Chapter 368: Bloodline Burning, Soul Grafting

"A reward for me!" Li Zhangsheng didn't know what to say.

"Take it, it must be useful to you!" the old woman sighed.

Li Zhangsheng nodded; naturally, he didn't open it in front of the old woman, as that would be too impolite.

"Grandmother, I actually came this time to borrow the Instructor's Qixi Wind Speed Cat!" Li Zhangsheng stated his purpose directly.

"The old rules: as long as Xiao Feng agrees, you can take it, but you can't be gone for too long!"

Xiao Feng was also the nickname for the Qixi Wind Speed Cat.

"Alright!" Li Zhangsheng nodded in agreement and set down Whitey and Blackie, letting them go find the Qixi Wind Speed Cat.

"Your two kittens have evolved!"

The old woman's eyes were dim, and coupled with her low spirits, her attention was not focused; only now did she notice the abnormality in Whitey and Blackie.

"Yes, I was lucky enough to obtain a Bloodline Fruit!" Li Zhangsheng couldn't possibly reveal the matter of the Cang Cat Spirit Essence, so he attributed everything to the Bloodline Fruit.

"Good fortune!"

While the old woman was exclaiming, Whitey and Blackie ran over with the Qixi Wind Speed Cat.

"Xiao Feng, look, this is your favorite Pearl Fish!"

Li Zhangsheng took out a small box of Pearl Fish he had prepared. This was the Qixi Wind Speed Cat's favorite food. The only pity was that this fish was very expensive, costing 10 Soul Crystals for one; this small box had cost him a full two hundred Soul Crystals.

Unfortunately, the Qixi Wind Speed Cat glanced at it, licked the corner of its mouth, and revealed a greedy, anthropomorphic look in its eyes. Then, as if remembering something, it turned its head away, looking indifferent.

Li Zhangsheng was completely baffled and couldn't understand the Qixi Wind Speed Cat's thoughts. This creature wasn't his Demon Pet, so he couldn't communicate with it.

However, just because he couldn't communicate didn't mean his Demon Pets couldn't.

"Whitey, Blackie, what's wrong with it?"

Meow~ Meow~

As two soft, cute cat calls rang out, Whitey rolled on the ground, curling itself into a ball, while Blackie pushed the curled-up Whitey.

"Catnip!" Li Zhangsheng was very familiar with Blackie's actions. He suddenly remembered something: ever since he bought a Catnip for Whitey and Blackie, the Qixi Wind Speed Cat had almost stopped coming over to visit.

Thinking back to when Li Zhangsheng first visited Instructor Ning's courtyard, it was the Qixi Wind Speed Cat that played with the Giant Orb with Baitian and Heiye.

Now that Baitian and Heiye had a Giant Orb, the Qixi Wind Speed Cat seemed unable to bring itself to play with them. If this wasn't handled well, it was a recipe for the end of their friendship.

Li Zhangsheng figured out the reason and asked, "Xiao Feng, how about I buy you a Jubi too?"

Unexpectedly, the Qixi Wind Speed Cat first nodded, then immediately shook its head. It stood up on its hind legs, stretched its front paws as wide as possible, and let out a loud cat call.

??

Li Zhangsheng couldn't understand the cat-person language, but through his mental connection with Baitian, he understood the Qixi Wind Speed Cat's thoughts.

"It says it wants a bigger Giant Orb!" Baitian's emotions were full of grievance, as if the Giant Orb had become a treasure they were competing over.

"Fine, I'll buy you a larger-sized Jubi!" Li Zhangsheng had black lines on his forehead and had to agree to the Qixi Wind Speed Cat's condition.

It was just a Jubi; even if it was very large, it wouldn't cost much money. Well, it couldn't be compared to the Pearl Fish at all.

However, what was so fun about a Jubi? The taste of cat-type Spirit Beasts was truly unique.

The Qixi Wind Speed Cat nodded in satisfaction, then followed Li Zhangsheng, casually picking up a Pearl Fish to feast on.

Meow~ Meow~

Baitian and Heiye let out aggrieved cat calls, and they both exposed their bellies, preparing to sell their 'cuteness'.

"Fine, after this is over, I'll buy a Jubi as big as Xiao Qi's for you, but remember to keep it a secret!" Li Zhangsheng was helpless and had to agree to their conditions through the mental channel.

Meow~ Meow~

Baitian and Heiye swept away their grievances, stood up happily, and rubbed against Li Zhangsheng's two calves, acting spoiled.

The Qixi Wind Speed Cat looked at Baitian and Heiye suspiciously, not knowing what was wrong with them, but it was still immersed in the atmosphere of delicious food and continued to eat its Pearl Fish.

"Grandmother, please pass a message to the Instructor for me: never give up until the very last moment; perhaps a miracle will happen! Alright, I'll be heading back now!"

Li Zhangsheng was afraid that Instructor Ning would lose hope or leave the Yuanling Academy secretly while he was collecting the Three-Legged Golden Crow Essence Blood; that would be too dramatic.

After saying goodbye to the old woman, Li Zhangsheng left the Yuanling Academy directly with the Qixi Wind Speed Cat and immediately rode the Light Bird, flying toward the Silent Forest.

Baitian, Heiye, and the Qixi Wind Speed Cat also flapped their wings; their speed was very fast, and they easily caught up.

Judging by their flight speed, they were even faster than the Light Bird.

A thin layer of Star Light Shield wrapped around Li Zhangsheng, resisting the biting gale at high altitude, and he opened the Purple Tremor Wood box in his arms.

There were three items in the box, one of which Li Zhangsheng was very familiar with.

"Low-grade Chema Mushroom!" Li Zhangsheng covered his forehead. It seemed that Vice Principal Xu had returned the Low-grade Chema Mushroom to Instructor Ning yesterday, and then Instructor Ning, believing she was doomed, had given it to Li Zhangsheng.

Besides the Low-grade Chema Mushroom, there were two Inheritance Jade Slips and two Soul Crystals!

These two Soul Crystals were the size of half an adult's fist, and their crystalline degree far exceeded that of Medium-grade Soul Crystals. As soon as Li Zhangsheng touched them, he felt his whole body tremble; he sensed an extremely thick and unusually pure soul power.

"This is a Superior Soul Crystal!" Li Zhangsheng was a bit excited. In terms of exchange, it took ten thousand Low-grade Soul Crystals to exchange for one Superior Soul Crystal, provided that others were willing to exchange with you.

No matter who obtained a Superior Soul Crystal, they would hide it away and would not easily use it for exchange.

At the same time, Superior Soul Crystals could significantly increase a Monster Tamer's cultivation speed, which was a level stronger than Medium-grade Soul Crystals in this regard.

These two Superior Soul Crystals alone were a considerable fortune, and they were likely the last of Instructor Ning's resources.

As for the Inheritance Jade Slips that Instructor Ning gave, they were clearly her personal items and would not be associated with the Yuanling Academy.

Li Zhangsheng placed the first Inheritance Jade Slip against his forehead, and immediately, a large amount of information poured into Li Zhangsheng's mind in an orderly fashion for him to digest and absorb.

It took about five minutes for Li Zhangsheng to finally absorb this information.

This Jade Slip recorded an Advanced Secret Technique called Bloodline Burning. As the name suggests, once the Bloodline Burning Secret Technique imprint is placed on a Demon Pet with a higher-level Bloodline, the higher-level Bloodline within that Demon Pet will be in a burning state, thereby erupting with strength far exceeding its usual level in a short period.

The side effects and efficacy of this Secret Technique were directly proportional, which could be seen from Instructor Ning's Three-Legged Golden Crow. However, if cancelled in time, the Demon Pet would not be in life-threatening danger, but even so, some of the Bloodline within its body would be burned away, and a severe injury to its vitality was inevitable.

"This one is the Bloodline Burning Secret Technique, the other one must be the Soul Grafting Secret Technique!" Li Zhangsheng was certain and placed the second Inheritance Jade Slip against his forehead.

Contrary to Li Zhangsheng's expectations, the amount of information this time far exceeded that of the Bloodline Burning, causing Li Zhangsheng's head to start swelling.

After becoming a Third-rank Royal Beast Master, this was the first time his head had swelled, even when absorbing the contents of the "Four Symbols Star Monster Taming Art," such a situation had not occurred.

After more than ten minutes, Li Zhangsheng rubbed his throbbing head, his eyes flickering uncertainly; it was no surprise, this was indeed the Soul Grafting Secret Technique, but its grade completely exceeded Li Zhangsheng's expectations.

This is a top-tier Secret Technique!

Soul Grafting Secret Technique: Can graft the souls of oneself and a formally contracted Demon Pet, allowing one to sense each other's intentions and thoughts without consuming Mental Power, while also being able to share the Demon Pet's fatal injuries. Note: If one side dies, the other will inevitably perish!

The Soul Grafting Secret Technique is equivalent to 'Telepathy', only it requires absolutely no expenditure of Mental Power, allows one to truly command the Demon Pet as easily as moving one's own arm, and can also share the Demon Pet's fatal injuries; this is undeniably powerful. However, its flaws are also very obvious; just like the Light-Dark Twin Symbiote, if one side dies, the other will inevitably perish!

This was the first time Li Zhangsheng had obtained a top-tier Secret Technique, and he had not expected it to be a reward given to him by Instructor Ning; this was likely Instructor Ning's final hidden legacy.

Instructor Ning giving him this top-tier Secret Technique indicated that she had not exchanged this top-tier Secret Technique with the Yuanling Academy.

In terms of value, this top-tier Secret Technique definitely exceeds the Four Symbols Star Monster Taming Art; if the Yuanling Academy did not already possess the latter, the Four Symbols Star Monster Taming Art could be exchanged for a full fifty thousand Academic Credits, and perhaps even one hundred thousand Academic Credits were possible.

Such a huge gift left Li Zhangsheng not knowing what to say; Instructor Ning was treating him entirely as her successor.

These resources are of immeasurable value.

He could only resolve to do his utmost to collect Three-Legged Golden Crow Essence Blood to save her life.

By noon, the Brightness Bird flew before a towering and majestic red-black mountain at the edge of the Silent Forest.

This mountain covered an area of several dozen li, and one could faintly see a huge crater at its summit, with some smoke still lingering; this was an active volcano that erupted once every hundred years, with thick volcanic ash accumulated around the volcano, and traces of the last eruption could still be vaguely found.

According to the data provided by the Hunter Guild, it had been over twenty years since this volcano last erupted; due to the high temperature, there was still not much greenery on this volcano, and what could survive was mainly heat-resistant vegetation.

Li Zhangsheng stepped onto solid ground, and even just at the foot of the mountain, he could feel that the temperature here was far higher than outside.

Li Zhangsheng did not activate his Starlight Body Protection, because with his current physical strength, he would not be affected in the slightest, and he did not even have a single drop of sweat.

However, Baitan and Heiye felt hot all over; although they could endure it, they were quite displeased with the environment here.

The Qixi Wind Speed Cat was the same, but after all, it was a Leader 9th Rank Demon Pet, and its resistance in all aspects far exceeded Baitan and Heiye, but it was not a Fire Element cat, so how could it like the environment here? Naturally, it appeared quite annoyed.

"Xiaofeng, do you want to save your master?" To prevent the Qixi Wind Speed Cat from slacking off, Li Zhangsheng said this before going up the mountain.

Meow~

The Qixi Wind Speed Cat nodded busily; its master had been very good to it, and even though the master had fallen ill over these past three years, she had never forgotten to take care of it.

It was just that it was powerless to help with its master's illness.

"For your master, are you willing to endure everything?" While speaking, Li Zhangsheng subconsciously gripped the Jade Bottle in his pants pocket.

Inside this bottle was a Yellow Spring Pill, which was an Alchemical Pill with the same efficacy as the Mengpo Pill, but the Mengpo Pill could only affect Spirit Beasts below the Elite rank, while the Yellow Spring Pill targeted Spirit Beasts below the Demon King rank, and the Qixi Wind Speed Cat naturally fell into this category.

The Yellow Spring Pill was relatively precious, and Li Zhangsheng had spent a full one thousand Soul Crystals to purchase one.

The Yellow Spring Pill contained a large amount of Yellow Spring Water and some rare materials; as long as one took this Alchemical Pill, one could completely clear a period of memory, mainly determined by the Spirit Beast's realm—for example, a Leader rank Qixi Wind Speed Cat could clear about the last month of memory, and even a King could not recover this cleared memory.

Li Zhangsheng was doing this for the sake of safety; when he accumulated enough Three-Legged Golden Crow Essence Blood in the future to restore the health of the Three-Legged Fire Crow and Instructor Ning, then once Instructor Ning recovered, she might establish a mental connection with the Qixi Wind Speed Cat and thereby learn of this scene.

In that case, she might suspect that Li Zhangsheng possessed a method to purify Bloodlines; even if Li Zhangsheng could find an excuse to brush it off, such as discovering some Ruins that required a large amount of blood from Spirit Beasts with Three-Legged Golden Crow Bloodline to open, what if Instructor Ning continued to get to the bottom of it? If Li Zhangsheng said too much, it would be easy for loopholes to appear, causing some unnecessary suspicion.

Of course, this was only to guard against a scene that might happen in the future, but Li Zhangsheng did not dare to slack off in the slightest; after all, the Book of Bloodlines Part Two was his foundation, an existence that even Kings and Emperors would covet, and other than himself, he did not want anyone to know.

It was for this reason that he had prepared the Yellow Spring Pill.

Although it is said that dead cats keep secrets best, how could someone as kind as Li Zhangsheng kill the Qixi Wind Speed Cat?

"Xiaofeng, in order to save your master, are you willing to endure the environment here and take out the Underworld Fire Crow flock on the crater?"

Li Zhangsheng asked again to prevent the Qixi Wind Speed Cat from giving up halfway; after all, the temperature at the crater was naturally far higher than at the foot of the mountain.

Meow~

The Qixi Wind Speed Cat's impassioned voice rang out, and then it expressed its thoughts with action, flapping its wings and taking flight like an arrow released from a bow, turning into a cyan light shadow as it flew rapidly toward the crater.

Seeing this, Li Zhangsheng secretly thought that things were steady, and hurriedly summoned the Blazing Bird and Kailan as well.

As soon as Kailan came out, she felt a scorching aura, which made her very uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but wrinkle her delicate brows.

The next moment, the Green Lotus mark on Kailan's forehead transformed into the Innate One Qi Profound Brake Wonderful Truth Green Lotus, lifting Kailan's increasingly exquisite figure, and a layer of cyan light screen emerged, pushing away all the heat currents within the screen.

With the protection of the Innate One Qi Profound Brake Wonderful Truth Green Lotus, Kailan was clearly much more comfortable; she only needed to endure the smell of sulfur.

"Everyone, it will be hard work for you this time. Alright, everyone hurry and follow the Qixi Wind Speed Cat to encircle and suppress the Underworld Fire Crow flock together!" Under Li Zhangsheng's command, Kailan and the other five Flying Demon Pets had to endure the heat and flew toward the crater one after another.

Of course, the Blazing Bird not only did not feel uncomfortable, but instead very much enjoyed the high temperature here; it took the lead and landed in front, unable to wait to experience a lava bath.

No way, it has Fire Immunity!

While they were supporting the Qixi Wind Speed Cat, Li Zhangsheng instantly activated the Secret Technique Imprint of the Illusion Wings, and a pair of milky-white light wings extended from his back; as his thoughts moved, the light wings flapped violently, carrying Li Zhangsheng's body as he flew rapidly toward the crater.

However, when he was about to reach the summit, for the sake of safety, Li Zhangsheng released his remaining Demon Pets as well; if they encountered a rout and were accidentally chased by the Underworld Fire Crow flock, they could also provide powerful firepower support.

Although according to the habits of the Underworld Fire Crow flock, the possibility of pursuit was minimal, he also had to guard against the unexpected; what if they really chased them out?

Because the temperature at the summit was far higher than the outside, coupled with the scarcity of food and the presence of the Underworld Fire Crow flock, no other wild Spirit Beasts lived near the crater.

When Li Zhangsheng flew to the crater, the battle was about to begin; the Qixi Wind Speed Cat acted like a blockhead, not waiting for Kailan and the other Demon Pets to come up, and charged straight into the territory of the Underworld Fire Crow flock.

The Underworld Fire Crow is a dual-attribute Spirit Beast of Fire Element + Darkness; its body size is not very large, only about a third larger than a skylark, with a wingspan of nearly two meters, black-red feathers covering its whole body, a sharp Bird Beak, sharp eyes, and three long tail feathers growing on its tail.

This flock of Underworld Fire Crows had about thirty or so; because they were not Exotic Beasts, most of them were still at the Shiliu Jingjie, along with a few Underworld Fire Crows at the Middle Rank.

For the invading outsider, the Underworld Fire Crow flock immediately welcomed the Qixi Wind Speed Cat with their 'enthusiasm', as countless sparks, fire pillars, and fire snakes rushed toward the Qixi Wind Speed Cat.

With such a dense long-range offensive, even though the Qixi Wind Speed Cat was famous for its speed, it was difficult to evade; it immediately cast a Wind Barrier, and was instantly wrapped in a thick, pale cyan barrier, while simultaneously charging toward the weakest point as much as possible.

Boom~

A violent roaring sound rang out, and the Qixi Wind Speed Cat, holding up its Wind Element shield, easily passed through the surging Fire Element Energy Impact.

Although the number of Underworld Fire Crows was large, their strength was relatively limited, only causing the cyan energy shield to form intense ripples, with no sign of shattering at all.

It was also at this time that the Underworld Fire Crows took the initiative to fly toward the Qixi Wind Speed Cat; their flight speed was very fast, and in the blink of an eye, the two sides began to engage in close-quarters combat.

It was just that their attack intensity was limited, and for a time they could not break through the Qixi Wind Speed Cat's Wind Element shield, while conversely, every attack from the Qixi Wind Speed Cat could take away the life of an Underworld Fire Crow.

Just as the Underworld Fire Crow corpses were falling like rain, Li Zhangsheng hurriedly commanded the five Flying Demon Pets to abandon the idea of attacking the Underworld Fire Crow flock and began to act as nature's porters, catching the corpses of the Underworld Fire Crows and throwing them onto the ground of the crater to prevent them from falling into the lava.

"Strange, where did the Dark Underworld Fire Crow go?" Not seeing the figure of the Dark Underworld Fire Crow, Li Zhangsheng was naturally very uneasy.

"Everyone be careful, avoid being ambushed by the Dark Underworld Fire Crow!" While reminding them, Li Zhangsheng projected his Mental Power, shrouding the entire crater; as soon as the Dark Underworld Fire Crow appeared, he would discover it at the first moment.

Suddenly, Li Zhangsheng faintly saw a black shadow flash past in the viscous lava, speeding toward the lava zone below the Qixi Wind Speed Cat; his heart immediately tightened, and he hurriedly reminded the Demon Pets present.

"Xiaofeng, be careful, it's right under the lava!"

Almost the instant Li Zhangsheng gave the warning, a massive black shadow surged out from beneath the magma, rushing toward the Qixi Wind Speed Cat while carrying scalding magma with it.

Its appearance was similar to a Netherfire Crow, only its body size was significantly larger, and it possessed five long, gilded tail feathers, with a distinct protrusion under its belly as if something were about to burst out from beneath it.

This was the Dark Netherfire Crow, also the evolved form of the Netherfire Crow; the Three-Legged Golden Crow Bloodline it possessed was naturally a cut above, and if it grew a third leg, it could evolve into a Dark Three-Legged Netherfire Crow.

The Dark Netherfire Crow was naturally within the range of Li Zhangsheng's extended Mental Power, which also allowed Li Zhangsheng to obtain its data.

【Spirit Beast Name】: Dark Netherfire Crow (Mature Stage, High-level Exotic Beast)

【Spirit Beast Realm】: Lord 2nd Rank

【Spirit Beast Race】: High-level Commander

【Spirit Beast Quality】: Medium Grade

【Spirit Beast Bloodline】: Three-Legged Golden Crow (Pure)

【Spirit Beast Attribute】: Fire Element

【Spirit Beast Status】: Healthy

【Spirit Beast Weakness】: Water Attribute

The moment he saw that the Dark Netherfire Crow was only of Medium Grade quality, Li Zhangsheng felt a sense of relief wash over him.

If this Dark Netherfire Crow possessed Superior Quality, the Qixi Wind Speed Cat would definitely be no match for it, but with the support of Kailan and his other four Demon Pets, he was confident in winning the battle.

If this were a Top-grade quality Dark Netherfire Crow, Li Zhangsheng would absolutely retreat at the first opportunity, rolling as far away as possible, and wait until he became a Fifth-tier Beastmaster before coming back to contract it.

As a High-level Exotic Beast, a Dark Netherfire Crow can reach the Leader level upon reaching adulthood; this Dark Netherfire Crow must have either encountered a stroke of luck or consumed a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure to be able to reach the Lord level.

However, wanting to go a step further and become a Demon King is almost only theoretically possible.

Although he had Li Zhangsheng's warning, the Dark Netherfire Crow's speed was simply too fast, and as it happened, the Qixi Wind Speed Cat was less than ten meters away from the magma.

Consequently, the Dark Netherfire Crow's sharp Bird Beak instantly struck the cyan barrier on the Qixi Wind Speed Cat's body.

Pop—

Accompanied by a soft sound, the cyan barrier flickered violently, a small hole was instantly drilled through it, and it suddenly collapsed and vanished.

However, it was precisely the obstruction of the Wind Barrier that allowed the Qixi Wind Speed Cat to barely avoid its vital neck area, though a long bloody gash was still carved into its body by the Dark Netherfire Crow's sharp Bird Beak.

As soon as the blood flowed out from the wound, the moisture within it was evaporated by the scorching high temperature, the wound instantly congealed into a black-red color, and at the same time, a searing fire poison surged in from the wound, causing the Qixi Wind Speed Cat's entire body to begin heating up and its head to feel a tendency to swell.

Fighting in such a harsh environment, Demon Pets other than those of the Fire Element would inevitably struggle to hold out for long; a quick battle must be fought to achieve a quick decision.

After being knocked flying by the Dark Netherfire Crow, the Qixi Wind Speed Cat inevitably began to fall, and below it was the scalding magma.

(End of this chapter)