Arriving at the Holy Land, Fred, who had been stationed there, sensed Li De's location the moment he used his bloodline power. Thus, he had already arrived at the entrance of the cave to await him.
"Greetings, Clan Leader," the somewhat aloof figure bowed deeply to Li De.
"Greetings. Take me to the Blood Pool. I need to feed."
"Yes, Clan Leader."
This was actually Li De's first time feeding on blood. Although it had been soaked by the Holy Spirit and was now filled with mana—so much so that it could hardly be considered blood anymore—he still felt a little nervous inside.
Upon arriving at the Blood Pool, Li De found it hard to believe that the milky-white liquid before him was originally blood.
The Holy Spirit's range for preserving blood extended to a radius of 100 blades, covering the entire underground hall. Therefore, there was no need to drink directly from the Blood Pool.
The Blood Pool was established solely to allow the blood to come into closer contact with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's attraction to mana meant that the closer one was to it, the denser the mana became.
To the right were over a dozen seats carved from bluestone. Li De followed Fred and sat down.
Another vampire then took a gem-encrusted vessel, filled it with blood from the Blood Pool, and placed it on the stone table in front of Li De.
Li De watched as the milky-white liquid rippled within the circular vessel.
Mana-Infused Blood
Effects:
- Drinking it immediately restores 50 mana points.
- When consumed by vampires, it increases body recovery speed by 1000% and can heal injuries.
Description: Blood soaked in a vampire holy artifact, filled with incredible energy.
Sss~
Even though he had seen this before, Li De couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
The blood, now infused with mana, could no longer be called blood. It was more like a magical potion exclusive to vampires.
Its effects were even more potent than those of regular magical potions.
The vampire attendant beside him took out a delicate porcelain-white cup and filled it with the Mana-Infused Blood from the circular vessel.
He then respectfully handed it to Li De.
Li De reached out and took the cup.
Looking at the milk-like liquid inside, he sniffed it. It had a fresh scent, completely devoid of the metallic tang of blood.
He drank it all in one go.
Li De savored the taste. Surprisingly, the Mana-Infused Blood was flavorless, much like plain water, with the only difference being its thicker texture.
As soon as the Mana-Infused Blood entered his stomach, a warm current rose within him. Li De instantly felt a wave of comfort, and his spirits lifted immediately.
The fatigue from flying from Green City to the Ancient Castle vanished without a trace.
Perfect effects.
The vampire attendant promptly refilled the two-finger-high cup.
The circular vessel could hold about three cups, which Li De estimated to be around 1000 milliliters.
After drinking, the sense of emptiness from not having consumed blood for a long time was completely gone.
The effects of Mana-Infused Blood on vampires far surpassed those of ordinary blood. If it were ordinary blood, Li De would need to consume at least three times the amount.
On his status panel, a temporary buff appeared.
Mana Surge: Greatly increases the recovery speed of the body and mana. Duration: 30 minutes.
Although there were no specific numerical values, Li De could feel that his mana recovery speed had increased by at least three times.
This Mana-Infused Blood is truly miraculous.
Fully rejuvenated, Li De felt invigorated. He smiled at Fred, who was sitting across from him.
"Thank you for your hard work, my child. The Holy Land is our foundation. Once more humans arrive in the Ancient Castle, your responsibilities will become even greater."
Fred shook his head, his aloof face unable to hide his pride.
"No, guarding the Holy Land is my honor, Your Majesty."
Li De was somewhat exasperated by his bloodline descendants' habit of changing his title every minute—Father, Clan Leader, Progenitor, Your Majesty. He didn't bother correcting them and just went along with it.
"Alright, I'll head out now. The vampires need to prepare for the arrival of the humans."
"Yes, Clan Leader."
After taking a few steps, Li De suddenly remembered something. He casually picked up a cup, filled it with blood from the Blood Pool, and carried it out of the Holy Land.
He wanted to test how long the Mana-Infused Blood could last outside the Holy Spirit's range.
After leaving the Holy Land, Li De returned to his manor.
The two familiar guards greeted him, and he made his way to the study in the manor.
Fifth floor.
There was no Mage Tower in the Ancient Castle, so his manor was the tallest building.
From the window, he could see the boundary of the Southern District at a glance—a stretch of untouched land with fertile black soil.
Most of the buildings in the Southern District were two stories high, with only a few being three stories. This area had been constructed specifically for human habitation.
After the vampires' defeat in the war against Green City a hundred years ago, the humans who had lived in the Ancient Castle were no more.
Li De gazed out for a long time before shaking his head and dispelling his scattered thoughts. He turned his attention to the Mana-Infused Blood on the oak desk and began to ponder.
The effects of Mana-Infused Blood on vampires were undeniable, but could it also heal magical backlash?
Li De was eager to find out. Magical backlash was the greatest enemy he faced during the process of modifying spells.
Even with his extreme Mana Affinity talent, prolonged mistakes could still result in significant backlash.
If magical backlash could be mitigated, he had many bold ideas he wanted to try.
After calming his mind, he decided on the spell he would experiment with.
Small Fireball.
Among Tier 1 spells, Small Fireball was one of the most damaging, but it also had notable drawbacks.
With over 60 magic nodes, a casting time of two seconds, and a slow projectile speed, the spell had its limitations. However, its impressive destructive power still earned it a place among Tier 1 spells.
The art of explosions.
After modifying Mage Hand, Li De had set his sights on Small Fireball. However, since Small Fireball initially required over 60 magic nodes and involved activating fire elements, any backlash would be far more severe than that of Mage Hand.
Thus, despite having ideas, he had hesitated to proceed.
Now, with Mana-Infused Blood, he could finally give it a try.
Li De was never one to procrastinate. Once he decided, he immediately got to work.
He summoned the magic model of Small Fireball and began inputting his mental energy.
Small Fireball required 15 points of mana, the same as the modified version of Mage Hand with 90 magic nodes.
Li De had already studied the magic model of Small Fireball hundreds of times. Based on his experience modifying Mage Hand, he had a rough idea of the functions and roles of these magic nodes.
Thus, as soon as he started, he removed three magic nodes and added six new ones.
Such a bold move would have drawn scathing criticism from orthodox mages. Every magic node in a spell model was the result of countless experiments to determine the optimal configuration. Tampering with it would only lead to one outcome: model collapse and magical backlash.
Magic models were constructed within the Mental Sea. Magical backlash occurred when the model collapsed during mana input, causing the mana to explode within the Mental Sea.
Most mages would suffer severe injuries from magical backlash, ranging from becoming mentally impaired to having their heads explode.
The Mental Sea was the most fragile and vulnerable part of a mage. No mage would dare to be as reckless as Li De. Even a single instance of backlash could leave an ordinary mage recovering for years.
But neither the Vampire Progenitor nor Li De had received formal mage training. He was completely unaware of the risks he was taking.
The Vampire Progenitor's magical abilities were the result of two centuries of accumulation, and Li De was a fearless individual. Thus, without anyone noticing, he had embarked on a path of reckless experimentation.
Boom~
Unsurprisingly, the Small Fireball model collapsed under such drastic modifications.
Even though Li De repeatedly reduced the mana input, the explosive nature of fire elements far exceeded the backlash from Mage Hand.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his mind felt as if it had been struck by a hammer. He was in a state of mental disorientation.
If not for the resilience of his vampire bloodline, Li De would likely have been reduced to a babbling fool.
After a full two minutes, Li De finally regained his senses. He wiped his nose and found his hand covered in blood.
Enduring the intense pain in his head, Li De drank the remaining Mana-Infused Blood in the cup.
As the Mana-Infused Blood entered his stomach, it began to release a dense surge of mana. Li De instantly felt a massive replenishment of energy in his body, which had been on the verge of collapse.
A cool sensation spread through his mind, and his damaged mental energy recovered at an astonishing rate.
In just one minute, Li De went from being a minor mage nearly killed by magical backlash to being in perfect condition.
Looking at the empty cup, Li De felt no fear from the backlash. Instead, his eyes gleamed with excitement.
He murmured to himself, "This time, it's stable. From now on, I can finally go all out with my modifications."