“There’s another one. There’s a life force inside.” One of the benefits of being able to communicate with the primordial energy of heaven and earth is that Lu Xuan is exceptionally sensitive to life.
He could sense another life form inside the British Museum. And it was a life form completely different from humans. It was far larger, darker, and more oppressive. That aura was somewhat similar to the Corpse King he had encountered before. But the Corpse King's aura was pure death energy. This aura, however, lay between life and death.
"You all stay here and remain on guard. Xiaohua, come inside with me."
Lu Xuan thought for a moment, then ultimately went in alone. Of the three of them, even Hua Ling, who had the highest Qi Refining talent, hadn't completed the small cycle of Qi Condensation. Facing that thing wasn't safe.
Inside the vast British Museum, a lone man in a black robe stood. Under the dim light of the museum's few lamps, it was clear that the man cast no shadow. Standing in the dim light, his body remained indistinct, like a shadow.
Lu Xuan raised his right hand, gathering a large amount of vital energy. With a bang, a ball of flame ignited in his hand. Over the years, Lu Xuan had continuously combined various circulating Taoist techniques, attempting to practice spells he could use. Most of them were unsuitable. However, through his continuous attempts and improvements, he still managed to create some minor spells that were barely usable.
The sudden flames seemed to startle the dark figure opposite. It retreated slightly, then vanished as if melting into the darkness.
However, merely disappearing visually was not enough to escape Lu Xuan's perception. He took a small step back, and the ball of flame floated in mid-air, illuminating the surroundings. Lu Xuan's figure, on the other hand, transformed into a phantom and merged into the darkness.
The entire museum fell silent. The next second, figures moved, two figures briefly collided in a corner, and then vanished again. Only now, a floating flame reappeared in that corner, illuminating what had been a dark space.
“Enough. I don’t know what misunderstanding has arisen between you. But I am not your enemy.” A fluent Mandarin accent rang out from the darkness. Immediately afterward, the man in black emerged from the shadows.
It was a handsome European face. His features were indistinct, a blend of British, French, and Spanish characteristics. His complexion was somewhat pale, and his eyes, in the darkness, emitted a faint reddish glow.
"A magician from Asia. No offense intended, but I never intended to be your enemy. I was simply here to admire these works of art in solitude. I never imagined that I would meet you, the legendary ones, on British soil. Welcome to England."
Seeing its appearance, Lu Xuan vaguely guessed what it was. Hidden in darkness, with a pale face and handsome features, it was clearly a creature that had appeared in countless films and television shows.
"vampire?"
"As expected of a magician from Asia, my apologies. You may call me Count Dracula. Of course, that's not actually my real name. It's just that so much time has passed that I've forgotten my original name, so I'll just use this one. Anyway, for me, names don't really mean much anymore."
"Dracula, the legendary progenitor of vampires?"
"The progenitor? No, no, no, I am not. I can tell you definitively that I am not the progenitor of any vampire. In fact, the term 'vampire' is just a name given to us by humans. Of course, if we're going to talk about these things, that would take a while. And it would be best to have a cup of strong black tea with you. So, if you don't mind, you are welcome to visit my castle. Believe me, it has been far too long since I have hosted any real guests."
Lu Xuan hesitated for a moment.
"Sure, if you don't mind, we'll visit you tomorrow at noon."
“That’s wonderful. My castle is in the woods outside London. It’s an old and beautiful castle. It’s just that we haven’t had any guests in a long time. Please forgive me for needing to go back early to make some preparations.”
At this moment, Hong Gu and the others outside heard the sounds of fighting and ran in.
Dracula, seeing their fully armed state, seemed to understand something.
With a strange smile, Dracula spoke to Lu Xuan and the others.
"Art destroyers from France? If you want to burn down the British Museum, I really have no problem with it. But there's one thing I must state. Most of the things here are actually fakes. Well, the reason is that I became interested in collecting about fifty years ago."
Lu Xuan: "......"
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Chapter 207 The Talkative Dracula (Please Subscribe)
Seeing Dracula transform into a swarm of bats and disappear into the museum, Lu Xuan thought for a moment and then spoke to his disciples.
"Let's call it a day and head back."
Upon returning to their lodgings, the apprentices couldn't wait to ask.
"Master, what's going on? Where did that bat demon come from?"
"I don't know, but he invited us to his house for a dinner tomorrow. We can take this opportunity to find out more."
"The bat spirit's home? Should we go? Will it try to suck our blood?"
"That thing is different from what I remember. Let's go to the banquet and find out what he's up to. But we still need to make some preparations."
Dracula, a name renowned in countless films and television series. Whether appearing as the protagonist or the villain, this guy exudes an aura of charisma. However, the competition among various film and television works has led to a chaotic mix of portrayals, resulting in dozens of versions of the Dracula legend. Lu Xuan has seen more than a dozen, but he doesn't know how many of them are reliable.
However, his brief encounter with Dracula confirmed one thing for him: Dracula wasn't a resurrected vampire. He was a living being, without a doubt. Although his aura leaned towards darkness, this guy was definitely alive. Lu Xuan could even confirm that he still had a heartbeat, albeit extremely slow, only throbbing violently during high-speed movement.
As for rapid recovery, weaknesses such as vulnerability to silver and garlic, Lu Xuan couldn't be certain because he hadn't prepared in advance. After all, silver is too soft to be used as a conventional weapon. Garlic was even more out of the question—who would bring garlic to burn down a museum?
However, he could clearly sense that the creature disliked fire. He didn't know if it would cause more damage, but it should have some effect.
So the next day, the group made various preparations. In addition to makeshift silver weapons, they carried garlic and kerosene. Of course, more importantly, they carried a large number of firearms.
Well, although it's about cultivating immortality, guns are still very useful before one achieves mastery. There's also a large quantity of gunpowder and bombs. Fully armed, the group headed to the banquet.
The time had to be noon, of course. Regardless of whether Dracula was afraid of the sun, Lu Xuan wouldn't risk it. Actually, the safest way was simply not to go. But after so long, he had finally encountered someone from the other world with whom he could communicate. He didn't want to miss this opportunity.
Dracula's castle wasn't as gloomy and ancient as I had imagined. In fact, the entire castle was filled with modern technology. The use of various electrical appliances far surpassed that of the British aristocracy of that era.
The castle was surprisingly bustling with activity. At least seventy servants of various kinds were moving about.
When Lu Xuan and his group arrived, they had already prepared an extremely lavish... Chinese meal!
After dismissing all the servants, Dracula spoke with an barely suppressed air of smugness.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting to see that look on your faces? At least a century."
Throughout my long life, I've developed various hobbies to avoid boredom. This isn't difficult, because if you observe the world carefully, you'll find there are so many things worth loving.
For the first two centuries, I only thought about how to become stronger. I transformed into various beings, traveling the world and learning all sorts of fighting techniques. I even went to your country to learn a martial art called Bagua. The martial philosophy it contains is something I still strive to understand. But unfortunately, that land didn't seem to welcome me. The longer I stayed, the weaker I became. Finally, I had to leave your country prematurely. Then I traveled to other parts of the world, learning their martial arts and incorporating them into my own techniques. That sense of accomplishment once fascinated me.”
"But eventually you'll lose interest, right? When you realize that no one is worthy of being your opponent anymore. All martial arts techniques are within your sight, and you begin to lose interest in them."
"That's right. So I started looking for other interests. For a while, I was obsessed with cooking. Don't look at me like that. I'm a vampire, but that doesn't mean I don't eat. In fact, I love food. It's just that food can only satisfy my appetite, not provide me with energy. So I still need to drink blood every now and then. But I stopped drinking human blood a long time ago. I now find deer blood more delicious. Although it's lower in energy, a couple more cups will do."