Starting with SSS-rank talent, I contracted the Forbidden Ferocity.

A blood-red path leading to the inner pool slowly appeared beneath Shen Ye's feet.

The road is not wide.

It was only three feet long.

On both sides, the blood in the central pool churns.

At the end of the road, a slit appeared in the blood mist.

A dark red light flickered in the deepest part.

thump.

thump.

thump.

With each heartbeat, the Beast King Contract on Shen Ye's chest would heat up.

It doesn't hurt.

It is being called.

It felt as if something was gently tapping at his blood from the depths of the ancestral pool.

Xue Li's face turned deathly pale.

"You can't go in."

Shen Ye looked at her.

Xue Li gritted her teeth and said:

"The inner pond where the ancestor resides is not a place you can touch."

"That drop of the Ancestral King's blood has been contaminated by the Blood Gate."

"If you go in, it will use your royal blood as a new shell."

Xue Qianqiu suddenly laughed.

"Your Highness Xue Li, why are you spreading such alarmist rumors?"

"Since the Night King was able to defeat the Holy Son, he should sever the Blood Gate and obtain the blood of the Nine Nether King."

"What is there to fear from a mere pond?"

Xue Li turned around abruptly.

"Blood Across a Thousand Autumns!"

"So you really want him to go in!"

Xue Qianqiu smiled slightly.

"I am merely a guide."

"The path has appeared; whether to take it or not is up to the Night King."

Shen Ye did not move immediately.

Inside the black box, the blue light emanating from Lu Chenzhou's remnant soul had stabilized somewhat.

Zhu Jiu's Nine Netherworld Cleansing continues.

[Lu Chenzhou's remnant soul blood lock cleansing progress: 71%]

【79%. 】

【86%. 】

It was so close.

But the heartbeat in the inner pool is getting stronger and stronger.

thump.

This time, a tiny bloodstain appeared on Shen Ye's palm.

The bloodstains weren't his.

It is the mark that the ancestral pool of the vampires attempted to leave.

Ye Yu let out a cold cry.

The black sun and ghostly fire fell, burning away the blood patterns.

Shen Ye's eyes turned slightly cold.

"They're already trying to make a move before even going inside."

Xue Li said:

"The ancestral king's lifeblood lacks complete consciousness."

"It will only seek out the most suitable blood shell."

"The royal blood in your body has just suppressed the royal heart of the Blood River Saint Son and sealed the Blood Gate."

"In its eyes, you are the best container."

Shen Ye said:

"So it wants to eat me."

Xue Li remained silent for a moment.

"That's one way to put it."

Shen Ye looked at Xue Qianqiu.

"Is that what you think too?"

Xue Qianqiu laughed:

"The Night King has misunderstood."

"The Vampire Royal Court is honoring its bet; how could it possibly harm you?"

Shen Ye nodded.

"Understood."

Xue Qianqiu's eyes flickered slightly.

Shen Ye said:

That's what you all think.

Xue Qianqiu's smile froze slightly.

Just then, the progress of Lu Chenzhou's remnant soul blood lock cleansing finally jumped to the end.

[Lu Chenzhou's remnant soul blood lock cleansing progress: 100%]

[Blood lock removed.]

[Lu Chenzhou's remnant soul status: Stable slumber.]

[Next repair needs: Soul-Suppressing King Lotus, Nine Netherworld Returning Soul Technique.]

The life tablet in the black box glowed a bright blue light.

This time, it won't be flickering between light and darkness.

Lu Chenzhou's remnant soul sank into the depths of the life tablet, as if he had finally fallen asleep after ten years of torment in the Blood River.

Shen Ye closed the black box.

"The first thing is done."

Xue Li looked at him.

"Then you should leave now."

Xue Qianqiu said softly:

"Doesn't the Night King want to know the origin of the Blood Gate's coordinates?"

"You sealed the gate at the Night-Slaying Platform once."

"But if the source is still there, it will reopen sooner or later."

Shen Ye looked towards the inner pool.

Of course he knew.

The system task is not finished yet.

[Task 4: Determine the origin of the Blood Gate's coordinates.]

The true core of the Blood River Ancestral Pool lies in the inner pool.

If they leave now, Lu Chenzhou will be saved for the time being, and Zhu Jiu will also obtain the blood of the Nine Nether King.

But the source of the Blood Gate remains.

There will be a second Blood River Saint in the future.

The third Blood River Saint.

Shen Ye turned to look at Zhu Jiu.

"It can still move?"

Zhu Jiu had just swallowed the blood of the Nine Nether King, and his aura was still fluctuating.

But its vertical pupils remained calm, and it nodded slightly.

Night Feather landed on Shen Ye's shoulder.

The black sun and ghostly flames flickered slightly.

Long Yuan opened his eyes in the Beast Taming Space, his battle blood patterns burning hot.

Jie Chen stared intently at the inner pool, his Heavenly Punishment Eyes unblinking.

Shen Ye said:

"Then let's go in and take a look."

Xue Li said urgently:

"Are you crazy?"

Shen Ye said:

"no."

"But we're already here."

Xue Li was speechless for a moment.

She found that she couldn't persuade this person at all.

Xue Qianqiu laughed.

"The Night King is indeed courageous."

Shen Ye looked at him.

"You go first."

Xue Qianqiu's smile faltered.

Shen Ye said:

"Aren't you the guide?"

Xue Li suddenly wanted to laugh.

But she couldn't smile.

Xue Qianqiu was silent for a moment, then said:

"The path to the inner pool is revealed only to the Night King."

Shen Ye raised his sword.

"Then I'll see you off."

The phantom image of the ancient battle monument appeared instantly.

【warn.】

The Night King must not kill the guide.

Shen Ye looked at the inscription on the monument.

"He doesn't lead the way."

"What kind of guide are you?"

The ancient battle monument fell silent once more.

Xue Qianqiu's expression changed slightly.

A moment later, the inscription changed.

[Judgment: The guide must fulfill their duty of guiding.]

The guide should follow the Night King to the gate of the Inner Pool.

Xue Qianqiu's eye twitched slightly.

Shen Ye sheathed his sword.

"Walk."

Xue Qianqiu stared at Shen Ye for a long time before finally stepping onto the blood-red road.

Xue Li watched his retreating figure with a complex expression.

She suddenly spoke:

"The Night King"

Shen Ye stopped.

Xue Li whispered:

"In the inner pool, there is a blood fetus."

"If you see it, don't let it wake up."

Shen Ye asked:

What is a blood fetus?

Xue Li's face turned pale.

"Something born from the fusion of the Ancestral King's lifeblood and the Blood Gate coordinates."

"The royal court called it the Blood Gate Holy Embryo."

"But I don't think it's a sacred object of the vampires."

"That's something behind the door, a shell that was born from the ancestral pool."

Shen Ye's eyes turned cold.

Xue Qianqiu stopped in front of him, his voice calm:

"Your Highness Xue Li, you have said too much today."

Xue Li gritted her teeth.

"You lied to me."

Xue Qianqiu did not look back.

"For the royal court."

Xue Li sneered.

"For the royal court, or for that thing behind the door?"

Xue Qianqiu did not answer.

Shen Ye, however, already understood.

Xue Qianqiu is not only a guide for the Vampire Royal Court.

He was likely already connected to the entity behind the Blood Gate.

Bloodstained Tower.

Blood River Burial Map.

Blood Gate Holy Embryo.

These lines were finally connected.

Shen Ye embarked on a blood-stained path.

With each step, my heart rate in the inner pool increased.

On both sides of the blood path, images appeared in the blood of the central pool mirror.

Vampire ritual.

The human race's prodigy was killed.

The Blood-Clad Tower sacrificed civilians.

Blood River Burial Map: Refining Corpses.

The Blood Gate opened for the first time.

There was also Xue Qianqiu kneeling in front of a door, offering a beating blood heart with both hands.

Shen Ye stared at the image.

"You knelt at the door."

Xue Qianqiu paused in his steps.

"It's just an illusion."

Shen Ye said:

"You denied it too quickly."

Xue Qianqiu remained silent.

At the end of the bloody path, the inner pool gate finally appeared.

That wasn't a real door.

Instead, it is a ring made of flesh and bones.

In the center of the ring, a dark red blood-red light pulsed.

thump.

thump.

thump.

Shen Ye stood in front of the circular platform and saw the depths of the inner pool.

There is no sea of ​​blood there.

There was only one quiet pool of blood.

In the center of the blood pool, a drop of dark red blood the size of a fist hangs suspended.

Beneath the heart's blood, a translucent blood embryo was wrapped.

Inside the blood fetus, a blurry human figure was curled up.

It has no face.

But on his chest, there was a closed eye.

The Heavenly Punishment Eye on Jie Chen's forehead suddenly lit up.

The eyes on the chest of the blood fetus even twitched slightly.

It looks like he's about to wake up.

Xue Qianqiu chuckled softly.

"The Night King"

"Welcome to the source of the Blood Gate."

The next moment, the bloodwood staff in his hand suddenly exploded.

A jet-black talisman flew out from the core of the staff, heading straight for the blood fetus.

Xue Li's expression changed drastically as she approached the central pool.

"Stop him!"

Shen Ye was faster than her.

A flash of sword light appeared.

The talisman suddenly split in two in mid-air.

Half of it was shattered by Shen Ye.

The other half, however, had already disappeared into the blood fetus's chest.

Boom!

The fetal blood heartbeat resonated with Shen Ye's royal blood for the first time.

Shen Ye felt a sudden burning sensation on the Beast King Contract on his chest.

Within the blood-filled fetus, the faceless figure slowly opened its eyes on its chest.