Chapter 113: Blood Feast!
After taking the Immortal Elder's world ring, Orianna began erasing its ownership imprint and probing its contents while swiftly flying back to the cavern.
Inside the cavern, a middle-aged man was holding the Primal Umbrella, looking up at the milky-white stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
"Master, do you see anything? We're running out of time."
Yes, this middle-aged man was still Jiang Zhe. Like Scott earlier, this was another "mortal vessel" created by a Candlelight clone through the [Enlightener], with Jiang Zhe's consciousness occupying the body.
"Orianna, there are a total of 8,024 stalactites here. Chop them all down and take them with us!"
In Jiang Zhe's view, besides that repulsive blood-brown stalactite, these normal stalactites were the most remarkable features of this underground cavern.
His spiritual probe sensed an unusual attraction from them, though it couldn't penetrate deeper.
Orianna immediately went to work. From the core in her chest flew out 50 brass orbs, each the size of an egg. They projected solid light to form 50 brass lady puppets, each at the power level of a fourth-rank World Lord.
They flew up to the ceiling and smashed the stalactites at the base with the Ninefold Fist, then caught them and tossed them to Jiang Zhe. Jiang Zhe used his spiritual power to collect them into his world ring.
"Orianna, there might be World Lords arriving soon. Send a few clones to guard the entrance."
Orianna had already checked the old man's world ring and seen the communicator, realizing he had sent out a distress signal to the inspectors outside. She had informed Jiang Zhe of this during their mental exchange.
The nearest inspection post was about a million kilometers away. The message would take 3–5 seconds to arrive.
A typical World Lord could fly at around 30,000 km/s without causing space turbulence. At peak, human World Lords could withstand speeds up to 150,000 km/s. Taking a reasonable estimate of 100,000 km/s meant the golden-robed inspectors could arrive at Ancient God Peak in about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Outside the cavern, ten brass puppets merged into a single stronger puppet and flew out to intercept any incoming World Lords.
A fourth-rank World Lord puppet, with tenfold gene level and all of Jiang Zhe's foundational law insights, could easily overpower every World Lord in this entire Ancient God World.
Inside, master and servant kept collecting the stalactites. Soon, sounds of battle came from outside—but it quieted down after only a few breaths, easily handled by Orianna's clone.
Two minutes later, all 8,000+ stalactites had been harvested.
"Let's get out of here!"
Jiang Zhe let out a weird howl, tossed the world ring to the Candlelight clone inside the umbrella's space, and self-destructed on the spot, bursting into a cloud of flesh and blood.
Orianna's clones merged back into her main body. The last to return was the one guarding outside, who had already slain four World Lords. Reunited, she restored her gene level to 88-fold.
She didn't bother to slaughter the dozen World Lords now arriving. Instead, she turned and entered the umbrella's inner space.
In the next moment, the floating treasure umbrella vanished.
When the dozen World Lords outside sensed the life force vanish, they rushed into the cavern—only to find an emptied sacred ground, completely looted.
They looked at each other in dismay until one more respected figure stepped forward.
"Ahem, everyone, listen to me. It seems the High God is likely dead... We must report this immediately and lock down the entire Ancient God Arena. In the end, we'll do our part and leave the rest to fate."
"Yes, yes, lock down the arena!" another nervously agreed.
"Indeed, lock it down. Also, we half-gods should stick together and search for the culprit. If we find any trace, we strike together for a fatal blow."
Such suggestions drew eager nods. Though the words sounded grand, everyone's true focus was simply on keeping themselves alive.
They all understood clearly: This millennium's grand ceremony had gone wrong. Even if the Holy City Alliance's punishment was harsh, at least they'd still have a chance to live.
But if they ran into that murderous lunatic from earlier? Their lives would truly be forfeit. Clearly, the High God was the first to fall—or he would have been the first to flee.
Ancient God Arena, northwestern edge, Lanqin Valley.
Thousands of meters underground, inside a hidden cave, Jiang Zhe sensed that his Candlelight clone had completed their task. He entered his inner world.
Approaching the ancient tree, he placed his hand on the ghost-faced scar, followed that special link… and summoned.
The scar burst into bright light, forming a dazzling spot on the tree's trunk. From it, an ornate umbrella about a meter long flew out.
He had dared to take on an immortal monster because he was prepared.
Even if he failed, so what?
He'd lose a "mortal vessel" and nearly a thousand F-grade mechanical puppets. So what? Orianna would hide inside the umbrella's space with the Primal Umbrella and Blood Transformation Divine Blade, which couldn't be bonded to anyone else, and he could recall them anytime through the ancient tree.
With these trump cards in hand, if he didn't take risks, even with cheats, he'd never achieve greatness.
One life-and-death gamble, and he'd turned a bicycle into a luxury car. Wonderful!
Jiang Zhe caught the Primal Umbrella and exited his inner world. In the cave, he casually picked up a stone and imprinted it with a silver-eyed mark.
[Silver Key's Gate], activate!
Two ethereal doors opened in the dim cave. Jiang Zhe pushed them open and stepped through.
In a single step, space shifted.
Jiang Zhe left the Ancient God Arena and appeared inside the cultivation chamber at the City Lord's Mansion of Tianwu City. He released Orianna.
"Orianna, take out one of the stalactites."
Orianna wore the world ring. With a wave of her hand, a five-meter-tall stalactite, half a meter thick at the base, stood in the chamber.
Sniff sniff—
Jiang Zhe lightly inhaled. The stalactite exuded a delicate fragrance that made his mental power surge.
"Crack it open!"
"Yes, master."
Orianna was meticulous. She spent cosmic crystals to conjure a woodworker's twist drill made of E9-grade metal.
After probing the stalactite with world energy, she smashed it in half, keeping only the thicker base.
She stood it up and carefully drilled into the center.
A few minutes later, a rich fragrance suddenly burst out from inside.
"Master, it's ready."
She condensed a measuring cup from particles, then tilted the half-stalactite to pour out its liquid.
It was like honey—golden, viscous, trailing threads, with a heady aroma.
Just the scent made Jiang Zhe's mental amplitude spike by single-digit percentages, much like Ancient God blood—but even stronger.
No doubt, this was true [Ancient God Blood]!
"Orianna, drink some first. Use [Master of Matter] to analyze its composition."
Even with the Virtual Universe Company's assurances, Jiang Zhe wouldn't casually ingest something produced by unknown means.
For example, Ancient God blood was a treasure for most World Lords—but could they accept the cannibalistic reality behind it?
About 50 milliliters of golden liquid went into Orianna's core. She closed her eyes to digest it, but after just a few breaths, she opened her eyes and returned the liquid to the cup.
Jiang Zhe asked, surprised, "Can't digest it?"
"No, master. This Ancient God Blood isn't an F-grade treasure. I estimate it's above G-grade, likely at the Venerable level."
Such a high tier?
Jiang Zhe was only slightly startled before asking the more critical question, "Can you tell if it's naturally formed or artificially refined?"
"It's naturally formed. It also seems to contain elements that can affect genes, letting some traits be passed down… In other words, Ancient God Blood creates the Ancient God race's special traits. You can't reverse-engineer it from the race to recreate this blood. What we see sold as Ancient God blood is essentially a degraded imitation."
Jiang Zhe nodded, his concerns eased. "How much do I need to consume for optimal effects?"
Based on previous intel, Orianna quickly estimated. "After each grand ceremony, selected participants get about 15 milliliters. But truly, 25–30 milliliters is optimal."
"Alright, 30 milliliters it is."
Following Orianna's advice, Jiang Zhe used his mind power to bring over the cup and drank about three-fifths.
The thick golden liquid flowed down his throat into his chest, stopping there and transforming into pure energy that surged into his core.
When he looked inward, Jiang Zhe saw the whirlpool galaxy with eight spiral arms inside his core's sea of consciousness, now wrapped in golden mist.
The mist drifted toward the supermassive black hole at the center, condensing into mystic runes that were swallowed by the black hole.
His soul was inside that black hole.
These runes etched themselves onto his soul, transforming it, elevating his mental amplitude.
It was strikingly similar to how cultivating soul secret techniques—like the Supreme Magic Sound Codex—improved mental amplitude by refining the soul.
1587 times!
1596 times!
...
2200 times!
2500 times!
...
2900 times! ...
This was a process of forging steel from iron!
It wasn't purely passive; the one being transformed needed to cooperate. The stronger and more determined the will, the more thoroughly the Ancient God Blood's effects could be realized.
Orianna mused to herself:
"According to known data, most drinkers here saw mental amplitude increase by an average of 350 times, with the highest recorded at 683. Master drank enough for the best case—how far can he push it?"
Jiang Zhe sat cross-legged, his body trembling slightly. Inside, he was howling with delight.
"Whoa, amazing! So exhilarating!
Finally, not the usual pain of cultivation. This delightful scalp-tingling pleasure… Oh no, I must stay in control!"
During the transformation, he experienced overwhelming pleasure.
If he couldn't keep his will firm, if he surrendered to this euphoria, he'd lose control and the transformation would stop.
But with Jiang Zhe's formidable willpower, he held on to the end.
3000 times!
3100 times!
3200 times!
...
3400 times!
3500 times!
The pleasure faded to nothing, and the Ancient God Blood's power reached its limit.
The multiplier climbed slowly and finally stopped at—
3509 times!
A single portion of Ancient God Blood, pushed to the absolute limit, raised his mental amplitude by nearly 2,000 times.
Jiang Zhe opened his eyes, visibly exhausted. After exchanging a few words with Orianna, he fell asleep.
Crouching Dragon Art, activate!
---
[A/N: Want to read more chapters in advance?
Check out my P@treon at "DigitalToons" for early access and exclusive content!
You can read 100+ chapters there in advance.
```And free members can read 2 chapters ahead of WN.
``` ]