gain this time.

A first-tier blood corpse is worth 5 military merits.

Second-tier military merit of 20.

Based on this calculation, it would require at least 3 military merits.

In addition, there's the Blood Soul Cult leader and the Fiend Vein.

By any calculation, this trip would have earned 4 or 5 military merits.

According to what Wang Qingchang originally said, the value of this military merit is twice that of points.

That's equivalent to 1 points, which is quite good.

There were also other blood seals, blood fiend crystals, and spirit gathering stones.

I made quite a bit of money this time.

Wang Qingshang nodded with a smile at Zhou Ling's realization.

After the four of them carefully inspected the area again and confirmed that no one had escaped, Wang Qingshang took out the spirit boat.

The four then left the nameless valley.

······.

Evening, inside Zhou Ling's study.

The crystal chandelier cast a soft glow.

Zhou Ling sat cross-legged on the futon, a bloodstain appearing in front of him.

"The Blood Dragon Seal inside was not damaged."

"Some surface cracks can be repaired by re-refining them!"

Looking at the bloodstains, Zhou Ling murmured with a look of delight.

The bloodstain before them was a low-grade, third-tier Blood Dragon Seal.

By harnessing the power of blood energy, one can condense a blood dragon to launch an attack.

The greater the power of the blood energy, the stronger the power of the condensed blood dragon.

"I am now in the middle stage of Body Refinement, and I am only one step away from the late stage of Body Refinement."

"Furthermore, the essence blood of the blazing sun within my body is extremely pure, which should be enough to control this blood seal!"

Zhou Ling murmured.

Generally speaking, a Foundation Establishment cultivator can only unleash up to 80% of the power of a third-tier magic weapon.

This time, Zhou Ling used the Five Elements Spirit Flame Formation to kill the leader of the Blood Soul Cult, partly because the Five Elements Spirit Flame Formation was so powerful.

In addition, this person was unable to fully unleash the power of the Blood Dragon Seal due to his limited cultivation level.

"Once the spirit flame recovers, we'll refine it again!"

After putting away the bloodstain, Zhou Ling murmured.

Then he took out the Blood Fiend Crystal.

These Blood Fiend Crystals are top-grade Blood Fiend Crystals, containing abundant blood energy.

However, it contains a strong malevolent aura.

Unless one cultivates a technique like Blood Fiend, it is difficult to directly absorb and refine it.

Inhaling the bloodthirsty energy within will damage one's meridians and blood.

However, with the Spirit Flame at his disposal, removing the evil energy within it was not a difficult task for Zhou Ling.

He then activated his beast flames to dispel the malevolent energy within.

However, while dispelling the evil energy, the Blood Fiend Crystal also gradually dissolved into an extremely dense blood energy.

Zhou Ling immediately activated the Three Yang Technique to directly absorb and refine this blood energy.

[You are absorbing the Blood Fiend Crystal. Physique Enhancement +1, Two Yang True Body +1]

As the Blood Fiend Crystal was completely absorbed, Zhou Ling felt a surge of surging blood energy within his body, like a mighty river.

This allowed his blood and qi cultivation to improve rapidly.

After completely refining and absorbing the blood energy, Zhou Ling took out another piece of blood fiend crystal and began to refine it using beast flames.

He strives to break through to the late stage of the second level of Body Refinement as soon as possible.

[You are absorbing the Blood Fiend Crystal. Physique Enhancement +1, Two Yang True Body +1]

······.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

[You are absorbing the Blood Fiend Crystal. Physique Enhancement +1, Two Yang True Body +1]

Inside the cultivation room, Zhou Ling sat cross-legged on a futon, a thunderous roar emanating from his body.

Its surface gleamed with golden light, radiating a golden glow like a dazzling sun.

His whole body was like a bursting golden sun.

Within his body, strands of golden blood surged.

Zhou Ling took out the Fire Gang Sword and lightly slashed it across his arm. A golden light flashed, and the Fire Gang Sword could no longer advance even an inch.

It should be noted that this Fire罡 Sword is a mid-grade spiritual sword, and it contains the sword intent of incineration, making it incomparably sharp.

However, it did not cause any damage to Zhou Ling's physical body.

"Although I am only at the late stage of the second tier of body refinement now, the powerful defensive force of the Two Yang True Body is enough to reach the power of the peak of the second tier of body refinement!"

Zhou Ling murmured with a look of delight on his face.

In the past three days, he absorbed six high-grade blood fiend crystals, and his body refinement cultivation successfully broke through to the late stage of the second tier.

His current physique is strong enough to contend with a peak second-tier demonic beast.

The amount of blazing sun essence blood that had condensed within his body had reached more than eight hundred drops.

He then activated the Three Yang Technique to condense the Golden Yang True Body.

Suddenly, his whole body radiated golden light.

It is dazzling and eye-catching, giving people a huge sense of oppression.

"Even the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword might not be able to break through this Golden Sun True Body without activating the sword intent of rules."

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

He was very satisfied with the effects of the Blood Fiend Crystal.

There are still six Blood Fiend Crystals left; we still need to find a way to remove the fiendish energy from them.

It is reserved for my father.

Zhou Ling pondered this in his heart.

Because the beast flames were so intense, they not only burned away the malevolent energy, but also refined the essence blood contained within the Blood Fiend Crystal.

"I wonder how effective the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame will be?"

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

The Azure Lotus Spirit Flame is a wood-attribute spirit flame, which is much gentler than beast flames.

Thinking of this, he took out a Blood Fiend Crystal.

He then condensed the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame and began to attempt to refine the malevolent energy within it.

Enveloped in the gentle blue flames of the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame.

Strands of malevolent energy emanated from the Blood Fiend Crystal.

"It's still effective!"

Zhou Ling said with a happy expression.

However, the refining process is not fast.

But Zhou Ling was not in a hurry, and slowly controlled the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame.

After about an hour, the malevolent energy within the Blood Fiend Crystal was completely dissipated.

Zhou Ling also let out a breath.

He thought to himself, "Could these six high-grade Blood Fiend Crystals help my father's cultivation level reach the mid-stage of the second level of Body Refinement?"

(End of this chapter)