Earth Vein Stone Marrow

"Stone-skinned Lizard..."

This Fierce Beast was covered from head to toe in rock-like scales, with skin as tough as leather and flesh as thick as a wall. It could rival a mid-tier Savage Species; ordinary blades and swords could not leave even a white mark on its body! What was more, it was cunning by nature and skilled at disguising itself and lying in wait, launching sudden attacks in the deadliest places. Even a Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer martial artist, once entangled with it, would face a bitter struggle and could easily meet a tragic end at the slightest misstep!

Qin Jue casually flicked the blood from his sword's edge, his expression impassive. "Its rock armor is indeed sturdy. Too bad it can't stop my sword."

Before his words had even faded, he twisted his wrist, and the sword erupted once more in a violent shudder. A string of sharp, ear-piercing booms rang through the air!

His blade swept upward, its tip wrapped in a nearly invisible force of vibration. At an extremely tricky angle, it struck like lightning at the reversed scale beneath the Stone-skinned Lizard's jaw!

"Pfft!"

The seemingly indestructible scale couldn't resist the instant the sword tip touched it. It was ground straight to powder!

A terrifying, unmatched force of vibration surged through the sword tip and into the Stone-skinned Lizard's skull. In an instant, it shook the beast's brain and skull into a mass of bloody pulp!

The Stone-skinned Lizard's enormous body stiffened abruptly. It couldn't even let out a scream before the ferocity in its eyes faded, its life extinguished without a sound!

From the moment the Fierce Beast sprang into action to the instant Qin Jue struck off its head, the entire process had unfolded in the blink of an eye!

Qin Jue sheathed his sword, his expression as calm and indifferent as ever, as if he had merely crushed an ant beneath his foot. It was nothing worth mentioning!

He strolled forward and casually slit open the Stone-skinned Lizard's tough belly with the tip of his sword, then turned his gaze toward the lair where the beast had dwelled.

Behind a massive boulder lay a natural hollow. Right in its center was a Stone Hollow about the size of a fist, holding half a bowl of milky-white liquid that glimmered with precious light, like celestial wine!

Even from several yards away, Qin Jue could feel a surging tide of vital essence rushing toward him. It even stirred the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record within him into frenzied motion of its own accord!

"Hm? What's this..." Qin Jue's expression changed. He stared fixedly at the Stone Hollow, his pupils suddenly contracting!

"Earth Vein Stone Marrow!"

He flashed to the Stone Hollow, carefully touched a drop with his fingertip, and brought it to his mouth.

A scalding torrent flowed down his throat and exploded inside him, transforming into an immense, supremely pure surge of primeval energy that washed through his five viscera and six bowels!

The many hidden injuries his previous self had suffered from forcing himself to cultivate despite a lack of resources were rapidly repaired and healed under the torrent of energy, at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even deep in his bone marrow, a tingling sensation spread, as if it were cheering with delight!

"It really is Earth Vein Stone Marrow! This is at least a hundred-year-old spiritual treasure!" Qin Jue's heart jolted, and his breathing quickened despite himself!

This spiritual treasure was the essence that the earth's spiritual veins took a century to condense. A single drop was worth months of ordinary martial artists' hard cultivation!

More importantly, this was a treasure of heaven and earth. Ordinary pills could destabilize one's foundation if taken in excess, but Earth Vein Stone Marrow did the opposite: it could cleanse the bone marrow and reshape the viscera. The more a martial artist absorbed, the firmer their foundation became! It was a holy medicine coveted by countless martial artists!

Qin Jue stared at the half-bowl of Stone Marrow, a storm already raging in his heart!

"If I can refine this entire half-bowl of Stone Marrow, I can definitely break through the first three revolutions of the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record in one go! Then my five viscera will generate vital energy without end, and my qi and blood will grow rich and enduring. The strength of my body and my ability to recover will both undergo earth-shaking transformations, making me at least fifty percent stronger than ordinary Jade Bone Realm martial artists!"

"Perhaps... I can even make use of the Stone Marrow's special bone-cleansing effects to temper my entire skeleton ahead of time, forging a 'pseudo-Jade Bone' body far surpassing that of martial artists at the same level! Just how terrifyingly solid will my foundation become then?"

Once he attained Jade Bone, his physical strength would surge. Then he would be able to unleash the true power of the second form of Cicada Wing, Thousand Threads!

And with such abundant, enduring qi and blood to support him, he might even be able to attempt the third form of the Tide Rising Sword Technique, Tidal Stance!

"To come across such an against-heaven opportunity in the outer reaches... This trip was well worth it!"

Qin Jue quickly pulled a jade bottle from his robes, ready to collect the Stone Marrow.

But just then—

"Hm?"

His brows knitted slightly. Someone was coming.

"Brother Zhao, are you sure this is the right place? This place is gloomy as hell. It doesn't look like there'd be any treasures here."

The speaker was a brawny man eight feet tall. Bare-chested, he carried a vicious-looking Wolf Fang Club in his hand and exuded a murderous aura. At a glance, he seemed the sort of ruthless killer who wouldn't think twice about taking a life.

The young man leading him had a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his left arm, and his face was slightly pale. Yet at his waist hung a Snake Saliva Grass, shimmering with spiritual light.

Hearing the brawny man complain, a trace of malice flashed through the young man's eyes. But when he turned around, his face was already wreathed in a fawning smile.

"Big Brother Wang Tie, you can rest assured! You saved my life, so how could I lie to you? The core of the Boulder Maze is just ahead. My late companion's map marked it out clearly. There's sure to be a treasure there a hundred times more precious than this Snake Saliva Grass!"

"Hmph. You'd better not."

Wang Tie snorted. His gaze lingered for a moment on the Snake Saliva Grass at Zhao Li's waist, a hint of greed flashing through his eyes before he quickly looked away.

He hefted the Wolf Fang Club in his hand and said casually, "Brother Zhao, don't blame your big brother for being greedy. Fierce Beasts roam this Chaos Stone Forest. You're injured, and if I weren't protecting you, they'd have eaten you by now. When we find the treasure, you get three parts and I get seven. That's fair, right?"

"Fair, fair! I'll be grateful just to keep my life." Zhao Li nodded repeatedly, looking thoroughly meek and submissive.

Yet the moment he turned away, that humble face twisted into a vicious snarl.

A cold, sinister laugh flickered through his mind. "Idiot! You still want a seven-three split? If I hadn't deliberately pretended to be weak, why would a simple-minded fool like you willingly scout the way for me? Once we get there and draw out that beast, you'll make the perfect sacrificial pawn! Then everything you own will belong to me!"

Behind him, Wang Tie watched Zhao Li's limping back, a murderous glint flashing through his eyes before vanishing. He thought, "Hmph. You think I can't tell you're faking that injury? Doesn't matter. I'll let you keep that Snake Saliva Grass for now. Once we find the treasure... Heh. The treasure will be mine, the Snake Saliva Grass will be mine, and that worthless life of yours will be mine, too! Dead men don't need anything!"

Each man harbored his own schemes, murderous intent hidden beneath the surface. They proceeded one after the other, deeper into the gloomy stone forest.

Just then, Zhao Li, walking in front, abruptly stopped. His nostrils flared, and a look of wild delight appeared on his face!

"What a rich surge of primeval energy! And this fragrance..."

His eyes shone as he darted to the edge of a crevice and eagerly peered out. At the first glance, his pupils abruptly contracted! In the clearing not far away lay the corpse of a Stone-skinned Lizard, sprawled in a pool of blood—and... a young man in green carefully pouring the milky liquid from a Stone Hollow into a jade bottle.

"E-Earth Vein Stone Marrow?!"

Zhao Li's voice shook violently with utter shock, almost changing pitch. He had never dreamed that a treasure of heaven and earth like this would appear here!

Wang Tie crowded up beside him, too. The instant his gaze landed on the milky-white liquid, his breathing grew as heavy as a bull's. His eyes turned bloodshot, and naked greed all but burst from them!

"Heavens! There's... there's so much of it!"

Wang Tie's eyes went bloodshot as he stared at the jade bottle in Qin Jue's hand. His Adam's apple bobbed wildly, and he roared hoarsely, "With this, I can definitely break through the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer bottleneck I've been stuck at for years! And perhaps... perhaps..."

"Blood-Melting is within reach! Blood-Melting is within reach! Hahaha! Heaven truly has smiled upon me!"

Wang Tie let out a mad burst of laughter, his eyes blazing with bloodlust. The Wolf Fang Club in his hand whipped up a gale, and his murderous intent seemed almost tangible!

He couldn't be bothered to waste words. He stepped forward, his aura erupting, his face twisted with murderous intent as he bellowed at Qin Jue:

"Hey, brat! Hand over what you're holding, and I'll leave your corpse whole!"