*GASP*
Hao Xuan opened his eyes to the same scene for the seventeenth and last time and as soon as he did, the temporal field destabilized and collapsed, akin to a balloon being popped.
Hao Xuan felt the ambient energy diffuse towards the rest of his body and into the surroundings, leaving a coldness in its wake that he would remember for a very long time.
This was his very first experience with time manipulation and he paid a hefty price for it in the form of 16 deaths, two of which were his own doing.
The Nightmare Hounds encircled him once more, trying to find an opportunity to strike but Hao Xuan knew what was coming.
He felt the changes in his body or lack thereof. He still clearly remembered the sensation and the process of bringing the Lycan bloodline to its maturity and knew that it was his only way out.
With no second chances, he couldn't waste any time now.
Hao Xuan waved his hand to summon the Glaive. This was the first time he had called for it in many months and could feel its longing as soon as it materialized.
*Zzzzz*
It thrummed slowly, meekly protesting against the unfair treatment it had received. Hao Xuan brushed his hand against the handle to calm it down.
"I'm sorry, but bear with me for just a little bit more, I'll make it up to you for sure," he whispered coaxingly in a low tone of voice, getting a weak buzz in response.
The Nightmare Hounds that were the most immediate threat backed away upon seeing the glaive's length.
Hao Xuan glanced towards Lazar and the avian beast that were both still sticking to their pretenses.
'Not this time!'
He swung the glaive in a semi-circle cutting his wrists to the bone. The glaive fell from his grasp.
Blood continuously poured from the gaping wounds and onto the glaive as it thirstily drank every single drop without wasting any.
"Baracus! Help me keep the wounds open!" Hao Xuan ordered as soon as the natural healing factor kicked in.
*Beep*
'Do you mind me asking wh-'
"No time, do it now!"
Not a moment later the nanites coursed through his vein and towards his wrists where they got to work. Several liters' worth of blood was pumped out within seconds.
Hao Xuan felt the weakness spreading throughout and a moment later his knees buckled.
'Blood loss at 57%.'
'Warning! Warning!'
Baracus's emergency notifications popped up once again but Hao Xuan was too drowsy to pay any attention to them. His eyelids felt like they weighed a ton and he knew if he closed his eyes then that would be it.
But he couldn't stop here. Last time he had reached a bloodline purity level of 48% but that was not enough. He needed at least half to make any real difference.
Hao Xuan tried to wave his hand but even such a small movement proved too difficult for the time being.
'Baracus, close the wounds when I lose consciousness and send out one teardrop spirit stone,' he left the command with Baracus since he was already teetering on the precipice of eternal darkness.
The teardrop crystal he mentioned was the same one he got from the lighting area prior to entering the webway (Ch 680). It was an extremely unstable spirit stone that should not have lasted more than a few days but to Hao Xuan's surprise, it somehow followed the time flow of this world rather than the one Hao Xuan was trapped in.
And since the disparity was so much that a few hours here were equal to more than 10 months in the other one, Hao Xuan was able to keep the crystals with him in one piece until such a time came when he needed them, like now.
The extra energy from the crystal should be enough to power the process all the way and hopefully help him reach an even higher level.
'This is extremely dangerous. Your body will go into shock any second-'
'I know I know, just do it...'
'.....'
'Affirmative. Deploying temporary defensive measures.'
Hao Xuan closed his eyes, leaving Baracus to deal with as much as he could.
He counted on the cautious nature of the Nightmare Hounds to buy himself some time and if that didn't work, Baracus had a couple of things up his sleeve.
As soon as Hao Xuan's eyes shut his consciousness was pulled inward. He was able to see everything happening inside him and control it to an extent.
The Chaos Qi gathered towards his hearts just like before, strengthening them as they started refining a dark red liquid that was much thicker than normal blood.
But Hao Xuan noticed something that he had missed before. It looked like there was something inside his left heart. It looked like a small egg-shaped fleshy growth that was attached to the outer lining.
Even though he was looking right at it, Hao Xuan couldn't 'feel' its existence. It felt natural as if it was a part of him all along but obviously, that wasn't the case.
'What the hell is this?!'