Leylin spoke in a calm tone, but his hands showed no mercy as he released thread-like rays of crimson light that pierced into the scorpion man's back.
The green blood squirmed as though facing a mortal enemy.
But unfortunately, under the effect of the toxin, not only was the Bronze Giant's bloodline suppressed—even the Ice Empress's voice had become sluggish and strained.
Leylin paid no heed to the Ice Empress's pleas and bargains, focusing entirely on refining the bloodline in his hands.
Under his control, the green blood on the scorpion man's back began to show signs of being drawn out, and faint green blood vessels had already started to surface.
"Argh! Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents! It's the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents again!"
The Ice Empress's voice suddenly turned calm. "Even if it means my immediate destruction—eternal ruin—I would rather not let the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents have her way!"
Boom! The green blood suddenly boiled over, even igniting into green flames.
"Hmm? The toxin's effect wore off ahead of schedule! As expected—ancient-era Morning Star beings were generally far more robust than modern ones. The potion calculations were off!"
Leylin's brow furrowed, but he still did not abandon the task at hand.
The opportunity to refine an ancient bloodline was far too rare, especially the blood of a rule-type being—it was a once-in-a-millennium chance! Leylin was naturally unwilling to let it go just like that.
"Hsss..."
An enormous phantom of a great serpent materialised, and the air seemed to freeze in an instant. A tremendous surge of power erupted from Leylin's body, locking down both the scorpion man and the blood.
"Commencing Plan Two!" Leylin's voice was ice-cold, his eyes devoid of any colour or emotion.
The mass of crimson threads accelerated even further, burrowing into the scorpion man's back and merging with the potion toxin to form a kind of binding rune, further restricting the target's movements.
"Give up! Everything about you—I know it all. I designed this method specifically to counter you!"
Leylin's voice was detached, but every word was the truth.
During the period he had spent observing from the outside, he had used the Chip to run tens of thousands of simulated scenarios, preparing countless contingencies for this descent into the underground. He had already anticipated this possibility and had made it a priority in his preparations.
To specifically counter the sealing techniques of this ancient bloodline, Leylin had stored dozens of counter-formulas directly within the Chip.
And since the Ice Empress could not act freely—not having even completed her resurrection—her many tricks were practically dismantled in a single blow before the meticulously prepared Leylin.
In Leylin's ears, her cries had shifted from their original intensity to something shrill and desperate, growing ever fainter. Clearly, even her soul was beginning to be suppressed and worn down.
"If your true body were here, you could certainly crush me as easily as an ant. But unfortunately, you are now merely a single drop of her blood—you haven't even completed your reincarnation..."
Leylin spoke calmly, and a strange glint seemed to flash through his eyes.
"..."
The soul force opposite him fell silent all at once, but then it began to erode at an even more terrifying speed.
Large quantities of green blood contracted backward, flowing back onto the Scorpion Man's back. Even the green blood vessels reabsorbed into the mass.
The green blood fused together, shrinking in volume but deepening in color to a vivid, almost luminous green that radiated a dim bronze glow.
"What's going on? Has it really given up?" A thread of suspicion flashed through Leylin's mind.
Yet even so, his wariness only deepened inside, though outwardly he maintained his previous composure.
Following the Ice Empress's actions, all the scattered green blood gathered together, coalescing into a single, brilliant drop of bronze-colored blood.
"The most primitive blood of a World Guardian?"
Leylin's eyes grew distant, his voice tinged with a hint of excitement.
This was the bloodline of a Rule-level existence, a powerhouse above Rank Seven Wizard! It even carried a trace of its original owner's imprint, enough to achieve rebirth from a single drop of blood.
Under Leylin's influence and refinement, it began to condense out from the Scorpion Man.
"Submit!" Leylin produced a pale-yellow notebook and opened its cover. A hazy luminescence emanated from the title page.
At the center of that page lay a circular sealing formation.
"The Book of Bloodline Sealing? No!" The Ice Empress's originally weak fluctuations surged violently upward, her voice distorting into something neither male nor female, taking on a dry, rasping quality.
"The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents! And her bloodline descendants! The Ice World shall be your eternal enemy!"
The Ice Empress's voice suddenly dropped low, as if transformed into a man's, having awakened some ancient memory. She unleashed a vicious curse upon Leylin!
"I am the Bronze Empress, Guardian of the Ice World! I offer to skmgkl..." Immediately after, the voice began emitting a series of strange fluctuations, directing a sacrificial appeal toward an existence unknown to Leylin.
"Today you may hold the upper hand, but you accounted for everything except the Rules! They are a power beyond your comprehension..."
"I sacrifice all the Laws I carry — power of skmgkl, descend!"