Chapter 109: I Came to Sell Myself, Not My Blood

“Nonsense! Even if it’s atavistic bloodline, it wouldn’t be black. I have never come across such a record. What sect or school are you from to claim such knowledge?”

Wuyun chuckled foolishly and said, “Once, I saw a cloud drifting by; it formed an ancient text—a record. It was written there. If you don’t believe me, how about a wager?”

The Dragon Rider scoffed, “What’s there to bet on? You’re bound to lose. I don’t even bother to win against you.”

“If you win, I’ll offer my soul to serve you, to be your beast of burden, your soul slave!”

Those words horrified the onlookers. No curse could be more venomous. Even death by thunderbolts, an untimely demise, or self-inflicted ruin of cultivation was preferable. A soul slave was bound by a single thought, compelled to obey any command.

Moreover, soul slavery was strictly forbidden in the Third Immortal Realm. It had once sparked fierce uprisings aimed at liberating the soul slaves’ loved ones.

This wager made the Dragon Rider frown. He countered, “And if you lose?”

“Simple. I’ll raise this short-horned black horse. But…” Wuyun’s tone turned serious, “You must bow to the little black horse seven times and say sorry seven times.”

“Preposterous!” The Dragon Rider bristled in anger, but Bai Wan stopped him, saying, “Very well, I want to see who this insolent brat belongs to. When the time comes, he won’t have time to cry!”

With Bai Wan’s words, the wager was sealed. No oath or contract was needed. With so many witnesses, who would dare back out?

The Dragon Rider bluntly said, “Speak then—how do you prove I am wrong?”

“Very simple. In the mortal world, there is the blood-drop recognition test; in the immortal realm, bloodline confirmation. Just call the mate of the unicorn horse here and conduct a bloodline recognition.”

The crowd nodded in agreement; it was indeed a known method.

After the Dragon Rider’s assent, Bai Wan waved his hand, and an old unicorn stallion transformed into humanoid form—horse’s body with human face—accompanied by a beast handler.

When the two unicorn horses met, no tender reunion unfolded; both seemed unwilling.

A bystander recognized the old unicorn and whispered, “Once a peak-level great demon, came here to devour immortal herbs and pills, was captured and forced to repay with his body until hollowed out.”

“Yes, without him, how could our Hundred Flowers Valley have so many flying warhorses and mounts? They’re no small fighting force! We owe him much!”

The summoned old unicorn straight faced Bai Wan and said, “Our kind has never had black horses as offspring, not a single record. There have been red and purple, and mixed colors, but black is definitely not from my breed. I sold my seed for money, still owe twenty thousand immortal stones. Freedom will come in less than half a year. This breed must have existed before.”

Putting aside all relationships, the crowd buzzed with speculation. Wuyun was unfazed and said, “Please lend your essence blood to merge with the little black horse.”

The old unicorn snorted coldly, “Do you think I can’t feel bloodline resonance? I’ve tried three times already—no response whatsoever.”

This made Wuyun scowl. He said to the Dragon Rider, “Resonance can be faulty; only essence blood recognition can prove it.”

The Dragon Rider waved dismissively. The old unicorn protested, “I’m here to sell my body, not my blood...”

“All right, deduct a thousand spirit stones, hurry up!”

Hearing Bai Wan’s impatience, the old unicorn brightened and muttered as he bled a drop, “Saved trouble once, saved trouble once.”

Nearby, other handsome mounts cursed in anger, wishing they were that old horse—eating fresh grass yet complaining about the grit.

To ensure fairness, Bai Wan cracked a whip, and the little black horse, caught off guard, let a tiny droplet of blood form at the tip of its small horn. The two blood drops hovered in the transparent air.

In the sky, the two blood droplets repelled each other, refusing to merge—especially the old unicorn’s blood, which was repelled every time it neared.

The onlookers immediately turned their eyes to Wuyun, shouting, “The facts are clear. This fellow sold his soul to the Dragon Rider master, probably trying to learn skills secretly to get by!”

Bai Wan pointed at the scene and coldly said, “Any last words?”

A chill swept the air. Wuyun shivered and shouted, “Sir, you reversed the fusion!”

Reversed?

Never before had anyone claimed blood fusion had a positive or negative side. Bai Wan, about to lose his temper, restrained himself and said, “Fine. Even if you sold your soul, you must suffer every torment first!”

Bai Wan reversed the order, letting the little black horse’s blood envelop the other. The blood bead absorbed the essence blood of the old unicorn like a vast ocean, merging it into its own.

At that moment, an overwhelming aura, like that of an ancient immortal beast, radiated forth. Weaker mounts and soul soldiers nearby collapsed, unable to stand.

Bai Wan was stunned. The old unicorn was speechless in shock, unable to fathom the secret.

The Dragon Rider’s eyes widened. He cast various spells to analyze the blood—indeed, the black horse’s blood had become part of the unicorn’s bloodline.

At this point, the Dragon Rider had to admit defeat. But he said, “This recognition I’ve lost—the blood is truly from a unicorn horse. However, if you can prove it’s a reversion to an ancient ancestor’s bloodline, then I will bow and apologize. If not, you may take the black horse away.”

His words carried a double meaning. Most would not dare offend him and would simply lead the horse away. Yet Wuyun smiled, “Your seven bows are unavoidable. I will prove it to you all!”

Wuyun took the little horse’s tail to the center of the arena—the place where the unicorn horses were punished—and let the black horse levitate. He said to the Dragon Rider, “Proving ancestral blood reversion is difficult. Such a bloodline bears immense pressure from birth. Just a drop of blood just now weakened many mounts. If the short-horned black horse reveals its full form, there is only one way.”

Scanning the crowd, Wuyun fixed his gaze on the old unicorn and said, “I’ll need a hundred drops of your essence blood and a bucket of heart’s blood!”

The old unicorn leapt up in fury, “You want my old White’s life? Not a chance!”

His long horn atop his head blazed with ten thousand rays of light, revealing a fifth-grade immortal artifact—his life weapon!

He proclaimed proudly, “Our unicorn horses once had demon kings overthrowing us. If you use force, I’d rather die than obey. My ancestors will take revenge!”

Bai Wan’s face darkened. The demand was excessive. A drop of essence blood equaled one breeding cycle for a unicorn horse—a huge toll. A hundred drops would surely kill the old horse!

Especially as unicorn horses were mounts of Immortal Kings or Profound Immortals. Killing one forcibly would create an unnecessary powerful enemy.

Just as Bai Wan was about to refuse, Wuyun spoke, “If you agree, those tens of thousands of immortal stones will be considered payment.”

“Bah! Nineteen thousand immortal stones can buy at most nineteen drops!” The old unicorn, calling himself Old White, calculated sharply.

Wuyun smiled, “If you trust me, I’ll pay one hundred thousand immortal stones. How about that?”

A murmur arose around them—killing this horse was unthinkable, even its corpse wouldn’t fetch that price.

The old horse’s eyes darted, and he blurted, “At most fifty drops!”

“Deal!”