Furnace Bone Tempering

Deep in the mountains and forests, within a hidden crevice of a mountain stream.

Fang Gang sat cross-legged, his blood and qi boiling like molten lava, forming a thin layer of golden-red halo around his body.

On his left shoulder, the stark white withered bone mark flickered violently. Each flicker unleashed a bone-chilling, cold, and decaying energy, attempting to corrode his flesh and blood, but it was all met with the crackling sizzle of the Nine Yang True Fire surging from his skin.

Fang Gang's will, however, was focused deep within his right arm, in a newly opened "Power Aperture."

Within the space of the Power Aperture, the blurry phantom image of the Dragon Elephant Furnace was spinning madly at an unprecedented speed!

A powerful suction force was generated at the furnace's opening, like a hungry Taotie, greedily devouring the withered bone and decay energy surging from the mark on his left shoulder!

Sss sss sss—!

The pure yet icy decay energy streamed in like a black river, forcibly drawn into the furnace.

Inside the furnace, the golden-red, supremely yang Nine Yang True Fire was already burning fiercely, like the most overbearing melting flame!

"Refine!"

Fang Gang grunted inwardly, his mental power highly concentrated, guiding the true fire within the furnace.

The moment the absorbed withered bone energy came into contact with the Nine Yang True Fire, it exploded with violent conflict, like oil thrown onto snow!

The icy decay and the scorching supreme yang clashed and annihilated each other!

Each annihilation brought a pain that burrowed deep into his marrow, as if countless ice picks and brands were ravaging Fang Gang's body simultaneously!

His smooth forehead instantly beaded with sweat, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

But amidst this extreme pain, threads of dark golden energy, a hundred times purer than ordinary blood and qi, containing fragments of peculiar laws (primarily decay and decline, but with impurities forcibly removed), were being tempered and purified by the furnace!

This dark gold energy was no longer cold; instead, it possessed a heavy, condensed quality, as if it could crush mountains.

It flowed out from the bottom of the furnace like the gentlest stream, following the meridians of the Power Aperture, slowly permeating the bones of Fang Gang's arms, which had just healed but were not yet strong enough.

Hum—!

Where the dark gold energy flowed, his arm bones emitted a low hum!

A strong tingling sensation spread through the previously aching bone fractures.

The surface of his bones seemed to be plated with a thin layer of dark golden jade, its brilliance contained within, and its toughness increasing at a visible rate!

[Furnace Bone Tempering in progress! Refining efficiency increased! Current: 2%!]

[Withered bone energy continuously transforming... Dark gold jade bone being tempered...]

[Physique significantly improved! Bone strength greatly enhanced! Resistance to decay laws increased!]

[Dragon Elephant Furnace phantom solidification increased!]

The system prompts brought a surge of excitement amidst the excruciating pain.

"The old bone's firewood... burns quite vigorously?"

Fang Gang grinned, his lips pulling at muscles tensed by the intense pain, giving him a somewhat ferocious appearance.

He could clearly feel that with every trace of withered bone energy he refined, his bones grew tougher, the furnace became more solidified, and the power feedback became more overbearing!

This pain was worth it!

Just then!

The light outside the mountain stream crevice dimmed without warning.

It wasn't darkness falling; rather, a pure "shadow" was spreading, devouring the light and bringing an extreme silence.

A flickering, indistinct figure, as if sketched with thick ink, appeared silently in the shadows of the crevice's entrance.

He was entirely enveloped in a loose, pitch-black cloak, his face obscured, with only two points of eerie green light flickering within the hood.

He held no physical weapon, but the tips of his ten fingers extended into ten shadow thorns (Void Shadow Blades) that seemed to be condensed from the purest darkness, constantly twisting and writhing! They emanated a sharpness that could cut through space.

The Shadow Nightmare Priest! The most mysterious and troublesome existence among the Twelve Priests of the Nightmare Holy Cult, SS-Class, skilled in assassination and the laws of shadow!

"Elder Withered Bone's mark's guidance... it leads here indeed."

A faint, chilling voice seemed to echo directly from Fang Gang's shadow, carrying the cruelty of a cat playing with a mouse, "To survive under the Elder's mark... and even... to seem to be exploiting it? Interesting. A pity, it ends here."

Before his voice even faded, the Shadow Nightmare Priest's figure vanished from his spot like ink dissolving in water!

The next instant!

The shadow beneath Fang Gang's seated form suddenly "came alive"! Ten silent shadow thorns, capable of tearing through solid steel, carrying ultimate sharpness and spatial cutting power, shot out like venomous snakes from Fang Gang's shadow on the ground, aiming straight for his vital points: his throat! His heart! The back of his head! His spine!

The attacks came without warning, utterly bizarre! This was an assault by the laws of shadow, bypassing conventional defenses!

"I've been waiting for you!" Fang Gang's tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open! The golden-red fierce light in his eyes slashed through the dimness like tangible lightning!

Just as the shadow thorns were about to strike, his right arm, which had just completed preliminary tempering, shot up violently!

The Dragon Elephant Furnace phantom within his Power Aperture spun madly!

A torrent of heavy, condensed dark golden blood and qi, carrying the will to shatter the void, instantly covered his entire right arm!

The skin of his arm even revealed fine, dark golden keratinous patterns, like dragon scales!

He didn't try to track the bizarre trajectories of the shadow thorns. Instead, he brought his right arm, covered in dark gold dragon scales, forward like a giant shield, while slightly shifting his body!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Screeeech—!

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it!

A piercing clash of metal and a tearing sound erupted simultaneously!

Most of the Shadow Thorns struck the dark golden dragon scales covering his right arm, emitting a harsh scraping sound with sparks flying!

The Shadow Thorns, imbued with spatial cutting power, only managed to leave a few shallow white marks on the dragon scales!

However, a few cunning Shadow Thorns managed to evade his arm's block and struck Fang Gang's left shoulder and ribs fiercely!

The Shadow Thorns, containing cutting rules, instantly tore through his protective qi and blood and tough muscles, leaving several wounds that reached the bone! Blood instantly stained his collar!

Intense pain surged, but the ferocity in Fang Gang's eyes grew even stronger!

These injuries were far lighter than he had anticipated!

The strength of his bones, after the Furnace Bone Tempering, had firmly stopped the Shadow Thorns from penetrating deeper!

If it were before his breakthrough, this would have been at least a penetrating wound!

"Rat in the shadows! Get out!"

Fang Gang roared. The muscles of his injured right arm bulged. Disregarding the pain, his five fingers, covered in dragon scales, spread wide and fiercely clawed at the ground's shadow in front of him, where nothing seemed to be!

World Shaking Dragon Fist—Dragon Grasp!

Five condensed dark golden claw shadows tore through the air, carrying the domineering power of spatial confinement, and fiercely grabbed into that wriggling shadow!

"Hmph!"

A muffled grunt echoed from the void!

The elusive figure of the Shadow Nightmare Priest was forcefully brought out of the shadow dimension by these claw shadows, which contained spatial confinement power!

The eerie green light in his eyes held terror; he clearly hadn't expected his opponent's physical defense to be so terrifying, and that he could even interfere with shadow rules!

"Die!"

Fang Gang, not giving his opponent any reprieve, had his left palm ready! The golden-red light in his palm compressed to the extreme, like a miniature, scorching sun!

Great Sun Incinerating Demon Palm—Sky Burn!

He unleashed his palm strike!

The scorching palm wind instantly evaporated the moisture in the air, carrying the supreme yang energy that incinerates all falsehoods, descending upon the Shadow Nightmare Priest who had been forced out of hiding!

The attack range covered all his evasion space!

A fierce glint flashed in the Shadow Nightmare Priest's eyes. He crossed ten Void Shadow Blades to block, and dense dark energy formed a distorted shadow shield in front of him!

Boom—!!!

The supreme yang true fire and the dark energy collided violently!

A dull explosion resounded! The shadow shield fluctuated intensely, instantly covered in cracks!

The scorching heatwave violently struck the Shadow Nightmare Priest, igniting his black cloak and revealing a pale, twisted face covered in bizarre tattoos beneath!

"You..." The Shadow Nightmare Priest was both shocked and enraged. The dark energy was suppressed by the supreme yang true fire, making him extremely uncomfortable.

His figure blurred again, attempting to merge back into the shadows to escape.

"Trying to run?" The golden-red light in Fang Gang's eyes locked onto him. He stomped his right foot, and the ground exploded!

His figure appeared in front of the Shadow Nightmare Priest as if teleporting. His right fist, covered in dark golden dragon scales, carried the will to crush everything. Ignoring the precarious shadow shield, he ferociously punched towards the opponent's exposed chest!

World Shaking Dragon Fist—Star Shatter!

As the fist struck, space seemed to compress! The Shadow Nightmare Priest's eyes could only see the constantly enlarging fist covered in destructive dragon scales!

"No! Holy Lord..." he let out a desperate shriek.

Boom—!!!

The dark golden fist energy pierced through the shattered shadow shield without obstruction and firmly imprinted onto the Shadow Nightmare Priest's chest!

There was no violent explosion, only a dull sound, like a water-filled leather bag being broken.

The Shadow Nightmare Priest's body stiffened abruptly. A fist-shaped imprint bulged on his chest and back, and then his entire upper body exploded from the inside, as if supported by an invisible giant force, instantly bursting into a sky full of splashing black viscous liquid and shattered shadow fragments!

His lower body swayed, then collapsed to the ground.

One punch! He blew up an SS-Class Shadow Assassin!

Fang Gang slowly retracted his fist, and the dark golden dragon scales covering his right arm slowly receded.

The wounds on his left shoulder and ribs, under the powerful vitality granted by the Furnace Bone Tempering, caused his muscles to writhe, and they began to stop bleeding and heal at a visible rate.

He didn't even glance at the remains on the ground, his gaze returning to his left shoulder.

The withered bone mark seemed to be stimulated by the death of the Shadow Nightmare Priest, its bone-white light flashing intensely, emitting even more violent, decaying energy!

However, it was immediately and madly devoured by the even stronger suction force of the Power Aperture Furnace!

The furnace spun even faster!

The dark golden energy that fed back surged more powerfully through his arm bones, the jade-like luster becoming even more apparent!

"The firewood given by the old bones... burns brighter and hotter."

Fang Gang felt his strength steadily increasing amidst the pain, and a cold arc tugged at the corner of his lips.

Looking beyond the forest towards the direction from which Elder Withered Bone's pressure emanated, battle intent accumulated in his eyes like a volcano.

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it!