A sharp, piercing sound ripped through the air as a streak of crimson light burst from the sea of blood, arcing across the void and shooting toward the rear of the white bone palace.

Nie Kong’s eyes snapped open, his heart instantly soaring into his throat.

"Nie Kong, well done!"

Startled by Da Yan Lingzun’s sudden roar, Pan Hu seemed momentarily stunned, but the next instant he reacted, letting out a hearty laugh. Simultaneously, a brilliant burst of flame tore through the crimson haze filling the concave valley, spiraling away behind the bone palace from the opposite side.

"Boom!"

The crimson streak of light and the flame collided precisely.

"Run!"

Qing Yue cried out, and with Qing You flanking her, they dragged Xiang Xiang away in a desperate dash toward the distance. Sensing this, the tension in Nie Kong’s chest finally settled. With Pan Hu intercepting Da Yan Lingzun, Xiang Xiang, Qing Yue, and Qing You—the three of them—should be safe to retreat.

"Sea of Blood Gathers Souls, Ten Thousand Bones Give Rise!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill…"

In the valley, the sea of blood surged. Da Yan Lingzun seemed utterly enraged, spitting out seven "Kills" in rapid succession, each one more urgent and violent than the last, shaking heaven and earth with a resonant rumble. As the final "Kill" echoed, the entire white bone realm boiled over.

"Boom! Boom…"

Like ten thousand galloping horses, the ground vibrated violently. Skeletons rose into the air, swarming like locusts, surging toward the concave valley where the palace stood, their momentum even greater than before. In the blink of an eye, the valley was choked with countless bones.

It was clear that Da Yan Lingzun intended to dispose of Pan Hu first before turning her attention to the thief who had stolen the incarnation of her 'Hui Mou Cao' (Returning Glance Grass). In her eyes, Pan Hu remained the greatest threat; without him, Nie Kong, with only his Seventh Stage cultivation, could be annihilated with a mere flip of her hand.

This choice by Da Yan Lingzun was exactly what Nie Kong desired.

"Da Yan, you finally couldn't hold back! Good! Good! Watch how this old man teaches you a lesson. This First Star Consort, I claim for myself!" Within the towering, layered mountains of white bone, specks of blood-red light flickered intermittently. Pan Hu’s slightly smug laughter buzzed and permeated the surroundings. "Divine Fire Pervades the Heavens, Rise!"

"Hiss!"

The instant Pan Hu’s laughter faded, a deafening roar tore through the sky, and blazing firelight erupted from between the endless bones.

Nie Kong focused his gaze, watching as vast swathes of skeletons were melted into ash. That sphere of flame spun rapidly within the bone mountains and sea of blood, resembling a rotating disk. With every rotation, thousands of skeletons vanished, yet in the next moment, more bones rushed in like moths to a flame from every direction.

"Ayayaya…"

Flickering rapidly amidst the dense skeletons, three small figures flashed past, quickly covering several thousand meters of space to arrive before Nie Kong. Then, the little ones fluttered before him, presenting the 'Hui Mou Cao' as if showing off a treasure. Nie Kong nodded expressionlessly, his gaze unwavering.

This was a critical juncture; Nie Kong dared not allow his mind to wander even for an instant.

Furthermore, it was not yet time to stow the 'Hui Mou Cao' into the 'Pet Backpack.' Leaving it outside allowed Da Yan Lingzun to sense its aura constantly, thus keeping her focused on battling Pan Hu. However, if the aura of the 'Hui Mou Cao' disappeared, Da Yan Lingzun would likely rush toward this location immediately.

"Ayayaya?"

Nie Kong’s reaction left the little ones utterly confused, their tiny flower buds tilting in apparent dismay. But before they could figure out what was happening, Qing Yue grabbed their roots and pulled them to the ground. A moment later, the three little ones forgot Nie Kong and began enthusiastically studying the 'Hui Mou Cao' amongst themselves.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss…"

The whistling sounds continued endlessly, the sea of blood, bones, and flames intertwining into one mass. Through repeated rotations, the sphere of fire grew larger and larger. In less than two minutes, it had nearly doubled in size. Though the blood sea surged and the bones blotted out the sky, they could no longer suppress the flames.

"Explode!"

Suddenly, Pan Hu roared.

Immediately following, a massive explosion shook the air. The sphere of flame erupted as if it were suddenly detonated dynamite, bursting forth in a blaze that filled heaven and earth. Faintly, a pained grunt seemed to emerge from the sea of blood, the overwhelming waves of blood rapidly receding, and the bones that had charged the fire plummeted down.

"Now is the time!"

Nie Kong’s pupils constricted. He suddenly sat cross-legged opposite the 'Medicine King Incarnation.' His true body and second incarnation simultaneously activated the 'Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art.' The Spiritual God Acupoints trembled violently, and boundless mutated wood spiritual energy surged from the 'Second Incarnation' toward the main body like a crashing tide.

Almost without hindrance, the Death Qi furiously integrated into the mutated wood spiritual energy, and Spiritual Treasure Essence constantly manifested…

In an instant, the empty Spiritual God Acupoints of the main body were filled, and the remaining few pairs of minor acupoints burst open and connected. By then, all twenty pairs of minor acupoints within Nie Kong's Spiritual God Acupoints were completely unobstructed, and the speed at which the spiritual power of the main body and the second incarnation merged increased several times over.

"Boom!"

The invisible barrier that had previously manifested shattered instantly.

Nie Kong’s brow trembled slightly, and his spiritual sense immediately flooded into the Spiritual God Acupoints. Almost simultaneously, the Nine Nether Stars within the Hidden Acupoints flickered. A moment later, a golden light manifested within the Spiritual God Acupoints, rapidly expanding. In the blink of an eye, it grew as large as a broad bean—golden, round, and lustrous, like a freshly refined spiritual medicine.

The expansion of the golden light did not cease. The Spiritual Treasure Essence within the Spiritual God Acupoints flowed into it like a tide. When it reached the size of an egg, it had completely transformed from pure gold to a dark green color, though fine, intricate golden lines could be clearly seen on its smooth surface.

"Core Pill!"

This was the mark of a Core Spirit Master!

At this moment, the 'Core Pill' Nie Kong condensed was vastly different from that of an ordinary Spirit Master. Condensing a 'Core Pill' required mobilizing spiritual sense and spiritual energy. However, Nie Kong’s 'Core Pill' incorporated not only spiritual sense and energy but also the divine power from the Nether Stars.

The size of the Core Pill determined a Spirit Master’s potential for continued cultivation. The larger the Core Pill, the higher the probability of breaking through to the Cave Spirit Realm. Most Spirit Masters, when breaking through from the Ninth Grade of the Void Spirit Realm to the First Grade of the Core Spirit Realm, condensed a 'Core Pill' no larger than a peanut, or sometimes even as small as a soybean.

One as large as a thumb was rare, and a 'Core Pill' the size of an egg like Nie Kong's was likely unseen by few, if any, in the entire history of the Tian Ling Continent.

"First Grade Core Spirit!"

Nie Kong’s spirit remained utterly stable. The mutated wood spiritual energy from the second incarnation continued to pour into the main body, rapidly merging with the Death Qi. Almost the instant the 'Core Pill' solidified, Nie Kong sensed a new, invisible barrier within the Spiritual God Acupoints.

"Boom!"

The barrier dissolved again. But as the intensity of the 'Spiritual Treasure Essence' soared wildly, a new invisible barrier began to form in the acupoints.

"Second Grade Core Spirit!"

"Third Grade Core Spirit!"

"…"

"Sixth Grade Core Spirit!"

Nie Kong suddenly opened his eyes. Both his personal strength and his overall aura had undergone a monumental change, yet concealed by the 'War God Star Seal' and the 'Spiritual Connection Battle Robe,' this massive transformation was known only to him for the time being.

Originally, Nie Kong had estimated that fusing the spiritual power of his second incarnation with his main body would bring him to the Fifth Grade of the Core Spirit Realm, which would have been excellent. He never imagined that upon condensing the 'Core Pill' and becoming a true Core Spirit Master, he would jump directly from the First Grade to the Sixth Grade, far exceeding his prior expectations.

From the moment he began running the 'Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art' to channel the second incarnation's spiritual power into the main body, through the condensation of the Core Pill, and finally to his cultivation soaring to the Sixth Grade Core Spirit—the entire process of merging and breakthrough, though seemingly lengthy, occurred in the blink of an eye, totaling less than two seconds combined.

The speed was so fast that even Pan Hu's expanding flames were still in the process of detonation.

"Pan Hu, now it’s my turn to scheme against you!"

With a thought, nine golden needles materialized in Nie Kong’s right palm. Then, with a swift movement of his hand, the needles struck. In an instant, the Earth Needle, Man Needle, Time Needle, Sound Needle, Rhythm Needle, Star Needle, Wind Needle, and Wild Needle—eight of the golden needles—were embedded respectively in the right chest of the 'Medicine King Incarnation' before him.

To execute the 'Nine Yang Heart Devouring Art,' not only must the 'Crimson Star Battle Body' reach the Third Level, but it also required 'Heart Drum Battle Sound' as the catalyst. If Pan Hu’s heart were currently within Nie Kong’s main body, he could act directly, but since the heart was housed within the 'Medicine King Incarnation,' other methods were required.

In Nie Kong's view, the best medium for applying 'Heart Drum Battle Sound' and the 'Nine Yang Heart Devouring Art' to the 'Medicine King Incarnation' was the Nine-Turn Golden Needles originating from his previous life. On the journey to the Ghost Domain, Nie Kong had iterated this plan hundreds of times, ensuring absolute certainty!

"Success or failure rests on this move!"

Nie Kong took a deep breath, lightly fiddling with the last, slender Heaven Needle in his right hand, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the fierce red light in the distance.

Amidst the scattering shower of firelight, Pan Hu’s triumphant laughter suddenly rang out: "Da Yan, how was that last strike? If this old man judges correctly, you are already at the end of your tether. If you continue fighting, it won't be long before your power drops below the Ninth Stage!"

Da Yan Lingzun was silent for a moment before sneering, "Pan Hu, how much stronger can you possibly be than this Venerable?"

"Not much stronger, truly, but more than enough to deal with you. Da Yan, obediently become this old man’s First Star Consort, and I might spare you a…"

Before he could finish, a piercing scream suddenly ripped from Pan Hu’s throat—Nie Kong had abruptly plunged the Heaven Needle into the right chest of the 'Medicine King Incarnation.' A massive burst of flame shot up again from that valley. Pan Hu roared deafeningly, "Nie Kong, you were plotting against this old man!"

"Pan Hu, who would have thought the little ant you brought along would turn against you? Heaven truly assists this Venerable! Hehehehe…" Da Yan Lingzun laughed charmingly. The retreating sea of blood suddenly surged again into monstrous waves a hundred meters high, crashing down upon the cluster of flames like mountains tumbling over.

"Nie Kong, damned you!"

"…"

Pan Hu’s furious roars of rage followed one after another. Nie Kong remained perfectly still, merely moving his fingers rapidly to manipulate the Heaven Needle. Amidst a sharp buzzing sound, the nine golden needles radiated brilliant golden light.

"Dong! Dong! Dong…"

Taking the heart as the drum, and the intent as the drumsticks, the 'Heart Drum Battle Sound' that he had once listened to in the Battle Clan's 'Battle Sound Hall' was now being performed within Nie Kong’s main body’s heart. Each beat of the battle sound transformed into a wondrous vibration, transmitted through the tips of the Heaven Needles toward the interior of the 'Medicine King Incarnation'…

…

: Second update complete..

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