A mere fifteen minutes after he departed, a group of five emerged swiftly from the mountain peak. All five were members of the Wood Clan, and the leader was none other than Yeller from the trading post.

Upon arriving, Yeller’s face was etched with confusion. He walked directly to Lek of the Wood Clan, felt around his chest, and stated, “All bones are shattered. Lek was killed after his woodification.”

“How is that possible?” One gaunt Wood Clan member’s expression shifted drastically, filled with disbelief. “Once we undergo woodification, our physical defense increases dozens of times over. A master of the same realm cannot injure us without the aid of divine artifacts!”

“Karu, do you doubt my judgment?” Yeller turned and glanced at the man coolly. “No, I dare not.”

Karu shook his head repeatedly. “I just don’t believe the brat has such capability. He was clearly only at the Subtle Insight Realm. How could he possibly kill a woodified Lek? It defies all reason.”

“He probably hasn't used a divine artifact yet.” Yeller’s face darkened as he sneered, “It seems that brat is a tough nut to crack. Killing three Heavenly Masters of the same realm in such a short time—even I couldn't manage that. Truly terrifying.”

“Yeller, should we give up then?” Karu hesitated, advising, “The Elder instructed us to minimize trouble and avoid provoking those we cannot afford to offend.”

“Hmph!” Yeller’s eyes turned icy with disdain. “Karu, you are growing timid. He is merely a human Heavenly Master of the Subtle Insight Realm. How strong can he possibly be? The five of us combining our Wood Clan’s ‘Wood Spirit Life-and-Death Formation’ can slay a Heavenly Master in the Profound Nurturing Realm. Why should we fear one human Heavenly Master of the Subtle Insight Realm?” The other three nodded slightly upon hearing Yeller’s words.

Casi, after chuckling dryly twice, argued defensively, “But the Elder specifically told us not to deploy the ‘Wood Spirit Life-and-Death Formation’ lest people discover we belong to the Elder.”

“Once the great formation is deployed, can he possibly survive?” Yeller said coldly. Then, with a wave of his hand, he dismissed the matter decisively. “Enough talk. That brat surely possesses more than one Flame Thunder Stone. As long as we seize all the Flame Thunder Stones he holds, the Elder will only reward us. I understand the Elder’s intentions better than you do!” Seeing that Yeller’s mind was set, Karu muttered a few words of dissent internally but did not voice them.

“Search!” Yeller’s eyes were filled with chilling malice. “That brat must be cultivating in the nearby mountain peaks or lakes. We must find him!”

Inside the Snow Peak Cave. After sealing the cave entrance with thick rock and shaking the bell to release the White Bone Skeleton, Ji Changkong finally relaxed and took out over ten Origin Crystals.

He didn't rush to restore his vital essence. First, he stared at the White Bone Skeleton for a while, locking gazes with the faint, eerie ghost-fire in its eye sockets, pondering just how powerful the skeleton truly was.

Yao Luo and the member of the Three-Eyed Tribe were killed almost without any chance to fight back under the Skeleton’s annihilation strike. In his view, only a Heavenly Master who was a full level higher could manage such a clean sweep.

The White Bone Skeleton showed no strain when executing those two, which led him to believe its strength must be immeasurably deep, otherwise, it could not have acted so decisively.

Releasing his spiritual sense, he sensed for a while, only to discover no life fluctuations emanating from the White Bone Skeleton. This thing was utterly lifeless, without a soul, much like the ghoul corpses of the Purgatory Ghost Clan, yet it possessed autonomous offensive capability and acted precisely according to his mental commands. This was extremely abnormal and bizarre, but he could not discern the reason.

His spiritual sense circled the White Bone Skeleton for a while, yielding nothing. He could only give up helplessly, musing that perhaps his current realm was insufficient; he would have to slowly probe the abnormality of the skeleton once his cultivation advanced.

Finally placing an Origin Crystal in his palm, with a flicker of his consciousness, his transformed, multiple arms sprouted sharp bone spurs, radiating a terrifying sharpness.

In the previous battle, possessing little elemental power within his body, he had relied solely on the terrifying strength contained within his two transformed arms to blast apart the woodified Lek of the Wood Clan. Having gained some understanding of the Wood Clan’s woodification innate divine ability, he realized that without transforming into this current state, even with his vital essence brimming at its peak, he might not have been able to kill the woodified Lek.

Yet, in his current state of vital essence depletion after the dual-arm transformation, he managed to instantly destroy the woodified Lek. The immense power granted by those arms left his heart pounding with excitement.

The form might be slightly ferocious and ugly, but once transformed, the resulting power was tangible!

Weighing the pros and cons, he finally abandoned his previous reservations and decided to utilize the power of the Origin Crystals to transform his entire body.

Without further hesitation, he began absorbing the power of the Origin Crystals, attempting to use these six hundred-plus crystals to thoroughly remodel his physical form. He wanted to see what form of terrifying might he would achieve once fully transformed.

Time slipped by unintentionally. As the Origin Crystals diminished one by one, his body underwent subtle, strange transformations.

One day, in a valley surrounded by snow-capped peaks, three figures suddenly emerged.

They were precisely Huo Feng, Xiao Han, and Yin Ji. The three walked with furrowed brows through the valley where the snow piled knee-deep. Huo Feng closed her eyes, sensing silently for a moment, then suddenly declared, “The Flame Thunder Holy Fire, after its last manifestation, hasn't emitted any further aura. However, I am certain he is in this immediate area of the snow peaks.”

“It’s fortunate his mental connection with the ‘Flame Thunder Holy Fire’ hasn't reached perfection yet. Otherwise, we might truly never be able to fight him,” Xiao Han sighed softly, forcing a bitter smile. “I was the one who told him the method for controlling the ‘Flame Thunder Holy Fire.’ I truly created this trap for myself.”

“Hmph, this brat stole what belongs to us! I will never let him go!” Yin Ji gritted his teeth, his face filled with chilling murderous intent.

“It's better to proceed cautiously,” Huo Feng glanced at Yin Ji. “It took us thirty years to finally annihilate the Zack Clan, and only then did we remove the restrictions in the Sea of Souls. You haven't learned your lesson, have you?”

Yin Ji’s expression changed, and he snorted a couple of times. “You already said that. The Heaven-Reaching Ghost Mother probably isn’t here, or you two wouldn't have come.”

“If I hadn’t known the Heaven-Reaching Ghost Mother went to the Fire Prison Star to bother those Bone Clan members, would I dare risk coming here?” Huo Feng scoffed, the scar on her face wriggling slightly, her expression savage. “But that brat obtained the ‘Flame Thunder Holy Fire’ and several treasures from the Eighth Layer. His strength must have increased dramatically. It's been nearly thirty years; he definitely isn't the pushover he used to be, capable of being kneaded by anyone.”

Huo Feng’s words made Yin Ji even more resentful, and he said grimly, “Damn the junior! Those things originally belonged to us!”

“They are masterless objects. Whoever obtains them owns them!” Xiao Han said coldly and calmly. “Let’s agree first: you must wait until he helps me accomplish one thing before you can move against him. If the matter fails, you are not allowed to kill him.”

“Got it,” Yin Ji grunted unwillingly.

“Let’s go. We need to find him first. Without sighting him, any plan is just an illusion,” Huo Feng said with some impatience. As soon as she finished speaking, she took the lead toward one of the peaks.

Not far away, at the trading post, the young Feather Clan member who had previously acquired a Flame Thunder Stone from Ji Changkong found Yeller, bringing along a white-haired elder of the Bow Clan.

Upon seeing Yeller, the young Feather Clan member cut straight to the chase. “Yeller, this is our Great Elder Feiyun. Our Great Elder wishes to ask you a few things.”

Yeller started in surprise, rising abruptly. He bowed respectfully toward the white-haired elder of the Feather Clan and said with fawning laughter, “My Elder often mentions you, old sir, saying you are one of the few he respects the most. What questions does the Great Elder have? As long as I know the answer, I will certainly tell you everything without reservation.”

Great Elder Feiyun was full of vigor but displayed a rather cold arrogance. He said faintly, “Have you seen this human brat?”

He casually pointed a finger into the void. The empty space rippled faintly, like waves in water. In just an instant, a figure materialized within those calm ripples—it was precisely Ji Changkong, whom Yeller and the others had failed to locate for their scheme.

“I have seen him, perhaps about twenty years ago. He visited this trading post, exchanging six Flame Thunder Stones for over six hundred Origin Crystals, and then left. He hasn’t appeared since,” Yeller replied respectfully, omitting the matter of sending Lek to snatch Ji Changkong’s Flame Thunder Stones.

“Twenty years ago?” The elder frowned, muttering softly, “Time is neither excessively long nor excessively short. I wonder if he is still in the Forsaken Land…”

“Great Elder, the last time I saw him, he hadn't yet condensed his vital essence. Venturing into the Star Sea journey without formed vital essence would bring many dangers,” the young Feather Clan member quickly explained.

The elder’s eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly. “Indeed. If vital essence hasn't formed, the Star Sea journey will present more troubles. He should still be in the Forsaken Land, perhaps… nearby, it’s possible.”

Saying this, the elder surveyed the surroundings, then asked Yeller a few more questions, inquiring which surrounding area was the most sparsely populated.

After receiving satisfactory answers from Yeller, the elder addressed him sternly: “Don't think I’m unaware of the underhanded dealings you’ve conducted. On this occasion, because you satisfied me, I will let you off this once. If I hear again that you aren't cleaning up your affairs properly in the future, hmph! I will show no mercy!”

Hearing this, Yeller immediately displayed an expression of extreme terror. As he felt uneasy in his heart, the elder grabbed the young Feather Clan member, and their figures suddenly vanished.