Chapter 1273: Blood That Towers Over The Sun And Moon

“Didn’t you hear? I want to give everyone a shot at the Earthly Sovereign Bell.”

Ye Qing said indifferently.

“Har har!”

Tao Wang pointed at himself and said, “Look at my face and tell me that this is the face of an idiot. I dare you.”

“Brother Ye, you promised me that you would tell me the truth if I help you spread the word about your heroes’ arena. Are you going back against your word? This is quite ungenerous of you, don’t you think?”

I think of you as a brother, but you treat me like an idiot? How could you?

“Fine, fine.” Ye Qing set down his wine cup and began, “I find it troublesome, that’s all.”

“Excuse me? I don’t get what you mean,” Tao Wang said in confusion.

“I meant exactly what I said.”

Ye Qing said indifferently, “Do you know how troublesome it is to travel everywhere like I’m walking on eggshells, always wondering about the next attack? I just can’t be bothered any longer. Rather than hiding like a rat, I’d rather gather all the chuckleheads in one place and fight them all. Whoever’s fist is the biggest shall claim the Earthly Sovereign Bell! This neatly solves my problem once and for all, don’t you think?”

“I see!”

Tao Wang nodded thoughtfully. “I still don’t believe you though. Or rather, I don’t believe that this is your only reason.”

Ye Qing did not say anything. He simply narrowed his eyes and stared closely at Tao Wang.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ye Qing’s gaze made Tao Wang’s skin crawl. “Just so you know, I prefer womenfolk!”

“You misunderstand. I prefer womenfolk as well.”

Ye Qing finally looked away, though his next words nearly made Tao Wang jump out of his skin. “I was just wondering if I should silence you.”

“W-What? I was just guessing, brother! There’s no need to go so far!” Tao Wang swallowed nervously. Right now, he was deathly afraid that Ye Qing would suddenly jump to his fist and give him a punch. With his weak body, he would be hardpressed to survive even one punch.

“Calm down. It’s just a joke.”

Ye Qing suddenly cracked a grin. “You’re a member of White Jade Capital. I wouldn’t dare to kill you.”

“Phew... you really scared me there, man.”

Tao Wang patted his chest with audible relief. “I really thought you were going to give me a punch... so, does that mean you’re really plotting something?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m

plotting

. The fishes are literally throwing themselves at me. It would be remiss of me not to prepare the hooks, don’t you think?” Ye Qing chuckled.

“Oh yeah? Who are these fishes, pray tell?” Tao Wang asked.

“There are two.” Ye Qing lifted two fingers. “One of them wants the Earthly Sovereign Bell, and the other my life.”

“This is why I set up the heroes’ arena. I’m planning to use this opportunity to take them both out once and for all.”

“Heavens... your appetite is rather big, Brother Ye!” Tao Wang gasped when he put two and two together.

“Just be honest and say that I’m overestimating myself, Brother Tao!”

Ye Qing shot him a look. “But just so you know, I’m not overestimating myself. I know I can do it.”

“My body may be mortal, but my heart isn’t.”

Ye Qing slowly rose to his feet, and at that moment, what sounded like roaring thunder or a raging flood suddenly filled everyone’s ears. Everyone. At that moment, everyone in the city had heard the noise, and no one could make sense of it.

This city was well known for its meager rainfall and dry seasons. Forget a river, they would be lucky to encounter a downpour all year long. So, why the hell were they hearing the raging noise of a river?

If only one or two of them had heard the noise, then they could have chalked it up as a hallucination. But thousands? What the hell was going on here?

“What... what’s going on with you?”

Most people couldn’t identify the source of the noise, but not Tao Wang. As he was sitting opposite of Ye Qing, he knew that it was coming from inside his body.

It was not the noise of a river or a flood either. It was simply Ye Qing's blood boiling and running at extreme speeds.

Right now, his spiritual senses were telling him that Ye Qing’s body was like a world unto itself. His body was like the land and the mountains, his veins were like riverbeds that stretched for miles and miles, his bodily points were like perfectly placed lakes and basins, and his internal organs the vast ocean.

Like an infinite stream, his blood was running within the riverbeds and without the land; stirring inside the lakes and rivers, and gathering inside his heart.

All streams reached the sea eventually. The nine heavens appeared naturally to those with a proud sun in their hearts.

When all of Ye Qing’s blood had gathered inside his heart and taken the form of an endless ocean of blood, the roaring became ceaseless, and the thunderclaps were deafening.

The next moment, a bloody sun slowly rose from the depths of the bloody ocean.

The bloody sun grew brighter and clearer as it rose. Eventually, the redness faded, and all that was left was dark yellow.

Golden yellow was the core, and black the halo. It looked just like the sun in the sky.

The powerful light of the sun boiled the heavens and the ocean of blood, turning it all into vapor.

The bloody vapor covering the dark yellow sun looked blurry yet fantastical.

A moment later, the bloody ocean had dried up completely, and the infinite fog of blood had dissipated as well. All that was left was the dark yellow sun still shining infinitely in the sky.

“A drop of blood that towers above sun and moon, eternal and undying. That’s... the Undying True Blood!”

Tao Wang was stunned to say the least. The sun inside Ye Qing’s heart was no sun at all. It was a single drop of blood.

The blood exuded such immense power that it was like the sun in the firmaments or the moon in the nine heavens. At the same time, it felt as eternal and undying as the universe itself.

Just staring at the blood was enough to prick his soul and make it tremble.

As the successor of White Jade Capital, Tao Wang did not just know about the Undying True Blood. He had witnessed one with his own two eyes. That was why he was able to recognize it immediately.

For the same reason, he almost could not believe what he was seeing was real. It was because the Undying True Blood was something only a Sage possessed the qualifications to create. It was the signature that separated them from the mortals; the foundation that made a Sage a Sage.

He had never heard of someone who wasn’t a Sage yet creating the Undying True Blood, and yet the unthinkable and impossible had happened right before his eyes. How could he not be stunned? How could he not be terrified?

Such was his shock and fear that Tao Wang did not even realize that he was standing; that he was holding his breath!

“Ouch!”

It was at this moment the drop of Undying True Blood in Ye Qing’s heart suddenly unleashed a powerful light so bright that the true sun paled, and heaven and earth became discolored. As if someone had stabbed needles into his eyes and dropped his mind into a furnace, his eyes suddenly couldn’t see, and his mind couldn’t feel.

He heard a thump though. Like the drumbeat of a divine being, it shook the heavens, scattered the winds and clouds, subjugated the evils and monsters, and oppressed the world like the sea. And yet, it also sounded like the first thunderclap of spring, awakening the insects from their slumber and returning life to all living things.

Life and destruction, favor and judgment. They seemed as incompatible as fire and water, and yet they were really existing in perfect harmony. Like the beginning of primal chaos, life sprouted from where yin and yang co-existed.

A ray of light took form before Tao Wang’s eyes. It was still the Undying True Blood, except it wasn’t as dazzling, fiery and oppressive as it was before. Instead, it was warm, gentle, and full of life.

If the Undying True Blood from before was the fiery sun of noon, destructive and scorching, then this one was like the morning sun of dawn, soothing and lively.

This new form of the Undying True Blood was less fiery and tyrannical than its previous version, but it was also more profound and mysterious.

After that, the ray of light spilled off the Undying True Blood and spread across the land, dyeing everything in red. It was as if a river of blood was spilling from the nine heavens.

Rumble!

The river of blood plummeted into Ye Qing’s heart seemingly without end. It instantly filled up the dried heart to the brim.

The next moment, the blood spread to every corner of Ye Qing’s body. It flowed into his six bowels[1], his one hundred and eighty bodily channels, and his three hundred and sixty bodily points.

After that, the blood circulated from his one hundred and eighty bodily channels and three hundred and sixty bodily points back into his heart; his Undying True Blood.

With this, a perfect, infinite cycle had officially taken root inside Ye Qing’s heart. It was a cycle with the Undying True Blood as the core, his five viscera and six bowels as the roots, his three hundred and sixty bodily channels as the paths, and the seven hundred and twenty bodily points[2] as the bridges.

Tao Wang wondered if it was his imagination, but as the cycle continued, Ye Qing’s inner world was growing increasingly perfect, harmonious, and profound.

When the outside and inside were like one, a Magia automatically came into existence.

All sound faded into nothing, and a surge of formless, profound power washed out.

The next moment, the entire city burst into blooming flowers, tall grasses, and soaring birds. It was as if spring had suddenly visited the city and only the city.

At the same time, every man and woman suddenly gained a new lease in life. The old became young, the weak became strong, the ill became healthy, and the crippled became whole.

It was a city-wide miracle.

The ordinary people weren’t the only ones who benefited from Ye Qing’s breakthrough. Sitting opposite of Ye Qing, Tao Wang felt like he was becoming enlightened to something. His body was comfortable, his mind was clear, and the bottleneck that had blocked his cultivation for heavens-know-how-long was loosening.

An indefinite amount of time later, Tao Wang finally jolted back to reality.

“Brother Ye—”

Tao Wang searched for Ye Qing the moment he awakened, but the young man was nowhere to be found.

Seemingly sensing something, Tao Wang poked his head out of the window and looked in the direction of the city gate. There, a young man with his hands clasped behind his back was walking against the traffic toward the exit. Flowers bloomed around him, and sunset draped across his shoulders like a blanket.

The miracle was still here, but the man who started it all was leaving somewhere.

“It is time I head to East Radiance and meet the heroes of the world. See you later, Brother Tao...”

1. Namely: gall bladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, triple heater, and bladder. ☜

2. Er, so I do NOT know why the channels and points suddenly doubled, but it’s too intentional to be a mistake so I’m assuming this is expected. ☜