Shattering Bones

Basin, great river.

Electric currents flashed rapidly in the river water. An electric eel, nearly thirty meters long, was wildly unleashing its electricity. On the shallow riverbank, a Giant Hippopotamus let out a shrill cry, convulsing as it fell into the river.

Two black, shuttle-shaped objects were blocked by the bones of the dead behemoth, coming to a crooked halt on the riverbank.

From the rock crevices in the distance, a waterfall cascaded down. Something seemed to rush out of the dense mist.

After about a quarter of an hour, in the section of the river where Shi Lingqing, Luolin, and the others had landed that day, a fish, entirely black and with a single horn on its head, suddenly burst forth.

Black smoke swirled around the fish's body. Its huge eyes were dull gray, exuding a thick aura of death, and its movements were unnaturally stiff. It suddenly opened its mouth, and several figures rushed out. One of them, with a backhand grab, caused the more than ten-meter-long fish to shrink dramatically, transforming into a streak of black light that vanished into his palm.

They wore black tight-fitting leather armor, completely sealed helmets, straight sabers sheathed on their backs, and leather pouches at their waists. Their attire was identical to Luolin and the others.

However, compared to Luolin and his group, the seven people who emerged from the fish's mouth possessed a power several times greater. Upon their appearance, an inexplicable, chilling malevolent energy enveloped the surroundings. Even the electric eel, which had been fully exerting its electrical output, instinctively restrained its aura and rapidly sank into the deep riverbed to evade.

The group emerged from the fish's mouth about twenty miles from the riverbank. With a mere touch on the river's surface, they soared directly across this stretch of water, landing effortlessly on the shore.

One of them flickered, leaving faint afterimages as he darted into a clump of ferns dozens of meters away. After a brief search, he cut down a slender branch and returned.

He also brought back a palm-sized iron tablet, on which a blood-stained straight saber was depicted with extremely fine blood-colored patterns. The iron tablet vibrated gently from time to time, continuously emitting faint ripples into the surroundings.

"Nine Palm Commander... This is a secret message left by Ding." Holding the branch, which was etched with dozens of strange patterns, in both hands, the person presented it to a burly man in the center, whose aura was even stronger than the others.

The Nine Palm Commander took the branch, squinted as he carefully examined the patterns left on it, and chuckled, shaking his head. "A bunch of brats who think their wings have hardened... What's the meaning of this? Disregarding the rules of the Mist Blades? Acting without authorization and exceeding the time limit for return... Hmph!"

The Nine Palm Commander muttered, "Acting without authorization is one thing, but leaving the job unfinished and messy, actually letting a little girl escape... If this gets out, what will the other commanders of the Mist Blades think of me?"

"Do they think I, the commander, am just a decoration?" wisps of black energy flowed from the Nine Palm Commander's fingertips, quickly coiling around the tender branch.

The branch shriveled and withered, turning into specks of black ash that fell within a breath.

The group, without a word, transformed into afterimages and then merged into the wind.

After a while longer, about two more quarters of an hour, a black shadow flashed through the waterfall cascading from the rock crevices. Not long after, streaks of blood-colored smoke began to rise over this section of the river.

The river water churned, and a black wooden boat, over twenty meters long, emerged. A mast over ten meters high stood in the center of the boat, and on the black sail, two bloody characters were written in fluorescent blood-red paint: 'Longevity'!

An old woman, dressed in a blood-red robe, with a childlike face, white hair, and a ruddy complexion, her skin as smooth and tender as a child's, stood with her back straight at the bow of the boat. She squinted as she surveyed the surroundings for a moment and then smiled with delight.

"Young Lingqing has found a good place. This secret realm is sufficient to establish a hidden branch. Good, good, good." The old woman suddenly let out a strange laugh. "I'd like to see what kind of heroic figures dare to slaughter our Longevity Cult's branch."

Behind the old woman stood more than a dozen young men and women.

Regardless of gender, they all wore black robes and blood-red sashes around their waists. The men were handsome and dashing, the women were youthful and beautiful, and each of them possessed an abundance of vitality, far surpassing that of ordinary people.

These youths gave the impression of over-fertilized bean sprouts, their life force so full it seemed about to burst from within.

Upon hearing the old woman's words, the youths chuckled softly in unison.

The old woman also chuckled and stomped her foot. The black wooden boat lifted off the water, carrying a gust of wind as it flew ashore. After searching the surrounding area for about a mile, the old woman pointed her finger. A clod of earth on the ground split open, and a small bead, emitting a faint blood-red light, flew up from the ground and into the old woman's hand.

The old woman swallowed the small bead. An unnatural flush of blood surged across her face, and she let out a few strange laughs.

"Oh, it's those murderers who like to stab people in the back... Lingqing merely killed a girl who was destined for a short life, and they had to make such a fuss?" The old woman smiled kindly. "Poor thing, Lingqing was... diligently and arduously serving our Longevity Cult, and her clan was wiped out. This is a provocation against our Longevity Cult..."

The blood-red sail of the wooden boat billowed without wind. With a loud 'whoosh,' the boat, carrying a fierce gale, rapidly flew towards the direction of the great sunken pit.

Judging by its speed, the wooden boat was considerably faster than the Nine Palm Commander's group.

All around were crystal clusters of varying heights, emitting strange energies that made Wu Tie feel uncomfortable. It was like being thrown into water, or a fish being taken out of water.

These crystal clusters controlled this vast stone cave. Under their influence, the environment within the cave did not seem suitable for human survival.

It was fine standing at the entrance of the cave, but upon reaching Ox Hero, the temperature became extremely high, the humidity extremely high, and Wu Tie felt his body become more than ten times heavier. The air exerted immense pressure on him.

High temperature, high pressure, high gravity, and seemingly a lack of oxygen.

Wu Tie looked around in confusion, unable to understand how the environment could change so drastically over a mere distance of a few dozen miles.

Old Tie stood at Ox Hero's feet. He looked up at Ox Hero blankly for a moment, mumbled a few indistinct words, and then, bypassing Ox Hero's massive body, walked towards the ruins of buildings behind him.

"Do you know the origin of the title 'Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven'?" Old Tie asked Wu Tie, who was following him, as they walked.

Wu Tie looked at Old Tie blankly and shook his head.

"So, you need to read more. The Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, Bull Demon King... That's a figure from mythology." Old Tie said as they walked, "This Ox Hero fellow probably doesn't even have one-tenth of the Bull Demon King's skill, yet he insists on giving himself such a nickname..."

Wu Tie shuddered. He subconsciously glanced back at Ox Hero's imposing, thousand-meter-tall physique.

Even without one-tenth of the skill of that 'Bull Demon King'? How powerful would the original Bull Demon King be?

"Hey, who is the Bull Demon King?" Wu Tie asked Old Tie earnestly.

"When Grandpa has time and is in a good mood, I'll tell you," Old Tie whetted Wu Tie's appetite but irresponsibly brushed the question aside. "However, it's a very interesting story, and it involves a monkey."

Wu Tie gritted his teeth in frustration. A monkey? What is a monkey? He had never seen a monkey... Why was this story related to a monkey again?

He and Old Tie entered the dilapidated ruins. The walls were crumbling, and it was desolate. However, through the remaining architectural details, Wu Tie could imagine the exquisite and magnificent beauty of this complex in its prime.

Strangely, this stone cave, spanning a hundred miles, was dominated by crystal clusters of all sizes. Only this area of architectural ruins was completely clean, with no trace of crystal clusters.

The ground was also exceptionally clean, with neatly laid blue bricks.

Walking along the path paved with blue bricks for a while, they came to a large pond, about a hundred meters in diameter.

The pond surprisingly contained a pool of clear water, and several large-leafed plants swayed in the breeze. Several long flower stalks held up white flowers the size of washbasins. A faint, fresh fragrance wafted towards them, a scent Wu Tie had never encountered before.

Neither the mushrooms Wu Tie had seen since childhood nor the luminous vines possessed any fragrance.

The sweet fragrance was refreshing, causing Wu Tie to freeze in place.

An unprecedented sense of beauty washed over him. He stared blankly at the flowers and leaves, realizing this beauty didn't belong in this dark, sunless world.

"What are you spacing out for? They're just some worthless lotuses," Old Tie's dry voice quickly shattered Wu Tie's reverie. "This common stuff… it's not some rare species, why are you zoning out?"

Wu Tie opened his mouth and glared angrily at Old Tie.

He suddenly felt he understood Master Hui's frustration from back then.

They walked past the pond, along a short bluestone path, and up a few steps to a largely intact main hall.

Red walls, red pillars, and golden tiles shimmered with a faint light. The entire hall was enveloped in a soft white glow. The hall wasn't excessively large, exuding an ancient, solemn aura that brought a sense of peace to the mind.

In his ears, it seemed as if someone was softly chanting something.

From afar, a bell seemed to toll.

Solemn and reverent, combined with the surrounding ruined buildings, Wu Tie felt an inexplicable sorrow well up, and tears streamed down his face for no apparent reason.

Old Tie snorted. He raised a front paw and slapped the closed hall door.

With a soft sound, the door opened. The white light enveloping the hall shattered like a soap bubble, exploding into countless white specks that scattered and dissipated.

A rich scent of incense billowed out from the opened door. The hall was brightly lit, with hundreds of long-burning lamps, as thick as arms, flickering on large, ornate lampstands, illuminating the hall as if it were day.

Behind the offering table directly facing the entrance, three dim light figures silently exploded the moment the door opened. Countless flecks of gold powder rained down. These tiny gold particles landed on the ground, emitting a clear, crisp 'ding-ding' sound.

In front of the offering table, eighteen prayer mats lay on the hall floor.

On each prayer mat, facing the hall entrance, sat a person.

As the three light figures behind the offering table exploded, the eighteen figures also burst open with a roar. Specks of blood-red light rose and then gently fell, also emitting a faint 'ding-ding' sound.

As the flesh and blood of these figures exploded, eighteen golden skeletons remained on the prayer mats. They were still seated cross-legged, their bones bearing faint patterns similar to the lotuses in the pond outside.

The golden skeletons were smooth and bare, devoid of any flesh, yet they didn't appear gruesome. Instead, a sense of serenity emanated from them.

After countless golden and blood-red light specks landed, a 'crackling' sound was heard. The eighteen golden skeletons simultaneously developed cracks of varying thickness. Each skeleton, each bone, showed fissures. Several skeletons were densely cracked, shattering into pieces smaller than soybeans.

Even with the bones broken to such an extent, a resilient force still enveloped them, keeping them largely intact.

Wu Tie stared at the scene in the hall in horror.

The moment those three dim light figures exploded, Wu Tie saw that they were three statues several meters tall. The strangely shaped statues had dignified, gentle faces, exuding an inexplicable warmth and benevolence.

And the eighteen figures, before their flesh and blood exploded and vanished, Wu Tie also saw their faces.

Their expressions were almost identical to those of the three statues: dignified, gentle, radiating profound warmth and benevolence.

"Old Tie, who are they? And those… big things in the three light figures?" Wu Tie patted Old Tie's hind leg.

"A bunch of guys who always claim neutrality… but can't help but interfere," Old Tie's tone was complex. "Among them are our allies, but some also have a very bad attitude towards us."

"However, these matters are too far removed for you… little one, rookies aren't qualified to know too much." Old Tie snorted coldly. His eyes suddenly shot out two streams of blood-red light, enveloping an object in the center of the eighteen golden skeletons sitting cross-legged.

It was a golden lotus, over a meter in diameter, entirely golden.

The golden lotus was also covered in cracks, with faint wisps of golden light continuously emerging from its petals, barely forming a dim light screen around the lotus.

In the center of the light screen floated a thumb-sized, dusty grey bone fragment.

The edges of the bone fragment were uneven and extremely rough, looking like a small piece of bone violently broken off from a larger one.

Old Tie's body trembled violently. His huge eyeballs suddenly protruded more than three inches from their deep sockets: "This… Yang Jian, Ox Hero, and that dog, Howling Celestial Dog, they… they were here for this?"

"This, this…" Old Tie suddenly raised his head, looking towards where the three exploded statue light figures had been.

"Heh, heh, heh…" Old Tie let out a few knowing chuckles. Then he suddenly stood upright, grabbed Wu Tie with his front paws, and slammed him heavily towards the golden lotus.

His fitted armor detached from Wu Tie like flowing water. Wu Tie crashed through the faint golden light screen, his forehead hitting the gray bone fragment floating in the air. The bone fragment cut into his forehead's flesh and stuck tightly to his wound.

His blood surged, rapidly flowing towards the wound.

The bone fragment, like a vampire, frantically drained Wu Tie's blood. Wu Tie's body convulsed violently, and he fell heavily to the ground, letting out a pained howl.

Half his blood was drained in an instant. Wu Tie's vision went black, and he almost fainted.

As if sated with blood, the bone fragment slowly rose, emitting a faint bloody glow. It circled the hall once before slowly flying towards the hall's exit.

Old Tie's eyeballs protruded another half foot: "Leaving after eating its fill? Bastard… have you no shame?"

Heavy footsteps echoed from outside the hall, and a deep voice called out, "Ancient Treasure? This treasure belongs to my Mist Blades."