Chapter Sixty-Three: Blood Slave

Chapter Sixty-Three: Blood Slave

"Zangming Zhenren?"

Su Mo punched the man, sending him flying, then turned to Luo Zhen with urgency: "Are you sure? Did you see clearly?"

"Just now, his face was all red; how could I recognize him? Now that we're fighting, the blood stains on his body have been flung off by his inner strength. It's clear now—this person is definitely Zangming Zhenren!"

Luo Zhen was also shocked: "But why does Zangming Zhenren know Youquan Cult's martial arts?"

As they spoke, the Zangming Zhenren who had been knocked away suddenly stood up again.

His movements were stiff like a puppet, and his eyes flashed with blood, devoid of any human emotion.

With every gesture, he lunged forward once more, seemingly ignoring his injuries.

"Bastard!"

Luo Zhen's face darkened: "They must be trying to turn Zangming Zhenren into a blood slave!"

Su Mo's lips twitched. For some reason, it seemed Zangming Zhenren had fixated on him.

His claws were sharp and fierce, imbued with the power of the Blood Transformation Art, making him extremely difficult to deal with.

If he could use lethal force, it would be easier, but given the strange circumstances of Zangming Zhenren's appearance, killing him outright wouldn't be appropriate. He had to handle him carefully and find a way to subdue him.

After a few more exchanges, Su Mo noticed that despite Zangming Zhenren's seemingly fierce attacks, they were actually very rigid.

Once he finished one set of moves, he repeated the same ones without any variation.

With this realization, Su Mo abandoned the Seven Injuries Fist and switched to the Great Open Yang Palm. With a flick of his fingers, he saw an opening as Zangming Zhenren attacked again. Su Mo seized the opportunity, penetrating his defenses and tapping several acupoints on his chest.

Then, he circled around and pressed down on Zangming Zhenren's neck, pinning him to the ground.

Zangming Zhenren continued to twitch, but he had lost all resistance.

Luo Zhen approached and sealed several more acupoints on Zangming Zhenren. Once he stopped moving completely, Luo Zhen sighed in relief: "Good grief, for an old man, he's still so tough. He was almost turned into something neither human nor ghost, yet he still fights like this."

"But from the looks of it, he hasn't been fully turned into a blood slave. Otherwise, he wouldn't just have the Blood Transformation Art but also his original True Qi."

Su Mo glanced at Luo Zhen: "What is a blood slave?"

Luo Zhen pursed his lips before explaining: "I mentioned before that the Youquan Cult has two divisions, three flags, and six orders. The two divisions and three flags aside, the six orders are the Soul Chasing Order, Life Seizing Order, Body Snatching Order, Blood Transformation Order, Blood Burning Order, and Blood Condensing Order.

"The first three orders have different functions, such as the Body Snatching Order which I explained earlier.

"The last three orders correspond to three martial arts in the Youquan Scripture: the Blood Transformation Art, the Nether Incantation, and the Blood Condensation Rebirth Great Art.

"These three dark arts have different effects, but they share one characteristic: they can transform a person into a blood slave, a being neither human nor ghost, neither alive nor dead.

"Once a blood slave is created, they will obey their master's commands without question, retaining their original martial arts skills and behaving as they did before.

"The only catch is that a blood slave must always be near their master. Without the master, they become like puppets without strings, their actions becoming chaotic and rigid, or even completely immobile.

"Although I don't know the exact process of creating a blood slave, judging by Zangming Zhenren's condition, he has clearly lost his mind. If left unchecked, he might become a blood slave sooner or later."

Su Mo winced.

He wasn't surprised by the concept of blood slaves.

The martial world is full of bizarre things, especially those from the netherworld. The Youquan Cult excels in such dark arts.

There was once a sect that used sinister methods to refine living beings.

It was said they used fear as fuel, repeatedly tormenting people until their emotions and pain were extinguished, turning them into living dead.

These beings, impervious to pain and free from emotional burdens, could execute deadly moves even if their limbs were severed, carrying out every order given to them.

They called these beings "living puppets."

However, this method was eventually eradicated when the sect was burned to the ground.

Given that the Youquan Cult has operated in the east of East City for so long without being destroyed by Splendid East City, it shows their extraordinary nature.

The Youquan Scripture, as the sect's treasure, contains martial arts with peculiar characteristics, which Su Mo could understand.

What truly baffled him was:

"How could it be Zangming Zhenren?"

He had come here not for Zangming Zhenren but to find Liu Suifeng.

How did he end up finding Zangming Zhenren instead?

Luo Zhen couldn't answer this question either. He held onto Zangming Zhenren's arm and infused his inner strength. After a moment, he smiled:

"The Blood Transformation Qi in his body can be expelled! This old Taoist has suffered under the Blood Transformation Art for too long, but we arrived just in time. If we were any later, it would have been hopeless."

He then helped Zangming Zhenren up, placing his hand on his back and slowly channeling his inner strength.

Su Mo turned to look at Yang Xiaoyun.

Yang Xiaoyun nodded slightly.

When Zangming Zhenren attacked, Yang Xiaoyun had been pulled behind Su Mo by him. She didn't rush out to help but instead assembled her silver spear to guard their surroundings.

Liu Qingkong had mentioned that there was a powerful figure guarding this place.

Su Mo was engaged in battle, naturally keeping watch in all directions, but if he were to slip up for a moment, wouldn't it be extremely dangerous?

Thus, she simply stood by to observe the enemy and oversee the situation.

She nodded now, indicating that there had been no abnormalities just then.

However, Su Mo's expression was slightly odd.

He then gave Zhenren Cangming a thorough look.

This place, they had surveyed thoroughly as they walked.

They had already examined every spot where someone could hide.

This was the last location, yet there was no sign of Liu Suifeng.

It seemed that Liu Suifeng was most likely not in Jade Willow Villa.

Liu Qingkong said that one and a half months ago, Zhenren Cangming visited Liu Suifeng at Jade Willow Villa, and the sword marks in that room still emitted sword energy.

Now, Liu Suifeng was nowhere to be found, while Zhenren Cangming was imprisoned here to be turned into a blood slave.

The person who invited various sects to discuss matters in Profound Theory Valley is almost certainly clear.

The Ghost Lord of Yin Mountain received an invitation from the Hidden Gorge on Fenhui Mountain several months ago.

Two months ago, Liu Suifeng encountered experts from the Youquan Cult on the road and sent a letter to Profound Theory Valley upon his return...

So, before this, had something already happened within Profound Theory Valley?

As these thoughts raced through his mind, he saw Zhenren Cangming's blood energy surging around him, his hands involuntarily reaching out to both sides, layers of Blood Transformation Art's true energy bursting forth from his palms.

In the blink of an eye, it was completely released.

He took a deep breath, like a drowning man suddenly able to breathe again, opened his eyes, and looked around in confusion:

"This... Where am I?"