Chapter 118: Blood Extraction
"Blood Extraction Technique?"
Mo Hua was stunned for a moment, then turned to Bai Zixi and asked, "Is the Blood Extraction Technique hard to learn…?"
Bai Zixi shook her head. "Not hard to learn, but hard to use."
"The Blood Extraction Technique is a simplified form of controlling objects with Divine-Sense. It allows one's Divine-Sense to guide and draw out beast blood. Normally, Divine-Sense manipulation is something Foundation Establishment cultivators can do. Qi-Refining cultivators can barely use it, but not at a distance, and the Divine-Sense cost is high," Bai Zixi explained.
If it was merely Divine-Sense consumption, Mo Hua wasn't afraid. After all, his spiritual root and physique weren't great, his only strength lay in his Divine-Sense.
His dark, water-like eyes sparkled with anticipation as he looked at Bai Zixi.
Bai Zixi understood that look and sighed softly before taking out a book from her phoenix-patterned storage pouch.
On the cover were three characters: Blood Extraction Technique.
"Blood extraction is rather taxing and consumes a lot of Divine-Sense. Most cultivators don't bother learning it. Be careful if you insist on trying," Bai Zixi said.
"Got it!" Mo Hua replied happily.
Then he pulled out a redwood food box from his own storage pouch. Inside were a few pieces of jade-green pastries and a pot of pear blossom wine.
The pastries were sweet and fragrant, the wine light and floral, the combination gave off a rich, pleasing aroma.
"My mother made these. Try some."
Bai Zixi blinked in surprise, then her lips curved upward slightly. Without much formality, she picked up a piece of pastry with her slender fingers and took a small bite.
Perhaps because it tasted good, her bright eyes curved slightly in satisfaction.
Bai Zisheng, smelling the aroma, suddenly sat upright. He sniffed a few times, then looked at Mo Hua.
"Where's mine?"
"Aren't you having a headache?"
"It's gone now," Bai Zisheng said.
"You should rest more."
"I'll rest after I eat."
Mo Hua sighed and took out a plate of beef for him.
"This was cooked with spicy herbs, it's quite hot."
Bai Zisheng picked up a few pieces, stuffed them into his mouth, and immediately hissed through his teeth. "So spicy!"
After chewing a few more times, he nodded. "But good!"
Sweating and sniffling, he polished off the entire plate. Only then did he ask, "So, what were you trying to ask me earlier?"
"I already asked."
"I can't just eat your food for free. Come on, ask me something else!" Bai Zisheng insisted.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then asked, "The Blood Extraction Technique is a simplified version of controlling objects with Divine-Sense… so what is controlling objects with Divine-Sense?"
Bai Zisheng frowned. "You don't know that? Foundation Establishment cultivators all know it."
"Well, I'm a Qi-Refining cultivator. Isn't it normal that I don't know something meant for Foundation Establishment?" Mo Hua replied matter-of-factly.
Bai Zisheng opened his mouth but found no retort. He nodded.
"Controlling objects with Divine-Sense means using one's Divine-Sense to move external things from a distance. For example, these little stone tables and stools. From afar, you could use your Divine-Sense to move them."
"That doesn't sound all that impressive…"
"How could it not be?" Bai Zisheng huffed. "Moving tables and stools isn't impressive, sure, but you can control swords! Think about it, Divine-Sense Sword Control! From far away, one thought—and whoosh!—the sword flies out, slaying enemies thousands of miles away! Isn't that amazing?"
"Thousands of miles, really?"
Bai Zisheng stared blankly. "Are you deliberately nitpicking?"
"Foundation Establishment cultivators can't extend their Divine-Sense for thousands of miles," Mo Hua said seriously.
Bai Zisheng sighed. "Fine… ten miles, maybe a hundred at best."
Mo Hua nodded knowingly.
"In cultivation, one must be precise. An error of a hair's breadth could lead to disaster. If you don't calculate clearly, you could easily lose your life in battle," Mo Hua said solemnly.
Bai Zisheng: "…"
"Besides, your 'sword control over a thousand miles' exaggeration differs from reality by tenfold, or even a hundredfold. With that kind of error, you'd definitely die if you actually fought someone!" Mo Hua added helpfully.
Bai Zisheng looked helpless. "Aren't you even a little excited about the idea of Divine-Sense Sword Control?"
"Swords are expensive, and I can't afford one. What's there to get excited about?" Mo Hua replied pragmatically.
Bai Zisheng: "…"
After a moment of silence, Mo Hua asked, "You're a body cultivator, right?"
"…Yes."
"Do body cultivators also use sword control?"
"Usually… no."
"Then why are you excited?" Mo Hua asked earnestly.
Bai Zisheng inhaled deeply, feeling an overwhelming sense of defeat.
He flopped down on the ground and said seriously, "Mo Hua… someday, someone in this world is going to die of sheer anger just from talking to you."
Mo Hua looked puzzled. "That's impossible. Cultivators all have strong Dao hearts, how could anyone die just from a few words?"
"Trust me. It'll happen," Bai Zisheng said with absolute certainty.
...
After parting ways with the Bai siblings, Mo Hua returned home and began studying the Blood Extraction Technique.
The Blood Extraction Technique wasn't exactly a spell, barely even a secret art. It was more like a practical craft, similar to harvesting herbs, mining ore, or tending spirit plants.
Some cultivators made a living using this craft, extracting fresh demon blood to sell to merchants or cultivators who needed it.
The process wasn't difficult, but it was mentally exhausting and demanding on Divine-Sense.
Blood extractors were essentially the mental equivalent of the laborers at Lingyun Docks, except those laborers used their muscles to haul goods, while extractors used Divine-Sense to haul demon blood.
But physical strength recovered easily, Divine-Sense didn't. Thus, a cultivator could only extract a limited amount of demon blood each day, and the profit wasn't high. In Tōngxiān City, very few people practiced this craft.
Mo Hua guessed that perhaps cultivators in other regions might specialize in large-scale blood extraction to make a living, otherwise, demon blood would be far rarer, and the spiritual ink used by formation masters would be much more expensive.
Still, that was only speculation. His experience in the cultivation world was limited.
The Blood Extraction Technique itself wasn't hard to learn. Mo Hua followed the manual and mastered it after a few tries.
As Bai Zixi had said, it was a simplified form of Divine-Sense manipulation. One had to place a hand on the beast's fur, sense the flow of its blood, and then use Divine-Sense to guide that blood out from its veins.
However, there were no living, or freshly dead—beasts in Tōngxiān City for him to practice on.
So, Mo Hua asked Mo Shan to cut off a patch of hide from a wild ox demon, poured water over it, and practiced guiding the flow of water beneath the hide using his Divine-Sense.
The experience was far from the real thing, but better than nothing.
After a few sessions, Mo Hua grasped the essentials.
Unfortunately, he had no real demon beasts to draw blood from.
Without demon blood, he couldn't make spiritual ink. And without spiritual ink, his problem remained unsolved.
After pondering for days, Mo Hua finally came up with a single solution: Go into the mountains and hunt demons!
He'd have to find a way into the Great Black Mountain, hunt demon beasts, and extract their fresh blood before it coagulated.
That was the only reliable way to obtain demon blood in bulk.
Mo Hua looked up, his gaze passing over the rooftops and streets of Tōngxiān City, settling on the dark, mist-shrouded silhouette of the Great Black Mountain in the distance.
The mountains were perilous, filled with poisonous mists, endless fog, and rampant demonic aura.
It was the home of powerful beasts, and also, for thousands of years, the place where countless demon hunters made their living… and met their end.
(End of Chapter)