Chapter 148: Source Blood!
"Your life gene level is too high," the horned girl explained.
"Also, you've been dropped into the wrong abyss. Judging from the faint, intense aura on you, you should've been sent to the Sixth Abyss."
"The Sixth Abyss?" Jiang Zhe was surprised.
"Master, the Sixth Abyss is the 'Abyss of Thunder'. Maybe only the heart of a demon from the Abyssal Dragon lineage—native to that layer—could be of use to you," Oriana analyzed. She had already consumed viscount and count-level demon hearts and extracted valuable data.
The horned girl, perhaps fond of teaching or simply talkative, continued floating in midair.
"You outsiders always try to consume demon hearts like us, hoping to improve your life gene level. But you know so little about the true mechanics behind it."
"Starting from the baron level, every demon heart contains a certain amount of Demonic Power. This power is fundamentally different from yours—it can't merge with your genes at a foundational level. So, unlike us, you can't directly improve your life gene level through consumption."
"Instead, the demonic power accumulates in your body and forms a mechanism called Gene Amplification, which increases your gene level multiplicatively."
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" she asked, somewhat kindly.
Jiang Zhe nodded, signaling for her to go on.
Of course he understood—this was basic knowledge. Terms like Gene Amplification, Blood Luo Crystals, Blood Luo Power, and Black Warriors were all part of the same system.
Gene Amplification wasn't a new concept. In the Original Universe, amplification systems were integral: Strength Amplification, Mental Amplification, Body/Soul Amplification, and Gene Amplification were all well-known mechanisms.
The horned girl resumed her analysis of Jiang Zhe.
"In your case, your base life gene level is already too high—almost beyond the scope where amplification would be effective."
"From the legacy knowledge I possess, only a marquis-level demon heart would contain enough demonic power to activate Gene Amplification in someone like you."
"But don't get your hopes too high—even if a marquis heart works, the best result you can expect is doubling your current gene level."
"And even then, it has to be the heart of a thunder-type demon from the Sixth Abyss. Only that would work for you."
Jiang Zhe ignored the rest of her sentence.
Doubling his gene level? That would bring it to 3,620 times!
If that was guaranteed, it was already well beyond his expectations. How could he not be thrilled?
His perception of this horned girl changed completely.
A treasure trove!
The inherited knowledge in her mind was priceless!
Oriana was itching to act. "Master, let's capture her and perform a soul search!"
Jiang Zhe: …
Wow, she's really just looking for an excuse to act in her own interest.
"Ahem… Oriana, let's take it easy. She's being very cooperative, so let's try friendship first," he said diplomatically.
Oriana: You've got the nerve to preach peace after everything you did in the Ancient God World and the Blood Luo Realm?
On the surface, Jiang Zhe appeared to ponder the situation. He turned to the girl and said, "You've been so helpful explaining all this… but what's your real purpose?"
"My purpose?" The horned girl blinked playfully. "What bad intentions could I possibly have? I just think you've got potential. I'm thinking of making you my little brother—and who knows, maybe in the future, we'll have a whole batch of little demon babies. If we can create a true pure-blood demon family, we might even rule the Abyss someday!"
What she didn't say out loud was: Then maybe our bloodline could revert to its origin—becoming the supreme, true Demon Kings!
Oriana spoke in Jiang Zhe's consciousness: "Master, she's lying. Let's enslave her using the Enlightener. No need for fake politeness—it's wasting time."
Jiang Zhe considered it. The golden-tailed fox had warned him not to use soul attacks on demon-kind. But the Enlightener didn't count as an attack, more like spiritual guidance. It probably wouldn't trigger any backlash. And even if it did, he believed his spiritual foundation could withstand it.
Still, pure-blood demons were rare. The mission briefing mentioned that the number of each elemental attribute was in the single digits—that spoke volumes about their rarity and importance.
No need to rush. Better to play it slow and careful.
"You do have an agenda after all," Jiang Zhe said calmly.
The horned girl tilted her head, then shrugged. "Fine, you caught me."
"Then let's not talk about being your little brother anymore." Jiang Zhe pushed for more control in the conversation. "You're being this nice because you know I'm a threat to you, right?"
Pure-blood demons were scarce. According to Virtual Universe Company, there were at most 72 in total. Jiang Zhe wouldn't use violence unless absolutely necessary.
As soon as he finished speaking, the horned girl's aura subtly retracted, signaling caution.
"How about this—we work as partners instead?"
"You seem to know a lot about us outsiders. And I'm not here to destroy your world—I have my own goals. We could be great allies."
"I agree," she nodded. "As long as the pie is big enough."
Then, almost offhandedly, she dropped another bombshell:
"You are indeed a threat to me. But even if you kill me, you won't get the heart that contains my Source Blood. It will instantly return to the Origin Blood Pool and slowly birth another pure-blood demon over time."
Source Blood?
A blood pool? If what she said was true, Jiang Zhe had to find it.
Where pure-blood demons were born had to be the heart of the Abyss World—and perhaps the key to forming his clone body!
He kept his face neutral, pretending not to care.
Suddenly, the horned girl asked, "You want to cooperate? But how long can you even stay in the Abyss World?"
Jiang Zhe laughed, "If the benefits are good enough, I can break through to the Count level right now—and stay here until I become a Marquis or even a Duke."
"Remember those words." She finally introduced herself: "My name is Chi Ying. I hope we have a fruitful partnership."
"You can call me Zhe. Looking forward to it."
Chi Ying sought to exploit Jiang Zhe's potential.
Jiang Zhe wanted her knowledge.
Thus, a fragile alliance was temporarily formed.
"Since we're allies now, let's be honest with each other," Jiang Zhe said. "Chi Ying, what do you need?"
"First, Count-level hearts to help me accumulate energy and reach Count Ninth Rank."
"Second, a Marquis-level heart with over 10× life gene amplification to further boost my level."
Then she looked at Jiang Zhe oddly. "Zhe, don't you think it's kind of unrealistic for us to be talking about Marquis-level hearts already?"
"You should first focus on reaching Count-level, then quickly climb to Ninth Rank. Only then will we have any chance against a Marquis demon."
"I know," Jiang Zhe said. "I have a plan."
"You'd better," she said firmly.
With everything laid out, her attitude became more serious—no more playful flirting.
Jiang Zhe looked troubled. "Marquis hearts… they're hard to come by. I need one too. How do we split the loot?"
"You need a Thunder-element heart from the Sixth Abyss. I need a Metal-Space one from the First Abyss. We have no conflict," she replied firmly.
"But we're in the First Abyss now. Am I supposed to do all the work for free?"
He continued testing her: "Besides, I have some friends who train in Metal Law. I have to bring them souvenirs, right?"
She sneered, "If that's your plan, you'll be disappointed. Demon hearts lose their effect as soon as they leave the Abyss World's special force field. Find another souvenir."
Jiang Zhe frowned. Better safe than sorry—this was probably true.
Chi Ying offered a compromise: "When we hunt Marquis-level demons, we each get one heart. When we find a wormhole to the Sixth Abyss, we'll swap—your Thunder heart for my Metal-Space heart."
"Deal," Jiang Zhe agreed. "So, shall we go hunt Counts now?"
"Not yet. After tasting a Count heart, didn't you feel something unusual?"
"You mean the chaotic will trying to invade my consciousness?" he guessed.
"Smart." She smiled. "The more hearts you consume, the stronger that will becomes—until it destroys your mind. You'll stay alive, but as a vegetable. Might as well be dead."
"You wouldn't bring this up unless you had a solution. Let's hear it."
"Demon Blood Plants," she replied.
Chi Ying pulled out a pinecone-shaped fruit and tossed it to Jiang Zhe.
"This is unique to the Abyss World, produced once every thousand years. Paired with demon hearts, it keeps your consciousness clear and weakens the invading will."
"It's also something we must collect during our partnership."
Jiang Zhe caught it with his spirit force.
Dark red and pinecone-like, it gave off a refreshing aroma that cleared his mind instantly.
He waved his hand—the fruit disappeared.
Seemingly stored in a space ring, it was actually thrown into his Thunder Hell Realm to be devoured by the Blood Sea.
Oriana confirmed: "Master, it's harmless on its own. To fully test its effects, I'll need to consume it with a demon heart."
Nothing scared Oriana. She was gifted with the Matter Lord ability, enhanced by the Nether Blood Egg—there was nothing she wouldn't dare to eat.
Chi Ying didn't mind losing one. "I just checked the terrain. This is the Yanluo Mountains. There's a type of Demon Blood Plant here called Blood Gold Ganoderma. I sense it's about to mature."
"Zhe, follow me."
Chi Ying shot into the sky, heading to the sensed location at nearly 1,000 km/s.
Jiang Zhe followed and asked, "Can all demon-kind sense these plants?"
"No. Only pure-blood demons have this innate ability."
He took the opportunity to ask, "How many of you are there? Pure-blood demons, I mean."
She didn't hide it: "There are 8 elemental types. Normally, each type births 9 pure-blood demons."
Jiang Zhe nodded silently.
As expected—only 72 pure-blood demons in this vast world, all with gene levels above 100×.
Wait a second…
His teacher, the Lord of Darkness, said pure-blood demons had over 1,000× gene levels—some even hit 10,000×!
Why the downgrade?
He quickly asked, "Are there any demons nobler than pure-blood ones?"
"No. Zhe, we born from the Origin Blood Pool are the highest existences in the Abyss."
Then she turned defensive. "What, are you looking down on me now?"
"I never said that! Don't slander me!" Jiang Zhe replied.
"Hmph! I've only been alive for 153 'Youke'. I just exited infancy. If I were an adult, I wouldn't even need your help. I'd eat you the moment I saw you, regardless of your nutritional value."
In their continued conversation, Jiang Zhe learned that "Youke" was a unit of time in the Abyss—equal to about 8 Earth days.
Chi Ying had spent 7 days hiding to study her inherited knowledge before gaining domain lord-level strength. While testing a teleportation ability, she got caught in a spatial anomaly—and accidentally appeared right where Jiang Zhe landed.
Feeling more comfortable with her now, Jiang Zhe asked a more sensitive question: "Chi Ying, would you mind telling me your initial life gene level?"
"140×," she answered. "What about you?"
"I was born with 3×. Now I'm at 1,810×."
He didn't lie—without domain-lord-level strength, it would be easy to detect the energy swirling inside his dantian.
Oriana quickly picked up on something strange:
"Master, 140× × 9 equals 1,260×. That matches what your teacher said!"
"She also said there are 8 elemental bloodlines. So, 1,260× × 8 = 10,080×—just a hair away from the perfect 10,081× gene level!"
In that instant, Jiang Zhe had a chilling realization.
Chi Ying had said her heart contained Source Blood—presumably, the others did too.
Could it be...
Do I need to collect all 72 drops of Source Blood to create a clone with a 10,000× gene level?
---
[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.
``` ]