Celestial Phenomenon

"We actually got a gold one."

Qin Jiu was overjoyed.

Over the past few days, he had slaughtered nearly ten spirit beasts, but they had all been blue or green grade. There had even been one with a white-grade talent. He hadn't expected a gold-grade talent to appear today.

Though it had nothing to do with his bone structure,

the information revealed in the talent's description was no simple matter.

"Command a hundred poisons, and you'll be immune to a hundred poisons. Command ten thousand poisons, and you'll have a flawless treasure body. If that's the case, does it mean I'll fear no poison after imprinting this talent?"

Qin Jiu's eyes grew brighter.

If it really was as he suspected, then this was truly a treasure.

Warriors were beyond the ordinary, unafraid of cold or heat.

But that didn't mean they were immune to poison. On the contrary, when warriors traveled the martial world, poison was what they feared most.

"But Ice Crystals..."

"I remember they're produced in specific environments."

"I wonder if I can find any in the city."

Qin Jiu pondered.

He put down the boning knife in his hand and went to stand at his post nearby.

The Yin Sha inside him seemed to have reached a limit. He needed to accumulate enough qi and blood before it could transform. For now, he could only focus on Bone Forging. After all, whether it was medicinal pills or the nourishing qi and blood from spirit beast meat, both took time to build up.

"This Yin Sha power is growing purer and purer."

"It's becoming more and more effective for Bone Forging and generating strength."

"At this rate, in less than half a month, my inner force will fill my whole body. Then, once I merge it into the great circulation of qi and blood and make it flow endlessly, I'll be able to reach the Three Refinements and drive my inner force through the meridians."

Two days later.

Qin Jiu obtained another talent that he could imprint.

[Ink Scale Insect (First Rank)]

[Talent: Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone (Purple)]

[Description: The Ink Insect is born with a form resembling a qilin. Its strength can reach the divine, and its qi can reach clarity.]

[Talent Status: Available for imprinting]

[Imprinting Requirement: Seven taels of refined gold]

"Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone..."

Qin Jiu's expression shifted slightly.

Though this spirit beast was called an Ink Scale Insect, it wasn't actually an insect. It was a dog-like creature covered in black scales. A short horn like a little bamboo shoot grew from its head, and it had canine teeth but no tail.

It looked quite bizarre.

The description said it had the form of a qilin.

He couldn't see it himself, but this talent was clearly related to bone structure. He just didn't know whether the Dragon Tendon in this talent would overlap with the other Python Tendon.

"I'll imprint it first and see."

Qin Jiu pondered briefly.

He had Xu Zheng take his token to the accounts office and withdraw seven taels of red gold.

Then he went to the courtyard where Qin Xuanzhou usually rested.

With a thought,

he had the Red Seal imprint Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone.

"Crack!"

A chorus of bones and sinews rang out,

echoing through the courtyard.

Qin Jiu's face changed slightly. At that moment, he felt as if an invisible giant hand were crushing his bones to pieces, one inch at a time, then putting them back together.

As his bones and sinews changed, the qi and blood inside him

surged violently.

"This bone structure actually strengthens the blood?"

He had no time to think it through.

He immediately urged his Blood Sha to refine itself.

But the moment he did, the Yin Sha power that had been purified to the utmost suddenly boiled violently. Then, at the peak of that churning, an even colder aura abruptly emerged and spread wildly through his body in an instant,

pressing toward his limbs and bones,

his organs and viscera.

Qin Jiu didn't dare waste a moment. He immediately activated Withered Wood Meets Spring to protect his organs, while guiding the Cold Sha to fuse with his inner force.

At that moment,

time seemed to stretch endlessly.

Only when the transformation of Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone was complete

did that cold, baleful aura finally merge fully with his inner force.

"My body isn't some demon's body, after all. This Yin Sha is truly terrifying. If I hadn't activated Withered Wood Meets Spring, it would have injured my organs and viscera."

Qin Jiu exhaled a stream of air.

Frost immediately formed across the railing in front of him.

He let out a breath of relief, and a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

The transformation of his bones and Cold Sha had just now tempered every bone in his body. His inner force now filled him from head to toe, down to his very limbs and bones.

"This means my Bone Forging is complete."

Qin Jiu's face brightened with delight.

From here, he only needed to let his inner force settle a little more, then merge it into the great circulation of qi and blood to make it flow endlessly. After that, he could try to open all his meridians and break through to the Three Refinements.

Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone had also worked just as he expected.

Python Tendon had been directly overwritten.

But the talent's effect hadn't stopped working. If anything, it had grown much stronger. He guessed that was because his bones and sinews had improved.

Just then,

a beast's roar suddenly rang out.

"Roar!"

It was as if that cry had started something.

One spirit beast after another roared in succession, their cries rising and falling.

Qin Jiu frowned and pushed open the courtyard gate.

"What's going on?"

"This subordinate... this subordinate doesn't know either."

Xu Zheng looked just as bewildered. "The spirit beasts in the garden suddenly seem to have become very agitated. Every one of them is roaring... Eh, boss, look! Why is snow falling from the sky?"

That startled cry

made Qin Jiu look up at the heavens too.

Under the bright sun, flakes of snow were drifting down from the sky.

"It's midsummer."

"How can the heavens show such a sign?"

He held out his hand and let a snowflake land in his palm. It melted into water.

Qin Jiu furrowed his brow.

He sensed nothing unusual.

The snowflakes were completely ordinary. The only strange things were the beasts roaring all around them and the snow falling in the middle of summer.

Before long,

Huang Jing hurried into Hundred Beasts Garden.

"Patriarch, something's wrong."

"Demon beasts outside the city have suddenly gone berserk, attacking the Outer City from every direction. Commander Qin sent me to ask you to come to the reception hall. The Han Family and Canghai Martial Arts Hall have sent people, hoping to join forces with us to defend the Inner City. Commander Qin can't make up his mind."

"Them?"

Qin Jiu knitted his brows. "What about the County Office and the Demon Suppression Bureau?"

"They're all defending the Outer City."

Huang Jing hesitated, then added, "According to the reports from over there, quite a few demon beasts have also left the county. And it looks like they're fleeing in a chaotic, aimless fashion, not gathering anywhere."

He had been at Hundred Flower Pavilion with Qin Xudong that day.

He had naturally heard Li Mu's words.

So Huang Jing was paying close attention to anything related to the matter.

Qin Jiu's gaze sharpened. He immediately said, "Go tell Qin Xuanzhou to decide for himself whether to join forces with them. But he can't leave the Qin Family. The rest of the guards must also leave enough people behind to protect the family."

Huang Jing nodded in acknowledgment.

Then he hurried out of Hundred Beasts Garden.

"Fleeing..."

"Could some great demon be on its way?"

Qin Jiu gazed at the sky and drew a deep breath before turning back toward the courtyard.

At a time like this,

all he could do was seize every moment to practice.

Yet as soon as night fell,

a figure came rushing in and flung open the gate to Hundred Beasts Garden.

"Uncle Wang is back?"

Qin Jiu was taken aback when he heard the report.

Then he hurried out of Hundred Beasts Garden.