Chapter 368 - 366: Celestial Might Star Bone

Chapter 368: Chapter 366: Celestial Might Star Bone

’What an absurd bone. Even a Tier Four Spiritual Object would have started to melt after being burned by my Pill Fire for a hundred days straight...’

When Bai Zichen returned from the Black Mountain Market, no one expressed any surprise at his changed appearance.

He was so engrossed in studying the strange shoulder bone that he slowed down upon his return to Flame Mountain, which led to him being stopped by two of the sect’s Foundation Establishment Disciples.

He fabricated the identity of a Hejian Loose Cultivator, claiming he had an appointment to visit Master Bai.

By using his powerful Divine Sense to simulate a Sound Transmission from the Observatory Pavilion, he successfully entered Flame Mountain openly under the identity of the Loose Cultivator, Su Wuming.

This proved the remarkable effectiveness of the Celestial Illusion Bracelet combined with the Physical Body Transformation Secret Technique. Even his own Sect Disciples couldn’t recognize this stern-featured young man as Ancestor Bai.

He even came face-to-face with Ma Ruoxi, who enthusiastically led the way, genuinely treating him as a talented young prodigy from Hejian.

She assumed that because of his outstanding talent, her master had taken a liking to him and summoned him to Flame Mountain.

Two days later, he appeared once more as Su Wuming, pretending to bid farewell to Master Bai before leaving, thus completing the charade.

Afterward, he began working on the bone that gave him such a peculiar sensation. Attempts at Refinement with True Essence and penetration with Divine Sense all yielded no reaction.

His only remaining option was to resort to brute force, tempering the shoulder bone with his Pill Fire in an attempt to refine its outer shell and reveal its true nature.

For a hundred days, the bone remained completely unchanged, only emitting faint wisps of red light.

’I refuse to believe I can’t even refine a single piece of bone...’

With a surge of determination, a ferocious, menacing Fire Flood Dragon materialized behind Bai Zichen and simultaneously spat out a torrent of fire.

The flames were orange-red, already showing signs of transforming into the all-incinerating Pure Yang True Fire.

The temperature in the room instantly spiked. Under the scorching heat of the dual flames, the bone finally began to soften and deform as wisps of black smoke rose from it.

After another hundred days, the bone gradually shrank, eventually becoming a puddle of golden liquid. Billions of tiny light specks shimmered within it, like stars in the night sky.

As the golden liquid appeared, an inexplicable aura of solemn majesty descended, pressing down on him and making it hard to breathe.

He had never felt anything like this, not even when facing a Nascent Soul True Monarch at full power. It was somewhat similar to the time he watched Ge Cang cross his tribulation—the vast, mighty, and awe-inspiring heavenly punishment of the Five Elements Purple Thunder Tribulation as it crashed down from the sky.

That pressure represented the majesty of the Celestial Dao. No matter how high a cultivator’s cultivation was, they would be shaken on a spiritual level.

Otherwise, why would the Descent Immortals of Ancient Times have been so paranoid and utterly terrified at the mere mention of a Thunder Tribulation?

’Could it be a strange bone formed by absorbing the power of Celestial Thunder?’

Bai Zichen withdrew his Pill Fire. The Fire Flood Dragon behind him had shrunk considerably; fueling the dual flames to refine the bone had been an immense drain on his True Essence.

He was only able to endure for so long because he was on a Tier Four Mid-Grade Spirit Land, where pure and vigorous Spiritual Qi surged into his body with every breath and was rapidly converted into True Essence. Otherwise, even with his Late-Stage Core Formation cultivation, he wouldn’t have lasted.

He coated his hand in True Essence to catch the globe of golden Spiritual Liquid. Despite his immense physical strength, his wrist buckled, and he almost failed to hold it.

The golden Spiritual Liquid also contained a wisp of a Primordial Spirit Fragment, which he caught. It darted about chaotically in his Sea of Consciousness like a headless fly.

The point of thunder light hanging high in his Sea of Consciousness Space pressed down, forcing the Primordial Spirit Fragment into the Heaven and Earth Furnace and instantly grinding it to dust.

A large volume of information contained within the Primordial Spirit Fragment flooded his mind, allowing him to fully understand the story behind the shoulder bone.

’Celestial Might Star Bone, a shoulder bone. Can resist Enchanting God Techniques and Spiritual Sense Attacks from those one Realm higher than oneself...’

This bone was actually an Immortal Bone refined during Ancient Times by a Divinity Transformation Great Power who had cultivated the supreme Body Refining Technique, the Nine Heavens Bone Forging Techniques.

This person called himself Master Tianku. He had been bestowed two scrolls of the Nine Heavens Bone Forging Techniques by a Banished Immortal from the Upper Realm, and had successfully refined the Celestial Might Star Bone and the Sun Element Copper Bone.

Ten thousand years after he passed away in meditation, his physical body had decayed, but the two Immortal Bones remained, eternally indestructible.

Somehow, after changing hands countless times over the ages, one of them ended up in the possession of the dark-skinned youth’s ancestors from the Market.

They never discovered its secrets, only that it was indestructible, and so it was passed down through the generations as the bone of a powerful Demon Beast.

Only when it encountered Bai Zichen—who had truly received the heritage of that Upper Realm Sword Immortal and had studied the Nine Heavens Bone Forging Techniques—did the bone finally have that strange reaction.

’The Nine Heavens Bone Forging Techniques is divided into seven scrolls, each with different Cultivation Conditions... The Sun Element Copper Bone has the lowest Cultivation requirement; one only needs to have formed a Golden Core. The Celestial Might Star Bone is a step higher, requiring the Perfect Core Formation Realm and nine types of Outer Heaven Star Iron to refine.’

The Sun Element Copper Bone requires thirteen rare Spiritual Materials to refine the frontal bone of the skull into an Immortal Bone. It grants immunity to Celestial Fire and elevates one’s physical strength to a whole new level.

The Celestial Might Star Bone requires nine types of Outer Heaven Star Iron, which are fused into the shoulder bone to create an Immortal Bone that can resist all Secret Techniques targeting the Primordial Spirit.

At the Core Formation Realm, it can block the abilities of a Nascent Soul.

At the Nascent Soul Realm, one would be impervious to Divinity Transformation Secret Techniques.

The basic requirements for refining the Immortal Bones in the remaining scrolls become progressively higher.

For instance, the Two-Level Dazzling Bone requires one to reach the Nascent Soul Realm and fuse two Tier Five Spiritual Objects of Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin to be refined.

Once refined, one’s Escape Technique becomes masterful, increasing the speed of one’s Escape Light by more than fifty percent.

The Formless Sword Bone also requires the Nascent Soul Realm. This Immortal Bone, however, has no requirements for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Materials; it only requires the Cultivator to have reached the Sword Dao Realm of Sword Light Division.

This Immortal Bone allows one to conceal all traces while using Sword Control, becoming a true Formless Sword that is impossible to guard against.

It was precisely because all seven Immortal Bones had a mountain of additional requirements on top of their basic Cultivation Conditions that Bai Zichen had been daunted by this technique. He knew this Body Refining Technique, obtained at the same time as the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword and the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, was extraordinary, but he had still held back.

Meeting the Cultivation Realm requirement was just the first step; the other requirements were the true obstacles.

After several hundred thousand years, the Primordial Spirit Fragment of even a Divinity Transformation Great Power had become fragmented, and the information it held was intermittent.

What was certain, however, was that the shoulder bone’s previous owner, Master Tianku, had only managed to refine two of the Immortal Bones with great difficulty after reaching the Divinity Transformation Realm. He had then considered them among his greatest trump cards.

This just went to show how difficult it was to meet the Cultivation Conditions for the Immortal Bones.

This globe of golden Spiritual Liquid, filled with billions of specks of light, contained the components of the nine types of Outer Heaven Star Iron needed to cultivate the Celestial Might Star Bone. This meant that once Bai Zichen reached the Perfect Core Formation Realm, he could immediately begin its cultivation.

’Once I refine the Celestial Might Star Bone, all Spiritual Sense Attacks will be useless against me. I’ll be immune to so many insidious, underhanded moves... Those Secret Techniques are treacherous and unpredictable; many High-Tier Cultivators have been taken down by people with far weaker cultivation. It’s impossible to defend against them all.’

Bai Zichen took out the Suanni Wine Pot and stored the globe of golden Spiritual Liquid within it, placing it in a separate compartment.

An ordinary Jade Bottle would not have been able to bear the weight of the golden Spiritual Liquid; even this Spiritual Artifact seemed to strain under the load, wobbling precariously.

’I’ll post a long-term mission in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall for all thirteen Spiritual Materials needed to cultivate the Sun Element Copper Bone... With more and more Sect Disciples, some with exceptional luck are bound to find what I need. It’ll be far more efficient than me searching alone.’

Only these two Immortal Bones had the lowest Realm requirements. The rest required the Nascent Soul Realm at a minimum, so there was no need to even consider them for now.

After this, Bai Zichen didn’t leave Flame Mountain, dedicating himself to only two tasks: Refining Spiritual Energy and comprehending Astrology.

This continued until one day, a letter was delivered to Flame Mountain. It was only then that he slowly rose to his feet and let out a long cry toward the heavens.

It was a bright, clear day, the azure sky as pure and flawless as a piece of tourmaline.

As he cried out, the clear sky filled with a multitude of stars, which then vanished in a flash.

After four years of secluded meditation, his understanding of the Starry Sky Sword Intent had deepened another level.

However, the day of True Monarch Tang Fei’s sword duel was fast approaching. He couldn’t continue his cultivation indefinitely, so he had to stop here for now.

’They say in cultivation, years pass like days. I’m starting to really feel that now...’

In the past, Bai Zichen had never known what a bottleneck was, so he had never needed to enter long-term secluded cultivation.

But as his cultivation deepened, just reaching the peak of his current Realm could take a century.

Mastering any given Divine Secret Technique, or even just refining his Sword Dao, required decades to show any significant progress.

On the other side of Flame Mountain, a clear cry, like that of a great bird, shot toward the heavens.

The stars had just vanished when thunder suddenly cracked in the clear sky, its rumbling shattering the clouds into wisps.

Bai Zichen took a single step and appeared in the sky above a great hall. A moment later, he saw a flash of Thunder Radiance.

"Brother Ge, it seems your Thunder Skill has improved greatly," Bai Zichen said with a smile, clasping his hands. He had heard a quality in the thunder that was different from before. "Have you mastered the Profound Nether Qi Formless Divine Thunder?"

"I haven’t fully mastered it yet, I can only say I’ve made some small gains," Ge Cang replied. "But Junior Brother has also advanced in your Sword Dao. Even I was shaken by that Sword Light as vast as the starry sky."

Ge Cang knew their ten-year sword duel agreement was approaching. Combined with the commotion of Bai Zichen emerging from seclusion, he was sure there was definite news.

"Has the location for the duel between True Monarch Tang and Xiang Ji been decided?"

"That’s right. It’s at Meili Snow Peak, within the borders of Frost Country. They’ve even invited several Nascent Soul True Monarchs to act as witnesses..."

The letter Bai Zichen had received contained only a few hastily scrawled lines. The brushstrokes were sharp, with an intent that seemed to pierce the very paper, as if a complete set of Swordsmanship was leaping off the page at him.

Even without a signature, having crossed swords with True Monarch Tang Fei before, he knew the sender’s identity instantly.

"To think they chose Meili Snow Peak," Ge Cang mused. "I’ve been there once. It’s plagued by perennial glacial storms, so no Cultivator can live there long-term. Otherwise, it would be the perfect Spirit Vein for Cultivators who practice Ice Element Techniques."

When Ge Cang had first appeared, wisps of Thunder Radiance had still been crackling around his body, but they slowly retracted, hiding themselves within his Acupoints.

"Senior Brother, did you hear anything before about Zengguang Immortal City holding the Ten Thousand Immortals Ceremony? What’s with the Du Family announcing it so suddenly?"

"I can’t think of a reason offhand," Ge Cang replied, "but it’s definitely not a decision made on a whim. There must be something significant happening behind the scenes."

Although Ge Cang had only recently reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he had already built a considerable reputation in the Cultivation Realm during his time at the Core Formation Realm and had dealings with many Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

They were all happy to give face to a future Nascent Soul True Monarch, generally treating him as a peer and interacting with him warmly.

If even he didn’t know Zengguang Immortal City’s purpose, it was truly a secret. Shortening the preparation period was definitely disadvantageous for such a grand auction; he had no idea what the Du Family’s Ancestor was thinking.