Chapter 995: The Source of the Rise of the Skull Blood Vine Demons

Millions of slave race armies and the Horned Demon Emperor Clan armies gathered at the Fire Stone Emperor Palace, then, under the command of the Flame Flow Emperor Son, charged through the teleportation array toward the vicinity of the Mo Teng Xiao Gao Jie where the Cang Kong Emperor Son was located.

The star domain war was on the verge of breaking out, and the Mo Shi Xiao Gao Jie fell silent for a time.

The vast majority of Jin Dan and Nascent Soul experts had been conscripted, as had the Foundation Establishment backbone; only the old and weak remained, incapable of causing any chaos.

"Those nine people are not weak in power; they influenced and controlled King-class experts in such a short time."

"Compared to them, I have fallen behind."

Jiang Ding murmured to himself.

The small demon he possessed was named Hua Hua Xiaohua, an ordinary member of the Skull Blood Vine Demon race with Qi Refining Layer Five cultivation; its skull's luster was dim, the vines symbiotically growing within its body were slightly withered and yellow, its vitality faint, a pink flower drooped listlessly, and the blood hole in its pupil was not so vivid.

This was a very ordinary Skull Blood Vine Demon.

Its talent, aptitude, and family background were nothing extraordinary.

However, it had one special trait.

After seeing off the departing tribal army, this Skull Blood Vine Demon returned home, carried a pot of blood wine, and came to a cave carved out of the mountain rock.

The dilapidated door of the cave was pulled open, revealing an old skeleton lying on the ground in deep sleep, the air around him thick with the smell of cheap mortal beast blood wine.

For the Skull Blood Vine Demon race, the marker of age was the vines winding around the skull; the fewer green leaves on the vines and the more wrinkles on the vines, the older the demon.

This old skeleton was likely forty or fifty years old, nearing the lifespan limit of ordinary Skull Blood Vine Demons in the Mo Shi Xiao Gao Jie.

Just like human cultivators at forty or fifty, under the rule of the Mo Yan race, living to this age was already considered a remarkable talent.

"... Grandpa Bai... Grandpa Bai..."

Hua Hua Xiaohua pushed the old skeleton and coquettishly said, "Teach me the Bone Refining Art one more time... just one more time..."

This old skeleton was her grand-uncle.

Many years ago, when Hua Hua Xiaohua's father used a thigh bone to nurture Hua Hua Xiaohua's life, this old Skull Blood Vine Demon had watched from the side, had infused spirit into Hua Hua Xiaohua's bones, and had, under difficult conditions, used his own primordial energy to slightly improve Hua Hua Xiaohua's aptitude.

"Hua Hua Xiaohua..."

"Don't make noise..."

The old skeleton, eyes half-closed, seemed to sense something but had no desire to wake up; he slapped away Hua Hua Xiaohua's pushing hand and continued to snore loudly, his snores like thunder.

"Hee hee!"

Hua Hua Xiaohua had expected this and was not in a hurry; she took out the blood wine she had brought and opened the lid.

A thick scent of blood spread outward.

This was a specialty of the Skull Blood Vine Demon race, blood wine, made from the fresh blood of living beings mixed with a thousand kinds of spiritual herbs, then fermented through the Skull Blood Vine Demon race's secret technique, Heavenly

Natural Fermentation; it had effects of strengthening the soul and forging bones, enjoyed considerable fame in the surrounding regions, and was one of the tribute items designated by the Mo Yan race.

The quality of the blood wine was closely related to the fresh blood of living beings, the grade of the spiritual herbs, and the Skull Blood Vine Demon who brewed it.

Legend held that the blood wine brewed personally by the Skull Blood Vine Demon Ancestor was deeply favored by a certain King, and thus the Skull Blood Vine Demon race rose to prosperity, giving birth to General-class experts.

Although Hua Hua Xiaohua's blood wine could not compare to that divine object, it still fell within the category of spiritual wine.

The thunderous snores of the old Skull Blood Vine Demon suddenly stopped.

Two withered, yellow, wrinkled vines on the cheekbone nostrils fluttered back and forth, repeatedly confirming, as if unable to believe it, thinking it was a dream.

"Whose blood spirit wine is this..."

Hua Hua Xiaohua pretended to be surprised.

"Blood Spirit Wine!"

The old skeleton instantly woke up; at first he was somewhat angry, but upon seeing the Blood Spirit Wine, his heart instantly blossomed with joy; he grabbed it and said, "Daughter Hua Hua Xiaohua, you are still the best, remembering me, this old thing about to die."

"Grand-uncle is speaking nonsense; how could you die."

"You will live to be a hundred years old; I heard before that an old senior named Gu Li lived to be one hundred years old; you should be able to do the same."

Hua Hua Xiaohua let the old skeleton take the Blood Spirit Wine and said coquettishly.

"Hahaha!"

"One hundred years, good, good, good, then let's live to be one hundred years."

The old skeleton laughed heartily.

To Hua Hua Xiaohua's surprise, the old skeleton did not greedily gulp down more than half the bottle of Blood Spirit Wine; instead, he carefully put it away in his bosom, seemingly intending to save it for later.

"Little Hua Hua Xiaohua, how is your cultivation of the Bone Refining Art?"

The old skeleton asked with concern: "Do not underestimate this Bone Refining Art; this was obtained by your grand-uncle through a chance encounter in his youth; the reason I am still alive, unlike other Skull Blood Vine Demons who die at forty, is entirely due to this technique."

"Pity, your father is as stupid as a pig and simply cannot learn it..."

"Grand-uncle, I am almost finished practicing it!"

Hua Hua Xiaohua said proudly.

The grandfather and granddaughter, one teaching and one asking, quickly saw several hours pass.

Hua Hua Xiaohua was somewhat reluctant, but the time had come; she had to return to her cave to refine blood wine with her own life essence, and she bid a reluctant farewell.

With the young girl's departure, the stone cave of the old skeleton returned to its former cold silence and stillness.

"Sigh,"

"Hua Hua Xiaohua is a good daughter."

The old skeleton sighed softly, took out the precious Blood Spirit Wine that he might not taste once in ten years, and stared blankly into space.

He knew this was Hua Hua Xiaohua's savings accumulated over many years; she simply wanted this old thing about to die to enjoy one last time before passing.

Unfortunately, this bottle of blood wine was refined from human blood, and

it was the fresh blood of a human Qi Refining stage young girl; although Hua Hua Xiaohua did not kill her, she refined it with her own hands.

The old skeleton looked at it for a while longer, then buried the Blood Spirit Wine underground and paid it no more mind.

He rummaged through his boxes and cabinets, found another bottle of cheap mortal blood wine, gulped it down in one go, and fell back into a drowsy sleep.

"You,"

At that moment, a soft voice appeared in the cave, filled with curiosity.

"Why don't you drink this bottle of Blood Spirit Wine?"

"You, a servant born in hardship, frantically fleeing, a cultivator still recovering—you should seize every wisp of Qi. Blood Dao cultivators have always been this greedy."

The voice echoed through the cave.

"Who?!"

The old skeleton was suddenly startled awake, utterly bewildered.

"Who?"

"Naturally, our Blood River King—the eternal first prodigy of the human race…"

The voice, gentle and uncertain, spoke without emotion.

The old skeleton's pupils shrank.

To be named so directly stripped away all his hope of luck—he was once again confronted by a formidable enemy.

Shh!

Instantly, without a word, the old skeleton burned his essence blood and unleashed his strongest Dun Fa, vanishing in an instant—decisive, unwilling to waste even a ten-thousandth of a breath's opportunity.

Jing!

A soft sword hum echoed beside his ears, its lingering tone clear and melodious.

To the old skeleton, it was like heaven collapsing and earth splitting, the great sun falling—his soul instantly crushed, his body stiffening, tumbling helplessly out of space; all his Blood Duncrafts proved useless.

"What is this?"

The old skeleton cried out in shock.

Merely a sound wave had completely suppressed him, robbing him of all resistance—this exceeded his understanding.

Boundless despair arose in his heart.

Even when facing the king of the Jiao Demon Imperial Clan, he had never felt this powerless—he had at least still had the strength to resist.

No reply came from the other side.

He seemed to have frozen too, the swordlight about to strike slowly retracting.

Long silence.

"You're at the peak of Soul Transformation—how weak are you? You're barely stronger than a Hua Shen Chu Qi cultivator."

"Just how much has your inheritance been stripped away?"

Jiang Ding sighed faintly.