1193 Blood Cleansing Ceremony
Upon entering the sealed room, Yuan found himself in another empty room, but there was an active portal right at the center of the room.
"Listen to me, Yuan." Xi Shengmo looked at him and spoke with a serious expression, "Once we enter the portal, we will arrive in the Ancestral Sanctuary, where you will be performing what we call a Blood Cleansing Ceremony."
"Only those with Royal Bloodline within the Dragon Clan may undergo such a ceremony, so accepting this ceremony will mean you will be affiliated with our Dragon Clan. Are you willing? If not, we can stop right here."
"I don't mind." Yuan smiled.
He was fond of the Xi Family, so he didn't mind being affiliated with them.
"Very well. Follow me."
Yuan entered the portal with them shortly after.
After being teleported, Yuan found himself inside a sanctuary with drawings of dragons engraved in the walls and windows that surrounded them. And at the center of this sanctuary was a small-sized pool that was filled with what appeared to be blood at first glance.
"Welcome to the Ancestral Sanctuary, Yuan. You are probably the first human to step foot in this place since its creation." Xi Mingze said to him with a warm smile on her face.
However, Yuan was too distracted by the red liquid in the pool.
Seeing this, Xi Shengmo said, "Yes, that is blood— Dragon blood that belongs to our Ancestor, to be precise."
Upon answering Yuan's curiosity, Xi Shengmo continued, "This is where dragons that join the Royal Family go to cleanse their common bloodline, replacing it with royal blood. We, as the Royal Family, also bathe in this blood once every thousand years to strengthen our bloodline."
"I understand that, but how will this help mask my scent as a human?" Yuan asked.
Xi Mingze then spoke, "If you soak in this blood, it will wash away your human scent for a period of time. Who knows, it might even make you stronger. Since you are the first human to ever soak in this blood, nobody can really say what will happen."
Yuan raised his eyebrows and said, "If I am the first, how do you know it works?"
"Although you may be the first human to bathe in this blood, you're not the first human to bathe in dragon blood. Humans hunted us for a reason." Xi Shengmo said in a low voice.
"I see… So this blood belongs to your Ancestor, right?"
"Actually, we don't really know. While this place belonged to the Dragon Ancestor, he never claimed it was his blood. However, for this blood to strengthen our Royal Bloodline, it must be of higher quality, so it would only make sense if it belongs to our Ancestor." Xi Shengmo shook his head.
"That does make sense." Yuan nodded.
"Do you have any more questions before we begin?"
"I just need to soak my body in this blood, right? Do I need to do anything special? And how long do I need to soak my body?"
"Once you soak your body in the blood, try absorbing it through your pores. Since you are a human, you will only be able to absorb a few drops of blood at most, but even that much will benefit you greatly. You should be done in a few minutes."
"I understand."
"Whenever you are ready, enter the blood— without your robe."
Yuan nodded.
After taking a deep breath, Yuan disrobed again, before taking a step into the pond of dragon blood.
The moment his foot submerged in the blood, Yuan could feel an unfathomable energy entering through his pores, quickly spreading throughout the rest of his body.
The sensation of unimaginable power overflowing his body only became clear as Yuan entered the pond with his other leg.
'What a refreshing feeling… Even though my body is overflowing with energy, it doesn't feel uncomfortable, almost as though my body is expanding with the energy.' Yuan thought to himself as he sat down in the center of the pool.
The pool was deeper than it appeared, and when fully seated, the blood reached his neck, completely hiding his body within the thick blood.
Shortly after submerging his body in the blood, a notification appeared before Yuan, showing words that he hasn't seen in a long time.
<Nine Dragon Symbols is resonating with the Dragon God's Blood!>
<Nine Dragon Symbols is absorbing the Dragon God's Blood!>
'Nine Dragon Symbols?' He recalled the last time it activated was when he was still in the Lower Heaven— when he absorbed the Dragon Essence within the Dragon Essence Temple.
While Yuan was lost in his thoughts, Xi Shengmo and Xi Mingze watched as the blood in the pool decreased at a rapid rate, and before they could even react, the depth of the blood lowered by several inches.
<Nine Dragon Symbols have reached level two>
<Due to the Nine Dragon Symbols, your cultivation speed have increased by 10,000%>
However, Yuan wasn't finished yet, and the blood in the pool continued to deplete at an alarming rate.
This caught both Xi Shengmo and Xi Mingze off guard.
"W-W-Wait! Stop!"
By the time Xi Shengmo said anything, half of the blood in the pool was absorbed by Yuan.
However, Yuan appeared to be in a trance and couldn't hear Xi Shengmo's panicked voice.
Seeing this, Xi Shengmo was prepared to jump in the pool to drag Yuan out, but he was stopped by Xi Mingze.
"What are you doing?! He will absorb all of the blood at this rate!" Xi Shengmo roared at her.
But Xi Mingze could only point at Yuan in a trembling voice, "Look at his body…"
"What?"
Xi Shengmo turned to look at Yuan, and his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets when he realized what he was seeing.
Sitting in the pond, Yuan, who had jet black hair just moments ago, suddenly had a head full of golden hair like the Xi Family. Soon, golden scales even began appearing on his chest.
"He's transforming?! Even though he's human?! T-That's impossible!" Xi Shengmo exclaimed in a shocked voice.
He wanted to be mistaken, but there was no mistaking what was happening to Yuan's body at the moment.