Giant Skeleton

In a wooden hut beside the Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein, Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong sat cross-legged on their beds in silence, their eyes tightly shut as they continuously absorbed the Ninth-grade Yang Gang Qi emitted by the Daytime Prince.

"To reach the Yuan Dan Stage, you must first balance the Yin-Yang Qi within your body before fusing them together and achieving true Yin-Yang Union. Only then can you condense a dan." Lin Dong slowly opened his eyes and looked at Lin Changqiang with a smile. "But with your Yin Fiend Ceremonial Attire and Yang Gang Treasure Robe, what was originally the hardest step has become the easiest."

"Of course. Who do you think I am?" Lin Changqiang's lips curled into a Nike smile. Ever since obtaining the Daytime Prince, he had not thought much of Yang Yuan Stones anymore.

"It's time for the routine inspection. Are you going, or am I?" Lin Dong raised an eyebrow.

"Let's go together. It'll be a good chance to relax. Cultivation should have a balance between work and rest." Thinking of the Fire Ancestor Demonic Flower in the mine vein, Lin Changqiang naturally could not let Lin Dong stay behind. He casually made up an excuse and pulled him out of the hut.

"Young Master Changqiang." "Young Master Lin Dong."

Seeing the two emerge, the Lin Family guards and workers all stopped what they were doing and respectfully bowed.

During this period, word that the two had reached the Heavenly Origin Stage had spread like wildfire. Everyone knew just how great these two youths' potential was.

Lin Changqiang merely smiled and nodded in response. Though the two were nominally the overseers here, they still had to rely on the experienced managers when it came to actual work. Besides, neither of them had the temperament to put on airs and order others around.

Lin Dong stood at a high vantage point, looking down at the bustling scene below with satisfaction. Lin Changqiang, however, kept his gaze fixed on the mine's entrance as he waited silently.

At last, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance to the mine tunnel. Lin Changqiang's eyes immediately lit up. "Lin Dong, let's go see what's going on."

"? Sure." Lin Dong was slightly taken aback, unable to understand why Lin Changqiang was so eager, but he did not refuse. Xiao Yan, who had been basking in the sun nearby, hurriedly followed behind them as well.

Led by the foreman, they quickly went deeper into the mine. After following a series of winding, heavily branching tunnels for quite some time, they finally stopped at the end of one tunnel.

At the end of the tunnel was a relatively narrow crack. Judging from the excavation marks nearby, it had clearly been dug out only recently.

"A worker dug out a passage here. He crawled inside out of curiosity, but was burned by some kind of scorching gas within." The foreman looked at the crack before him with considerable apprehension.

Lin Changqiang nodded, stepped forward, and reached an arm into the crack. Sure enough, a scorching and violent current of gas instantly wrapped around his right arm and tried to burrow into his body. In the end, however, it was absorbed by the system and transformed into pure Yuan Power.

"Lin Dong, there's a violent Yang Gang Qi coming from inside. There must be some strange treasure in there. Let's go in and take a look together." Lin Changqiang turned around and looked at Lin Dong "excitedly."

"Yang Gang Qi?" Lin Dong raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "You all stay here and keep everyone else away. We don't want anyone getting hurt. Changqiang and I will go in and have a look."

With that, the two men and one tiger passed through the crack one after another and entered the passage. It was extremely narrow at first, barely wide enough for a person to pass through. After walking several dozen steps, however, it suddenly opened up.

Before them lay a field of crimson shattered rock that looked, from a distance, like flowing lava. Scorching heat rose from the ground, warping even the air overhead.

"The last time I saw air this distorted was at a barbecue stall." Lin Changqiang could not help recalling the delicacies of his previous life and swallowed.

"What huge bones!" Lin Dong suddenly cried out.

Following Lin Dong's gaze, Lin Changqiang saw a beast skeleton dozens of zhang tall rising from the center of the shattered rocks!

Although this enormous creature had been reduced to nothing but bones, the two still sensed a peculiar pressure from it. It was not hard to imagine that it had once been some powerful demonic beast, though they did not know why it had died here.

Just as the two were stunned, Xiao Yan suddenly transformed into a red blur and charged toward the stark-white beast skeleton.

Lin Dong's expression changed at once. He did not want anything to happen to Xiao Yan, so he gritted his teeth and rushed over. Lin Changqiang hurriedly followed.

The two men and one beast swiftly crossed the field of shattered rocks, then all slowed as they neared the skeleton.

Xiao Yan stopped beside the skeleton. His originally robust body appeared utterly insignificant compared to it.

He stared intently at the mysterious skeleton, then suddenly leaped up under Lin Dong's shocked gaze. He rapidly climbed the beast remains and, with a whoosh, sprang onto its neck.

"What is this little guy doing?" Lin Dong frowned in confusion at Xiao Yan's actions.

"Did you forget about those two Black Iron Demonic Leopards?" Lin Changqiang watched Xiao Yan expectantly.

"You mean Demonic Crystals?!" Lin Dong's eyes widened as he looked at Xiao Yan. Under his gaze, Xiao Yan raised his sharp tiger claw and slammed it down, knocking the already brittle skull to the ground with a single strike.

The enormous skull instantly shattered across the ground. Xiao Yan swiftly jumped down and pawed through the fragments, eventually pulling out a Crimson Pearl as large as a fist. He opened his bloody maw, rolled out his tongue, and swallowed the pearl.

Roar!

Almost the instant he swallowed the pearl, blazing flames erupted from Xiao Yan's body. His form gradually swelled, and his pained roars made the huge cavern tremble as though it might collapse at any moment.

Watching Xiao Yan rapidly expand, both Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong instinctively took half a step back.

Fortunately, the swelling only lasted for a short while before abruptly stopping. Xiao Yan's enormous body then gradually shrank until he finally returned to his original size.

"Xiao Yan?" Seeing that Xiao Yan had changed back, Lin Dong finally breathed a sigh of relief and called to him cautiously.

Roar! At Lin Dong's call, Xiao Yan immediately raised his head and dashed to his side, rubbing his basketball-sized head against Lin Dong. Lin Changqiang smiled, rubbed Xiao Yan's head as well, and began examining his body.

Xiao Yan's already fiery-red fur had become even more brilliant, making him look like a ball of burning flame. His tiger claws had also become sharper. Even without testing them, it was obvious that their destructive power was astonishing.

The two men's gazes eventually settled on Xiao Yan's rear. At the tip of his already uniquely shaped python tail was now a small protruding lump, as though something was growing within it.

"It's fine as long as he's all right. We shouldn't stay here long. Let's head out first." Seeing that Xiao Yan was not seriously hurt, Lin Dong began to think of retreating. But just as he was about to leave, Xiao Yan suddenly let out a series of roars toward a certain spot.

Lin Dong was slightly startled, while Lin Changqiang used a Double Experience Card with delight written all over his face.

The two looked in the direction Xiao Yan indicated and saw a stretch of lava rock behind the skeleton. Atop those lava rocks bloomed a flower of incomparably vivid crimson, so beautiful it was almost bewitching. A faint Red Mist lingered around it...