Chapter Thirteen: The Blood of Perfection [Revised]

At this moment, on the outskirts of the British border, deep within a dark and damp forest, a unit clad in pitch-black military uniforms moved with precision, meticulously scouting the surroundings. The entire team maintained a tight formation, operating as a single entity; not a single word was spoken, and their movements were devoid of the sound of footsteps.

Leading them was an officer with a six-pointed star pinned to his chest. He was tall and walked at the very front of the formation. His attire was identical to that of his subordinates, the only distinction being the silver star on his breast.

Deep within the forest, inside a gloomy and humid shack, a figure with a bare, blue-black torso hung upside down from the rotting, dilapidated ceiling, feigning sleep. His skin was covered in a layer of cyan-black membrane, his long, slender ears were pressed flat against his skull, his nose was recessed, his face appeared ferocious, and a pair of thin, bat-like wings sprouted from his back.

"W-where is this? Who are you! Why did you capture me..."

Just then, in a corner of the shack, a young white man with brown hair and green eyes awoke from his stupor, shouting in panic.

"Shit... you had better keep your mouth shut!"

Disturbed by the young man's voice, Marcus opened his eyes. Looking at the still-bright sky outside, his expression was filled with irritability and brutality. As a typical creature of darkness, he had just endured an intense battle the previous night and was now exhausted, famished, and weary. Being rudely awakened by a human, combined with the fact that it was daylight—the time he loathed the most—left him in the foulest of moods. If it were not for the fact that this youth was the primary target of his current mission, he would have loved to pounce and tear out his throat to drain his blood.

"Damn it... those wretched rats are on my trail again!"

Suddenly, Marcus’s thin ears twitched, and his expression turned grim. Ever since he had been persuaded by Li Yang half a year ago, Marcus had scoured the entirety of Britain. Only recently had he discovered traces of the "Blood of Perfection" in Ireland. He had not expected that, moments after finding the carrier, he would fall into an ambush set by a mysterious unit, as if the entire thing had been a premeditated trap.

Facing this well-equipped and highly trained force, even with his strength and speed—which far exceeded human limits—he had been forced to flee in desperation. During this time, Marcus had been constantly on the run, hiding by day and moving by night. Were it not for the vampire’s astonishing regenerative abilities, he would have perished countless times over. Yet, this mysterious unit clung to him like a second skin, tracking him all the way from Ireland into Britain.

However, he was unlike an ordinary vampire; he possessed the innate ability to detect biological ions through ultrasonic waves, much like infrared vision. As long as a creature entered his sensory range, it could not hide. It was precisely this ability that had allowed him to escape the clutches of this team several times. But this time, he sensed that things were dire. It was daytime—the period when his abilities were at their weakest—and he was trapped in this cramped shack with nowhere to run.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

"This is the place. The target is hiding in this shack. Stay alert, everyone, and do not act rashly. It is daytime; flush him out..."

Sure enough, within minutes, Marcus heard the barking of hounds and the chaotic noise approaching from outside.

"Do not approach the shack. Open fire!"

"Bang, bang, bang! Boom, boom, boom!"

"No... God, this must be a dream!"

As a hail of bullets tore into the shack, the young white man in the corner curled into a ball, screaming in terror.

"Shit... shut up!"

Seeing the panicked youth scrambling about, Marcus’s expression shifted. He lunged down from the ceiling and pinned the young man to the ground in an instant. This youth was the carrier of the Blood of Perfection, his mission objective, and Marcus could not afford to let him be harmed.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."

As bullets pierced his body, Marcus let out a muffled groan. Enduring the agony, he spread his thin bat wings, wrapping them tightly around the youth beneath him.

"Use the explosives!"

"Rumble..."

At that moment, a violent explosion rocked the air, and the shack collapsed instantly. Outside, dozens of heavily armed men stood ready, clutching giant nets and staring intently at the ruins of the shack.

"Sss... squeak... crack..."

As the smoke cleared, a dark shadow shrouded in white smoke let out a piercing shriek and charged out from the rubble.

"Deploy the nets! The General has ordered the target taken alive!"

Seeing the ferocious figure soaring into the sky, the leading soldier gestured with a wave of his hand. The team reacted instinctively, casting their giant hempen nets to ensnare the fleeing Marcus.

"Hiss... damn it!"

Facing the net descending from the sky, Marcus had no power to resist. If it were night, a mere net would never have held him. But now, in the daylight, his abilities were severely suppressed. It was fortunate that the day was overcast, keeping the ultraviolet radiation in the depths of the forest from being too intense; otherwise, the consequences would have been far worse.

Marcus propped up the net with his wings, one hand clutching the youth—who had fainted from terror—tightly. Enduring the searing pain across his body as if he were being scalded by hot oil, he managed to pull a translucent white jade shard from his pocket. This was the device Li Yang had given him for communication. He had hoped never to use it, but in the current situation, he had no other choice.

He knew all too well that for a freak like him, falling into the hands of humans would be a fate worse than death.

...

Meanwhile, in the suburbs of London, England.

The moment Marcus crushed the "Spirit-Summoning Talisman," Li Yang perceived it.

"Katherine, you may decide on the reorganization of the Night Knights and the Night Walkers yourself. As for the collection of resources, you may slow the pace for now; it is best not to provoke a counterattack from the human elite."

After briefly speaking with Katherine and Amelia, Li Yang moved, vanishing instantly from the hall.

In the void, Li Yang’s mana surged violently. Channeling the divine runes in his mind, he sped toward Marcus’s location with all his might. He knew that if Marcus had taken the initiative to crush the talisman, he must have encountered grave trouble. Given that it concerned the Blood of Perfection, he could not afford to be anything but urgent. To Li Yang, the Blood of Perfection determined whether his future path of cultivation would be smooth; it was of vital importance to his exploration of the Dao. If his hypothesis proved correct, his future path would be clear sailing. But the prerequisite was having sufficient Blood of Perfection; in his plan, it played an irreplaceable role.

...

Deep in the forest, looking at the collapsed shack and the scattered bullet casings, Li Yang felt a wave of frustration. It seemed he had arrived a step too late.

"Clear skies and bright earth, grant me divine power: Spirit Talisman soul-guide, manifest quickly, obey the command!"

Hoping they had not traveled far, Li Yang pulled a translucent white jade shard from his robe. With a single hand, he formed a seal, and a faint, invisible luminescence emerged in the air, extending outward into the forest.

"They haven't gone far!"

Seeing the trail, a flash of joy crossed Li Yang’s eyes. His six wings unfurled, and his figure transformed into a streak of golden light, vanishing from the spot instantly. The Spirit-Summoning Talisman consisted of a Yin and Yang pair; they resonated with each other, and once one was crushed, a mark would be left on the user that would not dissipate for twenty-four hours.

Following the trail, Li Yang flew swiftly, soon approaching the Irish border. Within a quarter of an hour, he spotted Marcus, who was being carried in a dark containment unit by a group of soldiers.

"Command of Heaven’s Might, borrow the power of Yin and Yang!"

Looking at the agile, fully-armored soldiers, Li Yang did not hesitate. He formed a seal with both hands, and a pale blue bolt of lightning descended, striking the soldiers carrying the unit.

"Zzzzt... crackle... pfft, pfft, pfft..."

"Ah! Argh! Enemy attack..."

As screams echoed through the silent forest, the soldiers carrying the unit convulsed, instantly turning into charred corpses and collapsing to the ground.

"Protect the target!"

At the moment his comrades fell, the commanding officer waved his hand, ordering his men to surround the two units on the ground while scanning their surroundings.

"Drop your weapons and leave!"

Although he did not know which country this unit belonged to, their sophisticated equipment and disciplined formation suggested they were not ordinary soldiers, but rather something akin to special forces from a later era. To be able to train such an elite force in this day and age, the power behind them was likely a state entity. And what Li Yang needed right now was time and accumulation; whether it was refining the Nirvana Golden Pill or conducting blood research, these things could not be achieved overnight. If he were to be targeted by state powers and cause too much of a stir, it would do him more harm than good.

"Enemy spotted! Form up and fire!"

"Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang..."

However, events did not always unfold as desired. The moment Li Yang appeared, the team on the ground shifted formation and opened fire on him.

"Utterly ignorant. How dare ants shake the heavens!"

"All things life and death: thunder and fire, rise!"

"Boom... crackle... zzzzt..."

Watching the bullets in the air, Li Yang frowned, his anger rising. True Solar Fire flared in his eyes, and a thunderstorm condensed in the air, accompanied by streaks of crimson lightning that shot out instantly.

"Ugh... argh! Sss... pfft, pfft, pfft..."

The entire unit was struck by the lightning, igniting fires throughout the forest. While he did not want to be targeted by state powers, that did not mean ants could provoke his majesty. Having reached Li Yang’s level of cultivation, he had gained a certain insight into the Dao of heaven and earth. As his cultivation ascended, his mindset underwent subtle changes; the transformation of his essence made it increasingly difficult to view himself as one with ordinary humans.

As the saying goes: The phoenix does not flock with chickens, nor does the true dragon dwell with snakes.

...

In a military base on the Irish border, the moment the mysterious unit was annihilated by Li Yang, an elderly man with white hair and green eyes rushed out from the base’s basement. He looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with gravity.

"General, is something wrong?"

Just then, a black officer who had chased the old man out of the base looked up at him cautiously. He had followed the old man for over twenty years, and this was the first time he had seen such a grave expression on the old man’s face. In his memory, the old man was always the embodiment of calm and elegance, as if everything in the world were within his grasp.

"Order the troops to retreat immediately. The 'Hounds' have been wiped out."

Ignoring the officer’s question, the old man stared deeply at the sky and gave orders to his trusted subordinates.

...

Just as the old man gazed at the sky, Li Yang felt an inexplicable sensation in his heart—vague, fleeting, like an illusion. But Li Yang knew it was no illusion; someone had indeed peered at him. Having reached his level, the concept of a "delusion" was virtually impossible. Although he had his suspicions, Li Yang did not dwell on them. He knew well that curiosity killed the cat; his priority was to safely return the Blood of Perfection, and all other matters could be disregarded.

...

By the time Li Yang returned to the London estate, the sky was darkening. Opening the two units and looking at the unconscious white youth and Marcus, Li Yang frowned. That the youth was unconscious was no surprise, but that Marcus was also out was abnormal. Marcus was the progenitor of the vampire race; with his physical constitution, even a tranquilizer meant for ten elephants should not have knocked him out. That the mysterious force had the capability to render a supernatural being unconscious gave Li Yang cause for alarm. Based on his knowledge, no non-supernatural drug in the current world could have incapacitated a supernatural creature so thoroughly.

"Angela, bring me some fresh blood."

Despite his confusion, Li Yang knew this was not the time to dwell on it. He called out to the hallway.

"Your Excellency! The blood you requested."

Before long, a vampire dressed as a maid entered with a bag of fresh blood, her eyes full of curiosity as she glanced at the two figures on the floor. However, she did not dare to ask questions; as a maid sent by the vampire clan to serve Li Yang, she knew her place.

"Very well, you may leave. Take him with you and deliver him to Dr. Yorkson."

Pointing to the white youth, Li Yang commanded the maid, then tore open the blood bag and poured it into Marcus’s mouth.

"As you command, Your Excellency!"

Seeing Li Yang’s grave tone, the maid did not dare to delay. She helped the youth up and carefully retreated.

"Ugh... hrrr..."

After a long while, Marcus finally came to, and the moment he regained consciousness, he jumped up, scanning his surroundings with vigilance.

"Your Excellency, thank you for saving my life."

Seeing Li Yang, Marcus sighed in relief and slumped onto the floor.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

Seeing that Marcus had calmed down, Li Yang spoke softly. In truth, he could not fathom what could have made a being who had lived for thousands of years as nervous as Marcus.

"I feel this is all a conspiracy. At first, everything was normal, but ever since I received information about the carrier of the Blood of Perfection, my movements seemed to be monitored by a mysterious force."

"When I finally found the carrier, I was attacked by that mysterious unit. They seemed to understand vampires, and they understood me. No matter how I fled, I could not escape their tracking. I feel as if there is a dark hand in the void manipulating all of this."

Facing Li Yang, Marcus held nothing back. Even now, he suspected he was still within the tracking range of that force. If anyone could help him shake them off, it was undoubtedly Li Yang, for in his experience, Li Yang was the most powerful supernatural being he had ever encountered.

"A conspiracy, you say? And what do you think—is the carrier of the Blood of Perfection real or fake?"

Hearing this, Li Yang’s eyes narrowed. He trusted Marcus’s judgment; after all, Marcus’s supernatural perception was no trivial matter. Not only that, but he himself had sensed something amiss. However, these things were not his primary concern. No matter the conspiracy, in his eyes, it could not withstand absolute power. The most important thing was the authenticity of the blood. As for any plot, he didn't care; as long as the blood was genuine, any conspiracy was a paper tiger. If he could successfully refine the Nirvana Golden Pill and survive the Three Disasters, he was confident he could suppress even Zhang Tianshi himself. After all, with the combat strength he had attained by smelting the ancient beast, the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, even surviving just one of the Three Disasters would be enough to roam the human realm with impunity.

"Your Excellency might not know! Our family’s bloodlines all share a certain similarity. After I captured this boy, I checked him thoroughly; he is indeed of our family’s lineage."

Marcus was confident in his intuition. Since his mutation, this innate sense had never failed him.

"That is good. Stay here for a while and do not go out. Let me think of a strategy, and then we shall talk."

Narrowing his eyes, Li Yang looked at Marcus, his words hinting at something more. In truth, he suspected Marcus might have been tampered with, though he could not say so directly for fear of alerting the enemy. By keeping him at the estate, Li Yang believed the mastermind would reveal their hand sooner or later.