Chapter 73: Chapter Seventy-One: Devouring and Breakthrough

Under one meter tall, with a rat's head and human body, eyes gleaming in the darkness, the rat-man scout was sprinting.

He was extremely familiar with the nearby terrain; when he ran fast he made no footstep sound, and his body did not touch any obstacle that could make noise.

He passed under clusters of huge mushrooms, darted through patches of ferns, and even sneaked past the nests of several ferocious large cave-dwelling beasts.

The route the rat-man scout ran was impassable for members of other tribes.

If one forced a passage, it would surely create a huge noise or alert those powerful beasts.

The rat people as individuals are not strong, and strong ones rarely appear among them, yet they manage to live comfortably and freely in this harsh world—naturally they have their own way of survival.

After sprinting for a long time, a faint whistling sound came from above the rat-man scout's head.

The rat-man scout immediately stopped, warily looking around, twitching his nose, then leapt up, stepping on a few inconspicuous protrusions on the rock wall, nimbly scrambling up a wall over two hundred meters high.

On the high cliff, a small flat area had been indented, enough space for five or six people to stand.

The tall Shi Meng stood on the flat ground with arms crossed, squinting at the rat-man scout who had scrambled up: "What's the matter? Why are you rushing back in such a hurry?"

The rat-man scout fell to his knees with a "thud", touching the ground with his nose……Given their body structure, it's impossible for them to kowtow like ordinary people; touching the ground with the nose is their highest salute.

"Master, that first-class steward Xiao Tie is an Elemental Mage." The rat-man scout lifted his head to look at Shi Meng: "He runs extremely fast, able to glide through the air for hundreds of meters, so he has mastered the power of wind."

"He can also illuminate with huge fireballs. The fireballs are pure white, so their temperature is terrifying……He can control a hundred white fireballs the size of a human head at once, so he has mastered the power of fire."

The rat-man scout quickly finished reporting their findings on Wu Tie, lifted his head, and looked pleadingly at Shi Meng.

Shi Meng opened his mouth, his facial muscles twitching violently a few times, revealing an extremely regretful expression. He lowly cursed 'damn', then shook his head a little in annoyance.

"We missed him……He's so young, and an Elemental Mage who has mastered two different elemental powers……If we could have taken him for ourselves……We missed him." Shi Meng glanced resentfully toward the Nether Demon Mine and sighed.

He has already entered the Nether Demon Mine.

Once inside, life or death depends solely on luck.

The exploration team jointly organized by the Shi Family and the Lu Family has lost several Elders inside. Others don't know what's in there, but Shi Meng does.

"I hope he doesn't reach that damned Black Bone Gate and can retreat early. What a talent, and so young a talent."

Shi Meng touched the bone talisman hanging at his chest.

It is a palm-sized bone plaque, thick and heavy, polished to a glossy sheen by constant handling.

On the plaque is carved a giant leaning against a great mountain; the giant's huge body has eyes tightly shut, yet between his brows sits a large third eye staring wide and round.

What is astonishing is that this third eye constantly emits a faint glow, its gaze shifting, as if it were a living eyeball.

Shi Meng's eyes flashed, and he casually tossed out a thumb-sized gold nugget.

The rat-man scout broke into a grin, snatched the gold nugget, touched the ground with his nose, then leapt backward with a spring, and after a few bounds scrambled up from the rock wall.

Shi Meng stood on the small platform and ordered in a low voice: "Spread the word…say…Steward Xiao Tie has already died in the Nether Demon Mine…"

The rat-man scout acknowledged with a sound, his figure flickered, and he was already far away.

Shi Meng gave a cold snort, lifted his head to gaze at the high vault. Regardless of whether Wu Tie could escape the Nether Demon Mine, he had already decided: if Wu Tie died, it would be settled once and for all—he would truly be dead.

If he could escape alive, then he would be hidden away.

The bone talisman hanging at his chest possesses a strange power; it is one of the inherited secret treasures of the Giant Clan of the Cangyan Realm. This bone talisman can see through a person's bone age, clearly knowing exactly how old they are.

Wu Tie's age is not great; he is merely a tender, inexperienced youth.

Such a young Elemental Mage is worth expending resources to cultivate wholeheartedly.

Shi Meng gave another cold snort, turned his body, came to the corner of the flat ground, and with a low shout the massive rock wall rippled like water, splitting open a narrow passage just wide enough for him to pass through.

He walked along the passage for over a hundred meters; ahead lay a cavern nearly a hundred meters in diameter, illuminated brightly by several animal-oil torches.

The rock behind Shi Meng writhed as it healed, leaving no seam.

This is the innate ability "Mountain-Splitting Path" that Shi Meng gained after activating his Giant Bloodline; no matter how hard the rock before him, it becomes as gentle as water, allowing him to freely open roads through the cliff for his passage.

In this world wrapped in thick rock layers, there is no doubt this is an extremely useful divine ability.

In the corner of the cavern stood a stone table and several stone stools; Second Uncle Stone Shi Fei, his hands greasy, tore the roasted lizard on the table to shreds, his round face also smeared with oil.

Seeing Shi Meng walk in, Shi Fei hastily straightened his neck, struggling to swallow a big mouthful of fatty meat.

"Well, what news did those rat brats bring? Look at your grim face." Shi Fei chuckled, looking at Shi Meng.

Shi Meng sat opposite Shi Fei, arms crossed, staring straight at him: "Eat less…you're already fat enough…you don't know what those Elders think of you? Wine sacks and rice bags…not pleasant."

"Being wine sacks and rice bags is what makes them feel at ease." Shi Fei laughed, looking at Shi Meng.

In Stone City, the two brothers fell out completely, even coming to blows. Shi Meng publicly beat Shi Fei senseless, and had his men brutally attack Shi Fei's close confidants in the Stone City External Affairs Office, leaving them dead or wounded, and expelled them from the office.

But here, things seem to be quite different.

Shi Meng snorted, lifted his chin: "Anyway, the embarrassment isn't mine…just be happy."

Shi Meng shook his head, grabbed a roasted lizard leg on the stone table and pulled hard; the leg, weighing over a hundred jin, tore easily under his grip. He ripped off a piece of roasted meat, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed loudly, and asked Shi Fei.

"Alright, your unreliable underlings have all been vetted in this conflict……I still have a few shifty-eyed, sneaky-looking fellows around me who don't seem reliable."

"Second Brother, among us brothers you're the most deceitful……Quickly think of a way to clear out those fellows around me; otherwise whatever I do, people will see it……and I won't be able to get anything done."

Shi Fei gulped down the roasted meat in big mouthfuls, his eyes fixed on the roasted lizard's head; after a long while he let out a gloomy sigh.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we all lived peacefully? Why do we have to do all this? All day long, beating drums and gongs, all day long, beating drums and gongs…"

"My dear little heart, these days, if I weren't forcing myself to eat an extra ten jin of roasted meat each day, I'd be worried about wasting away."

"Those Elders……they are the Elders of our Shi Family—how could they sell off our Shi Family's interests?"

"They're about to die of old age; I understand they want immortality, they want to eat more roasted meat, drink more fine wine, and find a few beautiful women to enjoy themselves day and night……"

"But they are all going to die anyway; this Shi Family is clearly becoming our brothers' Shi Family……yet they are selling off what rightfully should be ours, trading it for their own longevity……"

Shi Fei lifted his head, looked at Shi Meng, and sighed: "This kind of thing cannot be tolerated."

Shi Meng nodded firmly: "Yes, it cannot be tolerated……so I'm asking you what to do."

Shi Fei gave a faint smile and spoke softly: "I've already made contact with Third Brother; he's also noticed that some of the old-timers have been acting suspiciously lately……so this time we three brothers will join forces……"

After throwing the cleanly gnawed bone stick onto the stone table, Shi Fei turned his head toward the Nether Demon Mine.

"Or…this is actually a pretty good plan……Of course, brothers, we'll have to take some risks."

Shi Meng furrowed his brows, putting on a look of deep thought, he stared blankly for a moment, then he spread his hands and spoke bluntly: "Fine, I'll listen to you. Who made us brothers, you're the most cunning?"

In the Nether Demon Mine, outside the Black Bone Gate, the two black bone skeletons had already shattered into residue.

Wu Tie sat on the ground, his whole body shrouded in dim gloomy light; a three-cun-thick gloomy light slowly flowed over him, and dark flames occasionally spurted from his wounds.

Just like the previous few times.

Suddenly absorbing a huge amount of essence from the black bone skeletons, Wu Tie's bones underwent another aberration.

Immense heat surged from his bones, burning his skin split and flesh torn, agony beyond words. Fortunately, he was in this strange mine.

In the surrounding air, a large amount of yin-cold attribute elemental energy continuously welled up, forming countless bright black streams that ceaselessly flowed toward Wu Tie.

Threads of cool breath shuttled through Wu Tie's flesh and blood, quickly repairing the damage his body suffered from the heat emanating from his bones. These cool breaths offset about half of the heat released from his bones, greatly reducing his pain.

The mighty righteous qi surged and churned within his body, shattering large amounts of yin-cold elemental energy's sinister impurities into fragments that turned into gray-black mist, spraying from his pores.

Through several half-cun-wide wounds on Wu Tie's muscles, one could see a metallic sheen faintly appearing in the color of his bones.

After enduring more than ten hours, his flesh wounds had mostly healed, he began to stand and started practicing the first move of the Foundation Establishment style, one form after another.

His bones continued to release immense heat, while yin-cold elemental energy kept flowing in from the surroundings.

Primordial Vigor surged from his lower abdomen, transforming into a mighty river that rushed swiftly through his body. As the Foundation Establishment style was repeatedly practiced, the river became a lake, then an ocean.

The boundless ocean of primordial vigor filled his entire body, moistening every minute tissue.

Constantly, external elemental energy entered his body; the righteous qi cleansed the yin-cold impurities from the energy, primordial vigor grew strand by strand, and Wu Tie's bones and flesh trembled under its impact, each tremor making them denser and stronger.

Primordial Vigor permeating the body is inherently a comprehensive process that greatly enhances bodily functions.

However, because Wu Tie had fused with that shard of bone, the efficiency of his bone strengthening was somewhat absurd.

The two black bone skeletons contained an enormous amount of mysterious essence; Wu Tie's entire skeletal system showed signs of being unable to absorb it all, large amounts of heat seeped from his bones, and under the bombardment of righteous qi, it continually mixed with the primordial vigor surging within him.

Unbeknownst to him, Wu Tie's Foundation Establishment style mysteriously surpassed the 1,080th form.

He assumed a slight horse stance, waist straight, hands holding a ball, slowly pushing from the lower abdomen up to the crown of the head, then lowering back down to the lower abdomen.

In his mind, only a single thunderclap exploded; Wu Tie's meridians shuddered violently, followed by his bones, muscles, blood vessels, and five viscera and six bowels—every bodily tissue trembled thirty-six times in succession with the thunder's roar.

Primordial vigor washed over his entire body, abundant and full; at every moment it tempered his flesh, and at every moment it protected his whole body.

Primordial vigor brimmed, ready to burst; in every pore over his body, in every major acupoint on his skin, even at his fingertips, elbows, toes, knees, as well as his eyes and nostrils, there was full primordial vigor that could at any moment erupt outward.

A low, long howl came; Wu Tie suddenly opened his mouth, and a dark, heavy gust of air roared out like a long dragon spraying dozens of meters away.

The air wave swept across, tearing a three-foot-wide, half-foot-deep trench in the spacious mine tunnel floor; flying gravel struck the side walls with a 'hiss-hiss' sound, kicking up countless sparks.

Then Wu Tie drew a deep breath, held it for half an hour, and exhaled another long breath.

The first exhalation sprayed thirty to forty meters, the second reached sixty to seventy meters...

Then came the third, fourth, fifth...

After exhaling nine times, even the excess energy that his bones could not immediately absorb was completely discharged with those nine exhalations.

His whole-body qi was clear and lively, utterly without impurity; every cell brimmed with strong, abundant primordial vigor, Wu Tie now resembled a perfect balloon, having attained an ultimate state of great perfection.

A faint glint shone from his eyes; Wu Tie let out a low hum.

Primordial vigor emanated from his body, forming a hemispherical shield about three meters in diameter that enveloped him. The shield spun rapidly, grinding a clear, visible circular mark into the ground.

Breaking through the 1,080th form of the Foundation Establishment style, he smoothly reached the pinnacle of primordial vigor body permeation.

The Foundation Establishment style comprises 1,200 forms in total, with another 120 remaining. After practicing those 120 forms, one can naturally break through to the Sensation Profound Realm.

Wu Tie withdrew his protective primordial vigor, staring blankly at the residue left by the two black bone skeletons on the ground.

"You guys seem not dangerous... at least for me, there is no danger at all."

"How about two more?"

"Perhaps then I could break through to the Sensation Profound Realm in an extremely short time."

Wu Tie's eyes burned with fervor as he looked at the black bone gate before him.

For a moment, he completely ignored Old Tie's repeated admonitions to 'be careful and cautious', his mind filled only with 'devour' and 'breakthrough'.