Liang Chen let out all the air from his lungs in a heavy exhale, a burning pain coming from his collapsed right lung. He suddenly kneeled to the ground and vomited out both blood and small chunks of flesh, staining the corpse of Qian Liao even further. He quickly stretched out his senses and had several bolts of lightning strike him, at the same time also absorbing all the dense wind energy in the surrounding, using all the energy to drastically increase the speed at which he was healing.
As the aching from his collapsed lung and his other wounds started to recede, he stretched out his arm and stored Qian Liao's corpse into his interspatial ring. Not only was this body incredibly tough, but the matching law of death made it a perfect cultivation material for the Chaos King technique. After putting away the body, all that remained of Qian Liao was his scarlet halberd and the red bead he had torn out from his own chest as he died.
Liang Chen stretched out his arm to pick up the halberd, it would be a suitable replacement until he found a spear that he could use. But just as he touched it, the halberd dissolved into a puddle of blood that quickly seeped into the red bead. And as the halberd dissolved, the runes covering the bead lit up with a resplendent light, the bead levitating into the air for a short second before shooting at Liang Chen.
The bead collided with his chest and sank into it, the metallic stench of blood overwhelming all his senses as a red light blanketed his vision. His vigilance immediately shot up, but he quickly noticed that his wounds were now actually healing so fast that he felt them tingle as his flesh squirmed to return his body to normal. But just as he was starting to focus on the squirming sensation, a voice rang out in his head.
"So one of the Bloodwind Code's in this universe has found a new owner, guess that means it's finally my turn to take on the superior role for once. Hear me, I am Ye Zhong and I am the eighth disciple of Master, the creator of these Bloodwind Codes. Allow me to explain to you how to use the Code, as well as the purpose behind them."
Liang Chen had never heard this voice before, but he remembered that Qian Liao had once mentioned something called a Bloodwind Code, he said that Yan Ling would certainly become a Ruler of Fortitude or Charity if she could get her hands on one. Liang Chen didn't need a lot of experience with items like these to quickly realize that this Bloodwind Code was likely a very valuable item, so he remained silent as Ye Zhong continued to talk.
"The purpose of the Bloodwind Codes is very simple, to encourage continued cultivation and to reward progress, all with the intent of raising strong cultivators to ensure that there will always be people able to protect others from the Parasites. You probably don't know what a Parasite is, but don't worry about it, you'll learn more about them as you grow stronger. The rewards for progress are quite simple, one question for acquiring a Code, one for killing a Ruler, one question each time you increase your rank by 10 000 spots, one questions for acquiring a Ruler title in your universe, one question for increasing your Ruler rank, and five questions for acquiring a Ruler rank on the multiverse list, as well as five questions each time you increase your Ruler rank on the multiverse list. Master creates 100 new Bloodwind Codes every 100 000 years, so you have your work cut out for you if you want to reach the top."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Liang Chen's eyes instantly narrowed when he heard Ye Zhong mention Parasites, he had heard about them before when he saw the recording of the standoff between the three ancient cultivators. Ye Zhong seemed very excited to take the role of superior, he barely gave Liang Chen any time to digest the information before he continued to talk.
"Now these titles and ranks that I'm talking about are quite simple. You receive a rank the moment you pick up a Bloodwind Code, right now you are rank 105 727 in your universe, and rank 17 719 150 274 in the entire multiverse. You can increase your rank by increasing your cultivation or by fighting and winning against other people holding a Bloodwind Code. Receiving a title is different, the Bloodwind Code itself decides if you are worthy of receiving a title from the Sin or Virtue category. Receiving a title means that the Code has recognized you as one of those with the most potential or strength in that category, and you will get a different rank based on that strength or potential. The ranks are Lord, Prince, King, Emperor, God, and finally Empyrean. As you can probably guess, receiving a title in the multiverse list, the ranking list for all Bloodwind Codes in the multiverse, is far harder than receiving one for your own universe. Each rank has a few perks, but you only learn about those when you actually get the title."
The numbers that Ye Zhong casually blurted out were so large that Liang Chen found them mindnumbing. There were already 17 billion Bloodwind Codes in existence, just how old did the master of this Ye Zhong have to be to create all these items? Ye Zhong swiftly moved on to the next topic, catching Liang Chen's attention.
"Now as for the use of the Bloodwind Codes, their main use is to become a weapon specially made for the cultivator carrying it. By feeding it some of your blood, as well as blood equivalent to about 20 000 people, the Code will form a weapon suited to you, one that you can strengthen by feeding it the blood of your strong enemies. Other than this, the Bloodwind Code can be used to check the ranking, as well as contact any other Code that you've registered in it. It can't contact any of us, we'll be the ones to contact you when we have something to tell you. Hmm, I think that about does it? You've acquired a Code and killed a Ruler, so you've got two questions you can ask, we'll answer just about any question you might have."
Liang Chen once again felt his mind boggle when he heard Ye Zhong's casual talk. The blood of about 20 000 people? Just how long did he have to save up bodies to get that much blood? Large Demonic beasts would likely cut down on the number, but it would still require an insane amount. But that thought was quickly swept to the back of his mind when he heard that he could ask just about any question. There was one question that had always nagged at the back of his mind, a doubt that ate away at him when he was alone and down.
"Is there any way to bring someone back from the dead? And if so, how do you go about bringing them back?"
He and Yan Ling often spoke grandly about how they would bring back those they had lost, but they didn't actually have any guarantee that this was possible. It was all empty words, just something to make sure that they didn't lose that sliver of hope. He didn't know if he could trust the words of this person, but it was better than nothing. Shortly after he asked his questions, he got a chuckle as a response.
"Heh, of course, it's possible! My Master is Ning Hao, Bloodwind Emperor and the Arbiter of Death, there is no one more qualified to talk about reviving the dead. As for how to revive them, there are two ways. Become strong enough to tear away the thread that ties them to reincarnation, or reach the King rank on the multiverse list and abandon your five questions to ask my Master for a favor. At that time, the number of people he can't revive can be counted on one hand!"