Chapter 150: Chapter 150: After Annotation, It Becomes the Blood Sacrifice Demonic Scripture

The Celestial Traveler Venerable struggled to regain vision in its compound eyes. It realized it was bound to a strange bed; its deadly appendages, like its scythe-like legs and tail stinger, had all been removed.

They were placed not far away, soaking in some unknown liquid inside transparent glass containers.

Even its torn-off membranous wings were floating within.

Its spirit sank. It tried to resist but discovered it didn’t have a shred of strength, its entire body feeling abnormally heavy.

"Lifeforms of our ’boss’ caliber possess extremely strong vitality and resistance to abnormal statuses."

"But I admit, I didn’t expect you to wake up so quickly." Qi Suian had sensed the Celestial Traveler Venerable’s awakening.

Due to the subject’s unique nature, Qi Suian’s anesthetics and sedatives were not only of limited effectiveness but also interfered with his experiments.

So, he had employed a new method of restraint, isolating the Celestial Traveler Venerable’s core to prevent it from processing Cold Energy.

Simultaneously, he used drugs to accelerate its metabolism, causing all the Cold Energy in its body to be completely depleted in a short time.

As a result, its physical structure alone couldn’t support its frame, which defied all physiological norms.

Its ability to fly high, run fast, and wield immense strength was entirely dependent on the support of the Extraordinary energy known as Cold Energy.

Without Cold Energy, Qi Suian even had to take precautions to prevent it from being crushed to death by its own weight.

It was precisely for this reason that Qi Suian was growing less and less impressed with the Cold Energy Extraordinary system.

Take Qi Suian himself, for instance. If he were to lose the Umbral Virus, he wouldn’t die. At worst, he would lose his Extraordinary powers, but he wouldn’t be crushed by his own body.

In fact, as long as he was alive, he could produce more of the Umbral Virus, as he was essentially a composite lifeform—a symbiotic fusion of human and virus.

He wouldn’t end up in such a pathetic state as the Celestial Traveler Venerable.

Pathetic or not, the creature was still formidable. Its sheer tonnage alone could crush a person to death.

The Celestial Traveler Venerable wanted to ask something, but it couldn’t open its mouth—its own mouthparts were too heavy.

"I’m guessing you didn’t originally look like this. You evolved into this form, and to some extent, you even interfered in your own evolution." Qi Suian didn’t mind that the creature wasn’t speaking.

He knew it couldn’t talk, not just because of its mouthparts, but also because he had severed various nerves throughout its body.

Otherwise, how could the Celestial Traveler Venerable have remained so placid while he performed his dissections and experiments? It would have woken up long ago.

It was precisely because it had lost all sensation that it was only waking up now.

Still, this was a blessing for the Celestial Traveler Venerable. At least it wouldn’t have to suffer the same torture as King Zhen Ao.

"Interfering with evolution... such a thing has its pros and cons."

"If you have a sufficient knowledge base, then there’s certainly no problem. In fact, it would greatly enhance your strength."

"But unfortunately, you don’t. So while you may look impressive, you actually have quite a few drawbacks."

"It’s just that these drawbacks have been masked by the Extraordinary power brought by Cold Energy... oh, that is to say, yin energy."

As Qi Suian spoke, he pointed to the creature’s spiracles. "As an insect, your respiratory system is limited by the efficiency of its spiracles, and I don’t see any auxiliary respiratory organs."

"You need more oxygen to sustain your life functions, but the efficiency of spiracles is insufficient to support a body this massive."

"Furthermore, your membranous wings. Insects have well-developed wings, but their body size is proportional to their wingspan."

"For a creature several meters long, such enormous wings would likely be incapable of effective flight in reality, because the increase in wing area leads to a dramatic spike in the aerodynamic force required for flight."

"And then there’s..."

The Celestial Traveler Venerable listened in a daze, completely failing to understand what Qi Suian was talking about.

"Of course, these shortcomings also serve to illustrate the miraculous effects of Cold Energy on evolution." Qi Suian changed the subject, returning to Cold Energy. "So, the other eleven Ancestor Court Venerables have also modified themselves, just like you, haven’t they?"

Qi Suian finally understood why the Beast King-level Cold Energy Monsters, the offspring of the Venerables, possessed certain mythological features.

It was naturally a trait inherited from the changes the Venerables had made by interfering with their own evolution.

Even the breakdown of reproductive isolation was likely related to this.

According to Qi Suian’s research, the principle behind interfering with one’s evolution was relatively simple. It likely involved using one’s Spirit to project their will into their core. The body would then receive pheromones emitted by the core and absorb external Cold Energy.

After absorbing sufficient nutrients, all that was left was to wait for the changes to take place.

This incredibly easy method of interference made the Venerables very powerful, thanks in large part to Cold Energy being an ambient environmental energy.

As long as it was abundant, they could be as reckless as they pleased. But once it grew scarce, the stronger they were, the greater their problems would be.

Unless they could learn to utilize it scientifically.

However, the humans of the Cold Winter seemed to lack this capability, apparently because they possessed intelligence before they began to evolve. This prevented them from forming cores, and their powers instead manifested as special abilities.

Lacking this crucial organ, they could only imitate the cores of the Cold Energy Monsters, which ultimately led to the creation of Qi Cultivation Methods as a postnatal supplement.

At the same time, this meant that even after attaining strength comparable to the Twelve Venerables of the Ancestral Court, they were unable to interfere with their own evolution as freely as the Venerables could.

Essentially, each Qi Cultivation Method and special ability would combine to form a fixed evolutionary path.

The upper limit of one’s evolution wasn’t determined by their special ability. Theoretically, all humans of the Cold Winter were at the same starting line.

Therefore, the only thing that determined how far one could advance along that evolutionary path was their Qi Cultivation Method.

However, Qi Cultivation Methods were created by people, and because individuals differed, the methods themselves began to diverge.

Eventually, these divergences became intertwined with the evolutionary paths themselves.

"Who... are... you..." The Celestial Traveler Venerable hadn’t been listening to Qi Suian’s lecture at all. Instead, it struggled to force out the words, questioning him.

Qi Suian shook his head. "Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is, do you know of the *Taiyin Refining Technique*?"

"I’ve obtained a piece of commentary on it. The first Chapter is titled ’Blood Sacrifice’."

Hearing this, the Celestial Traveler Venerable understood instantly.

"You are... a descendant... of the Taiyin Celestial Monarch..." The Celestial Traveler Venerable was gradually adapting to its condition, adjusting the way it spoke, its words growing more fluid.

"It seems you know of this commentary. So I’d like to ask, back then, which one of you Venerables was the *Taiyin Refining Technique* originally based on?" Qi Suian asked.

Hearing Qi Suian’s question, the Celestial Traveler Venerable began to cackle.

The sound was grating and filled with mockery.

It obviously knew the answer to Qi Suian’s question.

But judging by its attitude, the answer was probably not good news.

"It seems you’re not going to talk. What a pity." Seeing this, Qi Suian didn’t get angry.

Refusing to speak was perfectly normal.

"With that commentary, what you’re practicing isn’t the *Taiyin Refining Technique*. It’s the *Demonic Sutra of Blood Sacrifice*."

"The daughter of your ancestor, the Taiyin Celestial Monarch, practiced this very technique. I don’t know where you got it from, but I personally witnessed the miserable state of the Taiyin Celestial Monarch’s daughter at the time of her death."

"We Venerables were all there to see her off on her final journey."

Judging from the Celestial Traveler Venerable’s words, Cold Energy Monsters and humans were not implacable enemies in that era. Of course, it was also possible that the Taiyin Celestial Monarch simply had a personal relationship with them.

"What? Is there a problem with this Qi Cultivation Method?" Qi Suian asked curiously.

He was certain that the intelligence-lowering effect of his protagonist’s halo had kicked in.

Otherwise, how could the Celestial Traveler Venerable possibly be chatting with him under these circumstances? It would either be cursing him or refusing to speak at all.

After all, the Celestial Traveler Venerable had been dismembered by Qi Suian. No one in its position would calmly and cordially reveal secrets to their mortal enemy.

"Murder, torture, blood sacrifice... every one of them a monstrous crime."

"Relying on her father, the Taiyin Celestial Monarch, she thought her actions were secret, but she couldn’t stop the wagging tongues of the world."

"In the end, not even her father could save her."

"A nameless nobody like you wants to practice this demonic sutra? You’re just courting death," the Celestial Traveler Venerable mocked Qi Suian.

Hearing this, Qi Suian replied placatingly, "Yes, yes, you’re right. I was thinking the same thing."

"In truth, while it’s said this demonic sutra was created by the Taiyin Celestial Monarch’s daughter, who in the world doesn’t know that with her useless, mud-like aptitude, how could she possibly have accomplished such a thing?"

"This commentary was written by the Taiyin Celestial Monarch himself, all for the sake of his daughter. And in the end, he watched her die. It truly is a case of ’you reap what you sow’."

"You want to use my heart as a catalyst to forge your Blood Sacrifice Divine Technique, don’t you?"

"Heh. Why do you think the Blood Sacrifice Chapter uses Blood Heart Worm Eggs? Is it because the Taiyin Celestial Monarch’s daughter couldn’t withstand the heart of a Blood Heart Worm King?"

"What makes you think you can compare to the Taiyin Celestial Monarch?" The Celestial Traveler Venerable’s mockery grew even more severe.

’Because I have a protagonist’s halo!’ Qi Suian didn’t say this out loud. He remained silent, as if the creature’s words had broken through his defenses.

He was still hoping to extract more information from the Celestial Traveler Venerable, so arguing back was out of the question. A few taunts wouldn’t kill him, after all.

The creature rambled on and on, and Qi Suian just listened quietly.

As expected of a Cold Energy Monster that stood at the top of the Pyramid in the same era as the Taiyin Celestial Monarch, it certainly knew a lot.

But at the same time, he also understood one thing: whether it was the so-called *Taiyin Refining Technique* or the *Demonic Sutra of Blood Sacrifice* derived from the commentary, neither Qi Cultivation Method could be practiced.

Luckily, he wasn’t a Cold Winter human. Besides, he only ever intended to fuse these two Qi Cultivation Methods with his own Dragon and Tiger Primordial Force to forge a completely new Extraordinary Technique.

Therefore, the Celestial Traveler Venerable’s words had little effect on him. Since he never planned to practice the original versions, he naturally didn’t have to worry about their inherent problems.

The Celestial Traveler Venerable spoke for about an hour before finally falling silent.

It had apparently realized it was talking too much. More likely, though, it was because it had said everything it needed to say, and the protagonist’s halo had withdrawn its intelligence-lowering effect.

Otherwise, how could it take an entire hour to realize it was being too talkative?