Checking in for 100,000 Years-Chapter 623: Black Hair in the Blood Pool

In a valley bathed in red light, over a dozen blood-red, crystal-clear lotuses radiated dazzling red light, instantly signaling their extraordinary nature.

This renowned plant was the Nine-leaf Blood Lotus.

On its nine emerald leaves, rich Spiritual Energy formed a dense, lingering aura that hovered above the crimson pool where the lotuses took root. This crimson pool also contained dense Spiritual Energy. However, the pool’s color was so glaringly red that it was several shades deeper than human blood. Its stark red color was shockingly vivid to behold.

The pool was not extensive, only about a hundred zhang across.

A Formation rose from beneath the ground, enveloping the entire Blood Pool. Surrounding the Formation stood dozens of Shenluo Tian disciples. There were about fourteen or fifteen disciples from the Life and Death Realm; the rest were from the Destiny Realm. Everyone was on high alert, their eyes filled with determination, ready for what was to come.

"Brother Liao, why haven’t they returned yet? Could something have happened?" a man in a black robe asked with a furrowed brow.

"The Nine-leaf Blood Lotus is about to ripen. We can’t afford to disperse our forces now. Let’s harvest the lotuses first and then look for our fellow disciples!" a middle-aged man beside him said calmly.

This was the Heavenly Sun Dynasty. Anyone who dared to cross the Shenluo Tian disciples would eventually pay a bloody price. The domineering conduct of Shenluo Tian was known throughout the entire Heavenly Sun Dynasty.

"Indeed, the Nine-leaf Blood Lotus will ripen in a few Time Units!" the first man nodded in agreement.

Everyone waited silently, their Divine Senses constantly scanning their surroundings, on guard for any potential enemies.

「Meanwhile, deep underground.」

The Sky-boring Rat watched all of this, a smirk on his face.

These fools from Shenluo Tian think they are safe behind their Formation? Just wait; I’ll soon teach them a lesson about not underestimating me, the Sky-boring Rat! he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

He turned and released his Divine Sense into the surroundings, scanning cautiously. In his mind, the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat was also a formidable opponent. Yet, after a round of scanning, he didn’t detect the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat.

The Sky-boring Rat, unwilling to give up, fished a flea from his fur and flicked it towards the surface. Once it emerged from the ground, this tiny flea instantly jumped towards the place where he had first encountered the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat. Although tiny, the flea hopped incredibly fast, quickly reaching the site of the past battle.

Through the flea’s eyes, the Sky-boring Rat could see several patches of blood mist on the ground.

What’s going on? Don’t tell me that amateur, the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat, after killing several Destiny Realm disciples of Shenluo Tian, ended up being killed by some Life and Death Realm disciples? The Sky-boring Rat muttered to himself. In his mind, while the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat might be crafty, he was not strong. Whether in personal combat abilities or escape techniques, the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat was far inferior to him. Therefore, in his mind, the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat had long since been killed by the formidable Shenluo Tian disciples. After all, he knew too well how powerful Shenluo Sky Explosion’s Divine Skills could be; the probability of three First Level Life and Death Realm disciples teaming up to kill a Nine-tailed Spirit Cat of an equivalent level was extremely high.

"Poor Nine-tailed Spirit Cat! You died so tragically! On this day next year, I’ll come to your grave and light an incense stick..." The Sky-boring Rat feigned wiping his eyes, managing to squeeze out a couple of tears.

After a few seconds, he burst out laughing. "With him dead, things are quiet. Now, the Nine-leaf Blood Lotus is all mine, hahaha..."

He had coveted the Nine-leaf Blood Lotus for a long time. If he could acquire these Nine-leaf Blood Lotuses, advancing to the Ten Layers of Life and Death Realm would be a straightforward task.

After his bout of crying and laughing, the Sky-boring Rat calmed down. A keen light flashed in his small, rat-like eyes as he seemed to be silently assessing the Formation enveloping the Nine-leaf Blood Lotus.

Everything above and below ground was calm. This included the Big Black Cat, stealthily hidden on a distant mountain.

All three parties were waiting for the Nine-leaf Blood Lotus to mature.

「Several Time Units passed.」

A Nine-leaf Blood Lotus suddenly swayed gently in the wind, emitting a tempting fragrance that seeped through the Formation.

"What a sweet scent!" a disciple of the Destiny Realm exclaimed.

"One of the Nine-leaf Blood Lotuses has matured!" The middle-aged man leading the Shenluo Tian disciples announced, his expression relaxed as he chuckled softly.

The disciples tensed. Everyone kept looking around, wary of any sudden appearance of enemies. Once the first Nine-leaf Blood Lotus matured, the second and third would soon follow. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

A while later, the second Nine-leaf Blood Lotus also released its fragrance. Then, one after another, more Nine-leaf Blood Lotuses matured.

「Two or three Time Units later.」

Nearly three-quarters of the Nine-leaf Blood Lotuses in the Blood Pool had matured; only a quarter had not yet emitted their fragrance.

"Should we collect them now?" a disciple asked.

"Wait a moment..." the middle-aged man replied calmly.

At that very moment, the blood in the Blood Pool suddenly began to churn. Although the turbulence was not intense, it attracted everyone’s attention.

In the originally crimson blood of the Blood Pool, a few strands of black fur had floated up.

"Strange, where did this black fur come from?" someone asked, frowning.

"This doesn’t look like ordinary fur... it looks like the coarse black fur of some wild beast, doesn’t it?" another person observed for a few seconds and exclaimed in shock.

Upon careful observation, everyone saw that the long black fur strands were three to four meters in length, resembling the long fur of some kind of Monkey.

"How did this kind of black fur appear in the Blood Pool?" The middle-aged man’s expression transformed from nonchalant to grave. He advanced a couple of steps, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed into the depths of the Blood Pool. Despite a meticulous search, he found no signs of any Demon Clan.

「On the distant mountaintop.」

Due to its distance, the Big Black Cat hadn’t seen this scene clearly.

The Sky-boring Rat, however, being much closer, had clearly seen the black fur in the Blood Pool.

Strange, is there another Demon Clan creature making a move before me? The Sky-boring Rat’s expression changed drastically, and his back arched, a clear sign of his inner tension.

I can’t wait any longer! More than half of them have matured; this is the perfect opportunity to act! After weighing his options, the Sky-boring Rat gritted his teeth and made his decision.

With a shake of his body, he transformed into a large yellow rat. Deploying his impressive Earth Escape Technique, he charged towards the Blood Pool.

The Shenluo Tian disciples on the ground were completely unaware of the Sky-boring Rat’s arrival. After all, the Sky-boring Rat’s Earth Escape Technique was so fast it was difficult for them to react.

The Sky-boring Rat instantly reached the area beneath the Blood Pool.

What are these things? How could so much long black fur grow here?

Upon reaching the area beneath the Blood Pool, he saw a dense mass of long black fur astonishingly extending upwards through channels of blood water.

This sight scared him half to death.