Chapter 65 - 53 : The New Body (2)

Chapter 65: Chapter 53 : The New Body (2)

Just ordinary food suitable for several days in seclusion. Ethan looked at it. A new question entered his mind. It was a question he had considered before the transformation. Now he finally had the opportunity to test it.

Vampires.

On Earth, the stories differed. Some could eat ordinary food. Some could not. Some lost their sense of taste. Some found normal food repulsive. Some became dependent on blood. Others could survive just on blood alone without eating at all.

There had never been a single consistent rule. Ethan had always considered that inconsistency one of the more interesting aspects of vampire fiction. Now he had a chance to find out which rule applied to him.

He opened the container. The familiar smell reached him. Ethan paused. He could smell it. That alone was worth noting. No repulsive feeling from the smell. He picked up a portion and took a bite.

He waited.

Nothing happened. He chewed slowly. The taste was there, and it was completely normal. He swallowed. Then took another bite. His expression remained thoughtful. The food tasted exactly as food should taste. There was no bitterness. No strange reaction. No rejection from his body. Ethan finished the small portion and leaned back slightly.

"So I can still eat."

He considered the result. That was one answer. But it created another question. He looked at the remaining food.

"Can I survive without it?"

That was different. Being able to eat did not mean he needed to eat. Ethan closed his eyes. He focused inward again. The strange vitality he had sensed earlier remained.

It was subtle.

Steady.

Almost like his body possessed its own source of nourishment. His gaze lowered toward his chest. Then toward the deeper sensation within his body.

The Blood Seed.

He could feel it. Barely. But unmistakably. It was there. Ethan did not attempt to interfere with it. Not yet. He simply observed. The Blood Seed felt different from his dantian. His dantian gathered and refined Qi through the Evergreen Breath Method. The Blood Seed seemed connected to something much more fundamental.

His blood.

His body.

His vitality.

Perhaps even his survival. Ethan’s expression became serious. This was no longer something he could dismiss as a minor change. If the Blood Seed was responsible for sustaining his transformed body, then understanding it would be one of his highest priorities.

He opened his eyes.

The stream continued flowing. He picked up another piece of food. After a moment, he ate it. There was no reason to stop. He enjoyed food. He had enjoyed it before becoming a vampire. Nothing had changed in that regard. If his new body allowed him to survive without eating, that was useful. If it allowed him to enjoy food anyway, even better. There was no reason to abandon something he liked simply because he no longer depended upon it.

Ethan finished the rest of his portion. Then he looked toward the forest. Something had changed. Not in the forest but in him. He could feel it. A faint sensation brushed against his awareness. Ethan’s expression changed.

He turned his head.

There was nothing unusual in his vision. Trees. Grass. The stream. A few insects.

Then the sensation returned.

Faint.

Almost indistinguishable from his ordinary perception. Ethan became still. He focused. The world seemed to shift. Not visually. Something else.

His attention settled upon a small creature hidden beneath a bush several dozen steps away. He had not heard it. He had not seen it. Yet he knew something was there.

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

The sensation was strange. He could sense something within the creature. A faint, living presence. Something warm and moving.

Blood.

The realization came without explanation. Ethan’s eyes sharpened. He did not move. He simply observed the sensation. It wasn’t spiritual sense. He knew what spiritual sense felt like or at least should feel like.

This was different.

More instinctive. More closely connected to his new body. He could sense the creature’s blood. Only faintly. Only because it was relatively close. And even then, the sensation was vague.

He could not tell what species it was with certainty. He could not read its thoughts. He could not see its memories. He couldn’t even determine its exact form.

It was simply...

there.

Alive.

Its blood was alive, even if it was very little. Ethan slowly released the perception. The sensation disappeared. He remained silent. Then a small smile appeared.

"Another question."

He reached for the travel journal he had carried with him. The pages were still intact. He opened to a clean section. After thinking for a moment, he wrote:

New observations.

Below it:

Sunlight causes no apparent adverse reaction.

He paused.

Then added: Ordinary food remains edible and retains normal taste.

Another line.

Food may no longer be necessary for basic survival. Further observation required.

His pen stopped. Ethan looked toward the next empty line.

He wrote: Possible blood-based perception.

He stared at those words.

Then added:

Different from spiritual sense.

Range and limitations unknown.

He closed the journal. He did not write a conclusion. There wasn’t enough evidence. That was the difference between observation and assumption.

Ethan stood.

The sun had climbed higher. Time had passed. He looked toward the cave. His belongings were still there. The secluded location had served its purpose. His transformation was complete. But remaining here indefinitely would accomplish little. He still needed cultivation resources. He still needed money. He still needed information.

And now he had something else. Questions. Many of them. Back at the cave, Ethan gathered his belongings and secured the cave as much as possible. Before leaving, he looked back once. The cave had been the place where he had crossed the boundary between one existence and another.

He had entered it as a human cultivator. He was leaving it as something the cultivation world had never known.

A vampire.

But Ethan did not feel the need to announce that fact to the world. Quite the opposite. His hand rested briefly over the place where the Blood Seed existed within him. He still didn’t understand it.

He intended to.

But understanding would take time. And Ethan had never been afraid of time. He stepped onto the path leading toward the city. The forest received him quietly. Behind him, the cave returned to silence. Ahead of him waited the same cultivation world he had left behind.

The same city.

The same people.

The same currency.

The same cultivation path. Only Ethan had changed, and he intended to find out exactly how much.