Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 307 - 299: Blood Seizure Ritual

As soon as Louisa stepped into the stone chamber, Lin Jun controlled the voice Puki to cut straight to the chase: "Have you heard of the Blood Ceremony?"

It’s using the voice Puki, lest the Yellow-covered Book says something unknown.

"Blood Ceremony?" Louisa shook her head, puzzled.

It sounds like some magic array related to the Blood Race, but she really hasn’t heard of it.

"Nothing was found on the human side either..."

The Yellow-covered Book mentioned this "Promotion Ceremony," and he had Edin and Inanna investigate using their respective channels, but they found nothing. Even Little Pig, who is a Blood Race Viscount, didn’t know.

Although it’s hard to believe the Yellow-covered Book would lie under these circumstances, it’s still worth asking clearly.

Marshal Puki extended a tentacle and gently stroked the thin pages of the Yellow-covered Book, rubbing back and forth.

[Boss! I didn’t lie to you! You can’t tear up a good book unjustly!] The pages trembled violently, the writing became skewed.

[If everyone has heard of it, then how could it be called an "unknown ceremony?"]

[I dare bet, counting the Emperor and the two Princes, no more than five living beings know about it!]

[Do you know why?]

Lin Jun didn’t respond, just rolled up the pages and started to tear.

[No no! I won’t keep secrets! I won’t keep secrets!]

The Yellow-covered Book now just had this one precious page, and quickly spilled the beans.

[Nowadays, the core of the Blood Race’s promotion ceremony involves a higher-ranked individual voluntarily infusing essence blood containing origin power to a lower-ranked individual, helping them break through the level shackles!]

[Moreover, different branches cannot assist in promotions.]

[Essence blood condenses with time, the higher the rank, the more essence blood needed for promotion!]

[The most crucial point is that during the ceremony, the higher-ranked individual has absolute power to decide the life and death of the lower-ranked individual!]

[These are the characteristics of the current promotion ceremony]

Louisa subconsciously nodded, what the Yellow-covered Book stated matched completely with what she knew.

Now she understood what the boss and the Yellow-covered Book were discussing, and couldn’t help but clenched her fists—does she still have hope for further level advancement?

The Yellow-covered Book continued to inform:

[The Blood Ceremony is different]

[It ignores bloodline branches! Ignores the will of higher-ranked individuals! As long as you catch a Blood Race member with a higher rank than yours, you have a chance to forcibly extract their origin essence blood!]

[Now, you understand why it must be "hidden," right?]

"Once leaked... internal battles would be endless." Louisa murmured, a chill rising along her spine.

Under the current system, the Blood Race’s in-family competition is fierce, but loyalty to the branch duke is unquestionable.

Betrayal means no hope for promotion in this lifetime, which is why there are few traitors within the Blood Race.

But if this plundering ceremony spreads... Selling out one’s own duke for a chance to promote in another race?

Even hunting fellow members for essence blood?

Louisa dare not imagine how much trouble would occur within the Blood Race.

[Of course, it’s not that simple.] The Yellow-covered Book timely supplemented.

[Besides consuming a large amount of Advanced Demon Crystal, this unconventional ceremony comes with inherent risks.]

[The greater the rank difference of the target, the higher the risk! Although different bloodlines can be plundered, it equally increases the risk of sudden death!]

[In fact, since this ceremony was created, it has only been formally used once]

"Who created it? And who used it?" Lin Jun inquired.

The Yellow-covered Book did not keep them in suspense.

[The ceremony was created by the previous Great Blood Race Duke, it was a failed byproduct of modifying the promotion ceremony]

[The unlucky fellow was trying to modify the ceremony to strengthen the Blood Race but accidentally created such a thing, and it was even used on himself, hahaha!]

[And the only person who formally used it was the current Great Blood Race Duke, the present Emperor of the Empire—Mortis Delacourne!]

Seemingly casually extracting some earth-shattering secrets from the Yellow-covered Book, at least Little Pig appeared shocked into speechlessness.

Lin Jun was uninterested in the Blood Race’s old secrets, can’t expect to threaten Mortis with rumored "Emperor black history" to open the national gate and welcome the Fungal Mat, right?

Thinking from another perspective, if he were the emperor, someone dared to threaten with such a thing, regardless of truth, the first reaction would definitely be to mobilize all forces and crush the opposition into powder!

Compared to these ethereal rumors, Lin Jun is more concerned about the practical use of the ceremony: "This thing only used once, is it reliable?"

The Yellow-covered Book immediately explained:

[It’s reliable! Only formally used once, but the previous duke didn’t spare ’materials’ for experimentation.]

[However, as said before, the risks are objectively present. And our home has a...special situation, isn’t it?]

What’s different?

Of course, it’s Little Pig’s status as a Half Mushroom Man!

"You really know a lot of secrets!" Lin Jun suddenly said.

Both core and hidden ceremony.

[Ahem... Despite being unworthy, I once had the fortunate occasion to spend a small time in Lord Demon King’s presence...]

"Oh? Then are you still planning to save your ’master’ one day?"

[Former master! Boss! It’s the former master!]

[My life and death are at your whim, Boss! I am your most loyal dog!]

[Of course... if one day you become invincible, casually extract some news about my soul from the former master... I would be eternally grateful, willing to die!]

"You’re thinking too far, you haven’t even finished atoning for your sins yet!"

[Yes yes! At your disposal, Boss! No complaints even in sword mountains and fire seas!]

"What do you think?" This question was directed at Louisa, after all, it was her risking her life.

Ceremony, emperor, demon king...

The information was overwhelming, Louisa was still a bit dazed, but this sentence snapped her awake like a whip.

"Using Yuni’er to hold the ceremony, right?" She suddenly raised her head, eyes bursting with near-crazed light, "I’ll do it! Of course, I will!"

"Even if I die! I want to die on the path of ’gain’! Not rot in the swamp!" Her voice was hoarse with excitement, devoid of any fear of death, only exhilaration and ambition blazing fiercely upon seeing hope again.

Wow...

Fanatic ambitious person...

Marshal Puki quietly wriggled a little distance to the side, lest he be infected by her.

This life-risking upgrade ceremony with unknown risks, if it were Lin Jun himself, he would definitely politely decline.

If he were in Louisa’s position, he’d probably resign to fate, take life easy.

The key is this life-risking bet is not just once, every promotion afterward requires betting!

Even optimistically, with a fifty percent chance, reaching Blood Race Full Level 90 requires 4 times, that’s a one in sixteen chance of surviving, realistically the odds would sound even lower.

It feels no different from courting death...

However, since it is Little Pig’s own choice, risking her own life, succeeding would provide a strong helper... Lin Jun naturally is pleased with that.

A tentacle reached over, symbolically patting Louisa on the shoulder: "Go with confidence, if you fail... I’ll let the Yellow-covered Book accompany you down there."

[???]