Back in the Cold Palace, the tea had lost its warmth.
The Holy Emperor's interest remained high as he continued to speak, "Chi Tong was born from avedhvasa. He was a spiritual consciousness that sprang forth from the primal chaos. The heavens and the earth happened to be undergoing massive change, creating an opportune moment for his birth. He was worshipped by the tribes in the Wilderness and given strength through generations of sacrificial offerings. Chi Tong eventually stepped forth from his banner and forged a body with the blood of 10,000 dire beasts. He then styled himself an Emperor and lorded over every single one of the tribes. He was quite exemplary."
"There was abundant spiritual force during the Cultivation Era, so all things contained spirit. The birth of a spiritual consciousness wasn't something improbable. With the decline of spiritual force, the chances of something like that happening is almost zero. While his birth wasn't spectacular, Chi Tong's forging of his corporeal body is a truly peerless technique."
Bei Shuisheng animatedly asked, "Peerless? That awesome?"
His Majesty was a figure at the top of his game. It took an undue level for him to call something "peerless."
The Holy Emperor's manner was solemn. "Forging a fleshly body was already an incredible feat during the Cultivation Era. What's more, Chi Tong was born toward the end of the Cultivation Era when spiritual force was already on the decline. Using the blood of 10,000 beasts as his foundation, Chi Tong improved his blood refinement techniques over hundreds of years until he forged a near-perfect corporeal body. It's a pity that this technique has long been lost."
As he spoke, the Holy Emperor revealed fleeting expressions of yearning and regret.
"Of course, the epitome of his achievements was still God's Blood. In addition to the [Deathly Seeds of Demonic Consciousness], God's Blood also contains the refined essence of Chi Tong's flesh. Chi Tong's body was reportedly drained of all its blood and essence, leaving an empty shell behind. I wonder where his body is right now. Finding it would perhaps help me to answer some questions."
Bei Shuisheng curiously asked, "His body is still around? Won't it decompose?"
"Nope." The Holy Emperor shook his head. "How can a godly artifact decompose? Besides his corporeal body, Chi Tong left behind another impressive item."
"Another?"
The Holy Emperor answered, "[Chi Tong's Banner of God]."
Bei Shuisheng had never heard of this artifact before, but he remembered some historical records. "The banner that nurtured Chi Tong?"
"No, it is a pity that it was destroyed, for it contained Chi Tong's original form." The Holy Emperor continued, "After Chi Tong became emperor, he gave an order. All his subjects were to combine their efforts to create a new Banner of God, which was truly an arduous task. Since Chi Tong's original form, a single blood eye, was painted onto the banner, it was also known as the [Blood Eye Banner]. This banner was impervious to fire or water and repelled all evils. Chi Tong met with many dangers while refining his [Deathly Seeds of Demonic Consciousness], but was often protected by this banner."
Bei Shuisheng said, "If Chi Tong has reincarnated, why isn't he going after these two artifacts?"
The Holy Emperor laughed. "It's not that he doesn't want to, it's that he can't."
"Can't?" Bei Shuisheng felt it odd. "How so? The corporeal body was his previous body and [Chi Tong's Banner of God] was created by him. Isn't it a waste to relinquish ownership of them both?"
The Holy Emperor sneered, "You think reincarnation is that simple? In order to fully reincarnate, he has to stop the karmic chain. These two artifacts are too deeply entwined with his past self, so he needs to avoid them. Why would he get himself polluted by them?"
Bei Shuisheng suddenly saw the light. "So that's why."
The Holy Emperor's interest in the conversation ended here. He slowly stood up and said, "Rest early and don't exhaust yourself."
After bowing, Bei Shuisheng respectfully replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
The palace was empty by the time he raised his head. There was not a single soul in sight.
Up in the sky, Chi Tong retracted his gaze.
The gradually fading waves retracted like a receding tide, bringing along with them the earth-shaking events that had transpired. The sky above the horizon looked exceptionally pure, as if it had been thoroughly cleansed.
Everything was tranquil like nothing had happened.
The battle between the two grandmasters was finally over.
To the people of this world, this battle had changed a lot of things. To Chi Tong, however, it was no big deal.
Chi Tong's expression returned to his default cold look.
He felt a sense of satisfaction inside his heart. These Grandmasters were nothing as long as he could return to his full strength. Power was everything.
His turned his sights to the people in the ravine below. His red eyes glowed through his eyelids as he squinted slightly.
These guys seemed to possess some sort of elemental energy that could counter him.
The constant flow of five elemental energies reached an elegant equilibrium. Chi Tong's blood spiritual force lost its power soon after coming into contact with it.
Could it be that someone knew the secret of God's Blood and had been preparing for his reincarnation?
If that was the case, things were starting to get interesting!
Having lived through the magnificent Cultivation Era, Chi Tong looked upon the Elemental Era with contempt. In his eyes, the so-called Grandmasters of this era would only be average characters if placed in the Cultivation Era.
However, upon his revival, he noticed that things were not that simple. First, he was greeted with a head on "surprise" from his host. To think that he would encounter something as eccentric as the sword embryo in this era when it had not even been popular during the Cultivation Era. The prevalence of blood elementalists and beasts was extremely helpful to his recovery. He should have been able to claim his host's body in one stroke.
Unexpectedly, he ended up in a predicament.
Now, he had just happened upon elemental energy that could counter him. Chi Tong caught a whiff of danger in the air.
Yet, this did not make him hesitate one bit. The process of resurrection had always gone against the natural order. Danger? Every step of the way had been dangerous.
The affairs of life were constantly changing while karma worked consistently in the background.
He had witnessed the demise of the Cultivation Era and had been enveloped by the fear that came with the end. In order to struggle on against the greater forces of the world, he racked his brains and left no stone unturned. Preparing for all possible dangers during his reincarnation, Chi Tong laboriously searched far and wide for techniques and methods that would aid him in the time to come.
He was proud of the meticulous preparations he had made. Any and all situations had been well prepared for.
However, he absolutely had not expected to be reunited with [Chi Tong's Banner of God], much less that it would belong to his host.
The object that was once his most precious defensive artifact was now the first obstacle he had to crush.
Perhaps this was what reincarnation was all about. Perhaps he had to bid farewell to everything from his past. In this case, he would probably have to pulverize it.
He decided to use the [Blood-refined Life Slicing Parasite] technique to free himself from the conundrum he was facing.
The [Blood-refined Life Slicing Parasite] was derived from a rather neglected technique known as the [Spirit Devouring Parasite]. Chi Tong felt that the technique was rather useful, but that it lacked power. Thus, he combined it with blood refinement to create the [Blood-refined Life Slicing Parasite].
The [Blood-refined Life Slicing Parasite] was simple enough to practice. All one needed to do was consume flesh and blood to create a parasite feeds on mental constitutions.
While able to repel Chi Tong's consciousness, the Banner of God would not be able to block the life slicing parasite. Upon hatching, it would first begin to slowly nibble away at the connection between the host's mind and body, ultimately severing it. The host's mind would become a rootless tree, slowly withering away. The life slicing parasite would continue to grow in strength and would eventually consume the host's entire consciousness.
Even the sword embryo's profound mysteries would not be able to stop the life slicing parasite once it had successfully severed the mind-body connection.
Chi Tong actually thought quite highly of Ai Hui. Even in the Cultivation Era, very few people managed to successfully nurture a sword embryo. To think that someone was actually able to do so in this Elemental Era impressed even the deeply experienced and knowledgeable Chi Tong.
In Chi Tong's eyes, Ai Hui's body was weak beyond belief, especially when compared to his admirable mind. Although Chi Tong did not really care much about it, the God's Blood that constantly permeated Ai Hui's body would nourish and make it much stronger in due time. With enough time, Chi Tong was confident in attaining his former glory. Nobody was more knowledgeable about body tempering than him.
Ai Hui's frail body also gave Chi Tong one less set of problems to deal with because the life slicing parasite would be able to take effect much faster.
While Ai Hui's physical body was not a problem, his sword embryo was a different story altogether. Eradicating it down to the roots would require a large number of parasites. Luckily, all he needed was flesh and blood to grow the parasites.
Among those in the ravine below, there were a few outstanding individuals. He would be able to create quite a large number of parasites if he could devour their flesh.
He needed their flesh and blood, but also needed to keep one of them alive.
Transforming a body was a complicated process. If he did not need to follow this process, he would have simply sorted out those below with one swipe of a hand.
He shifted into an odd pose. He crossed his right leg and left his left leg hanging naturally down. The upper half of his body remained upright with his right hand placed on his leg. His left hand looked as if it was holding onto a delicate flower. All in all, he looked as though he was sitting upright on an invisible chair. In the blink of an eye, the ruthlessness and violence on his face had vanished, replaced with a look of serenity.
A dense, pure, and bloody glow spread out in all four directions like a cloth.
The entire area around Chi Tong was bathed in a crimson light.
The sky had vanished and even the mountains had vanished. The red glow descended upon the ravine, coloring everything a deep red. The entire scene was as sinister as could be.
Those in the ravine were shocked.
Fu Sisi's eyes opened wide as she exclaimed coldly, "Ai Hui! To think you're a blood elementalist!"
Everyone else was considerably shaken. Such a pure bloody glow was beyond what a common blood elementalist could achieve.
Everyone soon turned pale.
Ai Hui was actually a blood elementalist!
Even the dumbest person would have understood the situation by now. Despair filled their hearts. Ai Hui's identity as a blood elementalist was so well hidden that no one actually knew about it. If they were seeing it today, then there was no way they were going to be allowed to leave alive.
Fu Sisi remained unmoved. She looked at the teammate standing across from her.
The two stared at each other.
The middle-aged man seemed to have calmed down. All they could do now was to fight for their lives. He laughed ironically. "Guess our big hero is actually a blood elementalist. Tsk tsk, such a well hidden secret. I wonder if Shi Xueman would be sad if she knew?"
The name "Shi Xueman" caused the bloody glow to pause momentarily. Ai Hui's face revealed signs of an inner struggle.
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. There was hope!
Ai Hui was one of the Assembly's prime targets. The middle-aged man quickly recalled as much as he could about Ai Hui.
He sneered, "Wang Shouchuan and Han Yuqin must be turning in their graves right now. Hahaha, I wonder if they'd crawl out upon seeing their favorite disciple like this."
The air around them seemed to congeal.