Chapter 382: Chapter 381: The Origin of Blood Jade_1
"You actually don’t know the origin of this item."
Blood General looked genuinely surprised, but a moment later, an understanding expression crossed his face. "This object didn’t originate from the Cloud Outland; it’s normal that you don’t know."
"Then what exactly is it?" Ling Chen couldn’t help but ask.
Blood General appeared calm and didn’t intend to tell Ling Chen directly. "Even if I told you now, you wouldn’t understand because you’re too far from that level. All I can tell you is that this Blood Jade is a peerless treasure, unique in the entire Tianyuan Continent."
"In my time, its owner was Tu Shan Jun, a supreme powerhouse at the Nine Heavens of Saintly Way."
"Tu Shan Jun?"
Ling Chen was taken aback. The Nine Heavens of Saintly Way... what a concept! It represented practically the most powerful experts in this world. After all, figures like the Human Emperor, who could shatter the void, were exceedingly rare, with only a handful appearing over thousands of years.
This Tu Shan Jun was one of the Human Emperor’s wives.
It seems this Blood Jade indeed has a significant background.
"Alright, lad, I can’t sustain this Will Projection for long. With your current abilities, it’s nearly impossible for you to refine this Demi-Saint Heart. Before that happens, let me lend you a hand."
Blood General raised his hand and suddenly clenched it. The Demi-Saint Heart immediately expanded, turning into a ball of blood-red light that enveloped Ling Chen.
"Condense!"
With a loud shout from Blood General, the ball of blood-red light rapidly melded into Ling Chen’s sword shadow, a process visible to the naked eye.
In just a few breaths, the sword shadow, condensed from Sword Intent, was dyed blood-red.
What was initially pure Mountain and Water Sword Intention, now infused with this blood-red light, began to emit a terrifying murderous aura. That murderous aura originated from Blood General.
It must be understood that Blood General had killed countless people. He once slaughtered 400,000 people in a single battle. When it came to murderous intent, it was likely no one in the world had been stronger than him.
Thus, Ling Chen’s Sword Intent was no longer merely Mountain and Water Sword Intention; it now incorporated another attribute: Slaughter. The Mountain and Water Sword Intention came from the Mountain and River Elder, while this Slaughter Sword Intent originated from Blood General. Infusing the Mountain and Water Sword Intention with the Slaughter attribute undoubtedly made it stronger.
At the same time, Ling Chen’s Martial Realm was rapidly advancing. The Demi-Saint Heart contained all of Blood General’s lifelong enlightenment. With Blood General’s Half-Saint level strength, his comprehension was something ordinary geniuses couldn’t hope to match.
Previously, Ling Chen’s Martial Realm was at the "Sword Spirit Universe" level. But now, after absorbing Blood General’s martial arts insights, Ling Chen felt a sudden clarity, as if the path ahead had opened up. Bottlenecks were no longer bottlenecks, and both his perspective and cultivation level had instantly improved significantly.
SWISH!
At this moment, Ling Chen, in the outside world, suddenly opened his eyes. A flash of lightning-like brilliance streaked across his vision. The brilliance vanished as quickly as it appeared. Compared to before, Ling Chen’s pupils seemed much more transparent and clear, as if he could see through anything at a glance.
This was a sign of his Sword Dao Realm reaching the "Clear Heart Sword" level.
Upon reaching this supreme realm, one would not be bewildered by anything, could comprehend all matters, and could even foresee danger or good fortune.
However, Ling Chen could currently only be considered to be at the half-step "Clear Heart Sword" level. Yet, it felt to him as if he had instantly shed his mortal shell and achieved enlightenment; his discernment, perception, and even intellect had all been enhanced severalfold.
"You brat, you’ve refined the Demi-Saint Heart?"
At that moment, Xia Yunxin’s slightly surprised voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Yes, I’ve refined it."
Only then did Ling Chen remember Xia Yunxin was still there. He collected his thoughts and looked over. Xia Yunxin appeared unharmed, but her expression wasn’t good.
"Damn it, that’s mine! How dare you refine it without permission?"
Xia Yunxin glowered at Ling Chen and tugged at his clothes. "Spit it out!"
"What do you mean, ’yours’? I found this Demi-Saint Heart first. Now that I’ve refined it, it’s merely returned to its rightful owner."
Ling Chen remained expressionless. Amused? The idea of spitting out something already digested was absurd.
"Besides, whose fault is it that you couldn’t refine it yourself and ended up vomiting it into my mouth? Oh, and I haven’t settled the score with you for *that* yet."
Ling Chen recalled being "forcefully kissed" by Xia Yunxin and felt quite displeased. It was fortunate she had spat out the Demi-Saint Heart; had it been anything else, he wouldn’t have let the matter slide so easily.
"You shameless brat! I’ve never met anyone like you—profiting at someone else’s expense and still playing the victim!"
Xia Yunxin glared at Ling Chen as if she wanted to devour him, gritting her teeth in fury. "That was my first kiss! Taken by a wet-behind-the-ears boy like you! What are you going to do about it?"
"First kiss? I find that hard to believe."
Ling Chen looked Xia Yunxin up and down. Her very demeanor exuded an allure, but it wasn’t like Mei Ji’s; rather, she seemed to possess a naturally seductive quality.
Considering Xia Yunxin’s demeanor, it didn’t seem likely that was her first kiss.
After all, the Demon Way differed from the Righteous Path. There were far fewer formalities and no taboos regarding relations between men and women. So, Ling Chen’s impression of women from the Demon Way was that they typically had extensive experience with men. Given this, Ling Chen supposed Xia Yunxin was likely one of them.
"If you don’t believe it, fine."
Xia Yunxin waved her delicate hand and stared intently at Ling Chen. "Ling Chen, do you know how many times I’ve saved you? And this is how you repay your savior? Sigh. If I’d known, I would have just let you fend for yourself."
"Many times? Wasn’t it just once?"
Ling Chen only remembered her saving him once in the Demon Forest, when she killed Prince Tai. Beyond that, he couldn’t recall any other instances.
"It was more than once."
Xia Yunxin waggled a slender, jade-like finger. "In the Demon Forest, that was the first time. Later, at that estate, didn’t you uncover our plan to annihilate the Fire Blade Sect? Did you really think that with your paltry skills back then, you could have infiltrated our ranks undetected and then strolled away so easily?"
"Then, you were overly conspicuous during the war in the Fire Country. Many in the sect wanted you dead, but I was the one who suppressed them."
"So, I’ve saved you many times, not just once. Understand?"
Xia Yunxin’s gaze towards Ling Chen clearly held a hint of annoyed reproach, as if scorning his ingratitude.
"Then why did you save me?"
Ling Chen truly hadn’t known Xia Yunxin had helped him so much in secret. But what was her motive for doing so?
"Why did I save you? Don’t you have a brain? Can’t you figure it out yourself?"
A fair finger poked Ling Chen’s temple. Xia Yunxin wore an expression as if looking at a hopeless case. Then, with a flick of her figure, she darted out of the Stone Palace alone, her words left drifting in the air:
"Think about it! If no one had been secretly helping you, with your ostentatious personality, you would have died ten or eight times over by now in that kind of environment, surrounded by predators!"