Chapter 213: The Era of the Eight Human Emperors!
Outside a residence near the forest side of Buli City, under the guidance of Amo, Jiang Lin was weaving through the brightly decorated estate. Looking up at the red silk hanging along the streets and beneath the eaves, Jiang Lin hesitated slightly: "Are you preparing for some kind of big festival?"
"..." Amo, who was walking beside him, didn't answer. He simply led Jiang Lin forward into the festive residence, his expression somewhat silent.
"Amo, you're back? You're the last one to return. The High Priestess told you to visit her once you came back. Hm? And who is this?" As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a wolf-woman who seemed to be a housekeeper. She warmly welcomed Amo, then glanced with doubt at the black-robed figure behind him, whose ears were absent.
"Just a physician, out of personal interest." Jiang Lin gave a small nod to the wolf-woman.
"Aunt Lan, don't ask too much for now. I'll explain later. Where's the High Priestess? I need to see her urgently!" Amo ignored Jiang Lin's identity and instead anxiously asked the wolf-woman about the High Priestess's whereabouts.
"A physician, is it..." The wolf-woman gave Jiang Lin a puzzled look, a struggle flashing in her eyes. At last, she pointed the way for Amo: "The High Priestess is in the ancestral hall. If you need her, you'd best go quickly—she's waiting for you."
"Alright! Thank you, Aunt Lan!" Amo quickly expressed his gratitude, then hurriedly pulled Jiang Lin deeper inside. The wolf-woman silently watched their figures fade away, before sighing quietly.
Soon, Amo brought Jiang Lin to a large but plain and ancient stone house.
"Come in," a kindly, aged voice called.
Creak—
Amo pushed the heavy door open. Inside, before a row of ancestral spirit tablets, the High Priestess of Buli knelt silently on a mat. She was an aging Dou King, close to the end of her years. Beside her, another figure knelt unconscious—a wolf-girl dressed in colorful robes.
"Big sister!" Amo's expression changed in alarm. He rushed forward, grabbing the wolf-girl's hand.
"A human guest?" The High Priestess slowly turned her head under the hollow gaze of the skeletal spirit tablets. Her face was aged like old bark, startling Jiang Lin for a moment. Yet, she exuded no malice—more like an ordinary grandmother, or even a kind old wolf-grandmother—her cloudy eyes quietly studying him.
Jiang Lin removed his hood, revealing his human face, and bowed slightly: "Youlin, a Fourth-Tier Profound Artifact Master of the Gama Blacksmiths' Guild, greets the High Priestess of Buli."
"From the Blacksmiths' Guild? Hmph... Even though I am near death's door, they would not resort to robbery, would they?" The High Priestess's gaze lingered on Jiang Lin, her eyes sharp with scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Amo, realizing his sister was only unconscious, finally let out a breath of relief. He turned and explained: "High Priestess, Brother Lin is someone I brought from the Holy City of Gama. He wants to see if he can cure my sister's Moon-Madness."
"So that's it..." The High Priestess looked at Jiang Lin for a long while before speaking slowly: "Human guest, if you can resolve Axiao's condition, this old one is willing to grant you any reward."
"Even a sixth-tier magic core crystal?" Jiang Lin asked first—if not, he would simply leave for the Tagor Desert to see what Xiao Huohuo was up to there.
"As expected..." The High Priestess wasn't surprised at his request. After thinking it over, she nodded: "If you can resolve Axiao's bloodline issue, then the ancestral magic core crystal we safeguard can indeed be given to you."
"Good. That's best." Jiang Lin nodded, then wasted no time. He squatted beside the wolf-girl and placed his hand on her wrist, appearing like a traditional physician taking her pulse. In reality, he was probing her bloodline with his spiritual sense.
As soon as Jiang Lin's spiritual sense entered Axiao's body, he felt a violent will hidden within her blood. With a thought, whoosh!—a brilliant crimson-gold flame rose from his arm, flowing directly into her body as he began circulating the Forging Fire Art.
Amo grew nervous at the sight, but the High Priestess raised her hand to stop him. A faint gleam flickered in her cloudy eyes: "It seems this human friend has his own unique insight into bloodline matters..."
"Mm. For a noble bloodline to have declined so far... truly lamentable." While circulating the Forging Fire Art, Jiang Lin discovered that Axiao's bloodline was actually a rare spiritual bloodline—capable of cultivating the art naturally. However, he would not carelessly pass on his Forging Fire Art; such a thing could bring him endless trouble.
"The glory of our ancestors is nothing more than smoke in the clouds. Compared to that ancient human family which suddenly perished a thousand years ago, the Buli Wolf Clan at least retained its bloodline. At the very least, we did not vanish from history." The High Priestess spoke softly, recalling legends passed down from her predecessor.
"May I ask, little friend, what hidden clan you hail from?" From Jiang Lin's ability to refine bloodlines, she knew he was no ordinary person. The Buli Wolf Clan had once been a golden family in the Beast Domain, capable of producing Saint-level experts. But their decline was too severe; their bloodline grew thinner and weaker, leaving them only a small, remote tribe. Yet if one traced back the bloodlines of countless minor clans scattered across the Dou Qi Continent, many still had ties to ancient elites.
"I am merely a physician, out of personal interest." Jiang Lin did not answer her probing. Such things were unnecessary. Instead, he carefully observed the subtle changes in Axiao's Buli bloodline under the Forging Fire's refinement.
Within the chamber, faint crimson-gold flames flickered around both Jiang Lin and Axiao. The unconscious wolf-girl frowned in pain, trying to struggle. But on her forehead, a faint blood-red wolf-mark glowed, keeping her from waking.
"Sigh..." The High Priestess let out a long breath. Watching the faint flames enveloping the wolf-girl, she murmured to herself: "The era of the Eight Human Emperors left an eternal mark upon all the clans of the Beast Domain..."
(END CHAPTER)
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