In the central building, Ethan was seated at his desk, attentively reading a newly translated letter. The paper still held the metallic scent of the ink. It had been decoded and delivered directly by the Vesper in charge of strategic communications, responsible for the flow of information between areas. The sender was Omega Zero. In the message, Zhao Ren reported that the manager of the Blue Lotus Chamber of Commerce wished to meet with him in person to discuss a "big deal."
Lately, liquor sales had generated a steady stream of profits. Even with the recent conflict.
Ethan drummed his fingers on the wooden surface, thoughtful. An in-person meeting implied risks, but also opportunities. The expansion of Astralis demanded funds. Resources were needed to reinforce production, recruit more personnel, acquire raw materials, and invest in weapons infrastructure.
He couldn't slow down now.
At last, he made a decision.
"Enter," he ordered firmly.
The Hu brothers, stationed on the other side of the door, entered immediately.
"Master," greeted Hu Jian with a slight bow. "What are your instructions?"
Ethan handed him a new letter without standing up.
"Deliver it to the Vesper Communications Officer. Have them send an encoded reply to Omega Zero."
Hu Jian nodded with discipline, took the paper, and disappeared down the hall without missing a step.
Shortly after, the door was knocked.
"Sir, report," announced Officer Wei's voice from the other side.
"Come in," Ethan replied.
Officer Wei gave a brief salute and spoke.
"The attackers' identities have been confirmed," he began. "They belong to a mercenary group. Their leader is a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Cultivation, known as Black Centipede. Activity has been recorded from them in the Dark Mountains region."
He paused before continuing.
"According to testimonies gathered from the prisoners and analysis of the corpses, no direct trace of Black Centipede was found. It's highly likely he escaped during the battle. I have ordered an expansion of the surveillance perimeter throughout the city, but no traces have been detected."
"From their own mouths, we discovered that it was the Xuan family from Black Rock City who hired them to attack us," said Officer Wei, not averting his gaze from Ethan.
Ethan nodded silently. There was no need to respond.
Officer Wei stepped closer to the table and carefully placed several objects in front of him.
"Among the confiscated belongings, we found three spirit bags, spirit stones, and some books."
The books were laid out precisely on the wooden surface, without the slightest display of interest from the officer. Any other mortal would have been left speechless by immortal techniques, but not a Vesper.
Ethan examined them calmly. It wasn't the first time he had obtained books of that kind. In previous battles, he had intercepted similar manuals: methods to absorb spiritual energy, channel it, store it in the dantian, and continue in cycles.
He had tried. Absolute failure. His body didn't resonate with spiritual energy.
According to AION's initial analysis, that affinity required a specific biological connection: the so-called spiritual roots. Without them, it was like trying to start a fire with water.
Even so, the books weren't useless. They were keys. Technical manuals that allowed understanding the energy architecture of cultivators, their power system, and perhaps… how to replicate it by artificial means.
"Beginning scan," AION projected in his vision. "Files processed. Digitization in progress."
Ethan flipped through each volume while the data was uploaded into AION's knowledge base for future reference, research, and potential experiments.
"Internal Flow of a Thousand Currents, Leaf Breathing, Iron Strike, Blood Sword…"
Ethan scanned each book patiently, until his fingers brushed the last one, raising an eyebrow, intrigued.
The book looked older than all the previous ones. Its blackened leather cover was cracked, hardened by time, and stained with dried blood of unknown origin. In the end, it was clear that pages were missing; the irregular, torn marks revealed someone had ripped them out.
He opened it cautiously. The first page was completely blank.
He frowned and turned to the next. Also blank.
And the next. Nothing.
Suddenly, a faint static hum crossed his mind.
[Anomaly — Unusual spectral reading]
Ethan blinked.
"AION, what does that mean?"
[Confirmation: Atypical microstructures exist in the paper that may contain data.]
"A spell?"
Ethan tilted the book slightly toward the light, but nothing changed. He still saw it blank.
Ethan frowned deeper. "Invisible ink?"
[Not in the conventional sense. The paper fibers contain topographical alterations on a sub-nanometric scale. The content has been inscribed through particle displacement at the yoctometric level.]
Ethan blinked. "Yocto...? That's ten to the minus twenty-four. Not even conventional quantum microscopes reach that far."
[Confirmed. Unknown technique. The marks are embedded within the molecular weave of the physical medium.]
"And can you read it?"
[In progress. Simulating three-dimensional mapping through virtual photon scanning and volumetric reconstruction.]
A soft hum passed through his inner ear. Then, the words began to appear before him, floating in his vision.
"Sutra of the Crimson Venerable – For those born with the Body of the Blood God, whose lineage flows with the blood of ancients, this path opens the doors to ultimate transformation."
Ethan swallowed hard.
"Can you decipher the rest?"
[Severe fragmentation in intermediate chapters. Approximate integrity: 61%. Final part missing.]
Ethan kept his eyes on the text in his vision.
[Page 1 – Technique: Blood Forging Sutra of the Crimson Venerable - First Stage: Cultivable up to the peak of Foundation Establishment.]
"He who is born with the body of the Blood God was shaped for war, destruction, and glory among smoldering corpses. This technique forges not only muscle and bone but the very design of flesh itself as a living weapon. Your body is your greatest sword; your blood, the crucible where your fate is melted. By forging yourself in battle, you shall become the bearer of Crimson Wrath."
[Page 2 – Recipe: Blood Baptism]
"Instructions for body strengthening through immersion in the blood of mid-tier or higher demonic beasts. Add the following spiritual ingredients to the mix..."
"Meditate while submerged. The body will absorb the mixture's properties, hardening tendons, skin, and organs."
[Page 3 – Second Stage: Cultivable up to the peak of the Golden Core]
"When the body has endured the blood and the flesh has been tempered, the time comes to seal the fire in the heart of the abyss. The practitioner will forge within a Crimson Core..."
[Page 4 – Third Stage: Cultivable up to the peak of Nascent Soul]
"Blood is no longer mere substance, but will. In this stage..."
[Page 5 – incomplete fragment – Fourth Sta...]
"...the mountains will bleed beneath your steps...
...your body will merge with the will of the ancients...
...the roar of your flesh will shake the heavens..."
[Warning: Incomplete record. Decoding impossible. Missing pages.]
As he read, Ethan felt a cold jolt shoot down the back of his neck. A strange chill crept along his spine, for no apparent reason. It was as if something invisible were watching him.
He slowly let go of the book.
The blackened cover rested once again on the table.
He took a deep breath to calm himself. Every word he read seemed to carry a dark resonance, an ancient echo that vibrated in his mind, even though he was only reading the translation provided by AION.
"Nascent Soul…" he murmured, frowning.
He knew well that throughout the Yun Dynasty and its neighboring regions, there were no cultivators of such a high level. And yet, the book before him contained a technique from that stage.
If that information leaked… the chaos it could unleash would be incalculable.
He looked up. Officer Wei was still there, standing firm and expectant.
"Where was this book found?" Ethan asked.
Wei looked at the tome Ethan was pointing to, mentally reviewing the report.
"It belonged to the cultivator who led last night's attack. He faced the captain stationed at the east gate. The battle was intense, but in the end, the captain managed to take him down."
Ethan nodded. That was for the best. Dead, he could not reveal the book's origin. Though it also meant he would never know how it came into his hands.
He returned his gaze to the text. The book was intended for the so-called Body of the Blood God. Only thanks to AION had he been able to see the content.
The main technique was powerful, yes, but he could not practice it.
However, the second page had caught his attention.
Blood Baptism.
A physical strengthening technique. The instructions were to immerse oneself in the blood of a demonic beast, combined with specific spiritual herbs. The text promised a profound strengthening of the physical body. If used alongside the Crimson Forging of the Bloodied Venerable, one could become a true body cultivator.
Unlike immortal cultivators, who channeled spiritual energy and expanded their techniques, body cultivators trained the body to its limits. Their muscles, bones, and blood became living weapons.
They were few. Their path was difficult. Cultivating the body demanded more resources, more suffering. Over time, that path was abandoned by many. The techniques were lost, forgotten by generations who preferred the relative ease of cultivating spiritual energy.
In the Yun Dynasty, only a few still persisted on that path. But those who did… could not be underestimated.
Although Ethan could not use the advanced techniques of body cultivation, the Baptism recipe was different. It could be replicated.
And if it strengthened body cultivators that much… then its effect on common soldiers, humans without spiritual roots, could be transformative.
His mind was already at work.
He needed to run tests.