Shi Yuan had already left. Before departing, he had left behind a pile of scriptures, some recorded on nearly rotten bamboo slips, others on ancient, coarse beast hides.
One glance was enough to tell that these were ancient relics, steeped in the aura of passing ages.
Besides these, there were several precious bones covered in runes, taken from unknown ancient beasts. Heaven and earth had bestowed divine powers upon those beasts, naturally branding them onto a particular bone known as a Primordial Talisman Bone. If one could comprehend the symbols of the Great Dao on such a bone, which contained the power of laws, one could master a race's mighty inheritance-a Treasure Technique.
However, ancient beasts had always protected the secrets of their racial inheritances. Before dying, they would destroy the original runic markings on their Primordial Talisman Bones, safeguarding the secrets they refused to pass on.
The stronger the race-Primordial Remnants, pureblood fierce beasts, and the like-the harder it was to obtain their intact Primordial Talisman Bones.
Yet fortune had its ways. Some Primordial Talisman Bones always survived through chance and coincidence, eventually falling into human hands.
As a princely power, the Martial King Manor possessed undeniably deep reserves. The Primordial Talisman Bones before Shi Yi were not exceptionally rare treasures. He could not yet access the truly precious talisman bones; after all, he had not truly embarked on the path of cultivation. Everything had to proceed one step at a time.
After watching Shi Yuan leave, Shi Yi began preparing to establish his foundation without hesitation, doing everything possible to improve his strength.
Besides developing his Double Pupils and consuming precious medicines, pills, and beast blood to build up his reserves, Shi Yi also received medicinal baths from the Martial King Manor at regular intervals. These not only stimulated and released the human body's latent potential but also helped him absorb external substances.
Naturally, the medicinal baths could not be too frequent. Shi Yi was still young, and although his body could endure far more than those of his peers, cultivation required a proper balance between tension and relaxation. Otherwise, going too far would be no better than falling short.
Shi Yi ate a few spirit fruits to test the waters. The instant they entered his mouth and touched his teeth, they melted like ice and snow, turning into a torrent that surged straight into his belly. During this process, the Supreme Bone in his chest, which had already settled down, suddenly shone like a sun.
In an instant, the bone seized the vast majority of the energy. The amount Shi Yi actually absorbed was pitifully small.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the Supreme Bone. The symbols within it were incomparably intricate, as vast and boundless as a sea of stars. A single glance left him dizzy, and he hurriedly withdrew his gaze, his expression turning contemplative.
Its appetite for resources exceeded all imagination. Like a bottomless abyss, it rejected nothing and devoured everything.
Likewise, its power would be terrifying. When driven to its fullest, it could overturn heaven and earth, making one's scalp prickle.
In his previous life, the saying "one more bone, one more road" had not been without reason.
Unfortunately, it was not something he had been born with. No matter how hard Shi Yi worked afterward, it could never truly become his own.
For now, Shi Yi had yet to decide how to deal with this bone and could only continue feeding it. It had already begun growing into one with him, their blood vessels connected and their auras joined. Digging it out directly would undoubtedly deal a grievous blow to his vitality.
Although feeding it would consume enormous amounts of resources, that was certainly no waste. If something like this could serve as a stepping stone, it would surely allow Shi Yi to undergo an unprecedented, transcendent evolution.
With that thought, Shi Yi swallowed more precious medicines, ancient pills, and beast blood that had been processed to make it mild. This time, his Double Pupils shone, matching the Supreme Bone evenly as they divided the vital essence and energy between them.
He then smeared his eyelids with sap drawn from within the trunk of Cloud Spirit Wood. A faint, refreshing fragrance drifted through the entire courtyard. Sure enough, the moment he applied it, Shi Yi felt a cool sensation. His eyes relaxed, and even his mind felt soothed. Just as Shi Yuan had said, prolonged use could produce remarkable effects.
After finishing all this, Shi Yi opened an ancient book of nearly rotten bamboo slips. Ancient characters met his eyes, recounting secrets from antiquity, all related to Double Pupils.
Not only the ancient bamboo book but also several old beast-hide scrolls concerned Double Pupils.
In that ancient era, a bearer of Double Pupils had emerged-a born sage, invincible wherever he went, sweeping aside enemies in every direction and creating a legend of undefeated might. Though those distant ages had long since passed, the mythical splendor of Double Pupils had never faded. For that very reason, Shi Yi's name had resounded throughout the ancient kingdom from the moment of his birth, and the world had hailed him as the reincarnation of a divine being.
These scriptures recorded not only the secrets of ancient Double Pupils bearers but also many mysteries of Double Pupils themselves. The Martial King Manor had collected them from across the Desolate Region at enormous expense, all to help Shi Yi master these divine eyes as quickly as possible.
Seeing through illusion, piercing superficial splendor, and reaching the essence.
Analyzing and slowing an opponent's movements, entering the Absolute Domain, and commanding heaven and earth.
Shooting forth divine light, shattering precious artifacts, and disrupting the formation of Treasure Techniques.
Circulating Yin-Yang Qi, with life in one eye and destruction in the other.
Splitting heaven and earth, forming a world of chaos, and bearing down upon the sun, moon, and cosmos.
Nurturing weapons within the pupils, sending them interweaving and descending, shattering the void, and shredding mighty foes.
These were all known abilities of Double Pupils. They had shone brilliantly in the wars of antiquity, earning a resounding reputation.
Shi Yi devoured these ancient texts with ravenous eagerness, learning many secrets of Double Pupils. He also came to understand the road ahead and how to develop their abilities.
His eyes gleamed, his four pupils unfathomably deep. Symbols flowed within them, as though a power capable of destroying the world were taking shape.
From Shi Yi's perspective, layer upon layer of mist filled the depths of his Double Pupils, blocking his path to their innermost reaches. With each layer peeled away, more symbols would appear within them, unfolding in entirely new patterns and evolving into stronger abilities.
What sustained Shi Yi's efforts to develop his Double Pupils was the vital essence and energy supplied by those precious medicines, ancient pills, beast blood, and other resources. Of course, these alone were far from enough. His cultivation and attainment also had to support the process.
After a period of cultivation, his ocular power had strengthened. He was already close to peeling away the mist and developing a new ability.
Buzz!
Suddenly, divine light streamed from Shi Yi's eyes, and mysterious symbols shifted within his four pupils. In the next instant, every speck of dust, every grain of sand, every leaf in the courtyard appeared in his vision. Not the slightest change could escape the scrutiny of those eyes.
More than that, the wall at the edge of the courtyard gradually grew insubstantial under Shi Yi's gaze, until it became transparent, as though nothing stood there at all.
The scene on the other side appeared before him. A group of young disciples from the Martial King Manor were cultivating there, some tempering their bodies, others practicing Treasure Techniques. Among them were quite a few cultivators in the blood moving realm, and even some in the cave heaven realm.
Yet every move they made, every minute motion, appeared clearly in Shi Yi's eyes. Moreover, movements that had originally been exceedingly fast now looked as slow as a crawling turtle.
Before you continue