Chapter 360: The Heartbeat of the Ancient Demon

Chapter 360 -362: The Heartbeat of the Ancient Demon

Even lying prone in the Secret Realm, Jilian’s back towered more than a hundred meters above the ground—a being so immense that one had to crane their neck to look up even when standing right beside it.

In the Secret Realm, the greater a controller’s authority, the more miraculous their abilities. Carrying Ai You and Axi on his shoulders, Qin Xiaoxia took just a few steps and flashed to a spot directly in front of Jilian’s head.

Su Su instantly appeared nearby in the same fashion. Only Brown ran over the old-fashioned way, though for someone of his caliber, it only meant arriving a dozen or so seconds later.

Mumu emerged from the soil. The enormous Thorn creature looked like nothing more than a tiny weed before Jilian’s face.

Its anthropomorphic, tree-like face showed a flicker of both anxiety and excitement.

“Master, I’m ready.”

In the entire Dawn Association, only Mumu had called Qin Xiaoxia “Master” from the very beginning. This hadn’t changed even after Qin Xiaoxia returned the large part of the Heart of Nature he had split from it. In fact, Mumu now addressed him with even more gusto.

Who knew where Mumu had picked up such twisted logic, believing this form of address highlighted its intimate relationship with Master Sage in the Dawn Association. The funny thing was, Qin Xiaoxia thought its reasoning was pretty sound too.

“Whether Jilian’s Golden Red Blood can be regenerated will be up to you two.”

Mumu and Brown both instinctively glanced at the behemoth beside them, their expressions grave.

“Actually, this would be easier with help from the Demon Eye’s power, but I still don’t trust it. Once Jilian is revived, I’ll have more leverage to control the Demon Eye.”

Given the mystery and terror surrounding an Ancient Species, Qin Xiaoxia didn’t believe the Magic Essence he’d left in the Demon Eye’s spiritual core could actually pose a life-threatening danger to it; it was merely a question of what price the Demon Eye would have to pay to free itself.

Even though the Demon Eye’s attitude grew more reverent with each meeting, he couldn’t let his guard down.

“Alright, enough idle talk. First, we make Jilian generate blood again!”

Although the enormous body still possessed a powerful Life Force, it was completely bloodless inside. Without a soul and without blood as the very source of life, even a shell teeming with vitality was nothing more than an unrotting corpse.

Ai You’s and Axi’s bloodlines and souls were exceptionally pure, but they were too weak on their own. The Association had to pave the way for them.

At Qin Xiaoxia’s command, Brown was the first to act.

The Magic Power radiating from his body instantly grew scorching hot. His hair and skin gradually turned red, and even his fingernails became like sharp, red gemstones.

On the grassy ground before Jilian’s forehead, vines writhed and scattered in all directions like great green and bark-colored snakes.

A house-sized mass of golden-red crystalline material slowly rose from the ground. It was entwined with a great number of Demon Vines, which were now also writhing away in all directions.

Eventually, the mass was completely revealed.

This was the blood Brown had collected when the Dawn Association annihilated the other Ancient Demon Bloodlines during the battle for Jilian’s body.

The impure blood of the Ancient Demon Bloodlines could hardly compare to Jilian’s pure blood. The original amount of blood, before purification, would have been enough to fill a small river.

A small portion of the purified Blood Crystal had been used to create the G Magic Potion for Baru; this was the bulk of what was left.

A house-sized mass might seem like a lot, but compared to Jilian’s body, it was like placing a fist-sized ball of blood in front of a normal person.

Unfortunately, even so, this Blood Crystal was still unusable. Impure blood was still impure blood. It needed to be purified further, to the point of complete atavistic reversion.

Even Brown’s pupils had now turned blood-red, and crimson Magic Power burned across every inch of his body.

His hands, which now looked more like Claws, reached out and pressed against the surface of the Blood Crystal.

“Ilova… Flow!”

As the deep, magical words faded, the Golden Red Blood Crystal began to radiate intense heat. It then melted into liquid, forming a small, golden-red river of blood that swirled before Brown.

Though it was blood, it should have carried a metallic stench. Instead, everyone present could only smell a faint, sweet fragrance.

Qin Xiaoxia watched with an impassive expression. On his shoulders, Ai You and Axi were so nervous they nearly tore his black robe to shreds, their tiny wings trembling uncontrollably.

“Mumu, you’re up!”

The Thorn Child had long awaited this moment. It knew when to intervene without needing its Master’s command, as it and Brown had run through simulations of this process no fewer than ten times.

“Gongluoduo Yiman… Ilova.”

Each word of the Magic Language unleashed a vast amount of Magic Power. The flowers clustered around Jilian’s body all began to grow at a startling rate.

Their beautiful, vibrant colors warped, becoming more and more eerie. Their delicate forms twisted, turning bizarre and menacing.

The sound of illusory laughter seemed to drift from these flowers, triggering the vast fields of surrounding flora to transform in unison.

“Demonized… Life Flowers!”

That hoarse and bizarre magical tone was Mumu’s true voice. The phrase was part exclamation, part command to the flowers.

Each Flower of Life took up a huge amount of space—perhaps several dozen square meters. What appeared to be a lush patch of foliage was, in fact, just a single plant.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—

The instant the golden-red blood reached a boiling point, countless roots shot out.

Qin Xiaoxia narrowed his eyes. Su Su stared straight ahead, stroking her Crystal Ball. Meanwhile, atop Jilian’s head, the Red Demoness’s mouth opened and closed as she silently sang some unknown ballad.

“AHHHHHH—” “AHHH—” …

For the next few seconds, faint screams rang out, quickly merging into a single, continuous cry.

Demonized Plants are simply the result of a Tree Shepherd’s special cultivation methods, leading to an enhanced or activated evolution. Demonization, on the other hand, transcends the conventional magical means of a Tree Shepherd; it is on the level of creating an entirely new life form, a new individual entity.

Within the system of Magic Pattern knowledge, many peculiar things were classified as a form of Demonization, like the Crystal Ore in Los Angeles. The word ‘demon’ itself implied something wondrous.

At this moment, the flowers were screaming. These countless Demonized Life Flowers had been influenced for months by their proximity to Jilian’s body and had undergone a directed Demonization under the Tree Shepherd’s Magic Power.

And even though this river of blood was merely refined from the blood of Ancient Demon Bloodlines, the aura of an Ancient Species was not something easily withstood.

Even for the Flowers of Life, renowned for their potent Life Force and having undergone a special Demonization, very few could withstand the strain.

In less than twenty seconds, thousands of Demonized Life Flowers withered and were incinerated into ash, leaving not even a root behind.

This garden was where the Dawn Association cultivated over eighty percent of its Flowers of Life; it would be no exaggeration to call them a strategic resource.

Any Dawn Member witnessing the Flowers of Life withering away like this would feel a heart-wrenching pain. Even someone of Baru’s standing would not be able to remain composed.

Peter and Niso, two newly-promoted Knights, had once agonized for ages over losing just a dozen petals each.

Qin Xiaoxia remained outwardly cool and motionless, but what was he feeling inside?

In a word: ‘My heart is bleeding!’

He could ignore the loss of one or two, but losing thousands felt as agonizing as taking cash from his safe and setting it on fire just to keep warm.

“One survived! Two! There are more over there—three, four!!”

Su Su’s voice trembled with excitement.

“Yay!!!” “Hah!!!”

Ai You and Axi leaped up on Qin Xiaoxia’s shoulders, their joy plain to see.

“Phew…”

Master Sage, who was like a Stabilizing Needle in their eyes, also quietly let out a sigh of relief.

The Red Demoness’s song transitioned from a delicate silence to a whispered harmony, helping to calm the still-struggling Demonized Life Flowers. Though petals continued to wither and fall, more and more of the individual plants began to stabilize.

Although her song was imbued with her Magic Power, it contained no charms or illusions—it was purely a beautiful melody that touched the soul.

“If Sister Hong entered a singing competition, the other contestants wouldn’t stand a chance…”

Su Su muttered under her breath.

About two minutes later, all the Demonized Life Flowers had stabilized.

“Hah… hah…”

Keeping the Golden Red Blood from running rampant had consumed a vast amount of his Magic Power, and Brown was panting heavily. Mumu didn’t need to breathe, but its branches and leaves drooped with exhaustion.

Su Su, along with Ai You and Axi, were counting the survivors, pointing their fingers in the air.

Qin Xiaoxia glanced up at the Red Demoness sitting on Jilian’s head. She just shrugged, as if to say she had done all she could.

“Thirteen in total? A bit less than I’d hoped, but it’s a good thing we prepared so many!”

The probability of a Demonized Life Flower absorbing the Golden Red Blood was extremely low, but it wasn’t zero. And when dealing with low probabilities, the solution is to overwhelm it with sheer numbers.

And sure enough, out of several thousand Demonized Life Flowers, a few lucky ones had managed to absorb the Ancient Demon Blood.

‘I was hoping for a hundred, but… oh well. At least we broke into the double digits.’

The small river of blood overhead had shrunk to less than a third of its original volume. The rest had evaporated along with the flowers that had been burned to ash.

“Brown, are you alright?”

“I can hold on!”

In the presence of a living member of the Saints and Sages, his own idol, the drain on his Magic Power meant nothing to Brown.

The thirteen remaining Demonized Life Flowers shot more and more roots into the air, plunging them deep into the flowing river of blood.

As the golden-red blood diminished, the Flowers of Life grew ever larger.

By the time the blood was gone, the thirteen Flowers of Life had sprouted thirteen enormous buds. Aided by Mumu’s Magic Power and the Red Demoness’s song, they began to slowly bloom.

‘Alright, my turn!’

Qin Xiaoxia took two steps forward, seeming to materialize from thin air. It was impossible to tell when he had released his Magic Power, but in that instant, the air was filled with a searing, violet blaze.

“Release the shackles.”

Within the Secret Realm, invisible chains materialized. They were wrapped around Jilian’s limbs, neck, torso, and wings. At Qin Xiaoxia’s command, they were drawn out and vanished.

“Jilian… Jilian… Jilian… Jilian…”

As the shackles were released, a faint, murmuring clamor arose from nowhere, as if countless strange, androgynous beings were roaring from within the Void.

Ai You and Axi’s hearts pounded as if they would leap from their chests. They followed Master Sage, drawing close to Jilian’s skin.

Qin Xiaoxia pressed his hand to Jilian’s forehead.

The Day of Dawn symbol beneath its massive left shoulder flared with a brilliant purple light. At that exact moment, the thirteen giant plants burst into vivid, golden-red blossoms. At the heart of each flower was a flawless, golden-red Gemstone, each the size of a door panel.

Mumu’s thorned branches formed into whips and flicked lightly at each blossom. All the Gemstones dislodged and fell as the thirteen Flowers of Life instantly wilted.

As Qin Xiaoxia timed a surge of his Magic Power, the thirteen Gemstones seemed to come alive. They swam a circle through the air and then, glowing with astonishing heat, flew straight into Jilian’s mouth.

He could feel the scorching wind as they flew past him.

The Gemstones melted the instant they entered its mouth, transforming into streams of pure blood that flowed into Jilian’s long-desiccated body.

Heat!

Jilian’s body temperature rapidly climbed from its icy state.

Thirteen gem-like drops of blood might have seemed like a drop in the ocean, but for a being like Jilian, all that was needed was a catalyst.

In a remarkably short time, the blood traveled through the resilient vessels and reached its heart.

THUMP—

BOOM—

WHOOOOSH—

Huge patches of turf were ripped up, sending clods of dirt and grit flying in all directions. Many Demonized Plants, including the thirteen special ones, clung to the ground as the force sent their bodies swaying wildly.

Ai You and Axi clung desperately to Qin Xiaoxia’s shoulders to keep from being thrown off.

The first beat of its reviving heart thundered out, and a brief, violent storm erupted from Jilian’s body, blasting across the entire garden.

PS: First chapter for Friday.

First time getting a ‘Big Wind’ feature, haha. Thank you to my editor for believing in me, and an even bigger thank you to all my readers for your support! ^_^