From the starting point of martial cultivation, many people accompany you.
But the closer you get to the peak, the fewer people remain by your side.
Some reach the end of their lifespan and become bones on this path. Others find new pursuits, settle down, and want to enjoy the scenery along the way.
Xu Zimo understood the thoughts of both men. Little Gui no longer wished to adventure. Perhaps the appearance of Yao Shengnan and the child in her womb gave him new purpose.
And Lin Ruhu had also matured. He wanted to walk his martial path alone.
After all, no one can carry you your whole life. The road others help you walk ultimately isn’t your own experience.
Everyone has their own thoughts and dreams, and Xu Zimo respected their choices.
“The future is full of hope,” Xu Zimo said to the two of them.
“Senior brother, my real name is Zhang Guilin. I hope you’ll remember it,” Little Gui said with a smile. “My child will be named Zhang Shanshui.”
Xu Zimo smiled and nodded.
He spent the entire day talking with Lin Ruhu and Zhang Guilin. Only when the night sky filled with stars did the two finally leave.
Xu Zimo looked up at the glittering stars. A gentle breeze blew past the mountainside.
He dragged a lounge chair into the courtyard and lay there. That night, he didn’t train or cultivate.
He simply slept peacefully through the night.
The next morning, no one disturbed him.
Xu Zimo woke up naturally and planned to head to the True Martial Sacred Ground’s scripture library to see if there were any records on the Blood Race.
With the Holy Son’s token, he passed through all checkpoints and arrived at the top floor of the library.
It was the same place where he had previously found records about the Demon-Slayer Race and the Myriad Dao Red Lotus.
After searching among a few sparse shelves, Xu Zimo found a book called Legends of the Many Races.
This book covered nearly all the ancient secrets of the clans throughout the world’s history.
The content was recorded on paper created using spatial power, there was simply too much information to be written by conventional means. If it were written normally, the books would pile up like mountains.
Xu Zimo flipped through it slowly. He spent the entire day in the scripture library reading.
It felt as though the countless races described in the book leapt out of the pages and performed a grand story before his eyes.
The Thousand Feather Race, the Holy River Race, the Ancient Moon Race...
These were all strange, dazzling races he had never heard of before, but they were undeniably fascinating.
Finally, as dusk settled and moonlight began to glow outside...
The luminous pearls in the scripture library gradually lit up, and Xu Zimo finally found the section on the Blood Race.
...
The Blood Race is an ancient race.
Their origin has long been lost to history, but their golden age came during the Imperial Era.
At that time, the Blood Race gave rise to an unmatched prodigy who trained bitterly for three thousand years and, upon emerging, possessed power that could suppress the era.
That person was the Divine Blood Lord.
In the era when the Divine Blood Lord appeared, he was practically invincible among his peers.
Everyone believed he would be a contender for the Heaven's Will and would lead the Blood Race to true revival.
Unfortunately, the Divine Blood Lord encountered another monstrous genius,
A man with the imperial title "Hengyu."
Grand Emperor Heng Yu came from the Supreme Primal Sacred Ground, a lineage with two Grand Emperors in its history.
Aside from the founder, Grand Emperor Tai Yuan, the most dazzling one was Grand Emperor Heng Yu.
In their final battle, the Divine Blood Lord lost to Grand Emperor Heng Yu and missed the Heaven's Will of that era.
Though he still entered the Immortal Path, the defeat disheartened him. He no longer had the same passion for the martial path.
He devoted the rest of his life to reviving the Blood Race and cultivating a new generation of potential Grand Emperors.
But sadly, no more Grand Emperors ever appeared in the Blood Race again. People thought the Divine Blood Lord would mark their rise...
No one expected that he would also mark their end.
...
Xu Zimo read on. The records weren’t very detailed, but they gave a rough idea of that era’s rumors.
Initially, under the Divine Blood Lord’s leadership, the Blood Race did begin to rise bit by bit.
Though they couldn’t match the Human or Beast Races, they gradually gained a place among the hundred races.
Unfortunately, at some point, the Blood Race provoked an imperial lineage.
“Sword God Sacred Ground!”
In that era, the conflict between the Blood Race and Sword God Sacred Ground had escalated to a boiling point. Their strength was similar, and neither could defeat the other.
But what the Blood Race never expected was that the Heaven's Will in that era would fall to someone from Sword God Sacred Ground.
The Blood Race was devastated in a great war and was forced to seal itself away from the world.
From that point on, Sword God Sacred Ground rose to fame in Skyluan Region, one of the five great regions of the Middle Continent, and developed rapidly.
The Blood Race, on the other hand, vanished completely.
To this day, the wheel of time has turned, everything has changed, but the Blood Race has never re-emerged.
Xu Zimo frowned as he read through the information.
He kept flipping through. Based on unconfirmed intelligence, it was said that sightings of the Blood Race occurred most frequently near the Nether Blood Sea.
Since the Blood Race feeds on blood to survive, they must continuously absorb fresh blood.
The purer the blood, the more benefit they gain from it.
So not only does the Blood Race require a large quantity of blood, but also extremely high quality.
There have been many cases of corpses found near the Nether Blood Sea, people believed they died at the hands of the Blood Race.
As a result, some suspect the sealed territory of the Blood Race is located there.
But there's no solid evidence, only speculation.
...
This information was collected from other sources by the True Martial Sacred Ground, so even the sect only treats it as a possibility, not confirmed fact.
After all, no one had ever truly found the Blood Race’s stronghold.
Xu Zimo figured whether it was true or not, he had to go see for himself. Maybe he’d run into them.
He put the book away and left the scripture library.
The Blood Race’s lifespan is incredibly long. Even ordinary, non-cultivating individuals among them can maintain youthful appearances for centuries.
Because of this trait, Xu Zimo even suspected that their old ancestor, the Divine Blood Lord, might still be alive.
Back when Grand Empress Hongtian split the Myriad Dao Lotus, the red lotus ended up with the Blood Race. Once they sealed themselves off, the lotus disappeared too.
By the time Xu Zimo exited the scripture library, night had completely fallen.