Chapter 49: Chapter Forty-Nine: Seeking Skin from a Tiger

The man in red turned pale as paper in an instant, muttering, "As expected... 'Eightfold Origin Derivation' is a secret unpassed within the Buddhist sects. Since he passed it to you, he is naturally your master..."

He muttered to himself, then suddenly seemed to remember something. A chill ran through his body, and he asked tremulously, "Has that old gentleman come here as well?"

Seeing his terrified expression, Liang Yan's mind raced. He replied, "He certainly has. My master said he was bringing me to find an old acquaintance, and he is nearby right now. Out of curiosity, I entered this spirit mine, only to fall into a bizarre illusion. Do you know what is happening?"

Liang Yan's intention was to use the old monk's reputation to intimidate the man in red. Strangely, however, after he said this, the color returned to the man's face, and his expression no longer seemed as panicked as before. Instead, he asked in confusion

"Oh? I have been here for hundreds of years, and I have no idea which great deity resides on this mountain that would require the 'Angry Monk' to visit in person."

Liang Yan's heart sank, thinking things had gone wrong. But he couldn't figure out what he had said incorrectly, so he could only follow the man's lead

"Master only said he came to visit an old acquaintance. Perhaps he is not a great expert, but merely an old friend of my master."

"Hahaha!"

The man in red suddenly burst into laughter. "Kid, are you still trying to bluff?"

Liang Yan narrowed his eyes and asked calmly, "What do you mean by that, Senior?"

"Hmph, you just said he was nearby, and then indirectly admitted he had already entered the mountain. You didn't realize you were slapping your own face. The 'Angry Monk's' hatred for evil is known to the whole world. Just now, my 'Blood Fiend Puppet Realm' emitted such immense blood fiend spiritual pressure; if he were in the mountain, how could he not know? And if he were, how could I possibly be alive right now?"

He paused and continued, "You boy, your cleverness has backfired. If you had said your master was on his way and would arrive soon, I might not have dared to do anything to you and would have obediently escorted you out. But you insisted he was nearby on the mountain, which precisely proves that his true self is not here! Haha, I can only blame you for being too smart for your own good while lacking even a shred of common sense."

Liang Yan's expression darkened. He asked, "Blood Fiend Puppet Realm? It seems the dream I just fell into was your doing, Senior?"

"Exactly!"

The man in red said without any evasion, "Kid, how was the taste of the 'Red Dust Enchantment'? Back in my prime, I don't know how many people experienced life and death within my dreams, only to end up as my playthings."

At this point, he seemed to remember something and snorted coldly, "If I hadn't been sealed for so long and had my cultivation greatly suppressed, even with the divine abilities of 'Eightfold Origin Derivation,' a junior like you in the Qi Refinement stage would have already become a walking corpse."

Liang Yan saw that although the man was sealed here, he still could not see through his cultivation realm. He felt an aura of eeriness emanating from him, so he did not dare to be careless and asked in a heavy voice

"I have no grievance or enmity with you, Senior. Why do you seek to kill me for no reason?"

"No grievance or enmity? Hahaha!"

The man in red laughed loudly. "Our enmity is quite vast!"

After laughing for a while, his face turned grim. "Do you know that I practice Blood Path techniques? I have been imprisoned here for hundreds of years, and I have finally waited until the sealing power weakened. I only need to absorb the essence blood of some cultivators to slightly restore some of my divine abilities, and I will have a chance to break free."

"I previously used baleful qi to break open a passage and deliberately leaked a bit of the treasure aura from here. Before long, I attracted the attention of a passing rogue cultivator. I didn't expect him to be a member of the Cloud Hidden Society, which then drew seven cultivators here. Originally, I only had to wait for these seven to descend to become my blood food, but unexpectedly, you killed them all!"

Liang Yan was shocked. Although the thatched hut he and Tang Diexian had bought was not far from the spirit mine, there was still a distance between them. He hadn't expected that this man, located deep underground in the mine, would know everything about their battle with the black-clad cultivators of the Cloud Hidden Society. This man's divine sense was incredibly powerful, almost inconceivable.

He shifted slightly to shield Tang Diexian behind him and said deeply, "So, Senior intends to use us to vent your anger?"

"Vent anger?"

The man in red shook his head. "No, no. I originally intended to refine the two of you into blood puppets within the dream to go out and capture other low-level cultivators to help me restore my power."

"However..." His eyes darted around, and he put on a smile again. "Since I know you possess the 'Eightfold Origin Derivation,' a secret unpassed within the Buddhist sects, there is now another choice. Not only can you help me escape, but for you, it is also a massive opportunity!"

"Oh?" Liang Yan asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"As you can see, I am trapped here by a great Buddhist powerhouse. However, that bald donkey's cultivation wasn't much higher than mine. The reason he could suppress me steadily here, besides these four secret treasures on him, is thanks to that thing up there." The man in red pointed upward.

Liang Yan followed his finger and was struck with shock. There, floating in mid-air, was a small white jade bottle. It was exquisitely crafted, smooth and flawless, emitting a faint glow that stood in stark contrast to the dark surroundings.

He had been so focused on the man in red that he hadn't noticed such a treasure above his head.

The man in red saw his shock, but a dismissive smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He said, "Although that white jade bottle is a rare treasure, compared to what is inside... hehe, it is not even worth mentioning."

Knowing the man was intentionally teasing him, Liang Yan remained composed and asked, "Please speak plainly, Senior."

Seeing that Liang Yan's gaze did not waver, the man in red looked at him a few more times and said, "Inside is a drop of True Dragon Essence Blood!"

"True Dragon Essence Blood?!" Liang Yan's expression shifted.

"Correct! The True Dragon and the Phoenix are both remnants of the Immortal Realm. If you trace them back to their origins, they are even older than the human race's history in the Great Desolation. That old bald donkey went through many tribulations and nearly died several times to obtain a single drop of True Dragon Essence Blood from the Outer Seas, only to use it here to seal me!"

After saying this, the man in red laughed loudly, looking somewhat proud.

Liang Yan did not interrupt his laughter. Instead, he stood in place, silently observing the surroundings while his right hand was behind his back, gripping an octagonal compass. The needle on the compass was spinning continuously, as if searching for something.

After the man in red finished laughing, a sickly flush rose to his face. He coughed twice and continued to Liang Yan

"Kid, your opportunity has arrived. You were born with a chaotic and impure spiritual root; without external help, it would be difficult for you to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime. This True Dragon Essence Blood possesses the exact efficacy to cleanse your marrow and meridians, defying heaven to change your fate. If you consume this dragon blood and supplement it with my Blood Path techniques, your future achievements will be limitless!"

"Cleanse the marrow and meridians, defy heaven to change fate..."

Liang Yan muttered to himself, his breathing becoming noticeably heavy.

Since entering the cultivation world, he had always been limited by his own aptitude. Whether joining a sect or trying to advance to the outer sect, he had faced many setbacks due to his poor talent. If it hadn't been for the chance encounter that allowed him to comprehend the mysteries of the "Twin Fish Array," he would likely still be at the third level of Qi Refinement.

Liang Yan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed his longing, and stared at the man in red, asking word by word

"Such a massive opportunity... I wonder what I must do for you, Senior?"

"That is simple. In a moment, I will exert my full strength to break the array, which will inevitably trigger the combined suppression of these four treasures. At that time, I will use a great divine ability to forcibly sever the connection between one treasure and the array. I want you to use that moment to slip into this sealing formation and temporarily take the place of the severed treasure. You must realize that the entire seal is interconnected; by becoming part of the formation, you can easily take the white jade bottle above and obtain the True Dragon Essence Blood. As for me, once freed from the suppression of the dragon blood, I can escape. Thus, it is a win-win situation!"

"A clever way to substitute a fake for the real!"

Liang Yan nodded. "But has Senior not considered that I am merely a junior in the Qi Refinement stage? How could I possibly infiltrate such a great sealing array?"

The man in red laughed. "You don't need to worry about that. 'Eightfold Origin Derivation' contains the supreme Buddhist laws, which share the same origin as the Buddhist sealing array here. When the time comes, you only need to circulate your divine technique with all your might, and you will naturally be able to deceive the heavens."

"I see. It seems Senior has long had a plan. However... even if the treasure is good, one must be alive to enjoy it. The gap in strength between us is too great. Once you are free, I will be like fish on a chopping block, at your mercy."

Instead of getting angry, the man in red seemed quite satisfied. He nodded and said

"You are right. In the cultivation world, the strong are respected, and killing for treasures is normal. You may have many schemes in your head, kid, but you aren't like those hypocrites who spout righteousness."

He paused and added, "Fine! Since that is the case, I shall show you a way to live."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and cast a spell. A streak of red light shot toward the back, followed by a loud explosion in mid-air that illuminated the area.

Using the red light, Liang Yan discovered that there was actually a blue teleportation array there.

"This teleportation array was set up by that old bald donkey years ago to monitor me. The other end of the array leads to his great Buddhist sect. There are some damaged spirit stones on the array; I will use my magic to activate them for you. Once you obtain the dragon blood, you can immediately use this array to escape. As for me, my priority upon escaping will be to restore my cultivation; naturally, I won't take such a great risk to chase a mere Qi Refinement junior. Now, can you be at ease?"

Liang Yan still frowned. "This matter is of great importance. Please allow this junior to think carefully..."

The man in red grew impatient and said coldly

"Hmph, you think too highly of yourself! I was advising you kindly earlier because I hoped you would help me escape with all your heart. If you still want to haggle, I can kill you with a wave of my hand!"

As he spoke, his aura surged, and an incomparable pressure rushed toward Liang Yan. Even though it was only for a moment, large beads of sweat broke out on Liang Yan's forehead.

He had no doubt now that the man in red could kill him with a flick of his wrist.

"Hmph! If I hadn't wanted to refine you into blood puppets, you would have become my blood food the moment you descended! Do you truly think you can contend with me? At worst, I will kill you and wait patiently for the next batch. As long as there is enough blood food, I will break free sooner or later!"

*This man is too strong. If I provoke him, this place might become our grave! The only way is to take it one step at a time...*

Thinking this, Liang Yan cupped his hands toward the man in red and said with a smile, "Since Senior has extended such a warm invitation and offered such an opportunity, I shall obey!"