Chapter 507 - I Lost, But I Hope You Win

Cassius had mastered three first-rate Covert Martial Arts: Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist, Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist, and Golem Covert Martial Arts. Thus, the Qi accumulated in his body far surpassed that of Covert Martial Arts Practitioners at his level.

Other Covert Martial Arts Practitioners could never have matched Cassius's ability to train in three different fist styles simultaneously, with each backed by a unique core principle and a persona.

Hence, when his Qi broke through to the realm of extreme combat artist, the commotion far exceeded ordinary standards. The uncontrollable surge obliterated half of the gorge's dense forest. Every bit of greenery was flattened into open ground.

All manner of flying insects and beasts, birds, flowers, trees, and snakes drowned in that torrent of Qi, which was like a mudslide that seemed both liquid and solid. Even some small insects in the soil, if they had not burrowed deep enough, were reduced to nutrients for the earth. If anyone had been within that region covered by his Qi, their fate would likely have been no better.

When Cassius broke through, the eruption of Qi was practically indistinguishable from a landslide.

Fortunately, the Treatment Ward members and the group of Mercury Hunters had already left the gorge to give Cassius a quiet environment to complete his breakthrough, and thus they were not affected.

They merely stood guard at the gorge's entrance, ducking away as they were nearly swept away by the sudden whirlwind that forced its way out. Some lighter individuals were lifted clean into the air, giving them a momentary taste of what it felt like to be a bird. They then fell from a height of four or five meters and landed in a rather sorry state.

Fortunately, none present were ordinary humans, so their physical capabilities and reflexes sufficed to handle such a situation. When they regrouped after the uproar and looked into the gorge, they were startled to find something entirely unexpected.

The lush forest and shrubs had vanished, leaving only a desolate plain of open land dotted with a few mounds of earth. What had once been a cave at the far end of the gorge, concealed by thick foliage, now stood clearly in view, unobstructed by any terrain or plants.

At a glance, the gorge looked as though a colossal bulldozer had plowed through it, leaving it almost entirely flat. Only two or three hills and a deep pit in their midst stood out conspicuously.

Cassius slowly rose to his feet in the pit where he had been sitting cross-legged. His entire skeleton crackled noisily, as though a string of firecrackers were going off beneath his skin. He opened his eyes and abruptly inhaled. His already-powerful upper body swelled like a balloon as his ribs, layered with thick muscle, flared outward.

Whoooosh!

As Cassius breathed deeply and steadily, translucent currents in the air were sucked into his powerful body. From a distance, it looked as though an immense, faint-white waterfall was being devoured by Cassius.

There was a striking contrast between the vast "waterfall" and the minuscule Cassius.

Whoosh~

The last wisp of translucent Qi curled around the tip of his nose before retracting. He exhaled a long breath, feeling a sense of fullness in his stomach. Every cell in his body glowed with energy, continually generating force that caused his confidence to swell.

Cassius lifted his head and first glanced at the progress bar in the upper right corner of his vision.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment 90.7% (Total Three Stages)] → 94.7%

It had increased by a full 4%, more than the 3.5% granted by a piece of Moon God's flesh, or the 3.6% gained from the five strands of high-ranking Blood Race life vibration energy. Moreover, this increase came after the Qi Embodiment stage had already advanced to the extreme combat artist realm. Once the technique surpassed 90% progress, each additional 1% became especially difficult to gain, requiring vast quantities of high-quality life vibration energy.

A single portion of Blood of Immortality had solidified Cassius's Qi in the realm of an extreme combat artist and propelled him a significant part of the way forward. What a miracle drug it was! It was indeed worthy of being the centuries-old foundation of the high-ranking Blood Race; those ancient beings were certainly no trifling foes...

Observing this potent advancement, he naturally turned toward the ruins' cave. A predatory gleam flickered in his eyes, hinting at budding greed. Cassius felt an urge to fabricate some pretext to wipe out the entire blood nest and feast on its riches.

However, those Blood Race still had dangerous trump cards. If they poured all their remaining Blood of Immortality into creating a divine blood bat, they could very well force a mutually destructive outcome with Cassius.

Perhaps he would let these fat sheep be for the time being... He would wait until he obtained the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist.

Afterward, he would resolve the two lingering attachments of the antique owner, leaving nothing to hold him back in this era. Then he would take advantage of his remaining free time to unleash a slaughter. He was convinced that the payoff would be considerable then.

He promptly focused on the second mutation of Golem Covert Martial Arts. Last time, he had devoured the flesh of the Moon God, and now, what change might his Golem Covert Martial Arts undergo after consuming the Blood of Immortality? Cassius began channeling its energy, attempting to enter Golem state.

Black qi erupted from him. A bloody moon-like disc emerged behind his head, emitting an eerie halo. This was a transformation brought about by the flesh of the Moon God. Meanwhile, the Blood of Immortality affected his heart. His heartbeat thumped, growing stronger with each drum-like beat. It pounded repeatedly, bearing a distinct rhythm.

Cassius instantly entered Golem state, and his field of vision turned blood-red. It suddenly felt as though he was stepping into a bystander's viewpoint at a massive sacrificial ceremony.

It took place on the first of July, a moonless night, and featured the Blood of Immortality. It was an ancient, bloody rite performed by the Alphama direct bloodline Blood Race, requiring nearly a hundred humans as sacrificial offerings, along with various ritual materials.

All the humans were put to death, their blood splattering across the altar and running through countless groove-shaped runes into the center. Every pattern lit up, flickering at a peculiar frequency, as though communicating with some unknown entity. Not long after, a distant being projected its will.

All the offerings vanished, while certain refined blood remained. The direct bloodline Blood Race rejoiced and drank the Blood of Immortality without hesitation. Their hearts swiftly grew stronger and more resilient, brimming with vigor. They believed they had absorbed the ancestor's gift of power and grown mightier.

However, they did not realize that every such gift carried a hidden price. Some from the direct bloodline would unexpectedly perish, collapsing to the ground as they puked blood. The Blood of Immortality they assumed they'd absorbed rapidly crystallized, siphoning all of the Blood Race's blood and energy like a living creature, draining the corpse until it was naturally dried out.

When all was done, the Blood of Immortality seeped through the cracks in the soil. This cycle repeated itself endlessly, continuing who knew for how long. Even high-ranking Blood Race could not avoid it; they all faced the backlash as they approached death.

Moreover, they had no idea why their members were particularly prone to bodily decay and extended periods of slumber. It was as though some parasite within them was constantly competing with its host for nutrients.

Cassius had once heard a theory that blood was the currency of the soul, capable of bearing spirit and consciousness. Could it be so? Furthermore, where had the Blood of Immortality gone after permeating the Alphama Mountains soil for centuries? He doubted that this blood from an Ultimate Dark Form would merely be diluted or absorbed by plants.

A suspicion gradually formed in Cassius's mind. The following scene of an extremely rare, failed Blood of Immortality ritual supported his theory. At first, the ceremony proceeded normally without incident. However, at the final moment, the Blood of Immortality appeared as usual, only for an unknown force to follow like a poison clinging to bone.

Boom—boom—boom...

Atop the black stone pillar, the Blood of Immortality burst apart, exploding inch by inch, shaking the surroundings. Even the droplets that splashed onto the ground or splattered onto nearby Blood Race split into thousands upon thousands of droplets and fragmented into countless droplets

None of it halted, only continuing its ceaseless explosions. This extended across the altar's platform, as though it had been battered by bombs, leaving gaping craters. The direct bloodline Blood Race suffered devastating casualties; even some elder figures were blasted to pieces. This continued for several hours before gradually subsiding.

Cassius's heart jolted; he recognized the Reverberating Force of Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist! Both forms of explosion and shockwaves had manifested simultaneously. It was exceptionally formidable, carrying frightening endurance and destructive potential. Cassius's own Reverberating Force looked like child's play by comparison.

He had encountered a similar scenario before with the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist. That tyrannical fist elder had bestowed upon Cassius a perfected Death's Fang Force. Its strength was on par with the Reverberating Force he now witnessed. Linking these details in his mind, he formed a likely guess.

It seemed that Yumila, the True Progenitor of Blood, much like the Totem King Kassares, was being held in check by ancient Holy Fist masters of the Southern Dipper lineage!

Even across different realms, their forces remained entwined.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Cassius's mind. He had acquired Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist right here in the Ao Yin Ruins. In the ruins' fifth layer, he and Feng Liusi had found the corpse of an Ultimate Fist practitioner.

Could that elder have been the one in conflict with the True Progenitor of Blood? The direct bloodline Blood Race had moved into Alphama Mountains and even made the Ao Yin Ruins their base. Could it have been at their progenitor's bidding that they delved deeper into the ruins, seeking the remains of that Ultimate Fist practitioner for some purpose?

All of this inevitably triggered deep reflection. Yumila, the True Progenitor of Blood, appeared to have been channeling her power into the surface world for centuries.

She had disguised it as benign Blood of Immortality, lying in wait within her hosts once they had grown strong. Could she have been seeking a way to fool heaven and earth, shedding her old shell in the process?

Perhaps she intended to escape the underworld's restraints and the eternal struggle with that Ultimate Fist practitioner. If that were the case, an eventual conflict seemed inevitable. Maybe a hundred years from now, or two hundred, or several centuries beyond, Yumila the True Progenitor of Blood would revive in the surface world.

Eventually, it would happen...

Cassius suddenly snapped his head, breaking free from the hallucination. Clearly, it was the same kind of illusion he had experienced when his Golem Covert Martial Arts absorbed the flesh of the Moon God, revealing a chain of causal events. Reflecting further, he realized that none of these Ultimate Dark Forms were simple; all possessed various uncanny and cryptic methods.

Yumila, the True Progenitor of Blood, sought to surreptitiously swap truth with illusions through the Blood of Immortality. The Totem King used the coiled snake stone tablet to open a calamity tunnel, sending Evil Mother as his emissary into the surface world.

The only one that fared poorly seemed to be the Moon God, who was directly destroyed by the Waterbird Holy Fist. Still, she left behind a contingency for rebirth, which likewise remained in the surface world. It appeared they were all going to great lengths to escape the underworld's shackles. They aimed to descend upon the surface world, the realm of reality.

Had it not been for the ancient sages of the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance holding them back, these Ultimate Dark Forms might have already succeeded in breaking through the barrier between realms.

But how long could that fragile balance last? If the Ultimate Dark Forms truly descended upon the surface world, it would undoubtedly be a disaster. The prospect of living or dying by external forces rather than one's own strength left Cassius feeling uneasy. Initially, he had only planned to stand against the Gate Organization and Xiadu.

But now, he had silently formed another, more straightforward notion. If an Ultimate Dark Form was to awaken in the surface world, he, as a Southern Dipper successor, could not avoid battle. Such was the price he paid for wielding the mighty force of the Southern Dipper; gains always came with a price.

Cassius did not regret it. On the contrary, his killing intent grew fierce, and his fighting spirit surged. Since they were destined to be enemies, he would go all the way, ruthlessly and decisively.

The Totem Temple, the Eclipse Society and its Moon God statue, the direct bloodline Blood Race and their Blood of Immortality...

Cassius would spare none, whether in this time-travel or the surface world! Originally, he had intended to be selective during his upcoming trip to the southeastern region of the Hongli Empire. Now it seemed inevitable that he would eliminate them all in one fell swoop.

Coming to his senses, he pressed a hand over his heart. Just as when he had devoured the flesh of the Moon God, consuming the Blood of Immortality granted Cassius a somewhat situational auxiliary power.

By slaying dark creatures, he could refine their blood and nourish his own heart. The heart was the core of one's blood; without question, the stronger the heart, the better the control over the body's strength. Over time, this would benefit his physique. Though of course, refining without considering its quality was pointless.

At present, that auxiliary ability took the form of the crimson halo hovering above the Golem's head. It was merely a bonus. It appeared he would later need to seize more flesh of the Moon God or Blood of Immortality to specifically upgrade these two supporting abilities.

He could deliberately gather more in the future, whether in the surface world or while time-traveling.

Back in the gorge...

"Hah..."

Cassius let out a slow, heated breath.

He turned to scan his surroundings, intending to lead his subordinates out. Yet at some unknown point, wisps of pale-white fog had begun drifting through the forests. It moved near the ground like a living creature, rapidly spreading across the terrain. It was akin to a thick slurry yet as soft as white gauze.

The gorge turned into a sea of white as swirling clouds floated gently. The ground, trees, and rocky slopes all appeared blurred through the fog, as though behind a curtain.

At the entrance to the Ao Yin Ruins' cave, a hazy humanoid silhouette suddenly materialized. It stood unmoving like a statue, gazing distantly at Cassius's powerful form, as though silently hoping for something.

"

Hssss...

Sou...thern... Dip...per... Covert Martial Inheritance...

hisss...

"

"Some...

hiss...

one...

has...

succeeded...

hiss...

with two forms..." The voice was ethereal, like a dreamlike murmur.

"In the past...

hisss...

I lost... I hope... you will... win."