Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 273 - Blood of Immortality

Thanks to the miraculous effects of the life vibration energy, the injuries that both Saint Feinan and Cassius had suffered had completely healed. In fact, judging by their auras, both of them had grown significantly stronger—especially Saint Feinan.

Just as he had hoped, he had turned into quite the handsome young man. Cassius had infused Saint Feinan's body with a full fifty doses of life vibration energy. Even though the rapid infusion had caused diminishing returns, the positive effects were undeniable.

Life vibration energy affected the fundamental life magnetic field of a living being, the very essence of one's being. It didn't just make one appear younger; it genuinely extended one's lifespan. For instance, if Saint Feinan originally had a lifespan of a hundred years, he would have been a man in his fifties, already on the decline. But after being infused with life vibration energy, he now had an additional fifty years added to his lifespan. Thus, being fifty years old now would be equivalent to a thirty-year-old in terms of human vitality. He was still at the peak of his prime.

At this moment, the newly rejuvenated Saint Feinan was like an old tree in spring. He was brimming with newfound vitality as if he had been soaked in a hot spring. Not only were the fresh wounds on his body completely healed, but the accumulated injuries and hidden ailments from over sixty years of life had also been wiped away. He felt as fresh and pure as a newborn, with an indescribable sense of clarity and vitality.

Saint Feinan had, in essence, become ten years younger. His body now felt no older than a man in his forties. The stiffness that had been creeping into his joints was gone, his once slow thoughts were now sharp and clear, and the most obvious change was in his appearance. His long white hair had turned into sleek, shiny black locks. His rough, aged skin had regained its youthful elasticity, and the faint crow's feet at the corners of his eyes had vanished. His light blue eyes sparkled with life like brilliant sapphires. His youthful and handsome appearance, coupled with his long black ponytail gave him an air of elegant artistry.

This state of renewal would continue for some time until his body fully adjusted to the restoration. His life magnetic field would continue to radiate through his entire body, bringing about subtle yet gradual changes.

“Ah...” Saint Feinan couldn't help but let out a sigh of amazement, his face alight with excitement. The decaying aura of age that had clung to his body had completely dissipated, leaving him rejuvenated both in appearance and essence.

Indeed, following Cassius had been the right choice. This young man was loyal and generous. Saint Feinan had not misjudged him earlier. His decision to travel from the North to the South was undoubtedly the right one. After all, he had become twenty years younger in less than a month.

Where else could one find such an extraordinary bargain?

A deeply satisfied Saint Feinan looked at Cassius and, almost on a whim, blurted out, “Cassius, would you like to learn my Sacred Ice Ten Thousand Cold True Art? This Covert Martial Art is top-tier among second-class techniques, and in certain special environments, it can even rival first-class ones. Especially in the winters of the North, even Feng Liusi can’t guarantee a victory against me...”

The characteristics of the Sacred Ice Ten Thousand Cold True Art were obvious. Its effectiveness in training and combat strength were heavily influenced by the environment. It could definitely match first-class Covert Martial Arts in icy and snowy conditions.

It was indeed an excellent martial art technique, and judging by Saint Feinan's current state, it even seemed to have the side effect of preserving one's youth. However, its strengths were also its weaknesses. It was incredibly powerful in the winter and in snow-laden environments, but what about during summer? Or in the scorching desert?

Clearly, the Sacred Ice Ten Thousand Cold True Art wasn't versatile. Its strength fluctuated greatly—it could be immensely powerful at times and severely weakened at others.

Cassius wasn't particularly fond of martial arts that had such limiting factors. On the contrary, the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance, which focused purely on combat ability, was far more practical.

After some thought, he replied, “No need. I already have plenty to practice with the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist. I don't have the time to train in other Covert Martial Arts. If you're looking to repay me, why don't we all work together to secure the antiques at the upcoming exhibition, explore the ruins, and perhaps discover more of the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance? That would be the greatest help you could offer me...”

Saint Feinan smiled, dropping the subject. He had spoken impulsively, and Cassius's refusal was actually a relief. Cassius's suggestion, in truth, no suggestion at all. After all, Saint Feinan had come from the North specifically to assist Feng Liusi and Cassius.

After the battle ended, the moon was hazy, and the night sky was unclear. A cool night breeze blew dust across the desolate streets, and pebbles rolled across the ground.

Cassius began examining the body of the Blood Spirit Society's vice president, Dino, who had taken the body of the sect master of the Wind Elephant Sect, Belon. The corpse was in a pitiful state. It had lost a hand, its chest was pierced through, and its neck had been twisted unnaturally. Despite the damage, Cassius attempted to repair the remnants of the life magnetic field, and surprisingly, he saw some success. As expected from the strong physique of a combat artist, the body’s magnetic field had remained intact despite the time that had passed.

Cassius painstakingly repaired the damage, though there was no way to reattach the severed hand. He had no choice but to carry Belon's corpse and both severed hands back with him.

Cassius continued to chat with Saint Feinan about the Qi of combat artists. Saint Feinan, as a veteran in the Covert Martial Arts world, certainly knew much more about these matters than Cassius did.

Cassius soon learned the information he had been seeking.

In theory, a combat artist didn't have to limit themselves to just one type of Qi. However, in practice, they usually did. It was a matter of specialization and conflict. Specializing allowed one to go further, while different types of Qi often conflicted and clashed with one another. Managing two or three types of Qi simultaneously was not only difficult but could also result in mutual interference.

In minor cases, it would lead to stagnation and deviation in one's training. In severe cases, it could cause internal contradictions, risking one's life. It was like trying to train in multiple Covert Martial Arts at the same time, each with drastically different demands on the body. One might require agility, while another emphasized strength and defense. How, then, should one's muscles develop?

Such a situation would only result in a grotesquely twisted physique. Thus, Saint Feinan had rarely heard of any combat artist possessing multiple forms of Qi. His earlier suggestion to Cassius to train in the Sacred Ice Ten Thousand Cold True Art had been a rash, impulsive remark.

With this new understanding and his own speculations, Cassius gradually realized the peculiar nature of the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance and the Golem Covert Martial Arts. If a normal Covert Martial Art was the product of multiple martial paths coming together, then the Golem Covert Martial Arts and Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance were each dedicated to a single extreme.

They drilled down to a single direction. Since they were parallel directions, theoretically, there should be no intersection, and thus, no conflict between them. In fact, the chance of conflict between different Southern Dipper Fist Techniques was greater than between the Southern Dipper Fist Techniques and the Golem Covert Martial Arts.

Cassius wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, as no one had ever walked this path before. He was a pioneer of sorts. However, now that he had reached the level of a combat artist, it would be difficult for Cassius to turn back. He had no choice but to forge ahead.

For now, there seemed to be advantages. The two types of Qi within him did not conflict. Qi was a product of one's essence, energy, and spirit. The black Qi from the Golem Covert Martial Arts leaned towards essence, while the red Qi from the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist was more focused on energy.

In a way, Cassius was practicing both essence and energy simultaneously.

Cassius tidied up the battlefield, collecting twenty units of Decay-Rank life vibration energy and three units of Undying-Rank life vibration energy. Since the Decay-Rank energy was no longer useful to him, he only used the three units of Undying-Rank energy, increasing his progress bar by 0.7 percent.

The effect was indeed significantly weaker. In the top-right corner, the progress bar for his Covert Martial Arts technique displayed:

"Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment 32.4% (Total Three Stages)"

He was just 2.6 percent away from fully forming the willpower behind his fist techniques. Cassius could feel his Qi increasing by about two parts out of a hundred. He was confident that small accumulations would eventually lead to a qualitative change.

Saint Feinan and Cassius waited on the street for a while, until Feng Liusi hurriedly returned, his body marked by several fresh wounds.

He said regretfully, "He managed to escape. However, Garoro is severely injured. I landed two more punches on him before he managed to run. The Gate Organization will likely not be able to field this top-level combatant for battles in the near future..."

"At least we'll have one less strong opponent at the antique exhibition. Let's hope the Gate Organization doesn't send out another core member," Feng Liusi’s body still carried the smell of blood that drifted with the wind.

As the main combatant in the previous battle, it was impossible for Feng Liusi to be unscathed. Cassius could see deep wounds under his clothes, though they had been temporarily suppressed and closed by some secret technique. He looked to be in better condition than Cassius and Saint Feinan, but in reality, Feng Liusi had probably suffered more serious injuries.

Cassius immediately offered the forty units of life vibration energy he had left, telling Feng Liusi he could use it at any time. However, Feng Liusi politely declined, and the three decided to leave first.

The commotion from the earlier battle had been too great. Even though it had happened in the dead of night, it was likely that various forces had noticed and were on their way.

The three figures left the Grimm District. Cassius took the bodies of Sect Master Belon and his third senior brother, Lance with him.

Some time later, the police alarms in the Grimm District sounded loudly. Police officers, gathered in the middle of the night, cordoned off the area with yellow tape. Police officers in blue uniforms guarded every street corner, their belts bulging with firearms.

This scene continued until the early hours of the morning. During this time, figures appeared and disappeared occasionally from the rooftops and shadows. It seemed that some mysterious forces were observing the situation.

At dawn, a woman in a red dress appeared on the balcony of one of the sealed-off buildings. No one knew when she had arrived. She was strikingly beautiful, with a black belt that accentuated her curvaceous figure. She gave off the aura of a rose as she held a parasol in her left hand and rested her right hand on the railing.

Although three or four policemen were patrolling below, they did not seem to notice her presence, as if she were invisible.

Morning fog occasionally drifted through the alleyways, and the faint white light of the sky seeped through the clouds. A fresh breeze carried the scent of earth.

The woman slightly lifted the edge of her parasol, looking down the entire street to her left. In an instant, she saw the scene she had come for.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Bodies. Bodies. And more bodies.

Ruins. Ruins. And more ruins.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and she stopped breathing for a moment. The destruction from last night had been like a bomb blast. Surveying the aftermath made it clear that this district had indeed been bombarded!

Most of the hundred-meter-long wall had collapsed, leaving only some trembling door frames standing precariously, as if they could be blown over by a light breeze at any moment. Trees, trash cans, streetlights, black benches, and cars—everything had been swept away by some force, leaving behind a scene of twisted, chaotic destruction.

The ground looked as if it had been plowed, with pits and craters everywhere. Some were as large as four to five meters in diameter. The buildings on both sides of the street were similarly damaged. Corners had been smoothed down, and protruding signs had been blasted to pieces. Some were even worse off, with two large gaps in their structures, as if bitten by some enormous beast from the wild.

The buildings were all on the verge of collapse.

"This... Are we sure humans can cause this kind of destruction?!"

The elegant woman gaped at a distant building whose center had been hollowed out into an arch-shaped hole. The smooth, curved edges of the hole looked like they had been cut and polished by metal tools. This was caused by the Rainbow World smashing through the area.

"Incredible. East Sea City truly lives up to its reputation as the most prosperous metropolis on the East Coast. There are too many monsters here. I thought I had seen it all, but now I realize how narrow my view was," the woman muttered. She took a deep breath before quickly leaving the Grimm District with fear and awe in her heart.

Several hundred meters away, on the edge of the district, an old man and a young boy stood on another building, also surveying the scene.

"Butler, if we had been just a bit slower last night, would we have made it out?" the black-haired boy, who looked as delicate as a porcelain doll, asked.

The butler was silent for a while before finally nodding.

"Young Master, given the intensity of the battle, we would likely have been killed by the shockwaves if we stayed within ten meters. You heard the explosions last night. This was most likely a life-or-death battle between top-tier supernaturals."

After a moment of silence, You An pressed his thin hand to his chest.

"Who exactly were those three people..."

A black car slowly drove up a main road just outside the Grimm District and stopped by the police barricade. A boy in a black-and-white suit stepped out, his leather shoes tapping crisply on the pavement.

He wore round glasses, and wore a brass emblem of an inverted sword on his left chest. His gloved hand bore seven or eight indecipherable black letters.

The boy's expression was cold as ice, and he was followed closely by an elderly figure with white hair. The two stepped onto the street where the battle had taken place. The boy crouched down to examine the corpse of a man in a black robe. After casually examining it a few times, he suddenly stood up, looked at the old man on his left, and smiled.

"It's him... He's returned..."

At Lilun High-Class Apartments, Cassius and the others had already finished breakfast in their detached house. Saint Feinan seemed rather excited as he adapted to his new, youthful body in the training room. Feng Liusi was practicing martial arts in a horse stance, his hands clasped together as he contemplated the nascent Blood Vulture's Beak technique.

Meanwhile, Cassius was tending to the bodies of his third senior brother and the sect master. Around 9 a.m., Cassius made an unexpected discovery.

He found a small notebook in Belon's possession, which contained notes about the Blood Spirit Society's objective: the Kupan Demon Box and its purpose.

It was said to contain a mysterious item called the Blood of Immortality.

Decay, Undying, Indestructible, Immortal...