"Blood Extraction Technique?"
Mo Hua was momentarily stunned, then asked Bai Zixi, "Is Blood Extraction Technique difficult to learn...?"
Bai Zixi shook his head. "It's not difficult to learn, but it's difficult to use."
"Blood Extraction Technique is a simplified method of manipulating objects with spiritual awareness. It's an ability of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Qi refining cultivators can barely use it, but they can't manipulate objects at a distance as it consumes a lot of spiritual awareness," Bai Zixi explained.
If it was just a matter of consuming spiritual awareness, Mo Hua wasn't afraid. After all, his spiritual roots and physical refining weren't particularly outstanding, but his spiritual awareness had some strengths.
Mo Hua looked at Bai Zixi with hopeful, dark and watery eyes.
Bai Zixi understood, sighed softly, and took out another book from the phoenix-patterned storage bag.
The book cover read "Blood Extraction Technique."
"Blood extraction is quite arduous, and it consumes a lot of spiritual awareness. Most cultivators wouldn't learn it. Be careful with it," Bai Zixi advised.
"Alright!" Mo Hua responded cheerfully.
Then he took out a redwood food box from his own storage bag, inside which were several pieces of cake and a pot of pear blossom wine.
The cake was sweet and the pear blossom wine clear and sweet, mingling together to create a rich fragrance.
"My mother made these fresh. Have a taste," Mo Hua offered.
Bai Zixi hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly and didn't stand on ceremony with Mo Hua, picking up a piece of jadeite cake and nibbling on it.
Perhaps the taste was good; his bright eyes narrowed slightly.
Bai Zisheng smelled the fragrance and suddenly sat up, sniffing a few times before looking at Mo Hua.
"And mine?"
"Aren't you having a headache?" Mo Hua asked.
"It's gone now," Bai Zisheng replied.
"You should rest a bit."
"I'll rest after I'm full."
Mo Hua shook his head and also took out a plate of beef for him.
"This is cooked with spicy spices and will be hotter," Mo Hua explained.
Bai Zisheng picked up a few pieces of meat, stuffed them into his mouth, and immediately exclaimed, "So spicy!"
After chewing for a few bites, he nodded again, "Delicious!"
As Bai Zisheng enjoyed the spiciness and fragrance, the plate of beef quickly emptied. He then spoke up, "What did you want to ask just now?"
"I've already asked."
"I can't just eat your things for nothing. Think of something else to ask!" Bai Zisheng insisted.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and then asked, "If Blood Extraction Technique is a simplified method of manipulating objects with spiritual awareness... what exactly is manipulating objects with spiritual awareness?"
Bai Zisheng looked puzzled. "You don't know about manipulating objects with spiritual awareness? It's something all Foundation Establishment stage cultivators can do."
"I'm just a Qi refining cultivator. Isn't it normal for me not to know the abilities of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators?" Mo Hua replied.
Bai Zisheng couldn't find a rebuttal for a moment. He nodded and explained, "Manipulating objects with spiritual awareness means using your spiritual awareness to remotely control external objects, like these small stone tables and stools, which you can move from a distance using your spiritual awareness."
"Doesn't seem like something particularly amazing..."
"How is that possible?" Bai Zisheng snorted. "Manipulating these tables and stools is nothing special, but you can manipulate swords!"
Bai Zisheng's eyes gleamed. "Just think about it, manipulating swords with spiritual awareness! From afar, with a thought, the sword flies and strikes down enemies thousands of miles away! Isn't that amazing?"
"Is it really effective over thousands of miles?"
Bai Zisheng looked speechless. "Are you trying to argue with me?"
"As a Qi refining cultivator, it's impossible for spiritual awareness to extend thousands of miles," Mo Hua stated matter-of-factly.
Bai Zisheng reluctantly admitted, "Well... a few miles or maybe a hundred miles would be good."
Mo Hua looked as if he had expected as much.
"In cultivation, precision is crucial. A small mistake can lead to disastrous consequences. If you're not careful in a fight, you could easily lose your life," Mo Hua said seriously.
Bai Zisheng paused. "..."
"And your idea of swords reaching thousands of miles is actually more like ten times or even a hundred times less in reality. With such a large margin of error, you'd be doomed if you tried to act on it!" Mo Hua added.
Bai Zisheng sighed in resignation. "Can't you get excited about the idea of manipulating swords with spiritual awareness?"
"Swords are expensive, and I can't afford them. What's the use of getting excited?" Mo Hua replied pragmatically.
Bai Zisheng sighed again. "..."
Mo Hua thought for a moment and asked Bai Zisheng, "Are you a body cultivator?"
"Yes..."
"Do body cultivators also manipulate swords?"
"Not usually... no sword manipulation."
"If you can't manipulate swords, what gets you excited then?" Mo Hua asked.
Bai Zisheng took a deep breath, feeling a sense of helplessness.
He lay down suddenly, looking at Mo Hua earnestly. "Mo Hua, someday, someone will be driven to death by your words!"
"How is that possible? Cultivators have strong wills. How could they be driven to death by mere words?" Mo Hua looked perplexed.
"Believe me, it will happen!"
Bai Zisheng affirmed confidently.
After parting ways with Mo Hua and his siblings, Mo Hua returned home and began learning Blood Extraction Technique.
Blood Extraction Technique wasn't exactly a spell or even a secretive technique. It was more like a skill in cultivation similar to gathering herbs, mining, or handling spirit plants.
Some cultivators relied on this skill to extract fresh demon blood, which they sold to businesses or other cultivators who needed it.
The process of blood extraction wasn't difficult, but it placed a significant burden on spiritual awareness and was quite labor-intensive.
Practitioners of blood extraction were akin to laborers at a spiritual port, transporting goods with physical strength. However, these laborers relied on physical strength, whereas blood extraction relied on spiritual awareness to manipulate demon blood.
Physical strength recovered quickly, but spiritual awareness did not. Therefore, cultivators could only extract a limited amount of demon blood each day, resulting in modest profits. At least near Tongxian City, there weren't many practitioners of blood extraction.
Mo Hua speculated that in some border states, there might be practitioners who could extract large quantities of demon blood and make a living from it. Otherwise, the scarcity of spirit ink used by array masters would lead to much higher prices.
But this was just speculation. Mo Hua's knowledge of the cultivation world was limited, so he couldn't be certain.
Blood Extraction Technique wasn't difficult to learn. Mo Hua followed the instructions in the book and quickly mastered it after a few tries.
As Bai Zixi had described, Blood Extraction Technique was a simplified form of manipulating objects with spiritual awareness. However, this technique couldn't be used at a distance. The practitioner had to touch the fur of a demon beast, sense the flow of demon blood, and then manipulate it with spiritual awareness to draw it out from the beast's blood vessels.
There were no live demon beasts or freshly deceased ones available in Tongxian City for Mo Hua to practice Blood Extraction Technique on.
Mo Hua had to ask Mo Shan to cut off a piece of wild ox demon fur, pour water on it, and use spiritual awareness to manipulate the flow of water through the fur.
Although this was quite different from the real Blood Extraction Technique, it was better than nothing.
After practicing a few times, Mo Hua mastered the technique.
However, the biggest problem was that even though he had learned Blood Extraction Technique, there were no demon beasts available for Mo Hua to extract demon blood from.
Without demon blood, he couldn't produce spirit ink. The problem of scarce spirit ink remained unsolved.
Mo Hua thought for several days and finally came up with a solution:
Hunting demons in the mountains!
He needed to find a way to enter the Great Black Mountain, hunt demon beasts, and extract their fresh demon blood before it coagulated.
This was the only stable and abundant method of obtaining demon blood.
Mo Hua looked up, his gaze crossing over the houses and streets of Tongxian City, towards the distant and dark depths of the Great Black Mountain.
The mountains were treacherous, filled with poisonous miasma, shrouded in clouds and mist, and permeated with demonic aura.
It was a habitat for powerful demons and had been the livelihood and burial ground for countless demon hunters in Tongxian City for thousands of years...
(End of the Chapter)