Chapter 614: Absorbing 5 Drops of Essence Blood

“Uh… it just sort of happened as I was cultivating.”

Lin Xuan would never reveal the truth. Only an idiot would. He wouldn’t tell anyone about the Soul Pearl, except for the soul residing within it.

Huo Qingling was speechless. Anyone who wasn’t a fool could tell Lin Xuan was lying. ‘It just happened while I was cultivating?’ That was too incredible. With his Spirit Pill Stage Cultivation, he possessed a Spirit King Level Realm. She started to wonder if Lin Xuan was the reincarnation of some supreme expert. How else could he possess such a terrifying Realm?

“Fine, don’t tell me. Everyone has their secrets. Your Realm is truly Heaven-Defying. With a Realm like that, you’ll never have to worry about hitting a cultivation bottleneck!” Huo Qingling said helplessly. “It’s just a shame those five drops of Essence Blood are gone just like that. I was planning to give them to the challengers. I’d see which disciple had the most talent and reward them with a drop. Who knew you’d take them all? I really took a huge loss.”

Logically speaking, was it meaningless for a member of the Phoenix Race to absorb the Essence Blood of their own kind? That certainly wasn’t the case. Some Phoenix Essence Blood was merely Mortal Grade. Absorbing Spirit Grade Essence Blood would be a different story entirely; the effects would be vastly superior.

The same applied to King Grade, but only the Clan Leader possessed it, and it certainly couldn’t be given away casually. Parting with it was very damaging to one’s body.

Even with the same Spirit Grade Essence Blood, they could absorb blood of an equivalent Level to quickly raise their Cultivation, but this was generally not done.

“Hehe, you’re the one who promised, Senior. I never said anything like that,” Lin Xuan sat down cross-legged, preparing to absorb the Phoenix Essence Blood. He wasn’t going to save it for later. He knew he had no shot at the Heart of the Fire Phoenix, but the Phoenix Essence Blood was his for the taking.

“Alright, I did say that. I should have said you’d only get one drop for every *two* levels you improved!” Huo Qingling felt indignant, as if Lin Xuan had played her for a fool.

Although she had been the one to agree, Lin Xuan had led her right into a trap. If he hadn’t phrased it that way, why would she have ever agreed?

“If that had been the case, I’d have only gotten two drops at most.” Lin Xuan took the Jade Bottle and, without the slightest hesitation, downed the entire vial of Phoenix Essence Blood—all five drops.

He didn’t hold back in the slightest, nor did he plan to save any for later. He had initially thought of giving it to Lin Xue, but he abandoned the idea. Lin Xue’s constitution was completely unsuitable for absorbing Phoenix Essence Blood, so it wasn’t meant to be. ‘As for anyone else… forget it. My own improvement is what’s most important!’

‘Absorbing five drops of Essence Blood in one go? Is he trying to get himself killed?’ Huo Qingling was shocked. Each drop contained a terrifying amount of Energy. Swallowing five drops at once might seem like a small amount, but it was practically no different from chugging five massive vats of water.

Lin Xuan paid her no mind. The Phoenix Essence Blood was already in his mouth; was he supposed to spit it back out? Besides, he only dared to pull a stunt like this because he was confident in his own abilities. Without that confidence, he would never have attempted it.

Sure enough, after he absorbed the five drops of Essence Blood, Lin Xuan felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of magma. A searing heat surged from his throat and into his body, instantly turning his skin crimson. Then, with a WHOOSH, a Phoenix Flame erupted from his body, engulfing him completely. He looked like a man set ablaze.

‘A classic case of overconfidence. If he can’t absorb it, he’ll be completely devoured by the Phoenix Essence Blood…’ Huo Qingling narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t be bothered with it. Lin Xuan had already passed the trial. Whatever happened next was on him. Even if he died, there was nothing she could do.

One could only say Lin Xuan had brought it upon himself, but she still felt a pang of regret at such a waste.

However, the Flame that had erupted from Lin Xuan’s body was quickly suppressed. It then completely merged back into him, not letting a single flicker escape.

This scene left Huo Qingling stunned. Lin Xuan had already given her too many surprises, and now he was delivering yet another.

‘That’s right. With the control afforded by a Spirit King Level Realm, it’s only natural that he could easily suppress the Elemental Power released by the Essence Blood. I’m getting jealous just thinking about it… After absorbing five drops of Essence Blood, the Phoenix Essence Blood in his body will be even more concentrated. At this point, you could almost consider him half a Phoenix.’ Huo Qingling shook her head. When she thought about it, this was all her own doing. If she hadn’t been so eager for a fight, how could things have ended up this way?

The problem wasn’t her eagerness for a fight, but the fact that she was defeated in a single move. It left her utterly speechless.

All that remained was for Lin Xuan to cultivate alone and completely absorb the five drops of Essence Blood. It was impossible to know what level he would reach once the process was complete.

Five drops might not sound like much, but generally speaking, a Phoenix of any Level could produce a maximum of ten drops of Essence Blood at once—and only at the cost of its life. Therefore, five drops was equivalent to half a Phoenix’s total Essence Blood, a truly astonishing amount.

However, Essence Blood could be restored over time, so one could offer up a great deal of it over a lifetime. If it couldn’t be replenished, who would dare burn it? Burning Essence Blood was most efficient for a Phoenix, as their innate Nirvana ability could accelerate its recovery!

Outside the Phoenix Ruins, everyone waited anxiously for news. They had no idea what was happening inside, as nothing was visible from the outside. This made the members of the Demon Race extremely worried.

The Phoenix Race Elders nodded to one another. They walked over to the Stone Slab at the front and gave the slab that opened the Phoenix Ruins a slight turn. Immediately, an image materialized above each entrance to the ruins.

These images showed the individuals who had entered the trials, each displayed separately, making it easy to see their condition. Now, everyone could finally see what was happening inside. The every move of the participants was displayed for all to see.

This function had existed for a long time, used for observing the events within. The Elders hadn’t originally intended to activate it, but in the end, they decided to. They, too, were eager to know what was going on inside.

“Huh? Why isn’t that human kid’s situation showing up?”

“You’re right. How come only the human’s screen is blank?”

“All the others are being displayed, but his can’t be. Did something happen to him?”

…

The demons broke into discussion. So many of the participants were fine, but there was an issue with Lin Xuan’s feed. Had something happened to him?

Jin Wei and the others frowned. They truly couldn’t see Lin Xuan’s condition and couldn’t help but worry. “Lin Xuan isn’t in trouble, is he? Do you think he ran into something?”

“Let’s hope not,” the Fox King said, her fine eyebrows knitting together. “But it looks like many of the others have already passed the second trial and are moving on to the third. Only Lin Xuan’s feed isn’t showing… How strange.”

Lin Xuan’s situation struck all the demons as odd, but their curiosity was useless. They couldn’t see a thing!