Chapter 150: Harvest

"Astral treasures?" Ling Xu's gaze was deeply captivated by the few items in front of him.

"Well, I didn't expect those two fellows to have quite a few astral treasures on them," Tang Tian said with great surprise, but then he burst out laughing, "Haha, those two guys had terrible luck—not a single one of them could actually use any of these!"

Ling Xu took a look, and indeed, it was true.

There was a pair of strangely shaped bronze gloves, a small horse, and two small glass phials.

Ling Xu chose the small horse, while Tang Tian chose the gloves. Ever since his Heavenly Furnace gauntlets had been destroyed, he had been without a suitable weapon. Although the Peacock Blue possessed outstanding defensive performance, it offered little help in terms of offense.

The material of the gloves was bronze, with a very unique design consisting of layers of tiny, overlapping feathers. They were exceptionally thick, even somewhat bulky, resembling a large water bag. Held in the hand, one could feel their substantial weight. Tang Tian tried putting the gloves on; the interior was surprisingly comfortable, and Tang Tian felt as if his hands were enveloped in a mass of water.

He attempted to channel a sliver of true power into them.

Clang, clang, clang!

The loose and thick feathered scales suddenly straightened out one by one, as if waking up from a deep slumber, and they began to flow slowly like running water. In the blink of an eye, the gloves completely transformed.

Oh, that's interesting!

Tang Tian instantly became interested. Before he could even react, his crane-body martial art spontaneously activated.

True power surged overwhelmingly into the gloves. Click, click, click—the sluggish feathered scales began to flow and rotate. Tang Tian felt that the sight of the moving scales on the gloves was somewhat familiar.

Could it be that he had seen them somewhere before?

Suddenly, his eyes lit up: the crane-body kinetic force! Wasn't the crane-body kinetic force within his own body formed in this exact way, piled layer upon layer from countless tiny streams of true power?

Almost at the exact moment his thought arose, the crane-body kinetic force within him flowed, and Tang Tian seemed to hear a clear, piercing cry!

Clang!

The gloves stopped changing.

The gloves before him had indeed drastically changed and looked brand new. The originally bulky gloves now clung tightly to his skin, appearing as a thin layer, while the cuffs extended directly from his wrists up to his elbows.

What attracted Tang Tian's gaze the most were the small wings on both sides of the gloves, shaped like crane wings, which were currently folded against them.

Tang Tian could feel that his fingers seemed to have become much more agile. He gently poked the bluestone slab on the ground—*poof*—without feeling any resistance, his fingers sank completely into it.

Tang Tian's eyes lit up.

Interesting!

Tang Tian tried channeling the crane-body kinetic force once more. *Hiss, hiss, hiss!* Sharp kinetic energy gushed out from his fingertips, leaving five deep little holes in the bluestone slab.

This power made Tang Tian's spirits soar. He began to communicate with the martial soul of the treasure. To his surprise, he established a connection with the glove's martial soul with almost no effort at all.

The martial soul of the gloves was a cluster of floating mist, retaining a faint outline resembling a crane. However, the martial soul was not strong; it was evident that it had not been nourished for a very long time.

Whether it was because the crane-body kinetic force had won its approval or not, the martial soul was extremely affectionate toward Tang Tian. Tang Tian also discovered that the aura of the glove's martial soul made him feel immensely comfortable.

It seemed he had acquired a true treasure. After communicating with the martial soul, Tang Tian finally learned the name of these gloves.

Heavenly Crane Gloves!

They truly were Heavenly Crane constellation treasures!

Tang Tian's spirits lifted. This was undoubtedly the most suitable treasure for him at the moment, and for a while, Tang Tian was overjoyed.

Ling Xu's small horse was a Little Horse constellation treasure, originating from the same constellation as the Little Horse flying boots on Tang Tian's feet. However, the quality of the small bronze horse was higher than that of the flying boots; it could summon a bronze horse whose speed was roughly comparable to Tang Tian's flamingo, making it a very practical treasure.

"If only it were a combat treasure," Tang Tian glanced sideways at the small bronze horse.

"This is already very good," Ling Xu said, quite satisfied. "I only cultivate spear arts. In our lineage, combat does not rely on external assistance. If it really were a combat treasure, I wouldn't have any use for it anyway. This little fellow can save me a lot of energy."

Ling Xu, holding his silver spear while sitting atop the horse's back, cut a rather dashing figure of youthful heroism.

"As long as you like it," Tang Tian replied nonchalantly. He had understood from a very early age that everyone's choices were different, and nothing should be forced.

His gaze fell upon the two small glass phials, inside each of which floated a drop of fresh blood. One drop was dark red, while the other emitted a faint silver glow.

"What are these?" Tang Tian asked, feeling rather curious.

"This is dwarf blood and winged-man blood!" Gu Xue was the one speaking. Having just walked in and hearing Tang Tian's question, she volunteered an explanation. "Since you didn't know how to harvest them, I harvested them for you. Their bloodlines are absorbed separately; the moment they die, their bloodline naturally gathers and fuses into a single drop of fresh blood."

"Bloodlines can be absorbed?" Tang Tian widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Mhm, some can," Gu Xue explained. "Others cannot—the Snow Rainbow bloodline, for instance, cannot. However, not every bloodline is suitable for everyone. You can give them a try; both of these bloodlines are exceptionally good among silver-tier bloodlines. The dwarf bloodline can drastically increase your strength and speed, but the side effect is that it will shrink your stature. The winged-man bloodline can massively increase your speed and make your movements much more agile."

Ling Xu shook his head. "I won't try!"

Tang Tian tilted his head and asked, "Why?"

"I've already figured it out. I want to pursue my teacher's path," Ling Xu's eyes were filled with absolute determination. "Following my teacher's doctrine, focusing solely on the spear, and refusing to borrow external objects to fulfill his expectations for me—that is my mission!"

The moment he spoke these words, Ling Xu seemed to radiate an ineffable, profound aura.

Gu Xue was somewhat startled, but Tang Tian was genuinely happy for Ling Xu. This was the change brought about by a breakthrough in state of mind, now that Ling Xu had finally found his own path. All the accumulated experiences from Ling Xu's past wandering would continually nourish him as his state of mind broke through. It could be foreseen that Ling Xu was about to welcome a period of rapid advancement.

Tang Tian's current understanding of power was also far deeper than it had been in the past.

"That's great," Tang Tian chuckled. "Then I'll give it a try."

Tang Tian chose the dwarf blood. He had been deeply impressed by the power of the dwarf bloodline, and if he could absorb it, his strength would immediately ascend to a whole new level.

"How do I absorb it?" Tang Tian asked Gu Xue.

"Just swallow it," Gu Xue said, looking somewhat nervous. "Sometimes there are adverse reactions, which means your body is adapting to its power. You must endure through it."

Tang Tian gave a sound of acknowledgement and swallowed the dwarf blood. The dark red dwarf blood carried not a hint of a bloody stench; instead, it exuded a faint, mysterious fragrance. With a gentle tilt, Tang Tian swallowed it down.

Gu Xue's expression was incomparably tense as she stared at Tang Tian, not daring to blink. Ling Xu's expression was equally solemn; having spent so much time mingling in the Philin Star, he knew far more about bloodlines than Tang Tian and thus understood that swallowing a bloodline carried a certain degree of danger.

One minute passed... five minutes passed...

Time quietly slipped away.

Tang Tian tilted his head, looking utterly baffled.

"How do you feel?" Gu Xue's voice was laced with tension.

"No feeling at all. I don't feel anything," Tang Tian spread his hands, looking thoroughly perplexed. "Could this stuff be fake?!"

"No feeling at all?" Gu Xue froze for a moment, then reacted, letting out a sharp gasp of disbelief, "How is that possible?"

Ling Xu's expression also grew somewhat sluggish. "Impossible! How can there be no reaction?"

At that moment, Murui, having heard the commotion, ran over as well. Gu Xue clutched at him as if grabbing a straw of life and hurriedly questioned Murui. Murui was experienced; the Azure bloodline within his own body had also been acquired through absorption.

After listening to the young miss's description, Murui's expression froze as well. He had never witnessed, nor even heard of, such a phenomenon.

The group of people stared at each other in blank dismay.

"What should we do?" Tang Tian hesitated slightly, glancing sideways at the other glass phial. "Should I try that one? Could it be that the dwarf bloodline just isn't compatible with me?"

"You shouldn't mess around blindly!" Gu Xue shook her head repeatedly.

*Thwack.* A large palm grabbed the glass phial.

Tang Tian tilted his head back and swallowed the winged-man blood as well.

Gu Xue instantly grew anxious. "Why are you like this?"

Murui didn't speak, only staring intently at Tang Tian. Ling Xu remained silent as well, locking his gaze on him.

Ten minutes later.

"Still no reaction," Tang Tian spread his hands in mild disappointment. "It seems I'm just not suited for absorbing bloodlines! You guys don't need to worry; perhaps my constitution is just special."

"It must be a matter of constitution," Murui said with some uncertainty, though he let out a sigh of relief. "As long as you're fine!"

"Hahaha, nothing's going to happen!" Tang Tian forced a relaxed laugh. "How could a youth like a god ever be messed up by a mere two drops of blood?"

"A mere two drops of blood?" Gu Xue was clearly still angry over Tang Tian's reckless behavior just now, and she sneered, "Do you know how many astral coins each of those drops can be sold for?"

"How much?" Tang Tian froze, asking instinctively.

"Dwarf blood can sell for one million astral coins, and winged-man blood is worth at least seven hundred thousand astral coins! With those two gulps of yours, one million seven hundred thousand astral coins just vanished into thin air," Gu Xue sneered.

"One million seven hundred thousand astral coins..." Tang Tian stammered, his voice trembling.

"That's right. With good luck, you could definitely find a buyer willing to pay two million," Gu Xue said with a gloating expression.

"Ahhhhh!"

Tang Tian's miserable, piercing screams could be heard from far and wide.

Suffering a severe blow, Tang Tian ran off to find Bing. Two million astral coins—to him, this was undoubtedly an astronomical figure; even now, he didn't have that many astral coins across his entire body.

Bing wore a gloating look. "Two million astral coins, eh? How was it? Did you taste anything? Was it sweet or salty?"

Tang Tian pulled a long face, remaining entirely silent as he barged into the bronze-man chamber to vent his frustrations.

The poor eighteen bronze men became the sacrificial victims of Tang Tian's wrath. For a full ten minutes, Tang Tian vented to his heart's content before retreating from the bronze-man chamber.

Tang Tian collapsed onto his backside right beside Bing. "Hey, old man, do you also know how to pilot puppet mecha?"

"Nonsense!" Bing rolled his eyes. "If an instructor doesn't know how, how can he teach others?"

"What was that move you used called? It was so awesome!" Tang Tian instantly cast the two million coins to the back of his mind and asked Bing with burning curiosity.

"Crimson-Red Cross Scythe," Bing paused imperceptibly before replying in a flat tone, "A martial skill used for charging on the battlefield."

"Can you teach it to me?" Tang Tian's eyes shone brightly, exposing his true objective.

"Not yet!" Bing answered decisively. Without waiting for Tang Tian to pursue the matter, he changed the subject. "How is your Peacock Blue doing?" (To be continued)