Chapter 355: Breaking a Fulcrum

With the small stone statue following behind, Du En kept up his Sacred Refining while striding forward.

His proficiency in artifact refining was consequently increasing rapidly, and various insights began to rise and fall in his mind, rendering his mental state exceptionally clear and active; he was in a rare, overall state of being.

Therefore, he undid the spatial cube in his hand.

Inside was stored a manuscript.

"Having observed this classic, I find it to be truly wicked and evil doctrine. Though I am still able to control it, I fear the calamity it may leave behind, so I have destroyed the original and, based on my own insights, established a new text..."

The great cultivator's writing was filled with a sense of hidden worry, and the tone was as if they were arranging their final affairs; it was clear they had long since sensed and anticipated that their own end might not be very good.

This manuscript of the technique was actually unfinished; it had only been rewritten up to the cultivation method for the Nascent Soul stage, and after touching upon a portion of the content for the Spirit Severing stage, it stopped abruptly, leaving behind only deep regret.

Even so, the preceding portion was already enough to be called a classic, and its quality could be described as top-tier! "It is truly a new text, especially the conception of the Blood God Body, which clearly draws from the Blood Demon, a demonic seed, as well as summarizing the strengths of various blood techniques, while providing ideas for targeted countermeasures and defenses. If it could be fully deduced, it would be possible to mend the loopholes and flaws. Truly, as long as the divine blood does not run dry, I shall not perish..."

Du En's current vision had already been sufficiently honed, so he could naturally distinguish the good from the bad and ponder the subtleties within.

Looking at it as a whole, the Blood God Body—which could only be cultivated at the Spirit Severing stage—was of great benefit to him, as it could be used as an element to fill into his spiritual body, allowing it to undergo a more superior transformation later on.

Thus, he chose to stop and ponder, using his current state to think and deduce. Finally, in the blank space following the manuscript, he used his finger as a pen and gathered spiritual Qi as ink to write.

It was not a continuation, but rather a streamlining of redundant and superfluous descriptions, a readjustment of a very small number of improperly ordered sequences, and the addition of a small amount of content combined with his own past cultivation experience.

Most crucially, he established a general outline.

"Understand this blood nature, remain steadfast and unyielding, the divine body shall not perish... A bit rough, but as for what follows, I shall leave it to those who come after."

Thinking this, Du En stepped forward once more.

Very quickly, he arrived at the depths of the tunnel, where traces of radiance appeared ahead.

Looking straight past, he could see a group of people ahead, nervous and wary, observing him from behind various obstacles.

The fire burned brightly, consuming the flowers and casting them into individual magical artifacts, which then returned to Du En's storage bag.

Three thousand flowers, three thousand times.

And so.

【Hundred Arts: Artifact Refining (Grandmaster 0/500)】

It broke through quite easily.

When the flames extinguished, he walked slowly through the tunnel and arrived at the hollow behind it.

There was a camp here that appeared dilapidated and was barely holding on, along with a broken formation that had long since become overwhelmed by the passage of time, yet it was still filtering spiritual Qi to provide a relatively normal and fresh environment for this place.

Thus, by relying on farming, they could barely survive.

Moreover, the people in this camp—or rather, the survivors of the Blood Demon Sacred Sect—included a proper Foundation Establishment cultivator, who now stepped forward, quite nervous yet expectant.

"Your Excellency..."

"This is what he left for you."

Du En handed the manuscript directly over, releasing his hand so it flew through the air and landed in the hands of the other party, whose eyes brightened and then dimmed.

"Your Excellency, truly, thank you. Thank you for allowing the Sacred Sect Master to find release..."

Clutching the manuscript tightly, the leader tried to maintain their composure in front of the others, but by the end, they could not help but shed tears of old age.

The others, however, were somewhat bewildered.

It was clear that they were the new generation.

However, seeing their leader's reaction, they knew Du En was likely not someone with ill intent, so they relaxed their initial vigilance.

What followed was curiosity and concern about this place, and also, what was that small stone statue behind him? "Apologies, it was my rudeness."

A moment later, the camp leader steadied their mind and spoke thus.

"Could you tell me about your affairs?"

Du En said this, then pointed into the camp and spoke bluntly, "Also, I came here to go to that location to destroy a spatial fulcrum."

"Then, let us talk as we walk. Please!"

The camp leader gestured for him to lead the way.

They walked as they spoke.

The situation ahead was generally the same as what he had heard before, only with more details added.

For instance, the initial pioneers had come from the north; at that time, there were demonic beasts digging holes everywhere, and it was only after many years of hacking through thorns and brambles that they managed to stand their ground, gather and welcome refugees, and eventually reach a larger scale.

Unfortunately, it all ended in flames.

"The Sacred Sect Master had actually sensed something was wrong long ago, so he had removed the bloodline ties of some people in advance and used materials sent from the central camp in the north to set up and establish a formation."

"However, that calamity of demonic possession came too suddenly, leaving the Sacred Sect Master's remedial measures unfinished. The result was that we were trapped here, with the Blood Demon wreaking havoc outside, unable to make contact with the outside world."

This situation seemed quite coincidental, making one have to suspect that there was a hidden hand pushing things.

The Lord of the Blood Sect was clearly not satisfied with just establishing a camp; he was still expanding and forging ahead, vowing to walk out of the underground to look toward the true high heavens... This was undoubtedly something that the True Monarch of Regret, who substantively dominated this realm, did not want to see.

Therefore, he waited for an opportunity to act, pushing the demonic possession, and ultimately causing hundreds of years of effort here to be destroyed in one fell swoop! "This is the most likely scenario, and it also fits the behavioral policy of the True Monarch of Regret, who is a man of his word and cannot tolerate subordinates escaping his control."

Thinking this, he remained silent.

The camp leader also fell into a state of reminiscence, without speaking.

Only the crowd of people, seeing an outsider for the first time, were peeking and observing in various ways, openly or covertly.

Finally, they reached a conclusion.

This outsider was no different from them!

Du En paid no mind; he arrived at the location of the fulcrum, reached out his hand, stirred the ripples of space, reached deep into the inner layer, and grabbed the fulcrum that carried a dark, evil aura.

Boom! He crushed it directly! After scanning the surroundings with his Fiery Eyes of Truth to ensure there were no loose ends, he nodded directly and said, "Very well, my purpose here has been achieved, I shall take my leave now."

Du En did things in a smooth and flowing manner; since he had handled the matter here, he had to leave without delay to head to the location of the next spatial fulcrum.

The camp leader was still reminiscing and had not expected it to be so fast, feeling it was abrupt.

"Um, would you like to stay for a meal?"

In the end, that was all they could manage to say.

Du En naturally could only shake his head.

He was immediately quite at a loss, unable to come up with any words to ask him to stay, and looking around, the current camp could not scrape together any decent gift of gratitude.

In the end, he could only accompany and send off this honored guest and benefactor who had come so suddenly, left so hurriedly, and fulfilled his own wish.

Not until Du En's back disappeared into the darkness did he have the time to flip through the manuscript in his hands.

Looking at the familiar handwriting he saw once again, he was about to have tears well up in his eyes.

He already knew the contents of the Qi Refining stage and Foundation Establishment stage, because that was the method he was cultivating; as for the stages after the Golden Core stage, he could not quite understand them, so he only hurriedly memorized them.

Then, he quickly flipped to the back, to the content of the outline Du En had compiled.

"This... honored guest! No, Senior!"

He suddenly gave a start and hurriedly ran out, quickly catching up to Du En, who actually hadn't walked very fast and was still thinking about cultivating another Daoist technique on the road.

"Anything else?"

"I truly do not know how to repay your kindness, so I boldly ask you to name this new method, so that we may always remember you!" He had a flash of inspiration and thought of this way to repay him.

Naming the method, the inheritance continues, and the gratitude is never-ending.

Seeing his burning gaze, truly earnest, Du En did not decline; he thought for a moment and said, "Since ancient times, only scriptures stand above all methods. I observe that it still has a path forward, so there is no need to be constrained by the predecessors; it should have a lofty and distant outlook. Thus, I will borrow your sect's name and modify it, naming it the Sacred Blood Scripture."

"Sacred Blood Scripture, Sacred Blood Scripture, good name! Truly a good name!"

The camp leader was very excited.

Seeing that he was quite satisfied, Du En said goodbye again, turned, and left.

Two flowers bloom, each representing a branch.

Before the Blood Demon Cave passage.

There were two people hiding here, cautiously watching.

The elder of the edge camp was one of them, hiding stiffly behind the grass.

"Stinky brat, how is the situation?"

"I haven't seen the blood light again; the Blood Demon seems to have truly disappeared."

"Wait a bit longer, look a bit more; this is a matter of vital importance!"

"I know..."

"You know nothing! Such an important matter, keeping it from me the whole time, it really makes me so angry!"

The elder was furious, but his voice was very soft; although his movements were stiff, he didn't make a single mistake, clearly having been an experienced hunter in his youth.

As for the son, he was scolded and could only smile bitterly, appearing to have nothing to say.

Seeing him not speaking, the elder's heart suddenly skipped a beat; bad memories from the past welled up in his heart, and he immediately turned his head to look at the other person.

Being able to see that strong figure as steady as a rock, making people feel even more reliable than he himself had been back then, and seeing him watching the cave passage with great regularity and caution without encountering any accidents, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

This stinky brat...

With many thoughts rising in his heart, just as he was about to refuse to admit his age and stand up to observe for himself, the corner of his eye suddenly swept past something.

It seemed like someone was standing in the middle of the road?! He was immediately startled, yet inexplicably felt no fear, only hurriedly turning his head to look.

Where was there anyone!

What met his eyes was only empty darkness; there was simply no one...

"Elder, what's wrong?"

"No, just now, it seemed like there was someone?"

"Someone?!"

"Don't be nervous; even if there really was, they had no ill intent, otherwise with frames like yours and mine, we would have been done for long ago!"

"... You are quite broad-minded now."

"No, how should I put it? It feels very strange. Oh, right, I remembered, it seems like it was the Sacred Sect Leader?"

"... Are your old eyes failing you?"

"Hey! You actually don't believe me?! I tell you, I have truly seen the Sacred Sect Leader before, and, and, I have a matter I only tell you; don't go blabbing it everywhere."

"Fine, go ahead."

"Hehe, when we were kids, we didn't actually call him Sacred Sect Leader in private, but Ball Sect Leader..."

I suddenly feel that it is not without reason that your group of people was thrown over here and left to fend for yourselves.

The son sighed in his heart, yet unexpectedly, there was no shock.

Even though these were quite treasonous words, perhaps it was because the edge camp was too far away and had been ignored and abandoned for too long, unable to give people any sense of belonging, which was why it was like this.

Then, the two of them continued to keep watch here.

Until a few days later, Du En appeared in their sight again.

"It's you two. I have already cleared out the Blood Demons; if there are no accidents, they will not appear again."

Before the two could emerge, he walked over first and spoke so directly and concisely.

Then, also without waiting for the two to rejoice, Du En spoke again: "Also, there are survivor camps in the south. Although their scale is relatively small, they can still crush your edge camp. Afterwards, either you gather together, or simply go and seek refuge there."

He threw the future dilemma in front of them all at once, making the two's emotions rise and fall, leaving them somewhat dumbfounded.

"That is all, we shall meet again if fate allows."

Du En was swift and decisive, about to leave again.

"Wait, wait... that, sir, you said all this in one breath, we find it hard to accept for a moment..."

"I am just offering a suggestion; how to execute it specifically still depends on you. Of course, do not count on the Central Camp."

It was not for any other reason, but if his actions went smoothly, the Central Camp, or rather the Queguang Sect, would also be in chaos for a while and would be unable to care about this place at all.

"Understood, understood, we understand this..."

Although they said that, the two were clearly unable to calm down for a moment.

Seeing that they seemed to have something else to say, Du En stopped and waited.

After a good while, the Elder finally sorted out the current situation.

"Regardless of who you truly are, you have cleared away a great scourge like the Blood Demon for us; this is truly a kindness akin to a rebirth. We have nothing here to repay you with, so we can only erect a monument and build a shrine for you..."

"That is unnecessary."

"Uh, right, very well, you are the one in charge."

The Elder then mentioned what he wanted to say to Du En, "Actually, a few days ago, I seemed to have seen the Holy Sect Leader here, but it was only a fleeting glimpse, and I do not know if I saw wrong."

"Oh? The specific time?"

"It was at..."

Du En listened as the other party struggled to count breaths, providing an imprecise point in time.

Comparing the two, it generally corresponded to the period when he crushed the Blue-Blooded Alien Demon.

He immediately became thoughtful, then nodded.

"This is enough of a reward. So, do not overthink or get involved too much. We shall meet again if fate allows."

Having said that, he truly left.

Leaving so abruptly left both the Elder and his companion stunned; they only secretly thought that he was indeed no ordinary person, and then watched him depart.

First heading north, he gradually changed direction.

West.

That was the location of the nearest spatial fulcrum. If there were no accidents, there would inevitably be danger waiting for Du En, so he was not impatient. Along the way, he began to comprehend a new Dao technique, utilizing his existing foundation to advance at a speed visible to the naked eye, and he would soon be able to successfully complete his transition in cultivation.

(End of this chapter)