# Chapter 1036: Saint Blood Imprint
The Immortal Pool was crystalline and clear, its waters sparkling with purity, fragrant aromas wafting through the air. Mist coiled around, rosy clouds shimmered, and auspicious vapors rose in abundance.
An ancient Flat Peach Tree was rooted at the edge of the Immortal Pool, standing forty-nine meters tall. It had grown for who knows how many tens of thousands of years. Its old bark was cracked and split, rough and ancient, like a patchwork of dragon scales. Yet, it was full of vitality, with lush branches and leaves flowing with green light. A few crystalline peach blossoms bloomed upon it, their fragrance capable of seeping into one's very bones.
Ye Fan approached, every pore on his body opening and closing, inhaling and exhaling vital energy. He achieved a balance with this place, and a layer of translucent luster appeared on his skin.
The spiritual energy here was so dense it could not be dispersed, truly worthy of being called a land of immortals. Even if the Immortal Domain truly existed, it could not be more than this.
Several ancient clan experts had not yet left. They glanced at him a few times but said nothing more. It was difficult to sense even a trace of goodwill; there was an indistinct coldness, perceptible only to Dao Cutters.
"My prince truly wishes to exchange for this stone fetus in good faith. A divine ancient scripture is practically heaven-defying. If the Jade Pool is willing, they could establish another mountain gate and transform it into another Holy Land," said a man with deer antlers and long gray hair.
"Let this matter rest. The Jade Pool has its own inheritance; there is no need to cultivate another's path," the Western Queen Mother spoke. She was dignified and graceful, wearing a nine-phoenix hairpin from which golden dangling ornaments hung. Her feathered robes shimmered with rosy light. Her expression was calm, yet she was sacred and inviolable.
This ancient clan member was unwilling to give up and said seriously, "This is not a hand-copied version. It is the original scripture of the Immortal Emperor Sutra, cast in Phoenix Blood Red Gold!"
Beside them, Ye Fan's heart shook. It seemed the Celestial Prince truly was not trying to deceive the Jade Pool; this was a genuine exchange. This divine fetus indeed had a heaven-defying price.
He pondered inwardly. If the Celestial Prince personally came carrying the ancient scripture, he would truly have the impulse to intercept him halfway. First, to eliminate an enemy; second, to see what was unique about the scripture worshipped by all the ten thousand ancient clans as surpassing the gods.
"Speak no more of this matter. This stone king has already become sentient and has been treated as a child by successive sages. How could it be exchanged?" the Western Queen Mother refused.
The several ancient clan experts exchanged glances. One of them handed a jade vessel to the Western Queen Mother, containing the Celestial Prince's five-colored divine blood. They left with unpleasant expressions.
They glanced at Ye Fan, their killing intent flashing briefly before they strode away from the Immortal Pool. Jade Pool elders escorted them out, speaking very courteous words.
The Western Queen Mother smiled slightly. Apart from Ye Fan, she only kept the Holy Maiden, dismissing everyone else from this place.
Who Ye Fan truly was could not be hidden from her. The Holy Maiden had already reported to her; otherwise, how could just anyone's blood be sprinkled on the stone king?
"Congratulations to Daoist Ye for greatly increasing his power. Traversing the celestial dome is a divine miracle that cultivators of our generation dream of," the Western Queen Mother said, very politely, treating him as an equal.
Because now, Ye Fan's Dao cultivation was unfathomably profound. Even a Greatly Accomplished King could not be overly proud before him. As long as one understood his strength, all the Holy Lands had to be wary.
She was actually quite emotional. Thinking back to those days, Ye Fan was merely a minor cultivator who needed her protection when he came to the Jade Pool. Who would have thought that after all this time, he now stood above the nine heavens?
Ye Fan naturally would not act arrogantly. A Holy Lord of a major Holy Land—setting aside her cultivation level, her status alone was enough to converse with ancient ancestral kings.
By now, he had long known the terror of immortal inheritances. None could be taken lightly; their so-called "foundations" were considerable!
If a great war truly broke out, Ye Fan mused that inheritances that had produced Great Emperors likely had "backup plans" capable of reversing heaven and earth.
The Western Queen Mother held the jade vessel. The five-colored blood within shimmered brilliantly, emitting strands of powerful and terrifying fluctuations that inspired fear.
The Jade Pool was very cautious. Any divine blood sprinkled on the stone king would be secretly purified by the imperial aura of the Western Emperor Tower above. When the blood dripped down, others could not see anything, but Ye Fan could sense the tower in the sky trembling slightly.
Beneath the Flat Peach Tree, this strange stone was crystalline and lustrous, born with nine orifices and eight holes, exquisitely transparent. Every moment, it autonomously inhaled and exhaled the essence of sun and moon.
When the Celestial Prince's delivered blood was completely absorbed, it trembled continuously, emitting joyful chirps. Its radiance grew even brighter, and the life gestating within seemed ready to break out of the stone at any moment.
For the past few days, Ye Fan had stayed in this place, accompanied only by the Western Queen Mother and the Jade Pool Holy Maiden. Outsiders could not approach.
He had long opened his heavenly eye, divine light blazing. He did not blink as he stared at this strange stone. Back then, he could not see through it because it was too mysterious and powerful, with ripples laid down by ancient sages.
Now, it was completely different. His Source Art had reached great accomplishment, and he could clearly see everything within the stone. It was a flesh-and-blood person sitting cross-legged, their entire body radiating precious radiance.
"It is a woman."
This divine fetus appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, sitting with eyes closed, peerlessly elegant. Her body flowed with immortal light. Though beautiful to the extreme, she inspired fear.
Her nine orifices and eight holes connected to the stone's surface, as if she wore a thick layer of stone clothing. Various scripture texts flickered on her body, left behind by ancient sages who had preached the Dao and chanted scriptures for her.
The Western Queen Mother and the Holy Maiden had invited Ye Fan, first because they needed his saint blood, and second because they wanted to use his heaven-defying Source Art to see how the divine fetus within the stone was faring now.
"Heaven and earth in harmony, nurturing such a spiritual fetus is truly astonishing. I sense strands of immortal opportunity," Ye Fan muttered to himself.
Then, he closed his eyes and traced in the void, imprinting the divine fetus's form and aura, startling both the Western Queen Mother and the Jade Pool Holy Maiden.
The woman within the stone was transcendent and saintly, beyond doubt. Her beauty did not belong to the mortal world. Her body had long become flesh and blood, her organs and bones possessing an inexplicable immortal charm, dotted with light.
"The potential within her body is unimaginable. Every inch of flesh and blood contains power like an ocean. If she truly emerges, she will surely be able to pluck stars and seize the moon!" Ye Fan said solemnly.
This female spirit had not a single flaw. Such a divine fetus, if born in the future, would be almost impossible for anyone under heaven to suppress. This forced him to examine carefully.
Ye Fan hesitated slightly. The stone's trembling seemed to be the spiritual fetus's instinct, but its sea of consciousness was very calm, with weak fluctuations, disproportionate to its powerful and beautiful body.
"This is the result of purification by ancient sages," the Western Queen Mother said.
The Jade Pool's predecessors had also feared accidents. They used heaven-penetrating abilities to chant scriptures, thoroughly purifying the spiritual fetus's sea of consciousness. According to them, the spiritual fetus now had a pure heart, like a child of the Jade Pool.
"When it truly emerges, its divine thought power will catch up."
Although the spiritual fetus had been "purified," its potential remained. Once awakened, it would be vast as an ocean.
In the following days, Ye Fan sat beneath the Flat Peach Tree, nourishing the strange stone with his essence blood daily. Each time, he opened his heavenly eye to observe.
"She is extracting the primordial power from the blood!" Ye Fan observed carefully for several days, divine light flickering strangely in his eyes, his heart stirred.
Was all this instinct? This awe-inspiringly beautiful divine fetus drew strands of light from the saint blood that seeped in, transforming them into barely visible symbols imprinted within her body.
"Oh? The symbols extracted from the Celestial Prince's five-colored divine blood are especially brilliant." Ye Fan possessed unique Source Heaven Eyes; to him, there were no secrets within the stone. He observed this phenomenon.
"Do the blood contain primordial power, fragments of ancestral memories? Are these symbols that kind of thing?" He was astonished.
If he thought deeper, this was very complex. The Celestial Prince's blood inevitably contained the power of the Immortal Emperor, the supreme god worshipped by all races, likely the strongest figure throughout history.
This was indirectly the blood and life imprint of the Immortal Emperor! How many could compare?
Ye Fan pondered for several days but could not discern any clues. Finally, he gritted his teeth and released no less blood than the Celestial Prince. Brilliant symbols were immediately extracted within the stone.
"What exactly does the Celestial Prince want to do?" Ye Fan did not know. In the end, he let fall quite a bit of saint blood, and the brilliant symbols were somewhat more numerous than the Celestial Prince's.
By the Immortal Pool, various ancient herbs grew in clusters. Mature plants took shape, orchids and irises covered the ground everywhere, exhaling essence. The fragrance was intoxicating. Qilin beasts lay crouched, and auspicious beasts appeared and disappeared.
Ye Fan stayed beneath the Flat Peach Tree for over half a month. He never discovered anything unusual. Finally, he took a scroll of notes and took his leave.
The notes vaguely recorded some secrets of the Western Emperor's refinement of the imperial weapon, almost like myths—things like striking into the Chaotic Immortal Sea, single-handedly entering the nine heavens, slaying a deity as a sacrifice to heaven. Reading it made him frown.
"Forget it. I'll ponder it slowly later. Otherwise, it's like reading a mythological tale," he shook his head.
Although he had left the Jade Pool, the strange stone with nine orifices and eight holes lingered in his mind, impossible to dispel. The Western Queen Mother had said that the path to immortality was about to open, and they had no choice but to seek various bloodlines to nourish the divine fetus, ensuring it emerged before then.
"Did I leave behind a saint blood imprint?" Ye Fan muttered to himself. He felt he needed to seek out the Celestial Prince and cut him down. Otherwise, he felt something was not right.
"Oh, you've finally come out. We've been waiting for you for over half a month."
Several hundred li from the Jade Pool, several ancient clan members blocked the way. The leader had gray hair, even his pupils were lead-gray, with deer antlers on his head. He was a Dao Cutter.
"You've been waiting for me? Is there something?"
"Nothing much. We just wanted to have a talk with you." The several ancient clan members surrounded him, a hint of mockery at the corners of their mouths, each revealing killing intent.
Ye Fan smiled and said, "Fine. I was just thinking of having a chat with you too."
"Are you the Feather Transformation King of the Central Province, one of the Twin Kings, or someone else, like the Nether King?" the deer-antlered man asked leisurely.
They had received definite information that several kings from the Central Province should have arrived half a month ago. Thus, they assumed Ye Fan was one of them.
"None of them," Ye Fan shook his head.
"You don't know your place! Quickly state your name," one of them shouted.
The deer-antlered, gray-haired man acted first. A scroll painting surged with black mist, instantly covering heaven and earth, drawing Ye Fan inside. "Better to be cautious. Capture him first, then interrogate slowly."
This was a secret treasure bestowed by the Celestial Prince. They had absolute confidence it could trap any Dao Cutter and suppress human king-level experts.
The world within the painting was like a prison. Those inside and outside could see each other.
"The Celestial Prince has expended so much effort. How could he allow one rotten rat to spoil the whole pot? Search his sea of consciousness and see exactly who he is."
The group looked down at the scroll painting, sneering repeatedly, killing intent exposed.
"You don't know your place. Showing up at the Jade Pool at a time like this is disgusting. First, cut open his body and see what kind of blood he has."
These people were all cold and ruthless, holding the power of life and death in their hands. One of them took a divine whip and lashed it toward the scroll painting.
"Puff"
A flash of blood light. This person instantly shattered, turning into a cloud of blood mist. The others were greatly shocked.
Then, a golden giant hand reached out, covering heaven and earth, enveloping them all, and grabbed them into the scroll painting.
"This... how is this possible?!" They were all terrified.
As far as they knew, aside from the Celestial Prince, only Huang Xudao, Huo Qizi, and a few others could break this scroll painting. It could suppress and kill many human Dao Cutters. Yet now, this had happened.
"Speak. What exactly is that rotten rat, the Celestial Prince, trying to do?" Ye Fan stood within the scroll painting on a beautiful mountain peak.
"You—" One of them was about to shout.
In the sky, a giant foot descended, stepping on him and turning him into a cloud of blood mist. Not even bone fragments remained, scattering in the air.
"I was just thinking of going to find him. You've delivered yourselves right to my door. Hurry up and tell me what he wants to do," Ye Fan said coldly.
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