Ascension of the Immortal Asura

John's eyes narrowed as he heard the Bloodfiend Sect. If that was the case, then it was truly out of reach. Not only was the Bloodfiend Sect his enemy, it was a place that practiced taboo cultivation arts. As such, they were an enemy of the Heavenly Lightning Sect, and would kill him as soon as they spotted him.

"Based on what I did to the Bloodfiend Sect in the ancient city, I'm sure I'm one of their must-kill targets at this point," John grumbled out loud. Thunderzen nodded his head in confirmation, as it was the truth.

John was just about to put the thought aside, when an idea suddenly popped into his head. An item suddenly appeared in his hands, which Thunderzen closely inspected. His eyebrows raised slightly as he inspected the item, which was quite profound.

John quickly put on the mask, and thought of Adam. Before Thunderzen's eyes, John's face changed into that of Adam's, until he was basically indistinguishable from him.

"What do you have here?" Thunderzen mused out loud as he inspected John.

"It's something I found in the rings of the Blood Emperor. It must be a mask he found in the ancient city, and it disguises the user," John explained. "Sect Leader, how is the disguise? Are you able to see through it?"

John had a plan in mind, but needed to gather some information first.

Thunderzen continued to inspect John for some time, becoming more and more amused with the mask.

"This mask of yours is quite remarkable," Thunderzen confirmed, causing John's eyes to light up. "However, I can still see through it," Thunderzen continued.

John's face instantly soured as he heard this.

"However," Thunderzen continued. "Other than me, there's no one else on this continent that this mask won't fool."

John's face once again lit up upon hearing this. If that was the case, then his idea was still a possibility. 

"This idea of yours is quite reckless," Thunderzen suddenly said to John, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

John gave a wry smile to the Sect Leader, as he knew he had been found out. John gave the Sect Leader a shrug, but said nothing.

"However, that mask of yours might be quite useful for something I, and the War Hall, has in mind. Report to the War Hall for now, and the Vice-Sect Leader will take care of you. I have some matters to attend to."

John nodded his head and stood up. He gave the Sect Leader a slight bow of respect, before he left.

John stepped off the balcony and flew to the ground below.

'I need to report to the War Hall, but I have some important matters to take care of first.'

John started walking in a certain direction, eventually stopping in front of a trade hall specialized in beasts and animals. He walked in, and was quickly greeted by an attendant.

"How can I help you?" the attendant asked in a genial tone.

"I'm looking to buy beast blood essence," John got straight to the point. He was completely out of usable beast blood essence, and only had Mist Creation beast blood essence left, which was useless to him.

"Beast blood essence?" the attendant asked. While the request was a bit unusual, it was not too uncommon. Alchemists would occasionally infuse beast blood essence into their pills to increase its potency, and so the trade hall did have some blood essence separated beforehand.

"Of course we do," the attendant continued. "What grade would you like? And how much? One jar? One Barrel?."

"I would like Core Formation and Meridian Forging beast blood essence," John replied. "As for volume...I want everything you have in stock."

The attendants' eyes widened considerably by John's request. He had never heard of such a large need for beast blood essence.

"Everything? You seem quite young, so perhaps you don't understand prices much yet, but Meridian Forging creatures are quite pricey, and their blood essence is their most valuable part. All of our stores are far more than you can afford, I'm afraid."

John frowned at the response, but didn't argue. "How much?" He asked once more, his tone more firm.

The attendant noticed John's serious face, and his amused smile quickly washed away. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Ahem, while we would not be able to give you all of it, as it would be unfair to our other customers, the blood essence we can give you would cost roughly one million spirit crystals," the attendant replied.

As the attendant mentioned, Meridian Forging beast blood essence was quite valuable, and so the price added up quickly.

"Sold," John replied without pause. "Give me everything you can, the payment is not an issue."

John lacked blood essence, but did not lack spirit crystals. He had received a healthy sum from Pill Emperor Thunderpill, and then had obtained millions upon millions of spirit crystals in the mine he and Adam had discovered.

While the price was quite hefty, even for him, it would solve the blood essence reserve issues he had for a long time, and ensured he wouldn't run out like he did in the Divine Trial.

The attendant stared at John curiously, wondering who he was exactly. Unlike the rest of the sect, the trade halls had yet to learn about John's status, as they only cared for trade and nothing else.

The attendant excused himself for a moment, and retreated into the back storage area. After some time, he returned to the main lobby.

"Sir, please inspect this ring and see if it is to your liking," the attendant said to John while respectfully handing the ring to him.

John took the ring and quickly inspected it. There were dozens of barrels full of beast blood essence, all in the Core Formation or Meridian Forging realm.

John's eyes lit up as he saw this. When he collected beast blood essence, he normally only had a few barrels worth. Not only that, but they were normally at or below his cultivation realm, diminishing the effects further.

'Meridian Forging blood essence is a bit too potent for me to absorb straight, but if I mix all this blood together in my blood pool, it will form the perfect blend of blood essence for me!'

"This is perfect. How much?" John asked.

"That will be nine hundred and twenty thousand spirit crystals," the man replied.

John quickly divided that sum of spirit crystals into a separate spatial ring before he handed it to the attendant. The attendant quickly inspected it, and elation appeared on his face. He would get a commission of this sale, and so he was happy that John actually had the sums of money he claimed to have.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" the attendant asked, his tone much more friendly.

"That's all, thanks," John replied as he turned around and left. 

'That solves the beast blood essence issue, so my body Qi reserves should be more than good for a long time. What should I do next?'

John thought about it for a moment before an idea came to mind and a smile appeared on his face.

"I suppose I'll pay my old friend a quick visit."