The next morning.
Unable to resist their boredom, Jason Zhuge, Jackson Wenren, Rhea Yan, Hannah Chen, and the others all came looking for Ian, inviting him to go out and explore the city. Ian was about to agree when he suddenly sensed something, so he smiled and said, "I'll pass. You guys go ahead!"
"Captain, there's no fighting anyway. Just come with us," Hannah Chen urged.
"Yeah, Captain, come along!" Moira Ji also chimed in.
Ian raised his hand. "I've gained some insight into cultivation, so I'm going to take this chance to meditate and reflect. I won't join you—have fun out there."
"Captain works so hard—even with all that strength, you still push yourself!" Jason Zhuge laughed.
"Alright, enough flattery. Go on, get out of here!" Ian waved them off, pretending to shoo them away.
"Alright then, we won't disturb your meditation. Let's go!"
Watching Jason Zhuge and the others leave, Ian focused his thoughts and vanished from where he stood, reappearing inside the Divine Temple.
Back then...
He had entrusted the Vampire Progenitor Bloodline to Joy to fuse, with Cici standing guard. Now, more than half a year had passed, and today he sensed a powerful surge of blood energy from within the Divine Temple. If his guess was right, Joy was about to finish the fusion.
"Master, you've arrived!"
As Ian's figure appeared on one of the Divine Temple's planets, Cici rushed over excitedly, her eyes shining with tears and a hint of grievance.
Time on this planet flowed at a thousand times the normal speed.
Although only half a year had passed outside, here several centuries had gone by. That's why Cici was so emotional upon seeing him—she hadn't seen Ian for hundreds of years. With no other living beings on this planet, aside from cultivation, the rest of her time felt endless.
"Cici, you've worked hard!"
Ian hugged her tightly and gently patted her back to comfort her.
"Hehe, it wasn't hard at all—just really lonely and boring." At Ian's words, Cici burst into tears and laughter, snuggling into his arms.
Just then, an even stronger surge of blood energy erupted—coming from Joy, who was encased in the blood cocoon.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Powerful, rhythmic heartbeats echoed out, and even Ian felt his own heart tighten at the sound.
At the same time, the blood cocoon began to swell outward.
"Master, is Joy about to succeed?" Cici asked carefully.
"She should be almost there."
Ian answered uncertainly—after all, he had never fused the Vampire Progenitor Bloodline himself. But he could sense Joy's aura surging rapidly, already reaching the peak of late Tribulation Crossing.
After Tribulation Crossing comes the Great Ascension stage.
This realm is just a transitional phase—most don't stay here long. As soon as you convert your internal energy into immortal yuan force, you become an Immortal.
In general, Great Ascension cultivators are stronger than late Tribulation Crossing experts, but still weaker than true Immortals.
Boom!
The next moment, the surrounding spiritual energy went wild, spawning countless tornadoes. Joy's aura instantly broke past the late Tribulation Crossing bottleneck and soared straight into the Human Immortal realm.
At the same time, the blood cocoon turned transparent, faintly revealing the scene inside.
Right now, Joy looked just like a newborn curled up naked inside the cocoon. Her twin fangs had turned golden, and even her wings behind her back were now gold, covered in dense, mysterious runes.
Suddenly, Joy opened her eyes, a hint of confusion in her gaze, as if she'd just woken up. She reflexively stretched, and with a crackling sound, the blood cocoon shattered.
"Master!"
In a blur, Ian felt a hot body in his arms, and his waist was tightly gripped by two long legs.
"Master, I've missed you so much!"
Joy took the initiative to kiss Ian on the lips, speaking in a spoiled, playful tone.
"Hmph! Seeing color and forgetting your friends—now that you have Master, you forgot all about your good sister! I've guarded you for hundreds of years!" Cici said with mock annoyance.
"Hehe! Cici, are you jealous?"
Joy said this while winking at Cici.
"Alright, enough mischief—get down and put some clothes on!" Ian patted Joy's perky backside, surprised at how incredibly soft and springy it felt.
"No way!"
Joy shook her head, then suddenly lunged forward and began kissing Ian fiercely.
"This girl..."
Ian was speechless, but quickly responded in kind, his hands roaming over Joy's delicate body.
Watching this, Cici couldn't help but exclaim:
"Ah! My eyes!"
But instead of looking away, she widened her eyes, staring intently at the scene.
"Let's go!"
With a casual wave, Ian transported Joy and Cici into a training room inside the Divine Temple, where a wild, passionate session unfolded.
It lasted for more than two hours before the 'battle' finally ended.
"Joy, how strong are you now?"
Ian asked, holding both Joy and Cici in his arms.
"I guess I barely count as a Ninth-Generation Pureblood now," Joy replied after thinking for a moment.
"What does that mean?" Ian asked, a bit confused.
Joy explained, "According to the bloodline's knowledge, the Progenitor is the strongest, then come the First-Generation Purebloods, and so on down to Ninth-Generation Purebloods, who are the weakest among true pureblood Vampires. But since I've fused the Progenitor Bloodline, I can eventually surpass First-Generation and become a new Progenitor. Oh, and if you compare my strength to cultivators, I'm actually stronger than a mid-stage Human Immortal!"
"You've improved that much?"
Ian was genuinely shocked. He had thought Joy would only reach early Human Immortal after fusing the Vampire Progenitor Bloodline—not that she'd be stronger than mid-stage.
If that's the case, then if he fused the Pangu Bloodline himself, he might instantly reach late Human Immortal—or even Earth Immortal. He realized he'd need to find the right opportunity to attempt the fusion.
On the other side, when Cici heard how strong Joy had become, she couldn't help but feel envious. She was still at Emperor tier, only about as strong as late Integration realm.
Of course, besides envy, she was also truly happy for Joy.
"By the way, Cici, if I give you three drops of essence blood, you should be able to break through to the Blood Emperor realm!"
As she spoke, Joy opened her palm, revealing three drops of floating golden blood.
"Thank you, Joy!"
Cici didn't hesitate—she swallowed all three drops at once. The effects were immediate; her aura began to mutate and surge.
Half an hour later...
Cici successfully broke through to the Blood Emperor realm, equivalent to early Tribulation Crossing.