Chapter 135: Source of Blood Mist

135. Chapter 135 Source of Blood Mist

He didn't know how long he had slept, Li Xuan slowly opened his eyes, yawned, and got up from the bed.

In the Sky‑Grasping Bottle and the City of Slaughter there is no distinction between day and night, so Li Xuan doesn't know exactly how long he slept, nor whether it is day or night now.

Li Xuan only knows that his sleep was comfortable and long enough.

"Looks like it'll take a long time to reset my biological clock after leaving here," Li Xuan sighed helplessly, then emerged from the Sky‑Grasping Bottle's space.

After returning to the Second Floor, Li Xuan resumed dismantling the lighting Soul Guide Devices on the wall; they are indeed beautiful, valuable, and more importantly, he can use them.

A few hours later, all the lighting Soul Guide Devices on the Second Floor had been stored in Li Xuan's space, and even the one on the mechanism had been taken down by him.

Looking at the now empty Second Floor, Li Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

Where he goes, not a blade of grass survives.

The Second Floor has been cleared; next he should check the Third Floor.

He arrived at the staircase from the Second Floor to the Third Floor.

However, the staircase was even more rotten; when Li Xuan lightly touched it, it crumbled into powder, completely disintegrated.

Li Xuan wasn't in a hurry; after all this is the Killing Treasure Vault, and unknown dangers may lurk, so he proceeded cautiously. He took out several Starfire Fruits, infused them with soul power, and tossed them up the passage from the Second Floor to the Third Floor.

As the Third Floor's space lit up, Li Xuan saw it filled with dense Blood Mist.

The Blood Mist on the Third Floor was as thick as blood; the Starfire Fruit entering the mist could only cause a faint crimson glow at the entrance, revealing only the rolling mist, nothing else.

The passage from the Second to the Third Floor seemed to have a thin barrier, preventing the Blood Mist from entering the Second Floor.

Looking at the dense Blood Mist on the Third Floor, Li Xuan slowly furrowed his brows, and a bold idea surfaced in his mind.

"Could this be the Source of Blood Mist? But what kind of being could generate such a massive mist?" Li Xuan muttered, looking up at the Third Floor's Blood Mist.

Li Xuan could sense that, although the mist here and the mist in the City of Slaughter share the same nature, this Blood Mist is heavier and extremely corrosive.

"If this thick Blood Mist can be absorbed by the Sky‑Grasping Bottle, the Spiritual Energy concentration inside it could rise significantly—that would be a good thing," Li Xuan thought, eyes brightening as he stared at the mist.

Before entering, Li Xuan knew that once Blood Mist merges with a Hot Spring pool it becomes unusually pure Spiritual Energy, but outside, the mist's concentration is low and he lacks a good method to transfer it, so he never tried moving it into the Sky‑Grasping Bottle's space.

However, the Third Floor's Blood Mist is so dense that Li Xuan is reluctant to waste it.

So Li Xuan released soul power and summoned the Sky‑Grasping Bottle.

Recalling the Sky‑Grasping Bottle's performance in the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan, it might actively absorb the Blood Mist this time.

After being summoned, the Sky‑Grasping Bottle lay motionless in Li Xuan's hand.

"Go, see if you can absorb all the Blood Mist here; if you can, that would be a great gain," Li Xuan said, feeding soul power into the Sky‑Grasping Bottle. The bottle flew out of his hand and plunged into the Third Floor's space. Once inside, Li Xuan almost instantly lost control of it.

Although he lost control of the Sky‑Grasping Bottle, Li Xuan wasn't worried; this isn't its first loss of control, so it must have already begun absorbing the Blood Mist on the Third Floor, otherwise it wouldn't have slipped so easily. With that thought, he felt reassured.

Losing contact with the Sky‑Grasping Bottle proves that Li Xuan cannot enter its space for now, so he decides to wait on the Second Floor until the bottle finishes absorbing the Third Floor's Blood Mist, then he will ascend; it will be much safer then.

Li Xuan lay on the bed, gazing up at the Blood Mist on the Third Floor; under the glow of the Starfire Fruit, he saw the mist thinning, indicating the Sky‑Grasping Bottle was indeed absorbing it.

Nevertheless, Li Xuan remained cautious; the Third Floor's Blood Mist is more dangerous than others, its corrosiveness stronger, and at this concentration it could corrode him to bone.

So Li Xuan clenched the Great Teleportation Talisman; if any problem arises, he can activate it at any time and leave, departing the City of Slaughter.

As for the Sky‑Grasping Bottle.

Now the Sky‑Grasping Bottle is Li Xuan's martial soul; the summoned form is like a projection that dissipates once its soul power is exhausted, without affecting future summons.

Another two hours passed, and Li Xuan finally reestablished contact with the Sky‑Grasping Bottle…

It seems the Sky‑Grasping Bottle is satisfied.

Li Xuan looked up at the Third Floor; the air there was clear and clean, as if the previously thick, blood‑like mist had never existed.

"As expected of the Sky‑Grasping Bottle, it easily absorbed such dense Blood Mist. I wonder how much the Spiritual Energy concentration in its space increased; this mist has become a resource. Looks like I need to stay in the City of Slaughter a while longer," Li Xuan said, nodding with satisfaction, then took out a ladder and set it at the Third Floor entrance.

Before entering the Third Floor, Li Xuan wrapped the Burning Heart Divine Flame around his body and filled himself with Filthy Flame, trying to ward off the Blood Mist's assault.

Li Xuan slowly climbed to the Third Floor.

Just as he peeked out on the Third Floor, Li Xuan saw a shocking sight.

The Third Floor's space had no rooms; in the vast area lay a single curled skeleton.

Now the skeleton was entirely devoid of flesh, a stark white frame.

Faintly, it seemed to be…

"Bat?"

"And nine heads?"

"Could it be the blood‑red nine‑headed bat that possessed Tang Chen? But the timeline doesn't fit; this skeleton has been a bone for at least ten thousand years, long before Tang Chen came to the City of Slaughter," Li Xuan muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Then Li Xuan began to examine the space carefully.

He increasingly realized the skeleton's enormity; if fully spread, its wingspan would be at least a hundred meters, suggesting how powerful the creature once was. (End of Chapter)