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Chapter 361: The True Form of the Blood Demon Avatar
🕑 Added 2024-10-19 08:30:30 +0000 UTC"Ah? Father, why would you say that about me..." Tucker looked at his father, his face showing frustration as he muttered a complaint.
However, noticing his father's unusual expression, he quickly changed his tone, "Ahem, Father, your evaluation is spot on. I will certainly strive to improve!"
Only then did Rhett smile and nod, saying, "Tucker, Rilai, let me introduce you to Manu, a wise man who has lived in our home for a long time. You can think of him as the steward of the homeland."
"Steward?" Rilai pondered silently for a moment before politely greeting, "Hello, Grandpa Manu."
"Hehe, hello, Grandpa Manu," Tucker also chuckled and followed with his own greeting.
"Hehe, hello to both of you. The homeland welcomes you." Manu smiled slightly, then looked toward Rhett, asking, "How did the test go? That blood demon essence..."
"I have successfully absorbed it. Next, I will return to reality and bring it into the simulation space to nourish the world!" Rhett's expression became calm.
"Hmm, I will wait for you here," Manu nodded.
Rilai and Tucker, completely bewildered, exchanged glances, having no idea what their father and Manu were discussing.
The next moment, everything went black for both of them, and they found themselves back in reality.
They looked at each other in confusion, and Rilai was the first to ask, "Father, are we going back in there later? What's the point of that place?"
"Of course, you'll understand soon enough!"
Rhett took out an alchemical container from his spatial ring, swallowed the tainted blood, and then placed his arms on both of their shoulders, instantly bringing them back into the simulation space.
This time, as soon as Rilai and Tucker regained their senses, they were stunned by what they saw.
Before their eyes, within their father’s shadow, was a terrifying, eerie blood-red figure. The blood-red figure, which had been moving slowly, suddenly reacted as if it had encountered something incredibly terrifying and fled from Rhett’s body at lightning speed.
"Freeze!"
Rhett watched as the blood-red figure coalesced into a bat-like form, confirming his suspicions. He immediately used his authority as the master of the homeland, freezing the space in an instant.
The blood-red bat didn’t have time to react. As soon as Rhett's thoughts materialized, it was immobilized, as though it had been placed under a petrification spell, unable to move at all.
However, a trace of fear still flickered in its eerie eyes.
"Now that you're here, don’t even think about escaping. Let me warn you, once I release you from your restraints, you'd better stay put, or don't blame me if you are turned to ashes."
Rhett coldly delivered the threat.
He then unlocked the restraints on the blood-red bat.
As expected, the blood-red bat obediently remained in place, wrapping its wings around its body, clearly showing how nervous it was. It glanced around anxiously and spoke in a sharp voice: "Where is this place? Who... who are you, and how did you bring me here? This is not an ability anyone from the Elemental World should possess!"
"Who I am is none of your concern," Rhett said coldly. "Just tell me—where did you hide the Blood Feather?"
"Blood Feather?"
The blood-red bat seemed puzzled but quickly understood. In shock, it exclaimed, "You're talking about that origin relic? No, that’s impossible! How could you know about this secret? I haven’t revealed this to anyone. Not even the Shadow Demon forced me to use it back then. No one in this world should know!"
Hearing these familiar words, so similar to the earlier simulated encounter, Rhett raised an eyebrow and said:
"There's no need for you to ask how I know. Just answer—where is it?"
The last three words were especially cold.
The blood-red bat suddenly fell silent, surveying the distorted, multicolored space around it, filled with a terrifying, mysterious, and eerie aura. Its gaze shifted as it looked at Rhett, showing a faint change.
"If I tell you, will you spare my life?"
As if having made up its mind, the blood-red bat lowered its head, speaking humbly.
Rhett narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, and said bluntly, "No problem. Tell me where the Blood Feather is hidden. Once I verify it, I’ll guarantee your life."
The blood-red bat stared at Rhett’s face, feeling a chill deep in its heart. The more decisively Rhett spoke, the more it doubted the truth of his words.
Swallowing nervously, the blood-red bat suddenly blinked in surprise and cried out in shock: “Huh? My connection to my true body has vanished?”
Gradually realizing what had happened, the blood-red bat's face displayed disbelief. It quickly flapped its wings in excitement, shouting loudly:
"Does this mean I’m truly free now? My true body can no longer control my life or death!"
"Hmm?" Seeing the blood-red bat suddenly flapping and circling, Rhett's expression shifted slightly, "I thought the Blood Demon’s true body was never able to sense what happens here. Could it be that you still had some way to contact each other?"
The blood-red bat suppressed its excitement and shook its head, saying, "We indeed couldn’t contact each other, but I used to always feel the control from the Netherworld. It was through this weak link that my true body could sense and control my life and death. If I ever thought of betraying it, it could execute me at any moment."
A flash of surprise crossed Rhett's eyes, but after a moment’s thought, his expression returned to cold indifference as he sneered:
"Hmph, and what does that prove? How do I know you're not lying?"
"We're at this point already! I advise you not to play any tricks. Tell me everything you know, and I might spare your life."
"Oh, Great Lord, everything I’m saying is true! I have no intention of deceiving you!" The blood-red bat had none of its former viciousness. Instead, it groveled like a lapdog, pleading: "You can easily control my life and death here. You are the Great Lord! I am willing to surrender completely and serve you!"
"That Blood Feather is merely a derivative of the origin relic. Though I don’t know its true name, its function is to help someone escape death. However, only the Blood Demon and its descendants are eligible to use it, and it requires the true body’s energy infusion."
"However, its energy was exhausted a hundred years ago, and it has lost its function. I hid it in a secret chamber in the Kingdom of Huiru. You can retrieve it anytime."
After speaking, the blood-red bat anxiously looked up at Rhett, trying to gauge his reaction.
"How unfortunate..."
Rhett remained expressionless, his voice cold.
The blood-red bat's willingness to submit had been somewhat unexpected, but it made sense under the circumstances. If what it said was true, without the threat of the Blood Demon, surrendering in a life-and-death moment was understandable.
"Unfortunate? What do you mean?" The blood-red bat asked nervously. "I am willing to serve you and tell you everything I know. Please spare my life!"
"I'm afraid I’ve taken a liking to the Blood Demon essence within you. I won't be able to spare your life..."
Rhett gazed at the blood-red bat regretfully.
To be honest, if possible, he would have liked to capture and store it in the simulation space. Wouldn't that be another autonomous life form? In future simulations, it could even be a helper...
"Blood Demon essence? You want that?" The blood-red bat froze for a moment, then quickly said, "That Blood Demon essence is full of filth! I’m not lying to you. You can’t absorb it! If you try to absorb it by force, you'll suffer irreversible side effects! Even if you use it as a material for research, you won’t gain anything. The Blood Demon essence is extremely evil, and if you're not careful, it will corrupt you! It’s easy to destroy but almost impossible to purify."
Rhett stared directly at the blood-red bat and finally sighed, "Just because others can't doesn't mean I can’t..."
Hearing these words, the blood-red bat’s face turned pale. Realizing Rhett's determination, it panicked and shouted:
"Great Lord, please spare my li—"
Before it could finish, its voice was abruptly cut off.
Rhett had already summoned the light screen and made his choice.
Purifying the Blood Demon essence still required over a thousand Destiny Points, slightly less than what was needed for the Blood Demon essence obtained during the simulation a thousand years ago. However, because the same origin law couldn’t be used twice for world feedback, this actually indicated that this essence contained even more profound laws.
If he fed it back into the world, the efficiency of extracting blood energy would undoubtedly increase!
As these thoughts ran through Rhett’s mind, the blood-red bat suddenly let out an ear-piercing shriek!
"Scree~~"
Rhett frowned and noticed that both Tucker and Rilai were wincing in pain, clearly affected by the scream.
Even Rhett, as the master of the homeland, though unaffected by the sound itself, could sense the special power within it, as if it reached into the very depths of his soul.
"This blood-red bat is more interesting than I thought. It’s a pity it’s about to be erased."
"No matter how valuable it is, it can't compare to feeding the world origin. With this, each future descendant will contain more abundant origin power, becoming the greatest talents in the world under my control!"
With that in mind, the trace of regret in Rhett’s eyes faded. He watched coldly as the tainted blood was struck by a beam of multicolored light, causing it to tremble violently.
Meanwhile, the shrieks and pleas for mercy continued, but Rhett remained indifferent, watching in silence.
After about half a minute, the blood gradually turned from crimson to bright red, emitting a faint glow that gave it a somewhat holy appearance.
Once the purified essence solidified, it shot up like a meteor, disappearing into the sky.
Rhett’s attention immediately shifted to the core of the homeland. He sensed the phantom within the core, where a worm-like evolving origin had now grown into a small snake, clearly much stronger.
Only then did he feel at ease, returning to the simulation space.
"Father, look! What is that thing?!"
The moment Rhett returned to the simulation space, he heard Tucker shouting in alarm, causing him to frown. But when he followed Tucker’s pointing finger, he was taken aback.
At the spot where the blood-red bat had been, a semi-transparent bat-like shadow was now floating.
From its shape, it resembled the blood-red bat, but its antennae were gone, its once menacing maw had become smaller, and the sharp edges on its wings were now smooth, resembling butterfly wings.
A look of confusion crossed Rhett's face.
Clearly, this transparent bat was a remnant of the blood-red bat. But now, it didn’t seem completely dead. So, what was this state exactly?
He looked to Manu, who was deep in thought. However, when Manu met Rhett’s gaze, he shrugged helplessly, indicating he had no idea.
Rhett nodded and approached the transparent bat, pulling it toward him.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the bat had shrunk significantly, now only the size of a palm. Its exquisite, miniature form looked almost cute.
If someone else didn’t know its origins, they might have been fooled by its harmless appearance.
But Rhett wasn’t fooled. He prodded the transparent bat with his finger.
"Hey, wake up. Stop pretending."
The transparent bat remained motionless, as if it had fainted.
"Is it dead?"
"It really looks dead. Manu, come over and collect the body." Rhett called out in a mock serious tone.
"No, no, no, I'm awake! I’m awake!"
Upon hearing the threat, the transparent bat shuddered and shouted loudly.
Hearing the familiar voice and tone, Rhett breathed a sigh of relief. It was still the same bat, with the same attitude...
"Tell me, what’s going on with this form of yours?"
Rhett examined the transparent bat closely, curious. As he spoke, he couldn’t help but poke its wings and pat its back, intrigued by the texture of the bat’s translucent body.
"Uh... Are you asking about my current form?" The transparent bat glanced down at its body, eyes filled with confusion, and weakly replied, "I’m not sure either. I was about to ask how you turned me into this. Just a moment ago, even I thought I was about to die..."
"How did you transform from the blood-red bat into this? Describe the entire process and how it felt. If your description satisfies me, I might spare your life." Rhett spoke in an enticing tone, his eyes gleaming brighter as he looked at the transparent bat. Then, suddenly, he changed his tone, his voice cold: "But if I find out you’re lying, or if I later discover you deceived me, don’t blame me for settling both old and new grudges at once. You’ll learn the true meaning of ‘living hell.’"
"Alright, alright, I get it!" The transparent bat shivered and replied sincerely, "I understand. I will tell you everything I know."
Rhett nodded in satisfaction, "Speak!"
"Well... when you ordered my purification earlier, I first felt myself enveloped by a vast, unfathomable power, completely incapable of resistance. Then, I felt all the energy and life force drain from my body."
"That process was extremely painful. I could only watch and endure. The despair I felt... words cannot describe it..."
"But what surprised me was that after all the energy drained from my body, I didn’t die. Instead, I felt a lightness, as if all the chains and prisons trapping me had been broken. It was indescribably liberating!"
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