Chapter 23: The Blood Sword's Birth
The inn room was a cocoon of quiet intensity. Lin Xuan summoned Liu Yang. "This path is painful," he warned, handing him a simplified version of the Scriptures and the Crimson Blood Crystallization Art. Liu Yang began the art, his face contorted in pain as his blood crystallized.
Lin Xuan's crimson eyes narrowed as the boy cut his finger. The blood coalesced into a liquid sword, its surface shimmering with a deep red hue. "Incredible," Lin Xuan muttered. "Form a dagger," he tested, and the blood reshaped. "Now armor," he added, and the boy was encased in crystalline blood.
Lin Xuan realized Liu Yang's blood was tied to a powerful lineage. Liu Yang's aura surged as he broke through to the 6th Layer of the Body Refining Realm. Liu Yue entered, her Icy Skin aura clashing with Liu Yang's blood qi. Lin Xuan mediated, teaching them to blend their qi, the Celestial Unity Crest pulsing in approval.
That night, Lin Xuan returned to his room, his silver-blue flame casting dancing shadows as he refined a pill. The Celestial Unity Crest guided his hands, unlocking the Vein Fortress Body technique—hardening blood beneath his skin. He prepared for the Hei Clan's inevitable retaliation.