"Actually..." When Xiaoyao was about to say something, he suddenly discovered a problem, so he took back those words and asked, "Well, I want to ask a question - does this count as one favor?"
"This of course counts as one favor, and it's a big matter. What do you mean by this question?" At this moment, Hei Xue hadn't reacted yet and replied somewhat irritably.
"Hei Xue, he wants to say that if he helps us open this door, does it count as one of the favors he promised you, so one can be reduced," Sister Hong understood Xiaoyao's thinking and immediately reminded her.
"Fine, one favor can be removed." Hei Xue nodded. She originally didn't want Xiaoyao to do anything. Saying to trade for one favor was just a backup plan, and now it was perfectly useful.
"..." Sister Hong hadn't expected Hei Xue to agree so readily. Wasn't this making things too easy for this kid? No, she couldn't let him off so easily.
"Removing one favor is fine, but you can't just open the main door. You have to open all places in this Demon Palace. If we need you, you still have to be responsible to the end. You can't say that's another favor." Sister Hong bound Xiaoyao to the excavation and exploration of this underground Demon Palace - all aspects could call on him.
Only if it were like this would Sister Hong feel it was normal. Sparing one Dongfang Wunian would be worth it - actually very worth it!
"If you think this is appropriate, then so be it. Anyway, I also want to see what's inside. Otherwise, this whole year would have been wasted," Xiaoyao said indifferently, also casually concealing the extent of his exploration inside.
If at this moment he showed that he didn't care, he would definitely be suspected of having seen the things inside, which was why he didn't care.
...
...
Anyone else who had waited here for over a year couldn't possibly not look at what was inside. Even if Xiaoyao didn't care about other things, he couldn't possibly not want to go in and see.
Therefore, Xiaoyao's request to go in was the most appropriate decision. He also didn't mind spending a bit more time inside - perhaps there would be new discoveries. After all, during the year, his attention had been on mechanisms and books.
"Good, then it's settled!" Sister Hong said.
"Then let's begin. Actually, at this time, there are three ways to open the main door. First, force it open," Xiaoyao held up one finger.
"No, the entire Demon Palace is protected by formations. If we force it open, the entire Demon Palace will collapse," Hei Xue immediately rejected this.
Xiaoyao naturally knew this, but he had ways to destroy part of it without affecting the whole. Don't forget how he got in. However, he didn't want to expose Chi Chi's abilities and wouldn't use them casually.
Moreover, that would damage the integrity of the Demon Palace, making people feel regretful. Given Xiaoyao's attitude toward such ruins, he wouldn't casually destroy them.
"The second method," Xiaoyao held up two fingers. "Break the mechanism techniques on the main door. This will take some time."
"If it takes time, then it takes time. Better than not being able to open it! I called you over specifically to do this. Since you could destroy my device before and break the Peerless Sword's mechanism in one day, you can definitely do it in the fastest time possible," Hei Xue nodded.
"By the way, what's the third method you mentioned?" Hei Xue continued asking.
"The third method is the simplest method, the most time-saving method." Xiaoyao smiled, looking at Hei Xue, wanting to keep her in suspense.
"What method?" Hei Xue didn't mind and immediately asked. She really wanted to know what method it was, and most importantly, to solve the front door in the fastest time.
"That is to drip blood," Xiaoyao said lightly.
"..." Everyone fell silent. Originally they had all been very expectant, but the result was...
"Are you having memory loss? Didn't I say that people with Demon Cult bloodline are gone? Now we don't know where to find them. Who knows how much time that would take? You're still the most time-saving!!" Hei Xue touched Xiaoyao's head with a pitying expression.
"Go away, I don't have memory loss!" Xiaoyao swatted away Hei Xue's hand. "Do you know that those few people from three thousand years ago could have many descendants? People with their bloodline might be numerous beyond your imagination!"
"What use is that? We don't know who they are," Hei Xue said.
"Although we don't know who they are, we can try. Theoretically, among the people here, there's a probability of having the needed bloodline, especially since it's your own Demon Cult bloodline. The probability would be even greater among you Demon Cult members. Anyway, it just takes a drop of blood, everyone goes up and bleed," Xiaoyao said.
That's right, from a probability perspective, as long as those people from the beginning hadn't been childless, they would inevitably pass down their bloodline. Over three thousand years, if development went well, people with this bloodline might be numerous beyond imagination.
There were over a thousand people here - the probability was very high.
"Call people over to bleed, quickly," Hei Xue called out lightly, and unknowingly, she had learned Xiaoyao's term "bleed."
Soon, people gathered. Even the Dongfang sisters were brought over. Xiaoyao discovered that the blood-dripping place on the main door seemed to have some kind of indicator.
This was originally a line, but when someone dripped blood, this line began changing color, starting from one end and changing color toward the other end!
"What does this mean?" Hei Xue also noticed this point and looked at Xiaoyao questioningly.
"This might require a certain amount of blood. That person just now has Demon Cult bloodline, but it's not enough. We might need more blood, or... hopefully it's not like that. You go try dripping some more blood..." Xiaoyao called the person who had just activated it with their bloodline to go drip more blood.
After this person dripped a bit more, they found there was no reaction at all. Dripping a bit more was also useless. Then they wanted to continue...
"Alright, no need to try anymore. This should only recognize once, one person gets one chance. How much this can activate should depend on the purity of the bloodline! Let others continue trying. Hopefully we can find someone with purer bloodline." Xiaoyao was somewhat helpless. It seemed he had thought this too simple. If it was like this, perhaps this method still couldn't open this place.
Hei Xue also thought of this, but she still continued having people drip blood, because this could be used as an opportunity to find some people with Demon Cult bloodline. This group could be specially cultivated. After all, the Heavenly Demon Technique could only be practiced by people with this bloodline, and the Heavenly Demon Technique would definitely have secret manuals in this Demon Palace.
Soon, all the Demon Cult people had tried dripping blood. There really were others, and more than one. Among these thousand-plus people, there were actually six people with Demon Cult bloodline. However, these people's bloodlines weren't very pure, combined, they didn't even reach half of this line.
"What do we do now? Should we summon other people?" Hei Xue frowned. The Demon Cult definitely didn't have only these thousand-plus people. Those mobilized this time were just the elite portion. However, speaking of bloodline matters, whether they were elite or not didn't matter.
However, this would take much longer, but there were benefits, people with Demon Cult bloodline could be discovered.
"This depends on your intention," Xiaoyao said indifferently. This was originally up to Hei Xue herself.
"Let's summon them! But before that, we can still try these two. I should have known not to drive those people away earlier." Hei Xue frowned. While ordering the summons, she pulled out the Dongfang sisters to bleed.
Although the possibility was small, they had to try.
"Hmph, how boring. How could we possibly have your Demon Cult bloodline," Dongfang Wuqing found this matter very ridiculous. She was from Heavenly Gate, a righteous sect.
Hei Xue also felt this wasn't very likely, but it was still a chance. Even if just a little, it was better than nothing.
However, something somewhat unexpected happened. When Dongfang Wuqing's blood dripped in, that line actually moved. This meant that Dongfang Wuqing actually also had Demon Cult bloodline.
What was even more incredible was that Dongfang Wuqing's bloodline was purer than anyone before. Her blood actually activated about a quarter of it.
"This, how is this possible? How could I be someone with Demon Cult bloodline," Dongfang Wuqing said blankly. She couldn't believe this matter and was unwilling to believe it.
"There's nothing impossible about this. Bloodline is given by ancestors, this isn't something you can choose. Also, what do ancestors being certain people have to do with you! If my ancestor was an emperor, must I necessarily be an emperor? Wouldn't the entire world have countless emperors then?" Xiaoyao said lightly.
Dongfang Wuqing's originally somewhat chaotic and collapsing thoughts suddenly became clear after hearing Xiaoyao's words. She had a moment of enlightenment. If she collapsed at this moment, it might affect her martial way. Fortunately Xiaoyao reminded her, allowing her to wake up.
"Thank you!"
"Just a small favor," Xiaoyao said casually. For small favors, he would still do them. However, after this, Xiaoyao said some more words that might make Dongfang Wuqing even more collapsed.
"Your bloodline is so pure, it might be because you're from the direct Demon Cult line. Heavenly Gate has always been run by the Dongfang family. Plus, you originally chose this place as your mountain gate, perhaps it's because the Dongfang family's ancestors were actually people with Demon Cult bloodline, and very pure at that. It's just that later, after a long time, they became a righteous sect, and this matter was concealed by your ancestors."
"..." Dongfang Wuqing fell silent. Xiaoyao's explanation seemed very possible, because the reason why Heavenly Gate was here was very vague.
"If that's the case, then Heavenly Gate being here wasn't a coincidence, but they originally knew there was a secret here. I was wondering how there could be such a coincidence in the world. With so many places, why not choose somewhere else, but specifically choose here." Xiaoyao muttered. Of course, this was just his speculation - perhaps this was just a coincidence.
(End of Chapter)