434: Chapter 434 Returning to Zhenhai City!

"5,600 cal of total base blood qi."

Qin Yan looked at the number, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes.

"This amount of blood qi has already steadily surpassed a typical Fifth-Rank Mid-stage Martial Artist."

Qin Yan quickly made comparisons in his mind.

A Fifth-Rank Mid-stage Martial Artist practicing an ordinary Earth-Fiend grade cultivation technique would have a base blood qi of around 40,000 cal.

Yet he, at only the Fourth Rank Peak, had already reached 56,000 cal!

He wasn't far from the conventional blood qi threshold of the fifth rank late stage!

This was the overwhelming advantage brought by cultivating both blood and qi, progressing in two paths simultaneously!

Soon after, Qin Yan immersed his mind into his body, carefully observing the changes in the Blood Demon Nest.

The Blood Demon Nest was the foundation of his Indestructible Blood Demon Scripture and the source of his physical strength.

It wasn't just a conceptual "Dantian," but a truly existing, singular place with its own internal space.

Now, after this significant breakthrough, the space inside the Blood Demon Nest had undergone earth-shaking changes!

The space that was originally only a few dozen feet across had now expanded to hundreds of feet in size!

A blood-colored river flowed slowly within it, while a black hole of demonic energy rotated slowly above; they echoed each other, forming a strange yet harmonious scene.

Qin Yan could clearly feel that when the space of the Blood Demon Nest expanded to a certain critical point, it would inevitably trigger some deeper change.

Perhaps it would be the awakening of a new divine ability, or an evolution of his physique, or perhaps...

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Qin Yan, and his gaze fell upon the inconspicuous "Blood Puppet Creation" column on the panel.

He faintly felt that as his realm improved, this ability he rarely used seemed to have undergone some kind of change.

He immediately closed his eyes and sensed it carefully.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, a hint of satisfaction flashing through them.

"As expected... the number of Blood Puppet I can manufacture has increased."

Before the breakthrough, with his realm and total blood qi at the time, he could only manufacture ten Blood Puppet.

But now—

"Twenty."

It had exactly doubled.

Twenty Blood Puppet; if they were all cultivated, what a terrifying force of assistance would that be?

"I'll use the remaining blood qi to nourish the Blood Puppet."

He thought to himself.

Currently, he had just reached the entry level of the second layer of the Indestructible Blood Demon Scripture. Limited by that pitiful 1% proficiency, he wouldn't be able to break through again in a short time.

Rather than letting that blood qi sit idle, it was better to use it to cultivate Blood Puppet and enhance his immediate combat strength.

With a thought, a ray of blood-light shot out from the Blood Demon Nest.

The blood-light condensed beside Qin Yan, transforming in the blink of an eye into a blood-colored figure standing quietly next to him.

It was a Blood Puppet.

It was similar in height to an ordinary person, its entire body deep red, like clotted blood.

Its silhouette was vaguely human, with a head, torso, and limbs, but it had no facial features—no eyes, no nose, no mouth—only a smooth, mask-like blood-colored face.

It stood there quietly, motionless, like a statue.

But a faint fluctuation of blood qi emanated from its body, signaling its extraordinary nature.

Qin Yan looked at the Blood Puppet and nodded slightly.

He currently possessed a total of six Blood Puppet, but due to the limitations of blood qi, most of their strengths were still at the Third-Rank Peak.

He currently planned to concentrate his resources first to cultivate a puppet that could keep up with his strength to serve as his capable assistant.

The blood condensation life creation cauldron emerged once more, and the remaining blood qi inside the cauldron turned into a thin blood-colored stream, surging into the Blood Puppet's body.

The Blood Puppet's body trembled slightly, and it then began to greedily absorb the blood qi.

Its color deepened at a rate visible to the naked eye, transforming from light red to deep red, and its aura also climbed steadily.

Qin Yan watched for a moment before withdrawing his gaze, paying no more attention.

Cultivating Blood Puppet took time, and he had plenty of patience.

He took out his long spear, walked to an open space outside the cave, and continued his day-to-day Spear Technique training.

The spear shadows were like dragons, and the sound of breaking air was incessant.

...

August 3rd.

After several days of reorganization and repair, a preliminary defense system had been established on Maple Leaf Island.

Simple yet practical barracks, sentry posts surrounding the island, and defensive formations that were being hurriedly set up.

The human soldiers on the island had already adapted to the new environment.

They began to perform tasks such as patrolling, sentry duty, and gathering spiritual herbs in an orderly fashion.

Clad in his black robe, Qin Yan arrived at a reef on the outer edge of the island.

The sea breeze blew, making his black robe flutter loudly.

He gazed quietly into the distance, where the direction of Zhenhai City was hidden at the horizon where the sea met the sky.

Today was the day the first group of the team would sail back.

The soldiers patrolling or resting nearby, seeing that black-robed figure, all showed expressions of respect, subconsciously lightening their steps or even taking a detour.

During this time, legends about the "Black-Robed Person" had already spread by word of mouth among the soldiers.

It was he who had slaughtered hundreds of Sea Race members single-handedly during the landing battle.

It was he who, in the depths of the island, had insta-killed that Fifth-Rank Mid-stage Crab General with a bolt of blood-colored lightning.

It was he who made a high and mighty Fifth-Rank Martial Artist like Lord Liu Qing respectfully call him "My Lord."

Mysterious, powerful, and unfathomable.

This was everyone's common impression of the Black-Robed Person.

Qin Yan seemed oblivious to the gazes around him, just waiting quietly.

Before long, the team had finished assembling.

Everyone boarded the "Polang" battleship docked by the simple pier in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, on the island, some of the soldiers would remain here forever.

They would be the first garrison of Maple Leaf Island.

How long they would stay, no one knew.

Perhaps a few months, perhaps a few years.

Or perhaps...

Ten years, twenty years, or even a lifetime.

Many people's gazes held a hint of complexity as they looked at the comrades staying behind.

But no one said much.

This was the fate of a soldier.

And the responsibility of a guardian.

Naturally, Qin Yan would not stay.

With a few leaps, he landed steadily on the battleship's deck.

"Set sail!"

With an order, the hull of the "Polang" battleship trembled slightly as it slowly turned around, heading toward Zhenhai City, breaking through the waves.

...

At noon, the battleship slowly docked, and Qin Yan walked off the ship with the crowd.

He then immediately returned to that small Alchemy Room of his, located in the logistics department.

The stone door closed, cutting off all the noise from the outside world.

For the next few days, he did not step out of the door, continuing his day-to-day immersive training.

The wind from his spear whistled, over and over again.

He invested all the Skill Points he obtained daily into the cultivation of the Five Elements Primordial Scripture.

On the panel, the figure of 2% for the first layer of the Five Elements Primordial Scripture was ticking upward at an extremely slow but unwavering speed.