Only Outer Sect disciples could leave that area and step onto the upper forearm, and only Inner Sect disciples qualified to live on the back of the hand itself.
With the exception of the thumb, the mountain peaks that were the fingers of the hand were divided into the lower finger and the upper finger. The lower finger was occupied by Foundation Establishment cultivators. Those in the Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment stage were called Dharma protectors, and those in the Earthstring Foundation Establishment stage were the elders.
Only one person qualified to live on the upper finger, and that was the grand elder of that peak. Grand elders were the equivalent of the Spirit Stream Sect’s peak lords. Of course, considering that there were fewer mountain peaks than in the Spirit Stream Sect, it was a position reserved for only the most extraordinary of individuals.
After the upper finger was the fingertip. From the moment the Blood Stream Sect had been founded in ancient times, each mountain peak had a blood master. That was the only person who qualified to occupy the finger tip.
The blood masters were the focus of the entire sect, and were among the most powerful people in the entire sect, excluding certain people who resided on the thumb. They were as powerful as the sect leader, and qualified to give orders to the elders of the mountain peaks.
All Blood Stream Sect disciples dreamed of becoming the blood master of a mountain peak. Each successive generation only had one blood master per mountain peak at any given time.
The thumb was the only place with no blood master. The blood mist which surrounded it ensured that it was a restricted area. That was where the Blood Stream Sect’s patriarchs and prime elders resided. Only people in the Gold Core stage could go there.
When a blood master advanced to the Gold Core stage, he or she would become a blood ripper, and move to the enormous thumb. The blood rippers occupied a position higher than prime elders, with power second only to the patriarchs.
The lowest position on the thumb was occupied by the sect leader, who was responsible for the general administration of the sect.
As he got closer and closer to the Blood Stream Sect, Bai Xiaochun once again reviewed the information he knew.
“Five mountain peaks. The thumb is called Ancestor Peak! The first finger is called Corpse Peak, the middle finger is Middle Peak, the ring finger was called Nameless Peak, and the smallest finger, the pinky finger, is called Lesser Marsh Peak! 1
“Corpse Peak is known for refining corpses, Middle Peak focuses on blood swords, Nameless Peak is famous for gargoyles, and Lesser Marsh Peak is devoted to devilblood body refinement!”
Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but recall the Blood Stream Sect disciples he’d encountered in the Fallen Sword World. He had seen them control the vicious gargoyles. Xu Xiaoshan had worked with various corpses, and Song Que had fought him with a blood sword. He had even seen some of the devilblood body refinement of disciples who were obviously from Lesser Marsh Peak.
As of this moment, the Blood Stream Sect had already left a deep impression on Bai Xiaochun’s mind.
However, what happened next left him completely and utterly shaken. As he neared the enormous hand, he stepped past a certain point, and his face flickered as his Undying Live Forever Technique suddenly stirred with intense desire.
At the same time, Bai Xiaochun could sense that the enormous hand was somehow calling out to him!
That summoning seemed unprecedentedly intimate!
“How is this possible?!” he thought, his mind reeling. As of this moment, all of his hesitation and anxiety vanished, and an extremely familiar sensation filled his mind and heart.
—
Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme archives: Tocsin. Transcendent Patrons: Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208
1. A quick note about the names, because there is some minor word play involved. The word for corpse sounds similar to the word describing the index finger. Both are pronounced “shi.” In Chinese, the ring finger is called the “nameless finger,” so I chose to keep the Chinese version of that name for the mountain. The “Lesser Marsh” is an acupuncture point on the tip of the pinky finger. As far as the thumb and “Ancestor” goes, I don’t think there is any wordplay, although the word ‘ancestor’ does sort of rhyme with the character for ‘thumb’
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Chapter
185: Secrets of the Blood Stream Sec
Chapter 185: Secrets of the Blood Stream Sect
It took some time for Bai Xiaochun to calm himself down. After he did, he continued on toward the sect itself. Soon, beams of light could be seen flying around near him, all of them Blood Stream Sect disciples, as well as Foundation Establishment elders and Dharma protectors.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators all radiated powerful murderous auras, and flew with incredible speed. They seemed domineering, rude, and completely headstrong. Everywhere they went, the Inner Sect disciples bowed their heads and clasped hands respectfully, not daring to show the least bit of disrespect.
One Foundation Establishment cultivator apparently thought Bai Xiaochun was in his way, so he waved his sleeve, sending a powerful gust of wind against him. Thankfully, Bai Xiaochun was very quick on the uptake, and immediately pretended to be blasted off to the side. He even managed to cause some blood to ooze out of the corners of his mouth.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator completely ignored him as he passed on by.
Other Inner Sect disciples in the area barely seemed to notice. Further down on the arm, where the servants lived, the servants would occasionally look up into the air at the Inner Sect disciples and Foundation Establishment cultivators, their expressions those of complete awe.
“So overbearing!” Bai Xiaochun thought. At first, it didn’t seem possible that the entire sect could be this way, but he quickly reminded himself that he was in the Blood Stream Sect, and flew along toward the hand itself.
As he neared, he saw a shimmering, blood-colored light that was clearly a spell formation. When he passed through it, it flickered, but did nothing to block his way. A moment later, he was inside the spell formation and on the hand.
“Passed the first test!” he thought, taking a deep breath. The light he had just passed through was the Blood Stream Sect’s defensive spell formation, which would immediately detect anyone who wasn’t a disciple of the sect.
The back of the hand was huge. Bai Xiaochun quickly realized that it was actually about as large as the south and north banks of the Spirit Stream Sect put together. That only served to further his understanding of how powerful the Blood Stream Sect was.
Only Inner Sect disciples were allowed onto the back of the hand. Outer Sect disciples could not enter without an authentication device. If they tried to, they would be severely punished. The lightest punishment for such an offense was a flogging, with more serious violators having a limb severed. The punishments were brutal, but that was how the twisted Blood Stream Sect operated. The differences between the levels were strictly enforced.
Bai Xiaochun had been nervous at first, but after reaching the hand itself, and feeling the intimate connection between it and his Undying Live Forever Technique, he felt increasingly shaken.
“How could this be possible…?” He still almost couldn’t believe what he was feeling. However, he soon had to acknowledge a shocking truth.
“This hand cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique!!” More precisely, beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River was a giant who had indeed cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique!