NOVEL NEXT Chapter 216: Bestow
Northern Zhou, within the Imperial City.
Two figures wrapped in blood-colored cloaks arrived in broad daylight before the Heavenly Giant Statue in front of the Taihe Palace.
Walking across the empty plaza, Ji Tang felt somewhat out of place as he said to Blood Bat No.1, "What do you think the Mirror Master's identity is, to have us walking here in broad daylight?"
This place was none other than the precincts in front of the Taihe Palace, where the Hundred Officials of the Northern Zhou would pass through every time they went to court. The Taihe Palace at the other end of the plaza was the venue for the meetings.
Ji Tang could hardly imagine—who could the Mirror Master be, to allow them to walk here so openly?
"Speak less, ask less. Is the Mirror Master's identity something for you to probe?" Blood Bat No.1 chided in a low voice.
As they spoke, the two of them had reached the base of the Heavenly Giant Statue, raising their heads to gaze at the towering figure that stood sixty-six zhang high.
"Ji Tang, Blood Bat No.1—"
A profound and distant voice rang out, and the Primordial Energy around the eyes of the Heavenly Giant Statue began to churn, bringing waves of formidable pressure.
"Mirror Master..."
Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1 exchanged a glance, knelt down in unison, and greeted in deference, "We pay homage to the Mirror Master!"
"You two have been my loyal followers. You marched forward with the Azure Dragon Association and after establishing the Blood Robe Building, you have served me as well. I ask you, do you wish to possess even greater strength?"
The profound and distant voice instilled fear in Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1, and the meaning behind the words struck directly at their hearts.
The times were becoming increasingly difficult. Ever since Qing Yu faked his death to escape, he had handed over the entire assassin business to Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1.
However, Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1 did not possess the strong capabilities of Qing Yu, and thus they could only take on some Divine Origin Realm contracts.
The Divine Origin Realm used to be considered powerful, and the Blood Robe Building, able to assassinate such individuals, naturally gained some repute. But as the True Pill Realm became more active, the Blood Robe Building began to struggle to keep up.
Especially lately, the Doomed Hall had also started entering Northern Zhou. The entrance of this veteran assassin organization, also the World's Number One assassin organization, greatly diminished the living space of the Blood Robe Building.
Compared to the glory days back with the Azure Dragon Association, the current situation for Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1 was truly indescribable.
"It seems you do wish for it."
Qing Yu's gaze seemed to be omnipresent, seeing through their thoughts before they even spoke.
"In that case, accept these two strands of Sword Qi."
The sound of splitting the air came from above, and Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1 couldn't help but look up. They saw Sword Light dancing in the sky, spiraling and intersecting, and in an instant, arriving in front of them.
Before they could discern the true appearance of the Sword Light, they felt a cool sensation pouring down from the top of the skull, instantly spreading throughout the body.
A powerful force gradually filled their bodies, accompanied by extreme Killing Intent and malevolent thoughts.
Without any sound, the pupils of Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1, already slightly reddened from practicing Blood Dao Martial Arts, were filled with an ominously green hue, their True Qi completely absorbed by the Sword Qi, utterly merging into an extremely Yin and malevolent Sword Qi.
Countless Sword Intents surged from their minds, and the immense realization of the Sword Dao led them to abandon their past Martial Arts and switch to the Sword Dao.
Unlike Yun Zheng, Qing Yu had from the beginning unleashed the full potential of these two Xuanyin Sword Energies, which rapidly and noticeably commenced the creation of Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1's Sword Bodies.
In just a few breaths, the transformation of their Sword Bodies was virtually complete, needing only time for further growth. A narrow, blood-colored sword pattern also emerged on each of their foreheads.
Their aura also rapidly escalated, instantly surpassing the peak of the Divine Origin Realm, just waiting to adapt to the Sword Qi, then they could unleash the combat strength of the True Pill Realm.
"I bestow upon you power, and in return, you shall once again wield swords for me, to slay my enemies."
The vast voice made the two who were immersed in the sudden surge of mighty power swiftly turn around, kneeling together to say, "Thank you, Mirror Master."
"Then go, slaughter those from Purgatory Peak, and augment yourselves..."
The white-haired Daoist, sitting cross-legged inside the giant statue, murmured to himself, "as well as augmenting me..."
The constant absorption had caused the Xuanyin Sword Energy to diminish significantly. The essence of Divine Communication remained, but the energy within it had been used by Qing Yu to merge with the Dragon Essence, absorbed into his body, becoming his own strength.
The two streams of Sword Qi that were just bestowed upon Ji Tang and Blood Bat No.1 had a considerable amount of energy absorbed from them.
However, the Xuanyin Sword Energy was originally a sword of evil Yin, which naturally could replenish its energy through slaughter and absorbing malevolent thoughts. Ji Tang and the others were, in essence, Qing Yu's scythes, reaping everywhere for him, providing a powerful resource.
"Go, collect energy for me..."
Qing Yu slowly closed his eyes, his hands cradling the Dragon Essence, with golden light and green glows twinkling in his palms, as massive energy revolved every moment, the Yin and Yang merging, washing away the murderous aura and bestial nature, and was then absorbed by the orbiting Tai Chi Diagram.
A strong and solid aura grew, invisible to the naked eye but undeniably increasing in speed.
...
Near Ji'an Prefecture, the battling factions paused their fights due to the sudden onrise of the Blood Shadow.
"'Blood Shadow Divine Skill', surely it's the Blood Demon Sect's doing."
The revealed Hua Baimei clenched her teeth and said.
The Blood Shadow was not there to assassinate Chi Xiao, but to protect him.
After absorbing the Sword Qi, the blood-colored shadow left Chi Xiao's body, flew eerily around in the air, and finally entered into the body of a blood-clothed youth with a bloodthirsty smile on his face.
"Blood Shadow of the Blood Demon Sect, glad to meet the members of the Yin Demon Sect," said Blood Shadow with a sneering laugh, his eyes betraying a craving for fresh blood.
"Blood Shadow..." Hua Baimei uttered the name of this person.
Blood Shadow, ranked ninth on the land ranking, with an unknown real name, had earned the title Blood Shadow after slaughtering several True Pill Realm masters in Ji Province, and simply adopted Blood Shadow as his own name.
His strength was verified, with the Fate Altar having stamped approval for his ninth rank on the land ranking. The feat of slaughtering several True Pill Realm masters also caused Hua Baimei and the others to be extremely cautious.
"Blood Demon Sect, are you trying to tear up the previous alliance?" Hua Baimei took a deep breath and asked.
"Heh, a bunch of weaklings, tear it up..."
Blood Shadow's body suddenly emitted layers upon layers of blood-colored shadows, a thick scent of blood enveloping the noses of all present, "so what!"
The blood erupted, countless Blood Shadows scattered and charged.
"Attack."
Zhu Zhengyang, the Royal Tributor of the Northern Zhou Imperial Family who was present, raised his hand and sent out a fierce palm force to strike at the blood shadows.
The rest unleashed their devastating skills as well, fighting off these eerie Blood Shadows. With the speed of the Blood Shadows, escape was clearly not an option, so they had no choice but to fight to the death.