The altar was made of red wood, and in front, there was a wooden table where the orb was.

"This is loaded with negative energy. Whatever it is, you can't touch it right now, but don't worry; I know how to get that negative energy out." Luan looked at the orb that Ingrid had pointed at and a strange light shone in his red eyes. He patted Ingrid's head as he finished speaking.

"I'm not a child, did you know that?" Ingrid murmured.

"Did you say anything?" Luan listened, but he found the way she spoke cute when pouting, which made him want to provoke her.

"Just talking to myself..." Ingrid spoke a second time.

Luan laughed and returned his attention to the orb. With flames in his hand made of Qi, Luan was able to see the orb clearly. It was red, and it seemed to have roots within it. 

Approaching, Luan grabbed the orb. The moment he touched it, a strong negative energy started to attack Luan, however, instead of harming Luan, it was actually a great benefit - as it was made of pure negative energy.

Ingrid saw that Luan's Qi was getting denser, and around Luan's body, a white, reddish aura appeared. But the reddish part was constantly being replaced by white; it was as if it were being purified.

Almost twenty minutes later, Luan had basically finished purifying the orb. This not only caused the negative energy of the orb to leave, but also increased Luan's cultivation. Now he was at Refining Qi Level 3.

'It seems that even though I took the negative energy, this orb did not react to my Qi...' This was something that Luan did not expect, since it seemed that Ingrid was attracted to this orb, and this orb seemed to be attracted to her too.

"Ingrid," Luan looked at her and said gravely, warning her, "I also realized that you have some affinity with this orb, and it seems to be a good thing, an inheritance from some powerful being from the past. However, it could possibly be dangerous; it may trigger a test where the heir to the inheritance has to pass. Often this can result in death, and even if it doesn't reach that point, you could be seriously injured. Of course, with great risks, come great rewards. I think it's too risky, but I'll let you choose."

Ingrid was thoughtful; she didn't know whether to accept it or not. After thinking a lot, Ingrid looked determinedly at Luan and said with a soft smile, "I want to try, and besides, I believe that if it were that dangerous, you wouldn't have given me the choice. Maybe you wouldn't have even asked my opinion, but you did it anyway just to test my determination, am I right?"

"Heh. Okay, you're right. If the worst happens, I can still destroy the orb." Luan seemed satisfied with Ingrid's answer. He was also surprised that she could see through him.

"I knew it!" Before Ingrid was not 100% confident, but on learning that she was right, she a calmness wash over her heart.

"Okay, don't make so much noise; if not, you might attract some frantic animal here," Luan warned.

"Yes, sorry. I was a little excited at having gotten it right." Ingrid covered her mouth, admitting her mistake.

Luan felt an impulse to embrace this cute creature, but he stopped himself. He concentrated on giving the final touch, leaving the vestige of his Negative Qi in the orb. If necessary, he could make it explode so as to not let Ingrid get hurt.

After everything was prepared, Luan handed the orb over to Ingrid.

Ingrid realized that after the orb was purified by Luan, it had now become something more beautiful, looking like something cosmic in crimson color. Holding it with her hands, Ingrid's mind went blank.

Luan caught her before she fell to the floor.

Runes came out of the orb and began to integrate with Ingrid's body, and in her mind, where everything had been dark just a moment ago, she "woke up" in a strange place; it was even more bloody than the bloody forest.

The place was all red and surrounded by blood on the floor that reached Ingrid's shin, and in the sky, there was a blood-red moon.

"Tsk! So the only one compatible with my powers after ten thousand years is a woman?" A voice echoed in Ingrid's mind with displeasure. She tried to find the bearer this time, which was grave and ancient, seeming to come from an elder being who had lived for thousands of years.

"Who, who is it?" Ingrid asked, trying to find the man who spoke in her mind.

"Little girl, go back; there is no way for you to receive the inheritance of this Emperor Shen. And tell your man not to destroy this orb: in that respect, I won't hurt you." A man suddenly appeared not far from Ingrid.

This man had blood-red hair and eyes. Wearing black clothes with patterns and antique red letters, he had an indifferent and look about him as he stared at Ingrid morosely.

Ingrid's heart sped up. She had never before been terrified as much as she was at that moment, even when she had heard the Wyvern's roar.

Remembering that this man seemed to fear that Luan would destroy the orb, Ingrid dared to ask him, "Just because I'm a woman, I can't inherit this?"

"Yes, the test to earn my inheritance is not something that a weak woman will be able to endure. I don't want that boy to destroy the orb, so you better go back," said the impatient man.

"Who is weak? How do you know I am weak if you don't even know me or test me. Besides, since the beginning, this orb has been attracting me; if I'm so weak, why did it call out to me with such persistence?" Ingrid refused to accept that he had called her weak. Although she was not the most powerful person, at least she believed she was quite brave and determined.

"... Alright then. Since you want to be tested, I'll do a simple test. If you can pass it, I'll let you try to pass the real test. What do you think about that?" Emperor Shen offered a way out.

"Yes, I'll do it!" Ingrid nodded with determination.

"Okay, the test is simple. You have 40 minutes, in which time you'll need to be able to breathe in the blood pool for at least 1 minute," Emperor Shen said with an indifferent smile. "Simple, right?"

As soon as Emperor Shen finished speaking, a pool of blood appeared in front of Ingrid. It was difficult to discern the depth since it was full of blood.

"Before that, I have a question," Ingrid said.

"Say it?" Emperor Shen looked at her.

"Is my Origin related to blood?" Ingrid asked, "If not, it doesn't make sense. And I wouldn't be able to breathe under a pool full of blood. The only explanation would be if I awakened my Origin, and then I might be able to pass this test."

"Yes, you do have the Origin of Blood, although it has not been awakened. I confess that I was surprised you were able to guess all this," Emperor Shen said and sighed. "Since you have guessed this much, I think I can help you a little."

When Emperor Shen finished speaking, he pointed a finger at Ingrid, and in her mind, the first part of a cultivation technique appeared: <Blood as Life; Blood as Whole>.

"This is..."

Emperor Shen interrupted her and said, "You only have 40 minutes. You can choose to try to awaken your Origin and then pass the test, or you can give up."

Ingrid felt like cursing him, since practically before, if she hadn't awakened her Origin, it was basically impossible for her to pass this test, but at least in the end, this man gave her a part of a cultivation technique that was related to Her origin. She then just had to affirm her determination and try her best.

Ingrid wasted no time answering; she sat on the floor with her legs crossed in the blood, and began to meditate.

Outside Ingrid's mind, Luan saw that Ingrid's body was absorbing the essence of blood from the floor, and he thought of something and laid her on her back in the blood.

And just as he imagined, Ingrid was absorbing the blood essence more quickly. He also used his Qi to keep the energy in Ingrid's body from getting out of control, and also helped her stabilize and fuse with the blood essence that integrated with her body.

"You have a good man..." Emperor Shen murmured under his breath.

If Emperor Shen had previously doubted whether Ingrid would be able to achieve this in time, now he had no doubt. The hardest part was not pulling the blood essence into her body, but being able to integrate, and she also needed to be in direct contact with blood to have a better effect. Now with the help of Luan, who was assisting Ingrid with absorbing and integrating with the blood essence, her chances had increased from 1% to 50%. That was a very significant increase.

In Ingrid's mind, she was in constant struggle. She felt and saw things that she had never experienced before; the essence of blood that entered her body made her feel warm and painful, but at the same time she felt gentle energy that was helping her constantly.

"Luan..." She murmured his name.

35 minutes later, Ingrid's cultivation grew so much that she entered Refinement Qi and reached level 3 - the same level that Luan was currently at.

But even so, she was unable to connect with her Origin. However, she felt confident that she would be able to pass the test.

Ingrid opened her eyes in the sea of consciousness, and said, "I will make it!"

- -

{Edited by: Azurtha}

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