184: Counting the Harvest

The one who spoke was a clean-cut, simple-looking young boy.

As he spoke, he didn't forget to mock, "No, from now on, I'll have to call you Miao Sixteen."

Facing the simple boy's mockery, the tall Miao Fifteen, though displeased, dared not show it, only weakly muttering, "Not necessarily..."

"I think I'm still a bit stronger than him."

Another burly, black-bearded man, even larger than Miao Fifteen, with dark skin like a giant black bear, grinned and said, "I don't think he'll be Shiwu."

Upon hearing this, Miao Fifteen immediately looked at the black-bearded man, who resembled a black bear, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

He was about to speak when he heard the other person add, "What I mean is... he's more than Shiwu!"

"I agree with Xiong Wu's view."

The one who spoke was a petite girl with short white hair and a pale complexion, as if devoid of blood, with crimson pupils and bloodshot red glimmers extending from them.

She looked almost identical to Lord Mo, the City Lord's butler!

Behind her, she carried a giant scythe larger than her entire body.

Her voice was as clear as a hundred valley birds.

"Don't forget, the key to wielding Yin Flame isn't just about strength and cultivation; there's an even more crucial point: Demonic nature!"

"This person acts with ruthless cruelty, so his Demonic nature must not be weak."

"All things considered..."

"I think he might have a chance to reach Ninth."

The black-bearded man, resembling a black bear, shook his head.

"I agree his Demonic nature isn't weak, but to say he can reach Ninth, that's impossible."

"Yan Jiu is also a person with extremely strong Demonic nature."

"In fact, purely in terms of Demonic nature, Yan Jiu's Demonic nature is enough to rank in the top three among us!"

"And his strength and cultivation are both stronger than his."

"He can't replace Yan Jiu."

The others also expressed their respective opinions.

They all knew very well that the ranking of the Flame Bearer held profound and significant meaning.

Usually, whenever a Flame Bearer joined, they would pay attention to their ranking.

The height of the ranking primarily depended on the degree of Yin Flame the opponent could ultimately wield.

Under the guesses of these Flame Bearers, Xiao Shi had already stepped into the grand hall.

The entire hall was pitch black; nothing could be seen.

However, as Xiao Shi stepped inside, the Flame Holding Token within him immediately fluctuated, and under this fluctuation, his body was gradually enveloped by an invisible energy mass.

The scene before his eyes became distorted, and in the next second, he found himself in a deep, secluded valley.

The entire valley was extremely vast.

The Yin Flame aura here was incredibly dense, preventing any vegetation or trees from growing.

One could see... the ground was covered with numerous complex and profound secret patterns, forming a massive array that Xiao Shi had never seen before.

Prior to this, the largest array Xiao Shi had ever seen was the nurturing array within the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, formed by numerous crystals.

But in terms of size, it was completely incomparable to the current array.

This array covered the entire valley.

Or rather... this valley itself was part of the array!

Including the massive mountains on all sides, they were also important components of the array.

These massive mountains were not ordinary mountains.

Each mountain was covered with dense array patterns.

Although Xiao Shi wasn't deeply involved in arrays, he understood some basic principles.

After all, when he was in the Entering Martial Realm, he obtained too many dropped items by killing.

This included arrays.

It was just that afterward, in the Qi Martial Realm and Blood Martial Realm, no similar items dropped again.

This led to Xiao Shi's understanding of arrays remaining at the Entering Martial Realm stage.

Although his involvement was still shallow, he could still understand some basic construction principles.

However, the basic construction principles of this current array... were different from what Xiao Shi himself had mastered.

Clearly, the Demonic Path forces' arrays also differed significantly from those of the Orthodox Faction.

At this moment, Xiao Shi was on the outer edge of the valley and did not rashly approach the nearby mountains.

These mountains all had powerful restrictions, posing a certain danger.

Xiao Shi gazed into the depths of the valley.

He could clearly feel... all the Yin Flame here emanated from the depths of the valley.

The closer he got, the denser the Yin Flame aura became.

It was obvious that the Yin Flame of Lieyin City was located deep within the valley.

"This is using an array to suppress the Yin Flame here, thus forming the foundation of Lieyin City!"

Xiao Shi's eyes gleamed with a strange light.

What he had to do next was to wield a portion of the Yin Flame here.

As for how much he could wield... that depended on his own ability.

However, Xiao Shi was not in a hurry to act.

Before that, he planned to first check the items that dropped after killing those five Blood Martial Realm cultivators.

Since this was a forbidden area within Lieyin City, even Flame Bearers could only come here when they first wielded Yin Flame.

And no one could see the situation here from outside.

Therefore, Xiao Shi was not worried that checking items here would be seen by others.

It could be said that this was the safest and most secluded place in the entire Lieyin City.

Immediately, Xiao Shi took out the items from his storage bag and checked them one by one.

He was very much looking forward to the five Blood Martial Grade items that dropped this time.

[Name: Blood Radiance Skill Seizing Pill (Peerless)]

[Type: Pill]

[Grade: Blood Martial Grade]

[Description: After use, it can directly seize a cultivation method from the target.]

[Remark 1: Only effective against Blood Martial Realm targets. If the target's cultivation is not Blood Martial Realm, or exceeds Blood Martial Realm, it will be ineffective.]

[Remark 2: Before seizing, the target must display this cultivation method. Only when the target displays this cultivation method can it be seized.]

[Remark 3: Only one such pill exists in the world.]

...The first item that dropped this time made Xiao Shi extremely excited.

Like the previously dropped Blood Healing Saint Pill, Blood Luck Pill, and Blood Sky Separation Pill, it was a peerless pill of astonishing value.

And the effect of this pill... could be described as extremely overbearing!

It could actually directly seize someone else's cultivation method!

Xiao Shi had never even heard of such a pill before.

With this pill, as long as he saw an enemy with a powerful cultivation method, he could directly seize it!

Especially those relatively rare cultivation methods that were very difficult to cultivate.

He knew that some cultivation methods, though extremely powerful, were incredibly difficult to master.

Just like body tempering cultivation methods, to master one, not only required a great many heavenly treasures, but also a lot of time.

With this Blood Radiance Skill Seizing Pill... Xiao Shi could directly seize the opponent's already mastered cultivation method, without having to undergo those difficult cultivations.

From this point alone, the value of this Blood Radiance Skill Seizing Pill was already astonishing.

Excited, Xiao Shi took out the second item.

[Name: Blood Eye Foundation Seizing Pill (Peerless)]

[Type: Pill]

[Grade: Blood Martial Grade]

[Description: After use, it can directly seize the target's foundation, aptitude, and comprehension.]

[Remark 1: Only effective against Blood Martial Realm targets. If the target's cultivation is not Blood Martial Realm, or exceeds Blood Martial Realm, it will be ineffective.]

[Remark 2: The target's foundation, aptitude, and comprehension must all reach superior grade to be seized. If even one does not reach superior grade, it cannot be seized.]

[Remark 3: Only one such pill exists in the world.]

...It was clear that this Blood Eye Foundation Seizing Pill belonged to the same type of pill as the previous Blood Radiance Skill Seizing Pill.

Both were for seizing from a target.

However, one was for seizing cultivation methods, while the other was for seizing foundation, aptitude, and comprehension.

Although Xiao Shi's own foundation, aptitude, and comprehension were rarely matched by other martial artists of the same cultivation level, if he could plunder from someone similar to himself and further enhance them... he really wanted to know what level he would reach?

[Name: Life Bone Foundation Seeding Pill (Unknown)]

[Type: Pill]

[Grade: Blood Martial Grade]

[Description: Can choose a person whose cultivation is lower than one's own, plant a blood bone within their body, and make it their foundation.]

[Remark 1: Once the blood bone becomes the foundation, it will undergo a growth spurt each time the cultivation breaks through. Each growth of the blood bone will bring about improvements in various aspects such as foundation, aptitude, and comprehension.]

[Remark 2: The improvements brought by the blood bone will not only affect the person with the blood bone but also allow the person who planted the bone to gain a certain degree of improvement.]

[Remark 3: After the blood bone has undergone three growth spurts, a life bone will be derived. Once the life bone is formed, it can grant the person who planted the bone one opportunity to resurrect!]

[Remark 4: The person who planted the bone must not actively provide any cultivation assistance to the person with the blood bone. If there is even one instance of active assistance, the blood bone will not be able to form a life bone. (Judgment will be made based on causality)]

...Xiao Shi looked at the pill in his hand, his breathing quickening.

His entire mind was completely shaken by the effect of this pill!

This pill... could not only bring improvements in various aspects such as foundation, aptitude, and comprehension, but most importantly... it brought resurrection after the formation of the life bone!

"In other words..."

"As long as I choose someone with lower cultivation than me and plant a blood bone in their body, then in addition to improving their foundation, aptitude, and comprehension... as their cultivation continuously improves, once the life bone is formed, even if I die, I can be resurrected!!"

Xiao Shi's eyes gleamed with fanaticism.

He hadn't expected such a heaven-defying pill to exist in the world, one that could even allow people to resurrect after death!!

As long as the life bone could be formed, he would effectively have an extra life!

The slightly difficult part was that the life bone could only be formed after certain conditions were met, and these conditions posed some difficulty.

Therefore, the selection of the person had to be cautious.

Xiao Shi's first thought was Cheng Tianhao and Cen Qingci.

But upon careful consideration, if he chose them, he wouldn't be able to help them improve... which would be quite troublesome.

Especially Cen Qingci and the others.

Although they hadn't reached the Blood Martial Realm yet, once they did, they would undoubtedly follow his Crimson Tiger Lineage.

As long as they followed the Crimson Tiger Lineage, he would inevitably bring them improvements from a causal perspective.

This certainly wouldn't meet the conditions for forming a life bone.

As his servant, Cheng Tianhao would also receive improvements from him, so he was also unsuitable.

"This person must not have too many ties with me, and their innate talent needs to be extremely outstanding. Even without my help, they must be able to continuously break through their cultivation..."

"At the same time, they must not die easily. Once they die, my investment will be wasted..."

"Most importantly... this person must be someone I can trust."

Xiao Shi frowned.

Such a person was not easy to find.

Currently, he had no suitable candidate in mind.

This pill was unlikely to be used in a short time.

However, Xiao Shi was not in a hurry.

The choice of person had to be cautious to ensure the conditions were met smoothly, thereby granting him a second life.

He continued to examine the remaining two items.

[Name: Flying Flood Dragon Sea Beast Hide]

[Type: Material]

[Grade: Blood Martial Grade]

[Description: The shed hide of a Flying Flood Dragon Sea Beast, capable of absorbing Blood Power, making it a good forging material.]

[Remark: Once the hide is attached to the body, it will absorb the Blood Power within the body.]

...Looking at the item in his hand, Xiao Shi's brows slightly furrowed.

It wasn't a pill anymore? Instead, it had become a material.

And although this material was good, it was clearly not a top-grade item.

"Could it be... that my good luck has ended?"

Xiao Shi looked at the last item.

[Name: blood-attaching grass seed]

[Type: Plant Seed]

[Grade: Blood Martial Grade]

[Description: A special plant that can attach and parasitize the Natal Martial Blood. Once successfully parasitized, it will continuously absorb the Natal Martial Blood, making the Natal Martial Blood its growth nutrient, and will grow out of the body.]

[Remark 1: Once parasitized, it will be very difficult to get rid of, and one will constantly face the situation of the Natal Martial Blood being drained.]

[Remark 2: As the blood-infused grass continuously grows, it will bring a great burden to the body.]

[Remark 3: This is an extremely evil plant seed.]

...Through this last item, Xiao Shi could confirm that his good luck had indeed ended.

The items that would drop next would return to normal, and top-grade pills would no longer continue to drop.

He wasn't too surprised or regretful about this.

He was already very happy to have such an opportunity and knew that there would be time limitations, and it couldn't last forever.

Of course, he still had a Blood Luck Pill in his hand; if he used this Blood Luck Pill, he might be able to extend this effect.

However, the Blood Luck Pill also had a time limit.

And what the Blood Luck Pill brought would not only be an improvement in the quality of dropped items but also good luck in other aspects.

Xiao Shi felt that now was not the best time to use the Blood Luck Pill.

He wasn't in a hurry about this.

After all, the astonishingly valuable pills he had acquired this time were basically peerless pills, with only one of each existing in the world.

They couldn't be used lightly.

They could only unleash their value and effect when used at the most opportune moment!