160: I can't figure it out.

A few days later, on a moonless night.

According to the terms used on Earth, it should be called a "New Moon night."

It refers to the first day of each lunar month, when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth, rising and setting with the sun; the moonlight cannot be seen from Earth. This lunar phase is called "Shuo," and the moon at this time is called the New Moon.

Su Ze and Xiao Xu arrived at the Emperor's Gosho as requested. Tonight was the day for the completion of Yamata no Orochi's bloodline, and it was also the moment for Xiao Xu and Su Ze to execute their respective plans.

Su Ze whispered as he brushed past Xiao Xu, "Plotting against me? I guarantee your plan won't succeed!"

Xiao Xu just smiled and said nothing.

After meeting Emperor Meiji in front of the Gosho, he had changed into a white imperial robe with a great sense of ritual to welcome this important day.

"Everyone is here, then follow me."

Then, supported by several maids, they came to a secret room deep within the Gosho, where the secret passage leading underground had already been prepared and opened.

"Xiao Xu, Geng Mu, you two stand guard outside. Su Ze, bring your beast and come with me."

Only Su Ze was allowed to enter the secret room because he was needed to restrain Feng Qingyi.

Su Ze silently followed behind Emperor Meiji, who was dressed in magnificent robes. Beside him was Feng Qingyi, who had transformed into human form with a look of resentment.

Yamata no Orochi came from the other side of the secret passage and coiled around the Emperor. Perhaps due to its incomplete bloodline, it could not take human form and remained in this ugly state.

Yamata no Orochi affectionately rubbed against Emperor Meiji's palm, seemingly happy for this day, but it would occasionally look back to steal a glance at Feng Qingyi.

A nauseating smile appeared on its ugly snake face. Whenever this happened, Su Ze could feel that Feng Qingyi's emotions beside him were extremely unstable.

He could only comfort her to endure it for a bit longer.

"Endure it for now; it will have its share of suffering later."

Feng Qingyi could only suppress her burning rage and let out a cold snort.

This was also noticed by Emperor Meiji walking ahead. He also looked back, then stroked Yamata no Orochi's snake head and said, "You have good taste. Don't be in a hurry. After you complete your bloodline this time, we'll take care of the happy occasion at the same time."

Then he also licked his lips. Previously, when Feng Qingyi appeared in her original form, he naturally had no reaction.

But now, her peerless beauty in human form moved even him.

"Yamata no Orochi shouldn't refuse to share her with me, right?"

Perhaps sensing its master's thoughts, Yamata no Orochi rubbed against him, seemingly indicating its agreement.

They were currently in a secret passage extending downwards within the Gosho. Although they hadn't seen the blood pool yet, they could already smell a nauseating, thick scent of blood.

Soon, they arrived in front of a massive blood pool.

It was a giant blood pool the size of two or three football fields, filled with bright red blood that was churning as if boiling, emitting a suffocating smell of blood.

But Emperor Meiji in front took a deep breath, looking quite intoxicated.

Yamata no Orochi was even more impatient and dove headfirst into the blood pool, its scales constantly opening and closing as if absorbing the blood within.

Meiji introduced with a smile, "Divine Beast Essence Blood hasn't been added to this blood pool yet; it is entirely filled with the blood of ordinary monster beasts and... humans!"

"If only Divine Beast Essence Blood were used, the powers within the eight types of blood would conflict with each other, so a large amount of ordinary blood is needed as a buffer."

"Although most are death row inmates from all over Fusang... there are also many results of the Fusang Dark Guards' activities in Great Xia over the years. After all, you have so many people, don't you?"

Hearing this, Su Ze suddenly looked up, gritted his teeth, and quietly clenched his fists.

At this moment, Yamata no Orochi slowly poked its massive snake head out from the blood pool. Since the pool could completely submerge its giant body, its depth was likely beyond Su Ze's expectations. He didn't know how many people it would take to fill it.

Then, Emperor Meiji suddenly said without turning around, "By the way... Su Ze-kun, are you really controlled by the yata no kagami?"

Emperor Meiji continued to speak as if to himself, "That fool Geng Mu seems to be overconfident in his broken mirror, thinking that his yata no kagami is the only divine artifact left in Fusang."

"But in the end, the three divine artifacts are just pseudo-divine artifacts."

"As the Emperor, I have the right to access many secrets, so I know very well that the Fusang imperial family accidentally obtained the carcass of a divine beast a thousand years ago, and then used the divine beast crystal core obtained from the carcass to forge the three divine artifacts."

"Because with the forging techniques of that time, a single vessel simply couldn't carry the power of an entire monster beast crystal core."

"But in the end, that was just a most ordinary Star Radiance Level divine beast, and it was even split into three parts. Strictly speaking, they don't count as divine artifacts at all."

"So there are many ways to resist the control of the yata no kagami. For example, you shouldn't be controlled at all, right?"

Emperor Meiji grinned confidently, "And if you really were controlled, you would probably do as told if I asked you to jump into the blood pool and become a sacrifice for Yamata no Orochi now, wouldn't you?"

"For a genius like you, the effect of your blood is second only to the Divine Beast Essence Blood of the eight types of divine beasts..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a "splash" was heard; Su Ze had already taken a plunge.

The Emperor on the side was clearly stunned. Su Ze was so decisive that he was totally stumped; he could no longer tell whether Su Ze was acting or if he was truly controlled by the yata no kagami.

But it seemed that even though Su Ze obediently jumped into the blood pool as a sacrifice, he had not set aside his suspicion.

He continued, "But don't worry, Yamata no Orochi likes your Little Phoenix very much. If I were to kill you, her master, now, she would become uncontrollable."

"Only after Yamata no Orochi becomes a Moonlight-rank Divine Beast can it forcibly control lower-ranked divine beasts by relying on bloodline suppression. It won't be too late to deal with you then. This is one of the reasons I had you follow me down."

"In this blood pool, you are a sacrifice for Yamata no Orochi. No matter what methods you have, it's impossible for you to survive!"

He had intended to see a panicked expression on Su Ze's face, but he didn't expect Su Ze to remain very calm in the blood pool, even starting to scrub himself as if taking a bath.

However, in such an environment, the more he rubbed, the dirtier he would surely get.

As for being panicked? He was currently secretly rejoicing in his heart.

He had originally been thinking of a way to sneak the egg into the blood pool, such as having Feng Qingyi pretend it was an egg she had laid.

But Feng Qingyi refused no matter what, saying something about being a "pure bird" and that she couldn't ruin her reputation.

He didn't expect Emperor Meiji to ask him to jump into the blood pool himself just to test him. In that case, he would gladly comply.

However, the smell in this blood pool was really not pleasant, making him feel a bit nauseated.

At this time, Emperor Meiji on the bank of the blood pool also shook his head as if he had seen a ghost.

In any case, whether or not Su Ze was controlled by the yata no kagami, once he entered the blood pool, he was a sacrifice. Under the rules, it was impossible for him to survive.

He took out jade bottles one by one and began pouring them into the blood pool. These were the eight types of divine beast blood collected by the Fusang Dark Guards from all over the world.

Even Feng Qingyi's blood had been taken after she completed her mission and it was revealed that she had become a divine beast.

Because of this, Feng Qingyi had been in a weakened state for the past few days.

As the Emperor added the divine blood bottle by bottle into the blood pool, Su Ze also quietly took out the scarlet blood egg and placed it at his feet.

"Come, let me see who these divine bloods you've collected will ultimately benefit!"