Chapter 730: Blind-Blind's Revenge

Chapter 730: The Blind One’s Revenge

Zhao Changhe wasn’t exactly testing the waters; he had already thrown a straight pitch.

The Blind One must have some desire, and though it was utterly inhumane to just yank him over like that, it surely wasn’t solely to harm him—he was merely being used as a pawn.

In other words, her desire and his own goal of “going home” shouldn’t conflict, at most only in terms of timing. In theory, they could genuinely cooperate openly, without needing to play riddles like this, which only bred resentment and resistance in him or Old Xia, rendering everything impossible.

But he had no idea what she was thinking; she simply refused to be forthright, and even such a direct statement was useless.

Zhao Changhe was so furious his teeth itched, and he wished he could wipe the Heavenly Book again.

Forget it. Zhao Changhe swallowed his anger and opened the basic cultivation manual of the Spirit Clan that the young Spirit girl had brought earlier. With battle imminent, his goal for these days was to train in various techniques.

After the corpse puppet had revived, its body had become steel-like and immensely powerful, leaving a deep impression on both Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling. If that was the result of absorbing the metal and earth qi from the underground over time, it meant that absorbing such elements into the body could strengthen it—and in theory, this could be turned into an active technique, deliberately absorbing the Five Elements into the body to transform it.

This might be the origin of many body-tempering secret methods in the world.

Others could absorb metal and earth elements, but as a Blood Shura Body, he didn’t necessarily have to choose those.

The Spirit Clan’s techniques were divided into two directions. One was very similar to Lie’s—forging one’s own flesh and blood as the foundation, just like the ancient great shamans. The main difference from Lie was that normal techniques didn’t play with killing intent. In other words, blood qi and killing intent were actually separate; many people cultivated blood, but killing intent was Lie’s specialty. He shouldn’t have been called the Blood Demon or Blood God, but rather the Killing Intent Demon.

Zhao Changhe looked at his own arm as he circulated his power, and killing intent overflowed. By that logic, what should this arm be called?

The other direction was that of the Spirit Tamer, where “spirit” referred to beast spirits. In essence, gu worms were a type of beast. It was natural that later generations split into Beast Tamers and Gu Masters, but in ancient times, taming beasts might have been stronger than taming gu, because ancient beasts were extraordinary—they just went extinct… Gu, on the other hand, survived the cataclysm and evolved into Gu Masters.

Spirit Clan members had always been able to control various strange beasts, establishing contracts and such. Sisi now controlled the Blood Ao, the eagles, tigers, and leopards, and her power had been evident during the rebellion on the Holy Mountain.

What they had lacked in the past wasn’t the method of taming beasts, but the secret technique of drawing beast power into the body. Since they weren’t strong enough themselves, relying solely on taming beasts made them vulnerable to being captured first, leaving all their fierce beasts useless. This required drawing the power of beast spirits into oneself, making oneself as strong as a strange beast.

Of course, the prerequisite for this was that one’s own body could withstand it—the foundation of flesh and blood had to be solid, or else one would explode.

Lie, as a slave, obviously couldn’t have inherited such beast-taming secret techniques. But with his absolute understanding and control of blood qi, he forcibly seized the power of strange beasts into his body, forging his own Blood Demon Body. That was the final step in Lie’s body-tempering.

In fact, Zhao Changhe’s previous step—combining the Blood Ao’s regenerative power to form the Undying Blood Demon Body—was already along these lines. But at the time, he only knew the how, not the why; he simply thought the Blood Ao’s regenerative trait could be used, treating it like a heavenly treasure without forming a systematic method, let alone understanding the essence of controlling the blood qi of all living things. So he only gained regeneration, not the Blood Ao’s other abilities.

Now, with the Spirit Clan’s orthodox techniques and Lie’s method of controlling blood qi, he could combine the two. He wouldn’t need to raise a bunch of strange beasts like the Spirit Clan did, only temporarily drawing beast power into his body before battle, nor would he need to forcibly seize and transfer like Lie. He should be able to absorb and emulate, permanently turning it into his own.

Once this step was crossed, the path of controlling the blood qi of the world would near completion, and the traits of all living things could be used. This was one of the fundamental meanings of the third page of the Book of Life he had obtained.

Zhao Changhe pondered over the Spirit Clan’s techniques for half a day, then suddenly got up and went to the Ao Pool.

Though called the Ao Pool, where the Blood Ao was raised, it was actually a mountain, surrounded by various strange beasts—a key site of the Spirit Clan.

Seeing Zhao Changhe arrive, the Ao Pool guards all bowed: “Holy Envoy.”

Zhao Changhe waved his hand: “Take me to see the Blood Ao.”

Now, Zhao Changhe was practically a god in the Spirit Clan; the queen was his maidservant. Even if he wanted to take the Blood Ao away, no guard would dare to object.

The guards quickly led Zhao Changhe to the Ao Pool: “We now have two Blood Aos—one guards the Holy Mountain, the other guards the ancestral tombs. Both are only two or three months old, not yet very strong.”

Two or three months old, and their bodies were already the size of a large mansion…

Zhao Changhe activated the Spirit Taming technique and soon sensed that both Blood Aos bore Sisi’s imprint. He was secretly amazed. According to the Spirit Clan’s methods, each person could only tame a limited number of beasts—the stronger the beast, the fewer one could tame. Back then, Blood Wu could only tame one Blood Ao, yet Sisi could tame two at once while also taming others. Her talent was absurd.

Weren’t you born to be the Spirit Clan’s Holy Maiden? Why did you go to the Central Plains to steal sword techniques? Look now—after all that hardship, the Sword Emperor’s techniques you obtained are still unlearned by most of your clan, even you’ve set them aside, and I’ve used them more than you. After all this, those sword techniques, aside from being the bond between us, had nothing to do with the Spirit Clan’s rise—your rise still relied on your ancestral methods…

And since these two Blood Aos belonged to Sisi, thanks to the Heartlink Gu, they were naturally very close to Zhao Changhe. He didn’t need any extra techniques to get friendly; he walked straight to the pool, stroked the Ao’s head, and the Blood Ao even showed a comfortable expression.

Guards: “…”

The Holy Envoy truly was the Holy Envoy—no techniques needed, and the sacred beast was already so affectionate.

Zhao Changhe reached out and gently touched the Blood Ao’s shell, activating the Spirit Taming technique to analyze it.

The basis of drawing beast power into the body was clearly to be able to analyze the composition of various beast powers before one could absorb them. With the aid of this technique, the structure of the Blood Ao’s shell was like being deconstructed and restored, forming the composition of a living being.

Zhao Changhe didn’t draw its power into his body; instead, using Lie’s method, he silently drove his own blood qi to harmonize, temporarily transforming the composition of his skin toward that of the Ao’s shell. This was also proof of controlling one’s own flesh and blood—if you couldn’t change it, how could you control it?

Unconsciously, his skin “cracked” and “creaked.” To the guards’ eyes, the Holy Envoy’s arm was covered in blood color, and within that blood color formed peculiar rhomboid patterns, like a carved hand—already inhuman.

Gradually, the edges disappeared, reverting to a normal human arm’s muscles, but the hardness seemed unchanged.

“Cut me with a blade,” Zhao Changhe suddenly said to the guards.

The guards recoiled in fear.

Zhao Changhe said irritably, “What are you nervous about? Can’t you see I’m training? Just cut.”

No one dared.

Zhao Changhe took out his own Dragon Sparrow, tossed it into the air: “Little Female Sparrow, cut me.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Dragon Sparrow sneered. “With you being such a small fry, one cut from me and you’re dead!”

Zhao Changhe rolled his eyes: “Can’t you go easy?”

“Fine, I’ll play with you for a bit. Don’t cry, small fry…”

“Clang!” The sound of metal clashing rang out. The arm was cut, leaving a wound, and blood gushed out.

“Small…” Dragon Sparrow was halfway through its taunt when it froze. The girl inside the blade stared wide-eyed.

That strike wasn’t hard—it was just playing with its master. It hadn’t even thought the master would really use his arm to block; it expected him to dodge at the last moment. But he didn’t dodge… And even if he didn’t, what was this result?

The guards’ eyes bulged.

There was a wound, yes, but this was a treasured blade cutting him. For an ordinary person, the arm would have been severed long ago. This was just a single wound! If it had been an ordinary sword or saber, would it not even leave a mark?

Zhao Changhe looked down at the wound on his arm. Under his powerful regeneration, the injury healed rapidly, and soon no trace remained.

From Dragon Sparrow to the guards, all were dead silent.

He hadn’t drawn beast power into his body, nor had he plundered the Blood Ao’s power. He had merely referenced the Blood Ao’s composition and forged a steel body on his own!

Of course, it wasn’t just talent. Inside the Heavenly Book, on the Page of Life, the words “Art of Life’s Defense” shone brightly, listing every detail and every method clearly.

The Blood Shura Body was perfected—no more weaknesses!

Almost at the same time, Zhao Changhe’s spiritual platform exploded with a bang, and a feeling of a barrier about to break surged within him.

The Gate of the Imperial Realm… only half a step away.

The Blind One, hovering to the side with arms crossed, couldn’t help but let out a “tsk.” This was no longer the Blood Shura Body; it was Zhao Changhe’s own unique method. Nor was it simply turning himself into a turtle by referencing the Blood Ao. With this technique, in the future, no matter what strange life he encountered, he could imitate its traits and make them his own.

Most crucially, with such a formidable understanding of life, at least he wouldn’t be instantly killed when facing the Nine Abysses…

…

Dali.

Compared to the quiet within the Spirit Clan, the Miao region was now in chaos.

The Miao region had countless tribes. Since the death of the Black Miao King, no one had been able to unify them. Lei Zhentang and Dao Qingfeng had both tried to do so, but one after another, they died and their tribes declined.

Now, the one undertaking this task was the Spirit Clan.

The alliance of Spirit Clan and Han people, which had always guarded Taoyuan Town and only sought self-preservation, now poured out in full force, sweeping through Cangshan and Erhai, waging a campaign of conquest.

Dali had originally been occupied by Dao Qingfeng’s White Miao. After Dao Qingfeng’s sudden death, the White Miao were leaderless and in chaos. That very night, the Spirit Clan army marched in, the White Miao submitted, and Dali changed hands.

Taoyuan Town was just a mountain hollow—it couldn’t serve as a capital. Dali could.

The Spirit-Han alliance’s occupation of Dali signaled the countdown to the unification of the Miao region. But the Miao region, with its many mixed tribes, was not as easy to pacify as the Spirit Clan’s internal territory. After stabilizing the interior, Sisi immediately took charge in Dali and convened a multi-tribal meeting.

Meetings were a tradition—they had always had a “joint council system.” But the tribes that once participated in the council had withered away. Now, the only one with a voice was Pan Wan of the Yao tribe… For Pan Wan, this meeting was nothing less than a Hongmen Banquet. If Sisi wanted to kill her and annihilate the Yao tribe, it seemed entirely possible.

But she had to come. If she truly didn’t, then annihilation might indeed be her fate…

The meeting was held in the Dali royal palace, once the palace of the Black Miao King, later renovated by Lei Zhentang, and further repaired after Dao Qingfeng took residence, making it ready for use. Holding the meeting here carried its own intuitive significance.

“You want to be the Dali King?” Pan Wan asked bluntly. “Lei Zhentang wanted to be king, Dao Qingfeng wanted to be king, and now you, Xiang Simeng, want to be king too. Is power so alluring that you must turn the beautiful Cangshan and Erhai into a battlefield of smoke?”

Sisi said, “Sister, have you ever considered that it’s precisely because there is no king that it’s a battlefield of smoke?”

Pan Wan sneered, “It wasn’t much better when there was a king. When the Black Miao King ruled, every clan was enslaved.”

Sisi countered, “Then when was the best time?”

Pan Wan looked up and thought for a long while: “The best years were when the Xia Emperor first pacified the Miao frontier… but then the Han people oppressed us…”

“Then, if the Han Emperor now pacifies the frontier, but the one in charge is me, might it be better?”

Pan Wan said, “How can you guarantee you won’t become the next Black Miao King?”

“Sister can only try,” Sisi said, resting her chin on her hand. “Since the past was never good, we all need to seek a better plan, and try each one.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Sister can come and scold me, and make me abdicate.”

Pan Wan laughed in spite of herself: “Are you playing house?”

“No,” Sisi said seriously. “Everyone knows such words are meaningless. If it were the Black Miao King, he wouldn’t even say such a perfunctory line to you; he’d just make you kneel. The fact that I’m willing to say it at least represents an attitude.”

“There’s some childish logic in that.” Pan Wan’s smile grew more genuine. “You could conquer by force, yet you seek peace. I see your attitude.”

“At this moment, sister represents not just your own clan, but a microcosm of all the Miao tribes. I can kill one clan, but I cannot destroy a hundred. I could enslave a hundred tribes, but I am unwilling.” Sisi said, “This is an unprecedented age of chaos among gods and demons. I hope we can unite to protect this beautiful Cangshan and Erhai.”

Pan Wan asked, “Then how will you place me?”

“Within the Spirit Clan, I have established a system imitating the Han court, with many positions still vacant, waiting for you to fill… The position of Chancellor, is sister interested?”

Pan Wan’s eyes widened in shock.

This was truly different from the Black Miao King, full of sincerity. Of course, one could say it was a gesture to buy loyalty, but that too was an attitude.

In the end, power reigns supreme. When you have the strength to enslave the Miao frontier, yet still make such gestures, it naturally brings the desired effect.

Pan Wan finally rose and knelt on one knee: “I am willing to try for my king.”

Sisi smiled, took her arm, and helped her up: “I knew sister would agree.”

She turned to the representatives of other tribes at the meeting: “Whether Black Miao or White Miao, whether there were past conflicts, now we all belong to one nation. All tribes are treated equally, with no bias.”

Many representatives of smaller tribes knelt and bowed: “We are willing to be driven by our king.”

Yue Hongling had been standing by Sisi’s side like a guard, watching her perform, with considerable admiration in her heart. She had thought there might be matters needing her intervention—for instance, Han affairs might require her stance, since she had killed the Han pacification commissioner who once oppressed the tribes. Her words carried some weight in that regard. But as it turned out, it wasn’t needed at all.

“Since that’s the case, today we hold the grand feast of all tribes.” Sisi strode toward the door, then turned to Yue Hongling with a smile: “Sister Yue represents the Han people. What do you think of… Ah—!”

Just then, Zhao Changhe broke through, and their hearts connected. Sisi’s mind wandered a thousand miles away, and as she turned to speak, she didn’t notice the threshold. The palace’s threshold was different from the holy temple she usually walked, slightly higher, and she tripped on it.

Under the gaze of the crowd, the queen who had just unified the Miao frontier and was about to host the grand feast stumbled forward, nearly falling flat on her face.

Fortunately, Sisi was a true disciple of the Thief Saint, skilled in the art of wind-walking. Mid-air, she spun around, reached out to brace herself on the floor, and flipped back up.

But perhaps the spin stirred up a bit too much wind, or something else, as the plaque above the door came loose and fell, heading straight for her head.

Sisi raised her hand to catch it, but the plaque seemed old and rotten; it crumbled at her touch, dust and wood chips scattering everywhere, covering the new queen in grime, her beautiful eyes blinking through the dust.

The entire assembly hall stared in shock, even Yue Hongling was dumbfounded.

What ancestral spirit had she offended, to be so unlucky?

Just then, golden light flashed across the sky:

“In the beginning, White Miao leader Dao Qingfeng sought to awaken the Black Miao King’s corpse puppet, which came to Yue Hongling’s knowledge. Hongling followed into the tomb, stabbed Qingfeng with her sword, and forcefully broke the Black Miao King’s corpse puppet, drenched in blood, her sword pointing at a thousand troops. The White Miao were terrified, and Dali was awed.”

“Dao Qingfeng, ranked thirty-eighth on the Human List, fell.”

“Spirit Clan Queen Xiang Simeng has mastered the way of spirit control. She quelled rebellion on the Holy Mountain, assassinated assassins in the spirit hall, broke the undead corpse uprising, and settled the Han army’s dissent. Thus, she marched out of Taoyuan, swept through Erhai, subdued a hundred tribes, and took Dali to claim kingship. Her might has just begun to show, worthy of a place on the Human List.”

“Human List thirty-eighth, Miao Frontier Queen Xiang Simeng.”

“The exquisite dice sets…”

The judgment suddenly stopped, followed by a sweating yellow emoji that no one in ancient or modern times had ever seen.

Sisi: “???”

Who wrote this damned book? Have I offended you?

By the side of Aochi Lake, Zhao Changhe stared dumbfounded at Blind: “Hey, hey, can you issue the Chaos World List announcements like this?”

This truly had the beauty of a national announcement using emojis; the whole world must be dumbfounded by now…

Blind, feeling refreshed, stood with arms crossed, leaning against a tree by the lake, her face full of vengeful satisfaction: “Let her call me ‘little bitch.’ And she ruined my reputation, saying that about me—now her reputation is ruined too. From now on, whenever the world thinks of her, they’ll call her the Emoji Queen.”

Zhao Changhe’s mouth hung half-open, unable to close for a long time.

All for this?

So, book spirits really shouldn’t let themselves go; if this continues, the world will be ruined.

“By the way, Hongling defeated the Black Miao King—shouldn’t she go on the Heaven List?”

“Replace whom? As I said before, even if you defeated those demon gods, I can’t rank them for now. The Black Miao King is just a dead man; this list really can’t be made.” Blind said with some frustration, “If only all these people would come out, I could reassess their combat power and re-rank. One or two appearing like this is a mess… You’d better go to Kunlun, fight them all, and then I can re-rank.”

Zhao Changhe flicked his sleeves and left.