"Long time no see, Brother Ye Xiu, your cultivation seems to have advanced considerably?" A young man holding a feather fan spoke with gentle words, his back to the newcomer.

Ye Xiu coldly fixed his gaze upon the man before him—composed, indifferent, yet undeniably commanding. The domino-like markings stitched onto the hem of his robes remained conspicuous. "I owe my thanks to the Third Sect Master for guiding me in the Tianmiao Sword Style. May I ask why the Third Sect Master requested my presence here?"

Garuda fanned himself slowly as he turned, the heroic bearing in his features still startling. "This is the most lowly and backward region of Barren Bone City. Due to status limitations, these people will never leave; they are destined to remain destitute until their very bones decay and they die."

Ye Xiu watched some children rolling in the dirt by his feet, a sense of pity stirring within him. "I hadn't expected such human tragedy within Barren Bone City, the City of Hope in the Boundless Realm. What a pity."

"Heh, this is all due to the clan system. One day..." Garuda spoke softly, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

Noticing that Garuda still harbored deeper thoughts, Ye Xiu couldn't help but ask, "The Third Sect Master summoned me here not merely to observe the people's plight, surely."

"The Bone Appraisal Platform of the Heavens!" Garuda raised a finger, replacing his earlier melancholy expression. "I need you to participate in the Bone Appraisal Platform of the Heavens. Your objective must be the Divine Weapon, Tian Zhi Que (Heavenly Spire), an artifact of the Bone Sect Royalty!"

Ye Xiu had anticipated such a plan from Garuda, though he was still unclear on the rules of the Bone Appraisal Platform of the Heavens. "It's said that Tian Zhi Que is the rarest item this time. The number of contenders will be as numerous as ox hair!"

Garuda shook his head with an air of absolute certainty. "The Barren Bone City Royalty holds the right of designation for Tian Zhi Que. As long as you survive until the end, why worry about not obtaining it..."

"Survive!" Ye Xiu gasped, sucking in a sharp breath. In this realm, masters were as common as clouds. Furthermore, he couldn't unleash his full power; in a proper duel, he certainly couldn't match the others. "Third Sect Master..."

Garuda raised a hand, halting Ye Xiu's words. "I have already arranged matters concerning the competition for Tian Zhi Que; you need not worry. However, the victor of this battle will also marry my younger sister, Yun Xin, and become part of the Barren Bone City Royalty!"

"Scare..." Ye Xiu couldn't help but feel this sounded like a marriage-by-combat contest. But since both Drought Demon Insect Emperor and the Third Sect Master intended for him to be included, the secrets involved were far beyond what he could grasp in a short time.

Garuda lifted a hand and effortlessly took the Tianmiao Sword from Ye Xiu's back. At that moment, a crimson light spread outward, and upon the entire ground, a thick, heavy stone page suddenly appeared. This stone page was inscribed with jagged, bizarre characters. "The second move from the Dead Kingdom Sword Devil Eight Directions Solitude found in the Bone Heaven Legacy Scripture: Tianmiao Falling Shadow!"

"This..." Suddenly, a deep crimson sky filled Ye Xiu's vision. Within that sky, Garuda wielded the Tianmiao Sword, moving his figure back and forth rapidly until countless afterimages were left behind. When he finally stabilized his blade, standing firmly on the ground, those residual images converged, stirring up bursts of explosive energy. "Tianmiao Falling Shadow!"

"Catch this!" The sky returned to normal. Garuda chuckled lightly and tossed the bright crimson Tianmiao Sword back into Ye Xiu's hand. "The Bone Heaven Legacy Scripture contains far more than just a few moves related to the Tianmiao Sword. I look forward to your performance on the Bone Appraisal Platform of the Heavens."

Ye Xiu nodded, carefully savoring everything he had just witnessed. This single sword move already contained the shadow of cultivation realms reaching the level of a Chronos King or even a Zenith Soul energy master. No wonder Eight Directions Solitude could contend with other clans while operating at the Blood Artifact realm.

Thanks to the ample Bone Jade he had acquired from those bandits earlier, Ye Xiu managed to find a decent inn while traversing Barren Bone City. The only irritating thing was that every patron seemed fierce and menacing, as if plotting revenge for a slain father.

"Kid, get out of the way for this old man." Suddenly, a man covered in feathers burst into the main hall. His falling feathers landed squarely on a pot of fine tea Ye Xiu was holding. "Did you all hear? The battle at Mount Sumeru—it turned out that someone from the Corpse Demon Forest betrayed Ten Thousand Dao Mountain. The Boundless Dao Master sealed himself in ice to block Killing Monarch Heaven's Domination. What a tragic affair."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" At this moment, a tiger-like figure stood up, gripping two great sabers, his stance resolute. "Did you see it with your own eyes? Keep speaking rubbish, and I'll slaughter you."

"Fine, come on then!" The Sun-Blind Clan member raised both hands, and the patchy wings on his back slowly unfurled. "My Sun-Blind Clan has long disliked your Fierce Beast Gate. Let's settle this today!"

Ye Xiu was accustomed to such lively scenes. Sure enough, as the two decided to fight, the patrons who had been drinking tea and gossiping naturally retreated to the sides. Some even started placing bets.

The atmosphere in the inn was tense, but in one corner, a young man clad in dark blue night clothes remained unperturbed. His long hair floated gracefully, like a vast blue ocean, yet his eyes flashed with killing intent. His entire focus was on the tea in his hands; he paid no attention to the squabble among the lowlifes.

Ye Xiu found this strange and walked over to the blue-clad youth. "Brother, are you not interested in their fight?"

"Boring." The blue-clad youth looked up at Ye Xiu. His hand was already gripping the broad, powerful saber at his waist. Waves of sandstorms occasionally manifested on the hilt, quite peculiar.

Ye Xiu, having nothing better to do and judging this person to be extremely powerful, smiled and sat down. "That saber you carry is strange. I've noticed that people of the Bone Sect carry no weapons. You must belong to another clan."

The blue-clad youth remained silent. He glanced at Ye Xiu, then took another sip of his drink alone, as if nothing happening around him could capture his attention.

The fight in the middle of the inn raged for quite a while before concluding with the Sun-Blind Clan member's victory. However, his triumph came at a bloody cost; with injuries of that magnitude, he would be unable to participate in the Bone Appraisal Platform of the Heavens.

Amidst the noisy surroundings, Ye Xiu returned to his room alone to rest. However, the Tianmiao Falling Shadow displayed by Garuda was so illusory that he couldn't possibly master it in a short time.

He slept very deeply that night, his dreams filled only with the beautiful countenance of the Myriad Demon Saint Queen.

The sky was bright and clear, the fierce sun carelessly pouring down the sweat of the people. It seemed to know that Barren Bone City was destined to be filled with sparks today. The plaza beneath the Heavenly Ladder Pavilion was already thronged with all the participants, flexing their fists and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Barren Bone City Royalty.

"The Grand Sect Master, Second Sect Master, Third Sect Master, and the County Princess arrive!" At this moment, a resonant voice echoed across the entire Heavenly Ladder Plaza. Everyone looked up to see four figures, luxuriously dressed and radiating majesty, seated firmly in the Heavenly Ladder Pavilion atop the massive bone sword. These were the most powerful members of the Bone Sect Royalty in the Boundless Realm: the steady and grand Jiaye; the domineering and stern Jianan; the calm and gentle Garuda; and the captivatingly beautiful Jiayun Xin.

The Grand Sect Master, Jiaye, sat firmly at the city's center. He lightly raised his hand to greet the warriors below, then nodded steadily toward his attendant beside him.

"The Bone Appraisal Platform of the Heavens officially commences. First, we invite Barren Bone City to present the Divine Weapon, Tian Zhi Que," a sharp, delicate voice announced. "We invite the Grand Sect Master!"

Jiaye was wearing the Profound Dragon Robe today. He rose and tossed a white jade longsword into the air. The sword was slender, its body hollowed in the center, flawless and naturally formed without any extraneous color. Coupled with Jiaye's mastery of the Heavenly Bone Sword Art, the sword descended onto the plaza like a long dragon, settling firmly at the very center of the realm.

"Good thing I made it!" Ye Xiu exclaimed, clapping his hands in admiration at Jiaye's profound cultivation; he had almost missed the main event due to excessive dreaming. "Jiaye took the Soul Weapon Talisman in the Seven Star Constrained Dragon Fiend Land. I hadn't realized his mastery of swordsmanship was so superb. No wonder Barren Bone City is called the City of Hope in the Boundless Realm."

"Heroes of all, please!" Jiaye looked down at the crowd and returned to the Heavenly Ladder Pavilion. Seeing the people of various clans gathered, he turned to Jianan beside him. "I wonder whose hands Tian Zhi Que will fall into?"

"Does Big Brother not have a chosen candidate in mind?" Jianan's voice was crisp, revealing no hint of ambiguity. "Tian Zhi Que belongs to the Royalty; deciding who becomes its master is up to Big Brother."

Jiaye smiled faintly and pointed towards the plaza. "The White City Guard is also down there. He is the only one, besides the three of us brothers, who has cultivated the high-level Heavenly Bone Sword Art. Don't you have confidence in him?"

"Guard Bai Cheng!" Jianan swallowed hard. Indeed, there was a figure in white fluttering among the plaza crowd, clad in magnificent armor. This man was his trusted subordinate, yet Jianan couldn't betray this fact through his words. "Guard Bai Cheng's cultivation is still shallow; I fear he won't be able to accomplish much."

Jiaye glanced at Jianan and shook his head, offering instruction. "Although Guard Bai Cheng's Heavenly Bone Sword Art is only at the sixth level, he is a master among the Bone Control lineage. With a bone sword in hand, his transformations are endless. He is worth looking forward to."

Garuda had long suspected that his two elder brothers had placed their confidants among the contenders for the Bone Appraisal Platform. Seeing their hesitant gestures, he pulled Yun Xin down to look. "Look at that youth near the back of the crowd—the one carrying a red treasured sword?"

"That red treasured sword?" Yun Xin fluttered her long, flowing sleeves, her graceful beauty spreading through the air. She followed Garuda’s gaze. Ye Xiu was actually hanging his head, pounding relentlessly under the fierce sun. "That person looks weak and listless. Could it be he hasn't eaten enough?"

"Achoo..." Ye Xiu sneezed heavily. It turned out the rule of the Bone Appraisal Platform of the Heavens was for everyone to admire the renowned artifacts first, and then freely choose which famous weapon competition to join. However, too many people desired Tian Zhi Que, and if things continued this way, they wouldn't even get a glimpse of the famous artifact by noon.

"Single combat, single sword?" Jiaye also looked in Ye Xiu's direction. That crimson, alluringly evil sword was quite captivating. "I feel like I’ve seen this person somewhere before. Third Brother, only you can activate the Bone Heaven Legacy Scripture. Do you have details about that particular sword?"

Garuda shook his head, his tone quite matter-of-fact. "Why would such minor details be recorded in the Bone Heaven Legacy Scripture? Perhaps this young man has independently developed some technique to forge such a sword."

"Presenting the second famous artifact, the Beast Flame Heavenly Key from the Fierce Beast Gate!" The announcer's voice was strained, but it made everyone in the plaza shiver.

Hearing of the Beast Flame Heavenly Key, Ye Xiu immediately thought of that kid Jun Bugu. Didn't he need to enter the boiling beast flames to forge the Absolute Saber? He scanned the plaza left and right, completely failing to spot the youth. "Could this guy be off killing people again at a crucial moment..."

"Ye Xiu, Ye Xiu!" A woman's voice called out from the crowd. Qi'er moved swiftly, breaking through the throng to stand directly before Ye Xiu. "Where did you run off to? You worried us sick!"

Ye Xiu turned to see A'bi entering the plaza leading the forces of the Fox Demon Palace. He had one question: "What is the Demon Queen's intention?"

"Observe and wait. If possible, I too will contend for Tian Zhi Que!" A'bi smiled at Ye Xiu, all past suspicion vanishing into thin air.