Chapter 427: Liu Fu

The Rank Nine Rock Bear reemerged in the pit at Yuan Qi's beckoning, exuding a faint aura of decay.

The venom of Fey King Yuan Min had seeped into his heart and was slowly gnawing away at his vitality.

"Yuan Min is a direct descendant of the Primordial Serpent. His venom is extremely complex. Purging it will take more than just a few days. Do you have any solutions?" The Rock Bear asked, weary and dispirited.

He was willing to let Pang Jian and Liu Youyu try not because of their cultivation realms but rather their extraordinary backgrounds.

The Sword Pavilion and the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom were among the most powerful factions in the Abyss.

They were core members of these factions, and it would not be surprising for them to possess treasures of astonishing rarity.

"The venom of the Primordial Serpent..." Liu Youyu muttered under her breath, hand rummaging through the Celestial Profound Mirror as if sifting through options.

"Pang Jian, no matter how powerful a Fey Race is, they'll eventually succumb to old age if they don't ascend to the rank of Fey God," Yuan Qi informed with a sigh. "Elder Bear has lived for a very long time. This struggle for the Fey God's position is his final chance to extend his life.

"If you have any solutions, please act quickly. After all, we have no idea when the Dragon Lair Sect will announce the battle," Yuan Qi said apprehensively.

Even for a Rank Nine Fey King like the Rock Bear, recovering from a serious injury in such a short time was nearly impossible.

"What about this drop of blood? Can it save you?" Liu Youyu asked, retrieving a drop of emerald-green blood in a crystal vial from the Celestial Profound Mirror.

Although the blood was no larger than a fingertip, it shimmered with an intoxicatingly mysterious glow.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Both Yuan Qi's and the Rock Bear's hearts involuntarily quickened.

"This is––!" The Rock Bear's massive eyes filled with shock and disbelief as he roared, "The blood of a Fey God?"

"How do you have a drop of Fey God's blood essence?" Yuan Qi exclaimed in wonder.

"Don't worry about how I got it. Can this drop of blood help you recover?" Liu Youyu asked earnestly as she tossed the crystal vial toward the Rock Bear.

The Rock Bear stretched out his massive hand.

"I'll need to see which Fey God this blood belongs to!"

When he caught the crystal vial, the stopper popped off on its own, and the drop of emerald blood turned into a tiny green serpent in his palm.

The Rock Bear shuddered violently and swallowed the green serpent in one gulp. "This––this is..."

"The Primordial Serpent!" Yuan Qi exclaimed in astonishment.

The Primordial Serpent!

Pang Jian thought, just as stunned.

None of them had expected the drop of Fey God's blood to be from Yuan Min's ancestor.

"Anything in the Celestial Profound Mirror is safe from the hands of others," Liu Youyu muttered, lowering her head. "When Yuan Min's subordinates searched me, they could only take items from my spatial ring. They couldn't access the items hidden in my Celestial Profound Mirror."

The Rock Bear sank back into the depths of the earth with a low roar.

"The Primordial Serpent's blood essence will allow me to neutralize the venom!

"I'll also be able to comprehend the bloodline mysteries within this drop of blood. Even if I can't use them, I'll at least know how to counter Yuan Min!

"There's no need for the Return to Antiquity. I can kill Yuan Min on my own!" the Rock Bear exclaimed with newfound confidence.

Pang Jian had been prepared to use his Leaves of Life to heal the Rock Bear, but it no longer seemed necessary.

He cast a meaningful look at Liu Youyu but said nothing.

"As long as it helps," Liu Youyu said softly before returning to the rocky peak with her Celestial Profound Mirror.

"A drop of the Primordial Serpent's blood is coincidentally in her possession, and she produced it at this critical moment..." Yuan Qi murmured. "The True God backing that girl is likely monitoring the struggle for the Fey God position.

"And that True God seems to have an exceptional understanding of the situation surrounding the Fey Gods!"

Yuan Qi frowned with a contemplative look in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Pang Jian asked.

"I suspect that the suppression of the Fey Race's bloodlines is something the True God backing her is well aware of!" Yuan Qi's gaze toward Liu Youyu became subtly guarded.

Pang Jian hurriedly interjected, "She's her own person. The True God is separate from her. Don't conflate the two."

"Fair point." Yuan Qi withdrew his wary gaze. "It's possible your presence here aligns with someone else's plans.

"At the very least, the True God of the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom is likely pleased that the wielder of the Celestial Profound Mirror is on the Sacred Soul Continent at this time.

"The person seeking to influence the struggle for the position of Fey God isn't any of you—it's him.

"It's Liu Fu."

Yuan Qi closed his eyes in exhaustion as he silently organized his thoughts near the pit.

Liu Fu...

Pang Jian clutched his sword token and sent a message to Li Zhaotian, first relaying their predicament before finally seeking advice.

"Master, should I encourage the others to leave or let them stay on the Sacred Soul Continent?"

Li Zhaotian had been silent throughout Pang Jian's report and quietly pondered his question for a while longer before he replied, "You don't need to leave, nor do you have to worry about the dragons of the Dragon Lair Sect."

Pang Jian was taken aback.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Based on what the White Lynx and Yuan Qi had told him, even the True Gods backing Fan Chen and Liu Youyu could not restrain the ancient Thunder Dragon of the Dragon Lair Sect.

Even if their group died, the True Gods would not press the issue further due to the situation in the Abyss.

Pang Jian simply could not understand why his master permitted them to stay.

"I'll spread a rumor claiming I'm entering seclusion to attempt to break through to the True God Realm," Li Zhaotian said calmly. "No one will contend me for that seat of True God once that rumor circulates.

"That spot has remained vacant for so long because the True Gods have deliberately left it for me.

"When the Dragon Lair hears of this, they won't dare act rashly," he sneered. "Not until they confirm whether or not I succeed in ascending to the True God Realm.

"The dragons are well aware of one thing—the other True Gods may tolerate the Dragon Lair Sect's actions for the greater good of the human race, but I've never been one for compromise!

"If the Dragon Lair Sect dares to harm you or Hu Yuanfei, I'll be sure to tear the Dragon Lair Sect apart once I ascend to the True God Realm!

"I don't care about the fate of the human race or the Fey Race. I will settle matters with that ancient Thunder Dragon first!"

***

A few modest wooden buildings stood deep within a secluded valley lined with willow trees in the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom of the Eastern Land.

In one of these inconspicuous structures, a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance was examining shelves of crystal vials.

Each vial held a drop of blood, ranging in color and belonging to nearly every known Fey Race, including rare species long extinct in the Abyss.

"One drop of Primordial Serpent's blood essence can change many things."

The man smiled faintly as he vanished before reappearing in an adjacent wooden building.

That wooden building housed a similar collection of vials, except this time, the blood essence belonged to the foreign races of the Fifth World.

"The foreign races and the Fey Race. The study of bloodlines is long and arduous, but we need to understand them to suppress them."

He casually waved his hand and a vial of pale green blood essence belonging to the Ghost Race floated into his grasp.

Staring at the gemstone-like liquid, he murmured, "It's a pity I couldn't obtain blood essence from a Rank Ten Ghost Race warrior.

"The blood essence of a Rank Nine warrior is insufficient. The method of suppressing the Ghost Race could become clearer if I could just secure the blood essence of a Rank Ten."