Chapter 12: Bloodsucking Power Multiplied!

Arriving at the Library Pavilion, Lu Wu swaggered in without a hint of caution.

After a brief search, he quickly locked onto the Secret Tome of Soul Refinement. He opened to the first page, and the Book of Knowledge immediately absorbed the entire contents of the Secret Tome.

Lu Wu had originally planned to snatch what he needed and make a hasty escape—without the protection of the female saint, he was painfully aware of how easily a great cultivator could discover him. Yet, after recording the tome, he realized how rare such an opportunity was, and thus began flipping through books at a frenzied pace.

He turned only a single page of each: Golden Ze Bone Patterns, Grand Wind Chant, Tai'a Formation, Origin Canon, Heavenly Battle Spear Manual, Lancang Sword Technique, Thirteen Chapters on Beast Mastery, and so on.

The Book of Knowledge seemed to have no recording limit, and it madly compiled all these secret arts.

After skimming through nearly a tenth of the entire Library Pavilion, Lu Wu felt it was time to run—if he delayed any longer, his little mosquito life would be forfeit. Gripping the coffin nail, he fled while simultaneously reading through the Secret Tome of Soul Refinement.

Upon careful study, he realized that the tome was not a manual for cultivating the soul, nor was it a demonic technique for refining souls. Instead, it was a method for crafting soul artifacts.

After searching for a good while, Lu Wu finally understood what his master, the Saintess of the Nine Heavens, intended for him to learn.

The chapter on Soul Artifacts: a method to refine a soul artifact to temper the body.

The soul and flesh could indeed be fused. By refining a sword blank into a soul artifact and merging it with the soul, the soul could then possess the body—essentially, the soul artifact would directly integrate with the flesh. This would greatly enhance the body's strength.

“Master must want me to turn this coffin nail into a soul artifact, then use it to strengthen my body…”

“Could it be… a mouthpiece?”

A vivid image flashed through Lu Wu’s mind—a mosquito wielding peerless swordsmanship with its mouth, causing countless titanic giants to flee in terror at a single sting.

“There's a future in this!”

“But could it really be that easy? Might there be a catch?”

According to the book, all that was required was a suitable soul artifact, recognition of the artifact with the soul, and then direct fusion with a specific part of the body—then it would be complete. The body’s ultimate strength would depend on how much the soul artifact was enhanced in the future.

With this, Lu Wu resolved to merge his entire body with soul artifacts and become a veritable mecha!

He sought out a deserted mountain wilds, then practiced the Soul Artifact Chapter of the Secret Tome of Soul Refinement, attempting to fuse the coffin nail with his mouthparts.

In an instant, it was done!

Having forged the soul artifact Coffin Mouth, Lu Wu felt inflated with power.

He darted about in search of a piece of metal to test his new strength.

But finding metal in these mountains was no easy feat.

After searching for some time, he came across a courtyard with a large clay jar. Lu Wu approached.

“Ding!”

A metallic ring echoed—the jar was punctured with a hole.

Lu Wu was overjoyed. “Amazing! It actually worked!”

A mosquito’s mouth piercing a clay jar—just what level of hardness was this?

A pity, though, that there was a metallic sound—if he could pierce the jar as easily as cutting through tofu, that would be even more impressive.

“The path of evolution…”

Lu Wu saw a prompt from the Book of Knowledge and was taken aback.

Hmm? A closer look revealed the prompt:

“Tiger Whip Wine can accelerate the path of evolution.”

“One: evolve into a fly.”
“Two: mimic a leech.”
“Three: store zero origin, and prepare to break into the Gathering Qi Realm.”

Had he not already read the soul information, Lu Wu might have risked a third attempt. For now, he chose the second option.

After making his choice, Lu Wu continued to inspect his own stats.

Host: Lu Wu
Species: Mosquito
Lifespan: 240 days (mimicking a bee’s lifespan)
Physical Realm: Unranked demon, mortal class
Soul Realm: Foundation Establishment (Eighth-level Soul Totem)
Body Strength: Rank negative twelve
Mouth Hardness: Rank two (with Coffin Nail soul artifact)
Strength: Power of a hundred mantises
Skills: Self-Sacrifice (Bee), Greed (Leech)
Soul Totems: Mosquito, Fly, Bee, Longhorn Beetle, Butterfly, Mantis, Spider, Greenleaf Grass, Leech

“Outstanding! My body’s even stronger and I’ve gained a new skill!” Lu Wu couldn’t help exclaiming.

“Today is truly a fine day—even my appearance issues are settling!”

Previously, Lu Wu’s body strength was at negative twelve, with no hardness level for his mouth. Now, his mouth was ranked at level two. If his theory was correct, rank one corresponded to a mortal cultivator, which meant his mouth was now at the strength of a cultivator’s weapon.

“Next, I have to forge a full-body set—refine every part of my body into soul artifacts.”

With this, even if his base strength remained the same, the actual hardness of his body would match that of the soul artifacts.

“Now that my mouth is this strong, it’s time to try higher-grade herbs and blood.”

…

Within the main hall of the Tai Xu Palace, Li Daoyun’s expression was grim and uncertain. “Elders, do any of you recognize that demon saint?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Damn it, why would a demon saint target our Tai Xu Palace? What do we have that’s worth a demon saint’s assault?”

An elder with snow-white hair and a childlike face stood up. “Perhaps we’re thinking about this the wrong way.”

“That demon saint may not be targeting Tai Xu Palace specifically.”

The others looked at him in confusion.

Li Daoyun asked, “Elder Feng, what do you mean?”

Elder Feng Yiliu replied, “It’s simple. To the demon saints, our Tai Xu Palace isn’t a major target. He likely came here for another reason.”

“Most likely, he was after the Demon-Slaying Coffin Nail, which is tainted with the blood aura of countless ancient creatures.”

Li Daoyun pondered this, then nodded. “That’s the only explanation.”

“But from this day forth, activate the Tai Xu Sword Array atop Tai Xu Peak. We cannot risk another surprise attack.”

Feng Yiliu said, “Allow me to take up residence there.”

“How about we rotate every three years?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

An elder spoke up, “Palace Master, I heard that during the recent venture into the Sword Mound, a disciple obtained the Phoenix-Dragon Sword Blank?”

Li Daoyun’s expression finally brightened. “Indeed, a disciple did acquire the Spirit Sword Blank—the Phoenix-Dragon Sword Blank.”

“Her name is Zi Yu, and she is now one of the core disciples we must prioritize in cultivating for our sect’s future.”

The elder replied, “Then…perhaps I could take her as my disciple?”

Li Daoyun considered. “Junior Brother Mu, you are well-versed in the Phoenix Arts. It would be quite fitting for you to take her as your disciple. But that would make her a second-generation disciple, not third.”

Mu Yuanlou nodded. “We live in turbulent times. Our disciples must grow quickly. I suggest all of you take on more disciples as well.”

“I’ve heard things are unsettled in the south.”

Li Daoyun nodded. “Then, brothers, teach your disciples diligently and spare no resources. Pour everything into their cultivation.”

“If disaster strikes and we lack outstanding disciples, the future of Tai Xu Palace will be bleak.”

Everyone nodded in approval.

At the rear of Tai Xu Mountain, in the Huating Pavilion, a group of new disciples gathered.

Zhao Yi asked, “Sister Zi Yu, which sword did you acquire?”

Zi Yu replied, “Nothing remarkable, not worth mentioning.”

Zhao Yi smiled. “Good thing you were quick. I heard there was a demon saint attacking the Tai Xu Peak at the time—if you’d been slower, you might have missed out on the sword blank.”

Zi Yu laughed, “Oh? Thank you for your help, Senior Sister Zhao.”

As the group conversed, Mu Yuanlou appeared before them.

The crowd bowed. “Greetings, Ancestor Mu.”

Those who didn’t recognize him quickly followed suit.

Mu Yuanlou smiled and approached Zi Yu. “You are Zi Yu?”

Zi Yu bowed. “Yes.”

With hands clasped behind his back, Mu Yuanlou smiled. “From now on, you are my little apprentice.”

Some quick-witted ones immediately called out, “Greetings, Uncle-Master Zi Yu!”

Zhao Yi was dumbfounded.

Mu Yuanlou was about to leave with Zi Yu, but Zhao Yi hurriedly called out, “Ancestor Mu, is there some mistake?”

“Why are you choosing her as your disciple?”

Mu Yuanlou turned and looked at Zhao Yi. “Oh? Do you have an objection?”

Zhao Yi was indeed a descendant of Tai Xu Sect disciples, but Mu Yuanlou was a true sect elder, the Palace Master’s junior. Zhao Yi’s family was just part of the outer circle.

Noticing Mu Yuanlou’s displeasure, Zhao Yi hurriedly replied, “No, but shouldn’t there be a reason for breaking protocol to accept a disciple? Even though Zi Yu was quick to grasp the introductory chapter of the Tai Xu Dao Canon, we were all pretty swift. Why is she the only one made a second-generation disciple?”

Mu Yuanlou answered, “Because she obtained a superior sword in the Sword Mound.”

A superior sword? Zhao Yi pressed, “But she only got a grade-one or two sword blank, right? I secured a sixth-grade Phoenix Call Sword Blank!”

“Ancestor Mu, you’re renowned for your Phoenix Arts. If I study the Phoenix Call, it would be twice as effective, making me an even more suitable disciple for you.”