76: Blood Spirit Pill

["Wait, can I ask you a question?" you shouted loudly.]

["Ask away," Liu Ruyan said indifferently, her hands still continuously forming hand seals, condensing the Slave Contract in the air.]

["When did you start noticing me?" you asked calmly, hoping to see the answer in reality.]

["Yesterday," she replied nonchalantly.]

["With your strength, why did you go to such great lengths to lure me here?" you continued to press.]

[Liu Ruyan did not answer, but Eunuch Xiang, standing aside, said with a smile, "You think too highly of yourself."]

["Young Miss Ru Yan only ordered me to subdue you."]

["I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to our doorstep, and that you actually have the strength of the Heavenly Human Realm."]

[You suddenly understood—it turned out someone had long suspected Eunuch Xiang was a Cultivator and used Steward Jia's fraud case to lure you to find him.]

[This was simply a scheme to kill two birds with one stone.]

[Firstly, it could test Eunuch Xiang's strength, and secondly, it could cause a struggle between you and Eunuch Xiang.]

[You just didn't expect that, by some fluke, you would also be targeted.]

[If it weren't for the vast disparity in strength between you and Liu Ruyan, such small tricks wouldn't have troubled you at all.]

[In the end, it's still a lack of strength!]

[Soon, Liu Ruyan's Slave Contract was fully condensed. With a wave of her jade-like hand, the contract instantly vanished into your mind.]

[You felt—this contract instantly enveloped your entire Divine Soul, as if it were penetrating your mind, causing a subtle change in your mentality...]

[Seeing your pupils contract and your expression dazed, Liu Ruyan smiled knowingly.]

[You recovered quickly, and when you looked at Liu Ruyan again, your gaze was completely different—filled with softness, adoration, and intimacy.]

[You solemnly cupped your hands: "Greetings, Master!"]

[Of course, this was all an act—you had already guessed the reason why the Slave Contract was ineffective against you.]

[The Slave Contract is essentially a parasitic secret technique. Its control principle fundamentally conflicts with the "System" inside your body, so it was easily resolved by the System.]

[Liu Ruyan naturally knew nothing of this; she nodded slightly: "It's time to return."]

[She unleashed a surge of majestic power, sweeping up you and Eunuch Xiang, and flew toward the back of the bronze ancient mirror in the sky.]

[You followed behind her expressionlessly, passing through the mist behind the mirror and arriving at the jade-paved Qingming Hall.]

[On the cushions in the hall, the two male Cultivators immediately stood up and said respectfully, "Greetings, Fairy Ru Yan."]

[Liu Ruyan didn't give them a single glance, leading you straight out of the hall.]

[Outside the hall gates, she gave a casual wave, and a hundred-zhang-long spirit boat appeared in the air, with a luxurious three-story pavilion standing in the center.]

[It was your first time seeing such a luxurious flying Magic Treasure.]

[As expected, the ostentation of a Nascent Soul Cultivator is extraordinary.]

[She swept both of you up onto the spirit boat and then went straight into the third floor to rest.]

["Stay on the deck; do not enter the pavilion without my command."]

[Before her voice had even faded, the spirit boat turned into a streak of light and sped southward.]

[You took the command and stood on the deck, looking at the scenery expressionlessly.]

[Only now did you realize that the Tianhong Suspended Pavilion was originally capable of flying; it was only because your status and strength were insufficient that you were restricted by the flight-prohibition array.]

[The seventeenth day,]

[After flying continuously for ten days, the spirit boat suddenly pierced through the clouds, and your pupils constricted sharply—]

[The entire sky was actually torn apart by over a thousand floating immortal mountains!]

[Rainbow spiritual waterfalls cascaded between the mountains, crashing into the sea of clouds and sending up a misty haze that filled the sky.]

[Glazed Immortal Caves were embedded at the peak of each immortal mountain, and jade pavilions were layered like honeycombs on the mountainsides, serving as servants' quarters. Maidservants' ribbons fluttered between the corridor bridges like flocks of startled magpies.]

[You secretly marveled; it truly lived up to being a grotto-heaven and blessed land.]

[Liu Ruyan's spirit boat finally stopped at a "Ningyue Immortal Mountain."]

[A nine-hundred-zhang waterfall roared as it fell into the void, and the mountain surface was covered with gold-patterned vines, bearing spirit fruits enough to buy a Mortal city on the Sky Desolate Continent.]

[As soon as Liu Ruyan stepped off the spirit boat, over a hundred female Cultivators in plain clothes knelt to welcome her.]

[The items pinned in these servants' hair were actually uniform-issue defensive Magical Artifacts—even the servants' accessories displayed a luxurious heritage.]

[You unconsciously clenched your sleeves, your throat feeling dry.]

[When those female Cultivators looked up, their eyes held neither sadness nor joy, as if their souls had long been drained, leaving only perfect shells to serve this man-eating immortal mountain.]

[You sighed inwardly: It seems life under Liu Ruyan won't be easy...]

[Next, Liu Ruyan handed you over to an old man named Steward.]

[You later learned that the entire "Ningyue Immortal Mountain" was managed by two housekeepers.]

[The male was named Steward, and the female was named Housekeeper.]

[Both were at the Golden Core cultivation level; one had white hair and a white beard, while the other looked like an aged old nanny.]

[The second month,]

[Time passed unknowingly; for the last ten days or so, you hadn't seen Liu Ruyan.]

[However, Liu Ruyan ordered Steward to have you Cultivate a Cultivation Technique called the "Blood Origin Art."]

[Not only that, but you also had to slit your wrists and bleed every week, filling a whole bowl each time.]

[As for what this bowl of blood was used for, you weren't clear.]

[But after the bloodletting, your food was quite good, consisting of various rare Heaven And Earth Treasures you had never seen before.]

[Every time you finished the soup brewed from these medicinal materials, you felt refreshed, energetic, and full of vigor.]

[You also discovered that there were over a dozen men like you who bled weekly, all of them strong young Martial Artists.]

[You noticed that not everyone here had a Slave Contract planted in them; for example, Steward and Housekeeper did not.]

[You secretly observed the servants who had the Slave Contract planted in them and found they were no different from normal people, having joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, showing no abnormalities.]

[It was only whenever they heard or saw Liu Ruyan that they would show a heartfelt respect, loyalty, and even adoration.]

[In fact, currently, you could have committed suicide to free yourself.]

[But you hesitated.]

[You thought, since you were already here, you must find out what Liu Ruyan was doing with your blood.]

[Perhaps you could even take the opportunity to scout out the situation or even gain some benefits.]

[Furthermore, the Spiritual Qi here was incredibly dense; you could completely Cultivate in peace.]

[The second year,]

[Once, you accidentally overheard a conversation between Steward and Housekeeper, and only then did you understand the purpose of the weekly blood collection—]

[It turned out it was used to refine a Medicinal Pill called "blood spirit pill."]

[This Medicinal Pill could help Cultivators with Dual Cultivation of law and body and increase their cultivation.]

[However, the effectiveness of the pill depended on the Realm of the "human material" practicing the "Blood Origin Art."]

[As long as the "Blood Origin Art" reached Perfection and the martial arts Realm was higher, the "blood spirit pill" refined from the blood would be more effective.]

[After learning the truth, you originally planned to risk escaping from Ningyue Immortal Mountain, but the result left you greatly disappointed—]

[The entire immortal mountain was enveloped by an array barrier; you tried, but you simply couldn't get out.]