Chapter 125: Sensation Throughout the City

"Miss, are you certain about this?"

The Fourth Steward seemed to be making one final attempt at persuasion. Having served the Jiang family for so many years, he had witnessed many members of the Jiang bloodline undergo their awakening here.

Like Jiang Liuying’s brothers before her, all of them had undergone their awakening inside this very place, yet once they awakened, they had each departed this world forever.

"Yes! According to the ancestral teachings of the Jiang family, any son or daughter of the Jiangs may choose the time they deem most suitable to attempt the bloodline awakening. I believe now is the most suitable time for me. Not even my father can stop me! Open the door!"

Jiang Liuying had made up her mind. With her hands on her hips, she stood before the mysterious stone door, looking resolute and righteous.

The Fourth Steward sighed helplessly. He knew that even the Master would not dare to stop Jiang Liuying. After all, the previous six young masters had all acted in accordance with the Master’s instructions, even timing their awakening days perfectly, yet they had all ultimately become the Master’s greatest regret.

The Fourth Steward had no choice but to step aside and slowly open the complex secret door.

Rumble—

A massive stone door swung open, revealing a vast underground palace. At a glance, it was filled with red wine, appearing no different from the cellars of the wealthy.

But only the Jiangs knew that there were three special passages here, each leading to a different place.

One direction led to the storage of the Jiang family’s dharma artifacts and precious treasures; another led to the pens where spirit beasts were kept; and the final path was the sacred site for the awakening of the Jiang bloodline.

Jiang Liuying took a deep breath and headed down the third passage.

Before long, she arrived in an even more immense underground palace. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the unique features of this place.

There was no natural light; instead, special stones were embedded in the walls. In the nine directions of the chamber, nine ferocious statues were carved.

"Are these the Nine Li statues that my sixth brother told me about? My brothers all awakened here in the past, and today, I have come as well!" Jiang Liuying gazed at the nine statues by the faint light.

She had known since childhood that their ancestor was the legendary Chi You, and that the Jiang family was one of the Nine Li tribes. But later, she heard that civil strife had broken out within the Nine Li, forcing the Jiang family to travel over mountains and rivers to escape to Yang City.

At that time, her father, Jiang Ziyang, was still very young and did not even have any children yet, so Jiang Liuying did not know the exact details of what had happened; everything was merely hearsay.

Her gaze shifted to the center of the underground palace, where there was a pool of unknown depth. The water within was pitch-black with a reddish hue; she had no idea what it was.

In the center of the pool stood a "time-pointer," an ancient device used to determine the hour. Its design was simple: a massive circular stone engraved with time numerals, with a large pointer piercing through the center.

It was said that all these items had been brought by Jiang Ziyang from the clan long ago.

"Ancestors of the Nine Li... your descendant, Jiang Liuying, is here today for her first awakening. I pray for the protection of all our forebears!"

After speaking loudly, Jiang Liuying slowly walked up to one of the statues, knelt to pay her respects, then rose and pressed her palm against the statue's face.

*Slash!* A deep cut appeared on her palm. Fresh blood surged out, immediately staining the statue.

The statue seemed to recognize this bloodline, actively absorbing it. With a hum, the entire statue glowed with a brilliant red light, illuminating the surroundings.

Seeing this, Jiang Liuying withdrew her hand, walked to the second statue, bowed, and pressed her bleeding hand against its face once more.

Repeating this process, all nine statues symbolizing the Nine Li tribe began to glow with radiant red light, turning the entire cavern into a place of unprecedented brilliance.

Under the glow of this red light, the black, stagnant water in the center began to bubble as if it were boiling.

Jiang Liuying did not hesitate. She stepped into the stagnant water. As she walked toward the center, the black water—which was not deep—submerged only up to her knees.

"My six brothers, may your spirits in heaven bless my first awakening to be smooth! I must defeat Su Ye!"

Jiang Liuying looked deeply at the Nine Li statues once more. Her stunning, delicate face showed a look of determination. She channeled the ancestral mental technique, thrust out her bleeding hand, and grabbed the time-pointer!

"Bloodline... Awaken!"

*BOOM!*

***

*BOOM!*

The first bloodline awakening had begun!

...

At this very moment.

Su Ye and Jiang Ziyang’s group had just parted ways with Ouyang Yunfeng. They had agreed to set off in two days to search for the legendary Thunder City.

Because they knew Jiang Liuying had returned alone to awaken her bloodline in the underground palace, Jiang Ziyang was extremely anxious, rushing back from Huaping Villa to the downtown area of Yang City.

In the car, Jiang Ziyang made several frantic calls, only to be told that Jiang Liuying had not yet emerged from the underground palace.

"Alas, this girl... she really doesn't let me have a moment of peace! She isn't even eighteen, and her bloodline isn't mature yet—how could she attempt an early awakening? She is being so reckless! If something happens to her, what am I to do? What am I to do?"

Jiang Ziyang’s tone was heavy, his face filled with immense guilt. He had already lost his sons; if anything happened to Jiang Liuying, could he even continue living?

Awakening one's bloodline was no simple matter!

Su Ye felt a sense of agitation in his heart as well. He understood Jiang Liuying well; her returning in such a rage was certainly related to the fact that he had beaten her earlier.

If something truly happened to her, Su Ye would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

"Don't worry, Liuying will be fine. She is actually quite strong, and she has always had good luck. She will be fine."

"Yes! I hope so—drive faster, tell the cars behind to keep up!" Jiang Ziyang checked his watch and urged the driver to speed up again.

Seeing this, Su Ye silently prayed that Jiang Liuying would be safe.

Just then, his sea of consciousness was struck by a thunderous boom. A piercing, soul-wrenching pain radiated from his mind throughout his entire body. His blood seemed to freeze instantly, and his heartbeat nearly stopped.

Within his sea of consciousness, a humming sound echoed incessantly. A line of ancient characters from the *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations* automatically emitted a golden light, as if suppressing something.

Then came a strange *crackle-crackle* sound, as if a tenacious sprout was breaking through the soil.

A pitch-black sprout had grown from within his sea of consciousness!

It looked like a small black seaweed, stretching desperately within his sea of consciousness!

It was the Demonic Blood!

That drop of Demonic Blood, which hadn't been seen for a long time, had actually grown back!

"Demonic Blood... the blood of the curse..."

Su Ye froze. Hadn't the final cursed blood been completely eradicated? How could it have grown back? Could it be that even the *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations* could not destroy it?

How was this possible? Was there really something that could contend with the *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations*?

*Crackle, crackle!*

The drop of Demonic Blood was growing frantically!

If Su Ye’s sea of consciousness were a special world, the Demonic Blood was now a seedling growing on its soil, and it was growing with mad intensity.

"Little Ye? Little Ye, why is your complexion so poor? Little Ye, you... your whole body is so cold? What is happening to you?" Jiang Ziyang immediately noticed something wrong with Su Ye. He reached out to check and was instantly startled.

Su Ye was trembling all over. He couldn't answer, only shaking his head as best he could to signal that he was still conscious.

After several agonizing minutes, the pain throughout Su Ye's body suddenly subsided.

He felt completely drained. Within his sea of consciousness, the terrifying Demonic Blood had formed into a dense, thick liquid, sprouting tentacles like an octopus that swayed continuously, as if trying to break free from some unseen shackle.

Su Ye felt as if his heart were being tossed by a stormy sea. He clearly sensed the terrifying power contained within this Demonic Blood; it seemed as if it could devour everything in this world, bringing about total destruction.

Conversely, the *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations* was grand and majestic, like the sun hanging in the sky, filling him with a sense of upright righteousness that could endure forever!

"This *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations* and this Demonic Blood... why do they seem like light and dark, day and night?" Thinking of this, Su Ye couldn't help but shake his head.

He had no strength left now. Once he recovered, he would use the *Three Thousand Yanhuang Tribulations* to force this Demonic Blood out!

For some reason, Su Ye suddenly remembered the final words left to him by the Spirit Crow Tianjizhe:

*Do not approach the Yangtze, do not cross the Yellow River, and never defy the Human Emperor's Law, even if it means death!*

"Master, don't worry, I'm fine! It was just an old wound acting up. It seems I need a good rest when I get back," Su Ye said, his voice extremely weak.

Jiang Ziyang asked a few more questions, and seeing that Su Ye was truly out of danger, he felt relieved.

Finally, the vehicles arrived at the Jiang family manor in the city.

Before the cars had even come to a complete stop, Jiang Ziyang rushed out. Upon asking the servants, he learned that Jiang Liuying had not yet emerged. As for what was happening inside the underground palace, no one had dared to enter, so they were in the dark.

"That girl, honestly! You all handle these matters; I am going to see her." Jiang Ziyang followed the servants into the villa.

Su Ye, supported by a servant, managed to get out of the car. He hadn't expected to suddenly become so weak.

He slowly walked to the secret door of the underground palace and found Jiang Ziyang and several stewards waiting there. At this point, none of them dared to enter and disturb Jiang Liuying.

Feeling utterly exhausted, Su Ye sat down on a nearby bench to rest.

Within minutes, he fell into a deep sleep, and he didn't even wake up when Jiang Liuying finally emerged from the palace.

When Su Ye woke up, it was already noon the next day.

He found himself in bed. He rubbed his eyes and realized that a large clip was clamped tightly onto his nose; he had been breathing through his mouth the whole time he slept.

Moreover, the clip must have been there for a long time, as his nose was purple and completely numb.

He rushed to the bathroom mirror and was shocked: "What the hell—damn it, where are my eyebrows?"

Who could have done this? Did he even need to ask?

Su Ye was furious and ready to charge out to seek revenge on Jiang Liuying, but as soon as he stepped out the door, he noticed the servants were all bustling about.

"Young Master, you're awake? That's wonderful! Now we can set off for Thunder City!"

Su Ye frowned. Although he and Ouyang Yunfeng’s group had decided to search for Thunder City, the Jiang family servants shouldn't have known about it. What was going on?

"Young Master, you don't know yet? You slept too long! The entire Yang City is in an uproar; everyone is saying the legendary Thunder City has been found."

"Found Thunder City?" Su Ye was stunned. How could that be?

"It's surely not true, but the rumors have set the whole city abuzz. Many large families have already set off to search for it! I heard the Master say it might be a rumor spread by Ye Lingyun. Now all eyes are on our Jiang family! Every move we make is being watched!"

"Oh, right! The young miss set off secretly with the Young Alliance Master last night! After all, we must get there before the other families. The Master took people and left early this morning! Now that you're awake, the last group should be leaving, too!"

Su Ye gave a bitter smile. He possessed the Thunder-Inducing Pearl, yet he was the one left for the last group?