Your Bones Are Very Special, Very Delicious

South of the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest lay the territory of the Star Luo Empire, bordering the Star Luo Mountains.

The terrain of the Star Luo Mountains was far more perilous than that of the Star Dou Great Forest, with jagged boulders and rugged mountain paths. Only by crossing this mountain range could one reach Star Luo City, the imperial capital of the Star Luo Empire.

The reason Ye An wanted to go to the Star Luo Empire was actually for the Spirit-Devouring Fierce Blade, the ranked carving knife listed ninety-ninth.

He remembered that this Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife had appeared at the Starlight Auction House in the Star Luo Empire. Its notorious reputation had left no one daring to use it, causing it to receive little interest at auctions and repeatedly fail to sell. That was how Huo Yuhao had managed to buy it cheaply.

Since it had repeatedly failed to sell, that meant the Star Luo Empire should have acquired the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife long ago... so at this point in time, he might be able to pick up a bargain as well.

Even if the Star Luo Empire had not yet begun auctioning the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, he could still narrow down the approximate timing.

Of course, even if he obtained the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, there was still a practical problem before him.

The curse contained within the knife needed Electrolux to purify it before it could reveal its true form as Life Gold. Other than Electrolux... during the entire era of the Peerless Tang Clan, there was probably no second person capable of doing it.

Perhaps Ye Guyi, with her Holy Angel Martial Soul, counted as half of one?

But even if Ye Guyi could purify the Spirit-Devouring Fierce Blade, she would likely need the cultivation of a Soul Saint or even a Titled Douluo. He obviously could not wait that long, so if he wanted to obtain Life Gold, one indispensable prerequisite was gaining Electrolux's help.

Of course, aside from that Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, the springhead of the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest also contained a vast amount of Life Gold. The belly of that hundred-thousand-year Golden Tortoiseshell contained Life Gold as well.

But the former... was basically impossible to obtain.

To take the Life Gold from the springhead of the Lake of Life, the unavoidable obstacle was Di Tian. The reason Di Tian and those vicious beasts could continuously overcome heavenly tribulations and keep increasing their cultivation was, aside from the existence of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, most importantly the enormous life force contained within the Lake of Life.

If you really took the Life Gold from the Lake of Life, Di Tian would truly fight you to the death.

As for the Golden Tortoiseshell...

It was a dual earth-and-water-attribute soul beast, best at burrowing underground and concealing its tracks. Moreover, because it was a tremendous tonic for both soul beasts and humans, it rarely exposed its whereabouts to human eyes.

Finding the Golden Tortoiseshell would likewise be no easy task.

As Ye An continued pondering, he and Zhang Lexuan steadily proceeded along the mountain path. The forest behind them gradually grew sparser, while exposed rocks became increasingly numerous.

"Xiao An." Zhang Lexuan tightened her grip on Ye An's hand slightly and lowered her voice. "Someone is following us from behind."

Ye An did not stop walking, merely giving an almost imperceptible nod.

The other party's target... was clearly either him or Zhang Lexuan.

But since Zhang Lexuan and he had noticed the other's trail, the other party could not be particularly powerful, at most no more than one major realm above Zhang Lexuan.

"It should be that person from the Heavenly Dragon Sect... but aside from this one aura, I haven't sensed any other information."

Zhang Lexuan continued in a low voice. The Star-Moon Twin-Headed Flood Dragon had granted her the light attribute. Though it did not reach the level of ultimate light, it had made her especially sensitive to such sinister auras.

That aura, which instinctively made her feel uncomfortable, was currently several hundred paces behind them.

Ye An abruptly stopped and sharply turned to sweep his gaze behind him. Nearly at the same time, Zhang Lexuan turned and stopped as well, releasing her Martial Soul.

Two yellow, one purple, and two black Soul Rings—five in total—appeared beneath Zhang Lexuan's feet.

After a brief silence, a lean figure slowly emerged from behind a massive boulder not far away. It was none other than the Heavenly Dragon Sect youth who had acted crazily in the Star Dou Great Forest and confessed to Zhang Lexuan in public.

Yet at this moment, the fanatical infatuation on his face had vanished completely, replaced by a gloomy expression.

The corners of his lips curved slightly into an ambiguous smile. His deeply sunken eyes stared straight at Ye An, carrying an excitement that made one intensely uncomfortable.

"Finally... finally, I caught up to you!"

His voice was hoarse and low, making him seem like an entirely different person from how he had been in the Star Dou Great Forest. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Yu Tianqi, the illegitimate son of the Heavenly Dragon Sect's vice sect master. When I was born, the father I had in name abandoned me, so I was named Tianqi."

"I, a man abandoned by heaven... cultivated diligently and relentlessly so that I could return to the Heavenly Dragon Sect, stand before that so-called father of mine, and kill him with my own hands! I wanted to tell him just how absurdly wrong his decision to abandon me had been!"

"You must be wondering why I was abandoned, and how I managed to return to the Heavenly Dragon Sect through my own efforts, right?"

As he spoke, a somewhat strange smile appeared on Yu Tianqi's face.

But in truth, Ye An and Zhang Lexuan merely frowned as they watched him quietly.

Thanks, but we aren't curious, and we don't want to know why.

As his words fell, an exceptionally dense bloody hue surged into Yu Tianqi's eyes, and his body underwent an extremely violent transformation.

His body began swelling rapidly. From the outside, it was clearly utterly different from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. His once-lean frame let out teeth-grating cracking sounds as thick bone spikes burst through the skin at his shoulder blades, elbows, and knees, viciously thrusting into the air.

Those bone spikes were a dull crimson, their surfaces covered in fine cracks. A dark-red glow faintly flowed through those cracks, as if blood were still slowly running through congealed plasma.

Beneath Yu Tianqi's feet, one yellow, two purple, and two black Soul Rings—five in total—rose into view.

This was...

"This is my Martial Soul, the Mutated Bloodbone Tyrant Dragon!"

"As long as I devour the flesh, blood, and bones of other Soul Masters and soul beasts, I can continuously grow stronger! It was precisely because my cultivation was so terrifying that I was able to return to the Heavenly Dragon Sect! I will kill that hateful man and eat every bit of his flesh, blood, and bones, piece by piece!"

Yu Tianqi's somewhat excited voice suddenly turned icy, and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Your bones... are very special, very delicious! My Martial Soul tells me that if I can devour your skeleton, I will undergo a transformation!"

"For my sake, please become one with me!"