Chapter 319: White Bone King Palace

Hearing the spirit's words, Qin Ming fell into thought.

For a moment.

The air itself grew rigid.

"How do you prove you possess the Heaven Demon Shaping Scripture?"

After long deliberation, Qin Ming suddenly looked up and asked the Golden Toad Ancestor.

The Golden Toad Ancestor, upon hearing this, was momentarily stunned, then said:

"A century ago, a green jade serpent beast came here—it was only at the early stage of the third rank. I once granted it part of the Heaven Demon Shaping Scripture."

"If that's the case, the green jade serpent should have reached the late stage of the third rank by now, right?"

At these words, not only Qin Ming, but even the Sky Devouring Rat beside him froze in shock.

If that were true, then the Golden Toad Ancestor's words weren't entirely baseless.

"Master, I never imagined the Green-Faced Poisonous Dragon's power would surge so dramatically because of this."

"No wonder it broke through to the late third rank."

The Sky Devouring Rat couldn't help but whisper secretly.

"Hmm, but… the spirit is right—we can't release it."

"Even if the Golden Toad Ancestor has fallen to the early third rank, you and I are unlikely to be its match."

Qin Ming whispered secretly.

At that very moment.

Suddenly.

A voice abruptly echoed in Qin Ming's mind.

"The Heaven Demon Shaping Scripture is not on the Golden Toad; its bloodline has no qualification to cultivate it."

"The serpent's cultivation method was not given by the Golden Toad—it was given by me."

"If you want the Heaven Demon Shaping Scripture, after you leave, you may trade something with me."

The spirit of the Hook Jade Golden Mirror spoke calmly to Qin Ming.

Hearing this, Qin Ming's eyes flickered constantly; for a moment, he didn't know whom to believe.

But he quickly devised a plan.

"If you say so, how do you prove the Heaven Demon Shaping Scripture is truly with you?" Qin Ming asked the spirit.

"The beast hide isn't on me, but I can show you a portion of its cultivation text."

Upon saying this, the spirit projected a passage into Qin Ming's mind.

Qin Ming's spiritual sense peered inward.

In his mind appeared exactly the same seal script as on his beast hide scripture—the opening passage was precisely the Golden Core section of the Heaven Demon Shaping Scripture: "Blood and Qi Embracing the Core," along with the introductory explanation for condensing the True Core.

After reading it, Qin Ming's spirit trembled with excitement, yet his expression remained utterly calm.

"Then as you say—we'll deal with this after we leave this place." Qin Ming had already believed the spirit's words to a great extent.

Clearly,

the Golden Toad Ancestor across from him spoke not a single truth—he likely sought to manipulate Qin Ming into freeing him.

Once freed, the outcome needed no further guessing.

Inside the black hole, the Golden Toad Ancestor sensed something amiss—it had clearly seen the human youth nearly agree to its terms, yet within moments, his mind had changed.

With its seasoned cunning, the Golden Toad Ancestor needed only a fleeting thought to instantly understand what had happened.

The ancient Golden Toad Ancestor's body swelled instantly, reverting to its original terrifying beast form.

It roared, slamming its massive claw against the black iron pillar, screaming in fury: "Jin Lingzi! How dare you ruin my plans!"

"Damn it! I'll tear you into a thousand pieces!"

"Aaaah!"

The Golden Toad Ancestor raged, stomping in fury, yet the black iron pillar held it back—helpless against Qin Ming.

Seeing the Golden Toad Ancestor's violent emotional outburst, Qin Ming became even more certain the spirit's words were at least nine-tenths true.

He immediately asked the spirit: "Do you have a way out of here?"

"No. The seals here are unusually complex—you must find your own way," the spirit replied bluntly.

Qin Ming: "..."

He thought for a moment, then asked the Sky Devouring Rat: "Can you handle this? If we escape, I'll credit you with a major deed."

The Sky Devouring Rat perked up instantly, as if injected with bloodwine: "Master, rest assured—aside from other things, when it comes to digging tunnels, I'm quite confident."

Saying this, the Sky Devouring Rat turned and walked to the invisible barrier, activating its innate ability: Forbidden Mystic Light.

Continuous streams of black mystic light poured from the rat's mouth, striking the barrier.

An hour later.

The Sky Devouring Rat, drenched in sweat and nearly collapsed, gasped: "Damn it, Master—this barrier's rank is too high; it's probably at the peak of the third rank."

"My ability has some effect, but it'll take time to break through."

Qin Ming nodded. "Under the circumstances, we have no other choice. You must endure."

He then pulled out a Spirit-Transforming Demon Fruit and gave it to the Sky Devouring Rat to restore its condition.

The moment the rat received the fruit, it went from near-death to full vigor. After swallowing it, it immediately resumed digging without pause, relentlessly tunneling into the barrier.

Only when its demonic energy was exhausted did it pause to rest.

Repeating this cycle, the invisible barrier within the gorge gradually developed a tiny hole.

From the size of a needle's eye, it expanded to the size of a fist.

Inside the black hole, the Golden Toad Ancestor saw Qin Ming actually had a way to escape this hellish place.

It grew even more furious, raging uncontrollably.

It relentlessly pounded the iron pillar: "Damn little ants!"

Half a month later.

The Sky Devouring Rat finally carved a large enough hole through the gorge's barrier for a person to pass.

"Oh my god, I nearly died from exhaustion!" The Sky Devouring Rat collapsed onto the ground.

"Well done!"

Overcome with excitement, Qin Ming patted the Sky Devouring Rat's head.

"No time to waste—let's go."

Qin Ming said, fed the rat a recovery pill, and recalled all three spirit beasts into his Spirit Beast Bag.

He glanced back at the Golden Toad Ancestor in the black hole, its eyes filled with venomous hatred, then slipped through the hole the rat had dug.

Without looking back, he left this place of chaos behind.

After exiting the gorge, Qin Ming activated a magic power shield and swam directly out from the bottom of Taihu Lake.

Half an hour later.

Fresh air flooded into Qin Ming's nostrils again.

"Huh~"

"Finally out!"

Qin Ming took a deep breath of the outside air, feeling a profound sense of relief.

Though the journey had encountered some setbacks, it had gone smoothly overall—he had secured the Hook Jade Golden Mirror's spirit.

And he had gained an unexpected reward: the subsequent cultivation methods of the Heaven Demon Shaping Scripture were in the spirit's possession!

This sacred demonic scripture Qin Ming had long yearned for now had a definitive resolution.

The instant Qin Ming surfaced from the lake's depths, numerous fishermen were nearby, casting their nets.

Seeing a man suddenly emerge from the lake bottom, they were all startled, thinking some lake demon had appeared.

"Trouble—we must leave quickly."

As Qin Ming was marveling, the spirit inside his storage bag, Jin Lingzi, suddenly spoke.

During the past half-month in the gorge, Qin Ming had learned the spirit's name: "Jin Lingzi."

"Oh? Why?"

Hearing the spirit's serious tone, Qin Ming asked curiously.

"You've broken the seals of the White Bone King Palace. Soon after, its supreme entity will likely awaken once more."

The spirit continued, its voice tinged with sorrow:

"More precisely, I mean my master—the former owner of the Hook Jade Golden Mirror: the White Bone True Person."

No sooner had the spirit finished speaking—

Wuuuuhhh—BOOM! The lake surface beneath Qin Ming suddenly churned violently; ghastly wails erupted from the depths of Taihu Lake, and waves over a hundred feet high surged into the sky!

Qin Ming instantly flew away from the lake, staring in shock at the scene before him.

As the lake exploded open, thick yin-evil energy surged forth like a tide; a white radiance brimming with death surged from the gorge's depths straight into the heavens.

Above Taihu Lake, a spiral cloud of yin energy coalesced, swirling with annihilating thunder, radiating a terrifying, soul-shaking aura.

The white radiance from the lake bottom merged with the sky's dark cloud, stirring the abyss deep beneath the lake.

Countless wails of ghosts and wolves echoed endlessly; the cultivators who had come to fish or hunt saw this apocalyptic sight.

Before they could flee, they were struck by the yin-evil wind condensed from the cloud—instantly torn apart and swallowed into the vortex.

Cultivation families around Taihu and wandering cultivators who had come to hunt demons or seek treasures saw this earth-shattering spectacle from afar.

They all leapt into the sky.

Everyone stared in stunned silence at the astonishing changes above Taihu.

"Heaven! What on earth is causing such a celestial disturbance?"

"Look! Something seems to be emerging from beneath Taihu!"

"That's not right! Such intense yin-evil energy suggests something is amiss."

"I've lived by Taihu for over a hundred years, and I've never seen such an abnormal celestial phenomenon."

"Quickly send word to the sect—there's a momentous anomaly emerging in Jingzhou's Taihu region!"

Qin Ming gazed at the 'masterpiece' he had wrought, watched for only a moment, then walked away without looking back.

……

(End of Chapter)