Chapter 683 - 683: Devouring to Advance

"Devouring Power!"

After finishing off the Giant Pig Blood Beast, Chu Qingyun immediately activated his Devouring Power and began to frantically devour the creature's body and Primordial Power.

Both the Primordial Power of a second-level Martial King and the Blood Pill formed from its massive body were things he desperately needed right now.

With the Giant Pig Blood Beast dead, it had no resistance left against the Devouring Power. Its Primordial Power and flesh were rapidly consumed; within minutes, it was devoured completely.

The Giant Pig Blood Beast's Blood Crystal was over ten times larger than the ones Chu Qingyun had previously obtained from the heads of Blood Corpses.

The Blood Crystal's color was also deeper than that of a Martial Spirit Realm Blood Crystal.

Moreover, Chu Qingyun felt this color was closer to that of his own Crimson Crystals than the color of a Martial Spirit Realm Blood Crystal.

In other words, the Blood Origin contained within should be much richer.

'The Devouring Power is actually the best way to deal with Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts,' Chu Qingyun mused. 'Unfortunately, my current Martial King Realm cultivation is too low. The Devouring Power I can muster is just too weak...'

Watching the Giant Pig Blood Beast's corpse slowly turn to ash and scatter, Chu Qingyun couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Last time, when he was in the Blood Sect ruins as a Fifth-level Martial Spirit, his Devouring Power had been incredibly potent against Martial Spirit Realm Blood Corpses.

But now, with the Primordial Power of a first-level Martial King, the Devouring Power he could activate seemed far too weak against a Martial King Realm Blood Beast.

It could only bully a Blood Beast that was already dead.

'If only I could raise my Realm to a second-level Martial King...'

After devouring the Giant Pig Blood Beast's body, Chu Qingyun got up to leave. But just then, he suddenly noticed some movement from a piece of the beast's flesh a hundred meters away.

The previous fierce battle had involved slashes from a hundred-meter-long giant sword.

Quite a few chunks of flesh had been hacked off the Giant Pig Blood Beast and were scattered everywhere.

That piece of flesh, about the size of a washbasin, was continuously trembling up and down.

Curious, Chu Qingyun didn't act rashly.

He focused his senses and was surprised to discover an aura at the ninth-level Martial Master level beneath the chunk of flesh.

The aura was so weak that Chu Qingyun hadn't noticed it during the fight.

As the piece of flesh trembled, it steadily grew smaller.

Chu Qingyun could now see a dark-red rat-like Blood Beast, about half a meter long, tearing at and devouring the flesh from underneath.

This rat Blood Beast had neither exaggerated fangs nor sharp claws.

It looked exactly like an ordinary house mouse, just magnified many times and colored dark red. It didn't resemble a Demon Beast at all.

Upon realizing it was just a rat, Chu Qingyun lost interest.

A Blood Beast at the ninth-level Martial Master level had neither enough Primordial Power nor a worthy Blood Crystal to warrant his attention.

Chu Qingyun was about to turn and leave.

But at that moment, the rat Blood Beast suddenly slapped away the remaining flesh, fell stiffly to the ground, and began to convulse and struggle violently.

As it struggled, the aura it emitted grew stronger and stronger.

Even its body began to swell.

Its bones grew rapidly, bursting through its original flesh, while new flesh constantly regenerated, forming a larger body.

In just a single minute, the rat Blood Beast broke through from a ninth-level Martial Master to a first-level Martial Spirit!

Its body also swelled up, its length approaching one meter!

'Interesting. Did it really reach the first-level Martial Spirit Realm?'

Suddenly curious, Chu Qingyun wanted to go have a closer look.

However, the rat Blood Beast was exceptionally vigilant and immediately noticed Chu Qingyun.

After spotting him, it didn't launch a frenzied attack like other Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts. Instead, it used its claws to dig a hole, trying to escape.

In the blink of an eye, half of its body was already underground.

'It really is a rat, running the moment it sees someone.'

"Iron Thread Ten-Star Vine!"

Chu Qingyun unleashed his Martial Soul. A vine shot out, chased into the rat hole, and dragged the rat Blood Beast out.

Its body entangled, the rat Blood Beast desperately bit and clawed at the vine.

But a Tier Four Martial Soul, empowered by the Primordial Power of a first-level Martial King and possessing Tough Soul Techniques, was not something a mere first-level Martial Spirit could ever hope to damage.

The rat Blood Beast nearly broke its teeth, yet it couldn't leave so much as a scratch on the vine.

Controlling the vine, Chu Qingyun brought the rat Blood Beast before him. After a careful inspection, he confirmed that it had indeed become a true first-level Martial Spirit Blood Beast.

'It broke through just by eating the flesh of a Martial King Realm Giant Pig Blood Beast…'

At this thought, Chu Qingyun's eyes suddenly lit up.

It seemed the answers to several of his previous questions could be found in this rat Blood Beast!

Since this rat Blood Beast could devour the flesh of a High Tier Blood Beast to raise its own Realm...

...then it could be inferred that Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts could raise their Realms by devouring one another!

This would explain why one could hardly see any Martial Artist Realm or Martial Master Realm Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts in the Blood Sect ruins anymore.

They had probably all been eaten!

Only a timid and vigilant Blood Beast like this rat might have been lucky enough to survive.

As for why donkeys, pigs, and even rats could become High Tier Blood Beasts, it was likely because after having their blood drained and contracting the strange sickness, they were lucky enough to continuously devour others and raise their Realms.

'No wonder that stupid pig before, despite its powerful Primordial Power, had no idea how to use it. It only instinctively activated its Primordial Power when being consumed by my Devouring Power.'

'From the looks of it, that stupid pig's strength must be at the very bottom among Martial King Realm Blood Beasts.'

'Moreover, with Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts directly devouring each other, I'm afraid many Martial King Realm, and even Martial Emperor Realm, monsters have already been created...'

Looking toward the depths of the Blood Sect ruins, Chu Qingyun's expression grew grim.

Before coming here, everyone, even the upper echelons of the major sects, had likely underestimated the dangers of the Blood Sect ruins.

In this region spanning thousands of miles and nearly thirty cities, the number of King Realm Experts who had been trapped averaged out to only a dozen or so per city.

In total, that was only three to four hundred.

As for the Hengduan Mountain Range, the number of mutated Martial King Realm Demon Beasts was probably even lower.

But now it seemed that through the large-scale cannibalism among Low Tier Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts, a considerable number of Martial King Realm Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts had likely already been born.

The lowest-level ones that still existed were basically all Martial Spirit Realm Blood Corpses and Blood Beasts!