Chapter 21 Hot!

Arriving at the inn, Eznho put down what he was carrying and took a bath then started to practice cultivation. A lot has changed inside his body after completing the Tiger Chasing the Wind. His skin, flesh and bones contained hints of heavenly energy that nourished them, they were tougher and can cause damage to others even without covering it with energy. As a cultivator advances in his cultivation, his body also upgrades. Although there is a difference when compared to body enhancers, a cultivators body still has its own advantages.

Checking his dantian, the heavenly energy stored became more significantly abundant and thicker. As long as he practiced cultivation, his stored energy will slowly increase and will have a qualitative and quantitative change as long as he made breakthroughs in the future.

Retracting his consciousness, he was pondering what to do about his blood and marrow purification. A chant has been imprinted on his memory but it will take a long time to finish if he will only rely on it. If this was before, he would not mind the time but a nagging feeling of uneasiness has been scratching him. Especially when the old man was acting weird and seemed to be running from something or someone.

He saw the jar in the corner and pondered,

“The smelly old man’s cultivation seems to be pretty high, what kind of favor would he ask me?”

He was having a conflict whether to owe the old man a favor or not, although he had money, it was still risky to buy a beast blood by himself especially that he had no experience. After thinking further, he decided to open the jar and would deal with the consequences in the future.

Standing in front of the jar, he let a droplet fall into the cover.

Buzz

A light hum came from the cover then a circular formation lit up made with runes that Eznho could not understand then it dimmed out. He lifted the lid with ease and made a small opening, a thin golden mist came out of the hole bringing a fragrant smell.

The sweet honey smell piqued his curiosity and fully opened it, the jar was nearly full with a golden liquid.

“Is this a beast blood?”

Eznho was curious, what kind of beast would have a golden blood? He guessed it this way because according to his acquired knowledge, only a beast blood can be used to assist the cultivator in blood and marrow purification.

He already opened the jar so might as well go all the way.

“Here goes nothing,”

He took a sip and the taste of blood did not come, instead, it tasted like honey but when he gulped it down it was like hell.

Arrgg!

He nearly shouted due to the sudden burning pain, sweat started to come out of his pores in volume. His body was starting to redden like he was being cooked, the pain was unbearable and he clutched his stomach while rolling on the floor trying to find a way to ease the pain.

He felt like his blood was boiling inside a volcano ready to erupt any minute.

Blerrgh!

Black blood came out of his mouth after half an hour of agonizing pain. He continued to lay on the floor, his room was filled with stench while his body was soaked in sweat along with impurities.

“Haa, Haa, that was nasty, I bet the old man is laughing right now,” he was gasping for breath. It was like he just crawled out from hell after an intense struggle and could not even move a muscle.

.....

In a faraway place, the smell of blood permeated the air, a dozen of dried up bodies laid on the ground with gruesome wounds. Their limbs were twisted like a cloth being squeezed to remove water, the agony could still be seen on their face. The blood of the corpses evaporated from the body then turned into a mist and was being absorbed by a flower. An old man was walking towards the flower, the color of the five petals was blood red.

“Finally I can harvest you Blood Flower, two more to go.”

Wounds covered him but it did not matter as long as he got what he needed. Luring the enemies here to nourish the flower was not an easy feat. He was preparing to leave before more people came when he felt something.

“Hmmm? You owe me one sissy, I might need that one day, so don’t die before that. I hope you like the surprise, hahaha.”

He could not help but laugh while imagining the boy agonizing in pain.

Old man Dan planted a seed with uncertain value but what he did not know is that this seed will have a big impact on his life in the future.

.....

Three days have passed since Eznho’s first encounter with the golden blood, he looked disheveled and exhausted inside his room. He was like a homeless man that just got out of a dumpster, a foul smell filled the room. The owner even came in because the other occupants were starting to complain so he had to pay extra for the additional cleaning.

Looking at the jar, a slight fear could be seen in his eyes, even though there were great improvements on his blood and marrow, the price he had to pay was to experience an unimaginable pain of being cooked alive. Only a tenth of the total amount was reduced during this past three days. Heavenly energy surrounded him once he started to practice his breathing technique, this was a testament to how good his foundation is.

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“Ahhh, this feels great,”

Eznho was overjoyed despite the hell-like experience, his strength obviously has increased yet again. After a couple of hours, his energy was replenished and started to pack his things. Tomorrow, he would go back home and reunite with the people he deeply cared about.

.....

A day earlier at the border, inside the captain’s tent, two people were talking while looking at a map. It was Wilfred and Batista, the captain was a big burly man with a fierce and stern face. His hair was cleanly shaved just like his face, an aura of a war veteran surrounded him which made others look at him with fear and respect.

“How much time do you reckon Wilky needs before he reaches and comes back with support?”

Batista asked with a serious face, the enemies are already pressuring them too much.

“Ai, I think he will reach the headquarters within two weeks or possibly earlier if he will use teleportation, and the trip back would depend on who will come back with him. If we are lucky and Colonel Anders is not busy, he can come personally and end this farce Floyd has made. The worst would be, they will just give a decree and Wilky will have to travel again by himself. It all depends on his ability to talk. Just sending a message won’t do any good, it would be hard to convince them without evidence. The golden serpent is, after all, a nearly extinct beast and not many people have the knowledge about it. Luckily, Wilky somehow stumbled on this information, even I don’t know what it was at first before he told me. But basing on Floyd’s reaction, he also knows about it, what a bummer.”

“I’m sorry brother, I can’t just move my unit unless there is an order from the top. You know how it is unless I will become a colonel.”

Wilfred explained with an apologetic and helpless face.

“Don’t worry brother, I understand, you don’t have to explain anything. I also know you are doing this for my sake. We will just have to defend and wait, but one of our spies reported that Colonel James just arrived at Blackstone city yesterday. Personally, I don’t know why he would be involved, it is not just worth it. The goods are gone and he can’t do anything about it, did he hit his head or something?” Batista patted Wilfred’s shoulder while reassuring him.

“I can’t understand either, maybe Floyd tempted him with something. Brother, I suggest you evacuate your family out of the city just to be sure, you know how underhanded Floyd can get.”

Batista’s eyes suddenly filled with killing intent,

“You are right, that bastard will do anything just to achieve his goals. I’ll order right away someone to go inform them and I am sure that that useless fat ass city lord will get the wind of it. Might as well directly inform him so they can travel together to increase the number of guards. The roads are filled with bandits these days, damn that Floyd. If not because of his actions, our casualties would not reach a high number and we would not be in this situation.”

Wilfred stayed silent, these number of casualties are nothing in the army but his brother now commands only a few hundred and was not a member of the military force of the kingdom anymore. Normally, Batista just protects the city due to his injuries and not the border but because of the gold mine, he had to help defend the border because they are close to it. But even so, casualties would only be minimal, but due to Floyd’s persistent attacks, it continued to increase every day.

“We can’t do anything for now but to continue defending, by the way how’s the young man who saved your son?”

Batista calmed down a little after hearing his brother’s question. About a week earlier, the opposing kingdom suddenly launched a heavy attack that caught them off-guard. Whether it was coincidence or not, his son was on patrol with another guard. An arrow flew in the air aiming for his son but his companion pushed him taking the hit on his chest. His companion was not a cultivator so he was badly injured. Until now, he was still unconscious.

“Ow about that, I found out his name was Martin and he is here because that fatso ordered a decree for him to serve at the border for two years. I investigated why and it turns out Martin along with a young boy bumped with the little fatso on the southern city road. My daughter intervened so the little fatso waited for a while to exact his vengeance. Martin was sent here and the young boy in the mines, what a nasty plan. Regarding the boy, Randolf canceled the decree due to his contributions and he went home a week ago. I already made a decree for Martin but he has yet to wake up, although the doctor said he’s showing signs of fully waking up and maybe will regain consciousness tomorrow. I am still thinking on how to repay him, he saved my only son after all.”

.....

Blackstone city, it was a city somewhat similar with Sin city due to its location. North was also where influential people resided, inside a grandly decorated courtyard, Floyd was standing in the main hall with a military posture. He was reporting to a man who was sitting in the master’s chair, only a silhouette can be seen but Floyd felt that a beast was staring at him making him nervous.

“Colonel, as I have said in the message, it is possible that the core was taken by the Wilky and Wilfred while we were still away. I reported only to you as soon as I could, there may be no signs of a struggle but who knows, the beast was heavenly injured and had to sacrifice his vitality just to escape from us. I acted fast and planned on injuring Batista’s son and take him as a hostage but due to unforeseen circumstances, my men failed. We may not get the core but we can pressure them by using Batista. If we can take one of his kids, he will surely beg unto his brothers. With that, we can trade them for the body parts of the golden snake.”

The man seated in front was silent for a while, only Floyd’s nervous breathing could be heard.

“Floyd, are you telling me, you made me come to this wretched place because of mere speculations and tell me that I have to use underhanded against weaker opponents? You disappoint me.”

The voice was not loud but a pressure came with it making the temperature rise by several degrees. Floyd was profusely sweating, he may scheme against others but in front of an overwhelming power, he was helpless.

“Colonel, that’s not what I meant, I will do the dirty job, all I need is your support. Think about it sir, even if you can’t get the core, the golden serpent’s body parts are still highly valuable due to their rarity. If you give me your support, I can make my move and go to Sin city and pay a visit to Batista’s family.”

“Hahaha, Floyd, I don’t know what has gotten into you to become this desperate. Fine, whatever, do what you want, if you can obtain a body part, I’ll think about recommending you. Many eyes are prying on this matter, once the mercenary captains involved are located, the others will make a move.”

A mocking laugh reverberated around the hall.

“But, if you cannot show any result and made me come here for nothing, you will owe me one favor, regardless of what I ask you will have to do it. Don’t worry I won’t make you kill yourself. Do I make myself clear?”

Floyd gritted his teeth and accepted, he had no choice. When he contacted the colonel, he already predicted this kind of thing happening but for the sake of his goals, he made a gamble. He could do this on his own but it was too risky without any support from a big shadow. Apart from gaining a supporter if he succeeded, he can also take this chance to inflict pain on his hated enemies.

“Don’t worry sir, I already instructed my elite force to track them down and silence them as soon as I got back. Just give them a bit more time, sir.”

“Good, you may go.” The Colonel waved his hand.

“Thank you, Colonel.”

Floyd saluted and went out.

“Interesting, let’s see if one of my old friends will come out. I have had no action in years.”

The silhouette mused to himself.