Stranger Danger

Chapter 1102: Celestial Blood

Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial could not say anything for a moment. In this world, the only person who could handle a celestial... was another celestial.

In other words, these eight celestials had been shackled to these altars by other celestials.

So, who exactly were the celestials who shackled them?

The answer was obvious. It could only be the celestials of the Kunlun Ruins.

Just the same, these eight celestials had to be celestials of the Kunlun Ruins as well.

After the Great Tribulation, spiritual qi was exhausted, and the world became murky and tainted. That was why these celestials chose to trap themselves within this blessed land in the first place. No celestials could leave, just as no outsiders could enter. Therefore, these eight celestials could only be celestials of the Kunlun Ruins.

What happened back then wasn’t too difficult to guess either. The corruption of the Nine Nethers was great, and the celestials of the Kunlun Ruins did not believe they could stop it. In order to live, they decided to repeat history and sacrifice eight celestials to activate the Supreme Eight Celestials Realm Locking God Restriction. This would mend the rift between the Nine Nethers and the Kunlun Ruins and save them from disaster.

However, the entire reason these celestials trapped themselves in the Kunlun Ruins was because they were afraid of dying in the first place. To avoid the ultimate end, they went so far as to cage themselves in the Kunlun Ruins forever, never to be free. With that in mind, who among them would willingly sacrifice themselves for another?

If no one was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, then they would make it unwillingly. Some celestials took matters into their own hands and forcefully restricted eight chosen celestials, Dao friends they had walked side by side for heavens-know-how-long. Then, they set up the Supreme Eight Celestials Realm Locking God Restriction.

Alas, because the celestials hadn’t sacrificed their lives willingly, the restriction failed to unleash its full power. It only slowed down the rate of corruption of the Nine Nethers, not eliminate the threat completely.

On a related note, the young men and women used to build the altars of bones could only be the servants and mortals who lived in the Kunlun Ruins.

They were lives, but they were also ants in the eyes of a celestial. Would a human care about an ant? No.

So, the lofty celestials did not care if every single human in the Kunlun Ruins perished.

Was it merciless?

It was.

Was it cruel?

Very.

But that was just how it was. The Heavenly Way was singular, and the Great Way was merciless. Death was naturally terrifying to all living things. A mortal could not escape from the terror, nor could a celestial.

To live, a mortal would do anything and everything.

To survive, a celestial too could extinguish their own humanity.

In fact, one might argue that a celestial was crueler, colder, and more ruthless than a mortal.

Jiang Yunlai was a little astonished. This old man had been dead and corrupted by the Nine Nethers Demonic Qi for over ten thousand years. Despite this, his body was unbelievably tough. He was unable to break the old man’s skin even after employing seventy percent of his power.

Next, Jiang Yunlai’s eyes flashed golden, and his finger turned into the color of jade. This time, a cut slowly appeared on the old man’s forehead.

A single bead of blood flowed out of the wound. It looked like a gem or a jade.

Buzz...

As soon as the blood emerged, a terrifying, boiling heat immediately washed out toward the surroundings. It was so hot that it burned large patches of emptiness even in the canvas of chaos and nothingness.

Jiang Yunlai opened his hand and grabbed the blood droplet. He examined it and noted that the blood, despite being the size of a fingertip only, felt as vast as the galaxy and as mysterious as the universe[1].

“Celestials truly are transcendent!”

Jiang Yunlai murmured and clenched his hand around the blood. After its presence was isolated, the shaking space of chaos and nothingness slowly but surely returned to calm.

“It’s unfortunate.”

Jiang Yunlai put away the blood with a regretful sigh. A celestial’s body was joined with the world itself. It was also a living treasure vault. The blood alone was priceless and immensely valuable for their cultivation, much less an entire body.

Even if they did not obtain what they needed from the eight celestials, the blood alone was worth the trip.

He dearly wished that he could claim all eight bodies for himself, but alas, the eight celestials were also the heart of the Supreme Eight Celestials Realm Locking God Restriction. To move their bodies in any way would almost certainly damage the divine restriction and potentially cause untold troubles.

Jiang Yunlai would do the same thing for the next two celestials he inspected; procuring a single drop of blood from their foreheads.

Something was concerning though. It could be his imagination, but the Nine Nethers Demonic Qi spreading out of the rift seemed to be more active, and the currents of chaos seemed to be more violent after he procured the celestials’ blood.

Finally, Jiang Yunlai arrived at the female celestial they encountered at the very beginning. Wielding his finger like a sword, he split open her forehead just like all the other celestials.

A single drop of flawless, silver white blood flowed out into the open. It was dazzling like the stars, and fragrant like nothing he had ever smelled before.

As soon as he smelled the blood, Jiang Yunlai’s breathing abruptly grew rapid, and his eyes became clouded by daze and hunger.

Slowly, Jiang Yunlai bent down toward the woman and stared blankly at the drop of blood with wide eyes.

Then, he did something shocking. He opened his mouth and swallowed the drop of blood.

1. Looks like Yi Pin is even greater than expected. ☜