===59 Rune Illustration ===
Most of the books salvaged from the fire pit were partially burned, but they still contained valuable information.
However, most of them belonged to the forbidden category.
What is forbidden knowledge?
It refers to knowledge that involves human experimentation and violates normal ethics.
Many of the books described anatomical research on the human body, understanding the form of blood qi from an anatomical perspective, and so on.
There were also descriptions of “Extraction” runes, which can extract the essence of blood qi from a creature’s body and form a small blood qi crystal. These extracted blood qi crystals can help martial artists break through the bottleneck of their blood qi strength.
Of course, the reason why it is considered forbidden knowledge is that once a creature’s blood qi is extracted, its vitality will rapidly decline, leading to death.
Su Hao speculated that the reason the murderer captured people in the city was to extract blood qi crystals, then implant “control” seeds in the corpses after death, turning them into puppets. It could be considered killing two birds with one stone.
For Su Hao, regardless of whether these books contained forbidden knowledge or not, he still found them fascinating.
Since so many people sacrificed their lives to obtain this knowledge, he would study it thoroughly and not let their sacrifices be in vain. However, Su Hao would never conduct human experimentation, but using animals, beasts, and other non-human species would be acceptable.
When facing non-human species, he wouldn’t hesitate. No matter how cute a rabbit is, he would roast it with joy and swallow it with salt.
Eight days later, Su Hao finished devouring all the books, feeling a sense of satisfaction, but also a lingering desire for more knowledge. Next, Su Hao plans to start researching runes.
He first took out two black stones from the spoils, and two bottles of liquid.
The black stones are called Black Powder Stones, and the two bottles of liquid are called Harmonizing Fat. As long as the Black Powder Stones are ground into powder and mixed with the Harmonizing Fat, it can be used to draw runes.
This drawing liquid has a very good function of storing blood qi, and it will not let the blood qi evaporate easily. This is the most commonly used material for drawing runes by rune masters.
However, the Black Powder Stones and Harmonizing Fat are not easy to come by. Su Hao has stayed in Lingyun Town for so long and has never heard of these two things, so they are considered very precious.
Su Hao crushed a small piece of Black Powder Stone, then poured out some thick Harmonizing Oil, added a little water to dilute it, and mixed it together. The Black Powder Stone powder visibly became lighter and finally completely lost its black color, resulting in a colorless and sticky liquid.
This liquid is used to draw runes.
After observing it, Su Hao gave instructions to Little Light, “Add a task, draw the Bright Light rune in the palm of my hand.”
According to the information about the killer, among the four animal patterns, only the Bright Light, Barrier, and Extraction have been simplified into runes and can be directly drawn and used, while “Manipulation” of the animal patterns can only be used for advancement as a master and cannot be directly used like runes.
In his perception, a small light spot appeared in the palm of his hand.
He took a sharp feather pen and dipped it in the drawing liquid, then started drawing along the path indicated by the small light.
It seems simple, but it’s not. Not only does he need to use the drawing liquid to draw complete runes, but he also needs to control the blood qi along the tip of the pen, just like the runes inscribed in the body of an elite advancing to a master.
It is difficult to successfully draw a usable rune.
It’s no wonder there are so few rune masters. It’s not easy to draw it even with a pen, and it also requires the diversion of blood qi. Only those with extremely high talents can do it.
Su Hao doesn’t consider himself highly talented, and at this moment he is very grateful for Little Light’s help. Otherwise, if he had to draw this himself, he would have given up early.
Little Light’s help is not just that. If it weren’t for successfully building Little Light as an information processing system in his previous life, he wouldn’t have been able to become a warrior smoothly in this life and survive the high-risk period of infancy.
Having come this far, Su Hao finally had a sense of security.
And this sense of security is something he has exchanged for countless times through reincarnation and countless epochs. It’s not easy to think about it.
Soon, Su Hao successfully drew the “Bright Light” rune in the palm of his hand.
But this rune is not complete, as there is a small segment missing at the end of the circuit.
This small gap is like a button. When you need to activate the rune, you just need to use blood qi to fill in that missing part, and it will immediately activate.
In other words, rune masters mix blood qi with the drawing liquid in advance, and draw a semi-finished product. When they need to use it, they can directly complete and activate it.
“It’s quite convenient.” Su Hao nodded while looking at the rune on his palm.
He then controlled his blood qi to complete the missing part. At the moment of completion, the rune on his palm immediately activated, and a strong light burst out during the energy conversion, like the flash of a camera.
Su Hao immediately analyzed the pros and cons of the rune.
The advantage is gaining special power and convenience of use.
But the disadvantages are quite obvious. Firstly, the difficulty of drawing is too high, and it’s difficult for ordinary warriors to complete it. Secondly, even if the well-drawn rune is maintained with blood qi, the longest time it can be preserved is only three days. After three days, the drawing liquid deteriorates and the rune becomes ineffective. Furthermore, the same rune can only exist in one piece at a time, otherwise they will interfere with each other. Finally, the cost-effectiveness is too low. After spending a lot of time researching, the effect of the rune obtained is not as high as imagined. So, runes are like a piece of chicken ribs.
Unless…
Su Hao thought of a possibility.
That is to use a special rune called “Extraction” to break through the bottleneck of warrior’s blood essence!
“No! The academy should have the ‘Extraction’ beast pattern, but it is not open to students, which means I can’t let others know that I have an ‘Extraction’ in my possession.”
Su Hao’s heart skipped a beat and immediately decided not to easily reveal the ‘Extraction’ rune.
By sacrificing other fierce beasts or people, one can extract the needed blood essence crystals to break through the bottleneck of blood essence.
No wonder rune masters are considered taboo. Most rune masters use runes as auxiliary tools to enhance warriors’ levels.
Su Hao understood this point. In this world, runes are only supplementary. It is too difficult to use runes to form powerful combat strength.
Then he rubbed his chin and analyzed seriously.
“If I can do something that people in this world cannot easily do, disregarding the disadvantages of runes, runes can greatly enhance my actual strength.”
It’s a simple logic.
The purpose of drawing runes at night is to store runes for a long time.
Why store runes for a long time? Because it is impossible to distract oneself and make them during battles. They must be prepared in advance for immediate use.
What if Su Hao can draw runes anytime during battle?
Then there is no need to store runes. He can draw them on-site whenever he wants to use them.
Is it difficult to draw runes during battle? For others, it might be difficult, but for Su Hao, it might not be.
He doesn’t need to think, he just needs to control his blood essence to follow Little Light’s guidance.
He can definitely shorten the time it takes to draw runes through practice.
A trace of brightness flashed in Su Hao’s eyes.
“Then, let’s practice!”
Two days later.
“I did it!” Su Hao didn’t need drawing liquid. He successfully drew a ‘Strong Light’ rune in the palm of his hand. The moment he completed the drawing, it burst out with intense light.
“It took ten seconds! But with more practice, the speed can be faster.” Su Hao opened his hand and clenched it into a fist.
His idea is feasible.
…
Today, he plans to go out to gather material information. After arriving in town, he heard a shocking news.
The serial killer appeared three days ago and has been abducting dozens of people every day?
Su Hao’s first reaction was that it was impossible. He almost cut open the killer’s chest, and it was highly unlikely that he survived. How could he come back so soon and continue his rampage?
Or maybe someone else inherited the title of the killer and started committing crimes?
Both possibilities were plausible.
Unable to understand, he decided to ignore it and started wandering the streets, asking about materials related to the case.
As for the killer, if he encountered him again, he would personally cut off his head.
