Chapter 35: Pangu Immortality
Of his two hearts, one was the Vampire Heart, and the other was the Pangu Heart. Both possessed their own respective ability trees. Whenever one of the hearts stopped beating, any nourishment Yu Xian absorbed would be stored inside this dormant heart instead of the beating heart.
For instance, right now, Yu Xian's Vampire Heart was actively beating while his Pangu Heart remained still. Consequently, all the nourishment Yu Xian accumulated was funneled into the Pangu Heart.
Once it reached a certain threshold, this second heart would begin to thud. However, unlike the Vampire Heart, which awakened an ability for every ten beats, the Pangu Heart required thirty-six beats to activate a single ability belonging to Pangu.
Yu Xian could freely dictate which heart beat and which one remained dormant. Furthermore, whereas he previously had to rely on counting his heartbeats to estimate when an ability would awaken, he could now directly sense the precise amount of energy stored within his hearts to gauge his progress.
At this moment, his Pangu Heart held energy equivalent to roughly thirty-four heartbeats. He deduced this was likely the residual energy left over from the Blood of Pangu remodeling his body. Therefore, if the Pangu Heart beat just two more times, it would probably trigger the awakening of a Pangu ability.
"I wonder what kinds of abilities Pangu actually has..." Perched atop a large floating bubble, Yu Xian pulled out his phone, preparing to check if the Qilin app had any records of this.
Qilin's research into Pangu hadn't just started yesterday. Many of Pangu's abilities had already manifested in individuals who had consumed his blood, which meant that the organization had extensive records regarding them.
Under normal circumstances, Yu Xian's security clearance wouldn't have been high enough to access this level of sensitive data. However, because his account had just been updated with a First-Class Merit, a vast amount of previously restricted files had been unlocked for him.
When he clicked the request button, the relevant data was sent over a moment later. He tapped the file open and meticulously combed through its contents.
Pangu's abilities were classified as Divine Arts. To Pangu, they were innate abilities. As such, he could use them freely without any prerequisites. However, for others, these abilities were overwhelmingly powerful. The energy consumption for most of these abilities was staggering, demanding extreme caution when deployed.
The file also listed the Divine abilities obtained by all those who had consumed the Blood of Pangu:
[Pangu Divine Strength]
—Those who obtain this Divine Art can wield a hundred tons of strength even at Sparrow rank. Their bodies become indestructible, allowing them to overpower all abilities with sheer force. Among all Pangu abilities, this is the strongest.
[Pangu Space Rend]
—Those who obtain this Divine Art can rip space open even at Sparrow rank. They can also form spatial blades to attack their enemies. However, this offensive ability consumes a tremendous amount of energy.
[Pangu Transmutation]
—Those who obtain this Divine Art can alter living organisms into entirely different lifeforms even at Sparrow rank. Examples include turning humans into sheep, dogs into humans, animals into plants, and fungi into animals. Most terrifyingly, the effects of this ability are permanent.
[Pangu Immortality]
—Those who obtain this Divine Ability possess boundless vitality. Even at Sparrow rank, they can survive being reduced to a severed head. Even losing half their brain results in nothing more than temporary amnesia. In later stages, they become practically impossible to kill. Regenerating an entire body from a single drop of blood or a single breath becomes standard practice.
[Pangu Solar Eye]
—Those who obtain this Divine Art can transform their eyes into blazing suns and fire solar beams infused with the essence of the sun.
[Pangu Spirit Pearl]
—Those who obtain this Divine Art can condense a spatial-attributed spirit pearl within their dantian. Even at Sparrow rank, it provides a space of 50,000 cubic meters.
Pangu's repository of abilities was vast and virtually all-encompassing. Yu Xian suddenly felt that the abilities he awakened as a vampire were no longer quite as impressive. Pangu’s abilities were absurdly overpowered, especially Pangu Immortality. He wanted it more than anything else.
For someone like him, who was pathologically terrified of dying, Pangu Immortality was the ultimate, dream-come-true ability. As a vampire, his self-healing factor was already exceptionally robust. If he could stack Pangu Immortality on top of that, it would essentially give him a double layer of insurance. If he managed to obtain Pangu Immortality, he wouldn't hesitate to stir up trouble in the most hazardous places imaginable.
A person's personality was not that important. Whether reckless or cautious, what truly mattered was their capability, not character, since actions themselves were ultimately determined by capability rather than personality.
To put it in perspective, a billionaire could be as frugal and cautious as they wanted, but they still wouldn't hesitate to walk into a high-end restaurant to eat. Conversely, if a man only had a few cents left in his pocket, no matter how reckless his personality was, he wouldn't barge into a luxury establishment for dinner.
By the same token, even a coward like Yu Xian would find the courage to go wild and risk his life on the front lines if he were strong enough. But if he were powerless, even a stray dog would be enough to make him turn around and run.
Yu Xian put away his phone. He had already made up his mind. For the time being, he would go all in on the Pangu Heart. If he didn't draw Pangu Immortality, he would not switch back to the vampire ability tree.
After learning more about his two hearts, he came to realize that vampire abilities were not all that impressive and, in fact, had limitations. The two abilities he had previously awakened bore this out perfectly.
Regarding his first ability, Silver Blood, Jin Sheng had informed him that Nora's father had also awakened this ability, which meant it existed within the standard vampire ability tree. His second ability, Blood Energy, was likewise a core staple of vampire abilities. Therefore, excluding his Light Feeder ability, the abilities he had awakened were all abilities a normal vampire could potentially awaken. They weren't unique to him.
As for Light Feeder, it was likely directly tied to Nora's mutation. Nora was the first mixed-blood vampire in history who could walk in the sun. He, in turn, was a wild vampire sired not through a traditional First Bite, but via a direct blood injection.
If Nora was a mutated mixed-blood vampire, then he was a mutation of a mutation, an anomaly among anomalies. It was only natural that his abilities would warp accordingly.
Having thoroughly analyzed his condition, he stood up and exited the room. When he stepped outside, dawn was just beginning to break, and he found soldiers actively standing guard outside his door.
Spotting him, a guard immediately saluted. "Report, sir! Colonel Jin instructed me to pass along a message. The operation has officially commenced. You are to join the deployment immediately upon waking up. You can retrieve the clearance pass from the participating squads. Report complete!"
Yu Xian quickly returned the salute. "Understood. Thank you."
He opened his phone, entered the Wickedness Purging Squad group chat, and received the classified order granting access to the sealed-off zone. Then he took a Bluetooth earpiece from his pocket, put it on, and tapped into the squad's voice channel.
—Captain, codename Salted Fish, requesting to rejoin the team.
Jin Sheng replied.
—Since you're awake, I approve your return to duty. Head immediately to the coordinates I've marked. That area will be under your responsibility. I will dispatch Bluebird as your backup. [1]
—Understood!
Under the astonished gazes of the soldiers, he formed a bubble, stepped inside, and controlled it to shoot rapidly into the sky.
The classified order had already taken effect on his phone. Now, satellite systems would automatically track and identify his phone, ensuring that he was not mistaken for an enemy target and shot down by friendly fire when he entered the sealed-off zone.
1. 青鸟 (Qīngniǎo) literally translates to “blue/green bird.” In Chinese mythology and classical literature, it is a divine messenger bird associated with immortals and deities, often depicted as a celestial courier carrying messages across great distances. It is also linked to legends of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu). In this novel, it is used as a character codename. ☜