Paying Homage to the Blood God

Luo Feng transformed into a streak of azure light, flying directly into the cave entrance in the rock face, entering the mansion within the giant pit. Inside the mansion. "Having been exposed to the golden light at the core of the vortex for nearly 30 days, my body has reached its saturation point," Luo Feng muttered, flying directly to the stone bed. He sat down cross-legged, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes. "I hope to successfully fuse the third Xueluo Crystal this time. If I fail again, I won't be able to fuse any more. After all, my body's modification has reached its limit; neither the Baleful Qi nor the more effective golden light will have any further impact." Taking a deep breath, Luo Feng flipped his hand, and a beautiful, crystalline, blood-red, triangular prism-shaped crystal appeared in his palm. Though he had seen Xueluo Crystals thousands of times, each time, Luo Feng couldn't help but be captivated by its beauty. "It's truly magnificent." "This is a treasure of the cosmos." Luo Feng gently cut his left palm. *Hiss*, a knife-like wound appeared in his palm, and blood flowed out, touching the Xueluo Crystal. Instantly, an invisible will of slaughter directly impacted Luo Feng's consciousness. However, his Earthling original body had only fused two Xueluo Crystals before, so the combined will of slaughter was child's play to Luo Feng. *Hiss, hiss~~* "Hmm?" Luo Feng frowned. Sitting cross-legged, his entire body began to twitch uncontrollably, muscles contorting, veins writhing like earthworms, and scales starting to emerge on his skin. Pain, intense pain. But his Golden Horned Beast clone had already fused its 97th crystal, so Luo Feng could completely endure this level of pain. Time passed, minute by minute... The Xueluo Crystal in his palm continuously released crimson threads, which steadily integrated into Luo Feng's body. Gradually, the Xueluo Crystal's color grew lighter and more transparent. Moments later, the entire crystal became completely transparent, like glass. Immediately after, the entire Xueluo Crystal melted into a stream of energy, merging into Luo Feng's body. "Success!" "I finally succeeded." When he felt the Xueluo Crystal in his palm completely merge into his body and the physical changes began to subside, Luo Feng was ecstatic. Yes! Ecstatic! The increase in strength and the improved comprehension of the universe's origin laws were one aspect. Another was the points! The 'Virtual Universe Company' points were extremely valuable... For instance, this Xueluo World mission's primary objective was to obtain one Xueluo Crystal, rewarding 10,000 points. But this opportunity was only available once. If you obtained 1 Xueluo Crystal, it was 10,000 points. Even if you obtained 100,000 Xueluo Crystals... you still wouldn't get more points, because this cultivation mission only awarded 10,000 points. After all! For Universe-level beings, acquiring Xueluo Crystals might be difficult. But for Undying beings, or even existences like Zhenyan King... who could use teleportation, obtaining Xueluo Crystals would be much easier. "It's strange, though." "The Virtual Universe Company has always claimed that Xueluo Crystals are precious treasures," Luo Feng mused, puzzled. "But in the Xueluo World, there are tens of thousands of worlds, and within the jurisdiction of each World City, there are many territories with numerous Domain Lord-level powerhouses. Almost every Domain Lord possesses Xueluo Crystals." "Clearly, the total quantity of Xueluo Crystals is enormous." "But..." "I've searched the Virtual Universe Company's treasure vault, and there are no Xueluo Crystals for sale there at all!" Luo Feng grew even more perplexed. Yes, none for sale! Xueluo Crystals, in the vast universe, are only produced in the 'Xueluo World' within this secret realm. Even within the Xueluo World itself, Xueluo Crystals are highly valued. Yet, after all... The total quantity isn't small. But the treasure vault doesn't allow exchange for them. "The Xueluo World mission is a Universe-level cultivation task," Luo Feng thought to himself. "Domain Lords must venture out and serve as regional governors. Sector Lords undergo even more life-and-death tempering... In the future, I probably won't get another chance to enter this Xueluo World. Fortunately, I managed to acquire over 9,000 Xueluo Crystals this time." Subconsciously, Luo Feng realized that Xueluo Crystals must be a 'forbidden item,' monopolized by the Virtual Universe Company. Even with his status as a Taichu Secret Realm member, he couldn't exchange for Xueluo Crystals. "I'll have to investigate this when I get back." "Alright, first, let's see the effects after fusing three Xueluo Crystals." Luo Feng stopped pondering and began to activate the mysterious power within his body. Instantly, blood-red secret patterns began to appear on his bare chest. A simple yet complete secret pattern. "How wonderful." Luo Feng closed his eyes, vaguely sensing the most fundamental fluctuations of various laws deep within the infinite universe: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, light, lightning, space, time... all kinds of cosmic law fluctuations became much clearer. "Onefold." "The clarity of comprehension has increased by an estimated onefold, and the power of laws I can wield... has also increased by onefold," Luo Feng mused. An increase of onefold was equivalent to double his previous strength. It was like directly advancing a whole tier in power! "With improved comprehension, I'll grasp laws even faster in the future," Luo Feng praised inwardly. "No wonder Blood Warriors are so highly regarded. Everyone selected by the Virtual Universe Company is a top genius. To further increase comprehension by onefold and the power of contained laws by onefold... how incredible is that? A reward of 100,000 points is perfectly normal." "Let's try again." "Let's see if I can fuse a fourth one. And my will has also strengthened a bit, so I'll have my Golden Horned Beast clone try to fuse its 98th Xueluo Crystal to see if it succeeds." Luo Feng was filled with anticipation at this moment. ... A moment later. The Earthling original body attempted to fuse the fourth Xueluo Crystal, but failed halfway through! The Golden Horned Beast clone attempted to fuse its 98th Xueluo Crystal. Its consciousness persevered for a long time, seemingly on the verge of success, but was ultimately overwhelmed by the will of slaughter and failed! "Haha, one shouldn't be too greedy." Luo Feng was in a cheerful mood, suddenly standing up from the stone bed. "My consciousness... I estimate that in another ten or eight years, I might be able to withstand the will of slaughter's impact from fusing the 98th Xueluo Crystal." No rush. His lifespan was ten times that of a normal human Sector Lord; the goal of fusing 100 Xueluo Crystals would definitely be achieved. "Right, I am now a Blood Warrior," Luo Feng thought. "The second cultivation mission is to fuse three Xueluo Crystals, become a Blood Warrior, and obtain a Xueluo Medal. Only then will I receive the 100,000 points reward." "The Xueluo Medal!" "Any Blood Warrior can go to any World City's 'World Lord' and generally claim a Xueluo Medal." "The Blood God Ba Qi, he is a 'World Lord,' so he probably carries Xueluo Medals." Luo Feng didn't want to wait a moment longer. The Ancient God Ruins offered no further benefit to his body, and he had many matters to attend to at the Virtual Universe Company headquarters... it was time to leave the Xueluo World. He needed to claim his Xueluo Medal quickly! *Whoosh!* Luo Feng shot out, flying from the cave entrance, then plummeted rapidly down the abyss. ... "It's Ninety-Seven." Deep within the abyss, the tall bronze figure sitting cross-legged on a protruding rock platform opened its eyes and glanced into the distance. "Ah Er, what do you think of Ninety-Seven?" "For all these years, he's stayed within the giant pit, at most approaching the Baleful Qi vortex," another voice echoed nearly ten thousand kilometers away, reaching Captain Ah Yi's ear. The Blood God Guard's communication wristbands served as monitoring devices; as long as a Blood God Guard was within the 'Xueluo Continent,' their location could be tracked via the wristband. Because the Xueluo Continent was incredibly vast. Therefore... each coordinate from the communication wristbands had an accuracy of approximately 100 kilometers! For powerful beings, 100 kilometers of accuracy was sufficient, as within that range, Sector Lords and Domain Lords could instantly pinpoint their target. Both the Blood God Ba Qi and the two captains of the Blood God Guard, through their communication wristbands... had discovered that Luo Feng had approached the Baleful Qi vortex. Due to the 100-kilometer margin of error in the coordinates. None of them knew that Luo Feng had actually entered the core of the vortex. "For years, he's been able to cultivate diligently here without doing anything else. At the very least, we can provisionally trust him." "Yes, we can provisionally trust him." ... The bottom of the abyss was vast and majestic. A crimson palace stood amidst the baleful mist. A streak of azure light landed before the palace, and Luo Feng stepped directly inside, respectfully stating, "Blood God Guard Ninety-Seven, wishes to pay homage to Lord Blood God." "Wait a moment," a voice echoed from within the palace. Luo Feng knew well that this was the voice of the intelligent optical computer, so he waited silently in the grand hall. The Blood God was in secluded cultivation, and disturbance was forbidden... To meet the Blood God, it was best to be announced by this intelligent optical computer. ... "I am on the fifth floor. Come up," a deep, resonant voice echoed in Luo Feng's ear. "Yes." Only then did Luo Feng ascend the stairs, moving swiftly like a phantom, and in moments, he arrived at the fifth floor of the crimson palace. The fifth floor was comparable in size to the grand hall on the first floor. However, this hall had a bit more 'human touch' than the first floor! For example, the decorations on the surrounding walls and the luxurious carpets covering the floor were made of materials that could last for millions of years without decaying. And above the grand hall of this fifth-floor palace, on a dark throne, sat a figure exuding dense Baleful Qi. A majestic and imposing figure, clad in blood-red robes, with crimson hair. It was precisely the Blood God 'Ba Qi'. Below the grand hall, near the throne, stood an incredibly tall desolate beast, 'Qi Niu'. Although the desolate beast Qi Niu was below the main hall, its immense size meant its back was even higher than the Blood God Ba Qi's seated position. "Greetings, Lord. Greetings, Lord Qi Niu," Luo Feng knelt on one knee, his knee striking the ground. "Ninety-Seven, what is your business?" The Blood God Ba Qi, seated high on his throne, looked down and asked indifferently. "Lord, I have already fused three Xueluo Crystals," Luo Feng respectfully replied. "Since childhood, I have dreamed of becoming a Blood Warrior and obtaining a Xueluo Medal. I have come to claim my Xueluo Medal." "Oh?" The Blood God Ba Qi suddenly stood up. Beside him, the massive desolate beast Qi Niu also snorted out two streams of scorching air from its nostrils, which swept directly past Luo Feng. "Fused three Xueluo Crystals?" Ba Qi was somewhat surprised. He had recognized the talent of this newly recruited Blood God Guard Ninety-Seven as very high. But to fuse three Xueluo Crystals so quickly... it astonished him. Because some humans might be able to fuse four, five, or even seven or eight Xueluo Crystals, like the Blood God Ba Qi himself! However, this required long-term modification by Baleful Qi. "Yes, Lord." Luo Feng, still kneeling on one knee, had his bronze combat armor automatically split open at his chest, revealing his bare skin. At the same time, Luo Feng activated the mysterious power within him, and instantly, blood-red secret patterns appeared on his chest. Seeing these simple yet complete blood-red secret patterns, Ba Qi's eyes lit up. He rarely smiled, but now he let out a hearty laugh: "Ninety-Seven, very good, very good." *Boom.* The desolate beast Qi Niu also snorted out two waves of hot air from its nostrils, simultaneously emitting a deep, resonant voice, "Very good."