Walking in the cycle of reincarnation

Chapter 54 Nayuan

The short dagger under his claws trembled slightly, and Zhang Nanfeng felt a surge of joy.

He dared not delay, immediately picked up the short dagger, turned around and disappeared into the depths of the cave.

He continued his journey to the deepest part of the area, where he had already carved out a stone trough with his claws.

The trough was shallow, barely covering the wolf's claws, and its size was just right for him.

Zhang Nanfeng spat out the short dagger from his mouth and placed it into the stone trough.

He took a half step back, lowered his head and stared at the broken dagger for a moment, then raised his right claw, pressed the tip against the fur on his chest, and slashed it with all his might.

Instantly, the skin and flesh split open, and scalding hot blood gushed out.

He bent down, letting his heart's blood drip into the stone trough, drop after drop, endlessly. The crimson blood gradually filled the groove, submerging the dagger and soaking the broken blade through.

Once the blood had leveled the edge of the trough, Zhang Nanfeng closed his wolf eyes, cleared his mind of all distractions, and silently recited the incantation according to the secrets of the "Great Blood Creation Technique":

Transformed into my true self, stripped of all artifice, only my divine sharpness remains. Now, with my heart's blood as the guide, I personally undergo divine forging; from this day forward, we share the same origin and body, embarking together on the journey of creation!

As the incantation was finished, a cluster of ghostly blue blood fire rose from the stone trough.

The fire ignited spontaneously without fuel, its core cold and still, but its outer edge blazing fiercely, scorching the blood in the heart like a pot of boiling magma.

The short dagger, submerged in blood and fire, first had the rope wrapped around its hilt scorched by the fire, then turned into ashes and scattered into the flames, leaving not a trace.

Zhang Nanfeng dared not be distracted. He controlled the fire with his mind and, following the "cleansing" method recorded in the book, drove the dark blue blood fire to cleanse the dagger again and again.

The dagger gradually thinned, the blade became increasingly hollow, until it finally disintegrated, leaving only a trough of iron filings mixed with blood and fire, floating eerily.

Zhang Nanfeng focused his mind, his mental power gathering the iron filings like a hand, kneading them amidst the blood and fire, and reshaping them from scratch.

We dare not make even the slightest mistake.

The length of the dagger, the curvature of the back, the texture of the handle, and even the blade edge must all be replicated exactly.

Especially the broken blade, which he not only could not repair, but he had to deliberately preserve.

The process of rebuilding this path is exceptionally arduous and incredibly long.

Zhang Nanfeng felt as if his mind was being forged on an anvil, each step of shaping draining his energy.

His white fur was matted together with sweat, and his limbs trembled slightly. Even though he was extremely tired, he dared not relax for a moment.

After an unknown amount of time, the outline of the short dagger finally took shape again inside the stone trough.

Its shape is exactly the same as before, the broken blade is still there, but the hemp rope wrapped around the handle is no longer there. The entire dagger is neither real nor illusory, and its whole body is covered with a faint bloody light, floating above the blood fire, like a crescent moon.

Zhang Nanfeng relaxed, withdrew his thoughts, and the blood fire extinguished, leaving only a pool of blood.

He could no longer hold on, his body went limp and he collapsed onto the edge of the trough, panting heavily.

Once his breathing had calmed down, he straightened his posture and understood.

The truly perilous moment of Nayuan is yet to come.

He propped himself up and inhaled at the illusory dagger in the blood bar.

In an instant, the short dagger transformed into a streak of blood, plunging into his throat and then sliding down his chest and abdomen.

The blood entered his body, instantly transforming into countless sharp blades that roamed freely through his internal organs and meridians. Wherever it passed, it felt as if he were being slashed by countless fine blades, with blood gushing out from within.

Zhang Nanfeng was in excruciating pain, his whole body convulsing, his wolf claws digging into the ground, carving deep furrows into the stone surface.

He dared not suppress it, nor did he dare to guide it with his mind; he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

This is because it is clearly stated in the "Great Blood Creation Technique".

Once the source enters the body, it will choose its own place to reside; this is the principle of creation of heaven and earth, and the host cannot arbitrarily interfere.

The danger lies here: once the source has settled, the cultivator must remain sober and build a place to live there.

If you faint from the pain, your origin has nowhere to go, and you will still have to disperse and explode.

The blood was still coursing through his body, causing excruciating pain in his internal organs.

Zhang Nanfeng's vision blurred, but he managed to stay awake only by sheer willpower.

Finally, the blood-red light condensed at the third vertebra on his spine, transforming into a fist-sized ball of light that pulsated slightly, as if probing or making a decision.

This is it!

Zhang Nanfeng endured the excruciating pain and urged his mind to probe the third vertebra, following the instructions of the cultivation technique.

He used the strange wind as a hammer, blood marrow as mud, and bone membrane as a base to carve out a depression inside the third vertebra.

As the depression begins to form, the periosteum rolls up on its own, and blood and marrow gush out to fill the space, gradually forming a nest.

This nest, with its walls made of periosteum and its bottom connected to the blood and marrow, resembles a sword sheath or a womb, and is precisely the unique source chamber of the "Great Blood Creation Technique"—

Blood Palace.

Once the Blood Palace was formed, the primordial blood light slid into it on its own, adhering to the periosteum and merging with the blood marrow. The three slowly grew into one, becoming inseparable.

Become!

In the instant when the origins merged and became perfectly integrated, Zhang Nanfeng felt a lightness throughout his body, and the intense pain receded like a tide.

What arises is an unprecedented sense of clarity.

He raised his head, his nose twitched slightly, and he suddenly realized that the atmosphere inside the cave had changed drastically.

The airflow here is no longer simply a matter of hot or cold; it is mixed with countless fine, ethereal particles, like floating dust or stardust, drifting leisurely.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

These free-flowing spiritual energies seemed to be drawn by the source within his body, flowing in strands towards the third vertebra on his spine, into his blood palace, and were completely absorbed by that source.

Overwhelmed with joy, I almost couldn't help but roar to the sky.

A sudden change occurred.

His muscles trembled violently, his pores opened wide, and streams of dark, foul blood were expelled from his body, emitting a pungent stench.

At the same time, the Blood Palace operates continuously, transforming the spiritual energy it receives into new blood and pumping it into the blood vessels.

It expels old impurities and generates new blood, repeating this cycle endlessly, cleansing the marrow and rejuvenating the blood vessels.

Once the last drop of foul blood had been expelled, Zhang Nanfeng immediately began introspection.

The blood flowing in his veins was no longer that of ordinary beasts.

The blood, with its dark red base and faint gold undertones, rang out with a faint metallic hum as it flowed. Each drop of blood resembled a subtly sharpened blade.

Not only did his bloodline undergo a transformation, but he also felt his bones and muscles become solid, his tendons and veins become stronger, and his skin and muscles seemed to have been forged and rebuilt countless times.

Zhang Nanfeng had a sudden thought.

The blood nest at the third vertebra trembled slightly, and a phantom image identical to the original dagger emerged, hovering half a foot in front of him.

The prototype of blood phase.

Gazing at the soldiers before him, Zhang Nanfeng's wolf-like eyes trembled uncontrollably.

This is the third generation.

This step has finally been taken.

He finally no longer had to rely solely on bloodline inheritance to survive; he finally possessed a unique foundation that belonged only to himself.

He neither howled nor leaped, but slowly raised his wolf paws and lightly touched the blood-red phantom with the tips of his paws.

The illusory shadow was slightly cool, and touching it felt like stroking flowing water.

With another thought, he manipulated the phantom to slash at the nearby rock.

The afterimage flashed by, like light passing through shadow, penetrating through the solid stone without leaving a trace of dust or a sound on the blade.

Zhang Nanfeng withdrew his illusory image, feeling neither disappointed nor discouraged.

The illusory form cannot harm the real thing now, only because his cultivation level is still shallow. In the future, with further cultivation, this blood form will solidify and eventually transform into a true "external weapon".

At that time, flying a hundred feet and beheading a person would be nothing more than a snap of the fingers.