Chapter 293: The Azure Bloodline Ability

Solomon stared at the blue leaves sprouting from the new branch. "What does ’Devour’ do? I can make a fairly educated guess based on the name, but talents and system descriptions have been incredibly vague so far."

"With this talent, you can forcefully absorb the ambient aura from the surrounding environment," the Heavenly Demon explained, pacing slowly across the grass. "The denser and more spiritually rich the location, the greater your aura absorption rate becomes. There is absolutely no limit to this absorption. It is practically infinite. The devoured aura can then be stored directly within your internal cores and reservoirs for immediate combat use."

Solomon listened carefully, processing the tactical implications.

"Just to confirm," Solomon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Does this mean I can have an infinite supply of aura?"

The Heavenly Demon scoffed, crossing his arms. "I cannot possibly explain it in simpler terms."

"How does the absorption actually work?" Solomon pressed. "Is it a passive trait that happens automatically, or do I have to cultivate to trigger it?"

"It happens automatically," the Heavenly Demon responded. "However, actively meditating and cultivating will significantly increase the devouring rate, which is obviously better for replenishing your reserves quickly. As long as you execute any attack that utilizes aura, this talent will trigger to refuel you. But logically, if the aura output of your attack is vastly higher than what you can passively absorb in that moment, the energy will be drained from your internal cores and reservoirs to compensate."

Solomon fell deep into thought. He wondered if this combination of abilities was merely a series of incredible coincidences, or if his Convergence talent actively sought out synergistic powers.

He looked at the golden branch of Eden. The Eden bloodline talent granted him infinite physical strength governed by a stamina tax. If he utilized his strength properly and managed the stamina drain, it essentially meant infinite physical power. Furthermore, the angel’s heart granted him infinite regeneration, though the stamina tax applied to that as well.

If he completely exhausted his stamina, his healing factor would plummet, meaning suffering a severe injury while gassed out was highly lethal. Yet, it was still technically infinite regeneration.

Now, he had acquired the Azure bloodline talent, which supposedly granted him infinite aura. If he learned the proper martial Dao, fully comprehended aura manipulation, and unlocked all seven cores, he would eventually be able to seamlessly convert his infinite aura into physical strength and stamina, perfectly balancing his biological tax.

Solomon looked directly at the Heavenly Demon. "This ability sounds way too good. There has to be a catch."

The Heavenly Demon offered a grim smile. "The catch is that you must always absorb aura. That should not be a problem under normal circumstances. Your body will automatically absorb ambient spiritual energy even when you are unconscious or sleeping, although the passive rate is significantly slower."

"What happens if I find myself in a location entirely devoid of spiritual energy, where I am physically unable to absorb any aura?" Solomon asked.

"Then the Azure bloodline within your veins will turn highly venomous and kill you from the inside out," the Heavenly Demon stated bluntly. "Just like how a mortal requires air to breathe and live, continuously absorbing aura is a biological necessity for the Azure bloodline."

The Heavenly Demon gestured toward Solomon’s chest. "However, since you have only unlocked five cores, your current absorption rate is practically non-existent. You must unlock the navel core to officially start cultivating internal energy and effectively absorb it. Once you unlock the final mind core, your absorption rate will instantly double. You will also gain the ability to physically sense and ’feel’ the spiritual energy in your surroundings, allowing you to easily identify dense environments where you can cultivate and devour efficiently."

"I plan to unlock the navel core as soon as I get back to the sect," Solomon nodded confidently.

The Heavenly Demon chuckled softly. "It is not nearly as easy as it sounds. That is not something you can accomplish with raw brute strength. Shattering that gate requires immense patience, a virtue you clearly seem to lack."

"It is not that I lack patience," Solomon rebutted defensively. "I just prefer to try harder instead of sitting around waiting for things to happen."

Solomon then looked at the dark-haired man and frowned. "Why are you still standing here? Shouldn’t you have vanished into golden particles like the little girl now that the gem has been fully absorbed?"

The Heavenly Demon pointed a long finger at the newly sprouted Azure branch. "Look closely. The blue leaves have not developed fully, and there are no flowers blooming on the wood. Until you have unlocked all seven of your aura cores, fully learned the martial Dao, and practiced using the Azure bloodline in combat, I will remain bound to this inner world."

Solomon let out a heavy sigh. "I do not like this arrangement. Having a Heavenly Demon roaming around inside my head feels like something incredibly bad is bound to happen."

The Heavenly Demon chuckled again, a dark, amused sound. "You do not need me to cause a disaster. You are reckless all on your own. You will undoubtedly do something terrible to yourself without any outside interference."

"Sometimes I do not have a choice," Solomon responded defensively. "I have to do what needs to be done."

"You always have a choice," the Heavenly Demon countered smoothly. "You could have simply chosen not to enter that cavern. Or, at the very least, you could have chosen not to collapse an entire mountain directly on top of yourself."

"I was running out of the power of the giant. I didn’t have time. I had to defeat the boss to clear the dungeon and prevent a monster break from destroying the district," Solomon argued.

The Heavenly Demon let out a dry, mocking laugh. "I completely fail to understand your foolish reasoning. If you truly cared for the safety of your people, you could have simply evacuated them from the territory. There were countless other tactical options you could have chosen instead of blindly charging into a high-tier dungeon you had no prior knowledge of."

Solomon scoffed, his silver eyes flashing with sudden anger. "Someone who is notoriously known across the realms as the ’Heavenly Demon’ would obviously never understand the agonizing feeling of losing everything."

The Heavenly Demon moved instantly. He took a single step forward, crossing the grassy distance in a blur, and materialized directly in front of Solomon. He glared down at the teenager, his red eyes burning with terrifying intensity.

"If I were still alive, and we were standing in the outside world right now," the Heavenly Demon hissed, his voice laced with venom, "I would have killed you ten times over for that ignorant comment. And I would have killed you another ten times for daring to call me the Heavenly Demon."

Solomon blinked in genuine confusion, leaning back slightly. "Why would you get so offended by being called the Heavenly Demon? That is literally your historical title."

The dark-haired man turned around, his robes sweeping across the grass. He stared out at the endless green plains, his posture radiating a profound, suffocating sorrow.

"Because that was never the title I wanted," the fallen king answered quietly. "It was a monstrous label forcefully branded onto me by the very people I swore to protect."