One Spiritual Bone

"Mm!"

The moment his name was spoken, Chen Qing let out a muffled groan. The spiritual light in his Niwan Palace was forcefully suppressed by an overwhelming "momentum"! The Supreme Harmony Qi surging within his body turned sluggish as lead, and the starlight on his Destiny Talisman dimmed to nothing!

"Using a name as bait and momentum to act, you have considerable courage." Xu Qingfeng's gaze was gentle, and as his voice fell, the pressure instantly vanished.

Chen Qing immediately let out a long sigh of relief.

"This person is truly unfathomable!"

He suppressed his churning emotions, cupped his hands in a salute, neither servile nor overbearing, "Your Highness speaks correctly. Chen does indeed have the intention to visit."

Xu Qingfeng said lightly, "I know your intentions, but my tenth sister is bound by the karma of Qingqiu. This tribulation is decreed by fate, unavoidable. To forcibly interfere would only disrupt the natural order."

Fate?

Chen Qing secretly shook his head. If there truly was fate, what was he, the non-existent "Chen Xu," in that scheme?

But his expression remained calm, "Since Your Highness speaks of fate, is the Empress's forceful alteration of the Princess's bloodline also fate?" Chen Qing did not mention the succession to the throne, only using the Princess as an entry point to start the conversation.

Since he had used a stratagem to lure the person here, and although the other party had not pursued it, he understood the principle of "too much is as bad as too little." As for the Princess, he was powerless to save her, but Li Xiao's words had reminded him that if the Princess fell, he would be next.

Xu Qingfeng did not answer. Instead, he gazed at Chen Qing and suddenly smiled, "So it's you."

"Me?" Chen Qing was startled.

Xu Qingfeng merely said, "Fate is fixed. A thousand rivers eventually flow into the sea, but along the way, there are changes, shifts, and diversions."

Chen Qing's heart tightened.

Xu Qingfeng looked at him deeply, "Because of a small variable, my tenth sister's destined tribulation, though present, has undergone some changes. However, changes are not always for the better. The Empress's act of 'stealing heaven' by pilfering the Immortal Dynasty's fortune and intending to seize the authority of the Heavenly Dao has, because of this, gained an unexpected opportunity to succeed!"

"Stealing Heaven?!"

Chen Qing's heart pounded!

Did the Empress harbor such ambition?

But Xu Qingfeng also made him shudder.

A variable... could it be me? Does he mean that the Empress originally had little chance of success, and I have inadvertently become her helper?

Taking a deep breath, Chen Qing asked, "Since Your Highness understands everything, why not rectify the chaos and prevent this heaven-defying disaster!"

"I am also within the game," Xu Qingfeng's eyes were profound, his voice like a distant echo, "The Heavenly Dao is like a net; pulling one thread moves the whole. If I forcibly break the game, the backlash would lead to the collapse of the Immortal Dynasty and the suffering of all living beings. This is neither my wish nor what the Heavenly Dao permits."

His gaze fell back on Chen Qing, "However, since a variable has arisen, the hand that breaks the game lies with you."

"Me?" Chen Qing frowned deeply, "Chen only has the cultivation of the second realm. How can I shake the Empress's scheme? I fear I would be utterly destroyed with the slightest touch!"

"The Dao has no high or low, each has its own path." Xu Qingfeng said, then changed the subject, "Do you know that the beginning of all variables hinges on one thing?"

"What thing?"

Xu Qingfeng said solemnly, "A Spiritual Bone."

Spiritual Bone?!

Chen Qing's pupils contracted sharply.

Xu Qingfeng's voice was calm, yet each word struck like thunder, "The Empress wishes to perform the act of stealing heaven, to seize the authority of the Heavenly Dao and forge an indestructible treasure to suppress the Immortal Dynasty's fortune. She needs nine tribulations as a guide to transfer the backlash. Xi Yao's Heavenly Fox origin energy is precisely one of them! And your Sea of Qi's Spiritual Bone..."

He pointed his fingertip vaguely at Chen Qing's dantian.

"The Swallowing Abyss Bone, it swallows the substantial and absorbs the void, capable of unifying all Qi. It is precisely the core of her plan to refine the nine Qi and construct a substitute!"

Boom!

Chen Qing's Sea of Consciousness churned, and he finally understood--

The Empress intended to use Xi Yao as fuel and his Spiritual Bone as a cauldron!

To borrow the lives of both, avoid tribulation, escape disaster, and forge a treasure to suppress the Immortal Dynasty's fortune!

"If the tribulation is successfully transferred, Xi Yao's demonic nature will consume her heart, and she will degenerate into a Heavenly Fox Yao Beast, while you..." Xu Qingfeng's gaze was indifferent, "Your Spiritual Bone will be eternally sealed, and you will never be able to advance further in your life!"

"How can I break the game?" Taking a deep breath, Chen Qing asked in a deep voice, "Your Highness surely doesn't want the Empress to succeed, do you?"

"Five days later, on the night of the new moon, at the third quarter of the hour--"

Xu Qingfeng looked up at the floating immortal palace above the Imperial City, "On the Heavenly Evolution Stage, when the starlight is at its weakest, that is when she will activate the 'Nine Qi Substitute Tribulation Karma Reversal Array' to draw upon the stellar prohibition and refine the nine Qi!"

A precise time!

A fatal location!

"At that time, the Heavenly Dao will be most obscured, allowing her to find the opportunity to steal heaven. But because of this, the core of the array will also be at its most vulnerable." A glint flashed in Xu Qingfeng's eyes, "At that time, enemies of the Empress will also appear, transforming into a human tribulation!"

"Her schemes have long angered various parties." Xu Qingfeng said briefly, then shifted his tone, "What you need to do is to sneak into the Heavenly Evolution Stage amidst the chaos--"

"And retrieve your Spiritual Bone!"

Chen Qing's breath hitched.

Infiltrate a forbidden immortal palace? Snatch food from the tiger's mouth?

"When the bone returns to its rightful owner, the core of the array will collapse on its own." Xu Qingfeng condensed a point of starlight on his fingertip, "At that time, the Nine Tribulations Substitute Tribulation scheme will be shattered, and the Empress will inevitably suffer a backlash. Xi Yao's fate can also be turned around."

He flicked his finger, and the point of starlight landed in front of Chen Qing.

"Your Spiritual Bone already stores a 'Star Silence Tribulation Light,' the essence left behind by a star's demise. For you, it is both a tribulation and a blessing. If you can absorb it into your body, you might glimpse a trace of the true meaning of stars. However, it could also lead to eternal damnation. After all, the status of that tribulation light far surpasses your cultivation. If you find it unbearable, you can use this Annihilating Star Divine Light to draw out the tribulation light and completely annihilate it."

Chen Qing's heart stirred. Based on his previous experiences, if his dream body absorbed the Star Silence Tribulation Light, it might be able to feed back to his main body!

There were benefits, but also risks.

"Five days from now, I will tear open a gap in the star prohibition for you and conceal the heavenly secrets," Xu Qingfeng said, his sleeves fluttering as if a galaxy flowed within. "But once you step onto the Heavenly Evolution Stage, your life and death, success and failure, will depend solely on your own destiny."

Chen Qing was taken aback. The biggest obstacle had been resolved, yet he suddenly awoke to a realization.

He had clearly set a trap to lure Xu Qingfeng into it today. How had the situation turned into this in the blink of an eye?

As expected, these individuals who controlled the heavenly secrets...

Were always the ones playing the game!

With this thought, Chen Qing immediately asked, "Your Highness speaks wisely, but with my cultivation, I fear I'll be crushed into dust before I even step onto the Heavenly Evolution Stage!"

Xu Qingfeng's gaze was like a deep, ancient well, undisturbed. "The Nine Qi Substitution Tribulation Array is activated, with tribulation and destiny intertwined. Even the Empress herself would not dare to step half a step into the array. If she forcefully uses her Spiritual Power, she will inevitably be tainted by tribulation energy, and the substitution scheme will be instantly broken. This is the path of self-entrapment."

He subtly raised a fingertip, as if pointing to the formless void. "At that time, both inside and outside the Heavenly Evolution Stage will be under the shroud of the Circumference Star Dou Forbidden. This prohibition was laid down by the Emperor Lord by intercepting the stellar orbits of the Nine Heavens. It forms its own world. The Empress, to carry out her plan, can only borrow the power of the prohibition to operate from afar."

Chen Qing's eyes flashed, and he seized the opportunity to say, "Since Your Highness can disturb the prohibition, I wonder if you could offer some guidance on the operational mechanisms of this Circumference Star Dou Forbidden? I don't seek control, only a sliver of a gap and a thread of hope for survival in a moment of life and death."

"The authority of the Emperor Lord is beyond your reach. Although I can temporarily borrow his methods, the key details are difficult to impart to you," Xu Qingfeng stated frankly.

Chen Qing's thoughts turned, and he asked again, "Does Your Highness know of the 'Star Pivot Sect'? Their inheritance methods also involve stars. Are there any commonalities with this Circumference Star Dou Forbidden?"

Xu Qingfeng pondered for a moment. "The Star Pivot Sect borrows the power of the constellations, while the Circumference Star Dou Forbidden refines stellar energy into a net, spanning heaven and earth. It is a supreme forbidden technique for sealing, repelling enemies, and evolving the Dao. The two originate from different paths and evolve in separate ways. Their principles are incompatible, making them difficult to learn from."

His gaze fell upon the spiritual light within Chen Qing's Niwan Palace. "However, this Dao Foundation spiritual light in your Sea of Consciousness originates from the celestial resonance bestowed by your Imperial Father when he ascended. It contains the innate Dao Rhyme of forbidden techniques. If you can comprehend it, you might glimpse a fraction of the profound mysteries of the forbidden technique's operation. However..." he paused slightly, "the five-day deadline will pass in the blink of an eye. To comprehend this Dao is as difficult as ascending to heaven."

"Cannot comprehend it?" Chen Qing's mind raced. "That's not necessarily true."

Xu Qingfeng shook his head slightly, taking it as a remark born of youthful ambition.

Chen Qing then said, "Your Highness, since the Heavenly Evolution Stage is a forbidden area, there must be a control hub? For example, a core formation eye, or a suppressing artifact. If we can find any clues, can they be utilized?"

"The core of the Heavenly Evolution Stage is the Primordial Chaos Instrument," Xu Qingfeng replied frankly. "This artifact was forged by the Emperor Lord from the essence of the Nine Heavens' stars and the fused remnants of primordial chaos. It shares the same origin and coexists with the Circumference Star Dou Forbidden. Unless the Emperor Lord personally appears or holds the core talisman of the forbidden technique, it is extremely difficult to touch."

Chen Qing's heart grew serious. His thoughts shifted again, and he asked, "After the nine streams of tribulation energy enter the array, is there a method to control them?"

Xu Qingfeng understood his intentions. "Once the tribulation energy enters the array, it is immediately subject to the dual constraints of the Primordial Chaos Instrument and the Circumference Star Dou Forbidden. It's like a wild horse fitted with reins; no matter how unruly it is, it cannot break free from its confines. Its power is completely under control. How could you possibly borrow its strength to break the stalemate?"

"Fitted with reins?" Chen Qing's eyes flashed, grasping the key point. "Your Highness means that no matter how violent the tribulation energy itself is, once it enters the array, it is restrained? Where does this 'restraining' force originate? Is it the Nine Qi Substitution Tribulation Karma Reversal Grand Array?"

Xu Qingfeng gave Chen Qing a deep look, as if scrutinizing why he was so fixated on such details. After a moment, he slowly replied, "It is precisely this array. The origin of this grand array can be traced back to the Dao Seeking Era."

His voice was calm, yet it stirred the surrounding air, with faint Buddhist chanting seeping from the void:

"At that time, an Ancient Buddha observed the sea of sentient beings' karma and the blazing afflictions, which coalesced into nine energies, sinking them into the sea of suffering with no hope of escape. He then made a great vow to find a method to bear the tribulations on behalf of all beings."

"Later, beneath the Bodhi tree, he saw the true nature and comprehended the principle that 'karma is like silk, cause and effect form bonds, a single thought of compassion can transform into Vajra shackles.' Thus, he created this substitution tribulation method, using supreme vow power as the guide and threads of karma as ropes, forging the Nine Qi Vajra Seal to bind the evil dragon beneath Mount Sumeru."

"Although the array obtained by the Empress is derived from this, it has lost the compassionate intent of Buddhism. It acts in reverse, forcefully restraining the tribulation energy with great divine power, using the stellar energy of the Nine Heavens as Vajra chains, and the Primordial Chaos Instrument as the seal to suppress the evil. It is a scheme of substituting tribulations and seizing destiny for selfish gain. Its reins are the power of these karmic shackles."

"Buddhism?"

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he recalled something.

Across from him, Xu Qingfeng gave Chen Qing a deep look, his figure beginning to blur, like ink dissolving in water.

"Under the Heavenly Dao, variables are opportunities. I hope you can grasp that sliver of change and carve a mark belonging to 'Chen Xu' upon this magnificent historical record."

A gust of wind blew, and he vanished without a trace.

Arrived home late, the second update is coming soon