"Master, be careful, their Soul Energy hasn't vanished," Susu dissolved into violet smoke, rising into the air. She gazed into the distance, her expression tense. "This feeling is so similar to that old man on the Yellow Sand Muster Platform—surely they aren't Death Gods." "Bone Collectors!" Ye Xiu couldn't fathom the presence of Bone Collectors stirring within the Death Realm.

Yet, it was a thought he himself had entertained; only one clan could command such an overwhelming legion of skeletons: the descendants of Fuxi, the Bone Collectors. Old Liu carefully retrieved the palm, examining it closely. "Are you saying they are the same clan as Jiaye, Hong Ling's father?

A Bone Collector hiding in the domain of Death Gods—could it be connected to the downfall of the Death Realm?" "Whoosh, whoosh..." In an instant, the wind and clouds shifted violently. The bones Ye Xiu had just shattered reappeared simultaneously, plunging back into the ground. Even more alarming this time, what pierced the earth were not mere leg bones, but human vertebrae and rib cages.

Ye Xiu and Old Liu stood back-to-back, his iron staff gripped tight. "We have to find a way to force that Bone Collector out into the open. Fighting like this, we can't touch him at all." "This place used to be a mass grave, filled with countless Death God bones.

Hong Ling mentioned the Bone Sect splits into two factions: Serpent Controllers and Bone Controllers. This Bone Collector's weapon is bone itself. If we can just shatter his armament, he'll have to reveal himself," Old Liu deduced, his strategy suddenly clear.

He summoned the chill of the Ice Dragon, and instantly, snow began to flurry, blanketing the entire landscape. The snowflakes settled on every bone, freezing them solid. "That should stop the bones from attacking, right?" "But how do we find the fellow?" Ye Xiu spun around, feeling completely engulfed in a world of white.

Every bone looked identical in the snow, making it impossible to spot anything unusual. "It seems it's time for my magical treasure to shine: the Heaven-Piercing Mirror." Old Liu leaped up and pulled a golden bronze mirror from his pocket. He held it high above his head, casting its light around.

A wave of golden radiance spread across the earth; no scene could escape the sight of the mirror in his hand. "See something different, and kill it..." Ye Xiu followed Old Liu's instruction, focusing steadily on the image within the Heaven-Piercing Mirror. Instantly, the white bones appeared one by one, like passing traffic, within the mirror's view.

The snow on the bones, being a product of magic, did not register inside the reflection. Ye Xiu tracked the mirror as Old Liu moved it, and finally, at one point, he saw a fleeting black shadow flickering within the glass. "Now!" Ye Xiu snatched up his iron staff and flew toward the location.

He descended, aiming to seize the shadow, but suddenly countless skeletal frameworks materialized, absorbing his attack head-on. "Damn it!" "I've got him!" Old Liu hurled his Thin Blade. This time, the Thin Blade trailed a fine thread that wrapped around the shadow's ankle.

Old Liu yanked sharply, intending to drag it before him. "Whoosh, whoosh..." A sudden gust of hurricane-force wind swept through, and the black shadow instantly dissolved into nothingness, evading Old Liu's maneuver. "Crack, crash!" The ice coating the surrounding bones slowly cracked and gave way.

The bones seemed to regain life, surging into the earth together, followed immediately by wave after wave of crawling white skeletons emerging from the ground. Ye Xiu ignited his Black Flame, pushing back the encroaching skeletons. He shoved Old Liu back into the sky with a roar.

"That shadow is the Bone Collector. Find him; the ground fight is mine." Old Liu understood the gravity of the situation. He raised the Heaven-Piercing Mirror again, trying to scan the entire landscape, when a massive arm burst from the earth, aiming to crush him alive.

He pivoted, using the momentum of the arm to push off and bound upward, regaining the vantage point. "One chance only! Find him!" The skeletons on the ground were once again annihilated by Ye Xiu.

As the Heaven-Piercing Mirror spun, Ye Xiu located the black shadow once more. He launched an assault, combining his Black Flame with his iron staff, striking toward that corner. "Clang!" The black shadow once again summoned white bone to block Ye Xiu's staff, but the Black Flame had already begun to burn from behind him.

He spun rapidly, and suddenly, bones began to hover around his body, actually absorbing the Black Flame. "Firelight Beast!" Old Liu hurled the Thin Blade. The Firelight Beast attached to it spun downward furiously, locking into a stalemate with the surrounding bones.

"Hahahaha..." The black shadow, unable to break the three-pronged attack, roared and spread its arms wide. The resulting shockwave repelled not only the Firelight Beast and the Black Flame but also sent Ye Xiu himself staggering back several dozen meters. Ye Xiu tumbled to avoid the bone fragments shooting out like blades.

He touched the blood at the corner of his mouth; the pain of the fight ignited his fighting spirit. "This time, you finally showed yourself, Bone Collector." "Roar, howl..." The humanoid outline of the black shadow gradually solidified. White light began to emanate from his entire body, and the scattered bones on the ground converged toward him, forming his skin.

This creature was a monstrous figure completely encased in bone. "I never thought that after so many years, a Death God would dare tread upon this burial ground, hahaha!" Old Liu landed steadily on the ground, trembling slightly as he looked at the snow-white figure. "This fellow has only bone and no flesh or sinew.

Could he actually be the Profound Heaven Root Bone spoken of by the Holy Empress?" "Hahahaha, so you desire the Profound Heaven Root Bone?" The Bone Man raised his hand, and rings of bone spun madly around his arm. He brought his hand down, sending the spinning bones like grinding wheels hurtling toward the two of them. "The Death Realm King promised that the Burial Ground is forbidden territory for all Death Gods.

Any who violate this decree shall only meet the fate of being reduced to white bone." Seeing the formidable momentum of the spinning bones, Ye Xiu unleashed his Black Flame and pulled Old Liu with him as they ascended into the sky. He looked down at the Bone Man, whose entire body seemed impenetrably shielded by bone. "Who exactly are you?

What is your relationship with the Death Realm King?" "The Death Realm King entrusted the Burial Ground to me because I require the Ancient Profound Heaven Root Bone here to advance my power. I succeeded in fusing myself with the Root Bone, and I was on the verge of leaving to bring a golden age to the Bone Sect." As the Bone Man spoke, he clutched his head. In his memory, there seemed to be an abundance of sorrowful things, so tragic that merely thinking of them extinguished all his malice.

"The connection between the Bone Collectors and the Death Realm?" Old Liu rubbed his temples, feeling overwhelmed. Then he remembered the Soul Soldier Talisman—that supreme treasure capable of summoning divine beasts had been taken by the Bone Collector. "The Realms fell into chaos, and the Bone Collectors mistakenly believed the King had killed me.

They mobilized to help all clans resist the Death Realm invasion, leading to the King's defeat..." The Bone Man’s body began to tremble as he spoke. He roared and threw his head back. "Bone does not decay, life does not cease—hahahaha!

What a laughable notion. They don't know that without the Death Realm, the Bone Collectors would only become prey for other clans." "Who are you, really?" Ye Xiu was utterly confused by the dialogue. This individual seemed deeply grateful to the King.

"If the King helped you, why are you killing the Death Gods who mistakenly wandered in here?" The Bone Man twisted his neck in an exaggerated fashion, seeming to bite his own head. "The Profound Heaven Root Bone requires constant absorption of bone energy. If I told you that I am Falian Luo, the former Lord of the Bone Sect through the ages, would you believe me?" "Falian Luo?" Old Liu looked at Ye Xiu with utter bewilderment and whispered, "What kind of nonsense name is that?

Doesn't sound like a master at all." "Alright, Falian Luo." Ye Xiu extended a hand, showing no fear of this so-called Lord of the Bone Sect through the ages. "Can you tell us about the Chaos of the Realms?" "The King's might was no match for the various clan experts. He was cornered and besieged by the Bone Collectors.

I intervened, attempting to tell the Bone Collectors the secret of the Bone Sect and the Death Realm. Alas, these fools were blinded by victory. They wanted to execute the King to establish their supreme prestige within the Realms," Falian Luo's voice suddenly changed, as if everything that happened afterward was the deepest tragedy of his life.

"I never thought my own kin would turn against me. Having no choice, I had to strike back." "What is the secret between the Bone Sect and the Death Realm!" Ye Xiu tried to glean information from Falian Luo. "You saved the King, yet you killed your own people..." "Hahahaha!

Those idiots, they never understood the true meaning of the Bone Collectors' existence—it is the bond of the Fuxi Clan! How could those fools comprehend it!" Falian Luo slammed his hands down on the ground, wailing as he vented years of pent-up rage. At that moment, the entire earth trembled.

"The Profound Heaven Root Bone..." Old Liu watched Falian Luo enter a frenzy and exchanged a glance with Ye Xiu. "Did you hear that? The Profound Heaven Root Bone has fused with him.

What do we do?" "What do we do!" Falian Luo had somehow heard their conversation. He shot to his feet in an instant, transforming into a dense sphere of bone that shot into the sky. Before the two could react, the bone sphere plummeted downward, intending to bury them both.

"Watch out!" Old Liu activated his Black Talisman, already boosting his speed. In that instant, he lunged at Ye Xiu, pushing him clear of the sphere's falling trajectory. But this left him no time to escape.

One of his legs was caught fast beneath the object, snapping. "Aargh..." "Old Liu!" Ye Xiu had never called out Old Liu’s name with such distress. They hadn't anticipated Falian Luo's speed.

Seeing the blood beneath Old Liu, Ye Xiu suddenly erupted in fury. "You bastard, how could you..." "Boom!" At this moment, Falian Luo’s body transformed back into the heavy sphere and soared into the heavens. His speed was so immense that even with his Black Talisman active, Old Liu couldn't contend with it.