Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

The world depicted by author Zhu Mo Danqing is found in "Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Gates, I Prove the Dao Through Sacrifice".

In the Crimson Forbidden Land, after defeating Lu Yunfeng, Murong Fan did not cause him any further trouble. After parting ways with Chen Qiaoqian, he ventured alone into the Bloodlust Land. His goals for this trip were clear: to collect the main medicinal herbs, slay demonic beasts and cultivators of the same level, and explore the mysteries of the forbidden land, thereby enhancing his combat experience and cognitive awakening.

The vegetation in the heart of the forbidden area grew increasingly bizarre: dark red sap flowed from the bark of ancient trees, vines bore human-shaped fruits, and the aura of bloodlust was so thick it was impossible to dissipate. Ordinary cultivators would become delirious within half a day, but Murong Fan was like a fish in water—his altar in his sea of ​​consciousness resonated with heaven and earth, and the plant totems flickered erratically, guiding the gathering points of demonic beasts and the locations where spiritual herbs grew.

On the seventh day, three "Blood-Eyed Crocodiles" suddenly appeared in the Corpse Swamp. These monstrous beasts had thick hides and could spew corrosive blood mist. Murong Fan used Soul-Entangling Vine Seeds to set up a trap, causing the "Corpse Bone Flowers" in the swamp to release hallucinogenic pollen. The Blood-Eyed Crocodiles went berserk and devoured each other. He seized the opportunity to pierce their vital points with Soul-Devouring Vine Seeds. After absorbing their essence and blood, the vine seeds mutated and developed "blood patterns," greatly increasing their resistance to bloodthirsty energy.

"To sustain war through war is the right path." Murong Fan dissected the crocodile to extract its demon core and forged its spine into a bone spear. The altar trembled slightly, seemingly quite satisfied with this "plunder."

On the tenth day, following the "Nine-Leaf Blood Fungus" to the foot of the cliff, they stumbled upon two Qingxu Sect disciples besieging the "Iron-Backed Wolf." Both were at the twelfth level of Qi Refining, and their teamwork was impeccable; the wolf was already covered in wounds. Murong Fan had intended to reap the benefits, but then he saw one of them suddenly attack his companion—a flash of cold light from his sleeve, and the other man collapsed to the ground, blood spurting from his throat, incredulous.

"Senior brother, I'm sorry." The man chuckled and searched the storage bag. "The Nine-Leaf Blood Ganoderma is worth three hundred spirit stones. Wouldn't it be wonderful to enjoy it all by yourself?"

Murong Fan's pupils contracted slightly: within this forbidden area, the demonic beasts were ferocious, and the hearts of men were even more wicked. He quietly retreated, but his foot snapped a withered branch. The Qingxu Sect disciple whirled around, unleashing his magical artifact: "Who!"

Entangling vines surged from all directions, forming layers of barriers around him. Caught off guard by the sudden power to control such a massive amount of vegetation, the ground beneath his feet collapsed – Murong Fan's pre-arranged "Void-Trapping Vine," its roots hollowing out the earth, was designed to trap his prey.

"Fellow Daoist, spare my life! I am an inner disciple of the Qingxu Sect; killing me will surely bring retribution!"

Murong Fan remained unmoved. The Soul-Devouring Vine lashed out like a venomous snake, piercing through the protective spiritual light and devouring the essence blood. This was the first time he had killed a cultivator of the same level. His palms were slightly sweaty, but the altar in his sea of ​​consciousness radiated warmth, and faint blood-red patterns appeared on the plant totems, as if an ancient recognition had been granted.

"The strong prey on the weak; this is the rule of the forbidden area." He took the storage bags from the two corpses and found that his "senior brother" had half a map hidden in his arms, marked with the location of the "blood pool"—the place where ancient cultivators tempered their bodies.

On the thirteenth day, Murong Fan arrived at the Blood Pool.

Inside the natural cave, blood-red stalactites hang upside down from the dome, and the pool water boils and churns, exuding a rich aura of life. More than ten cultivators from different sects are gathered by the pool, wary of each other but none daring to enter—the blood pool tempering requires the essence of demonic beasts as a catalyst, a process that is excruciatingly painful, and the slightest carelessness will result in the body exploding and dying.

Murong Fan discovered that there were blurry words carved on the rocks by the pool. Sensing with the spiritual power of plants, he realized that it was an ancient warning: "The Blood Pool has a spirit; only by offering a sacrifice can one enter."

"A sacrifice?" He took out the demon cores and essence blood he had hunted over the past few days and used the power of the altar to set up a "blood sacrifice array." The other cultivators were in an uproar, some mocking his act of deception, others secretly memorizing the array's patterns.

The last demon core was embedded in the array's core, causing the blood pool to suddenly boil, enveloped by a pillar of light. Thousands of steel needles pierced the bone marrow, flesh and blood undergoing a cycle of tearing and regeneration. The altar in the sea of ​​consciousness operated wildly, transforming the excess bloodlust into the spiritual power of plants and trees. Three hours later, the pillar of light dissipated, and he emerged shirtless, with faint blood-red patterns flowing beneath his skin. His physical strength was already comparable to that of a cultivator in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.

"Fellow Daoist, may we exchange the formation you just used?" A female cultivator from the Hidden Moon Sect stepped forward and asked.

Murong Fan put on his clothes: "Exchange it for something of equal value."

The female cultivator gritted her teeth and took out the "Mysterious Ice Soul" (which can help condense the spiritual power of plants and trees) to complete the transaction. Murong Fan did not leave, but continued to hunt demonic beasts and collect spiritual herbs. He discovered that as the killing and plundering increased, the degree of restoration of the altar in his sea of ​​consciousness improved, and the plant and tree totems became clearer, even conveying blurry images—ancient plant and tree cultivators used the essence blood of ten thousand beasts to nourish their spiritual roots, ultimately achieving physical sainthood.

"So that's how it is... This Crimson Forbidden Land was originally a training ground for the ancient herb lineage. The Seven Sects' 'Purifying Heart Array' was just a cover-up to conceal the truth."

On the seventeenth day, they were ambushed by disciples of Spirit Beast Mountain.

The three used beast-taming techniques to control five "Ghost-faced Spiders," forcing him into the canyon. Murong Fan fought and retreated, using symbiotic techniques to draw vines to block the enemy, but discovered that the leader could briefly control the bloodthirsty energy—the Spirit Beast Mountain secret technique "Beast Soul Guide," which uses the spirits of demonic beasts as a medium to borrow the power of the forbidden land.

"A herb cultivator from Yellow Maple Valley?" the man sneered. "Your spiritual power counters Blood Fiend, perfect for capturing and studying!" The Ghost-Faced Spider's silk was venomous, withering the vegetation in its wake. This was the first time Murong Fan had encountered such a predicament. The symbiotic technique required time to set up, but his opponent gave him no chance to breathe. His left arm was instantly paralyzed by the spider silk. He gritted his teeth and slashed off his sleeve, inserting the Soul-Devouring Vine into the wound to draw out the poison and his life essence—a ruthless method of trading injury for life.

"Madman!" The disciples of Spirit Beast Mountain were horrified, but then they saw a faint green light emanating from Murong Fan's eyes, a sign that the altar was operating at full power.

"Grass and Trees, Burning Blood!"

He used his own life essence as a catalyst, igniting the plants within a ten-zhang radius. The flames were no ordinary fire; they were "spiritual flames," the burning essence of plants, possessing an extremely strong purifying effect on bloodlust. The Ghost-Faced Spider screamed and retreated, three of its heads turning to ashes in the blast of the spiritual flames. The Spirit Beast Mountain disciple suffered a backlash from his beast, vomiting blood and collapsing to the ground, while the other two abandoned their companion and fled in panic.

Murong Fan walked up to the leader, whose pulse had already stopped, yet he still grinned maliciously: "You killed an inner disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain... After you get out..."

"What will happen after we get out?" Murong Fan asked calmly. "Countless people have died or been injured in the forbidden area. Who will care?"

This was his second time killing a cultivator of the same level, and his technique had become much more skillful. He used the Soul Searching Technique to extract the "Beast Soul Guiding" method from the opponent's memories. Although incomplete, it corroborated the altar's inheritance, giving him a deeper understanding of the transformation between plants and blood.

The twentieth day has arrived. Murong Fan looks into the depths of the forbidden area. Although there are opportunities and dangers, his heart is clear and he is no longer confused.

"It's time to turn back." He determined the direction and headed east—the map left by Chen Qiaoqian marked the emergency exit.

……

He encountered several ambushes and attacks from demonic beasts along the way, all of which he resolved using the techniques of "Symbiosis of Plants" and "Blood Burning." He no longer deliberately pursued killing; he gained insights from each battle and incorporated his combat experience into the improvement of his techniques.

On the twenty-seventh day, three disciples of Huangfeng Valley were encountered in the valley being besieged by five members of the Yanyue Sect, resulting in heavy casualties.

"Senior Brother Murong!" Someone recognized him and cried out in despair.

Murong Fan could have gone around, but he stopped. The leader of the Hidden Moon Sect was the female cultivator who had been trading "Mysterious Ice Soul" by the blood pool. Her face hardened: "Fellow Daoist, this matter has nothing to do with you. Don't make things difficult for yourself!"

"We must save him because of our shared sect bond." Murong Fan set up a vine formation. "Gentlemen, please enlighten me."

In this battle, he fought five opponents alone, using his body tempered by the blood pool and his improved herbal techniques to force back the disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect. Among the Yellow Maple Valley disciples he rescued, one of them tearfully told him about a hidden medicinal garden—where the main ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills, "Dragon Pattern Grass," grew.

On the twenty-ninth day, Murong Fan finished gathering the Dragon Pattern Grass and headed towards the exit. The journey was filled with carnage: cultivators' corpses were being devoured by demonic beasts, storage bags were scattered, some had perished together for half a spiritual herb, and others had been stabbed in the back by their own companions. This blood-red forbidden land had ultimately revealed the naked truth of the cultivation world.

The exit vortex was already at the end of the horizon, but Murong Fan suddenly stopped.

A familiar figure leaned against the rock ahead—Lu Yunfeng. He looked more haggard than twenty days ago; the side effects of the Blood Essence Pill had penetrated his bones, causing his cultivation to plummet to the eleventh level of Qi Refining. Upon seeing Murong Fan, he struggled to sit up straight, his eyes filled with hatred, but mostly with emptiness.

"You've won." His voice was hoarse. "The Lu family members are either dead or scattered. I... have no face to go out."

Murong Fan was silent for a moment, then tossed a bottle of pills to him: "This is the 'Rejuvenation Pill,' which can alleviate the damage caused by the Blood Essence Pill. Senior Brother Lu, you can't be a pawn of aristocratic families; you must walk your own path."

Lu Yunfeng caught the pill, stunned for a long time, then suddenly lowered his head and burst into laughter, his laughter tinged with barely suppressed sobs: "Murong Fan... thank you for both releasing me and saving me! But I'm still not reconciled!"

"If you're not satisfied, then let's settle things properly once we're outside the Crimson Forbidden Zone. We're fellow disciples; I won't stand by and watch you die." With that, Murong Fan said no more and leaped into the vortex. A feeling of weightlessness washed over him, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already outside the forbidden zone.

Elder Huangfeng Valley was counting heads. When he saw him come out, he nodded slightly: "Survivors, report what you have."

Murong Fan surrendered some of the spiritual herbs, retaining the core harvest! His gaze swept across the surroundings, catching sight of a figure in blue within the Hidden Moon Sect's camp—Chen Qiaoqian had also emerged alive, looking at him with slightly reddened eyes but a smile on her face.

The time limit of the ancestral contract ended at this very moment.

Murong Fan withdrew his gaze and looked towards the sky. In the thirty days of the Crimson Forbidden Land, he had killed dozens of demonic beasts, slain two cultivators of the same level, rescued three fellow disciples, and rejected an ancient inheritance once. The altar had recovered to 15%, his plant cultivation had reached its peak, his physical strength was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and most importantly—he had found his own path.

"The next stage is foundation building."

He was unwilling to release Lu Yunfeng in the Crimson Forbidden Land, but out of consideration for their shared sect and the contract with the cunning Old Ancestor Linghu, he had no choice but to do so. After all, if he wanted to obtain more cultivation resources in Yellow Maple Valley, Old Ancestor Linghu was his biggest resource base. As for Lu Yunfeng, although troublesome, he could be completely suppressed and wouldn't cause too much trouble. However, he still needed to be wary of Lu Yunfeng's scheming and treacherous nature.