Chapter 259: Stone Transformation

"Remember… you defied… I'll kill you," the hazy black figure muttered, its crimson eyes flickering with murderous intent.

"We are now one. As long as we open the treasure vault tomorrow, everything will be fine," the old monk replied with a smile.

"Tomorrow… before… failed," the hazy black figure said again.

"It's true all previous attempts failed, but this time, it won't."

Considering the time, this young monk is likely the last reincarnation of Master Jialan, for that tiny true spirit has been gradually worn away over such a long wait.

With this one, plus myself and the other reincarnations, we should finally gather most of Master Jialan's true spirit aura," the old monk said slowly.

"Final… chance," the hazy black figure said, its eyes flashing crimson light.

"Yes, this is indeed our last chance. Though this human vessel can be replaced, it's nearly at its end."

"You're the same—if you still can't recover your demon core after so long, you're likely about to turn to ash," the old monk said lightly, then continued without waiting for the hazy shadow to speak:

"Fortunately, this boy named Kang Wuhen has, through blood and secret techniques, temporarily fused the spiritual essences of the other reincarnations into himself. If tomorrow still fails, we can simply sacrifice this young monk again—the success rate will still be over seventy percent, enough for us to stake everything on."

"Good… wait… tomorrow…" The hazy black figure nodded, stepped back one pace, and vanished into the air.

The old monk still held the scroll, standing motionless, as if sinking once more into some distant memory.

…

Outside the temple ruins, beyond the massive crimson curtain.

More than three hundred demonic disciples had gathered at the same location.

Above them, on a massive bone throne wreathed in swirling black mist, a four-armed giant white skeleton sat, while beside it stood a fat-faced young man in the attire of the Joyful Palace, looking utterly dejected.

"Kid, why this gloomy look? Do you really think I know your ancestral elder, so I won't kill you?" The four-armed giant skeleton turned its head and rumbled at the round-faced fat youth.

"How would I dare think such a thing?"

"My Pei family has many descendants; I'm merely the most unworthy of this generation. If Elder Tiangu knows my ancestor, why would he bother with someone like me?" The fat youth quickly wiped the gloom from his face and bowed his head respectfully.

"Hmph, the most unworthy!"

"Old Pei the Demon has boasted to me several times about a prodigy in his lineage—a genius with the Mechanism Heart talent who, even at the Qi Condensation stage, can effortlessly control multiple class-one golems to slay enemies. He told me to look after you once I entered," the giant skeleton said, its eyes flickering with flame.

"Thank you for your kindness, Elder, but I don't need any protection—just let me leave this place," the Pei youth replied with a forced smile.

"No. I promised, and I don't break promises. Besides, I'm short on hands right now. Since I found you, you'll stay by my side and serve."

"By the way, didn't Old Pei the Demon spend a fortune at the auction to buy a pseudo-class-two golem—wasn't that meant especially for you?"

"I recall it was a tiger-shaped golem modeled after a class-two Fire Tiger. If fully activated, it should be able to unleash class-two power, right?" the giant skeleton asked coldly.

"Elder Tiangu, you're right—the tiger golem is indeed on me. If I gamble everything, it can unleash a touch of class-two power, but only one strike. After that, the golem will…"

The Pei youth could only reply with a bitter smile, but before he finished, the giant skeleton waved a hand to cut him off:

"As long as it can unleash class-two power, that's enough. Later, I'll summon a class-three artifact projection for one strike. You and the others will coordinate with me. This array before us is intricate, but class-three power should be enough to break it open."

"Tonight, everyone rest and restore your spiritual energy. Tomorrow, gather more hands—we'll break the array together."

The final words suddenly boomed across the sky like thunder.

"We humbly obey the Elder Ancestor's decree!"

Below, the demonic disciples all responded in unison with reverence.

…

Several hours later.

Wang Yu stood beneath a massive boulder, watching a batch of small vials bound with blood-essence birds fly off in all directions, then finally relaxed and flicked his sleeve, releasing a white bone boat that soared into the sky.

Along the way, fearing further pursuit, he released batches of blood-essence birds after every stretch of flight to confuse the demonic cultivators.

Now, as the bone boat flew past a small grove ahead, the scenery shifted into a vast, continuous mountain range.

Seeing this, Wang Yu felt a surge of joy.

He must have reached the edge of the secret realm's central zone. A little further flight, and he could fully escape this area.

Only then did he truly exhale in relief.

At that moment, a faint "humming" sound came from one of his storage bags.

Wang Yu paused, then reached in with one hand and pulled out a smooth, oval stone.

It was the thing he'd idly picked up from the pool where he'd gathered Blood Essence Mushrooms.

The stone's surface was milky white, streaked with faint crimson veins—but now it glowed with pulsing red light, its temperature rising rapidly until it became scorching hot.

This heat would be unbearable for ordinary people, but for Wang Yu, who cultivated the Fire Spirit Art, it meant nothing.

He frowned in surprise, turning the stone over and examining it closely.

The next instant, the milky stone's red glow vanished, its humming ceased, and its surface temperature plummeted, becoming icy cold in moments.

This thing is no ordinary object!

Wang Yu's mind stirred. He inspected the stone's surface again and again, found nothing, then clenched his five fingers tightly around it.

A muffled "crack" echoed.

He opened his fingers—the milky stone bore five deep finger impressions, but they vanished at once, visibly fading away.

Wang Yu refused to believe it. He drew a deep breath, his arm swelling slightly in size, then squeezed again with all his strength.

"Crack."

Five deeper finger marks appeared on the stone's surface—but within a few breaths, they vanished again, restored to perfect smoothness.

Wang Yu's eyes glowed with crystalline light as he activated his Overclock Mode and sent his spiritual sense probing into the stone.

His spiritual sense was blocked entirely—unable to penetrate even a fraction of the stone's interior.

This truly seems like a rare treasure!

Wang Yu turned the stone over in his palm, pondering silently.