Chapter 44: The Blood Awakening
Jin stepped deeper into the ruin, the temperature rising steadily. The air shimmered, not from heat alone, but from concentrated essence that saturated every inch of the space. Lava veins still snaked across the walls, but further in, a strange shift in aura pulled his attention.
It was a hum—not of fire, not of stone—but of something ancient. Something alive.
He rounded a corner and entered a grand chamber.
His breath caught.
In the center was a massive stone basin, easily thirty meters across and carved with runes that shimmered faintly with crimson light. The pool within was not lava, but blood. It glowed faintly, thick and viscous, swirling with unimaginable energy. Even from a distance, the essence density was overwhelming.
Jin approached slowly, his eyes narrowing as he examined the inscriptions around the rim. Ancient characters twisted and curled like dancing flames, but his comprehension—enhanced by soul cultivation—translated them.
"The Crimson Genesis Pool. A basin forged by the Blood Titan Monks. Within lies the blood of ancient mythical beasts—collected before the collapse of the First World."
Jin's eyes widened. He quickly scanned the beasts listed, and each name sent a tremor through his core:
Sky-Shatter Leviathan
Voidmane Tiger
Eclipse Serpent
Aetherhide Wyrm
He recognized none of them, but every line spoke of legends—creatures that had ascended beyond the limits of cultivation. The blood shimmered with essence that warped space around it.
At the bottom of the inscription was a final note, carved deeper than the rest:
"Warning: Once removed from the basin's reach, the blood shall dissipate."
Jin's excitement dimmed. He could feel the potency of the blood, but it was useless if he couldn't transport or absorb it. He clenched his fist in frustration.
Then, a thought struck him.
Maybe it wasn't meant for him.
He summoned Gorr.
In a flash of silver light, the creature appeared, landing on the stone floor with a small grunt. Gorr stretched his limbs lazily before looking up at Jin with curious eyes.
"Try the pool," Jin said, gesturing toward the blood.
Gorr tilted his head—but then, something changed.
His pupils dilated. He sniffed the air once. Then again. A low rumble echoed from his chest as he slowly turned toward the basin. Jin took a step back as Gorr walked forward—no, was pulled forward. A faint red glow emerged from beneath Gorr's skin, like his blood was resonating.
The moment he touched the blood, a violent pulse surged through the chamber.
The runes flared. The blood began to swirl violently. And Gorr... leapt in.
Jin shouted his name—but it was too late.
The pool consumed Gorr.
The chamber trembled. Runes glowed and dimmed. The essence of mythical creatures clashed violently inside the pool, as if resisting the intrusion. Jin watched, heart hammering, unable to interfere. He sat cross-legged and began meditating, waiting.
One day passed. Then two. Three. Four.
On the seventh day, the blood calmed.
A new presence emerged.
From the center of the pool, Gorr rose.
But he was no longer the same.
Gone was the thick brown fur and the earthy glow that had once defined him. His body now shimmered with sleek, silvery-blue fur that shimmered like stars. Violet streaks ran along his spine like lightning veins. His eyes were deeper, darker—one black as void, the other glimmering like a fractured mirror.
Jin stood in shock.
Gorr floated upward slightly, no longer walking—space rippled beneath his paws as if gravity itself bent for him. His aura had changed completely. It was refined, compressed. Heavy.
Jin sensed it immediately—Gorr had lost his earth element.
Instead, there was something else.
The space element was now dominant. Jin could feel it clearly, surrounding Gorr like a living shield. But beside it, there was a second aura... strange, foreign. Jin couldn't identify it. It wasn't any element he had studied.
But it reeked of danger.
That aura was dormant, hidden beneath Gorr's skin like a coiled serpent. When Jin reached out with his spiritual sense, it flinched, as though rejecting contact. His eyes narrowed in worry.
"Gorr... are you alright?"
The creature tilted its head and released a low trill—gentler than usual, but confident. Jin scanned him more thoroughly this time, noting something shocking.
Despite losing the earth element, Gorr's defense had become even more terrifying.
Any attack that came within a short range of him was instantly redirected. The space around Gorr acted like a prism—bending, twisting, and throwing incoming force to the side. Unless an enemy was two stages above him, their attacks wouldn't land.
Jin exhaled. Relief filled his chest.
"You're stronger," he said with a faint smile. "Much stronger." And it seemed Gorr could now converse like humans. Jin had only heard about such in rumours, but it seemed to be true.
Gorr licked his paw, then nodded, as if smug about his transformation. But Jin didn't know the full truth—didn't realize that the second element Gorr now carried wasn't just rare... it was catastrophic.
That sleeping power within him belonged to an ancient bloodline—a singular skill born from an extinct race of war beasts known as the Starvenom Ancients, beings that wielded a last-resort technique so devastating it was outlawed by universal decree.
Even Gorr didn't know what that skill was yet. He only felt that if he ever activated it... something terrible would happen.
Jin patted Gorr on the head, and the beast purred.
"Let's move."
These were the only two ruins Jin's master had told him about—discovered long ago when his previous disciple escaped from the sect geniuses that nearly killed him. Jin knew now that he would need to explore the Grand Ascension Realm on his own.
As he exited the ruin, the landscape stretched endlessly before him—mountains shattered by time, rivers of essence flowing in glowing veins, and patches of ancient forests that pulsed with unnatural life.
Gorr padded beside him, lighter now, faster—nearly floating.
Jin looked to the horizon.
"Let's find what this realm has hidden... and take it all."
He turned to the side, planning their route—but Gorr suddenly stopped, ears perking up, eyes sharp.
Jin narrowed his gaze. "What is it?"
From the distant hills, a sharp, unnatural screech echoed—a shriek so piercing it cracked the very sky.
Jin's eyes widened. That sound…
It wasn't a beast.
It was something else.
Something hunting.
Something ancient.