Footsteps sounded outside the main hall.
They were neither hurried nor slow, crisp against the lapis-lazuli floor tiles, echoing through the empty hall.
The bearded man's hand paused.
The scholar set down his wine flask.
Wang Chu's gaze suddenly turned toward the hall doors.
The bearded man's Silver Marrow blood and qi surged violently. A layer of silver-white radiance glimmered beneath his flesh, while Silver Marrow raced through the depths of his bones with a low hum.
The pressure of Silver Bone Perfection burst forth without restraint, weighing the surrounding air down slightly.
Yet the scholar remained seated before the fire, utterly motionless.
Only golden light shone from his body.
The golden light was exceedingly faint, seeping from the depths of his bones and rendering his flesh nearly transparent. From afar, he resembled a Buddha statue cast from pure gold, seated beside the bonfire in dazzling splendor, too brilliant to look upon directly.
Golden Body!
The footsteps echoed through the empty hall as Chen Lingxi crossed the threshold and entered.
Firelight fell over him, casting his black robes into stark light and shadow. The half-face green-fanged ghost mask gleamed with an eerie chill in the flames, the shadows of its fangs falling across his chin as though a true fiend had bared its teeth.
A long saber hung at his waist. He stood tall as he strode in, bearing an extraordinary air.
The gazes of all three within the hall fell upon him at once.
Wang Chu's pupils contracted slightly.
The bearded man narrowed his eyes, his gaze wary.
The scholar frowned, because he could not see through this man.
There was not the slightest sign of blood and qi flowing within him.
Standing there, he seemed no different from an ordinary man. His aura was obscure, his body heat