Nightlight Pavilion, The Secret of the Immortal Bone

Freed from his restraints, Fu Quanliang's fingertips lit with Spiritual Light as he instinctively tried to strike back.

But after sensing the surging, vigorous blood and qi within Chu Zheng, his spirit deflated. He dispersed the smell of wine around himself, rubbed his neck, and said quietly:

"You ask."

Cultivators were far more sensitive to the gap in strength between one another; after a single exchange, they could understand it clearly.

He had failed to evade Chu Zheng's grab just now, and he would fail to evade it again.

"What exactly did the Phantom Spirit Sect send you here for?" Chu Zheng asked bluntly.

"To protect the Song Family from harassment."

The corner of Fu Quanliang's mouth twitched as he gave a light laugh. "At least, that was what the mission said."

"Why did they send only you? With strength as weak as yours, how could you possibly protect the Song Family?"

Chu Zheng drew a deep breath and pressed in a low voice, "Did the Phantom Spirit Sect truly have any intention of protecting the Song Family?"

Fu Quanliang stared at Chu Zheng for a while before saying, word by word:

"The mission I knew of never mentioned that the other side was also an Immortal Sect."

That was enough said; there was no need to mention anything more.

Chu Zheng had his answer. He nodded and asked, "How strong is Nightlight Pavilion?"

"It has been passed down for ten thousand years. It has over a hundred Soul Condensation Elders, more than ten Nascent Soul Realm experts, and a Grand Elder who has entered the Nascent Soul Second Transformation. It rules over the Forty-seven Nations of the Northern Cave." Fu Quanliang recited the details as though recounting treasures from his own home.

Chu Zheng was no stranger to the realms of immortal cultivation. He had already learned the general outline from Introduction to the Immortal Path.

Immortal cultivation consisted of Nourishing Strength in the first realm, Spiritual Spring in the second, Entering the Dao in the third, Soul Condensation in the fourth, and Nascent Soul in the fifth. The Nascent Soul Second Transformation was already the sixth realm: the Nine Transformations of Ascending Divinity.

With the nine transformations leading to the Profound Passage, one could comprehend the secrets of creation and become a Half-Immortal in this world.

Nightlight Pavilion's strength was far more terrifying than Chu Zheng had anticipated. A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could lift mountains and shift seas with a turn of the hand, and destroying a great kingdom would take no more than a day or two.

The Nine Transformations of Ascending Divinity would only be even more outrageous.

After digesting the information, Chu Zheng spoke again. "How does Nightlight Pavilion compare to the Phantom Spirit Sect?"

"Without counting Sect Foundation, Nightlight Pavilion is at least twice as strong."

"At present, only a few Grand Elders in the sect have entered the Nascent Soul Realm. Including the sect master, there are only seven. There is also a Grand Elder at the Nascent Soul First Transformation, but he has remained in closed cultivation for a thousand years and has never shown himself."

At this point, Fu Quanliang could not help but sneer. "Who knows whether he is even alive? Maybe he is already dead."

Hatred filled his eyes. If the sect had not deliberately concealed the truth and sent people here to fill the grave, how could he have fallen into such a state?

Chu Zheng's gaze darkened slightly. The disparity in strength was truly enormous.

"How many kingdoms lie under the Phantom Spirit Sect?"

"Fifteen kingdoms..."

Fu Quanliang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It should be Fourteen Kingdoms. A few years ago, Jade Pavilion took one away. They said a low-grade spirit mine had been discovered there, and Jade Pavilion traded a High-grade Divine Weapon for it."

Chu Zheng recalled what Li Mingzhou had told him before and asked for confirmation, "Which Immortal Sect's territory does Great Zhou belong to?"

"The Zhao Family of Great Zhou is very special. They once produced a Heavenly Pride with High-grade Immortal Bone and a Fire Spirit Physique, named Zhao Tingxian. He entered the Nascent Soul Realm in less than two hundred years and served for a time as the Holy Son of the Grand Void Holy Land, but later he suddenly vanished without a trace."

As the topic opened up, Fu Quanliang relaxed considerably. He lay slanted on the ground and said with disdain:

"Before there is definite news of his death, none of the nearby Immortal Sects dares act rashly. They are all afraid of dying. Besides, thanks to Zhao Tingxian, the Zhao Family still has connections in several Immortal Sects."

"Why do you know all this so clearly?"

Seeing Fu Quanliang answer without hesitation, Chu Zheng could not help growing suspicious.

"My talent and aptitude are mediocre, and my cultivation crawls as slowly as a turtle's. If I did not study this stuff, I would have nothing to do in my daily life." Fu Quanliang laughed at himself. "What fucking use is studying this?"

"Then why do you think Nightlight Pavilion has not directly acted against the Song Family?"

This was the greatest doubt in Chu Zheng's mind thus far. Since they did not fear the Song Family's strength, why drag things out?

"I think it is either because Zhao Tingxian's example stands before them, making them wary and unwilling to act too recklessly, or because they are trying to force the Phantom Spirit Sect's Grand Elders out of their mountain gate, intending to make them willingly walk into the net like fish."

"Song Lingqing is, after all, a Grand Elder's personal disciple. If her blood relatives are constantly being threatened while her master does nothing, that cannot be justified."

Fu Quanliang had considered this matter countless times over these past days. He had already thought through every possibility he could imagine.

He had even considered whether Nightlight Pavilion wanted to deliberately ignite a war between Immortal Sects and swallow the Phantom Spirit Sect whole.

After hesitating for a moment, Fu Quanliang voiced one of his guesses:

"Nightlight Pavilion may be waiting for an opportunity before making its move. As for what that opportunity is, I do not know. This is only my guess."

"If Nightlight Pavilion is fishing for a big fish, then a little shrimp like me clearly cannot satisfy its appetite. It will definitely make further moves."

Listening to Fu Quanliang's analysis, Chu Zheng could not help nodding. If he were one of Nightlight Pavilion's people, he would most likely choose to kill Fu Quanliang, return to the previous cycle, and wait for the Phantom Spirit Sect to enter the net.

This was an open scheme, forcing the Phantom Spirit Sect to make a decision.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Chu Zheng studied Fu Quanliang. He now understood this man's situation very clearly.

This man was the one truly caught between advancing and retreating, with death on either side. No wonder he had been indulging himself so recklessly these days; he clearly knew he did not have many days left to live.

On this trip, Chu Zheng had obtained some of the information he wanted. With Fu Quanliang holding the line in plain sight, all he needed to do was calmly prepare to enter Spiritual Transformation and await Nightlight Pavilion's first strike.

If the person who came to kill Fu Quanliang was too powerful, he could perhaps begin preparing for the next step.

"Take off your clothes."

Chu Zheng suddenly rose to his feet and looked down at Fu Quanliang.

"What are you going to do?!"

Fu Quanliang swallowed and instinctively shifted backward.

"If I tell you to take them off, take them off."

Chu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, his breathing growing a little heavier.

"Let me see your Immortal Bone."

"Hm?"

Fu Quanliang froze for a moment, then suddenly let out a huge sigh of relief. He quickly turned around and pointed to the back of his head. "No need to take off my clothes. It is here."

Chu Zheng reached out and touched it, and his eyes immediately brightened.

He knew the human skeleton extremely well. At the back of Fu Quanliang's head was a gap. Bones that should have fused together during growth remained separated on his body.

This extra piece of bone was equivalent to leaving a gap between the human body and Heaven and Earth, allowing Spiritual Energy to enter the body.

Because the degree to which the bones fused differed, this gap naturally varied as well. That was likely the classification of Immortal Bone.

Such gaps could not be artificially created; they were inborn. Simply smashing bones apart and forcibly interfering would have no effect whatsoever.

At last, some of the doubts in Chu Zheng's heart had dispersed. He now understood the fundamental principle behind immortal cultivation.