Chapter 198: A Pool of Blood God Grass

Returning to the main hall where they started, the large group of Feng Clan people were still gathered together.

Seeing the old man and Xu Chen hurry back, they all swarmed over in a flock, chattering noisily.

The old man spoke a few words loudly with a stern face, then turned and left the hall; the group of people could only disperse with helpless expressions, leaving only some women and children around the hall, watching Xu Chen from afar with curious looks on their faces.

"Did you find any clues on how to go back?" Feng Feiyi walked over and asked via voice transmission.

Xu Chen gave a wry smile and shook his head.

After a moment of silence, Feng Feiyi patted Xu Chen on the shoulder lightly and comforted him, "Don't be too anxious; there are a few more tribes nearby. I'll take you to ask them."

Feeling the strength of the large hand resting on his shoulder, Xu Chen nodded with a bitter smile and said, "Then many thanks."

"Let's go then. I'll take you to see the God Blood Pool first, but it's best to wait a while before going to other tribes. Let's wait until my brother wakes up and go together; he is more familiar with the people of the other tribes, and perhaps there will be less trouble."

Xu Chen nodded, then followed Feng Feiyi into the side passage the Clan Leader had just left through.

However, this time there was no group of men carrying Giant Forks following behind, which made Xu Chen feel much better.

This passage was longer, and along the way, there were many stone chambers carved out by hand; the space inside was not large, and the layout was very simple, containing things like bedding and pottery, which appeared to be where the Feng Clan people slept and lived.

The passage wound and twisted; after walking for at least two quarters of an hour, an estimated distance of several miles, the passage ahead slowly turned into a narrow natural cave, containing not only things like stalactites but also a slightly reddish, damp air.

The air was permeated with an aura that made the Soul palpitate.

This aura was slightly familiar; Xu Chen felt as if he had encountered it somewhere before, but he dared not confirm it.

"Ahead is the God Blood Pool!"

After walking about another hundred feet along the natural cave, the space ahead became open again, finally entering a natural stone grotto several dozen feet in circumference, though the surroundings were filled with various cracks.

In the center of the grotto, a structure resembling an Altar had been built with stones, looking very ancient just like the temple.

In the center of the Altar, a mass of misty red light churned and flickered.

The air was also filled with a faint red mist.

Xu Chen's expression slowly turned to surprise, and even shock.

If he was not mistaken, this aura was very similar to the aura of that Blood God Grass from before.

However, the feeling it gave him was even more stimulating and tyrannical.

As the mist permeating the grotto entered his body with his breath, it felt as if his stimulated vital energy and blood were boiling crazily, and even the Blue Light Treasure Bottle in his mind was constantly vibrating slightly, seemingly releasing an extremely joyful emotion.

This was a situation Xu Chen had never encountered before.

Ever since the Jade Bead exploded and vanished, the Blue Light Treasure Bottle had rarely shown this kind of consciousness-like state; although it could occasionally communicate, it was always very stiff and mechanical, no different from the feeling ordinary Magic Treasures gave him.

But today, stimulated by this aura similar to the Blood God Grass, the Blue Light Treasure Bottle had unexpectedly awakened this kind of self-consciousness similar to an artifact spirit.

After sensing this change, Xu Chen kept using his Divine Sense to contact the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, attempting to find a way to communicate; he did not expect to succeed immediately, but the information fed back to him left him bewildered.

Because the Blue Light Treasure Bottle only conveyed a simple consciousness, which was the two words: God Crystal.

What did God Crystal refer to?

Although both Divine Blood Paste and Blood God Grass contained the word "God," Xu Chen believed that this thing should have nothing to do with the legendary gods; it was only named as such because its color resembled blood and its effects were miraculous.

At the very least, Xu Chen knew that the Blood God Grass had nothing to do with gods.

The aura emitted by this Divine Blood Paste was extremely similar to the Blood God Grass, so perhaps they were two very similar things.

Walking in this grotto where red mist churned, Feng Feiyi's breathing slowly became heavy; it seemed that with every breath, the red patterns on his face became faintly clearer, and the aura radiating from his body became more intense.

Soon, the two walked onto the Altar.

Only then did Xu Chen see clearly that beneath this mass of misty, churning red light that could isolate Divine Sense was a pit of blood-red liquid, and around the stone pit grew many blood-red, coral-like plants, one next to the other, in a dense circle, numbering at least twenty or thirty.

"Blood God Grass!"

Xu Chen was incomparably shocked, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a large duck egg.

He did not need to look closely; based solely on their appearance, color, and aura, he could directly judge that these coral-like plants were the Blood God Grass he had once seen, and these were larger in size, more vibrant in color, and stronger in aura.

A single Blood God Grass could almost create a Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator.

It was said that the entire Great Song territory had not seen a Blood God Grass for over a thousand years.

This kind of heaven-defying Spirit Medicine could simply be called a divine object in the Mortal World.

If any one appeared, the major immortal sects would almost fight until they broke each other's heads.

It was not just Danyuan Realm powerhouses competing for it; Spirit Realm Great Cultivators were equally unwilling to let it go.

Because this thing was not just for assisting in Spirit Transformation; in reality, its powerful medicinal efficacy, whether refined directly or used in alchemy, could help improve cultivation, strengthen the Primordial Spirit, and even increase lifespan.

A Blood God Grass that was hard to encounter in a thousand years in the outside world was growing in a whole pit here.

If this news were to spread, I fear the cultivators of the entire Mortal World would go mad.

It was just a pity that people from the Mortal World could not get in, and people from the Underworld could not get out.

And these Blood God Grasses likely had effects even more violent than the Divine Blood Paste, so the people of the Feng Clan could not use them either, and could only leave them around this Divine Blood Paste, letting them grow and multiply.

"Blood God Grass? Are you talking about these red things?" Seeing Xu Chen's shocked and exclaiming appearance, Feng Feiyi asked in surprise via voice transmission.

Xu Chen came back to his senses and nodded, "This thing is called Blood God Grass; it is very precious in the Mortal World."

Feng Feiyi was silent for a moment and said, "Are you wanting to take these things away?"

Although Xu Chen wanted to shake his head, his reason ultimately did not overcome his greedy desire; he took a deep breath and nodded, "If you could let me take them, that would be best, but I fear you would not agree."

Feng Feiyi was silent for another moment and said, "I will agree."

Xu Chen turned his head in surprise to look at Feng Feiyi and said, "This God Blood Pool is the foundation upon which you rely for survival. If the Blood God Grass is taken away, I fear it will also affect the quality of this Divine Blood Paste. Are you not afraid of affecting the tribe's survival?"

Feng Feiyi's expression was somewhat desolate, then he explained, "The Divine Blood Paste is indeed the key to our survival, but we cannot absorb too much of it, otherwise it will accelerate the outbreak of the Blood Poison. From the moment our children are born, they must be placed here every day to breathe the aura of the Divine Blood Paste to suppress the erosion of the Underworld Qi so they can retain their intelligence. Only after growing a bit older can they begin to consume the Divine Blood Paste, and to become a qualified warrior, one must accumulate until the Blood Poison Pattern begins to appear on the face. But once the Blood Poison Pattern appears, we also begin to step toward death; this is an irreversible process. To suppress the outbreak of the Blood Poison, we can only use Ghost Soul Water or Wangchuan Flower, but these two are generally only found in very dangerous places because Nether Beasts also like these two things. In reality, most people in the tribe eventually die from a lack of Ghost Soul Water when the Blood Poison breaks out, so we have to risk going out to the nests of giant beasts to snatch Ghost Soul Water year-round; we haven't seen Wangchuan Flower for a long time..."

Speaking to this point, Feng Feiyi let out a long sigh.

"Without enough Ghost Soul Water, the more Divine Blood Paste we consume, the faster we will die. In reality, we now hardly dare to let the children consume large amounts of Divine Blood Paste, only letting them barely maintain their intelligence so they don't lose control. As for going out to search for Ghost Soul Water and food, that is the business of us adults. If this continues, even if we guard so much Divine Blood Paste, what is the use? Before long, everyone will still die."

Xu Chen was silent after listening.

He wanted to offer comfort, but there was nowhere to begin.

These powerful natives could not handle the affairs of Minghuang, and he, an outsider, could handle them even less.

Moreover, if he could not find a way out, he would die even faster than these Feng Clan people; he might kick the bucket in a year at most.

Therefore, he could only smile bitterly in the end and said, "I didn't expect your situation to have become so severe. How about this: you go and speak with the Clan Leader and the Elders. If they all agree to let me take these Blood God Grasses away, I have two more Wangchuan Flowers that I can give to you all."

"For real? You have two more Wangchuan Flowers?" While Feng Feiyi was shocked, his voice trembled with excitement.

"That's right. I found three in total on the way here. These flowers are also of great use to me, but if they are used to trade for these Blood God Grasses, I think it is still worth it," Xu Chen nodded.

"Then wait here, I will go find the Clan Leader and the Elders to come over!"

Saying this, Feng Feiyi turned and ran away like the wind.

Xu Chen watched Feng Feiyi disappear, then quickly walked to the edge of the God Blood Pool, hesitated slightly, and reached his hand into the blood pool to feel around.

This Altar should be an ancient Array. On the circle of ancient stone bricks surrounding the blood pool, which looked like red jade, various complex lines and Ancient Runes—similar to those in the Mortal World but also seemingly different—were carved in an intersecting pattern. Although Xu Chen's powerful Divine Sense could not penetrate the God Blood Pool, he could clearly feel that this ancient Array was constantly operating, drawing in an aura similar to that of the Blood God Grass from the ground or the surrounding rocks, and then gathering it into this three-foot-square pit of a God Blood Pool.

This pit of Divine Blood Paste was estimated to be about seven or eight buckets' worth.

In fact, Xu Chen could also clearly feel that this so-called Divine Blood Paste must also have functions similar to the Blood God Grass. If he could get it out, it would certainly help him break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm. However, this was the foundation for the Feng Clan tribe's survival and reproduction, so they would certainly not give it to him; the Elder had already expressed this signal before going to the temple.

It was precisely because the Elder believed that the Divine Blood Paste was useless to an outsider cultivator like him that he had made an exception to allow him to visit.

Trading Wangchuan Flowers for Blood God Grass, although Xu Chen did not know if he had made a profit or a loss, at least he had turned something temporarily useless into a treasure that was incomparably precious in the Mortal World; in terms of practical value, it was still very worthwhile.

Once all these Blood God Grasses were taken out, it was estimated that the entire Great Song, and even Shenzhou, would be turned upside down.

But in reality, he was more concerned about the information the Blue Light Treasure Bottle had transmitted to him.

Although he did not know what a God Crystal was, it must be something similar to a Spirit Crystal or a Five Elements Crystal, and its value would certainly be countless times higher.

After all, something that a Magic Treasure of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle's level wanted must be a peerless treasure.

Therefore, he wanted to try and see if he could fish out the so-called God Crystal from inside.

The God Crystal was definitely hidden in the blood pool at the moment, or even under the Altar. The Feng Clan would certainly not allow him to destroy the God Blood Pool, so he could only use the trade of Wangchuan Flowers and Blood God Grass to temporarily send Feng Feiyi away, and then use his sleight of hand.

(End of this chapter)