Volume 1, Chapter 256 – Innate Divine Ability

Shi Lan was not the only one who knew that this flesh-and-blood essence was a good thing, but because those Demon Kings had been slain by the mighty expert hidden in the shadows, no one dared make a move on that flesh-and-blood essence for the time being.

One of the slain Demon Kings was only a few hundred zhang away from Shi Lan, and nearly all of its essence blood was still intact. Shi Lan condensed her Black Domain into an almost imperceptible black thread and pierced it into the Demon King’s corpse, greedily beginning to seize this treasure that had fallen from heaven.

The energy contained within this Demon King was far too vast, and incomparably pure as well. The comfort of that warm energy pouring into her body made Shi Lan nearly lose herself in it, unable to break free.

A shape-shifted Demon King could stand shoulder to shoulder with a human martial artist of the Myriad Phenomena Realm, a full major realm above Shi Lan’s current cultivation.

Moreover, what the demon race relied on in the first place was bloodline power. Within that flesh-and-blood essence was not only immense energy, but also a special substance mixed in.

Shi Lan could not describe that substance, but it felt somewhat similar to when she had absorbed phoenix blood.

Because the energy she was absorbing was too great, Shi Lan unconsciously relaxed her control over her body. The blood-and-qi fluctuations she had been suppressing began to churn. Moments later, her circulation of blood and qi reached its peak, and a blood-and-qi divine pillar nearly a thousand zhang high rose from the ground and shot into the clouds.

The dragon-like fluctuations of blood and qi drew countless divine senses and prying gazes. Some martial artists let their divine senses wander a little too boldly, but the moment they drew slightly closer, they were cut apart by an invisible sword qi that shot down from the air, as if in warning.

In the blink of an eye, an hour passed. The martial artists around her began to stir restlessly and slowly moved toward the few Demon King corpses. Only around Shi Lan did no one dare set foot.

“Linghuan, what is Shi Lan’s background? Is she really a native of Chengtian Domain?”

Not far from Shi Lan, several young men of similar age had gathered together, whispering as they looked toward her. Qu Linghuan was among them.

“I never thought that even this wild borderland could produce someone like her.” Qu Linghuan shook his head slightly, sounding rather moved.

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“Do you think Shi Lan can make the Immortal Maiden Ranking?” A somewhat younger-looking man beside him suddenly asked with keen interest.

“More than just make it. In my estimate, she can at least enter the top ten of the Immortal Maiden Ranking.”

“The top ten? That seems a bit much.”

“I remember the top ten of the Immortal Maiden Ranking have not changed for many years. If I remember right, the one ranked tenth two years ago was the imperial princess of the Ling clan from Kaiyang Prefecture.”

“I know of her. She possesses the Blazing Sun Body, and on top of that she has the Human Emperor bloodline. Her talent is so great it shakes past and present alike. It is said that since the Ling clan’s founding, she has the highest aptitude of any of their descendants. When she was born, auspicious clouds spread likecelestial glow, and heavenly splendor stretched for a thousand miles. She is not even twenty yet, and she has already entered the Great Perfection stage of the Heavenly Astral Realm. The Ling clan ancestor dotes on her deeply and has passed down all kinds of true teachings to her.”

“Her talent is indeed extraordinary, but I fear her blessings are shallow and her life is thin. She cannot suppress that fate.”

Qu Linghuan let out a cold laugh, a chill glint appearing in his eyes.

“Brother Qu, why do you say that?”

The others beside him all looked puzzled.

“Do you know what that Ling clan imperial princess is actually called?”

“I think she is called… Ling Yu’an, isn’t she? What is the significance?”

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“Yu’an is her courtesy name. That Ling clan ancestor’s ambition reaches higher than the sky. When he named her, he chose only a single character, ‘Yang.’ Her name is Ling Yang!”

“This…”

The others were speechless for a moment. Martial cultivation was itself an act of seizing the creation of heaven and earth. Ordinary people might not care much about names, but the higher one’s cultivation, the more one realized that this world contained many things that could not be clearly explained, and karma was one of them.

Moreover, the two characters “Ling Yang” might very well offend certain people’s taboos. No wonder the Ling clan ancestor had specially given her a courtesy name to cover her true name.

“In my view, Shi Lan will not only enter the Immortal Maiden Ranking, she will also have a place on the Heavenly Prodigy Record. Just wait and see. If we seize this opportunity, perhaps there will be great gains.”

Qu Linghuan stared at Shi Lan in the distance as he spoke leisurely, his tone carrying deeper meaning.

At the mention of the Heavenly Prodigy Record, the others beside him could not help showing a trace of yearning.

…

By now, Shi Lan had already sunk into a state of self-forgetfulness, continuously drawing in the Demon King’s blood qi as the blood-and-qi divine pillar kept rising higher.

Crack.

A faint sound of bones shifting came from within Shi Lan’s body. Of the thirty-six death acupoints, two were opened one after another. Her aura swelled further and further, yet that Demon King’s blood qi still seemed like an endless ocean.

The substance mixed within that blood qi also grew more and more abundant. Suddenly, as if some qualitative change had been triggered, Shi Lan’s mind jolted violently, and a somewhat illusory wolf-shaped totem appeared.

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“What is this…”

Shi Lan was slightly startled and tried to focus her mind on sensing the totem.

“Howl at the Moon…”

Sensing the information transmitted from within the totem, Shi Lan’s heart trembled. This totem was an innate divine ability, exclusive to the moon-howling silver wolf clan. After devouring that Demon King’s essence blood, she had actually grasped an innate divine ability?!

Shi Lan halted her Black Domain and somewhat nervously pulled up the system panel.

[Host: Shi Lan] [Cultivation: Early Heavenly Astral Realm] [Aptitude: 9 (Innate spiritual body, a once-in-a-millennium rarity.)] [Techniques: Yuqing Creation Art (Layer 3), Vajra Divine Fist (Major Accomplishment), Jade Tempering Art (Perfection), Heaven Extremity Seal (Beginner), Spirit-Burning Art (Incomplete)] [Divine Abilities: Heaven’s Eye Qi-Sight (Three Stars), Black Domain (Seven Stars), Howl at the Moon (Five Stars)] [Strength Evaluation: Modest accomplishment] [Prestige: 199708 (Renowned in one region)] [World Coordinates: Small World 100, Middle World 20, Great World 2] [Current Spacetime Coordinates: Lingyang Starfield, Lingyang Realm, Taishi Calendar Year 48925]

Just as expected…

Looking at the two new words, “Howl at the Moon,” in the divine abilities section, Shi Lan’s heart suddenly burned hot. Innate divine abilities were treasures hidden within the bloodline, almost impossible to duplicate, yet Black Domain had actually accomplished it.

Since this had never happened before, it was likely because the amount she had absorbed had been insufficient, and the level not high enough. That special substance mixed within the blood was probably something only beings above the level of a shape-shifted Demon King could possess.

Shi Lan could not help recalling the pool of phoenix blood in Ancient Phoenix City, and waves of anticipation rose in her heart. If she could completely absorb that phoenix blood, she might gain another astonishing divine ability secret art.

“Your divine ability still has limitless room to be unearthed. It is far from being as simple as seven stars. Perhaps it is not yet complete.”

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Samsara had watched everything and could not help speaking.

Innate divine abilities often represented something utterly unrepeatable, yet Black Domain’s method, which was almost a form of inheritance, was truly overbearing.

Shi Lan nodded slightly. After suppressing the excitement in her heart, she quickly noticed the gazes gathering around her. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, she began restraining the fluctuations of her blood and qi, and the blood-and-qi divine pillar slowly dissipated.

The loss of several hundred thousand beasts and several Demon Kings seemed to have had no effect on the beast tide in the distance. The familiar roars began drawing near once more.

Looking at the beast tide slowly advancing, nearly a million strong, Shi Lan could only temporarily endure the urge to continue absorbing blood qi and gripped the Thunderclap Bow.

Before she could draw the string and set her arrows, clusters of blazing fire suddenly burst into existence atop the city wall.

These flames were not ordinary fire. They carried dense fluctuations of the laws, and one understood at a glance what they were.

A Heaven Demon had made its move!

The fire of the laws had come far too suddenly. A stretch of city wall nearly a thousand zhang long was instantly melted, collapsing downward by dozens of zhang. In the blink of an eye, the dead and wounded numbered no fewer than several thousand. Even Heavenly Astral Realm martial artists had no chance whatsoever of surviving under this law-fire, and together with their protective magic treasures, they were instantly vaporized.

“This is…”