Rampage of the White Bones

Xu Yan was cautious. He cupped his palms and reached out, attempting to use a telekinetic technique to lift the precious bottle.

However, he felt as if he were trying to hoist a massive mountain; despite exerting all his strength, he could not move the bottle even a fraction of an inch!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Suddenly, a fierce spiritual wind erupted at the bottom of the furnace. The star array spread across the ground began to glow, and a terrifying suction force burst forth from the Tianshu Bottle. Xu Yan's eyes widened as he realized the Primordial Chaos Mystic Qi within his dantian and spiritual meridians was being swallowed uncontrollably!

It felt as if his very Dao body was being pulled apart.

Alarmed, Xu Yan immediately executed his Chaos Step, leaping ten zhang into the air to escape the bottle's range of suction.

His previous actions seemed to have triggered the magical power of the Tianshu Bottle.

For a moment, it trembled slightly, then flew out of the soil on its own and hovered in mid-air. As it rotated slowly, starlight could be seen flowing within the mouth of the bottle, as if it were holding a miniature galaxy.

Hum!

A soft chime echoed ethereally across the furnace floor.

Xu Yan's pupils constricted. With his divine sense, he perceived it clearly.

The mottled spiritual qi in the surrounding world and the essence of the earth beneath the ley lines were surging madly, rushing toward the bottle's mouth like a torrential river.

The energies of the five elements were swallowed up by the Tianshu Bottle as if by a whale drinking from the sea.

At the same time, countless stars swirled around the body of the bottle, weaving into a dreamlike star array that left one stunned.

Hovering twenty zhang in the air, Xu Yan fixed his gaze on the Tianshu Bottle.

Is it... absorbing the world's energy to condense an Embryonic Pill?

Xu Yan was startled.

It seemed tireless, and this process continued for a full ten days before the surrounding activity finally calmed down.

Xu Yan sensed the world around him and the energy beneath the ley lines; they had visibly diminished by a significant margin.

After about the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, the world's energy, which had been continuously rotating and compressing at the mouth of the Tianshu Bottle, condensed into a round shape resembling a pill. It finally dropped into the bottle, and a peculiar medicinal fragrance wafted out.

Xu Yan frowned slightly. He descended a few zhang, cautious, and used the Miaoyuan Edict to identify it.

[Embryonic Pill: Formed by the condensation of the world's energy. Flawless and pure. The medicinal efficacy is yet to be determined; it requires further refinement to become a true precious pill.]

"So that's how it is."

Xu Yan pondered, looking around.

This Tianshu Bottle was the core of the furnace; no wonder it had been able to produce so many precious pills over endless years.

However, what puzzled Xu Yan was that the Tianshu Bottle only produced flawless Embryonic Pills. To refine ancient pills like the 'Dragon Breath Pill' or the 'Huangtian Pill', a vast array of medicinal herbs was required.

If this Embryonic Pill was merely a base, where did the other materials come from?

Xu Yan frowned and carefully observed the interior of the furnace with his divine sense once more.

He channeled the Miaoyuan Edict, letting his divine sense penetrate the furnace walls to roam within the earth. He observed for the duration of an incense stick before discovering the peculiarity.

This Heaven and Earth Furnace was, in itself, an incredibly complex array.

Within the ley lines, the naturally evolved formation patterns extended like a spiderweb, with no end in sight!

"After endless years of evolution, this Heaven and Earth Furnace has almost merged with the Dragon Ridge Immortal Treasury."

Xu Yan withdrew his divine sense, deducing the truth in his heart.

This furnace was embedded in the earth like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea. The world's energy, the essence of the sun and moon, and even rare herbs from the outside world were swallowed by the earth, gradually converging and settling beneath this region.

He stared intently at the Tianshu Bottle.

Xu Yan took a deep breath, a sharp light flashing in his eyes: "If I can take this bottle, it would be an unimaginable stroke of fortune!"

He thought about it and tentatively reached out with his Primordial Chaos Mana.

At that moment, bang!

The precious bottle was not lifted; instead, it sat firmly on the ground.

It was as heavy as a mountain. Xu Yan's robes billowed, and even after exhausting all his mana, he still could not move it in the slightest.

The treasure of a lifetime was right before his eyes, yet he could not take it. This left Xu Yan feeling quite frustrated.

As he pondered, Xu Yan attempted to use his divine sense to trigger the Miaoyuan Edict, wondering if he could use it to take the bottle away.

The Miaoyuan Edict flared with brilliant light on his palms.

Xu Yan channeled his divine sense continuously; this was the first time he had pushed the Miaoyuan Edict so recklessly.

The edict possessed the power to find and identify treasures, stabilize the energy of the universe, and break formation patterns, but he did not know if it could help him take this object.

Hum, hum!

Xu Yan's divine sense roared, and the Miaoyuan Edict erupted with an intense, blinding light.

Finally, the formation patterns he was channeling were projected outward, dense and intricate like a heavenly net, enveloping the Tianshu Bottle.

"It moved! There's a chance!"

Xu Yan fixed his eyes on it and saw the Tianshu Bottle tremble slightly.

He gritted his teeth and continued to channel the edict.

Slowly, the Tianshu Bottle was successfully captured by Xu Yan using the Miaoyuan Edict.

The characters for "Miaoyuan" were projected into mid-air, each stroke evolving into glowing formation patterns that wrapped around the Tianshu Bottle, sealing it tight.

Xu Yan tried to store the treasure in his Qiankun Bag, but he had been too optimistic; such a magical artifact could not be contained by the space within the bag!

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

Xu Yan gritted his teeth, pushing the Miaoyuan Edict further. He felt as if his palms were being burned through.

Looking down, he saw the characters for "Miaoyuan" on his palms being forced out of his skin!

Xu Yan's eyes widened, his heart pounding.

The Miaoyuan Edict surged out, directly enveloping the Tianshu Bottle, then pulled it back to hover before Xu Yan's eyes.

Panting slightly, Xu Yan had nearly exhausted his divine sense, and his vision was hazy and dizzy.

He looked at his palms; the Miaoyuan Edict had disappeared.

"What is the origin of this edict..."

Xu Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead. After his actions, he had successfully forced the edict out of his palms, yet it remained connected to his mind. With a single thought, the edict could return to his palms.

He fixed his gaze before him. The Miaoyuan Edict emitted a faint spiritual light, wrapping around the Tianshu Bottle. Xu Yan reached out tentatively.

He found that the bottle was now as light as a feather.

Without hesitation, Xu Yan carefully tucked the Tianshu Bottle into his sleeve.

Afterward, he sat cross-legged at the bottom of the furnace to recover his divine sense and Mystic Qi.

An hour later, Xu Yan took a deep breath and slowly rose.

He had spent over ten days at the bottom of the furnace. Counting the days, sixty or seventy days had passed since the treasury opened. He had to move quickly; there were still ten thousand miles to go in the latter half of the Spirit-Sealing City, and crossing this area would take time.

"I likely won't be able to enter the Upper Three Academies."

Xu Yan calculated in his heart. Only the top hundred who cleared the Immortal Treasury would be the frontrunners, eligible to study in the Upper Three Academies of the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies. Compared to other Dao Academies, the Upper Three Academies had more resources and more masters.

However, this item was not to be missed. Even if he lost his status as a frontrunner because of it, Xu Yan felt it was acceptable.

He glanced down at the Tianshu Bottle in his sleeve. This object could absorb the world's energy on its own and condense Embryonic Pills; over time, it would be an inexhaustible source of precious pills.

Thoughts raced through Xu Yan's mind. He stepped on his Mystic Qi and flew toward the top of the furnace. He carefully navigated through the Sword Forest Killing Array, and found that the Taiyi God-Lock Array at the furnace entrance had repaired itself. Xu Yan hovered in mid-air, sensing his surroundings.

Outside, it was the dead of night, and starlight sprinkled down.

He spent several days quietly breaking the God-Lock Array, then stepped on his Mystic Qi and roared out.

Without stopping, as soon as Xu Yan exited the Heaven and Earth Furnace, he summoned the Wenjin Shuttle, stayed vigilant of his surroundings, and flew toward the east.

Two days later.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and thick fog rose among the vast mountains. In the distance, ten thousand miles away, the extreme point shaped like a heavenly gate was vaguely visible.

That was the exit of the Immortal Treasury. It was now wide open, which meant that many cultivators had already passed through this area.

At this stage, most cultivators with talent and strength had already reached the latter part of the Immortal Treasury.

Within the mountains, cultivators flew past from time to time, rushing toward the distance in a panic.

Xu Yan lurked in the mountains, moving cautiously.

He frowned, sensing his surroundings. Many of the cultivators flying past had expressions of terror on their faces. Had something major happened?

Just as Xu Yan was wondering, a shrill, ghostly wail echoed through the mountains behind him.

Xu Yan looked back, and his pupils suddenly shrank. High in the sky, a massive white banner blotted out the sun, covering nearly a thousand zhang. It was unleashing its power without restraint. From within the giant banner, white-boned corpses flew out like dumplings, wailing and howling.

"That is... the Spirit-Born Artifact I saw on the Sky Boat earlier!"