89: Chapter 89 Blood Refining Technique

He could feel that his current strength was at least thirty percent stronger than when he had fought Longduota!

He gently clenched his fist, and the air in his palm emitted an explosive sound of unbearable strain.

He was confident that if he were to face Longduota again after the latter activated "Totem Manifestation," even if he still could not defeat him, he would be able to confront him head-on without falling behind, and might even be able to make him pay a much heavier price!

However, the joy only lasted for a moment before it was replaced by a deeper worry.

Because he clearly felt that an invisible yet indestructible wall seemed to have appeared before him.

No matter how his Qi and blood surged and roared within his body, he could not advance even a single inch further.

That was the ceiling of his Cultivation Technique.

"Still no good..." Gao Feng sighed, a trace of helplessness and longing appearing in his eyes. "Without the subsequent Cultivation Technique, this chasm is simply impossible to cross."

Longduota's terrifying figure, like an ancient Vicious Beast, appeared in his mind once again.

The power of a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist had left too deep an impression on him.

He knew that his current improvement was still not enough in front of a true Fifth-Rank powerhouse.

A head-on clash was, after all, an inferior strategy.

It seemed the key to breaking the deadlock still lay with Wulu and that so-called "Anti-Longduota Alliance."

Thinking of this, Gao Feng's eyes became sharp again. He could not pin all his hopes on Wulu; he had to obtain more intelligence about the barbarians, especially... about their unique "Witch-Martial" cultivation system.

That system, although barbaric and crude with endless hidden dangers, had a method of detonating Qi and blood and stimulating potential that was remarkably similar to the "Blood-Burning Marrow-Changing Pill" he had refined.

Perhaps... he could find some clues about breaking through to the Fifth Rank from it?

A thought slowly rose in his heart.

He walked out of the secret chamber, the blinding sunlight making him slightly squint his eyes. Big Fool and Zhao Iron Pillar, who were guarding outside the door, immediately came up to greet him upon seeing him emerge. Feeling the terrifying Aura like a deep pool and a towering mountain emanating from the Stockade Master, both of their faces showed expressions of wild joy.

"Congratulations to the Stockade Master for the Major Achievement of your divine technique!"

"Stockade Master, your injuries..."

Gao Feng waved his hand and smiled, "My injuries are no longer a major issue, and my strength has improved slightly."

He did not explain much further and directly ordered, "Iron Pillar, go to the dungeon and bring those witch doctors from the Red Python Tribe we captured earlier to the council hall."

"I want to interrogate them personally!"

Inside the council hall of Linhuang City, the atmosphere was grim. The spacious hall, originally used for discussing military and political affairs, had been temporarily converted into a special interrogation room.

The surrounding windows were covered with thick black cloth, leaving only a single oil lamp in the center. The flickering candlelight stretched the shadows of the ferocious weapons on the walls into ghost-like shapes.

Gao Feng sat upright in the main seat, his face as calm as water, his deep gaze quietly staring at the three barbarian captives being brought up.

These three were the highest-ranking witch doctors captured when the Red Python Tribe was destroyed.

Having been imprisoned for many days, they had long since lost their initial ferocity. At this moment, their bodies were bound with iron chains, their mouths stuffed with hemp cloth, and their eyes were filled with fear and despair of the unknown.

"Take the things out of their mouths." Gao Feng's voice was calm and waveless, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty, slowly echoing in the silent hall.

The soldiers stepped forward and roughly tore away the hemp cloth gagging them.

The three witch doctors immediately coughed violently, greedily breathing in the fresh air.

Among them, the oldest witch doctor, who had a three-headed Red Python tattooed on his face and was clearly the highest-ranking, raised his head and stared fixedly at Gao Feng with a pair of turbid yet still sinister eyes.

"General of the Great Qian Dynasty..." The old witch doctor's voice was hoarse and dry, like two pieces of sandstone rubbing against each other. "If you want to kill, then kill, why say so much! The warriors of my Red Python Tribe will never beg for mercy from an enemy!"

Gao Feng ignored his clamoring and just asked indifferently, "I ask, you answer. If your answers satisfy me, you can live. Otherwise, the wild dogs outside the city that have been hungry for a long time should be very happy to taste the flesh and blood of the Southern Wild Hundred Barbarians' witch doctors."

His tone was very flat, yet it made the three witch doctors shiver in unison. They had no doubt that the man in front of them could do what he said.

"The first question," Gao Feng's gaze was like two sharp scalpels, dissecting the old witch doctor's psychological defenses, "What exactly is the principle behind Longduota's totem power, that so-called 'Ba Serpent Manifestation'?"

This question clearly touched upon the core secret of the Southern Wild Hundred Barbarians. The old witch doctor's pupils shrank violently, and he subconsciously closed his mouth tightly, looking like he would rather die than submit.

Seeing this, Gao Feng chuckled, not getting angry, and just turned to Li Four on the side and said, "Li Four, bring up 'Number Two' and... loosen this old gentleman's muscles and bones."

Li Four took the order and left. A moment later, he walked back carrying a leather bag that was constantly wriggling and making a "rustling" sound.

He walked to the old witch doctor, untied the opening of the leather bag, and dumped everything inside at the old witch doctor's feet all at once.

It was a nest of newly hatched, jet-black little snakes, only as thick as chopsticks!

These little snakes seemed extremely sensitive to the scent of flesh and blood. As soon as they landed, they scrambled to crawl up the old witch doctor's pant legs and onto his body!

"Ah—! Bone-Eating Worm Snakes! This is our Southern Wild's Bone-Eating Worm Snake!"

A younger witch doctor nearby, seeing this scene, was instantly struck with such terror that he felt his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and he let out a terrified scream, "General, spare my life! General, spare my life! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

This kind of Bone-Eating Worm Snake was exactly the poisonous creature that they, these witch doctors, used to concoct the most vicious curses.

They would not kill a person immediately, but would burrow into the person's flesh and blood to gnaw on the bone marrow. The strange itching and severe pain that went deep into the bones from the inside out were enough to drive even the toughest hard man insane within three days!

The old witch doctor's face also instantly turned as pale as paper. He could feel those slimy, cold little things having already crawled into his pant legs, pressing against his skin, searching for a place to bite. That scalp-numbing fear instantly destroyed all his psychological defenses.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" The old witch doctor shrieked miserably, his body trembling violently from fear, "Quick! Quick, take them away!"

Gao Feng waved his hand, and Li Four immediately stepped forward, using special medicinal powder to drive those little snakes back into the leather bag.

"If you had done this earlier, wouldn't you have suffered less?" Gao Feng's voice was still calm, "Now, you can answer my question."

The old witch doctor panted heavily, the ferocity in his eyes having long been replaced by boundless fear. He dared not conceal anything anymore and, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, told everything he knew.

It turned out that the so-called "Totem Power" was not a power that appeared out of thin air, but a very ancient and bloody secret technique of Bloodline Legacy passed down from the ancient times among the Southern Wild Hundred Barbarians.

When every powerful tribe was founded, their ancestors had hunted a powerful ancient exotic beast, and used that beast's heart blood, mixed with the blood of their strongest warriors, to hold a grand blood sacrifice.

Through this blood sacrifice, they fused a trace of the ancient exotic beast's Origin power into the tribe's Bloodline totem.

From then on, every generation of the tribe would have a trace of extremely thin Bloodline belonging to that ancient exotic beast flowing in their bodies.

And the strongest warriors in the tribe, especially the Clan Chief and future successors, could continuously use the blood of tribesmen or even enemies to sacrifice to the tribe's totem, in order to awaken and strengthen the dormant Bloodline Power belonging to the ancient exotic beast within their bodies.

When this Bloodline Power grew to a certain level, they could stimulate it during battle and, borrowing the Origin power of that ancient exotic beast, obtain terrifying power far exceeding their own Realm in a short period of time!

This was the truth of "Totem Manifestation"!

"The 'Ten Thousand Snake Valley' tribe where Longduota is from, their ancestor hunted a giant ancient beast that was about to transform into a flood dragon—the Ba Serpent!" The old witch doctor's voice carried a trace of deep awe and fear, "That is why Longduota's totem power is so terrifying and overbearing!"

Gao Feng listened quietly. Bloodline Legacy! Blood sacrifice awakening!

This was completely another cultivation path, entirely different from the mainstream martial arts system of the Great Qian Dynasty that relied on breathing in the Origin Qi of heaven and earth and cultivating Internal Energy!

It was more primitive, bloodier, and also... more directed at the Origin of power!

Gao Feng couldn't help but think of himself. He could feel that his body was also vastly different from ordinary Martial Artists. His terrifying Qi and blood and Physical Body strength, which far exceeded those of Martial Artists of the same rank, perhaps, were also related to some unknown Bloodline Power?

"The second question," Gao Feng suppressed the thoughts in his heart and continued to ask, "After your barbarian cultivation system reaches Longduota's so-called Fifth-Rank 'Marrow Refining Realm,' how should the path ahead be taken?"

This was the question he cared about the most!

However, this time, the old witch doctor showed a blank expression. He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "General, even if you kill me, I cannot answer this question."

"The Witch-Martial Legacy of our Southern Wild Hundred Barbarians is inherently incomplete. Most tribes' Legacy only goes up to the Fourth-Rank 'Bone Refining.' Only the three major tribes like Ten Thousand Snake Valley, Black Tooth, and Vulture possess the secret methods to reach the Fifth-Rank 'Marrow Refining.'"

"As for the path after the Fifth Rank... as far as I know, in the entire Southern Wild, for the past hundred years, apart from the Barbarian King Longduota, there has never been a second powerhouse above the Fifth Rank. Legend has it that our barbarian cultivation system has a mythical Realm called 'Totem Fusion' after the Fifth Rank. It is said that a powerhouse who reaches that Realm can completely fuse the tribe's totem with their own Bloodline, becoming an Incarnation of a walking humanoid ancient Vicious Beast, possessing power capable of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth!"

"But... that is, after all, just a legend. As for how to reach that Realm, let alone me, I fear that even the Barbarian King Longduota himself is still struggling to grope his way forward."

Totem Fusion... Humanoid Vicious Beast...

Waves rose once again in Gao Feng's heart. Although the old witch doctor did not give him the exact Cultivation Technique he wanted, the four words 'Totem Fusion' were like a bright lamp lighting the way on his pitch-black path forward!

"One last question," Gao Feng's gaze became sharp. "I have heard that besides making poisons and curses, you witch doctors are also skilled in a secret technique called the 'Blood Refining Art,' which can refine a Martial Artist's blood into a 'Blood Pill' that can briefly boost strength. Is this true?"

Upon hearing the four words 'Blood Refining Art,' the complexions of the three witch doctors instantly became even more terrified than when they had seen the Bone-Eating Insect Snake!

"I... I don't know! We don't know anything!" The young witch doctor shook his head frantically, his eyes filled with fear that reached deep into his marrow.

"Oh? Is that so?" A cold arc curled at the corner of Gao Feng's mouth.

He stood up, walked slowly in front of the young witch doctor, and slowly extended his right hand.

He did nothing else, simply releasing the crimson-gold Qi and blood within his body—which had already reached the Peak of the Fourth-Order Great Perfection and surged like a vast river—without any reservation!

"Boom—!"

A terrifying, scorching Aura of Qi and blood, filled with endless pressure, instantly enveloped the entire council hall!

Under that pressure, the flickering light of the oil lamp in the council hall suddenly stalled, as if strangled by an invisible hand!

As for the three witch doctors, it was as if an invisible mountain was pressing down heavily upon them!

Their faces flushed red, breathing became difficult, and the bones throughout their bodies were 'clattering,' as if they would be crushed into a pulp of flesh by this terrifying Qi and blood pressure in the next second!

They looked at Gao Feng in utter horror. In their perception, Gao Feng was no longer a human at all, but an ancient Vicious Beast that had just awakened, wearing human skin!

The vigor and domineering nature of his Qi and blood were even more terrifying and pure than what they had once felt from a distance from the Barbarian King Longduota!

This... this was simply not the Qi and blood that a Great Qian Dynasty Martial Artist could possess!

"Now, can you speak?"

Gao Feng's voice, like a demon god from the Nine Netherworlds, slowly rang in their ears.

"I... I will speak... I will speak..."

The young witch doctor's psychological defenses completely collapsed. Trembling, he told everything about the secret of the 'Blood Refining Art,' which was listed as the greatest taboo of the Southern Wild Hundred Barbarians...

It turned out that this so-called 'Blood Refining Art' had a history far older and more evil than the Totem Legacy.

It was not a Cultivation Technique, but a forbidden witch art that forcibly created 'power' by plundering the life Origin of others.

The core of this art lay in extracting the 'Qi and blood essence' within a Martial Artist—the most fundamental essence of a Martial Artist's life and power.

What the practitioner needed was the purest heart blood from the heart area of a Martial Artist above the Third Order.

The process of performing the art was extremely cruel. The witch doctor needed to build a special blood sacrifice altar, use a living, powerful Martial Artist as a sacrifice, use special bone blades to cut open their bodies one by one, and pierce their hearts when they were enduring the greatest pain to draw out that handful of Qi and blood essence containing their lifelong cultivation.

Then, through vicious incantations and rituals, this Qi and blood essence was refined together with poisonous herbs and resentful Souls to finally obtain the 'Blood Origin Pill,' which allowed the user to experience a surge in strength for a short time.

The reason this forbidden art was strictly prohibited was because its backlash was immense. It not only caused irreversible damage to the user but also over-drafted the future of the entire Southern Wild Hundred Barbarians.

Every Third-Order Martial Artist subjected to blood refining was a backbone of the tribe's future; sacrificing them to create a short-lived Blood Origin Pill was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst.

Therefore, hundreds of years ago, the first great Witch King to unite the Southern Wild Hundred Barbarians ordered all relevant records to be burned and executed the witch doctors who had mastered this art.

After hearing all this, a deep chill welled up in Gao Feng's heart. This kind of power built upon the suffering of others was something he despised.

But a thought sprouted uncontrollably in his mind: stripping away the bloody shell, the core principle of the 'Blood Refining Art' was precisely to extract and utilize the 'life Origin'.

The barbarian witch doctors' methods were crude and barbaric, but he possessed Alchemy knowledge and a subtle control over Qi and blood that far exceeded this era.

If the sacrifice were changed from 'living people' to other things containing vast life essence, and then refined with exquisite Alchemy techniques to remove the resentful Impurities, could a brand new, side-effect-free 'Essence Pill' be created?

Once this idea appeared, it could no longer be contained. It was like a bolt of lightning illuminating the path ahead, which had been shrouded in mist for Gao Feng due to the lack of subsequent Cultivation Techniques.

He did not need to kill people; in this vast Southern Wild jungle, what was least lacking were those ancient exotic beasts with strength comparable to Fourth-Order Martial Artists and vigorous Qi and blood!

Gao Feng slowly withdrew the suffocating Qi and blood pressure, and the air in the council hall began to flow again. He looked at the three witch doctors collapsing on the ground, his eyes returning to a calm, ancient well-like stillness.

"Take them away and guard them strictly; provide them with good food and drink. They are still useful when I need them."

The three witch doctors felt as if they had been granted amnesty and were dragged away by soldiers.

They did not notice the cold gaze that flashed in Gao Feng's eyes when he said 'still useful,' a look like that of someone viewing rare experimental Materials.

When he was the only one left in the council hall, Gao Feng closed his eyes to deduce that crazy plan.

He combined the crude principles of the 'Blood Refining Art' with the exquisite Alchemy knowledge he possessed, and a prototype for a brand new Pill Formula was rapidly taking shape.

However, a burst of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Du Wei approached quickly with a grave expression, clutching the highest-level encrypted intelligence from the scout network.

"Stockade Master, something big has happened in the barbarian camp."

Gao Feng took the secret report and scanned it quickly, his face gradually darkening.

Last night, the Barbarian King Longduota suddenly ended his closed-door cultivation and personally took action with the force of a thunderbolt, launching a bloody purge against his most loyal royal tent troops. Seven small and medium-sized tribes that resisted the most fiercely, led by Wulu's Green Wolf Tribe, suffered devastating blows.

The strength Longduota displayed in the battle was even more violent and bloodthirsty than before. He personally killed three tribal leaders who led the resistance, hung their heads on the camp gate, and suppressed all voices of dissent with violence and fear.

After paying a heavy price, Wulu and the Green Wolf Tribe, relying on the superior weapons provided by Gao Feng and their familiarity with the terrain, fought their way out and escaped into the Southern Wild jungle, temporarily losing contact.

That 'Anti-Longduota Alliance,' on which Gao Feng had pinned high hopes, collapsed at the first touch in the face of absolute force.

But what truly made Gao Feng's face look ugly was the latter part of the intelligence.

After reintegrating the Alliance, Longduota did not immediately attack Linhuang City, but instead issued a 'Blood Sacrifice Order' that puzzled all the barbarians.

He forcibly conscripted all the witch doctors from all tribes and tens of thousands of young and strong captives and slaves to build a blood sacrifice altar of unprecedented scale behind the camp, while ordering the major tribes to go deep into the Southern Wild jungle to capture powerful fierce beasts and exotic beasts to transport to the altar.

Judging from the blood energy soaring into the sky from the altar and the faint wails, an unheard-of evil ritual was being prepared.

"Blood sacrifice altar..." Gao Feng muttered to himself, instantly connecting this term with the 'Blood Refining Art' he had just learned about. He understood Longduota's intention!

This madman, after being injured, realized that the Alliance was drifting apart and knew that it would be difficult to take Linhuang City in a short time by conventional means, so he chose the most extreme method!

He wanted to restart the forbidden witch art, using the essence of tens of thousands of living beings and countless exotic beasts to refine a 'Blood Origin Pill' capable of Heaven-Defying life-changing results for himself!

Once successful, not only would his injuries recover, but his strength might even reach a terrifying Realm.

By then, let alone Linhuang City, the entire Great Qian Dynasty southern border would be unstoppable!

An unprecedented sense of crisis submerged Gao Feng's heart like ice water. He knew he could not wait any longer; the plan that was originally intended to be executed slowly had lost its meaning in front of a madman like Longduota.

This was no longer a war game that could be strategized; it was a race against time!

"Du Wei!" Gao Feng stood up abruptly, a terrifying killing intent bursting from his eyes.

"This general is here!"

"Pass on my order! The whole army is to prepare! Load all the remaining stock of 'heaven-shaking thunder' and 'fierce fire oil' onto vehicles! Also, immediately send people with the best wound medicine and food to go deep into the Southern Wild jungle to find the remnants of Wulu's forces! Tell him the moment for the decisive battle has arrived!"

"Stockade Master... are we going to take the initiative to attack?" Du Wei's face was full of shock.

With the current troop strength, leaving the city to fight a field battle against tens of thousands of barbarian troops was no different from throwing an egg against a rock!

"That's right!" Gao Feng's voice was resolute. "Defending to the death is just waiting for death. Attacking might still provide a glimmer of survival! Longduota is building an altar, and I also need time to prepare a super 'gift' for him and his army!"

Gao Feng looked out at the vast Southern Wild jungle outside the city, a cold smile full of madness and confidence curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Besides, who said we were going to fight a field battle against his army?"

"..."

The night was as black as ink, and miasma filled the Southern Wild jungle.

This was a paradise for poisonous insects and fierce beasts, but a forbidden zone for humans.

However, tonight, a lean and capable small team was moving silently through this land of death like ghosts.

Wearing specially made camouflage, they moved without a sound, perfectly blending into the darkness.

The person leading them was none other than Gao Feng, and following him were the fifty most elite veterans from the scout battalion.

Du Wei's concern was not without reason; taking the initiative to attack the main camp of tens of thousands of troops was undoubtedly suicide.

But Gao Feng's target from the beginning was not the barbarian camp, but the blood sacrifice altar that was being built and would determine the direction of the entire war.

More accurately, his target was Longduota himself, who was presiding over the ritual and was at a critical moment!