Soul Bone and Misgivings

Blue-gold light burst from the box, illuminating the entire stone chamber like an underwater dragon palace.

A right leg bone lay quietly inside the box.

It was crystal-clear throughout, like the purest glass. Blue-gold patterns flowed across its surface, slowly winding like living things. Every flow emitted a pulse of energy that made one's heart tremble.

The Blue Silver Emperor's Right Leg Bone, one hundred thousand years old.

Among all the one-hundred-thousand-year soul bones in the original story, this one was the easiest to obtain.

There was no need to risk one's life hunting a one-hundred-thousand-year soul beast, nor was there any need to face a battle at the level of a Titled Douluo. One only had to find this cave and open this box.

Now, it belonged to Nezha.

Nezha did not absorb it immediately. With a flick of his hand, he stored both the soul bone and its lead box in his storage soul tool.

He had no intention of refining it here. This was Tang Hao's territory, after all.

Moreover, Nezha had no idea how long absorbing a soul bone would take. Though Tang Hao should currently be secretly following Tang San, if Tang Hao suddenly returned in the middle of his refinement, even nine lives would not be enough for Nezha to lose.

If he was going to absorb it, he needed to find somewhere safe.

Before leaving, Nezha's gaze fell upon the Blue Silver Emperor plant.

He walked over, crouched down, and carefully dug up the Blue Silver Emperor with its roots and soil intact. Then he rummaged through his storage soul tool, found a clay jar, and stuffed the plant inside along with the soil.

Leaving the Blue Silver Emperor here would only make it suffer.

Tang Hao had planted the seed in this pitch-black cave, without sunlight or spiritual energy. The fact that it had grown at all was already a miracle.

If it was to grow back into a one-hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor, this lousy cave would not be enough even after another ten thousand years.

But following him was different.

Sooner or later, he would visit the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Eyes, one of the places with the densest heaven and earth spiritual energy on the entire continent.

If he planted this Blue Silver Emperor in such a blessed place, its growth rate would certainly be astonishing.

As for whether the Blue Silver Emperor would be hunted for its bone once it recovered its cultivation?

That was a matter for the future.

At the very least, before it reached ten thousand years of cultivation, Nezha could ensure that it lived well.

After passing through the curtain of waterfall water and stepping onto solid ground once more, Nezha did not return to Notting Academy. Instead, he sped off in another direction.

He had no intention of returning to Notting City to absorb the soul bone.

The energy of a one-hundred-thousand-year soul bone was far too immense. If he took it out in a densely populated place, its energy fluctuations would certainly attract the attention of powerful soul masters.

He needed to find some remote wilderness and absorb it in peace.

The area around Holy Soul Village would not do either.

If Tang Hao came back midway through the absorption, that madman might run all over the village. It would be troublesome if he noticed the energy fluctuations.

Nezha unfolded the simple map he had bought in Notting City. His fingertip traced a circle over the paper before landing on a marked location in the opposite direction from Notting City: the Farsino Wasteland.

That would do.

The Farsino Wasteland was not too far from Notting City, yet it was remote enough, vast enough, and had few soul beasts or soul masters.

Nezha put away the map and activated the disguise skill he had obtained from A Rou's soul bone, suppressing his aura to its lowest point. His body streaked over the treetops like a beam of light as he raced toward the Farsino Wasteland.

As the sky darkened, Nezha found a concealed stone cave.

Its entrance was narrow enough that only one person could squeeze through sideways, but it was spacious within, roughly ten feet square, dry and well-ventilated.

This would do.

Nezha moved several rocks to block the entrance, leaving only a narrow crack for ventilation.

Once he had finished, he sat cross-legged and took the black lead box from his storage soul tool.

The lid opened.

Blue-gold light instantly illuminated the entire cave.

The one-hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor's Right Leg Bone lay quietly inside the box, transparent as glass. Blue-gold patterns slowly flowed across its surface, releasing energy fluctuations so pure they were suffocating.

Without hesitation, Nezha pressed the soul bone against his right leg.

A faint hum sounded, and his right leg gave a slight tremble.

Then, an indescribably surging life force poured into his body from the point of contact, rushing madly through his meridians.

Here it comes.

Nezha immediately circulated the Nine-Turn Mysterious Technique and began refining the power flooding into him.

The soul bone quietly melted into his right leg, transforming into countless streams of blue-gold energy that wrapped around his entire leg.

Within the cave, the blue-gold light flickered erratically.

Deep within Nezha's consciousness, the life force originating from the Blue Silver Emperor was refined inch by inch by the Nine-Turn Mysterious Technique, merging into his bones, meridians, and flesh.

Time passed second by second.

Meanwhile, in the Hunting Soul Forest.

Tang Hao stood upon the branch of a giant tree, his figure concealed amid the dense canopy.

With his arms crossed, his gaze passed through layers of leaves and settled upon two figures, one large and one small, in the clearing below.

Tang San was locked in battle with a Mandala Snake.

The snake was dark green all over, with a triangular head and two venomous fangs as long as fingers, glinting coldly beneath the sunlight.

A four-hundred-year Mandala Snake was incredibly fast and lethally venomous. It was certainly no easy opponent for six-year-old Tang San.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang lay sprawled on the ground not far away in an utterly undignified position.

The master had clearly been poisoned by the Mandala Snake. His body was stiff as wood, leaving his disciple to face the venomous snake alone.

Tang San moved.

His feet traced an eerie set of footwork across the ground. His body shifted left and right, narrowly evading the snake's attacks every time.

At the same time, his hands shot out repeatedly, striking the snake's vital point with an exquisitely refined technique.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Mysterious Jade Hand.

Tang Hao narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had never seen either of these techniques. They were not soul skills obtained from soul rings, yet they were more exquisite than ordinary soul skills.

The Mandala Snake finally exposed an opening. Tang San seized the chance, and the dagger in his hand struck the snake's head at a vital spot. The venomous snake twitched several times before going still.

A yellow soul ring slowly rose from the snake's corpse.

Tang San sat cross-legged and began absorbing the soul ring.

The Mandala Snake was a four-hundred-year soul beast. By Douluo Continent convention, using a soul ring of this age as a six-year-old child's first soul ring carried considerable risk.

Yet Tang San showed no trace of pain as he steadily absorbed the soul ring into his body.

Tang Hao stood in the tree, watching Tang San absorb the soul ring below. A complicated emotion flashed through his eyes.

In truth, Tang Hao had always harbored misgivings toward this son.

When Tang San had first learned to walk, Tang Hao had noticed something was wrong.

Every night, the child would secretly get up in the dead of night and hide in his room, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

After he grew a little older, he would climb to the mountaintop before dawn and practice against the rising sun.

Tang Hao had never seen that method of cultivation before. It resembled some exceedingly complex method of soul power training.

Where could a child who had only just been weaned have learned such things?

Tang Hao had first been suspicious, then afraid. But he kept convincing himself that Tang San had been born under his very nose. He was the child of Tang Hao and Ah Yin, not some monster.

Besides, Tang San was not entirely human.