Chapter Thirty-One: The Mark of the Blood Soul

The Blood Soul Seal was a particularly unique sigil within the Blood Soul Banner. Anyone who willingly accepted the Blood Soul Seal would be subtly and inexorably changed by its influence; regardless of their cultivation level, they would ultimately become eternally loyal to the master of the seal.

Those who received the Blood Soul Seal not only had their souls controlled by its master, but even their very blood would gradually come under the master’s sway. By then, if the master desired anything from the recipient, a mere thought would suffice to command them. Perhaps it was precisely because the Blood Soul Seal was so domineering that there were only two ways to cast it: one was voluntary acceptance, and the other was to forcibly imprint it onto the recipient’s soul—though this required the caster's soul to be many times stronger than the victim’s.

Casting the Blood Soul Seal was no easy feat. Not only did it require one’s own essence blood, but also a splitting of one’s spiritual consciousness. The agony of dividing one’s spirit was indescribable, a torment Wang Luo knew all too well.

Watching Bayiji, who had just tried to attack him and was now rolling on the ground clutching his head in pain, Wang Luo couldn’t help but smile faintly. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief—thank goodness he had prepared a Blood Soul Seal in advance; otherwise, he would have been hard-pressed to deal with Bayiji.

Bayiji clutched his head, howling in torment, his body trembling uncontrollably. Gradually, he discovered that as his murderous intent toward Wang Luo lessened, so did his pain. Stealing a glance at Wang Luo, who was smirking coldly nearby, Bayiji wisely began to hypnotize himself.

Seeing Bayiji, pale-faced, get unsteadily to his feet, the little white lion waved its paw at him in triumph and let out a series of proud cries. The blood wolf beside them growled in agreement, while the black panther in the distance looked on with clear hostility. None of them had forgotten how Bayiji had once ruthlessly beaten them.

“If you’d just behaved from the start, you could have spared yourself this suffering,” Wang Luo said, scooping the little lion into his arms and leaping onto the blood wolf’s back. As the wolf continued forward, Wang Luo addressed Bayiji, “If you don’t want to suffer, follow along and answer my questions honestly.”

Bayiji’s expression flickered uncertainly at Wang Luo’s words. In the end, he sighed and followed close behind, no longer daring to harbor the slightest murderous intent toward Wang Luo. He never wanted to experience that soul-piercing agony again.

“You should know the Jinge family, right? What happened to the Jinge family nine years ago?” Wang Luo asked, having already learned much about the Tianxuan Continent and his own origins from the books in his spatial ring.

“Nine years ago, the Jinge family was annihilated in a single night. No one knows who did it. It’s said that even the guardian Sword Saint of the Brewster Empire didn’t notice anything. But there are rumors that the family head’s newborn son was taken away by a teleportation scroll, along with the Jinge family’s ancestral spatial ring.”

At this, Bayiji glanced at the ring on Wang Luo’s hand. He hadn’t believed the rumor before, but now he was convinced.

“Follow me for three days. During that time, I may ask you questions at any moment. If you answer honestly, you’ll be free to go after three days,” Wang Luo said after a moment’s thought. Noticing the flash of joy in Bayiji’s eyes, Wang Luo continued his line of questioning.

There were many books in the spatial ring, and from them, Wang Luo had learned much—such as the fact that the continent beneath his feet was called the Tianxuan Continent.

On the Tianxuan Continent, the strong reigned supreme; almost everyone cultivated, making it a land where all were warriors. Cultivators here were divided into warriors and magi, with many branches derived from each.

Warriors refined the omnipresent magical elements into battle energy, circulating it through their bodies. Magi refined the elements into mana, storing it within a magical domain adjacent to their spiritual space.

Though both refined the ubiquitous magical elements, warriors and magi followed two entirely different paths. Warriors fought using their internal battle energy, while magi used their mana to resonate with the elements of heaven and earth, unleashing powerful spells.

The primary magical elements were earth, fire, water, wind, lightning, light, and darkness. Some elements were rare among humans, such as the gold element that Wang Luo possessed, the wood element of the elves, and the spatial element of the Silver Dragons.

Besides humans, the Tianxuan Continent was home to many strange races: the elegant and noble elves, the savage and bloodthirsty orcs, the diminutive yet powerful dwarves, and more. Wang Luo was deeply curious about this world.

There was another special race on the continent—magical beasts. The Magical Beast Forest where Wang Luo now traveled was one of their gathering grounds.

Magical beasts were ranked just like humans, from level one to nine; beyond level nine was the rare and formidable Sanctuary rank. Sanctuary-level beasts could take on human form, and high-level magical beasts possessed intelligence.

The little lion’s parents were none other than the renowned Golden Lion Beasts of the Tianxuan Continent, who, upon reaching adulthood, stood at the peak of level nine. The black panther was also a well-known beast, famed for its cunning, cruelty, and bloodlust; few dared provoke it.

As for the little white lion and the blood wolf, Wang Luo had found no records of them. He guessed they were mutated beasts—a phenomenon with both favorable and unfavorable outcomes. Judging by their current appearance, their mutations seemed to be beneficial.

There was another highly esteemed profession on the Tianxuan Continent—alchemist, a branch of fire magi. Alchemists required even greater spiritual power than magi.

Alchemists refined various spiritual herbs into elixirs, each with different effects: some boosted mana and battle energy, some healed, and others restored strength.

Upon reading about alchemists, Wang Luo immediately discovered another use for his Heartfire, as well as for that useless spatial pocket—he could use it to grow spiritual herbs. Seeing the high esteem in which alchemists were held, Wang Luo felt delighted.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. At Wang Luo’s nod, Bayiji vanished in a flash, silently praying never to encounter this little demon again.

Wang Luo glanced at the distant black panther and smiled faintly. Bayiji’s sudden attack had not been without its benefits; at the very least, it had brought him closer to the black panther. Before long, he believed he would truly win the beast’s loyalty.

“Heh, Little White, let me make you some elixirs to taste!” Wang Luo said cheerfully to the little lion, who was clearly displeased at Bayiji’s release. Forming a few hand seals, Wang Luo summoned the orange-red Heartfire before him.

Another chapter of "Azure Dragon of Another World"—Chapter Thirty-One, The Blood Soul Seal—was now complete.