Chapter 1569: Blood Transformation

“What’s going on, Brother Tu? Still not reassured about that direction?” the middle-aged man asked with a flicker in his eyes.

“Exactly. The compass has a reaction to that direction as well. But the reaction fluctuates between strong and weak—sometimes it seems to be the strongest among all directions, and other times there’s no reaction at all. It’s truly rather odd,” the old man said, staring at the slightly flickering compass in the air with a hint of suspicion.

“It seems either that person possesses some extraordinary treasure that can interfere with the Heavenly Profound Compass’s detection, or their cultivation is genuinely formidable, using some kind of divine ability to conceal their aura, making it impossible for the compass to pinpoint them accurately,” the middle-aged man mused after a brief pause, though his tone was uncertain.

“Perhaps. But if it’s the former, that’s one thing. If it’s the latter, we can’t let them slip away. Here’s what we’ll do—send two winged flood dragons to scout that direction and see what’s really going on. By the time we get results, we’ll have already dealt with the other directions. Then we can make another trip if needed,” the old man suggested.

“Brother Tu, your approach is prudent. Let’s proceed this way. If all goes smoothly, we can wrap things up here in half a day,” the middle-aged man agreed with a chuckle.

Clearly, this man believed that snatching something from a few Void Refinement cultivators wouldn’t be too difficult.

The old man nodded at his words and let out a sharp shout. The remaining two golden-winged flood dragons circled briefly above their heads before suddenly darting toward the direction indicated by the compass.

Moments later, they vanished without a trace.

Without further hesitation, the old man and the middle-aged man activated their escape lights, transforming into two streaks of light that shot into the sky, each heading in a different direction.

One of the streaks dimmed abruptly mid-flight, its white light flickering before becoming faint and nearly imperceptible.

The other streak, after flying about ten miles, burst with a loud *bang*, releasing a cloud of purple mist that engulfed the escaping light.

A short while later, the mist dissipated slightly, revealing nothing inside—it was completely empty.

—

Above a stretch of rolling hills, an alien with a sallow complexion and a pair of strange antennae on his head rode a gecko-like spirit beast, flying forward at a low altitude just a few zhang above the ground.

The gecko wasn’t particularly large, only about a zhang in length, its body covered in a faint yellow glow that blended seamlessly with the earth below. Under this radiance, the alien and the gecko were nearly invisible from above, their traces difficult to detect with the naked eye.

As the alien urged his spirit beast forward, he frequently glanced backward, his expression uneasy, as if haunted by lingering fear.

This person was at the early Void Refinement stage, yet he was neither one of the green-skinned beings nor the big-headed ones. It seemed that within Green Light City, aside from Han Li and the four big-headed beings, there had been other high-level cultivators hiding in the shadows. Somehow, he had managed to evade the big-headed beings’ surveillance without making contact with other high-level aliens.

To be fair, this individual was exceptionally shrewd.

He had concealed his cultivation level the entire time in the city, deliberately avoiding mingling with the big-headed beings and others of his rank to avoid drawing the attention of the Horned Race. When the city gates opened, he had quietly slipped out among the low-level aliens and fled this far.

Now, he was over a thousand miles away from Green Light City. Under normal circumstances, this would be considered safe, yet his expression remained unsettled.

For some reason, a sense of unease had begun to weigh on him, as if disaster could strike at any moment.

The “Heart Charm” race, to which he belonged, was a minor clan on the Thunder Continent, but they possessed a rare innate ability to sense danger. Thus, he took this premonition extremely seriously, carefully monitoring his surroundings.

Suddenly, his expression shifted as if he had detected something. With a squeeze of his legs, the gecko beneath him halted abruptly. Its crimson eyes darted around as it surveyed the area, while the alien’s antennae twisted and swayed in sync with his gaze.

Then, a burst of white light erupted from the void beside him, and a shadowy figure emerged within it. With a single motion, a dazzling golden sword beam slashed downward.

The radiant golden sword energy arrived before the alien in an instant.

Startled, the alien might have been caught off guard if not for his earlier vigilance. A small black shield materialized in front of him, and a three-colored barrier—red, yellow, and green—flared to life around his body with a resonant hum.

Meanwhile, the gecko beneath him flicked its long tail, sending a shadowy whip-like strike toward the figure in the white light, while simultaneously spewing a foul-smelling green liquid ball at the same target.

The stench of the liquid was nauseating!

This alien, a Void Refinement cultivator, had managed to react with astonishing speed in that split second.

Yet the figure in the white light was even more formidable. The golden sword energy sliced through the black shield as if it were nothing, landing squarely on the three-colored barrier.

The shield itself split silently in two and plummeted from the void.

The alien’s expression darkened slightly.

With a thunderous *boom*, the golden light struck the three-colored barrier, erupting in a dazzling explosion. The clash of energies sent continuous bursts of light and sound rippling through the air.

Surprisingly, the three-colored barrier held against the golden sword energy.

However, the green liquid ball struck the white figure, and the gecko’s tail swept through its body as well.

Yet the white figure merely swayed slightly, its form seeming almost illusory. Both attacks passed right through it, landing harmlessly in empty space.

“What kind of divine ability is this?!” the alien exclaimed in shock. He quickly focused his gaze on his opponent while flipping his hand to produce a pale silver talisman. With a flick of his wrist, he prepared to activate it.

But at that moment, a faint breeze stirred the void behind him, and a nearly transparent figure materialized silently, as if carried by the wind.

This figure was semi-transparent, appearing without the slightest ripple of spiritual energy—like a ghostly apparition.

Meanwhile, the alien remained oblivious to the presence behind him. He raised his hand, and the talisman transformed into a barrage of silver lightning bolts that blasted toward his enemy.

The deafening roar of thunder filled the air as the silver lightning exploded, engulfing the white figure. The heat from the lightning instantly scorched the surrounding void.

Yet the figure behind him, seeing the ferocity of the lightning, twisted its nearly transparent face into a sinister grin. Suddenly, it lunged forward, transforming into a streak of green light.

What happened next was beyond belief.

The three-colored barrier, which had withstood the golden sword energy, offered no resistance whatsoever to the green light.

The green light pierced through the barrier in an instant, then vanished into the alien’s body.

His protective spiritual light was equally ineffective.

A bloodcurdling scream tore from the alien’s throat!

He shot into the air but had barely risen a dozen zhang before his body convulsed violently and plummeted back down.

His flesh withered at a visible rate, shrinking and dissolving before he even hit the ground. By the time he landed, only a thin husk remained, fluttering down like a dried leaf. Even his primordial spirit seemed to have melted away.

Without its master’s control, the silver lightning dissipated instantly, revealing the white figure once more.

With a flash of golden light, the figure sliced the gecko into several pieces before freezing in place.

A smug chuckle emerged from the husk, which then swelled unnaturally, rapidly reforming into the alien’s original appearance.

The alien flexed his hands, a strange smile playing on his lips. His gaze shifted, and he beckoned toward the white figure.

The figure slowly approached, its white light fading to reveal its true form—the Horned Race’s middle-aged man!

But now, his expression was utterly blank, like a puppet.

“The Blood-Draining Soul-Severing Technique is truly fearsome. Pity that I can’t use it again until I refine the absorbed essence. Otherwise, it’d be unstoppable in battle,” the “alien” murmured regretfully as he studied the “middle-aged man.”

With a flick of his wrist, a storage bracelet flew out, spinning in midair before releasing a jumble of miscellaneous items.

After scanning them with his spiritual sense, he waved his hand, and several boxes floated toward him. He opened them one by one, inspecting their contents.

Soon, his expression darkened. Though there were some rare items among the pile, none were what he sought.

Without a word, he pointed at the storage bracelet, and a blue mist swept out, gathering everything back inside.

After a brief pause, he suddenly seemed to remember something and hastily patted himself down. Aside from two talismans and a few small trinkets, he found nothing else.

With a cold snort, he shook his head in frustration. Forming a hand seal, a wisp of green light shot from the crown of his head, flickering once before reforming into the semi-transparent figure.

Meanwhile, the alien’s body collapsed like a deflated balloon, reverting to a thin husk on the ground.

The semi-transparent figure didn’t linger. With a flicker, it merged back into the middle-aged man’s body.

The man shuddered, closing his eyes as an eerie green glow rippled across his skin. After a long moment, he exhaled deeply and reopened his eyes.

His previously dull and rigid gaze was now sharp and alert, identical to his original self.