Chapter 291: Blood Pool Mutation

The blood pools in Hidden Fiend Village were interconnected by networks of what resembled thick blood vessels.

Blood pumped incessantly through these channels, and under Wang Cailiang's instructions, several workers had just placed a spinning mule atop one of them. Fueled by qi and blood, the spinning mule began to operate, and the workers let out a collective cheer.

This was the scene that greeted Chu Qiguang when he arrived in the village with Gao Yi.

"What're you doing?" he asked with an intrigued expression.

"Ever since the blood pools devoured the undying divine general, they've been rapidly growing these channels," Wang Cailiang explained. "The workers working on the spinning mule found water power difficult to control, and the water levels also dropped after droughts, then it occurred to me that the flowing qi and blood in the blood pools could be used instead of river water.

"It's basically a limitless source of flowing water that isn't affected by rainfall or drought, so I manipulated the blood pools to create a main channel connecting all of them. Then, I had the workers modify one of the spinning mules to make it compatible with the blood pools."

Chu Qiguang didn't know what to make of this.

So what is this thing, then. A qi-and-blood-powered spinning machine?

Chu Qiguang had been considering experimenting with steam-powered machines once the technology in Hidden Fiend Village became more advanced, but Wang Cailiang had gone in another direction altogether.

Back on Earth, humans went from steam power to nuclear reactors, but at the end of the day, it was really all just boiling water. In comparison, this qi-and-blood-powered machine doesn't seem inferior to a steam-powered machine. In fact, it might even be better suited to this world.

While Chu Qiguang was pondering the possibilities, Zhou Yujiao skipped over, and her attention was immediately drawn to Gao Yi.

"Who's this?"

"A good friend I made in Shu Province," Chu Qiguang lied.

Good friend my arse! Gao Yi scoffed inwardly, but he naturally didn't dare to object.

After seeing Chu Qiguang's Chongming Bird steed and Hidden Fiend Village, he had come to regard Chu Qiguang as an unfathomably powerful figure, perhaps even a Dao Comprehension-state cultivator.

"What do you want?" Chu Qiguang asked, turning to Zhou Yujiao. "Have you finished your homework yet?"

"I have something very important to tell you!" Zhou Yujiao declared. "I was thinking, why don't we spread these blood pool channels throughout the entire village?"

"That's nonsense!" Wang Cailiang immediately objected. "The entire village will look terrible if we do that, and no one knows how to destroy these channels. Once it's done, it'll be irreversible!"

"We can just bury the channels underground!" Zhou Yujiao countered.

"Bury them underground? Do you have any idea how much work that would take?" Wang Cailiang scoffed. "The village is thriving right now, and everyone is living in peace and prosperity. Why go to the trouble of doing something like this?"

In contrast, Chu Qiguang was very intrigued by the idea.

"Why do you want to spread these channels throughout the village?" he asked.

"Because they're warm!" Zhou Yujiao replied. "The qi and blood flowing through them makes them really warm. I'm freezing to death in my room every day. If one of these channels extended to my room, it'd be really warm and cozy!"

"If you're cold, put on more clothes and burn more coal," Wang Cailiang countered, still convinced that Zhou Yujiao's proposal was a terrible idea.

"Spreading the channels throughout the entire village would be a bit excessive, but we can try extending one to the workshop," Chu Qiguang said with a smile. "That way, we won't have to bring the spinning mule here. From now on, the blood pool area will off-limits to all unauthorized personnel, and only items related to the blood pools will be kept here.

"If anyone wants to make use of the kinetic energy produced by the blood pools, they can do so in the workshop. Have the workers come up with more ways to harness the power of the blood pools. Aside from spinning mules, I think these channels can also support machines like waterwheels and turbines."

Wang Cailiang didn't quite understand everything Chu Qiguang had said, but he still committed it all to memory.

By this point, the blood pool had already expanded to nearly ten times its original size, and Chu Qiguang continued, "Make sure to keep feeding the blood pool so that it grows faster."

The blood pool can utilize food far more efficiently than ordinary living organisms, converting all sustenance directly into qi and blood. As long as we continue feeding it, its qi and blood should continue to grow stronger, much like cultivation for a martial artist.

All of a sudden, an intriguing thought occurred to Chu Qiguang.

I wonder if the blood pool can reach the Dao Comprehension state...

After issuing a few more instructions, Chu Qiguang dismissed Wang Cailiang, Zhou Yujiao, and the others before making his way toward the blood pool with Gao Yi held captive.

***

Meanwhile, news of Zhang Fengyun's fiend-slaying feat had begun to spread rapidly throughout the Ba Manor, and Ning Chigong immediately sent his subordinates to find out what had happened.

After hearing their report, he heaved a faint sigh of relief.

"So the Chaotic Heavens King and the Yaksha Wraith are already dead?"

"That's right," the subordinate delivering the report replied. "We personally saw their demonified corpses. It seemed that they had already been involved in a battle before Zhang Fengyun killed them."

A wary look surfaced in Ning Chigong's eyes at the mention of Zhang Fengyun. She had a very strange personality, but she was also extremely powerful and presided over the Heavenly Master Religion in the Ba Manor.

Normally, she was a huge pain for Ning Chigong to deal with, but on this occasion, she had done him a tremendous favor by killing the Chaotic Heavens King and the Yaksha Wraith.

Now that all the fiends and demons are dead, there won't be any leads to follow. With that out of the way, it's time to focus on dealing with Chu Qiguang.

That same day, Ning Chigong sent out invitation letters to the governor of the Ba Manor, as well as several prominent clans and well-respected martial arts seniors.

Chu Qiguang's greeting cards had been completely ignored, but these people were much quicker to respond to Ning Chigong's invitations.

Ning Chigong had invited them to attend a martial gathering, where everyone would come together to enjoy wine and participate in sparring matches, and all of the invitees agreed to attend.

Ning Chigong was very pleased. He knew that, in everyone's eyes, he was still the true hundred-man commander of the Ba Manor. As long as he had everyone on his side, Chu Qiguang would never be able to establish himself.