Chapter Thirty: Seventh Level of Qi Spirit

“Give it to me, give it to me...” Standing atop a massive boulder in the ancient mountain stream, Luo Hao was utterly bewildered by the sudden voice. A cold wind swept through, making his body shiver involuntarily. His keen gaze flashed as his tiger-like eyes swept around, constantly sensing fluctuations in the spiritual energy nearby, yet he found no sign of any living being spying on him.

“Could it be just my imagination?” With a vigorous shake of his head, Luo Hao convinced himself he must have misheard. The most pressing matter was to put the corpse of the dragon ape into his storage pouch. He leapt down and strode directly to the body embedded in the mountainside, blood flowing in shocking abundance. The thick scent of blood made Luo Hao frown slightly.

He reached out and grabbed the dragon ape’s hind leg, dragging the corpse outward. Yet as Luo Hao gripped the leg, shock once more broke across his face and he halted his movements.

“Give it to me, give it to me.” The same voice echoed again in his mind. This time, Luo Hao discovered the source of the strange voice: it did not come from elsewhere, but from within his dantian, more precisely, from that ancient mirror residing there.

“This damn mirror really has become sentient—well, it’s extraordinary, that’s certain. I just don’t know what level of treasure it actually is.” Luo Hao was secretly startled; judging from the mirror’s mysterious nature, its rank would surely not be low. After all, his transmigration was, in all likelihood, due to this very mirror.

On the Ancient Sky Continent, all spiritual items were clearly classified as Spirit Treasures, Marvelous Treasures, Earth Treasures, and Sky Treasures. What lay above Sky Treasures was unknown, though rumors spoke of even higher levels.

“Damn it, I knew this broken mirror would behave for once!” After the brief voice came from the mirror, Luo Hao distinctly felt a terrifying suction force. From the hand gripping the dragon ape’s leg, an overwhelming pull erupted, strong enough to swallow even the soul.

Luo Hao felt as if his palm had become a dark black hole. Waves rippled through the space around his hand, with faint signs of being devoured. At the same time, he saw the massive corpse of the dragon ape trembling, and the blood on the ground flowed in reverse, returning bizarrely to the body.

“Buzz buzz!” Once all the blood had streamed back into the corpse, Luo Hao saw that not a trace of blood remained on the ground. The body in his grasp began to shake violently, making Luo Hao’s heart pound—was it about to come back to life?

“Boom!” While his mind was in turmoil, a thunderous rumble sounded in the void. In his shocked gaze, a wisp of pure golden blood, radiating an ancient and noble aura, flew out from the dragon ape’s body.

“Roar!” That thread of golden blood was scant, but Luo Hao distinctly heard the vast, boundless roar of a dragon within it. His Twin Dragons Dominance technique stirred uncontrollably at that sound.

“Damn, could this be true dragon blood?” As the golden blood was slowly drawn into his palm, Luo Hao’s mouth hung open, almost able to swallow an egg. Witnessing this, he was nearly certain that the ancient mirror in his dantian was no mere unlucky artifact, but a peerless treasure that could shock the entire Ancient Sky.

The golden blood disappeared into his palm, and Luo Hao immediately focused inward; he saw the golden blood floating like a dragon before the ancient mirror in his dantian. The next moment, the gold merged into the mirror, and Luo Hao glimpsed the eyes of the Azure Dragon among the Four Spirits on the mirror’s surface flicker ever so slightly.

But the phenomenon vanished as quickly as it came, and even he could not confirm if it was real. Once the golden blood was gone, the ancient mirror in his dantian was as tranquil as dead water, motionless no matter how he tried to stir it.

“Heh, Mirror Bro, you truly are divine. Luo Hao will follow you from now on; whenever you’ve got some Sky or Earth Treasures, just toss me a few.” As the saying goes, flattery never fails—regardless of whether the mirror could hear him, Luo Hao declared his allegiance.

Looking at the dragon ape’s corpse, seemingly unchanged, he instinctively swallowed. Others wouldn’t know, but he did: though the body appeared the same, its essence blood had been thoroughly refined.

Having once again witnessed the mirror’s marvels, Luo Hao resolved that this secret would be buried within him forever, not to be revealed to anyone—not even to kin. Of course, aside from a sister of unknown whereabouts, he had no other family.

With a flourish, he stowed the dragon ape’s corpse in his storage pouch and took out the Blood Essence Fruit. Feeling the surging vitality within, Luo Hao took a deep breath and stored it in his ring, intending to save it for his breakthrough to the Blood Gathering Realm.

After finishing these tasks, Luo Hao did not leave the ancient mountain stream. After the dragon ape’s rampage, few warriors would dare enter for four or five days; he could use this time to cultivate in the dragon ape’s valley, never forgetting the All-Spirits Blood Pool.

“Still five or six days before the deadline. If I can use the Blood Pool’s power for a major breakthrough, I’ll make anyone—be it Zhang, Li, or Brother Murong—kneel and admit defeat.” With that thought, he set off without hesitation toward the valley.

Because the dragon ape had wreaked havoc, only those beasts whose strength surpassed the ape remained; the others dared not show themselves. Thus, Luo Hao encountered no obstacles on his way and entered the valley directly.

The valley, without the dragon ape, contained only scattered bones and the All-Spirits Blood Pool. Immediately, Luo Hao stripped off his shirt and leaped into the pool like a dragon into water.

As soon as Luo Hao entered, the blood pool’s essence surged into his meridians like a raging flood. Countless beasts roared; it felt as though tens of thousands of monsters were screaming within him.

“Give it to me, give it to me...” As the beasts roared in his veins, the ancient mirror in his dantian spoke again, and the terrifying suction force erupted once more, casting a chaotic glow from his dantian.

“Gulp gulp...” The sound of swallowing echoed, and Luo Hao felt as if a ravenous maw were devouring his dantian; the power within the blood pool quickly diminished.

“You glutton, Mirror Bro, leave me some!” Luo Hao cursed the mirror in his dantian, heart aching, while his Twin Dragons Dominance technique spun madly.

Though the blood pool contained terrifying essence and traces of ancient bloodlines, Luo Hao’s body had been tempered by the old man’s wine and the ancient mirror. Despite the agony, he grit his teeth and endured.

The valley was silent; man and mirror frenziedly absorbed the blood pool’s essence. The mirror changed little, but Luo Hao’s aura grew ever more profound.

A grand and ancient dragon’s roar faintly echoed; his body shone, enveloped in golden light like peerless divine iron.

“Ha!” A long shout shook the valley. Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened within the blood pool, covered by ancient, noble golden light.

After a few breaths, the golden glow faded. Luo Hao sat cross-legged in the pool like an ordinary man, but the blood pool now held not the slightest trace of power.

“Spirit Qi, seventh tier!” The All-Spirits Blood Pool had let Luo Hao break through two realms. He stepped out, dried his clothes, and with an inward look at the ancient mirror shrouded in chaotic mist, he felt powerless. “Glutton, you’re ruthless—more than half of the essence is gone. Breaking through to the Blood Gathering Realm is impossible for now.”

The mirror floated, unchanged. In the valley, Luo Hao raged in frustration. After venting, he calmed and looked to the sky, a wicked smile curling his lips: “Time to collect some debts.”