Chapter 141: Blood Bodhi

"What is that?"

Yun Yong felt a lingering fear in his heart.

He saw a streak of blade light spanning a thousand miles, cleaving the Bronze Gorge into one black hole after another, revealing specks of starlight and sucking countless inner demons into them to be obliterated.

He had never seen such blade light before.

"That vine dragon in the Monster Court has attained the status of an innate deity," Xu Zhong said, sensing the lingering trace of that blade light.

Comparing this streak of blade light with the power of innate deities he had felt before, the two were not far apart.

"How do you know it has attained the status of an innate deity?" Yun Yong asked, a look of puzzlement on his face.

He and his elder sister had depended on each other for survival, and a hundred years ago, his sister had already attained the status of an innate deity.

Yet even so, he was still unable to recognize the mighty power behind that single blade strike.

"It's a long story!" Xu Zhong sighed.

He could hardly tell Yun Yong and the others that the innate deities he had witnessed outnumbered the Qi refiners of the same realm he had encountered, could he?

Words like these would probably not be believed by anyone; after all, any innate deity could be considered the most formidable existence of their era.

Upon hearing this, Yun Yong and the others stopped asking.

"Where are we heading next, then?" A huge hole had been burned into Tang Yuan's chest by the Samadhi True Fire, most of his heart was gone, and a corner of his Fire-Element Secret Treasury had also collapsed. If not for the fact that his heart was still beating, Xu Zhong would have almost thought the person standing before him was a walking corpse.

As Tang Yuan asked this, Yun Yong and Shi Yue also turned their gazes toward Xu Zhong.

In a mysterious place like the Bronze Gorge, only the most powerful Qi refiners held the ultimate decision-making power.

Xu Zhong pondered for a long time before finally letting out a sigh: "Since we've already come this far!"

Once curiosity was stirred, it was hard for him to stop.

What lay within the Flesh and Blood Marsh? He was extremely curious!

"As it happens, we also wanted to take a trip to the Flesh and Blood Marsh!"

Yun Yong was truly not just trying to butter up or echo Xu Zhong with those words.

They had already been in the Dragon-Sleeping Valley before Xifeng Lie died.

At the moment of Xifeng Lie's death, they had already entered the Bronze Gorge.

Because of their innate eccentric disposition,

they could barely perceive any external disturbances here.

Even on that day when Xifeng Lie's heart fell, only Xuan Jiuyuan and Yin Xin had noticed, and it was precisely at that time that they had separated from one another.

"Because the Flesh and Blood Marsh contains a massive amount of vital flesh-and-blood essence, over the course of countless years, it gives birth to some very special rare treasures and exotic fruits," Tang Yuan chimed in at this point. "We first entered the Bronze Gorge precisely because a red-heart Bodhi tree grew outside that Flesh and Blood Marsh, bearing blood Bodhis."

"Blood Bodhis?" Xu Zhong had never heard of such rare treasures and exotic fruits.

They walked amidst the miasma and mist of the Bronze Gorge.

The inner demons of this place lingered around, exhaling murky demonic energy, yet they did not dare to step forward.

It was mainly because the Nine-Dragon Fire God Cauldron floating above Xu Zhong's head was still exerting its remaining power.

Unlike the Qi refiner who had backstabbed Xu Zhong that day,

this Nine-Dragon Fire God Cauldron was filled with the Samadhi True Fire from within his own body.

This strand of Samadhi True Fire transformed into two true dragons coiled around the cauldron's handles, emanating a fierce aura that deterred the inner demons continuously swarming closer.

"Blood Bodhis are extremely rare, so it's only natural you haven't heard of them," Tang Yuan continued. "These blood Bodhis are similar to sariras; the latter are born from the cremation of eminent monks' corpses, while the former are creations nurtured by flesh and blood. The reason I say they are similar is because, compared to sariras, blood Bodhis are far more difficult to form and grow."

"It takes tens of millions of tons of flesh and blood just for a single leaf to sprout, and wanting them to bear fruit is even harder."

Tens of millions of tons of flesh and blood for just a single leaf?

Xu Zhong was startled. "Then this is similar to Profound Origin Heavy Water!"

"It's even harder!" Tang Yuan sighed.

Yun Yong pondered for a moment. "Blood Bodhis can increase your cultivation; a single blood Bodhi is equivalent to the medicinal efficacy of one billion turning-origin pills."

One billion turning-origin pills!

Up until now, he hadn't even used ten million turning-origin pills on himself.

"Swallowing a single blood Bodhi should allow our cultivation to reach the next level," Yun Yong said with a smile. "For him, it would practically amount to shedding his mortal shell and transforming his bones."

"Indeed!" Tang Yuan nodded. "I have yet to condense my Golden Elixir, but if I can use a blood Bodhi as the foundation of my Golden Elixir, I am confident I can enter the Truth-Preservation Realm within two years!"

Xu Zhong had spent over a dozen years going from the Guarding-One Realm to the Truth-Preservation Realm.

Although the flow of time in the Epoch Divine Formation differed from the outside world, a dozen years was merely a blink of an eye.
Still, he had indeed practiced cultivation for a full dozen years before entering the Truth-Preservation Realm.

"Then this is truly worth taking a risk for."

As they spoke, they had already reached the edge of the Flesh and Blood Marsh.

Upon arriving here, the moonlight cast by the Profound Light Technique dimmed involuntarily.

Before them was not a marsh as he had imagined, but a pitch-black cave.

A terrifying force of vital blood surged out from that dark cave, not only distorting space but even distorting Xu Zhong's Nine-Dragon Fire God Cauldron.

The two true dragons condensed from the Samadhi True Fire were twisted into the shape of caterpillars, their might reduced to nothing.

"This is the Flesh and Blood Marsh?"

Innumerable inner demons kept piercing through this pitch-black cave, exhaling demonic energy, souls, and the power of undying spiritual light.

They went in clutching bulging storage bags, but when they finally came out, the storage bags in their hands were extraordinarily shriveled.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

Barring their fangs and brandishing their claws, these inner demons lunged at Xu Zhong and the others.

"Courting death!" Xu Zhong pointed a finger.

A fire dragon gushed out from the Nine-Dragon Fire God Cauldron.

With a single gulp forward, the fire dragon swallowed the inner demons flying toward it, refining them within the divine cauldron, where countless pills dropped down with a clatter.

These pills were all spiritual elixirs that could be used to nourish undying spiritual light.

Only after finishing all this did Xu Zhong speak the last sentence he hadn't finished earlier: "It's rather different from what I imagined."

They flew toward that pitch-black cave.

The distortion became even more intense.

Even their bodies underwent bizarre distortions, making heads not look like heads and feet not look like feet.

This sensation was even more uncomfortable than being transported by a teleportation array.

Upon landing, a bright light appeared before their eyes.

Above the Flesh and Blood Marsh, there was another set of sun, moon, and stars.

Beneath the sun, moon, and stars stood twelve towering mountain-like golden stone watchtowers, exuding a strange power upon their surfaces.

This seemed to be the source of that distorting force.

Beneath each golden stone watchtower grew a red-heart Bodhi tree, bearing six blood Bodhi fruits.

Enciraled by the twelve golden stone watchtowers lay the Flesh and Blood Marsh itself.

This Flesh and Blood Marsh exuded a certain eerie demonic nature, shooting out beams of grotesque demonic light.

The demonic light, intertwined with demonic nature and shifting constantly, condensed into hideous faces.

These faces rose and fell within the Flesh and Blood Marsh, appearing and disappearing at intervals, with each face corresponding to a human Qi refiner.

"Are those human skins?" Shi Yue felt disgusted.

Human-skin masks floated in the air, while the things sinking and rising within the Flesh and Blood Marsh were the skulls of non-human Qi refiners.

A sealed Inner Demon King crawled out from the Flesh and Blood Marsh, removed the ox-head skull it was wearing on its head, and then carefully picked through those human-skin masks, finally selecting the handsomest and most dashing youth among them.

"Are you guys looking for..."

Before it could finish speaking, its gaze swept over Xu Zhong, and it looked as if it had seen the most revered and terrifying object imaginable, causing the entire demon to tremble violently.

"Gibberish, gibberish." It sat cross-legged on the ground, uttering strange and incomprehensible phrases.

Yet these phrases, difficult for ordinary mortals to understand, were automatically translated in Xu Zhong's ears as: "Greetings, Supreme Saint Heavenly Venerate!"

"What it's saying seems to be the language of the demon race," Shi Yue said, frowning. "It sounds like it's saying something-something Heavenly Venerate!"

"You can understand it?" Xu Zhong looked at Shi Yue in surprise.

"Naturally," Shi Yue nodded. "As the agent of Fengdu, I sometimes deal with the demon race. If I couldn't even understand a word or two of the demonic tongue, it would count as dereliction of duty."

The demon race Shi Yue referred to were those demonic cultivators whose bodies had been seized by inner demons and who walked the nine heavens and ten earths; the true demons never descended from the Thirty-Third Layer of Demonic Heavens.

"Then why didn't you understand everything it said?" Tang Yuan's eyes were filled with blood Bodhis, but he still didn't forget to chime in.

"Perhaps..." Shi Yue paused in silence. "Perhaps it was speaking a dialect!"

???

Question marks appeared above the heads of all three.

"Judging by its appearance, it doesn't seem to intend on making a move against us," Yun Yong muttered, pinching his chin. "Even though it's suppressed and sealed, it has no way of making a move against us anyway!"

"We all know that!" Tang Yuan said. "I reckon we just need to guard our hearts and maintain our inner mirror, and there shouldn't be any problems."

With that, he couldn't wait to walk toward those red-heart Bodhi trees. "I'm starving. Whatever you have to say, save it for after I pluck the blood Bodhis."

The other three were left momentarily speechless.

Yet seeing how eager Tang Yuan was, they had no choice but to follow.

The red-heart Bodhi trees grew to be very tall and large, with even the tiniest leaf stems as thick as an adult's arm, let alone the rest of the tree.

Like vines or coiling ancestral dragons, these red-heart Bodhi trees wrapped around the twelve golden stone watchtowers.

Flowing within the tree cores was a blood-red river, surging mightily and exuding a powerful wave of vital blood.

They didn't look like trees at all; rather, they resembled the blood vessels of a human body.

The blood Bodhis growing on the red-heart Bodhi trees possessed a deep, concentrated color, and the spiritual energy contained within them had practically been brewed into wine by the passage of time, exuding a rich alcoholic fragrance.

Just taking a whiff from afar made one feel light and airy, involuntary rousing a sense of intoxication.

Furthermore, dragon-shaped wisps formed of spiritual energy swam back and forth, slithering up and down.

"How is there a dragon here?" Xu Zhong asked, pointing at the swimming dragon.

"Brother Xu might not know this," Yun Yong coughed. "Among the nine heavens and ten earths, there are quite a few Qi refiners like Brother Tang who cultivate both vital blood and dharma power. Among them, there is a descriptor known as 'vital blood like a dragon.' This phrase describes how they have refined their vital blood into a true dragon, similar to the dragon and elephant cultivation practiced by the monks in Bodhi Temple."

Dragons and elephants had always been terms used to represent sheer strength.

Refining vital blood into a true dragon was much like how Buddhism refined its own power into dragons and elephants.

Tang Yuan was drooling with desire, inhaling deeply of this alcoholic fragrance.

Enthralled and enchanted, he reached out and plucked a blood Bodhi.

Crack!

The blood Bodhi was plucked off with ease.

Instantly, a stream of blood-like spiritual liquid gushed forth from the trunk.

Tang Yuan sliced open the flesh outside his Dantian and carefully shoved the blood Bodhi into his Dantian.

In an instant, this blood Bodhi acted as a Golden Elixir, bridging his secret treasury. An aura belonging to the Truth-Preservation Realm immediately emanated from his body.

"Is it really that magical?" Xu Zhong reached out, wanting to pluck a blood Bodhi as well.

At that very moment, the Inner Demon King spoke once more.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Instantly, the expressions of Xu Zhong and Shi Yue changed drastically.

"Run!" Both of them shouted at the same time.

They both acted simultaneously: Xu Zhong grabbed Tang Yuan, while Yun Yong was yanked by the collar by Shi Yue.

The two of them bolted, leaving only Tang Yuan and Yun Yong staring at each other in blank dismay.

Yet believing that Xu Zhong and Shi Yue wouldn't suddenly go crazy, they followed along and fled as well.

"What happened?" Yun Yong asked.

At that moment, a rustling sound echoed from behind, and the entire Flesh and Blood Marsh began to turn upside down.

"Oh no, it's too late," Xu Zhong sighed.

Translated, what the Inner Demon King had said was:

The Vine Dragon is coming!