After sitting in silence for a long while, Zhang Ruoxi steeled her courage and activated her cultivation technique once more.
This time she paid close attention to what she was feeling. She discovered that when cultivating here, what she absorbed into her body was not only the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but also the power of the Primordial Wilderness. Yet what was utterly bizarre was that both types of power were immensely beneficial to her—especially the Primordial Wilderness power. It gave her a sensation akin to tasting marrow, an addictive pull she couldn't shake.
What was happening? Had something gone wrong with her body? This was the power of the Primordial Wilderness, after all…
Zhang Ruoxi suddenly grew frightened and didn't dare continue cultivating. She cut off the circulation of her technique and sat silently in place, her expression flickering between shock and uncertainty.
She had no way to find the cause of this. The only possible explanation lay in her bloodline, because the Master had told her that her bloodline power was extraordinarily strange, with an unknown form of inheritance.
She herself found it baffling. The cultivation technique she used was something she had comprehended on her own—it wasn't passed down by the Zhang family. It was as if all of this knowledge had been carved into the deepest recesses of her mind, and the moment she began cultivating, she simply knew how to circulate her energy.
Sitting idle in place accomplished nothing. All around her was silence, a deep tranquility.
Zhang Ruoxi thought for a moment, then retrieved the Ethereal Jade Disc from her spatial ring. Before entering this place, the Master had given it to her, telling her to study it thoroughly, saying it might hold the key to unlocking the secrets of her bloodline power.
The moment she took it out, Zhang Ruoxi's body jolted. She raised her head and stared in a certain direction.
That feeling was back!
Somewhere in the depths of her consciousness, something seemed to be resonating with the Ethereal Jade Disc in her hand, calling out to her from afar. Her entire body's blood began to course faster, burning with an intense heat.
She had felt this once before. Experiencing it again now confirmed that it was no hallucination.
But the sensation vanished in the blink of an eye. By the time Zhang Ruoxi tried to focus on it more carefully, she could detect nothing at all.
The Ethereal Jade Disc still displayed flickering images of beautiful landscapes. Zhang Ruoxi turned it over and over in her hands, studying it for a long time, but found no clue as to what it was truly for.
…
Dense jungle, deep within the ancient lands.
This was the true heart of the Primordial Ancient Lands—a place where no human had ever set foot. For hundreds of millions of years, only the various Primordial remnant species had lived here, generation after generation.
It was essentially another world, completely different from the four regions of the Star Boundary.
Atop a towering mountain, an elliptical object radiating blood-red light gleamed brilliantly. The entire thing was crimson, as though forged from fresh blood, yet it emitted a strange, alluring fragrance.
The Blood Gate!
Every demon race inhabitant living in the depths of the Primordial Ancient Lands knew of the Blood Gate's existence, but none could enter it, and no one knew what secrets it concealed.
However, within the ancient lands, a legend held that the Blood Gate contained the secret to allowing the ancient lands' creatures to evolve into Sacred Spirits. The current creatures of the ancient lands all carried traces of ancient Sacred Spirit bloodline power within their bodies—though the amount varied from individual to individual.
Even an utterly ordinary little snake, if one traced its lineage far enough back, might well have some connection to the Dragon Clan.
Once the dormant ancient bloodline within a creature was awakened, that creature could wield power comparable to its Sacred Spirit ancestors. Throughout the ages, across hundreds of millions of creatures, how many had truly managed to unlock the power of their bloodline and evolve into Sacred Spirits?
At most, no more than two hands could count them.
Yet according to the legends circulating among the various tribes of the ancient lands, the Blood Gate possessed a mysterious power that could allow any demon or Primordial remnant species who entered it to fully unlock their bloodline power. Upon success, they would have an enormous chance of reclaiming their ancestors' glory and evolving into Sacred Spirits.
It was because of this legend that the site of the Blood Gate had become the holy ground of all the races within the Primordial Ancient Lands. Countless creatures who believed themselves strong enough or fortunate enough threw themselves at the Blood Gate, one wave after another, seeking to awaken their bloodlines.
Not a single one had succeeded.
They couldn't even get close. Any creature that ventured within ten li of the Blood Gate would, more often than not, dissolve into a puddle of pus, dying in the most wretched manner imaginable.
Once, a formidable Demon King whose strength had reached the absolute peak of the twelfth tier came here before his lifespan ran out, desperate to make one final attempt. His life force was nearly spent, and if he didn't find a solution, he would soon perish of old age.
The Blood Gate was his last hope.
The peak of the twelfth tier—that was equivalent to a third-level Emperor in human terms. In the entire Star Boundary, how many such beings existed?
Yet despite pouring every ounce of his strength into the effort, he could only reach three li from the Blood Gate before he could advance no further. He held on for three days and three nights before ultimately dissolving into a puddle of pus, his soul scattering to the winds.
After that, no creature in the ancient lands dared approach the Blood Gate casually. If even a peak twelfth-tier Demon King could not enter the Blood Gate and unlock his bloodline, what other creature would have the courage to try?
The Blood Gate instantly became the most forbidden zone in the ancient lands. Not a single creature dared draw near, lest they die for no discernible reason.
Though this event had occurred long ago, among the creatures of the ancient lands—whether demon races or Primordial remnant species—lifespans were extraordinarily long. Many Demon Kings and regional overlords had personally witnessed the event and seen with their own eyes the tragic fate of that peak twelfth-tier Demon King. Under their strict warnings, their subordinates would not have dared approach the Blood Gate even if their lives depended on it.