173: A bold idea...

Under the observation of the Scarlet Blood Demon Eye, Xiao Shi immediately saw that the Natal Martial Blood within these four Blood Martial Realm martial artists was entirely black and varied among them.

The Natal Martial Blood of one Blood Martial Realm martial artist was an arm composed of numerous black Blood Power, exuding ferocity and gore.

Both his aura and form were different from those of Blood Martial Realm martial artists belonging to the Orthodox Faction.

The Natal Martial Blood of another Blood Martial Realm martial artist was a curved horn, also entirely composed of black Blood Power.

As for the remaining two Blood Martial Realm martial artists, their Natal Martial Blood was a type of blood-colored insect.

Xiao Shi was very surprised by this.

Although he had long known that there were differences between the cultivation systems of the Demonic Path forces and the Orthodox Faction, he hadn't expected such a significant divergence in Natal Martial Blood.

It was evident that the Natal Martial Blood within Blood Martial Realm martial artists of the Demonic Path forces could all form a specific shape.

Especially those two whose Natal Martial Blood was an insect.

Upon examination, Xiao Shi even discovered that these insects within them seemed to have already gained life!

This made him very curious about the cultivation system of the Demonic Path forces.

The difference in systems also made it difficult for Xiao Shi to accurately judge the specific combat power of these four Blood Martial Realm martial artists.

Before this, he had never fought against Blood Martial Realm martial artists from the Demonic Path forces.

Those he encountered in the Blood Sect Game were only Qi Martial Realm martial artists.

If it were only one person, Xiao Shi felt he could try to engage him.

But facing four people simultaneously, and without knowing their specific combat power, Xiao Shi mused that he still needed to play it safe.

"Unless they get separated!"

Xiao Shi's eyes flashed.

After some thought, he decided to follow them first to see if they would split up.

As long as one of them was alone, he could find an opportunity to strike and kill him.

Immediately, Xiao Shi silently trailed behind the four.

These four Blood Martial Realm martial artists had no idea they were being tracked in their own territory.

They all believed that Xiao Shi must have already fled.

While expressing regret at failing to capture their prey, they bid each other farewell and went their separate ways after traveling a certain distance.

This immediately presented Xiao Shi with an opportunity.

However, since the four went in different directions, Xiao Shi could only choose one among them.

Xiao Shi decisively chose the one whose Natal Martial Blood was an insect.

He was now incredibly curious about the living insect that constituted his Natal Martial Blood.

He really wanted to study it.

And earlier, he had already secretly left a Blood Seal on each of the four; if he had the chance, he might be able to kill them one by one.

Anyway, through the Blood Seal, he could sense the location of these four people at any time.

After following for a while, Xiao Shi still didn't rush to act.

On one hand, he needed these individuals to spread out to prevent others from hearing the commotion and rushing to assist after he made his move.

On the other hand, the Rainforest environment was complex.

Many places had those peculiar birds similar to the previous ones, capable of detecting situations in nearby areas.

He had to avoid these "eyes" and not be seen by them.

Thus, as Xiao Shi tracked for a certain distance in his Yin state, he finally found a suitable location to act.

This place was relatively open, with fewer trees around, and none of those annoying "eyes."

"This is the place."

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Shi's eyes.

A blood-colored longbow immediately appeared in his hand.

It was the Blood Shadow Sky Bow!

He drew the bowstring, and as his Natal Martial Blood circulated within him, a blood-colored arrow instantly condensed upon the bowstring.

With his Natal Martial Blood now pushed to its limit, this blood-colored arrow, condensed from Natal Martial Blood, was far more powerful than before.

Blood-red light shimmered on the arrow, containing an astonishing and terrifying fluctuation.

Swoosh!

As Xiao Shi released his fingers, the blood-colored arrow instantly shot out with incredible speed, whistling through the air.

"Hmm?"

The Blood Martial Realm martial artist, who was originally running ahead, suddenly felt a jolt of alarm and a tingling sensation on his scalp.

An intensely strong sense of mortal danger told him he had been attacked, even without looking back.

At this critical moment of life and death, his eyes became bloodshot, and his entire form underwent a sudden transformation.

Layers of black carapace rapidly grew from his body, and two long antennae even sprouted from his head.

His pupils turned a dark green, as if he had undergone an insect transformation.

At the same time, his belly swelled high, forming a huge sphere.

Turning around, he suddenly opened his mouth and directly spewed out numerous green liquids.

These green liquids carried astonishing corrosive and burning power.

Wherever they passed, the vegetation on the ground was corroded into dust.

At the same time, the arrow shot by Xiao Shi transformed into a giant Crimson Tiger in mid-flight, unleashing a terrifying roar, and as it approached, it immediately collided with the green liquid spewed by the opponent!

Hiss! Hiss!

Amidst a harsh corrosive sound, a cloud of white smoke rose from the massive Crimson Tiger's body.

At the same time, its entire body began to rot.

The corrosive nature of this green liquid was extremely potent; even the enormous Crimson Tiger's body began to rot and decay under its corrosion.

However, this giant Crimson Tiger was not a true living entity, but an energy body composed of Blood Power.

Therefore, even though a good portion of its body was corroded and decayed by the green liquid, its body continued to charge forward without any pause.

Its half-corroded claw was raised high and slammed down heavily towards the Blood Martial Realm martial artist who had spewed the green liquid.

"Damn it!!"

The Blood Martial Realm martial artist's face darkened.

He hadn't expected the opponent's arrow to be so fierce.

Even the corrosive venom he spewed couldn't completely corrode it away.

Now facing the giant blood-colored tiger's strike, he could only raise his hands, crossing his arms over his chest to block.

Boom!!

The giant blood-colored tiger's strike sent the Blood Martial Realm martial artist flying.

The black carapace on his body was directly shattered and flung off by the impact of the blood-colored tiger's strike.

Cracks spread across various parts of his body, from which green blood seeped out.

"Cough!!"

He knelt on the ground, one hand covering his mouth, as numerous drops of fresh blood dripped from between his fingers.

His dark green pupils contracted violently, filled with intense horror.

"What kind of attack is this!!"

His mind was incomparably shaken.

He knew very well that the arrow shot by the opponent had been corroded by his green liquid, greatly weakening its power.

Yet, even so, this arrow still knocked him flying and severely wounded him!

If this arrow hadn't been weakened by his green liquid, how strong would it have been!?

Amidst his shock and horror, Xiao Shi, who was originally behind him, had already arrived at his side.

Through the Scarlet Blood Demon Eye, Xiao Shi could constantly observe the Natal Martial Blood within him.

Now, as this Blood Martial Realm martial artist was injured, Xiao Shi immediately discovered that the blood-colored insect within him had become shriveled.

Meanwhile, the injuries on the Blood Martial Realm martial artist's body began to heal at a visible rate.

The cracks on his body healed and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

In just a few short seconds, his entire injuries had completely recovered.

However, the cost was that the blood-colored insect within him became incredibly weak.

"It even comes with a self-healing ability!"

Xiao Shi's eyes narrowed slightly.

He became even more interested in the Natal Martial Blood within him.

This kind of Natal Martial Blood was vastly different from the Natal Martial Blood cultivated by the Orthodox Faction.

Xiao Shi really wanted to study it thoroughly.

Whoosh!

He did not pause because of the opponent's recovery from injuries.

In his plan, he never intended to kill him with just the Blood Shadow Sky Bow.

This arrow from the Blood Shadow Sky Bow was merely a prelude.

The true killing move still had to be the Blood Vein Finger!

Chirp!

A blood-colored finger glow instantly shot out from Xiao Shi's fingertip, like a fleeting streak of light.

And as Xiao Shi moved, he did not attack from the direction he had shot the arrow earlier.

The Blood Martial Realm martial artist, unable to see Xiao Shi, had no idea that the opponent had quickly adjusted his position after shooting an arrow.

This prevented him from reacting in time when facing this blood-colored finger glow.

And after Xiao Shi's numerous killings, the Blood Vein Finger's power and speed were far beyond what they were before.

It instantly appeared before the Blood Martial Realm martial artist.

Even though the Blood Martial Realm martial artist had raised his hand to block at the very first moment, the entire blood-colored finger glow still easily pierced through his arm and then through his entire chest.

The tearing force carried by the blood-colored finger glow brought him immense pain.

The injuries he sustained this time were clearly more severe than the previous ones.

His entire chest was pierced through, and the tearing force carried within the blood-colored finger glow continuously destroyed his internal organs.

Xiao Shi stared intently at the insect within him.

He could see that this insect, despite being incredibly weak, was still struggling, seemingly wanting to provide treatment to this Blood Martial Realm martial artist again.

And the cost of this treatment would undoubtedly be its death!

But even so, this insect started treating him without hesitation.

Xiao Shi frowned.

He quickly arrived in front of the Blood Martial Realm martial artist, one step ahead of the insect's treatment.

With a single finger strike, poof!

He directly pierced through the Blood Martial Realm martial artist's forehead, killing him!

If this insect died, he wouldn't be able to study it properly.

In fact, to be safe, after killing this Blood Martial Realm martial artist, Xiao Shi immediately dug out the blood-colored insect from his body to prevent its death.

Although the entire blood-colored insect was extremely weak now, it was not in any life-threatening danger.

Especially when Xiao Shi tried to draw out a wisp of Blood Power and enveloped it, he discovered that this blood-colored insect could actually consume his Blood Power!

And as it consumed, its body rapidly recovered, and its weakness gradually diminished.

This scene couldn't help but spark a thought in Xiao Shi's mind.

"If I'm not mistaken..."

"Typically, this kind of insect becomes weak after treatment, and then it needs to consume the Natal Martial Blood of others to recover!"

Xiao Shi felt that his conjecture was very consistent with the Demonic Path forces' way of doing things.

The biggest difference between the Demonic Path forces and the Orthodox Faction lay in the fact that those of the Demonic Path forces had no bottom line in their actions.

To achieve their goals, anyone in their eyes could be killed.

And most of the cultivation techniques they practiced were cruel methods centered around slaughter.

Now, even with Natal Martial Blood, recovery and enhancement were achieved by killing others.

Xiao Shi found that the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture he cultivated seemed to be similar.

To some extent, the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture was actually a Demonic Path cultivation technique.

But Xiao Shi was different from these people of the Demonic Path forces.

Although his hands were also covered in blood and he had committed numerous killings, he would not indiscriminately slaughter without a bottom line.

The Blood Martial Realm martial artists he killed now were almost all outsiders from other parts of the Tianluo Territory.

These people came to the Tianluo Territory specifically for him.

If these people knew that he was the Hall Master of Tianji Hall, they would surely pounce on him like wolves and tear him to shreds.

His killing of them, in a way, was also a form of self-preservation.

After all, he didn't have the ability to kill other stronger individuals.

He could only kill these Blood Martial Realm martial artists.

Xiao Shi was very clear about the difference between himself and those of the Demonic Path forces.

Although he needed to gain many items and rapidly improve through killing, he would never engage in indiscriminate slaughter.

In such a chaotic world, killing itself was a means of survival.

But Xiao Shi would still kill with a bottom line and discretion.

However, now that he discovered the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture was suspected to be a Demonic Path cultivation technique, Xiao Shi gradually realized that the Crimson Tiger Totem might also be related to the Demonic Path forces... This could only be slowly explored later.

Xiao Shi looked at the blood-colored insect in his hand and began to study it.

He really wanted to know what kind of system the Blood Martial Realm martial artists of the Demonic Path forces truly had.

"If the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture is truly a Demonic Path cultivation technique... then can I also cultivate the Demonic Path system?"

A thought, one that ordinary people would not dare to entertain, suddenly arose in Xiao Shi's mind.

He was not worried that cultivating the Demonic Path system would cause him to fall into the Demonic Path.

If being exposed to Demonic Path cultivation techniques and systems would make him like them, then he would have certainly changed after cultivating the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture.

However, he could feel that his temperament had not changed at all, nor had he become bloodthirsty and murderous because of it.

Aside from Blood Martial Realm martial artists, he had not killed anyone else.

And the Blood Martial Realm martial artists he killed were all outsiders who came for him.

This made Xiao Shi understand that even if he cultivated the Demonic Path system, he could still walk the path of righteousness.

The two were not in conflict.

However, this idea was ultimately somewhat bold.

Xiao Shi was not sure if it would work.

He looked at the blood-colored insect in his hand.

As this blood-colored insect consumed his Blood Power, a buzzing sound occurred!

He immediately clearly investigated its entire internal structure through this Blood Power!