Refining

Auspicious light surged across Spirit Mountain, beams of rosy clouds spilling in every direction like a dazzling, beautiful meteor shower.

Little One sat cross-legged on a boulder, his whole body glowing. Though he had sealed his pores and covered his mouth and nose, some Supreme One True Water still turned into radiance and surged out, dazzling the mountaintop.

"This is such a waste." Bai Yixin shook his head and waved a hand, gathering up the Supreme One True Water that had escaped.

The Supreme One True Water's consciousness had already been refined away by Bai Yixin. These highly sentient Divine Liquids couldn't escape his grasp, and he collected every last drop.

The two had heard that there was a ruin in the heart of the Hundred-Broken Mountain Range. It was one of the most important forbidden grounds in the Hundred-Broken Mountain Range, and one of its most precious treasures.

It was filled with magical treasures. Sword Mountains, Beast Horns, Divine Rings, and the like flew about on their own, having long since gained sentience. Many of the most powerful young talents contended there.

To make sure they would command more respect there, Bai Yixin decided to use the Supreme One True Water to give himself another boost first.

Bai Yixin was mostly worried that Little One might get carried away and push things too far. If he couldn't intervene in time and Little One underwent another transformation, then after they got Ghost Master's Broken Sword, Bai Yixin could go off wandering on his own with peace of mind.

Besides, with the help of the Supreme One True Water, Bai Yixin had already caught a glimpse of the opening to the eighth level of Heaven's Cave.

The Grass Sword Art had Bai Yixin cultivate by treating himself as a Sword Embryo. Using the Supreme One True Water to temper the Sword Embryo was only natural.

The rumble of the Dao rang out, and Runes flickered. Bai Yixin's process of refining the Supreme One True Water into his body was gradually going smoothly.

Bai Yixin's whole body was crystalline and translucent, covered in clusters of Runes that wove through his flesh. He could see the Supreme One True Water fiercely resisting them. As the two tugged against each other, his cells, tissues, and bones all gradually grew stronger.

But rather than a fierce struggle, it was more like a steady retreat. The Supreme One True Water had no power to resist. Driven along by the Fallen Heart Flame and his spiritual energy, it followed the pathways of the Nine-Turn Heavenly Art, completing one great circuit after another. As it coursed through him, his flesh and bones gradually absorbed it.

There was no need for Bai Yixin to pay too much attention to the process now that it was on track. He only needed to focus a little of his mind on having the Fallen Heart Flame drive the Supreme One True Water along at a steady pace.

When most of it had been used up, Bai Yixin would fish some more Supreme One True Water out of the cauldron and add it to his meridians.

He didn't need to drink ten jin at a time like Little One. Little One needed a little stimulation at a time, but Bai Yixin had no need for that.

The Supreme Bone wasn't anything especially remarkable. There were countless examples of it in the Upper Realm: some were a single bone, some a head of lustrous hair, and others an innate spirit treasure. People like Little One were called Progenitors in the Upper Realm, and they were as common as oxen and horses—not at all rare.

What was truly incredible was Shi Hao's ability to regrow his Supreme Bone—and the key point was that he could do it more than once.

The Supreme One True Water contained an unimaginable amount of essence energy, vast and boundless beyond belief. The extra spiritual energy Bai Yixin refined flowed into his dantian, and his Spirit Sea slowly began to rise and spread wider.

"Whew—! That feels amazing!"

Bai Yixin felt as comfortable as if he were getting a full-body treatment. He relished the sensation of his body growing stronger bit by bit, his face filled with bliss.

He knew that once he had used up these hundred-odd jin of Divine Liquid, his body would grow stronger by another great deal. It wouldn't just be his bones and meridians; his internal organs would become just as tough, no weaker than his flesh or bones.

Bai Yixin looked inward. At that moment, his flesh was translucent, his bones pearly white, and his internal organs crystalline. Even his skin was clear and luminous, and his black hair shone. He was spotless, from the inside out.

"Maybe I can break through to the ninth level while I'm at it," Bai Yixin thought.

"There's one more thing. I need to hurry up and comprehend the Original True Interpretation. Once I break through to the tenth Heaven's Cave, I can try fusing a Heaven's Cave into my dantian after I get out..."

Rumble!

Bai Yixin's whole body shone, and an eighth "volcano" appeared beside him, spewing "lava." Its boundless power was astonishing.

Faintly, the shadow of another Heaven's Cave appeared, but Bai Yixin suppressed it.

If Bai Yixin wanted to break through, he could have opened ten Heaven's Caves long ago.

On the one hand, he had kept suppressing his cultivation to avoid being rejected by the small world for being too powerful. On the other, he wanted to open even larger Heaven's Caves. Bai Yixin was used to holding back until he could hold on no longer, then breaking through with the momentum. That way, he wouldn't run into problems from advancing too quickly.

"Hmm?" Bai Yixin sensed an unusual aura.

Bai Yixin looked up. Little One's chest seemed to hold a sun, dazzling and brilliant. Within the Divine Sun, a crystalline infant seemed to sit cross-legged, while strands of blood essence as brilliant as a galaxy gathered toward it.

"Reincarnation... the power of time."

If the ability of Little One's second Supreme Bone hadn't changed, it was called Reincarnation. It could control the passage of time. It could make an enemy younger, or make them grow old. Either way, it was enough for Little One to seize the advantage in an instant.

Bai Yixin blinked. Honestly, he was a little envious.

Time was supreme, space was king. Time and space were the two hardest powers to get close to, but even the slightest mastery of either was incredibly formidable.

Once he had enough money, Bai Yixin would definitely buy a space or time divine ability. At the very least, he couldn't let them restrict him.

Bai Yixin silently made a note of it.

It wasn't long before Little One finished refining the Supreme One True Water and successfully broke through to the eighth Heaven's Cave. With a flip of his hand, he lifted a massive boulder weighing three or four hundred thousand jin straight off the ground.

"Heh-heh, Brother Little White, take this!"

The boulder tore through the air, hurtling toward Bai Yixin.

"Little One, you don't think breaking through means you can take me on now, do you?" Bai Yixin's lips curled up. He kicked off the ground, shattering the rocks and cracking the earth. Countless black fissures spread outward, stretching who knew how far—dozens, perhaps even a hundred of them.

Bai Yixin shattered the boulder with one punch, turned into a black blur, and pounced on Little One.

Rumble! The two collided, and even the clouds in the sky scattered. They fought fiercely hand to hand, without using Runes or Treasure Techniques—just pure physical combat.

They hadn't even gone ten rounds before the slippery Little One was pinned in a deep pit by Bai Yixin, unable to move.

"Little One, you're still just a tiny bit weaker than me. You've got to try harder," Bai Yixin said with a grin.

"Hmph ╯^╰, Brother Little White, just you wait! One day I'll pin you down and spank you!" Little One said, looking unconvinced.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

Bai Yixin grabbed Little One and gave him a thorough spanking. As the saying went, you had to beat your little brother early.

"So you want a spanking, huh? Smack! I'll be waiting! When we get back to Stone Village, I'm stealing your milk! Believe it!"

"Not a chance! Grandpa Chief will help me!" Little One said, his face full of stubborn defiance.

He didn't say he didn't believe him, because stealing his milk wasn't a first-time offense.

"Heh-heh, you won't have a choice!"

"Yamegē!" (Nooo!)

Under Bai Yixin's constant influence and instruction, Little One had learned to deliver some rather strange dirty jokes with impressive flair.