The world burned softly beneath the midday sun.
Jiang Chen made his way back to his residence.
He lived in the southern section of the outer sect disciple quarters. His was a simple house with a one-hall, one-room layout. Inside, there was a square table, three chairs, a low bed with a thin mattress, and a meditation cushion.
Two paintings hung on the walls. One depicted a pair of cranes standing still by a quiet river, their reflections rippling faintly across the water. The other showed an immortal rested within a lotus bloom, eyes closed, as time coiled around him like a sleeping serpent.
After stepping inside, Jiang Chen picked up a wooden plaque that leaned beside the bed. It bore a single character in calligraphy: Seclusion.
He hung the plaque on the hook outside the door and closed it behind him, sliding the bolt into place.
Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on the cultivation cushion, then with a wave of his hand, brought out the materials he had acquired earlier. One by one they floated to the ground, forming a semicircle of jars, herb bundles, and sealed powder packets.
Finally, he took out the corpse of the Iron-Striped Mirage Tiger from his storage bag. It hit the floor with a dull thump, still giving off faint traces of spiritual energy.
Jiang Chen carefully scrutinized the corpse.
'The Mirage Tiger's true value lies in its blood. The beast absorbs the essence of heaven and earth and channels it through its blood, creating a spiritual clone.'
'As for refining it into a complete totem... not possible, not with my current resources.'
'The blood aspect is the cheapest. It's the only suitable choice for now. What I need is immediate improvement in combat power. Once my strength rises, the other aspects can be revisited later.'
With the decision firm in his heart, he began the process.
Jiang Chen formed the first hand seal from the Blood Usurping Refinement Art. His fingers moved like knives through air. As he pointed toward the tiger's corpse, thick streams of blood began to surge from the open neck, pulled upward by an invisible force. The crimson liquid twisted in the air before separating cleanly into three flows, each drawn into a jade jar placed before him.
He remained calm throughout, watching the blood settle. After ensuring an even distribution, he tossed two spirit stones into each jar and made another hand seal. At once, the blood inside stirred and began gnawing at the spirit stones like starving leeches, draining their essence into itself.
Without pause, he sprinkled twelve grams of Crimson kin Stabilizing Powder to suppress the blood's lingering hostility, then added three drops of Bloodmoon Grass Extract to preserve its spiritual freshness. A handful of Verdant Cooling Dust cooled the mixture, removing impurities. Finally, he mixed in Dead Lotus Heart and Doting Love Crystal to temper the blood, followed by six thin strands of Mystic Meridian Root to enhance the blood's ability to absorb spiritual energy.
Lastly, he unwrapped a tightly bound bundle of silk and withdrew the Twin-Heart Blood Orchid. The flower pulsed faintly, its twin sacs translucent and brimming with slimy acidic fluid.
Jiang Chen poured the blood from the jars into one of the sacs. The blood fused slowly with the orchid's spiritual fluid, turning the sac a murky violet.
He exhaled lightly and prepared for the second stage.
Forming a sealing hand sign, he pressed his fingers to his chest. Then he took out a thin silver needle carved from Heartsteel Bone. Without hesitation, he pierced the skin near his heart. A thread of deep red blood emerged. He guided it with his divine sense, connecting the thread to the second sac of the orchid.
The translucent flesh of orchid swelled slightly as it received his blood.
As his blood mixed with the beast's, the orchid sacs pulsed with violent life force.
As more and more blood drained, Jiang Chen's face turned deathly pale.
He looked as if he might collapse at any moment.
Only when the twin sacs began to contract in rhythm did the blood within them start to rotate and merge.
Jiang Chen remained motionless. He neither guided the flow nor resisted it. The orchid worked on its own. Its instincts awakened, drawing on the spiritual nature of both bloods and harmonizing them in silence.
Minutes passed. Then hours.
When at last the night descended and the wind began to howl, the two sacs abruptly emitted a powerful spiritual fluctuation.
Veins of golden red spread within, forming a web of spiritual harmony between the fused bloods.
The blood was now one.
Jiang Chen's eyes opened. He picked up the orchid and drank from both sacs in one smooth motion, then swallowed the orchid whole.
The warm blood slid down his throat like molten metal.
It surged through his meridians like living flame. His limbs screamed in protest, veins bulged across his skin, and his body became a human cauldron. Yet not a single sound escaped his lips.
If one could not endure this little pain, what right did they have to pursue immortality?
The raging blood flooded his vessels.
Then seeped into his flesh. And finally, it reached his heart.
There, it rooted itself.
And the silent hall grew even more silent.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes.
On the surface, nothing had changed about him. The same fifth-stage Qi Condensation aura. The same cold eyes. Yet the blood flowing through his veins was no longer the same. It now carried the essence of the Iron-Striped Mirage Tiger.
Swish, Swoosh~
Spiritual energy surged within his dantian, rushing into his blood.
A ripple passed through his body. A moment later, a second Jiang Chen silently appeared before him. A perfect clone.
Both stared at each other.
And smiled.