Yuan stared at the Blood Essence in his grasp with a nervous gaze. Despite the Primal Monarch's assurance that it was safe to consume at his cultivation level, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
After all, the Blood Essence belonged to an entity likely far stronger than even the Dragon Ancestor, whose Blood Essence he also possessed and has yet to consume due to his lack of cultivation.
"Are you really scared of a single drop of blood? When did you become such a coward?" The Primal Monarch casually mocked.
"A single drop of blood? Is that how little you view your own Blood Essence?" Yuan shook his head as he opened the bottle.
After taking a deep breath, Yuan tilted his head backward and poured the Blood Essence onto his tongue.
The Blood Essence immediately melted into his tongue.
<You have consumed '???' Blood Essence>
<Immortal Monarch's Bloodline is reacting to '???' Blood Essence!>
Yuan immediately sat down and began cultivating in silence. He could feel his body burning, almost as if his blood was boiling, but it wasn't as intense as his first experience as Tian Yi.
<Immortal Monarch's Bloodline has improved>
<Immortal Monarch's Bloodline has reached Imperial-grade>
<Immortal Monarch's Bloodline has improved>
<Immortal Monarch's Bloodline has reached Divine-grade>
A few days later, Yuan's bloodline had ascended by two grades. Unlike treasures and techniques, bloodlines had only four known grades, with the vast majority being Royal-grade.
After Royal-grade came Imperial-grade. In the human world, those with Imperial-grade bloodlines were regarded as nobles, hailing from the most elite bloodlines. In the beast world, they were considered royalty.
Above Imperial-grade was Divine-grade. Those with a Divine-grade bloodline were destined to rise above all others, standing as Emperors among their kind. If one searched the entire Nine Heavens, there would be less than a hundred entities with a Divine-grade bloodline.
The highest-known grade of bloodline was the Supreme-grade bloodline. Only the most powerful entities, such as Dragon Goddess Yeyou, the Primordial Phoenix, and the Dragon Ancestor, possessed such bloodlines. They are so rare that one could count all of them with two hands.
"Only Divine-grade? I was expecting it to reach Supreme-grade." Yuan mused afterward.
"The Monarch's bloodline is, without doubt, Supreme-grade at the very least. However, you've only partially awakened your bloodline. If you want your bloodline to reach Supreme-grade, you'll need to consume Supreme-grade Blood Essences to truly awaken your bloodline's full potential." The Primal Monarch said to him.
"I need to consume nine different Supreme-grade Blood Essence, correct? Can I assume that your Blood Essence doesn't count?"
The Primal Monarch nodded, "My Blood Essence won't count, so you still need nine more."
'The Dragon Ancestor should have a Supreme-grade bloodline, so that's one down. If I count the Primordial Phoenix's Blood Essence in Feng Feng's possession, that's two…'
"What are your plans now?" The Primal Monarch suddenly asked him. "Will you be returning to the human world now?"
"No, there's still something I must do here… unless you can help me."
Yuan retrieved Feng Yuxiang's egg and showed it to him.
"Can you do something about this?"
"What do you want me to do, exactly? If you want me to awaken the Phoenix inside forcefully, I can do that, but it'll injure the Phoenix."
"Can you speed up her recovery?"
The Primal Monarch glared at the egg and said, "As far as I can tell, the Phoenix inside is already fully recovered."
"Really? Then why isn't she coming out? I was told that she would come out once she fully recovers."
"I'm afraid I don't have an answer to your question. If you want to know, you should visit the Phoenixes' territory."
Yuan nodded, "That was my plan from the start, but it's a little far, and I can't spend too much time in this place. Do you think you can send me there?"
"The Eternal Phoenix Domain, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I can send you there. What about your friend?"
"My friend?" Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"That Shadow Dweller you've been traveling with. She's still at the Mystic Valley."
"I thought she'd left by now…" Yuan muttered in a low voice.
After taking some time to ponder, Yuan said, "Let me talk to her for a bit."
The Primal Monarch flicked his arm, casually creating a rift that led him directly back to the spot where he had left from.
When Yuan returned to the Mystic Valley, he noticed that Yingzi hadn't moved an inch from her spot. As for the Divine Fox of Grand Prophecy, she had disappeared somewhere, presumably to recover after exhausting herself to divine the Primal Monarch's location.
"Don't tell me that you've been waiting for me." Yuan looked at Yingzi with a raised eyebrow.
She nodded and said, "Well, I still don't understand what it means to be a human."
"What if I never returned?" he asked.
"If you hadn't returned by the time I finished all of the meat skewers, I would've left," she calmly said.
Yuan glanced at the number of meat skewers Yingzi had left. He had been gone for five days, yet she had only eaten a little over 100 skewers. It was clear to him that she had purposely slowed down, waiting for his return.
"Well, I am going to visit the Eternal Phoenix Domain now. Want to come along?"
"I won't be able to protect you, though," she said.
"That's fine. I can protect myself now."
"Are you going to be visiting the Phoenixes' territory in that guise? They'll attack you before you can even get close." The Primal Monarch suddenly said to him.
"Hmm… you're right, and pretending to be a Phoenix is too risky. If I cannot be a Dragon or a Phoenix, I might as well go there as a human."
Yuan deactivated his transformation for the first time since he came to the Primal Expanse, and his human scent immediately started to fill the air.
The Primals within the Mystic Valley quickly picked up his scent and immediately began rushing toward his location.
Despite the approaching threat, Yuan remained calm. He took a deep breath and spoke in a commanding voice, "I don't have time to play with you lot. Scram."
Though his voice was barely louder than usual, it sent a powerful ripple through the entire Mystic Valley.
The moment the Primals heard his voice, which resounded inside their heads like a thunderclap, they immediately turned and fled in the opposite direction.