"The Scripture of the Wicked, the Dragon Blood Species-Shifting Method, Cellular Viralization, and the Blood Demon Stream: Infinite Autophagy Method you comprehended have all benefited me greatly. Recently, from the several ancient arts you imparted, I derived a secret art ideally suited for you, which should serve well as a return gift."
Zhenwo Changjing looked at Yu Xian and spoke softly, finishing by lightly tapping his forehead with her finger.
In an instant, an additional secret art appeared in Yu Xian's mind. It was not a cultivation art, but rather a unique spell—one tailored specifically for him.
Deep down, Yu Xian knew this was no coincidence. Zhenwo Changjing had surely foreseen all of this long ago and prepared this gift for him well in advance.
Primordial Blood Pact—a secret art cast using the Primordial Pure Blood within his body as a medium.
Zhenwo Changjing had not lied; this secret art truly incorporated the strengths of the Scripture of the Wicked, the Dragon Blood Species-Shifting Method, Cellular Viralization, the Blood Demon Stream: Infinite Autophagy Method, and other arts.
Once the other party accepted the Primordial Blood Pact refined through his secret art, they would become part of his bloodline. The two would enter a symbiotic relationship, with him as the primary and the other as the auxiliary.
He could provide energy to rapidly unlock the other's bloodline talents, bypassing the bloodline gene lock to acquire their abilities, and they could even perform combination attacks that yielded an effect greater than the sum of their parts.
Simply put, either of them could transform into blood and merge into the other's body, or they could assume a beastman form possessing the strengths of both.
Yu Xian closed his eyes and drew a drop of blood from his heart. Following the secret art Zhenwo Changjing had taught him, he slowly infused spiritual power into it to construct a secret imprint. At the same time, the blood flowed from his heart throughout his body, gradually turning pitch-black.
Then the blood flowed into his dantian, where his power of True Intent and True Crimson Power merged into it. Slowly, the blood ceased looking like blood, coming to resemble a black pearl instead.
He opened his eyes, and the "black pearl" promptly materialized in his hand.
This was the Primordial Blood Pact. Any creature that consumed it would enter a symbiotic bond with him, rising and falling as one.
He looked at Little Nora, clearly explaining the effects of the Primordial Blood Pact, before smiling. "Make your choice now. Do you want to become my partner, or do you want to keep scraping by in this world? I'll respect your decision."
"I... I choose to come with you."
Little Nora hesitated at first, even stealthily taking a step back.
But when its eyes fell upon Zhenwo Changjing beside Yu Xian, its eyes suddenly lit up, and it replied loudly.
It could tell Yu Xian's strength was at Star Rank, yet it could not see through Zhenwo Changjing's strength at all. Didn't that mean she was even stronger than its ancient ancestor?
With such an expert protecting him, a possibility occurred to it: Yu Xian had to hail from some supreme Blood Clan.
Across the myriad realms, vampires were exceedingly numerous, varying wildly in strength and influence. Some Blood Clans were immensely powerful, holding sway over countless worlds, while others were like rats scurrying across the street, hounded in all directions by a few demon hunters and forced to hide in places like sewers.
Little Nora felt that Yu Xian must belong to the former. Following Yu Xian was essentially hitching its wagon to a supreme faction!
The Garuda clan was indeed fairly well-known across the myriad realms, and pure-blood Garudas enjoyed even greater renown. But ever since the Garuda Ancestor vanished, the Garuda clan had declined day by day, suffering especially fierce suppression at the hands of the rival pure-blood dragon clan.
Whenever they crossed paths, a fight to the death was inevitable.
Gradually, leaderless, the Garuda clan fractured. That was why its parents had tucked it away in this out-of-the-way little fragment: the outside was simply too perilous, and young Garudas died prematurely all too easily.
After Little Nora answered, Yu Xian smiled. "Then here's hoping we get along well from now on!"
He tossed the Primordial Blood Pact to Little Nora. Opening its beak wide, Little Nora swallowed it in one gulp. A red flash glinted across its eyes, and red light quickly enveloped its body.
"Merge!"
Yu Xian's body likewise radiated red light. The moment the two glows touched, the massive Little Nora dissolved into red light and merged into Yu Xian's body. Tough golden feathers rapidly sprouted all over Yu Xian, a pair of gigantic wings unfurled from his back, and a black ring appeared on his chest.
"Big Brother, is this fusion? I feel so sleepy," Little Nora's voice echoed in Yu Xian's mind.
Yu Xian chuckled. "Don't call me 'Big Brother' anymore. Just call me... Big Bro. We're one and the same now. And now... let's roll!"
With a flap of the wings on his back, his body shot into the sky at once, nearly a third faster than before.
"I'm flying! I can fly!" Little Nora cried out in excitement.
Facing into the wind, Yu Xian laughed. "We've barely scratched the surface. Let's try out the Garuda clan's abilities."
Just as he prepared to use Little Nora's abilities, his expression froze. Little Nora didn't have a single special ability. Its sole merit was probably that its feathers were very tough; if forced to name another, it was an enormous appetite.
"Auntie, not a single one of Little Nora's talents is unlocked?" Yu Xian paused midair and asked in disbelief.
Zhenwo Changjing smiled. "For a Garuda, a hundred years equals one year for a human, and they only reach adulthood at eighteen hundred years old. Little Nora is only eight years old, which is about the same as a newborn baby only a few days old. What abilities do you expect it to have?"
"Can it really live to adulthood?" Yu Xian asked, looking flabbergasted.
Zhenwo Changjing replied, "Garudas taste awful. Unless they encounter the hostile dragon clan, there is a good chance they can survive. Nowadays, the survival-to-adulthood rate for the Garuda clan is around forty percent."
"That's so low!" Yu Xian and Little Nora complained in unison.
Little Nora poked its head out from Yu Xian's shoulder and exclaimed in shock, "So we die that easily? But the inherited knowledge in my bloodline clearly told me that the probability of growing up smoothly was ninety percent!"
"That was from a very, very long time ago. Your database needs an update," Zhenwo Changjing said with a smile.
Little Nora was struck dumb as if hit by lightning. So its database was outdated! It looked at Yu Xian and asked, "Big Bro, do you humans still surf the net?"
"What 'surfing the net'?" Yu Xian's head was full of question marks.
Not ready to give up, Little Nora asked, "Then did Tang Sanzang make it to the Western Heaven?"
"Is there something wrong with your database?" Yu Xian couldn't help but shoot back upon hearing that.
With tears brimming in its eyes, Little Nora asked, "Then Big Bro, Romeo and Juliet—did they end up living happily ever after? One was a werewolf and the other was a vampire, so wouldn't they give birth to a monster?"
"Auntie was right. Your database really needs an update," Yu Xian said sincerely, his lips twitching slightly.
Little Nora looked at Yu Xian, then looked at Zhenwo Changjing, and finally burst into loud wails. It felt as though its entire world had collapsed; so much of the knowledge it had learned was completely expired!
Chapter 208