Chapter 492

"Cousin, you aren't stupid!"

Dou Lingsi suddenly reacted, sizing up Dou Yuanbiao with a strange look.

In Dou Lingsi's mind, Dou Yuanbiao was the complete image of a hot-blooded, chuunibyou youth—the type who only knew how to be reckless, with well-developed limbs but a simple mind.

Yet now, Dou Yuanbiao was actually offering her advice, a style completely different from his usual self.

"Lingsi, the tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind; furthermore, this is the complex Imperial Family, you must absolutely not let this slip out!"

Dou Yuanbiao's tone was serious; if Dou Lingsi leaked it, he would face no small amount of trouble.

Taking a step back, if it weren't for his good relationship with Dou Lingsi, Dou Yuanbiao wouldn't have kindly given her a hint.

Dou Yuanbiao's superficial chuunibyou, frivolous, and hot-blooded nature was entirely an act for others to see. In the "peril-filled" Imperial Family, if one wanted to protect oneself, how could one not act a bit stupider and more reckless, so as to avoid being plotted against by those brothers who would stop at nothing to seize the throne?

Of course, it wasn't as if Dou Yuanbiao had no thoughts of the throne himself.

It was just that Dou Yuanbiao had carefully analyzed his own strengths and weaknesses. His greatest advantage was reaching the Fifth Rank before the age of 20, which had accumulated some prestige for him. However, this was far from enough, because his third brother, Dou Yuanbin, had already become a Pseudo-King, and his sixth brother, Dou Yuanhua, was also close to reaching the Sixth Rank. Compared to them, he had absolutely no advantage to speak of.

His disadvantages were also obvious: his birth mother had passed away, his voice in the Imperial Family was extremely low, he even lacked much presence, and his maternal clan was merely a County-level Clan—how much help could they provide him?

Dou Yuanbiao calculated carefully; even if he joined the ranks of those vying for the throne, the possibility of success was only theoretically possible.

There was no help for it; he didn't have many supporters, and even less backing from any major power.

"Cousin, don't worry, I won't say anything."

Dou Lingsi patted her chest with her left hand, her tone firm.

"That's good."

Dou Yuanbiao still trusted Dou Lingsi relatively well; after all, he had just saved Dou Lingsi's life.

Additionally, he also wanted to try and win the support of Dou Lingsi's faction, which was why he had kindly offered a reminder.

Setting aside their thoughts, at this moment, Li Changsheng converged with Luo Jing and Xu Xiangzhi; after being saved by Li Changsheng, these two had been trailing far behind.

Originally, they had wanted to provide Li Changsheng with some support, but who knew Li Changsheng's strength was so great? He first finished off Xu Heng, chased down Dou Lingsi, and subsequently even held the upper hand in the struggle against Dou Yuanbiao.

"Let's find a place to recuperate first!"

The two did not object, and together with Li Changsheng, they found a relatively secluded spot nearby, preparing to recover from their injuries.

"Changsheng, thank you for saving us. I won't say much in the way of thanks; for these next two days, wherever you point, I will strike—I will never shirk."

"Same here!"

Luo Jing and Xu Xiangzhi expressed their gratitude immediately.

"No need to be so polite."

After activating the Prohibition Hub, Li Changsheng took out two items and handed them to Xu Xiangzhi, saying, "Xiangzhi, this is the Snow Soul Life-Preserving Pill and Life Water."

Last time, Xu Xiangzhi had gifted him a piece of Geng Metal Essence, so he naturally wouldn't be stingy.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Xu Xiangzhi did not decline and began to recover his injuries on the side.

Li Changsheng extended his right hand, and a quaint little bell abruptly appeared in his hand. He said, "Senior Sister, I will use the Heart-Clearing Soul-Suppressing Bell to help you suppress your Consciousness Sea!"

Luo Jing naturally did not object; the sooner she suppressed the tremors in her Consciousness Sea, the better she could exert her strength and avoid becoming a burden.

Dong-dong~

Li Changsheng channeled his Mental Power, and the Heart-Clearing Soul-Suppressing Bell floated above Luo Jing's head, emitting a bell chime that calmed the soul and settled the spirit.

Under the lingering sound of the bell, the originally turbulent Consciousness Sea calmed down significantly. Luo Jing hurriedly centered her heart and steadied her spirit, doing her utmost to smooth out the tremors in her Consciousness Sea.

While the two were recovering from their injuries, Li Changsheng began to multitask, controlling the Heart-Clearing Soul-Suppressing Bell while sorting through the spoils of war.

The spoils this time were quite substantial, which had to do with them being members of the Imperial Family.

This time, he had harvested a total of four demon pet corpses. The more precious ones were the corpses of the Ancestral Light Bird and the Fire-Feathered Bird; the former possessed the Phoenix Bloodline, and the latter also possessed the Phoenix Bloodline.

However, now was not the time to purify them.

After spending more than ten minutes, Li Changsheng had preliminarily processed this batch of demon pet corpses and began to check the other spoils.

Aside from two Space Rings, there was also a Mid-grade Monster Pet Bag and a piece of Inner Armor; these came from Xu Heng.

Li Changsheng couldn't wait to check the harvest from the two Space Rings.

The capacity of the two Space Rings went without saying; the one obtained from Dou Lingsi alone had a full thousand cubic meters, piled with a dazzling array of items.

Among these items, Soul Crystals, Demon Cores, and materials were countless. Li Changsheng didn't count them; in his eyes, these things were no different from mere numbers.

There were three Identity Tokens: one from Xu Heng and two from Dou Lingsi.

Among them, two were their Identity Tokens, while the other one was pitch-black and quite heavy, made entirely of Mysterious Iron.

Li Changsheng toyed with this Mysterious Iron Token, trying to channel Mental Power into it, but the result was like a clay ox entering the sea—silent and without a trace.

"There's something strange about this!"

Li Changsheng thought to himself, and after a moment's thought, he kept the token; it might come in handy later.

As for the two Identity Tokens and the miscellaneous items, he naturally had the Crown Flame Bird burn them directly.

Besides that, among a dozen bottles of Alchemical Pills, Li Changsheng also found two bottles of Snow Soul Life-Preserving Pills, though they only totaled seven pills.

These were high-level Alchemical Pills exclusive to the Langya Kingdom Imperial Family, with limited production; even Imperial Family members like Dou Lingsi and Xu Heng only had these few.

Finally, there remained four of the most precious treasures before Li Changsheng: two Jade Boxes, one wooden box, and a piece of cyan ore.

Inside the first Jade Box was a black blade of grass. This was naturally no ordinary plant; to be solemnly placed in a Jade Box by its owner, it was naturally a Spirit Herb.

"Nether Grass!"

Li Changsheng carefully identified it for a moment before reaching his conclusion.

Nether Grass was a Heavenly Essence Grade Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, which could only possibly be born in places with heavy Yin energy. It contained extremely Pure Yin energy and was a material for crafting certain special Alchemical Pills or potions.

In the Danwang Biefu, Li Changsheng had obtained three top-tier pill formulas; one of them was the formula for the Ten Directions Nether Pill, which could assist demon pets in breaking through to become Demon Kings, and Nether Grass was one of the main ingredients.

Crafting the Ten Directions Nether Pill was a long and arduous road; the remaining materials alone were difficult to collect, and it especially required an Alchemy Master to refine it.

As for how long it would take until Kailan became an Alchemy Master, he had no idea.

Methodology for Resolving Heterogeneous Bloodlines: Nine-Aperture Moon Crane Stone

Li Zhangsheng opened the second Jade Box; this time it was a golden fruit, slightly larger than an adult's fist, emitting a refreshing fragrance, a scent similar to orchids.

"Lanxin Fruit!"

Li Zhangsheng still did not check the books; there was no help for it, the characteristics of the Lanxin Fruit were too obvious, and it could be easily identified from its shape, size, color, and scent.

Lanxin Fruit: Heavenly Essence, when taken in combination with Xuanhuang Root, has a certain probability of causing a Demon Pet to enter a state of Bloodline Metamorphosis. Note: The higher the Demon Pet's bloodline concentration, the lower the probability.

Like the Lanxin Fruit, the Xuanhuang Root is also a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure of the Heavenly Essence Grade.

This is also the second Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure Li Zhangsheng has obtained, following the Bloodline Fruit, that can allow a Demon Pet to enter a state of Bloodline Metamorphosis.

The only pity is that the Lanxin Fruit needs to be taken in combination with the Xuanhuang Root to exert its efficacy.

However, this is of little use to Li Zhangsheng; after all, his Demon Pets all have high bloodline concentrations, and in particular, he can also refine Spirit Essence to assist his Demon Pets in evolving.

After putting away the Lanxin Fruit, Li Zhangsheng opened the Purple Tremor Wood box.

Unexpectedly, it contained a book, probably only a few dozen pages long.

"Methodology for Resolving Heterogeneous Bloodlines" — King Zhi!

Upon seeing the two characters "King Zhi" written in the author column, Li Zhangsheng clearly attached much more importance to it.

Among the many kings in history, the name of King Zhi would certainly be among the weakest batch of kings, but no one would ever look down on this king.

Just like his kingly title, King Zhi was skilled in strategy and had once relied on his wisdom to trap quite a few kings.

King Zhi was well-informed and knowledgeable, knowing astronomy above and geography below, and he knew and understood everything from all walks of life; his hobby was writing books and establishing theories, and it is rumored that he authored thousands of books, making him arguably the king who wrote the most books in history.

Furthermore, as a profound scholar, King Zhi was also skilled in research, and this "Methodology for Resolving Heterogeneous Bloodlines" is undoubtedly one of his research works.

Judging from the book's title, it can be said to be a book related to purifying bloodlines, only it specifically introduces methods for resolving heterogeneous bloodlines.

After spending half an hour, Li Zhangsheng memorized the content of the book.

Because he had studied the "Book of Bloodlines" by the King of Hundred Victories and many books from the Academy regarding bloodline purification, Li Zhangsheng learned quickly and had a preliminary understanding within half an hour.

Although this book is far inferior to the "Book of Bloodlines" by the King of Hundred Victories, stones from other hills can serve to polish the jade of this one, and it has more or less some merits; Li Zhangsheng felt that if he could master this book, he might be able to slightly increase the efficiency of refining Spirit Essence.

Of course, this is only a possibility, and it would require a large amount of experimentation.

Even so, it is hard to conceal the preciousness of this book.

In Li Zhangsheng's view, the value of this "Methodology for Resolving Heterogeneous Bloodlines" is immeasurable and could even be treated as a family heirloom; if combined with some basic bloodline purification techniques, the bloodline purification rate could very likely exceed 1%!

Do not think 1% is very little; that is only relative to the "Book of Bloodlines." Many technologies mastered by major powers do not even reach 1%, such as the Academy.

Having been passed down for two or three hundred years, even the Academy, which can enter the top five in the Langya Kingdom power rankings, cannot achieve it, which shows just how difficult a 1% purification efficiency is.

Li Zhangsheng thought for a moment and confirmed that this book came from Xu Heng's Space Ring; he did not know where he had obtained it, and it is possible his family still has a copy.

Because judging from the ancient state of this book, it is highly likely that this is the original.

At this time, Li Zhangsheng looked at the last piece of cyan ore, which was taken out from Dou Lingsi's ring; its material was like translucent glazed glass, vaguely presenting the shape of a crane, with nine small holes on the upper end, looking quite strange.

Among this pile of treasures, the energy fluctuation of this ore was the most intense, even far exceeding the Lanxin Fruit and Nether Grass; it is definitely a Heaven and Earth Rare Treasure grade item.

Li Zhangsheng identified it for a while but still did not recognize it; his knowledge of minerals was far inferior to his knowledge of plant-based treasures.

Without hesitation, Li Zhangsheng took out several books specifically targeting minerals and flipped directly to the section on Heaven and Earth Rare Treasure grade minerals.

Such high-level mineral Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are extremely rare; adding up several books, there were only a few dozen types, and many were products from other planes.

Among them was the information on this piece of cyan ore.

Nine Aperture Moon Crane Stone: Heaven and Earth Rare Treasure, a material used to craft Wind Attribute Semi-Artifacts or even Divine Artifacts. Note: The Nine Aperture Moon Crane Stone is extremely resistant to high temperatures and can only be dissolved by a few special flames such as Sun True Fire, Southern Bright Separation Fire, or Zhurong True Fire.

A Semi-Artifact is superior to a Top-Grade Treasure; only those with an amplification of 70% to 90% or more can be called Semi-Artifacts. Besides the amplification, every Semi-Artifact possesses at least two additional traits or abilities, which can greatly increase a Demon Pet's combat power.

The reason Li Zhangsheng's Demon Pets' combat power can challenge those of higher ranks, besides their quality, race, and bloodline advantages, is also due to the advantages of their Treasures; how many people possess four Top-Grade Treasures like him, among which the Crown of Thorns is not even a whit inferior to a Semi-Artifact?

Additionally, Aixi, Baitian, and Heiye can all equip two Treasures.

"They are all items that cannot be used for the time being!"

Li Zhangsheng was a bit worried; this harvest was huge, and it even included Heaven and Earth Rare Treasure grade items, but compared to the previous few times of "supporting war with war," this time there was not a single treasure that could be used immediately, so his strength naturally did not improve at all.

Soon, Li Zhangsheng put aside his extraneous thoughts and spared no effort to activate the Heart-Clearing Soul-Suppressing Bell; compared to a short while ago, Luo Jing's complexion had clearly improved a lot.

The faster Luo Jing's injuries recovered, the greater the help would be to him.

In any case, Luo Jing is the only Fourth Rank besides Li Zhangsheng in the Academy, and at the very least, he can help Li Zhangsheng withstand some external pressure.

One-on-one, Li Zhangsheng naturally fears no one, but even if his strength is greater than Dou Yuanbiao's or Liu Xuguang's, it is only limitedly so; as long as the opponent adds one or two more Fourth Ranks, there is a possibility of defeating Li Zhangsheng.

Whether it is Luo Jing or others from the Academy, they can all bring a certain amount of help to Li Zhangsheng and can block the opponent's Third or Fourth Rank Heavenly Prides.

This is the role of influence; at least until Li Zhangsheng grows to the Fifth or Sixth Rank, their assistance is indispensable.

At this time, Xu Xiangzhi spat out the wood he had been biting in his mouth, which had two rows of deep tooth marks on it, almost biting the wood into two pieces.

His severed hand had completely recovered, but the color appeared pale, like an infant's skin.

Limb Regeneration is definitely a very painful thing, especially when regenerating in such a short time; this could be seen from Xu Xiangzhi's complexion, as he leaned exhaustedly against a large tree, clenching his newly grown hand, but unable to exert much strength.

For a newly regenerated limb to fully recover, it requires a large amount of time for restorative exercise.

Because he was too exhausted, Xu Xiangzhi fell into a drowsy sleep and let out deep snores.

(End of this chapter)