Not only did all of Liu Bao's treasures fall into Yi Tianxing's hands, but even his entire cultivation was now Yi Tianxing's as well.
The Life and Death Contract could indeed override certain rules, but those rules only applied to one thing—whoever survived the Life and Death Arena. That part was immutable.
Only the victor could claim everything.
All of this had originally been prepared by Liu Bao for himself. He never once thought he would lose. Yet ironically, he died.
And so, his final roar had been one of bitter regret.
Perhaps, even a sliver of remorse.
Swoosh!!
As the blood light engulfed him, Yi Tianxing could feel streaks of blood-red light piercing into his body. Vast streams of pure true qi, stripped of all impurities, surged in like a tide. The moment it entered his body, it could be easily refined and absorbed into his own cultivation base.
Yi Tianxing quickly visualized the Ancestral Dragon Diagram of the Four Seas. In his divine sea, the ancestral dragon greedily devoured those torrents of true qi, then exhaled them as streams of true dragon qi, fully under his control, which fused seamlessly into his divine sea.
The quantity of true dragon qi within his divine sea began to skyrocket at an incredible rate.
It felt like receiving divine inspiration.
Like pouring water straight into an empty bottle.
The Divine Sea Realm was the foundation of every cultivator.
Each person's divine sea determined how much true qi they could hold. Yi Tianxing's divine sea spanned a full nine zhang in diameter, yet it had never once been filled. As his cultivation increased, so too did the quantity of true qi it could contain—but compared to its full size, it had only ever been partially filled.
Now, the incoming true qi naturally transformed into true dragon qi, flooding his divine sea. There was no pressure whatsoever; his body could refine however much came in.
In the blink of an eye, his true dragon qi expanded rapidly.
Unsurprisingly, this was the refined demonic qi that had once belonged to Liu Bao. According to the Life and Death Contract, it now directly empowered Yi Tianxing's cultivation.
Soon, the external stream of qi ended. His divine sea had nearly doubled in volume, half of it now filled with rich true dragon qi. It was like a feast.
"Excellent. With this surge in true qi, I now have enough to impact the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and nourish my internal pathways. What an unexpected windfall. Liu Bao left me quite the parting gift."
Yi Tianxing couldn't help but smile inwardly.
This kind of cultivation increase came without any hidden dangers. It didn't forcibly charge through his meridians; it merely refined true qi and infused it into his divine sea. There would be no uncontrollable power surges.
Swoosh!!
Just then, a streak of white light burst from within the blood light, drilling unimpeded into Yi Tianxing's chest. The moment it entered, he felt a space suddenly open up inside him, where a cloud of white mist churned and drifted, constantly drawing in the surrounding heaven and earth energy and fusing it into itself.
The mist greedily absorbed the world's energy.
"Life Aperture — Mystic Armor!!"
It was a life aperture—Mystic Armor. This had been one of Liu Bao's own awakened life apertures, now forcibly stripped and integrated into Yi Tianxing's body. The process felt incredibly natural, like water flowing into place.
"What a domineering Life and Death Contract... Even Liu Bao's life aperture was forcibly taken and fused into my body. Truly, the victor claims everything. If I had lost, my life apertures probably would've become Liu Bao's. Such a rule is... ruthless."
Yi Tianxing murmured, his brow furrowed.
If the contract was this powerful, it clearly wasn't just some ordinary artifact. Most likely, Liu Bao had modified its rules beforehand. A typical Life and Death Contract wouldn't have such mystical effects.
But regardless, gaining a life aperture was an undeniable blessing.
This particular aperture was the one that manifested as Liu Bao's demonic armor. Its divine ability summoned a suit of battle armor. And its potential for growth was vast. With proper cultivation, it could become a powerful boost to his strength.
A life aperture was more valuable than any mere increase in cultivation.
Some could even slay gods and immortals with the right aperture.
Swoosh!!
But even after the life aperture fused into his body, the arena didn't vanish, and the blood light still shrouded him.
Then, another surge of blood light came crashing in like a tide.
This time, it carried a terrifyingly immense life force, a sea of blood and flesh essence, more refined and concentrated than anything he'd ever felt. It poured straight into every inch of his body.
"What?! How can there be so much blood and flesh essence? Didn't Liu Bao's cultivation already enter my body? Where is all this coming from?"
Even Yi Tianxing felt a powerful wave of doubt.
This wasn't normal. Liu Bao couldn't have possessed such titanic life force. This had to be the result of thousands—no, tens of thousands of corpses.
"Could it be… these essences come from the Xiongnu soldiers? Did Liu Bao refine the corpses of his own people into this? Ruthless! Using their bodies as stepping stones to power. This is pure life essence… Incredible. But now what?"
"These essences could be refined into true qi or absorbed into the flesh… But it's far too much!"
Yi Tianxing's mind raced.
Even without consciously guiding them, the moment these life essences entered his body, he could feel that they could either be refined into cultivation or merged with his physical body, enhancing his vitality and potential.
But the volume was just insane.
There was no time to think. He immediately circulated the Dragon Sovereign Heaven Scripture. The ancestral dragon swallowed the life essence and spat out more true dragon qi into his divine sea.
But that was only part of it.
Another portion of the essence surged into his flesh, bones, and meridians.
Even his gourmet cells devoured the life essence as if it were a delicacy.
Ding Ding!!
In mere moments, the black cauldron in his body emerged again, emitting two clear chimes. With the ringing, it grew denser, transforming from illusion to reality.
As it rang, an invisible wave of energy surged through his blood, flesh, and bones, as if his body had been purified. His bones became denser, his flesh tougher and more resilient.
Second Ring of the Black Cauldron.
Physical strength: 20,000 jin.
Vast torrents of vital qi roared through the cauldron, adding to its density and weight.
But the transformation hadn't stopped.
As the essence kept pouring in, his physical strength continued to grow. Every part of his body evolved.
The Yin Linking Vessel, just recently opened, rapidly strengthened, swelling to match the other major meridians. In just a few breaths, it had been completely nourished and matured.
The transformation was too fast.
So fast, it scared even Yi Tianxing.
"This can't go on. Rapid power growth will lead to long-term risks. More importantly, my body can't absorb and refine the essence fast enough. I need to divert or suppress it."
Of course, he was thrilled at the idea of more power.
But this was too much, too quickly. Even he felt a creeping unease.
"Hmm? Something inside me is absorbing the life essence!"
Suddenly, he noticed an intense suction force within his body, rapidly draining the incoming essence. A quick probe revealed it was coming from his Dantian Life Aperture.
The Dantian—also known as the Spiritual Field—was pulling in the essence with insatiable hunger. Any nearby essence was sucked in immediately.
Inside the aperture, his spiritual farmland rapidly expanded as the essence poured in, transforming into rich spiritual soil, dense with life force and spiritual energy. This growth far outpaced the slow, natural growth it had shown when relying solely on ambient qi.
It was exponential.
"The Dantian is a spiritual field, meant to nurture herbs and spiritual plants. It can draw in energy from heaven and earth to grow, but now I see it can also absorb life essence. In that case, I can divert most of the essence there—expand my spiritual farmland and lay down stronger foundations. That's safer than just boosting raw cultivation."
Having realized this, Yi Tianxing made an instant decision.
Without hesitation, he directed most of the incoming life essence into his Dantian Life Aperture.
The spiritual field began to grow at a monstrous pace.
It absorbed essence faster than his flesh or divine sea ever could.
Even then, his strength and cultivation continued to rise like wildfire.
Time lost meaning in the torrent of transformation.
Eventually, the blood light faded completely.
But in that instant, Yi Tianxing's aura soared to new heights, vast and imposing beyond comprehension.