Had he succeeded?

Through the Water Mirror.

Even though Yu Changchun possessed the astonishing senses of a cultivator, he could only judge by what he perceived directly.

In the Water Mirror, Wang Ba was still rolling on the ground, howling in agony so unbearable he wished he were dead.

Yet there was a faint sense that his strength seemed to have increased somewhat.

"This... surely not?"

"Could he have succeeded?"

Yu Changchun was somewhat bewildered and doubtful.

After a successful bone replacement, stimulation from the foreign bone would often cause unusual changes in the body, such as a tremendous increase in strength.

But he soon discovered that Wang Ba's strength did not seem to have changed much.

"He probably hasn't succeeded."

People would exert every ounce of strength under excruciating pain, naturally appearing a little stronger than usual.

This proved nothing.

Gradually, the pain seemed to ease somewhat. Wang Ba lay on the ground, his chest heaving violently, while his howls gradually subsided.

Besides the contortions brought on by pain, a trace of profound desolation could also be seen on his face.

"He failed..."

Seeing this, Yu Changchun unconsciously let out a breath for some reason, and his taut nerves slowly relaxed.

He really had been afraid that Wang Ba would succeed.

After all, even he thought using chicken bones for bone replacement was absurd.

He knew very well how much preparation and painstaking effort the members of the Immortal Ascension Society needed to put into bone replacement.

The source of the replacement bone, whether that source was compatible, how to preserve the bone's vitality after killing its owner, and so on-even the miniature formation Wang Ba had just drawn, which even a mortal could set up, and the placement of the Spirit Stones all involved numerous precautions.

If Wang Ba could succeed with such a farcical procedure, would that not make the fate of those Servant Disciples whose very consciousness had been obliterated in their efforts to condense a Spiritual Root far too unjust?

Fortunately, Wang Ba had failed.

Still, this was not a bad thing.

After this attempt, he should understand that trying to complete a bone replacement alone without the Immortal Ascension Society's help would only mean suffering for nothing.

"It's time for me to make an appearance."

Yu Changchun lightly stroked his long beard. The Water Mirror in his hand silently shattered and dissipated, then he swept his sleeve. The Triangular Small Flags scattered in several directions immediately shuddered before flying into the pouch at his waist.

His presence rapidly withdrew, gathering into a bone within his body. Soon, he looked like an utterly ordinary Servant Disciple.

And in truth, that was indeed the case.

At this moment, apart from retaining his mental faculties, his body was no different from an ordinary person's.

At least, if a Qi Refining cultivator from the Sect passed by, they would only take him for an ordinary Servant Disciple.

As he felt his senses rapidly diminish, the world seemed veiled in gauze, blurred and indistinct.

Though Yu Changchun was not quite accustomed to it, he had no other choice if he wanted to move about without being discovered.

He then strode toward Dingbaqi Manor and soon arrived outside the Mountain Manor.

The thick stench of chicken manure filled his nostrils. Yu Changchun shook his head slightly and endured the choking smell as he walked into the Mountain Manor.

The first thing he saw was Wang Ba lying in a wretched state beneath the eaves.

Blood was splattered all around. Much of the formation drawn in blood had been rubbed away by Wang Ba's rolling, and the six Spirit Stones upon it had visibly dimmed considerably.

The little finger of his left hand had an unnatural bend and a long, narrow scar.

The formation's effects were to hasten the healing of wounds and promote the fusion of bone and flesh.

It was no different from the scene he had seen through the Water Mirror.

With a kindly expression, Yu Changchun walked up to Wang Ba and found him staring unfocused at the sky, seemingly unaware of his arrival.

It appeared that this failure had dealt him quite a heavy blow.

Afraid that Wang Ba might lose his spirit after this failure, Yu Changchun hurriedly offered him a few words of comfort.

"Thank you, Steward... hiss... Lord Steward."

Coming back to himself, Wang Ba weakly struggled into a sitting position, then rose with difficulty to bow to Yu Changchun, only to be stopped by him.

"I have never met anyone with a heart so steadfast in pursuing the Dao as yours, Brother Wang. The pain of bone replacement is far worse than that of a mortal woman giving birth, yet you faced it so resolutely. You truly are a born cultivator!"

Yu Changchun was unstinting in his praise, then declared that he had been deeply moved and had decided to bestow the lower volume upon him as well.

Of course, the corresponding supplies, bone sources, and so forth would only be granted once he joined the Immortal Ascension Society. He hoped Wang Ba would understand.

These words brought tears streaming down Wang Ba's face. He was so moved that he nearly knelt to kowtow to Yu Changchun.

"There is no need for that. When I see you, Brother Wang, I recall the hardships I faced back when I sought immortality and pursued the Dao. Had I not had the support of fellow seekers, I fear..."

As though recalling the misery of his past pursuit of the Dao, Yu Changchun put on a wistful air.

He then placed the lower volume of the Bone-Burying Secret Art into Wang Ba's hands.

"Your bone replacement failed, so you cannot attempt another in the immediate future. You must recuperate for at least half a month. If you wish to practice this lower volume, you had best find an excellent bone source. Otherwise, it is fortunate that this failed finger-bone replacement did not damage your foundations, but had it been another part of your body, you might have found it difficult to replace your bones ever again."

Yu Changchun spoke solemnly.

Wang Ba nodded repeatedly as he listened, even finding a sheet of paper and carefully taking notes on it with a charcoal pencil.

Clearly, he already trusted Yu Changchun a great deal.

Not only that, but after hesitating for a while, Wang Ba seemed to steel himself and said, "My lord, please wait a moment. I have a gift for you."

Hearing this, Yu Changchun could not help sneering inwardly.

A gift for him, a Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivator?

What could a mere Servant Disciple possibly have worth giving?

A few Spirit Stones, at most.

Honestly, he really did not think much of that.

Still, the fact that he had such intentions set him somewhat apart from those previous Servant Disciples who had only thought of obtaining bones from him.

Yu Changchun found it rather gratifying. Never mind. I'll simply refuse it later.

He watched Wang Ba stagger back into the house. When he emerged, he was carrying a full six Spirit Chickens brimming with Spiritual Qi in his right hand.

"Lord Steward, I have no way to repay your great kindness. I possess nothing of value and am only good at raising chickens. These are Spirit Chickens I raised myself. Unfortunately, they are only low grade, but they still represent my gratitude. Please accept them."

Just as he was about to refuse, Yu Changchun thought it over and decided that he must not reject the goodwill of someone whose heart was so steadfast in pursuing the Dao.

"Ahem, since you put it that way, I shall oblige you."

With a thought, he drew a faint wisp of Law Power from a bone within his body, guiding a palm-sized pouch out of his sleeve and taking all six Spirit Chickens from Wang Ba's hand into it.

He then carefully put it away.

"This, this is!?"

Wang Ba looked utterly shocked.

In quite a good mood after accepting six Spirit Chickens, Yu Changchun readily offered an explanation. "This is a low-grade Spirit Beast Bag. It can hold living Spirit Beasts, up to a Spirit Beast measuring one zhang on each side. It costs several times more than a Storage Bag of the same grade."

"How many Spirit Stones would it take to buy one of those!"

Wang Ba could barely conceal the envy in his eyes.

"This is not something you can buy with Spirit Stones alone. You need luck as well."

Yu Changchun chuckled, his attitude toward Wang Ba growing increasingly kindly.

He was now beginning to understand why his junior brother valued this Servant Disciple so highly, even going so far as to personally ask him to keep the man alive.

After all, so many Spirit Chickens were simply too enticing!

He had just witnessed Wang Ba slaughter several Spirit Chickens as though they cost nothing, only to turn around and bring out another six.

Who knew how many this Servant Disciple had raised?

If he could raise a steady stream of Spirit Chickens, even low-grade ones might just barely suffice to support Yu Changchun in mastering that Blood Bone Dao, which consumed enormous quantities of flesh and blood.

When the time came, he could reshape his true body and even improve his Spiritual Root aptitude. He might even have hope of reaching his master's level.

The more he thought about it, the more thrilled and excited he became, and the gaze he turned on Wang Ba grew ever more benevolent.

Inwardly, he felt all the more fortunate that he had not ruthlessly killed him earlier.

One step at a time. Talent like this can only be moved through benefits and sentiment. Simply controlling him with the Human Puppet method would be killing the hen for its eggs, something to do only as a last resort.

Yu Changchun secretly formed a plan, then lingered no longer and hurriedly took his leave.

Since he did not intend to bring Wang Ba into the Immortal Ascension Society for the time being, he still had other Servant Disciples to attend to.

Meanwhile, beneath the eaves, Wang Ba laboriously righted a wooden chair and dropped into it.

While continuing to drive his Yin Spirit Power to maintain the illusion of his twisted little finger, he flipped through the lower volume of the Bone-Burying Secret Art with feigned fervor, unable to stop himself from cursing inwardly:

This Yu Changchun took six of my Spirit Chickens and is still watching me! All those fine words, but he really is a piece of work!

And after all that acting I did!