"Meng Ling!"
Ming Qi had just rushed out of the collapsed passage when he saw Meng Ling, no longer able to hold on and transforming into her true form. He immediately rushed forward.
Meng Ling had consumed so much energy in this battle that Ming Qi wondered if she could hold on any longer.
Ming Qi held the guqin in his hands. When his eyes fell on it, a cold sweat suddenly broke out.
Countless tiny cracks appeared on the once flawless guqin!
Cracks appeared in Meng Ling's true form!
How powerful was the true form of the Valley Demon Soldier? A celestial artifact? A sacred artifact? A spiritual artifact? Or even a divine artifact of an even higher realm?
But no matter how extraordinary Meng Ling's true form was, she now had real cracks!
Ming Qi immediately felt himself panicking. What should he do?
What should he do?
There were no demonic beasts in this dark cave to replenish their vitality!
"The Crimson Pearl Vine can help you reach the Innate Realm..."
Just then, Ming Qi heard Meng Ling's faint voice.
"Yes! Crimson Pearl Vine!"
Ming Qi's heart skipped a beat. The Crimson Pearl Vine was a rare and precious spiritual herb. If Meng Ling could refine and absorb its power immediately, perhaps her injuries would be stabilized.
With impulsive action, Ming Qi carefully set Meng Ling down and quickly walked to the center of the stone platform. He reached out and plucked the thousand-year-old Crimson Pearl Vine.
This thousand-year-old spiritual herb was imbued with spiritual energy. The moment Ming Qi touched it, he felt an unprecedented, strange power surge through his arm and throughout his body, instantly permeating him with an incomparably warm aura.
"This truly is a rare treasure!"
Ming Qi was deeply shocked, but he didn't dare to delay. He picked up the Crimson Pearl Vine and ran to Meng Ling in a few steps.
"Quick, refine this!"
Ming Qi, without hesitation, placed the intact crimson pearl vine on the guqin.
He hoped Meng Ling would recover and not fall back into sleep.
Meng Ling's last slumber seemed to have lasted tens of thousands of years. This time, if she fell into a deep sleep, while her soul wouldn't dissipate, she would likely remain dormant for at least ten thousand years.
Ming Qi couldn't wait.
However, Ming Qi had never expected that when he placed the crimson pearl vine on the guqin, Meng Ling would refuse without hesitation.
"It's useless! I've been forcibly activating the Yellow Springs Blood Thunder, and it's almost exhausted..."
Ming Qi felt a chill in his heart. Having experienced so much without being shocked, Ming Qi now felt a bit bewildered, not even noticing that the dark cavern was accelerating its collapse.
"My condensed body is completely destroyed..."
Meng Ling's voice was so soft, almost inaudible.
"It must work!"
Ming Qi didn't believe it, and didn't want to.
In his previous life, he was a cold-blooded killer, yet he still confessed in church.
What about this life? Though cold-hearted, he couldn't remain so indifferent in front of the Meng Ling who had shared life and death with him and experienced so much.
Just like how in his previous life, he would still try not to wake the stray cat curled up at his feet, soundly sleeping.
"It's so boring to sit in front of a zither all day long..."
Ming Qi didn't know what to say, but he could guess what Meng Ling was thinking.
"Actually, I just want to tell you that I'm originally an ancient demon soldier, reviled and cursed by thousands. My true name is Human-Blooded Demonic Lute..."
"I'm a demon, more cruel than a monster, more terrifying than a ghost, hehe..."
Human-Blooded Demonic Lute?
Human-Blooded Demonic Lute!
Ming Qi wasn't shocked by the terrifying name. On the contrary, when he heard it, his heart pounded for no apparent reason.
The Human Blood Demonic Harp, could the source of all this be human blood?
Boom!
The cavern was finally about to collapse completely. Ming Qi was now too late to do anything. He had to leave, he had to leave quickly before the cavern collapsed. Otherwise, he would be buried alive!
Go!
Without hesitation, Ming Qi picked up Meng Ling and quickly slipped into the narrow passage.
The passage had already collapsed considerably due to the massive tremors, but thankfully, it hadn't been completely sealed off.
In the passage, Ming Qi rushed recklessly in a single direction like a ferocious beast.
He didn't even have time to light a fire to illuminate the path ahead. He stumbled and fell several times, tumbling like a tumbler. But despite this, his speed remained astonishingly fast. What should have taken an hour took him less than twenty minutes to blast out of the cavern and back to the surface.
The autumn night was chilly, the sky filled with stars.
Night had already fallen, and the starry sky cast a shadowy, eerie light over the stone forest.
Ming Qi carefully placed Meng Ling on the ground, then took a deep breath and slashed his left wrist with his right finger sword.
Scalding blood dripped rapidly down his arm onto the guqin.
The dense cracks on the guqin glowed an eerie crimson the moment the blood fell. In the blink of an eye, all the cracks were connected by the blood, forming a dense, crimson network.
Ming Qi's decision was undoubtedly mad and completely reckless.
He didn't know how much blood would be needed to repair the cracks on the guqin, but his only goal at that moment was to repair the cracks in Meng Ling's body, at any cost!
"Stop!"
The moment Meng Ling felt the blood boiling, her voice became urgent, as if realizing something.
"You'll completely unleash my demonic nature..."
"You're not a demon, you're a good girl!"
Ming Qi said firmly, blood still flowing from his hands.
"Hehe, I'm not a demon?"
"Even if you save me like this, I'll kill you..."
Ming Qi knew Meng Ling wasn't exaggerating. The Blood Demon Harp, an ancient demonic weapon, was filled with monstrous ferocity, slaughtering living beings like ants. Once Meng Ling's demonic nature fully awakened, it wouldn't be surprising if she killed Ming Qi.
But Ming Qi didn't stop. The blood continued to flow, and the cracks on the harp finally showed signs of healing.
Ming Qi, however, was already feeling dizzy from the excessive blood loss.
Ming Qi also knew that even with his exceptionally strong innate foundation and unparalleled physical strength, it was still unclear to what extent this blood-letting method could heal him.
"Hehehe... human blood..."
Just as Ming Qi was halfway through his trance, he suddenly heard Meng Ling's sharp, frenzied voice. It was so cold, its icy tinge almost seeping into his bones, terrifying enough to make his hair stand on end.
He was instantly startled, knowing this was a sign of the awakening of the demonic nature within Meng Ling.
The Human Blood Demon Harp, originally a magical artifact forged from the blood of countless human sacrifices, now uses human blood to feed it like sheep to a pack of wolves, completely unleashing the ferocity of the hungry wolves.
"Stop!"
Meng Ling's rapid voice rang out again, but it was not as weak as before.
Clearly, Ming Qi's blood feeding was having an effect.
"You are a Meng Ling, not a demon!"
Ming Qi gritted his teeth and spoke with unwavering determination.
At the same time, he carefully monitored the subtle changes in his own body. While his blood could heal Meng Ling's injuries, he had to maintain a careful balance. If he lost too much blood and caused irreparable damage, even if he managed to stabilize Meng Ling's condition, it would be a fatal blow.
Imagine this: if someone discovered the ancient demon soldier, the Blood Demon Qin, critically wounded and near death, they would mercilessly slash it with a single blow and take it to the Bai Mansion in Jinchuan to claim the bounty.
Thus, Ming Qi had to constantly monitor every change.
The night was deep, the dew was heavy, and it was already late. The cold wind of late autumn had already begun to blow. Ming Qi was sweating profusely, and his arm, still dripping with blood, was already shaking.
The cracks on the qin had been largely repaired, but to completely repair it would likely drain Ming Qi's entire blood and energy.
Suddenly, Ming Qi felt an unprecedentedly powerful suction coming from the qin, and he realized that the blood in his body began to flow out rapidly and uncontrollably.
The guqin emanated an even more eerie edge, ripples of blood-red radiance spreading out, a faint blood-red shadow reflected within.
Ming Qi knew it was the Meng Ling. Having completely lost its condensed physical form, the Meng Ling had become like the Destroyer he had encountered earlier: its physical form wasn't real, but illusory.
However, the Meng Ling that emerged this time bore a fierce expression, its eyes flickering as it gazed at Ming Qi like an endless abyss, its hands constantly tugging at the void.
"Blood, blood..."
The Meng Ling, its demonic nature awakened, seemed to crave nothing but blood.
"Not good!"
Ming Qi was startled. With a thought, he immediately activated his blood control technique, completely severing the connection between his own blood and the Meng Ling's in an instant.
"Huh..."
Puffing heavily, Ming Qi waved his hand, ignoring all else. With a single stroke of his hand, a stream of blood shot back the charging Meng Ling, then he tucked the guqin back into his ring.
After her injury, Meng Ling's strength was greatly diminished, and Ming Qi's current strength was sufficient to suppress her.
After returning Meng Ling to the ring, Ming Qi imbued it with spiritual energy to prevent her from sneaking out.
The stone forest was utterly silent. Ming Qi sat down to rest for several hours, recovering somewhat before standing up and surveying the surroundings.
Now that he possessed the rare Ten Thousand Years Crimson Pearl Vine, he knew it was time to strive for the Xiantian realm. With the Crimson Pearl Vine, even without the Tianyuan Pill that boosted his chances of success and the Gathering Spirit Array that concentrated the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, his chances of success were already very high.
Furthermore, the Ten Thousand Years Crimson Pearl Vine possessed the miraculous power of unleashing the potential of the body. With its aid, Ming Qi was confident that once he reached the Xiantian realm, he would be far superior to other Xiantian masters simply from the very beginning.
This stone forest, sparsely populated and secluded, was a perfect place for advancement and quiet cultivation.
After observing that there was nothing unusual within a radius of several miles, Ming Qi found a secluded place deep in the stone forest, sat down quietly, and took out the thousand-year-old crimson pearl vine.