"This shouldn’t be happening. When I was reincarnated in the past, I had calculated that the Sea of Blood would be the last refuge under the End of Dharma Tribulation, with a chance to survive that tribulation. How could the Sea of Blood suddenly dry up now?"
The Black Robed Monster panicked, but he was already beginning to possess the mosquito, connected to the mosquito’s essence, leaving no time to check the changes in the Sea of Blood. He could only put all his effort into the possession, otherwise, if the mosquito awoke and the possession was incomplete, he would be in grave danger.
Watching as the water level of the Sea of Blood dropped, even though the Black Robed Monster was extremely anxious, he could only stand by helplessly.
The Black Robed Monster felt a deep unease in his heart, an indescribable sadness rising within: "Has the End of Dharma already engulfed the Sea of Blood, leaving not a trace of vitality for all beings?"
Amidst the Black Robed Monster’s overwhelming anguish, Zhang Chen’s body had become a bottomless pit, continuously absorbing the Sea of Blood into his body. With the influx of blood, Zhang Chen’s Crystal Core began to undergo subtle changes.
It was unclear how much time passed, but as the Sea of Blood gradually dried up, Zhang Chen’s devouring persisted. The blood energy on the riverbed transformed by the suction force on Zhang Chen’s body into a blood mist, gently rising and infusing into his body.
The transformation on Zhang Chen’s body finally ceased only when the Sea of Blood’s riverbed had completely dried up, turning into loose, dry sand.
When Zhang Chen opened his eyes again, he looked up at the grey sky. The Sea of Blood that once surrounded him was gone, replaced by endless crimson sand under his gaze.
"Where is the Sea of Blood?" Zhang Chen was stunned, how did the Sea of Blood disappear?
Then Zhang Chen seemed to recall something and hurriedly checked his own body, only to be utterly shocked.
His Crystal Core had somehow turned golden yellow, a pure golden yellow. The size of the Crystal Core hadn’t changed, still just the size of a grain of rice, yet Zhang Chen sensed something peculiar about it. Inside his Crystal Core appeared to be an infinite space, within which surged an overwhelming Sea of Blood.
At the center of that Sea of Blood, ten thousand feet of red light burst forth, as if nurturing something with the power of the Sea of Blood.
Just then, a stream of information flowed into Zhang Chen’s mind, causing him to process it with disbelief in his eyes:
[3 Skills (Level Five): Body Transformation Blood Light (0/20,000,000,000)]
A Level Five Blood Control Technique required 20 billion experience points. The key thing was that when upgrading to the third, fourth, and fifth levels, Zhang Chen gained three additional abilities.
Fifth-level ability: Ultrasonic Positioning. Fourth-level ability: Body Transformation Blood Light. Third-level ability: Blood Poison Filth.
Ultrasonic Positioning was easy to understand. Zhang Chen could emit ultrasonic waves like a bat, allowing him to locate in the dark even with his eyes closed. The stronger his power, the further the distance he could emit; Zhang Chen’s fifth-level Blood Control Technique had a range of about ten miles.
This range was impressive. Unless someone had a way to cancel out the sound waves, nothing within ten miles, be it living creatures or obstacles, could be hidden from Zhang Chen.
The fourth-level ability, Body Transformation Blood Light, was also easy to comprehend. With a thought, he could split into four beams of blood light, which could seize the blood of any being with skills lower than his own. The ability he gained at the third level, Blood Poison Filth, made Zhang Chen shiver with its sheer malevolence. This skill could defile any spiritual item.
As long as the opponent’s cultivation didn’t surpass Zhang Chen’s Blood Control Technique level, a single splash of Zhang Chen’s blood would render them useless, akin to sprinkling black dog blood from legends.
Even if faced with a Great Cultivator whose cultivation was higher than his, being hit with this would allow the blood poison to invade their spirituality, making it an exceptionally difficult technique to deal with.
"I still lack the Blood Rebirth I desire, as well as the means to control others’ blood." Zhang Chen felt a bit helpless. What he wanted most was Blood Rebirth; if not that, then at least the Blood Control Technique. With it, martial dao experts would be laughable in his presence.
"But what happened to that huge Sea of Blood? How could it just disappear suddenly?" Zhang Chen shifted his gaze from the Crystal Core, his eyes sweeping over the crimson seabed, filled with astonishment.
He remembered before he lost consciousness, the Sea of Blood seemed infinite, poised to devour him at any moment. How could it be gone after he just took a nap and woke up?
"Could it have something to do with that immortal Black Robed Monster?" Thoughts flickered in Zhang Chen’s mind: "That old guy truly deserves to die, almost flipped this time! Old man, since I managed to escape by a hair’s breadth, I’ll make sure you know my strength."
With that thought, Zhang Chen immediately activated the chain mark, silently sensing the position of the Black Robed Monster.
"Found you! Let’s settle both new and old scores together." Having sensed the trail of the Black Robed Monster, Zhang Chen tried to tug at the other’s soul, but it resisted, as if some force was opposing his pull. Zhang Chen raised his vigilance: "Interesting, could that old guy have used my Jade Dew to confuse a creature from the Sea of Blood and is secretly up to something?"
He thought of possession!
"If that’s the case, then things just got interesting. Hahaha, old man, here I come!" With that thought, Zhang Chen turned into a vampire bat and flew off.
After transforming into a vampire bat, Zhang Chen’s body also changed. The bat he transformed into spread its wings with a span of two meters, and mysterious, unfathomable runes were engraved on the wings, giving it a mysterious yet venerable appearance.
Following an invisible sense, Zhang Chen flapped his wings and disappeared into the azure sky.
Meanwhile, the Black Robed Monster, who was in the process of possessing the mosquito, was in a state of panic, because Zhang Chen’s target mark was mutual. While Zhang Chen locked onto him, he also sensed Zhang Chen’s location.
Especially upon realizing Zhang Chen was rapidly approaching, his panic hit an extreme, as he was at the critical moment of possession and could not afford any disturbance.
"Impossible! How could that kid be alive? The eroding power of the Sea of Blood couldn’t even be withstood by those who achieved a lower fruit position. How could a mere Qi Cultivation Stage ant survive the onslaught of the Sea of Blood?"
The Black Robed Monster murmured to himself, his voice filled with horror. He was completely flustered now. He had two choices: first, abandon the possession and withdraw his soul from the mosquito’s body.
But that was impossible because the possession had already begun, and part of his essence was already merged into the mosquito’s body. Abandoning would lead to nothing but the destruction of his soul.
Before the possession, he was fully confident and never considered the possibility of failure, hence he risked everything, pouring his essence into the mosquito’s body flawlessly. Who would have thought the setback wouldn’t be in the possession process but rather in something unforeseen happening to Zhang Chen’s fate.
The second option was to awaken the innate mosquito’s consciousness immediately. Together, they could fight against Zhang Chen, but the innate mosquito understanding the Law of Devouring made this risky. If its consciousness awakened, possession would be nearly impossible, and he might end up being devoured himself, becoming a part of the mosquito’s creation.
All his painstaking calculations could end up benefiting others instead.
There was a third possibility, that Zhang Chen, coming to take advantage, would directly kill the innate mosquito, leading to his unsuccessful possession with Zhang Chen overthrowing him.
But this seemed unlikely. The innate mosquito’s cultivation was far too high, not something Zhang Chen could eliminate. Even if the innate mosquito lay dormant, Zhang Chen wouldn’t be able to slay it.
However, ruling out the third situation, he couldn’t accept either the first or second scenarios!
This was practically a death sentence for him!