25: Chapter 25: Is Double Pupils the Path to Invincibility?

After moving away from the main peak, Xiao Ran suddenly increased his speed.

He unleashed the Blood Shadow Escape, his figure transforming into a faint, blood-colored afterimage, weaving through the ruined pavilions.

He wasn't really searching for any remnants.

Instead, he headed straight for several key locations.

The Scripture Pavilion, Pill Refining Room, Artifact Refining Room, and the Immortal Caves where past Elders had gone into seclusion.

The first three places had, as expected, already been looted clean.

In the Scripture Pavilion, bookshelves had collapsed and Jade Slips were scattered everywhere; any valuable Cultivation Techniques or Secret Manuals had long since been taken by fleeing disciples or the advance team of the Eternal Night Demon Sect.

The Pill Refining Room only had a few damaged Pill Furnaces left, and the fire veins in the Artifact Refining Room had been extinguished.

Xiao Ran was not surprised.

His true targets were those obscure, hidden corners that might have been overlooked.

Relying on the countless novel tropes he had seen in his past life, he knew that real treasures were often hidden in the most inconspicuous places.

An hour later, Xiao Ran had gained nothing.

"Damn it, novels are all lies. Where are the treasures?"

Xiao Ran stood before a remote ruin behind the Blood Fiend Sect and complained.

He had searched for a whole hour and hadn't found a single thing.

Even when he occasionally found a few hidden Restrictions, before he could happily inspect them, he discovered they had long since been plundered by others.

"As expected of the Cultivation world, it's really hard to pick up scraps."

After all, high-level Cultivators all have Divine Sense; what Restriction could fool them?

"I'll look one last time; if there's nothing, then so be it."

Xiao Ran muttered to himself and looked down at his feet.

This place used to be an auxiliary building of the Blood Fiend Sect's Scripture Pavilion, specifically for storing miscellaneous books, travelogues, and notes from predecessors—things of little value.

Now, the building was half-collapsed, filled with rubble and broken wood.

Xiao Ran walked inside, his Guixu Demonic Light condensing in his palm, forming a subtle detection ripple that slowly swept across the surroundings.

He wandered around for a circle with no results.

Just as he was about to give up...

Suddenly, he felt his footsteps pause.

From beneath the floorboards in the southeast corner, an extremely faint Formation fluctuation emanated.

If his Divine Sense hadn't far exceeded those of the same rank, and if his Guixu Body hadn't enhanced his perception, he would never have detected it.

Xiao Ran quickly waved his hand to brush away the rubble, revealing a seemingly ordinary bluestone slab beneath.

He condensed Demonic Light at his fingertip and gently tapped the edge of the floor.

"Click."

With a soft sound, the bluestone slab slid open silently, revealing a narrow hole below that could only fit one person.

Stairs extended downward.

"There really is something?"

Xiao Ran quickly probed with his Divine Sense, and after confirming there was no danger, he flashed inside.

The stairs were not long; after descending about a dozen zhang, there was a secret chamber only about a zhang square.

The secret chamber was empty, with only a stone table placed in the center.

On the table sat a roll of dark red animal hide.

The animal hide was tattered, its edges charred and curled, as if it had been burned.

Xiao Ran approached, not touching it rashly, but using his Demonic Light to lift the animal hide from a distance and slowly unroll it.

On the animal hide were characters written in some kind of black blood, crooked and twisted, exuding an evil aura.

The first three characters read: 《Blood Scripture》.

Xiao Ran's pupils contracted slightly.

He scanned it quickly.

This was not a complete Cultivation Technique, but an Incomplete Manual, only about one-tenth of the Complete Manual.

What it recorded were not orthodox methods to Cultivate, but several strange secret techniques for utilizing blood Qi.

For example, burning life essence to briefly boost combat power, refining Blood Gods as a Clone to substitute for death, or sensing the condition of living beings through blood Qi, and so on.

The secret technique that interested Xiao Ran the most was Blood Soul Truth-Seeking.

According to the description, after mastering it, one could judge a living being's Physique, cultivation level, and even hidden injuries or ailments by sensing the subtle fluctuations of their blood Qi.

"Interesting."

He had really managed to pick up a bargain.

Xiao Ran put away the animal hide scroll.

Although this Blood Scripture was evil, some of its concepts had reference value for him.

Especially Blood Soul Truth-Seeking; it might help him better unearth the potential of his Myriad Dao Guixu Body.

After leaving the secret chamber, Xiao Ran continued his patrol.

When passing through the servant quarters, a sudden thought occurred to him, and he subconsciously activated the Blood Soul Truth-Seeking technique he had just memorized.

Although he had not yet mastered it, he could already apply a rudimentary form of blood Qi sensing.

The next moment, he paused his steps.

From a dilapidated shack ahead, an extremely faint yet scorching, magma-like fluctuation of blood Qi emanated!

But that fluctuation was tightly sealed by a layer of cold Restriction, causing the aura to be weak and intermittent.

Xiao Ran walked into the shack.

Inside, a scrawny youth was curled up.

He looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing ragged clothes, his face covered in grime, running a high fever and drifting in and out of consciousness.

On the youth's wrist was a pitch-black iron ring, engraved with dense incantations.

It was the source of that cold Restriction.

Xiao Ran reached out and pressed his hand onto the iron ring.

Guixu Demonic Light pulsed, and the incantations on the iron ring melted away like snow, breaking apart inch by inch.

"Snap."

The iron ring shattered and fell off.

Almost simultaneously, the youth's body trembled violently, and a terrifying crimson color surged beneath his skin!

A scorching, overbearing force of blood Qi erupted, blowing the thatched roof of the shack away!

Xiao Ran waved his hand to set up a soundproofing barrier and observed carefully.

Inside the youth's body, that originally sealed scorching blood Qi was like a wild horse breaking free, crazily scouring his Meridians.

But because of his long-term malnutrition and damaged Foundation.

He could not withstand this power at all, and his Meridians began to crack; he was on the verge of exploding to death.

Xiao Ran flicked his finger, and a wisp of pure Demonic Essence was transmitted into the youth's body, forcibly guiding the rampaging blood Qi back onto the right track.

At the same time, he took out a Medicinal Pill for healing, crushed it, and dissolved it with Demonic Essence, letting it merge into the youth's limbs and bones.

For a full hour.

The crimson color on the youth's body slowly subsided, his skin returned to normal, and his breathing became steady.

He opened his eyes, and a faint phantom of flames flashed deep within his pupils.

Seeing Xiao Ran, the youth was startled at first, but then feeling the unprecedented lightness and that warm power within his body, he instantly understood.

He struggled to climb up, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed three times heavily.

"This junior, Shi Hao... thanks Senior for saving my life!"

His voice was hoarse, yet carried a tenacity that did not match his age.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran was shocked and quickly asked.

"What did you just say your name was?"

"This junior... Shi Hao."

Although Shi Hao didn't know what was wrong with Senior, he still answered honestly.

"Which Shi? Which Hao?"

"Lift your head."

Xiao Ran quickly stepped forward and pried open Shi Hao's eyes to check; after confirming there was no Double Pupils, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Shi of stone, the Hao of righteous spirit."

Shi Hao answered honestly.

Xiao Ran had already confirmed it; he confirmed it wasn't that Shi Hao from the "Double Pupil is the Invincible Path" saying.

"Where are you from? Who put the iron ring on your hand?"

Xiao Ran asked again.

"This junior is from the Shi Family Village at the foot of the mountain; I was captured by a Blood Fiend Sect Cultivator three years ago to be a servant."

"This iron ring... was put on by Elder Liu. He said my Physique was special but my Foundation was too poor; if not sealed, I wouldn't live past three years."

"Wearing this ring, although I was weak every day, it could save my life."

Shi Hao said in a low voice.

The Elder Liu he spoke of was a servant-managing Elder; although he was in the Demon Sect, he was gentle in nature and usually quite caring toward the servants.

But he had died not long ago.

Xiao Ran understood.

That Elder Liu likely saw that Shi Hao's Physique was extraordinary and was afraid that people from the Demon Sect would discover him and suck him dry as blood food, so he had to resort to such a desperate measure.

"Do you know what your Physique is?"

Shi Hao shook his head blankly.

"Red Sun Battle Body."