Chapter 343: Is This World Really So Desperate?
"Sorry I couldn't watch you grow up. But, when you're able to see this letter, your mother will be relieved, at least it means you've gained the ability to take care of yourself."
Jiang Lin quietly looked at the blank sheet of paper in his hand, his red-golden eyes flashing with uncertain light.
"But this also means you've once again chosen a path... that your mother never wanted to see. But when disaster truly comes, even ordinary people cannot escape."
"So, Lingjiang, if you really decide to climb the path of the strong, please remember this—stay away from the Central Plains! Stay away from the Spirit Realm! Stay away from the Spirit Race!"
"Do not expose your identity to any Spirit Race members! Do not reveal your location to any ancient imperial clan members!"
Jiang Lin solemnly put the sheet of paper, which could only be seen through the Spirit Race bloodline and Spirit Eyes, back into his storage ring. He raised his head and gazed at the vast sky for a while, silently. Then, he spread his red-golden six wings and quickly flew toward the direction of the Gama Imperial Capital.
Jiang Lin's mother was named Ling Yun'er. She was a One-Star Dou Zun, a Seventh-Rank Alchemist, and a transcendent Formation Master. She was a very young Spirit Race individual.
In the letter, Ling Yun'er mainly explained several things.
First, Jiang Lin's lineage: He was from the Spirit Race. This, Jiang Lin had already suspected, and Ling Yun'er merely confirmed his guess.
Second, stay away from the Central Plains and the Spirit Race, because...
"Don't blame me, your mother. The Great Elder's 'Empty Realm Spirit Lock Formation' can sense all the Spirit Race bloodlines in this world. Your bloodline is too powerful. In order to protect you, I had to draw your imperial-grade spirit blood."
Jiang Lin's bloodline was extremely powerful—an innate imperial-grade bloodline. It was the kind of bloodline that could give one the potential to reach Dou Wang or Dou Huang. Jiang Lin initially thought that he might have been a pawn in a scheme, but in the end, he realized it wasn't some random clan member who had drawn his blood—it was his own mother.
However, Jiang Lin never blamed his mother. He knew that the reason Ling Yun'er drew his blood was to protect him. If the Spirit Race had gotten their hands on his bloodline, they would have taken it all.
Because the Spirit Race had gone mad.
"The Spirit Race wants to replicate what the Xiao Clan did back then, gathering all their bloodlines to create the 'Ten Thousand Blood Fusion Spirit Formation!'"
The Ten Thousand Blood Fusion Spirit Formation was an ancient formation that the Spirit Race had dug up from the edge of the world. After researching it for hundreds of years, the Spirit Race finally repaired it—not fully repaired, but the price of the repair was extremely severe.
The core effect of this ancient formation was simple: blood sacrifices of living beings. It extracted the "spiritual energy" or, in other words, the source energy of an Emperor from the bloodline of a person.
Why could blood sacrifices of millions of lives extract that very thin spiritual energy? Ling Yun'er did not say, or perhaps she didn't know herself. But Jiang Lin knew.
Because it aligned with his own speculation about the origins of humanity. In this world, everyone had an ancestor they could trace back to, and that ancestor was the first Dou Emperor in this world. Theoretically, every human bloodline carries inherited spiritual energy. Similarly, the Beast Race was likely in the same situation, except their spiritual energy was extremely thin. Only through blood sacrifices of millions of beings could a significant amount of spiritual energy be extracted.
Super killing formations like this weren't uncommon in this world—many deep-rooted powers had them. However, formations capable of extracting spiritual energy from living beings weren't just rare; they didn't exist.
In fact, the ancient formation the Spirit Race dug up, theoretically, couldn't be activated. But after hundreds of years of research, the Spirit Race found a way to repair it—by using the Spirit Race itself as the material for the formation, with their "human tools" accumulated over generations as the focal points to forcefully activate the formation that could create a Dou Emperor!
The "human tools" were the lifeless human-shaped spirit tools created after practicing the late stages of the Forging Fire Technique—humanity extinct in a sense.
Over thousands of years, the Spirit Race had accumulated eight complete "human tools," which were equivalent to nine-level spirit tools that even a Nine-Star Dou Sheng couldn't destroy, though the drawback was that they couldn't leave the Spirit Realm.
Other ancient clans' Nine-Star Dou Shengs might fall due to lifespan, but the Spirit Race's "human tools" had completely left the biological realm, slowly increasing in number rather than decreasing, eventually leading the Spirit Race to secretly accumulate eight Nine-level spirit tools!
If Jiang Lin didn't leave, he would be the Spirit Race's ninth "human tool!"
The "Empty Realm Spirit Lock Formation" that was originally used to protect the Spirit Race bloodline had now become a sword of Damocles, one that no Spirit Race member could escape!
But most of the Spirit Race wouldn't run away, and neither would Ling Yun'er. The Spirit Race seemed to be filled with a sense of hopelessness. They knew what they were doing and, after weighing the pros and cons, they understood that what they were doing was a sin in the present but would bring great merit for the future.
To repair the ancient formation, nine "human tools" were required as focal points. Even one missing could cause accidents. The selection standard for "human tools" was that they had to have imperial-grade spiritual blood!
Therefore, Ling Yun'er had extracted Jiang Lin's imperial-grade spiritual blood. After much hesitation, she chose to use her special status as a mother to consume an Imperial Blood Pill made from Jiang Lin's spiritual blood, negating Jiang Lin's special traits and taking on the identity of the ninth "human tool" to be taken by the Spirit Race.
At the same time, Jiang Lin understood his mother's intention. As long as the ninth "human tool" didn't return, the Spirit Race wouldn't give up. Jiang Lin would become increasingly dangerous. Once the Spirit Race captured Jiang Lin, no matter whether he had imperial blood or not, they would find a way to make him produce imperial blood. The ancient formation only required a terrifying "plug-in," and the Spirit Race could make Jiang Lin's bloodline evolve in the formation, quickly increasing his strength and using battle to increase battle power until he became the ninth "human tool."
And now, the ninth "human tool" had become Ling Yun'er. From her arrangements for Jiang Lin's future, there was a deeper meaning.
Even if the ancient formation slowly enveloped the entire continent, it would not refine Jiang Lin.
This was why Ling Yun'er gave Jiang Lin the option to live a peaceful life.
Because Ling Yun'er would indeed silently protect Jiang Lin for his entire life.
Ling Yun'er's choice to return to the Spirit Race was both an acknowledgment of the Spirit Race's great ideals and a form of protection for Jiang Lin.
"This world... has it really become so hopeless... to this point?"
In the sky, Jiang Lin looked at the distant red sunset, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.
(END CHAPTER)
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