Picking Up a Soul Bone Bargain

When it came to the struggles between those major powers, they had little to do with Ji Wuming. By the time he had caught up with Dean Shui and returned to the village, the sky had already darkened.

By the light of the forge in his home, Ji Wuming began dismantling some of the damaged Soul Tools he had collected earlier, especially those whose core magic arrays had remained intact.

Since this was his first attempt, his lack of experience was inevitable. Even removing a single part incorrectly could trigger a Soul Tool's anti-disassembly mechanism, causing the rest of it to fall apart or even be completely scrapped.

"I refuse to believe I can't figure out how to take things apart!"

Ji Wuming had become obsessed with these broken Soul Tools. He stayed up all night, and only when the rooster crowed at dawn and the sun slowly rose above the horizon did he finally manage to completely dismantle the simplest Soul Tool.

Ji Wuming carefully examined the Soul Tool components one by one and muttered, "So this is the outer casing and inner casing of a Soul Tool, as well as the most important part—the Soul Guiding Core."

He picked up the most crucial piece, a blue crystal stone, and further studied the incomplete magic array inscribed upon it. Then he took out a stone and began copying the inscription.

Although it was an incomplete magic array, it was an excellent opportunity for Ji Wuming, who had only just begun studying Soul Tools, to practice. After all, among damaged Soul Tools, those with magic array cores in relatively good condition were exceedingly rare.

Yet after spending three or four hours engraving it, Ji Wuming still could not reproduce the incomplete magic array exactly. It was not because his right hand was unsteady, but because his Soul Power was insufficient.

"Just as I thought, the most crucial component of a Soul Tool is the Soul Power Magic Array on the Water Array Stone, and it is also the most difficult part. Only Soul Power of the same rank can perfectly engrave this incomplete magic array."

Ji Wuming had learned a little about magic array cores before. A magic array core was the key factor that determined a Soul Tool's grade, and the more advanced the magic array core, the more it required a high-level Soul Master to engrave it with Soul Power. Otherwise, failure was extremely likely.

After giving it some thought, Ji Wuming regained his confidence and said resolutely, "Since the grade of this magic array core is too high, I'll keep dismantling other Soul Tools. Disassembly is a skill that improves with practice, and I can also gain some proficiency in engraving magic arrays."

Over the following period, aside from his unwavering half-day of daily Soul Power cultivation, Ji Wuming devoted all his remaining time to dismantling Soul Tools and engraving some low-level magic arrays.

Two months later, Ji Wuming officially turned eleven. His research into Soul Tools had also made considerable progress. After perfectly dismantling and reassembling two intact Soul Tools, his confidence soared, and he took out the special Soul Tool he had bought at the auction house.

He carefully dismantled it piece by piece according to the experience he had accumulated, afraid that a single wrong step might cause such an important Soul Tool to self-destruct.

First came the outer casing, then the conductive inner casing, and finally the magic array core.

"The corrosion on the outer casing isn't particularly severe. The Soul Power conduction device in the inner casing is badly damaged, while the magic array core..."

As Ji Wuming recorded his observations, he picked up the magic array core. After examining it carefully, delight appeared at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes gleamed with boundless joy.

"Such a complex magic array stone is actually completely undamaged. Heaven is helping me."

For Ji Wuming, a blacksmith, the damaged conductive devices forged from Soul Power-conducting ores within the outer and inner casings of a Soul Tool were not a problem. They could be repaired.

Bang—

Just as he picked up the Soul Power conduction device to inspect it, something about the size of two fingers fell to the ground. When Ji Wuming bent down to pick it up and injected a trace of Soul Power into it,

he was astonished to discover that this item, which resembled a leg bone, differed from the other conduction devices. It was not attribute-less, but carried some unusual energy fluctuations.

Ji Wuming took a closer look, his eyes widening. Then he burst into wild laughter. "This... this is actually a Soul Bone? And it looks like a Right Leg Bone."

Ji Wuming opened his mouth unconsciously, his excitement beyond words. "Another Soul Bone. Have I stumbled into a Soul Bone nest lately? I've encountered Soul Bones twice in a row, and I actually picked up such an incredible bargain."

"But why didn't the appraisers at the Vast Sea Auction House discover what was hidden inside?"

It was not that those appraisers had failed to inspect it properly. Rather, they did not dare dismantle this somewhat valuable Soul Tool, and they did not place much importance on Soul Tools in the first place. That was why they had failed to discover the Soul Bone hidden within it.

However, after his initial excitement faded, Ji Wuming looked at the Right Leg Bone before him, and his expression gradually turned serious.

"This Right Leg Bone is most likely a Soul Bone capable of concealing one's aura. That is the only way this Soul Tool could possess a concealment effect. Since it was made into a Soul Tool by some powerful ancient Soul Engineer, it means this Right Leg Bone's age is generally rather low—at most, a thousand years."

After thinking it over, Ji Wuming recalled that aside from the exceptionally special External Soul Bones, a human body could only absorb six Soul Bones. The Torso Bone ranked first in importance, followed by the Head Soul Bone, then the Left and Right Arm Bones, and finally the Left and Right Leg Bones.

The Right Leg Bone before him ranked low in importance and was also low in age. Absorbing it would be no different from wasting one of his Soul Bone slots.

With that in mind, Ji Wuming put away the Right Leg Bone and focused on researching and repairing the inner and outer casings of the Soul Tool.

Three days later, a Soul Tool in the form of a Blue-Gold Necklace hung around Ji Wuming's neck. Its internal Soul Power guidance device used Water Gold Ore, which was better than Crystal Silver, and its Soul Power guidance speed was more than twice as fast.

"Come on, let's see how effective it is."

As Ji Wuming injected Soul Power into the necklace, the color of the Second Soul Ring rising beneath his feet changed dramatically. At his will, the Purple Soul Ring turned yellow, then red, and could even completely conceal his aura.

"The effect is pretty good. Now the problems caused by future Soul Rings can all be solved easily."

Ji Wuming packed away all his miscellaneous belongings, left the village, and headed toward Vast Sea City.

Not long afterward, after turning into a small alley, Ji Wuming put on black-and-white clothing and donned a black-and-white mask that covered nearly his entire face. He then walked toward a dark building three hundred meters away.

The guard stationed at the door said coldly, "If you want to enter the Black Market, hand over three Silver Soul Coins first. Those are the rules."

Ji Wuming handed over three Silver Soul Coins. Then, led by a guide, he entered the building and passed through an underground tunnel roughly four or five li long. At last, he arrived at the largest underground Black Market in Vast Sea City, this second-tier city.

The area ahead was brightly lit. There was only one long street stretching beyond sight, lined not only with vendors but also with more than a dozen large buildings. It was like another Vast Sea City beneath a moonless night sky.

"Sir, I hope you enjoy yourself in the Black Market."

The guide respectfully bowed to Ji Wuming, then turned back the way he had come after saying those words.