Chapter 307: Divine Blood

After Luo De sent the Banshee Krist back toward the mountain path,

he arrived at the Hansen River region of Claw Valley, the waterline defense.

Far off, he saw the elf Kalistra busy setting up a spell ritual on the cliff edge.

She had been out since early morning and had not paused since.

"Where's Selena? Didn't she come?"

Luo De walked over to her side.

"She just left a while ago. Whether she comes or not won't matter—better let her reach seventh tier quickly, so she doesn't waste your Spirit Seed."

The elf didn't look up, still sharp-tongued.

With one hand, she cast a spell to select a spot on the cliff, used Stone-to-Mud to flatten the surface, then hardened it into a smooth plane suitable for carving.

"Ah, you noticed?"

"Your magical pathways became smooth and wide overnight—your entire aptitude rose a level. I'm not blind. Why give it to me? I don't need a Spirit Seed."

"I just felt bad about your magic depletion."

Luo De smiled.

He pulled out the Crystal Swan artifact and cast a group flight spell on Kalistra, easing her spellcasting burden.

Kalistra rejected his gesture with a sneer.

"Don't use your tricks on me. I owe you—I'll repay you when the chance comes."

Luo De shrugged, unconcerned.

He had long grown accustomed to dealing with elves—one key was never to argue with her words.

Stubborn to the end, this one.

But her body was honest enough—look, a faint pink had crept onto her elf ears.

Bored, Luo De played in midair with Tally while recounting what he'd seen on the Ke Clan Plains that day.

Winter days were short.

The crimson dusk was unremarkable amid the smog, even blurred enough to obscure the sun's position.

"There have been many theories about Beast Mutation."

Kalistra's silver knife darted swiftly, "After all, it's an incurable condition—even debatable as a disease. Among them, a professor from Bahadur Magic Academy had the most unusual theory."

"The one Shemus mentioned?"

Last night, Luo De's Black Slime fragment had contacted the Bahadur mage attempting to confuse Ryan.

During that, he'd overheard fragments of muttering.

Namely, the ancient blood of a long-dead god, contained within the Golden Chalice of the Melu Labyrinth, which the ratmen had once encountered.

"Most likely," the elf nodded.

She continued: "That professor believes the ancient god never truly died—he merely fell into slumber, dissolving himself into invisibility and merging with the god's blood in the Golden Chalice. Those infected by Beast Mutation—those who contact the ancient god's blood—synchronize their spirits with the god's, triggering transformation."

"But I recall you saying the ratmen showed no change when they first contacted the god's blood."

Beast Mutation first spread widely during the human dungeon craze.

Now, ratmen can be infected only because they've been modified through humans as a breeding vessel.

Luo De paused.

Suddenly remembering how high-tier beings loved meddling in human bloodlines.

What happened when it reached this stage?

He shook his head, dismissing the thought.

Kalistra shrugged.

She'd never made that gesture before—it looked oddly endearing.

"No one knows. If the mage's words last night were true, I suspect they aim to spread Beast Mutation on a massive scale, increasing the number of people synchronizing with the ancient god's spirit, to awaken the deity."

"They want to create a god—but this is merely awakening."

"Exactly. Then, according to their theory, I have another guess: the soul and body of this invisible god may have perished completely, leaving only the spirit. Bahadur seeks to amplify spiritual synchronization through mass infection, using humans as a breeding vessel to forge a new god borrowing that spirit."

Luo De smiled.

"Still following biological principles."

"After all, the three elements of life—soul, spirit, body—were first proposed by Bahadur Magic Academy themselves twelve hundred years ago. Off-topic, I meant to discuss the link between Beast Mutation and Star Spirits."

His smile deepened.

It reminded him of a Chinese literature teacher from Earth.

That teacher would often drift from the lesson into tales of the Three Kingdoms—talking about Cao Cao, then Liu Bei—only realizing at class end he'd barely covered two reading comprehension questions.

Kalistra was slightly flustered by his smile.

But she showed it by growing colder.

"Stop grinning like that. What kind of behavior is that?"

"Yes, Professor Kalistra."

But the teasing "Professor Kalistra" sent a feather-like tickle beside her heart.

A tingling numbness spread from her chest down to her abdomen.

She couldn't help recalling that night's ambush.

Kalistra forcibly suppressed the feeling and continued:

"I told you earlier today: Star Spirits crave Beast Mutation and believe themselves Children of the Stars, a belief derived from this Bahadur professor's theory.

They regard the invisible ancient god as their ancestor—his bloodline caused their translucent flesh, and their immunity to Beast Mutation is the ancestor's gift, shielding them from madness.

But to return to their celestial homeland, Star Spirits believe they must temporarily set aside the ancestor's gift, willingly contract Beast Mutation, synchronize with the ancestor's spirit, and thus find the path home."

Hmm.

Building an entire race's faith and history on an unproven theory?

So hollow?

Perhaps it relates to the Star Spirits' origins.

Star Spirits originally emerged from humans, like witches, ghouls, and zombies—caused by hidden bloodline manipulation.

But for some reason, humans stopped producing Star Spirits.

Races born through transformation can't reproduce; after a century, they should've become rare—or gone extinct.

Yet, as if favored by fate,

within just twenty years, they evolved natural reproductive functions.

They were the first race in continental history to achieve such evolution.

Precisely because of this, as a new race, Star Spirits had no real history—they had to create something to forge racial identity.

This included fabricating and falsifying artifacts, altering human texts passed down to them.

They were experts at making old things seem ancient.

Ninety percent of the fakes on the market were made by Star Spirits.

They chatted a while longer.

The sky had turned completely dark.

Kalistra had wanted to keep working, but she'd just recovered and shouldn't overexert herself—so Luo De took her back to the forest.

At first, the elf resisted.

Only when Luo De showed a hint of anger did she reluctantly follow, face icy.

Of course, if Tally hadn't been beside her threatening to eat dinner right in front of her, she'd have returned sooner.

(End of Chapter)