Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 391: Chapter 361: Bloodline Fusion?

In a little over an hour, a small island appeared in Chu Mu’s view. The man and his beast landed, and with a ripple from an Array Prohibition, their traces were concealed.

’I was too careless...’

Chu Mu’s expression was grim and uncertain. This time, he truly had been too careless.

Perhaps it was the increase in his Cultivation and his overconfidence in his own Combat Power. After entering the Vast Sea, his so-called caution had clearly become superficial.

Take the battle just now, for instance. If he had been as cautious as he once was, even if the fight was unavoidable, it certainly wouldn’t have been so sudden.

After all, the world outside the inland Marketplaces was a lawless jungle.

That was even more true here in the Outer Sea.

Demon Hunting in the Outer Sea was fraught with countless dangers, and one’s life could be hanging by a thread at any moment.

And lying in wait here at Crescent Island... that was a venture with enormous returns for a pittance.

Furthermore, the closer a Cultivator returning from Demon Hunting in the Outer Sea got to Crescent Island, the lower their guard would naturally be. And, just like him, after six years in the Outer Sea, while their gains were considerable, their trump cards were likely exhausted.

If it weren’t for his own extraordinary skills, facing such a sudden ambush with his external resources so depleted, he likely would have died filled with resentment.

Yet he had overlooked this obvious point. Or rather, out of confidence in his own strength, he hadn’t paid it much mind at all...

’I can’t go back to Crescent Island!’

Chu Mu’s expression wavered, but he had already made up his mind.

He had to return to Crescent Island, but he absolutely could not go back now.

Based on his recent experience, there were bound to be many Cultivators around Crescent Island engaging in this kind of risk-free business—lying in wait to kill others for their treasures.

One had to understand that those who dared to hunt Demons in the Outer Sea were no pushovers. To dare to engage in such robbery under these circumstances meant that most of them were likely powerful groups, like the one he had just encountered.

Although the last battle had ended without incident, he could hardly call it easy.

As his thoughts raced, Chu Mu waved his hand, and the few remaining Hunting Falcon Puppets hovered before him. Just as he was about to send them out by habit, he suddenly hesitated.

The Hunting Falcon Puppets could be considered stealthy, but to Cultivators with special Bloodlines, that stealth was almost nonexistent.

He had encountered this before in the Outer Sea.

The sudden ambush just now was clearly because they had detected the Hunting Falcon Puppets in advance.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a perfect ambush.

As his thoughts churned, Chu Mu ultimately put the Hunting Falcon Puppets away.

His external tools clearly needed to be improved before they could be better adapted for the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

Chu Mu glanced at Wangcai. He himself was unharmed, but Wangcai was clearly injured badly. More than half its body was drenched in blood, and there was even a large chunk of flesh missing from its head and neck, faintly revealing bone and organs.

Wangcai had fought incredibly hard in that battle.

"Wangcai, come here."

He beckoned to Wangcai, and with a wave of his hand, a mountain-like pile of Demon Beast flesh appeared before it. He gave a verbal cue, and once Wangcai began to feast, his attention returned to himself.

He hadn’t sustained any major injuries in the fierce battle. However, while the Magical Power drain from repeatedly using the Human Sword Unity Technique at full strength was one thing, the consumption of his True Flame and Sword Intent Divine Soul was truly terrifying.

Right now, the Divine Soul Saber in his Sea of Consciousness and the Great Sun True Flame in his Dantian were in a nearly depleted state. If he tried to forcibly use them again, he would certainly risk damaging his very foundation.

And this time, there was no Blood Pool like the one in the Chu Capital to turn this disaster into a blessing.

He closed his eyes, circulating his Magical Power. Several hours passed before his Magical Power and Divine Soul had recovered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He glanced at Wangcai, who had devoured all the flesh and was now sleeping to heal. His gaze flickered, and the memory of the recent ambush flooded his mind.

The four Bloodline Cultivators all had extraordinary Cultivation.

But if he had faced such an encirclement at the beginning of his sea voyage, when he was fully equipped, he could have easily suppressed them. He certainly wouldn’t have ended up in such a sorry state.

However...

As if struck by a thought, Chu Mu waved his hand, and the two halves of a corpse fell before him.

Of the four Cultivators, the other three had been unremarkable, but their leader...

Chu Mu recalled the strange transformation during their fight. The man had used blood for both offense and defense. When he underwent Demon Transformation, phantoms of various Demon Beasts flickered into existence before he finally settled into a Demon Body that could only be described as formidable.

His self-created Human Sword Unity Technique, which used his True Flame as a medium to fuse with his Sword Intent, was his strongest Attacking Means.

Yet, that man had been able to withstand such a blow with his physical body!

If he hadn’t thoroughly mastered the Human Sword Unity Technique and had relied solely on his previous skills, the outcome of that battle would have been truly uncertain.

Most importantly, out of the several thousand types of Demon Beasts in his Demon Beast Atlas, not a single one matched the Demon Body this man had transformed into...

After a moment of thought, Chu Mu raised his hand and formed a seal. As the Technique settled, streaks of blood-red light appeared on the two halves of the corpse before him.

In about a quarter of an hour, amidst the swirling, blood-red light, the two halves of the corpse completely withered away. In their place, a fist-sized ball of Bloodline Essence had condensed before Chu Mu.

"Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile?"

After briefly sensing the bloodline, Chu Mu could hardly hide his astonishment.

Based on its aura, this Bloodline Essence seemed to be from a Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile—the same as the first Demon Beast he had slain when he first entered the Outer Sea...

Clearly puzzled, Chu Mu enveloped the ball of Bloodline Essence with his Divine Sense, analyzing and observing it bit by bit.

He had killed a Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile with his own hands before, so he was no stranger to the effects of its bloodline.

Even with Demon Transformation, it shouldn’t have resulted in the monstrous appearance the man had taken. Besides, if it were truly the bloodline of a Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile, he wouldn’t have failed to notice it until now.

As his doubts swirled and his observation continued, Chu Mu suddenly seemed to notice something. His expression froze, his pupils shrank, and a look of utter disbelief appeared on his face.

He shot to his feet, extended his right arm, and formed a blade with his fingers. As a sharp edge manifested, he chopped down, releasing a flash of saber light.

The Bloodline Essence split in two. The moment he forcibly split it, the different auras within became even clearer and more potent.

Chu Mu rubbed his head, still seemingly in disbelief.

With the Bloodline Essence forcibly split, the strange auras were now very clear.

The aura of the Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile’s bloodline was clear, and so was the aura of a Flood Dragon’s bloodline. He even detected another bloodline aura, which seemed to belong to some kind of flying Demon Beast.

Chu Mu couldn’t be bothered to determine the specific type of flying beast. What he didn’t understand was how these three bloodlines had fused into one.

During his six years in the Outer Sea, he had encountered many Demon Beasts with mutated bloodlines, but those mutations had always originated from within the Demon Beast’s own bloodline.

For example, after a mutation, a Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile’s bloodline might undergo some unknown change, evolving into a new, unknown bloodline that was based on, yet different from, the original.

This kind of mutation also occurred in Bloodline Cultivators.

According to what he had learned in the past, the cause of such mutations was reproduction.

When Demon Beasts of different bloodlines, or Cultivators of different bloodlines, mated, their offspring had a certain chance of undergoing a bloodline mutation.

Of course, this chance was extremely low.

But this ball of Bloodline Essence before him was clearly not the product of a mutation.

A mutated bloodline was seamlessly integrated, but in this one, the three bloodlines—Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile, Flood Dragon, and the unknown flying beast—were clearly distinct. It was obviously an artificial creation.

’How can bloodlines be fused?’

Chu Mu grew even more puzzled. He had experimented with bloodline fusion long ago. Back when he emerged from the East Lake Secret Realm, he had conducted numerous experiments on bloodlines for the sake of Wangcai’s transformation, and bloodline fusion had been one of his primary focuses.

But back then, without exception, not a single one of his experiments had succeeded.

Chu Mu rummaged through his robes, and dozens of Storage Talismans floated out before him.

The Storage Talismans were all loot from the battle. The fight had been so perilous that he couldn’t spare them much thought, and many had been damaged in the process.

Of the dozens of Storage Talismans, only eight remained intact.

Extending his Divine Sense into the Storage Talismans, Chu Mu checked their contents one by one.

After a few moments, a mountain of items was piled up before him.

’Crime really does pay...’

Chu Mu muttered to himself and let out a long breath. His gaze toward the mountain of items before him couldn’t help but turn complicated.

From just eight Storage Talismans, he had made a fortune from this battle.

There was a mountain of Demon Beast Spiritual Materials, all of which appeared to be from Tier Two Demon Beasts, just like the ones in his own Storage Talisman. Among them were eight portions of Tier Two Demon Beast Bloodline and, most valuable of all, a full eleven Demon Pills!

As for other miscellaneous items, there was a huge pile.

Including the Demon Beast Spiritual Materials, this loot was equivalent to the harvest from hunting at least twenty or thirty Tier Two Demon Beasts.

And this was only the loot from the handful of intact Storage Talismans.

Judging by the actions of these four, they obviously hadn’t been honest Demon Hunters.

One could well imagine that before him, these four had probably slaughtered quite a few Cultivators returning from the Outer Sea.

’Such a lucrative business...’

Chu Mu shook his head, his gaze shifting until it finally settled on a pile of Jade Scrolls and books.

’Could there be a record of bloodline fusion among them?’

Chu Mu felt a sense of anticipation. If bloodline fusion was truly possible, then for him, this discovery would be no less significant than his previous discovery of the secrets of Bloodline Divine Techniques.

He picked up a Jade Scroll, but just as he was about to inspect it, he seemed to sense something. His gaze suddenly shifted, locking onto one particular Jade Scroll in the pile.

The Jade Scroll didn’t look much different from an ordinary one, but to him, the difference was something he was very, very familiar with.

He picked up the Jade Scroll. Just from its touch, the answer was crystal clear.

This Jade Scroll was identical to the one that had served as the token for the East Lake Secret Realm. It came from a Secret Realm—from that ancient... Immortal Dao Sect!

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