Dark Hand, Life-Draining Cultivation

Qin Bo, while dodging, rapidly scanned the zombie puppet's body, trying to find its weak point.

Just then, Qin Bo noticed that the light of the runes seemed relatively weaker at the connection between the zombie puppet's neck and body.

Perhaps this is the key to breaking the situation, he thought.

Qin Bo deliberately feigned an opening, luring the zombie puppet to attack again.

The zombie puppet took the bait, extending its claws and grabbing fiercely towards Qin Bo's shoulders.

Qin Bo seized the opportunity and didn't dodge.

Instead, he took a step forward, raised the Heavenly Dipper Bloodthirsty Saber high, poured all his strength into it, and slashed fiercely at the puppet's neck.

With a "噗嗤" sound, although he didn't completely sever the zombie puppet's neck, he left a deep wound on its neck, and black liquid spurted out from the wound.

The zombie puppet let out a painful roar, and its movements noticeably slowed down.

Qin Bo pressed his advantage.

Finally, he used all his strength and unleashed the Heavenly Dipper Evil-Slaying Slash.

A bright blade light slashed straight at its neck.

"Pfft!"

Accompanied by this muffled sound, the blade light containing Heavenly Gang Power deeply cut into the zombie puppet's neck, completely separating the puppet's head from its body.

Then its body swayed a few times, and finally, with a "BOOM" sound, it fell heavily to the ground, splashing up a cloud of dust.

[Ding, successfully killed a zombie anomaly puppet, gained ten years of life]

As the System notification rang in his mind, a vast and warm power surged into Qin Bo's body, like a warm current running through his limbs.

The addition of lifespan also gave Qin Bo's body a basic boost.

His vital energy was even more abundant.

However, someone like him was like Tang Sanzang to monsters, as far as anomalies were concerned.

Qin Bo keenly sensed that there seemed to be more eyes watching him in the darkness.

Those hidden anomalies, attracted by his increasingly powerful vital energy, were like moths drawn to a flame, unable to suppress the desire in their hearts.

Qin Bo quickly took out that feather.

He held it in the palm of his hand.

Sure enough, the next moment, a hazy energy covered his body, instantly concealing his aura.

Those restless anomalies seemed to have suddenly lost their target.

They wandered in the darkness, letting out bursts of unwilling roars.

"Amazing!"

"I wonder what kind of divine beast that three-eyed bird is?! This feather is so powerful!"

Qin Bo originally thought he could explore inside like this.

Suddenly, the next moment, the ground began to shake.

A crack began to rise from the ground.

In Qin Bo's astonished eyes, a huge black hand stretched out from the darkness.

That black hand was as big as a small mountain.

Its fingers were thick, its nails were sharp as knives, and it exuded a disgusting, rotten stench.

The black hand grabbed straight at Qin Bo, and Qin Bo couldn't dodge in time.

He was hit by one of the black hand's fingers, and his whole body flew out like a cannonball, crashing heavily into a wall on the side.

But the next moment, that giant hand didn't grab at Qin Bo.

Instead, it directly plunged into the darkness on the side.

When it pulled back again, its hand was full of anomalies.

Qin Bo only felt that his internal organs had shifted, and a sweetness rose in his throat as he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the black hand, his heart filled with horror and doubt.

The anomalies that the black hand grabbed were like twisted shadows.

They struggled and writhed constantly, emitting strange sounds like the cries of infants and the howls of Furious ghosts.

Then it retreated back into the depths of the ancient castle.

"Hiss... Could that be the anomaly that was suppressed!"

"Just that giant hand alone... how big is its body?!"

"The power of a single blow is not something I can withstand!"

Qin Bo was filled with terror and doubt, yet he didn't dare to act rashly.

That black hand had brushed him aside with ease, leaving him utterly defenseless.

If he were to further provoke the owner of that black hand, he feared he would be reduced to ashes in an instant.

At this moment, the concealing aura released by the three-eyed bird's feather was still in effect.

The other anomalies in the darkness had yet to notice Qin Bo's presence for the time being.

Qin Bo endured the intense pain in his body, slowly crawling up from the wall.

He knew he had to recover his strength as soon as possible, or he wouldn't last three days in this perilous ancient castle.

He sat down, leaning against the wall.

"System, how much lifespan do I have left?"

[Remaining Lifespan: 138 years]

"Use my lifespan to cultivate the Heavenly Dipper Evil-Slaying Slash."

[Ding: Cultivation commencing...]

[Year 1: You meticulously study the sword technique, but gain nothing beyond repetitive swings.]

[Year 3: You begin to understand the Heavenly Gang Power contained within the sword technique. You attempt to fuse it with the vital energy in your body, but the process is unsuccessful. The vital energy always collapses just as it's about to merge.]

[Year 5: After countless attempts, you finally succeed in initially fusing a trace of vital energy with the Heavenly Gang Power.]

[As this fused power flows through your meridians to your arm, you unleash a slash that leaves a shallow mark on the wall.]

[Year 8: You become increasingly skilled at fusing Heavenly Gang Power with vital energy. The power of your blade aura grows stronger. The mark on the wall is now deep enough to see bone. You feel you're one step closer to mastering this sword technique.]

[Year 10: You want to continue down this path, further enhancing the power of the sword technique, but the vital energy in your body cannot escape the constraints of your physical form. Cultivation failed.]

As the System's final prompt sounded, Qin Bo opened his eyes.

"Cultivation failed! It seems it's still due to my strength. Only by reaching the Blood Condensation Realm can vital energy be used for attacks outside the body."

"Blood Condensation Realm?! How exactly do I break through?"

"Does this mean I can't break through without a cultivation technique?"

"System, use my lifespan to cultivate the Ancient Desolation Body Tempering Technique! I refuse to believe I can't comprehend a Blood Condensation Realm cultivation technique myself!"

[Ding: Cultivation commencing...]

[Year 1: You wholeheartedly devote yourself to cultivating the "Ancient Desolation Body Tempering Technique," enduring the repeated, excruciating pain of your body being hammered. Your bones creak, and your muscles ache, but you still fail to find the key to breaking through to the Blood Condensation Realm.]

[Year 3: You gradually master the basic power application within the "Ancient Desolation Body Tempering Technique." Your physical strength significantly improves, and your skin strengthens further, becoming as tough as steel, but the Blood Condensation Realm remains out of reach.]

[Year 5: Through constant cultivation and exploration, you discover that the vital energy within your body begins to undergo subtle changes, seemingly showing a tendency to condense. However, every time you attempt to condense it into a tangible form, you fall short.]

[Year 6: You decide to stop stubbornly focusing on body tempering and instead set your sights on condensing vital energy.]

[Year 10: You study the method of condensing vital energy day and night, constantly adjusting the circulation of your own aura.]

[Year 11: You attempt to highly concentrate your mind, guiding the vital energy to circulate through your meridians along a specific path. You suddenly think of the Heavenly Gang Power. You decide to use the Heavenly Gang Power to integrate into the vital energy. After countless failures, you finally capture that extremely faint sensation of vital energy condensing.]