151: Chapter 151 The Opportunity to Break Through the Four Marks

"Star Body, what a magnificent Star Body…"

Xing Yaoyan's hand, clutching the bandage, trembled slightly. But having experienced her fair share of storms, she managed to gradually suppress this almost irresistible desire with her formidable self-control.

"Haa… haa…"

Xing Yaoyan pulled the bandage away from her mouth, her chest heaving violently, as if she had just finished a full-throttle hundred-meter sprint in her past life.

"Navigator, it's true! His blood really works!"

Xiao Dao's cheering voice echoed from within her Soul Sea.

"…"

Xing Yaoyan did not respond, merely looking up at the flushed-faced girl in the mirror, feeling both shocked and ashamed.

After accidentally wounding Qian Mo at the hospital, a faint but extremely alluring fragrance had wafted from his wound.

If it had just been the wound, it would have been fine; she had already experienced that rush once before and had developed some resistance to it. Although she craved it intensely, she could at least maintain a normal expression so that others wouldn't notice.

As luck—or rather, misfortune—would have it, a few drops of blood had splattered onto her face at that moment. Even worse, one drop had trickled to the corner of her mouth, which she had subconsciously licked away.

In an instant, an unprecedented sensation of pleasure shot straight to her crown.

Her body began to tremble violently, as if something terrifying hidden within her Bloodline had been awakened.

It was a bloodthirsty impulse, a madness that made her yearn to transform into her true form and destroy everything in sight.

Fortunately, she had managed to suppress this madness with her remaining reason; otherwise, in such a crowded hospital, she would have undoubtedly been exposed…

"Heh… you didn't taste nearly as potent back then…"

Xing Yaoyan held the bandage stained with his blood before her eyes, staring intensely at the dark red bloodstain while subconsciously licking her lips, as if still savoring the taste.

Of course, if it were only enough to make her intoxicated, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to take this bandage under the guise of helping change his dressing.

There were two main reasons:

First, because even the bloodstains on this alone could intoxicate a Star Beast, it could be used as bait to lure and hunt them if she were searching for Star Beasts in the area.

Second, and more importantly, after tasting his blood, she had actually sensed a glimmer of an opportunity for a Four Marks Breakthrough…

She had previously learned from Xiao Dao that the pattern in the center of the triangle formed by the three holy marks in her Soul Sea was called the "Star Sign."

The reason Four Marks Star Beasts were so rare was that the conditions for the Star Sign to fully form were extremely harsh.

The conditions for forming a Star Sign varied for different Star Beasts.

For a Heaven-Swallowing Star Wolf, as far as Xiao Dao knew, the required Materials were "star marrow."

This substance was found in the stellar veins of stars in the cosmos and was extremely rare.

From Baidu, Xing Yaoyan had also learned that "star marrow" was a vital resource supporting the development of advanced human technology. It could only be mined by professional state-level personnel; unauthorized individuals who mined it privately would either have to surrender it to the state or be forced to hand it over during a "friendly exchange" with Enforcers.

Therefore, obtaining these promotion Materials required long-term planning.

But to her surprise, she had felt that same sensation of a Breakthrough from Qian Mo's blood.

Those few drops of blood she had absorbed seemed to have turned into invisible nourishment that flowed into her Soul Sea, making the Star Sign within it significantly more solid.

She had originally thought it was an illusion caused by the intoxication, but now, after verifying it again with the blood-stained bandage and observing Xiao Dao's excited reaction, she could finally confirm: Qian Mo's blood likely had the same efficacy as "star marrow"!

"Qian Mo… if I really can't find any star marrow, I'll have to trouble you…"

Xing Yaoyan moved her thoughts slightly, and the bandage in her hand instantly vanished.

She wiped the corner of her mouth, subconsciously revealing a somewhat morbid smile, with a faint red light flickering in her eyes.

Suddenly, the girl's body jolted.

"What has come over me…"

Xing Yaoyan looked at herself in the full-length mirror again. White hair, golden eyes; everything seemed normal.

"But that state I was just in…"

"Right! The Breath of the Abyss!"

Xing Yaoyan hurriedly sank her consciousness into her Soul Sea, transforming into the form of a small Soul figure.

At this moment, she was looking grimly at the black sphere compressed in a corner of her Soul Sea, which was still constantly trying to expand.

Because of the excessive compression, the original black mist had turned into a flowing black liquid.

"Xiao Dao… how long will you need to purify this thing?"

"Uh… about… over a decade?"

"What?!"

Xing Yaoyan was shocked.

"Actually, as long as you increase your strength, the digestion time can be shortened significantly…"

"But this thing seems to be subtly affecting my state of mind. My head is constantly filled with bloodthirsty thoughts, an impulse to destroy everything…"

"Navigator…"

Xiao Dao suddenly spoke, interrupting her, its tone becoming very solemn.

"Is there a possibility that this is the real you? Or perhaps, shouldn't we Star Beasts all be like this…"

Upon hearing this, Xing Yaoyan's small Soul figure froze.

"Is this the real me?"

She lowered her head to look at her own illusory hands.

The next moment, she felt something and looked up.

The scene before her suddenly shifted. This was no longer the Soul Sea, but a pure white space.

She looked around; there was only endless white, and nothing else besides her.

"Drip!"

A sound suddenly rang out.

She whipped her head toward the direction of the sound, only to see a poetic and picturesque pond appear there. The dripping sound was caused by water droplets falling from the lotus leaves in the pond.

She hurriedly turned her body and looked around again.

To her amazement, as her gaze moved this time, countless landscapes blending reality and illusion slowly appeared, finally forming an antique little courtyard.

A wisp of mist carrying an alluring fragrance brushed past the tip of her nose.

She turned her head and saw a graceful figure suddenly appear by the previously empty stone table under the tree.

She was elegantly lifting a teapot, pouring tea into two jade cups on the stone table; the steam was wafting from the teapot's spout.

Suddenly, the graceful figure turned her head to look in Xing Yaoyan's direction, her previously somewhat languid expression instantly transforming into a beautiful, smiling gaze.

"You've come?"

Just as Xing Yaoyan was about to respond, a phantom suddenly passed through her body and arrived before her.

She saw the man in the white robe pick up the other jade cup from the stone table, take a shallow sip, and then turn his head to smile gently at the graceful figure…

"That woman… why does she look so much like me…"