Chapter 90

Dodging, the dark red liquid fell to the ground, quickly corroding a hole the size of a basin, emitting wisps of pale red acid vapor, making one's scalp tingle.

"Right now!"

Muttering to himself, Chen Zong's figure lightly leaped over the wall, landing near the Bloodstone. His hands moved swiftly, grabbing two pieces of Bloodstone and forcefully throwing them to two of the warriors. He then quickly grabbed two more and threw them to the other two warriors. Following this, he alternated his hands, picking up piece after piece of Bloodstone and stuffing them into his arms.

"Stop!"

"Damn thing."

"You're dead."

After the four warriors caught the Bloodstones, their faces changed drastically, and they roared in anger. Xue Li first rushed towards the four of them, but then, sensing something, immediately turned and let out a sharp roar at Chen Zong, which pierced through metal and stone, causing Chen Zong's face to change.

Catching a glimpse of an unusual crimson color, like a gem, Chen Zong didn't have time to look closely. His right hand gripped it tightly, and with his left hand, he lifted the precious iron sword and leaped over the wall, immediately performing the Wind Step.

The Wind Step at the Subtle Realm covered six meters in one step, and in the blink of an eye, he took five steps. Finally, he leaped forward another six meters.

In just two short breaths, he had covered thirty-six meters.

"Chase!"

The four warriors were almost driven to the point of spitting blood. They had slowly surrounded Xue Li, finally bursting out and wounding it, but their own side was also injured. Just as they were about to finish off Xue Li and start reaping the rewards, someone else had taken the prize.

Xue Li charged forward with the greatest strength, clawing fiercely. A blood-colored claw beam flashed, and the damaged wall was torn apart and collapsed.

Xue Li's speed was extremely fast, like a red whirlwind. The four warriors, while swallowing Beast Blood Pills to restore their blood and qi, also took the remaining Bloodstones and then used their body techniques to chase after.

Chen Zong continuously performed the Wind Step, as his cultivation was not as high as Xue Li's or the four warriors'. This was the only way.

The Wind Step at the Subtle Realm consumed less blood and qi, especially after reaching the seventh layer of the Blood and Qi Realm. He could perform it continuously ten times or more, even up to twelve times without any problem. However, Chen Zong had to allocate his resources reasonably to achieve more.

In his right hand was a small object, which should also be a Bloodstone, but Chen Zong felt a warm sensation continuously penetrating his palm, flowing up his arm and into his blood and qi, quickly spreading throughout his body. The consumed blood and qi were recovering at an astonishing speed.

The Wind Step at the Subtle Realm was extremely fast. After ten continuous steps, Chen Zong had already left Xue Li and the four warriors behind.

"What's going on?" Chen Zong was very surprised.

After ten continuous steps of the Wind Step, normally, his blood and qi should be almost depleted, but now he still had half left, and it was still recovering rapidly.

Lifting his right hand to take a look, Chen Zong was immediately stunned.

"What is this?"

In his right hand was a red jade-like object, slightly smaller than an egg and flattened. Unlike the Bloodstone, it looked like a layer of skin covering a red liquid, which seemed to be flowing, without any impurities, exceptionally beautiful and mesmerizing.

"Could it be... Bloodstone Essence!"

Chen Zong's pupils contracted sharply, and his breathing became rapid.

Bloodstone Essence, the essence of Bloodstone, was worth at least a hundred times more than a regular Bloodstone, and even money might not be able to buy it.

Not only was Bloodstone Essence far more valuable than a regular Bloodstone, but it could also be worn close to the body. The pure blood and qi it contained could nourish the body at all times, subtly aiding cultivation and enhancing blood and qi, and it could also accelerate the recovery of blood and qi after consumption.

Just like in this situation.

"It must be Bloodstone Essence," Chen Zong muttered, calming his excitement, and gripping it tighter with his right hand, feeling the pure blood and qi continuously spreading from his palm, permeating his entire body, and accelerating the recovery of his blood and qi.

The combination of natural recovery and the accelerated recovery from the Bloodstone Essence allowed Chen Zong to perform the Wind Step more times.

The four warriors and Xue Li were in a fierce battle, and their blood and qi were more than half depleted. Even with the help of the Beast Blood Pills, it would take some time to recover. Unless they stopped to circulate their techniques to speed up the process, but stopping would take even more time, and Chen Zong would have long fled.

Moreover, two of them were injured, with painful wounds that affected their movements, leaving them to watch helplessly as Chen Zong's figure disappeared into the distance, making them so angry they almost spat blood.

Xue Li pursued relentlessly because of the Bloodstone Essence. It had only recently obtained the object, and once it fully absorbed it, it would surely evolve into a higher form.

Xue Li's speed was very fast, but at most, it was comparable to the ninth layer of the Blood and Qi Realm, which was far from catching up to Chen Zong, who continuously performed the Wind Step.

After performing the Wind Step thirty times or so, reasonably allocating his resources, Chen Zong's blood and qi remained at about half, and Xue Li and the four warriors were left behind.

"Leave here and return to the Martial Academy."

The value of the Bloodstone Essence was too high, and the matter was significant. To avoid any sudden changes, Chen Zong decided to immediately leave the Black Blood Battlefield and return to the Seven Radiant Martial Academy.

On the way out of the Black Blood Battlefield, Chen Zong found an empty bag and packed the Bloodstones from his arms into it.

As night fell, Chen Zong made a fire in a dilapidated house to rest. He tied the Bloodstone Essence with a thin rope, making a simple pendant to hang around his neck, close to his chest.

The pure blood and qi continuously penetrated his body, and Chen Zong compared it to his own cultivation. The speed of his own cultivation was roughly equivalent to the first level of the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique, which was a terrifying cultivation speed.

To understand, the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique surpassed the supreme human-level technique, and the first level's cultivation speed was equal to the second level of a supreme human-level technique. Cultivating on one's own did not burden the body, equivalent to cultivating all day, which was several times faster than usual.

Opening the bag, Chen Zong was entranced.

In the bag, there were six Bloodstones, the smallest one about the size of a fist, weighing at least one pound, and the largest one about the size of two fists, weighing at least two and a half pounds.

A preliminary estimate showed that the six Bloodstones weighed about nine pounds, worth about 900,000 white jade coins.

"900,000, plus other things, it could be 1.3 million."

"If I sell the Bloodstone Essence, it would be a solid 2 million white jade coins."

To be honest, Chen Zong was very reluctant to sell the Bloodstone Essence, as it could aid in the cultivation and recovery of blood and qi, with very significant effects. With it, he could certainly reach the eighth or ninth layer of the Blood and Qi Realm in a shorter time.

But thinking of his father's declining health after losing his cultivation, the longer it took, the worse it would be. The sooner he could cure him, the better.

Repacking the Bloodstones, Chen Zong began to cultivate using the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique.

With the assistance of the Bloodstone Essence, the cultivation speed was much faster, astonishingly so. Chen Zong also noticed that under active cultivation, the progress of the third level of the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique was more noticeable.

Perhaps due to the abundance of Bloodstones or the Bloodstone Essence, a Blood Yin appeared in the middle of the night.

Chen Zong had some experience dealing with Blood Yin. He quickly heated the sword blade over the fire and, with one strike, wounded the Blood Yin, causing it to flee.

The Blood Yin itself had no direct lethal power and needed to enter the human body to absorb blood and qi, making it relatively easy to deal with. The only thing to be cautious about was its stealth.

As the sky began to brighten, Chen Zong immediately shouldered the heavy bag and headed towards Black Blood Town.

He didn't need to stop to search for Bloodstone mines, and the use of blood and qi enhanced his speed. With the recovery from the Bloodstone Essence, as long as he didn't burst with blood and qi, he could maintain this speed all day without any consumption.

Racing at full speed, his speed was no less than that of a fine horse. A journey that would normally take several days was completed in less than a day, and the boundary marker of the Black Blood Battlefield appeared clearly in his sight.

Two warriors were entering the Black Blood Battlefield together, passing by Chen Zong with a distance of several meters. Their eyes swept over Chen Zong's bag.

"Do you think his bag is full of Bloodstones?"

"Impossible. The things in that bag look substantial. If they were all Bloodstones, they might be worth a million. I've never heard of anyone getting so many Bloodstones in the Black Blood Battlefield, especially a seventh-layer Blood and Qi Realm warrior."

"That's true. It's probably just some minerals, hoping for a stroke of luck."

If these two warriors knew that Chen Zong's bag was full of Bloodstones, they would immediately turn red with envy and kill to take them.

Returning to the large inn quickly, Chen Zong took out the horse token and handed it to the attendant, paying some white jade coins as a management fee, and prepared to ride the Red Flame Horse to leave.

"You've had a good harvest, little brother," a warrior said casually.

"Yes, all Bloodstones, at least a dozen pounds," Chen Zong patted the bag and smiled.

"Are they Bloodstone ores?"

"Maybe just some useless rocks."

"Daydreaming, wake up."

Some of the warriors who had been eyeing Chen Zong's bag shook their heads when they heard Chen Zong's words. A dozen pounds of Bloodstones?

What a joke, did they think they were naive?

Even some Strength Training Realm warriors entering the Black Blood Battlefield might not get a few pounds of Bloodstones in one go, let alone a mere seventh-layer Blood and Qi Realm warrior.

Chen Zong deliberately said this to confuse people, making them think he was boasting, so they wouldn't focus on him. Otherwise, it would be a huge trouble, and he might lose these Bloodstones.

These days, the Red Flame Horse had been well cared for, with ample strength. After quickly leaving Black Blood Town, Chen Zong finally breathed a sigh of relief but did not slow down, galloping madly.

He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, despite appearing calm. After all, he was carrying Bloodstones worth a million and the even more valuable Bloodstone Essence, each of which could bring deadly trouble.

The warriors in the Black Blood Battlefield were not to be underestimated, with sharp eyes. His deliberate words might confuse them for a while, but if someone suspected him later, they might still chase after him.

As Chen Zong had expected, it didn't take long for someone to realize they should chase after him, thinking there might be a reward. These people immediately set out.

---

The Red Flame Horse, well-rested, galloped swiftly, and Chen Zong felt a sense of relief as he left Black Blood Town. However, he did not dare to slow down, riding madly.

He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, despite appearing calm. After all, he was carrying Bloodstones worth a million and the even more valuable Bloodstone Essence, each of which could bring deadly trouble.

The warriors in the Black Blood Battlefield were not to be underestimated, with sharp eyes. His deliberate words might confuse them for a while, but if someone suspected him later, they might still chase after him.

As Chen Zong had expected, it didn't take long for someone to realize they should chase after him, thinking there might be a reward. These people immediately set out.