94: Chapter 94 The Way of Killing

At the same time.

Deep within the Limestone Cave of the Stone Forest, Wu Li crouched on a bluestone, with several polished tiger demon bones laid out before him.

The leg bones of a third-tier great demon had been polished by Wu Li into slender and hard shapes, with clear bone patterns and a faint, pale golden luster.

"Tiger bone for the brush, tiger whiskers for the bristles, tiger blood as the catalyst..."

"If I had a brush like this in my past life, suppressing an entire region would be no problem at all."

A sharp light flickered in Wu Li's blood-red pupils.

Wu Li held the brush up to his eyes. The bone-white handle still retained a faint tiger's might, and the tiger whiskers trembled slightly in the night breeze, shimmering with a golden luster.

He tried injecting Demon Power into the brush. The tip lit up with a pale golden radiance, and the faint sound of a tiger's roar echoed through the Limestone Cave.

"Good stuff." Wu Li nodded with satisfaction and stored the Talisman brush into his Stomach Storage.

"It's about time. I should go check on Qingshi Town again."

After speaking, Wu Li spread his wings, leaped from the bluestone, and flew out of the Limestone Cave. The flock of crows perched on the stone pillars lowered their heads in unison when they saw him fly out.

As for Tiger Biao, he was lying on the outskirts of the Stone Forest with Hei Yu and the others, getting along quite well for now. Everything was peaceful.

Wu Li ignored them and headed straight toward Qingshi Town.

Passing through the dense forest and crossing the mountain stream, the outline of Qingshi Town gradually appeared in his field of vision.

The night was heavy, and the town was deathly silent, with only the occasional dog bark breaking the stillness.

In the mourning hall in the backyard of the Town Guardian's mansion, the coffin was already empty. The white banners remained, the candlelight had been extinguished, and the air was filled with the scent of sandalwood and paper ash.

Zhang Huaiyuan sat on a prayer mat in the corner of the mourning hall. One of his arms was empty, the sleeve severed at the shoulder. Thick bandages were wrapped around the stump, and the bloodstains had dried into a dark red.

His face was as pale as paper, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his cheekbones protruding high. He was even thinner than when Wu Li had seen him last, but his eyes were terrifyingly bright, as if something were burning deep within them.

"Looks like it worked." Wu Li murmured.

Then, his Demon Power surged, and black mist silently condensed and churned in the mourning hall, gradually outlining a human shape.

Zhang Huaiyuan looked up at Wu Li, who was enveloped in black Qi. He took a deep breath, then stood up, his voice so hoarse it was almost unintelligible.

"The things you wanted were too vague. This is the limit of what I could find."

He crouched down and opened a bundle, inside which were several items neatly arranged.

Three dark golden Ore, the size of a fist, with rough surfaces. Faint heat waves emanated from the Ore, steaming out thin white mist in the night breeze.

A blank Formation Plate... and two command flags painted with sun patterns.

A dozen sheets of blank Talisman paper, cut into neat squares, with surfaces as smooth as a mirror, glowing faintly under the candlelight. A small pouch of cinnabar, bright red and finely powdered.

Wu Li crouched before Zhang Huaiyuan, looking down at the items.

Three stones of unknown origin, but they contained Essence of the Sun. The quality was average, and the Yang power wasn't very strong, but it was enough.

The quality of the blank Talisman paper was acceptable, with contained Spiritual Qi, more than enough for drawing Talisman.

Zhang Huaiyuan stood to the side, watching Wu Li put the items away. He was silent for a moment, then spoke, his voice hoarse and calm: "I've bought the items."

"When will you fulfill what you promised me?"

Wu Li looked up. Two dim red lights flickered at the position of his head, staring at Zhang Huaiyuan for a moment.

"Hehe, since you are so impatient, I can fulfill it now."

"You..."

"Come here..."

Zhang Huaiyuan walked tremblingly toward Wu Li. The wound on his severed arm was still throbbing with pain, and his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. His legs were shaking, whether from pain or fear he didn't know, but he didn't stop, walking step by step until he reached Wu Li.

"I..." He looked up at the two dim red lights, his eyes devoid of fear, filled only with determination.

"Hehe..."

"Boom~"

Wu Li extended his deep blue arm, fingers spread, and pressed them onto the top of Zhang Huaiyuan's head.

The hand had no temperature, as cold as an ice cube. Zhang Huaiyuan's body jolted violently, but he did not dodge.

"Look into my eyes."

The moment the words fell, a Blood Eye Shadow slowly emerged on Wu Li's face, which was obscured by darkness, and a scarlet light enveloped Zhang Huaiyuan's entire body.

"Hum~~"

Huaiyuan looked up, meeting Wu Li's gaze. Those blood-red pupils were like a bottomless blood well, emitting a cold, eerie light.

Zhang Huaiyuan felt his brain buzz. Everything went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already in the midst of a boundless sea of blood.

Beneath his feet were churning waves of blood, and overhead was a grey, hazy sky. The air was filled with a thick, bloody stench, and the cries of countless wronged spirits rang in his ears.

He was terrified to the extreme, but in the midst of this fear, Wu Li's voice came from all directions, icy cold and trembling.

"You were born without a Spiritual Root and were meant to be a wasted Mortal. At this moment, I bestow upon you the 'Blood Seal Pagoda'. With this as your foundation, I will help you step onto the path of immortality."

The moment the words fell, a beam of blood-colored light erupted from Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes. The monstrous sea of blood beneath his feet surged, enveloping his entire body, and scarlet light poured from the depths of his pupils, dyeing the whites of his eyes blood-red.

"Ah!!!" A painful roar.

An evil aura rose around Zhang Huaiyuan, sharing the same root and origin as the aura on Wu Li.

At his severed arm, the bandages were shattered by that aura, and the wound began to writhe as if something were growing inside. Then, a blood-red arm with black patterns grew out.

The pain faded... replaced by an endless stream of power within his body.

"Is this..."

"What it means to be an immortal cultivator!!!"

Zhang Huaiyuan looked down at his current self and revealed a hideous smile. His eyes had changed; they were no longer the black pupils of an ordinary person, but blood-red.

Wu Li withdrew his hand, his two dim red lights staring at Zhang Huaiyuan, his voice hoarse and flat.

"The 'Blood Seal Pagoda' is my method. Since you have received this mark, you are now my servant. From now on, your life belongs to me."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked down at his newly grown arm. The blood-red skin was covered in black patterns, like twisting snakes wrapped around his arm. He clenched his fist, looked up, and stared at Wu Li with his blood-red pupils, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

"Does this mean I can, Cultivate now...!!"

To this, Wu Li sneered.

"The 'Blood Seal Pagoda' grants you the qualification to Cultivate, but you cannot Cultivate using Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. You can only walk the Dao of Slaughter."

"Kill others and absorb their blood to Cultivate. The more you kill and the more you absorb, the higher your cultivation will be."

Regarding the 'Blood Seal Pagoda', Wu Li was slightly shocked when he first learned of it. Not to mention the complete 'Blood Seal Pagoda', just one of its branched offshoots, when it fell into the Western region of the Water Planet, created a race called 'vampires'.

It was just that the branch was too ridiculous; the version that was adapted completely took the dross and discarded the essence...

Zhang Huaiyuan's pupils contracted slightly, but quickly returned to calm.

The Dao of Slaughter, Cultivating by absorbing blood. This path was bloody and cruel, but he didn't care. As long as he could take revenge, he would do anything.