Chapter 248: The Second Layer of the Filthy Blood Divine Art

Just as Shen Yanliu led a large group of men to charge into Stone Monkey Alley and surround the mysterious residence of Wei Yutian, a shivering beggar in tattered clothes crouched in the shadows of an inconspicuous alley entrance not far away. His hair was matted, his face covered in greasy grime, and he seemed startled, shrinking his neck and walking with a stumbling gait toward the other end of the alley...

Inside the Secret Chamber Mandala in the Back Courtyard, Duan Rong flicked his sleeve, scattering a faint layer of Medicine Powder onto the face of Xiao Yu. Then, controlling his Internal Breath, he let a slender wisp of it emerge from his fingertips, skillfully pressing several acupoints on Xiao Yu's body.

This was because, after Duan Rong achieved the Micro-Perception Realm, his control over his Internal Breath had reached a new height; he could now use Internal Breath emerging from his fingertips to replace Silver Needles to perform acupuncture.

With the acupuncture technique combined with the cooling and refreshing Medicine Powder, Xiao Yu woke up almost instantly.

Xiao Yu woke up abruptly and saw a dark shadow kneeling beside her amidst the swirling dust and smoke. In the rolling dust, she could not see the person's face at all.

She knew that the one who had abducted her was a powerhouse of the True Qi Realm. Seeing this strange and eerie place filled with dust, Xiao Yu felt a chill run through her entire body. Knowing her chances of survival were slim and fully aware of what she was about to face now that she had regained consciousness, a powerful sense of fatalism instantly enveloped her.

Xiao Yu was about to circulate her Internal Breath to sever her own meridians and die, so as to avoid being humiliated while alive.

Just then, the kneeling shadow suddenly spoke. "Xiao Yu!"

Xiao Yu's scalp tingled as if struck by electricity, and tears gushed out uncontrollably; it was Duan Rong's voice.

It was Duan Rong!

She stared blankly at the shadow in the dust, that blurred silhouette of a person, as if it were the back of the man who had stood before her amidst a flurry of blades on the day of her younger sister's funeral, having traveled through time and space to appear before her once again.

Xiao Yu lunged forward, hugging Duan Rong tightly, her mental defenses shattered, and she began to sob bitterly...

Duan Rong knew that Xiao Yu had survived a desperate situation and her emotions were somewhat out of control, so he patted her shoulder gently and comforted her: "Alright, alright, it's okay now..."

Duan Rong would have been better off not comforting her; the moment he did, Xiao Yu cried even harder...

While comforting Xiao Yu, Duan Rong carefully swept his Divine Sense across the Secret Chamber.

When he had swept it with his Divine Sense before, he had focused on Xiao Yu and Wei Yutian, and had only given the layout of the Secret Chamber a cursory glance, not paying it much mind.

At this moment, Duan Rong used his Divine Sense to carefully scan the Secret Chamber, and was immediately struck with great shock.

This was because the construction method of this Secret Chamber had many similarities to the descriptions of a Mandala in the Womb Treasury Sutra Secret Manual he had seen. Duan Rong could almost be certain that this Secret Chamber was also a Mandala.

This Womb Treasury Sutra and the Filthy Blood Divine Art, in terms of their origins, might be the same thing...

Just as Duan Rong's thoughts were churning, he suddenly "saw" a wooden box placed beside Xiao Yu. The lid of the wooden box had slid open, and inside were two objects that appeared to be Copper Awls.

As Duan Rong's Divine Sense swept over them, he saw that the handles of the Copper Awls were shaped like a man and woman in the act of intercourse, with the waist area where the couple joined serving perfectly as a recessed grip for the hand.

Duan Rong's heart stirred, and he took the Copper Awl into his hand. It was exquisitely designed with a smooth, rounded feel, fitting perfectly in his palm. Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he secretly thought: "Spirit Reader."

A set of data immediately appeared before Duan Rong's eyes.

Artifact: Tainted Blood Copper Awl

Spirit Artifact Tier: Third Tier

Devour Requirement: Host Spirit Power Level 3 (Met)

Devour Effect: Filthy Blood Divine Art Second Layer

Duan Rong looked at the data panel before him, a hint of hesitation appearing in his eyes.

This Filthy Blood Divine Art was clearly an evil art. Although it seemed to share the same origin as the Womb Treasury Sutra in terms of its cultivation method, its developmental trajectory was clearly completely different.

Duan Rong did not want to practice this evil art, and furthermore, the Filthy Blood Sect was wanted throughout the entire territory by the Taiyi Sect; wouldn't practicing this martial art be inviting trouble upon himself?

However, he was also somewhat curious, and although he would not practice it, devouring it would allow him to better understand this technique, so that if he ever encountered disciples of the Filthy Blood Sect again, he would know both himself and the enemy.

Duan Rong then secretly thought: "Devour."

Just then, chaotic footsteps sounded outside the Secret Chamber, and Li Chong walked in with five or six bailiffs.

By this time, the dust and smoke inside the Secret Chamber Mandala had already dispersed and settled; after all, the originally sealed stone door had been shattered by Wei Yutian's True Qi, allowing the air to mix and the dust to spill out.

Hearing the footsteps, Duan Rong immediately placed the Tainted Blood Copper Awl back into the wooden box.

Xiao Yu had also gradually stopped crying. With her emotions vented, she had calmed down significantly. As the dust cleared, she looked at Duan Rong's face, and her feelings were indescribably complex—there was joy, and also sorrow...

Li Chong walked into the Secret Chamber Mandala and, seeing the four tall statues of the Five-Passage Evil Gods, was clearly shocked. His gaze swept over Duan Rong on the high platform and then toward Xiao Yu beside him, asking: "Who is this woman?"

Duan Rong said: "She is Xiao Yu, an Escort from the Yuanshun Escort Agency. She was abducted by Wei Yutian from the Yuanshun Escort Agency to be used as a sacrifice to the Five-Passage Gods while he practiced the Filthy Blood Divine Art."

Hearing Duan Rong's words, Li Chong said no more. Since she was a victim, she was naturally not among those to be interrogated.

Li Chong walked around the Secret Chamber Mandala and was clearly greatly astonished by the various offerings inside. He turned his head to instruct the men who had followed him in: "Keep a close watch on this Secret Chamber; no one is to touch anything inside without authorization."

After Li Chong finished speaking, he strode out, preparing to report to Shen Yanliu.

Duan Rong also helped Xiao Yu up, and the two walked out of the Secret Chamber together.

Outside the Secret Chamber, by the Rockery in the Back Courtyard.

Two figures flashed rapidly. Wei Yutian parried and dodged, but was intercepted by Shen Yanliu every time. Moreover, every time Shen Yanliu intercepted him, it was with a Steel-Sleeve Iron-Hand strike, each angle vicious and tricky. Had it not been for his barely adequate defense with the Filthy Blood Divine Art, Wei Yutian would have already lost his life!

Wei Yutian had dodged several times and was already exhausted; his face was as pale as paper, his breathing was ragged, and cold sweat was oozing out in layer after layer.

Shen Yanliu's eyes were fierce, his True Qi surging as he struck at Wei Yutian with an iron hook once again.

Wei Yutian's Filthy Blood Divine Art was nearly depleted, and he could only dodge, but he was clearly a step too slow, and his entire right arm was torn off by Shen Yanliu's iron-hook claw.

The right arm was severed, yet not a single drop of blood spilled out; instead, a mass of slender, dense blood-filaments intertwined and rolled like clusters of maggots...

A look of disgust appeared on Shen Yanliu's face as he threw the arm away. Just then, a patrolling bailiff happened to walk out from behind the Rockery. The severed arm slammed into his face, and instantly, countless slender blood-filaments attached themselves to his face like bone-gnawing maggots. Following the bailiff's screams, his face rapidly withered, and those blood-filaments, having absorbed the blood, began to grow wildly and spread, diffusing along his neck toward his entire body. Within just a few breaths, the bailiff had turned into a dried corpse.

The severed arm that had attached to his face then fell to the ground, and the blood-filaments at the stump of the arm floated and swayed in the night, as if they were satiated...

Shen Yanliu's brows knitted together. He looked at Wei Yutian not far away and finally understood why Wei Yutian's face was so pale and why no blood had dripped from the arm he had torn off; it turned out that what he consumed to drive the Filthy Blood Divine Art was his own Essence Blood.

At this moment, the blood-filaments protruding from the stump of Wei Yutian's shoulder suddenly tangled and swirled, intertwining incessantly. The wound on Wei Yutian's shoulder was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a new arm was actually growing back from the original stump.

Only, that arm was fair, tender, and petite, looking just like gum tissue.

(End of chapter)