"I have decided. Tomorrow, I will enter the Ancient Coffin and transform myself into the White Bone True Demon Body..."

White Bone True Man slowly rose. As he took two steps toward the coffin, the crisp CLACK of bone hitting bone echoed from his entire body.

"Senior Brother, must you go to such lengths?"

Granny Ghost’s chicken-claw-like hands trembled as if she had heard something utterly terrifying.

The Ghost Spirit Sect’s founding Ancestor was a down-on-his-luck scholar. After failing the imperial examinations, he wandered the mountains and forests, where he unintentionally opened this very Ancient Coffin. He received the inheritance of a Demon Skill and established the Sect.

Initially, the Ghost Spirit Sect was just an obscure, small, Foundation Establishment Level sect. That changed a thousand years later, when a disciple at Foundation Establishment Perfection discovered that some Nether Soil had flaked off the lid of the Ancient Coffin, revealing a bizarre Cultivation Technique. By lying in the coffin to practice his Cultivation, he successfully reached Core Formation.

From then on, the Ghost Spirit Sect embarked on a path of rapid development.

As long as they allowed their most outstanding disciple to use the Ancient Coffin, they could guarantee that a Core Formation True Man would appear in every generation.

But soon, the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Cultivators discovered the coffin’s strangeness.

Any Cultivator who reached Core Formation using the Ancient Coffin would find their Divine Sense stiffening within a hundred years at most. They would become like the walking dead, devoid of their own consciousness.

When their lifespan ended and they were about to pass away, they would return to the coffin on their own. They would let out shrill screams as they pulled out their own bones, one by one, and threw them into the Ancient Coffin.

Only at that final moment would the Cultivator regain their sanity for an instant, letting out a roar filled with venomous resentment and unwillingness.

Immediately after, their Divine Soul would be absorbed by the Ancient Coffin, ceasing to exist.

This bizarre situation made the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Cultivators keep a respectful distance from the coffin.

The Core Formation Realm was wonderful, but it only bought a hundred years of enjoyment. Afterward, one would become an uncontrollable walking dead, and upon death, their bones and even their Divine Soul had to be returned to the Ancient Coffin.

Those qualified to enter the Ancient Coffin were all Cultivators at Foundation Establishment Perfection with a high chance of reaching Core Formation on their own. Unless it was a last resort, basically no one would choose this path.

Later generations of the Ghost Spirit Sect found a different way to use the Ancient Coffin. They would only practice the Cultivation of the Demon Skill carved on it, without lying directly inside.

Generation after generation, they actually managed to research a new method: they could extract the Nether Qi from the Ancient Coffin to increase the probability of reaching Core Formation.

While it wasn’t as exaggerated as the one hundred percent success rate from lying inside, it could generally increase one’s chances by twenty percent—twice the effect of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow.

However, the Ancient Coffin’s Nether Qi was only effective for Cultivators who practiced a few specific Demon Skills of the Ghost Spirit Sect. For anyone else, it was not only useless but also extremely harmful.

It was precisely because of this wisp of Nether Qi, extracted once every thirty years, that the Ghost Spirit Sect produced Core Formation True Men much more easily than other Sects.

"A hundred years ago, not steeling my resolve to destroy the Qingfeng Sect before Ge Cang could mature was the worst decision I ever made... Now, even if one or two more of our disciples reach Core Formation, it won’t be enough to salvage the situation. My only choice is to risk it all."

The ghostly flames in White Bone True Man’s eye sockets dimmed, his voice, squeezed from between his bones, betrayed no emotion.

After several thousand years of research, the Ghost Spirit Sect’s understanding of the Ancient Coffin had deepened considerably. They had some speculations about its origins, believing it was very likely the legendary Underworld Nether Coffin.

These Underworld Nether Coffins often appeared during Ancient Times and the Middle Ancient Era, burying great figures of the past or Fallen Immortals from the Upper Realm.

After causing a great stir in the Cultivation Realm, they would all quickly vanish without a trace.

A Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivator could directly advance to Core Formation using an Underworld Nether Coffin, while a Core Formation True Man had a high chance of sublimating their cultivated Demon Skill via the Nether Qi within the coffin.

For example, White Bone True Man could transform himself into the White Bone True Demon Body, advancing directly to Late-Stage Core Formation or even Core Formation Perfection and gaining all sorts of incredible Great Divine Techniques.

The price was the same: a maximum of one hundred years of lucidity.

After that, he would become one of the Living Dead, muddle-headed until his life ran out, at which point both his physical body and Divine Soul would return to the Ancient Coffin.

However, when it came to the changes a Core Formation True Man would undergo by lying in the Ancient Coffin, most of it was just speculation. There were no successful precedents.

Having already become revered Sect Ancestors with a lifespan of five hundred years, who among them would be willing to personally step into such a dangerous situation?

In the entire history of the Ghost Spirit Sect, only one Core Formation True Man had ever climbed into the Ancient Coffin, wanting to take a final gamble as his lifespan was running out.

Not long after lying down in the Ancient Coffin, he began to weep and wail ceaselessly, screaming himself hoarse and begging his sect members to kill him.

This went on for a full one hundred and eighty-one days. When the sounds stopped and they opened the Ancient Coffin again, there was no corpse inside—only an additional handful of fresh Nether Soil.

The horror hidden within the Ancient Coffin, capable of making a Core Formation True Man lose all self-control, suffer to such an extent, and even beg for death, was enough to make one’s blood run cold.

Over time, it became a taboo within the Ghost Spirit Sect for a Core Formation True Man to enter the Ancient Coffin.

White Bone True Man must have deliberated for a long time before making this do-or-die decision.

The death of Daoist Hex was merely the final push he needed to make up his mind.

"My mind is made up. We open the Ancient Coffin in three days... I will seal the underground palace and bring that piece of Ten Thousand Years Yin Jade. It should help me maintain my clarity of mind against the assault of the Nether Qi."

As a veteran Demon Cultivator, White Bone True Man was decisive in killing, cruel and merciless. He was ruthless to others, and just as ruthless to himself.

Once he made a decision, he would not be swayed.

"You are dismissed. While I am in seclusion, restrict the disciples’ movements and guard the Mountain Gate’s Grand Array... I have already spoken with Fairy Lianyu. The Joyful Union Sect will send people to Hejian County to establish a branch. When the time comes, you will transfer that medium-sized Spirit Stone Ore Vein to them."

Granny Ghost and Fairy Taohua bowed in assent and withdrew from the underground palace.

Three days later, the two escorted White Bone True Man into the Ancient Coffin. They watched as the heavy lid closed with a CLACK, their hearts heavy.

"Senior Sister, do you think Senior Brother will succeed?"

Fairy Taohua’s gaze shifted, her naturally bewitching eyes filled with a pitiable charm even as she sighed.

"Heaven’s will is hard to fathom... Since Senior Brother made this decision, he must have some degree of confidence."

Granny Ghost’s expression was grim. As they exited the underground palace, a streak of black light spiraled down and landed in Fairy Taohua’s hand.

Fairy Taohua plucked the black light from the air, and it transformed into a ghost crow that landed on her arm and began to CAW.

"What!"

The bird’s cry, as understood by Fairy Taohua, made the color drain from her face.

"Senior Brother Hex didn’t die at Ge Cang’s hands. He was cut down with a single sword strike by that new Core Formation Cultivator, Bai Zichen..."

"How is that possible! How long has it been since Bai Zichen reached Core Formation? Even Ge Cang needed decades to turn his talent into combat strength... We all know Senior Brother Hex’s power. He wasn’t weak, even among Mid-Stage Core Formation Cultivators."

Granny Ghost’s first instinct was that it was false intelligence. It was possible the Qingfeng Sect deliberately released the news to strike a blow to the Ghost Spirit Sect’s confidence and build up the image of a new, peerless genius.

"It’s true. It was a critical day in the Qingfeng Sect’s pioneering war. Bai Zichen killed Senior Brother Hex with a single sword strike in front of ten thousand people. Several sources have confirmed it..."

Fairy Taohua’s voice trembled. She vaguely recalled having crossed paths with this Bai Zichen before. ’To think we’ve provoked such a deadly figure again.’

That day in Cyan Bull Valley, there were several thousand Qingfeng Sect disciples, plus an even greater number of Clan Cultivators and Loose Cultivators. Even if someone had deliberately tried to cover it up, the news wouldn’t have stayed hidden for long.

Besides, the Qingfeng Sect was probably too busy trumpeting their victory to even think about stopping the news from spreading.

The Ghost Spirit Sect had an easy time gathering information. They just had to find a few Loose Cultivators who participated in the pioneering war to reconstruct the day’s events.

They got the same answer from several Loose Cultivators. The only discrepancies were in the details of how many sword strikes it took for Bai Zichen to kill Daoist Hex.

"The news has spread all over Black Mountain. A Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Tianhe Sword Sect praised Bai Zichen as a peerless genius, the likes of which are only seen once in ten thousand years. A Tier Four Flying Sword even chose him as its master... His strength can’t be measured by the standards of an ordinary Core Formation Cultivator. It’s truly possible he killed Senior Brother Hex with a single strike."

Fairy Taohua didn’t even possess a Tier Three Flying Sword, so she could only imagine the power of a Tier Four Flying Sword.

But she had once witnessed the power of a Low-Grade Spiritual Treasure in the hands of Blood God True Man, and it was already earth-shattering and unstoppable.

A Tier Four Flying Sword was equivalent to a Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure. Perhaps it truly possessed an unbelievable power, allowing a Cultivator who had just reached Core Formation to rival an expert at Late-Stage Core Formation.

"It’s a good thing Senior Brother White Bone is already in seclusion. Otherwise, I’d be worried his mind would be unsettled, and the success rate of his transformation would be even lower..."

Granny Ghost walked toward her Cave Mansion, her body hunched over. Her retreating figure was steeped in the air of decline.

「Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts.」

Master Hei Feng dismissed several Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Clutching a scroll, he hurried through a corridor, forming dozens of complex hand seals while a Jade Pendant at his waist pulsed with Spirit Light.

A vortex appeared in mid-air. With a flash, he rushed into it, and the vortex immediately closed without a trace.

The air here was damp and dark. Stalactites stood in dense rows, and the DRIP... DRIP... of water echoed around.

Master Hei Feng did not fly. No matter how anxious he felt, he only quickened his pace, carefully avoiding every stalactite.

This was one of the most important reasons for the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s rise: the Core Formation Spiritual Object Secret Realm.

After the senior Cultivator of the past discovered this Secret Realm and obtained its inheritance, he relocated its entrance to the deepest part of the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts.

As the most crucial location in the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, only a handful of Core Formation True Men had permission to enter and exit.

Even the two junior brothers who had just reached Core Formation had not yet been granted access.

’With the Ten Thousand Years Void Stone and the Tier Four Earth, the Secret Realm is indeed much more stable than before...’

After several miles, his destination finally came into view.

Fang Tiancheng, who was missing a hand and a foot, was submerged in a pool of Spiritual Liquid to preserve his physical body and prevent it from deteriorating further.

Beside him was a ghastly green youth with a graceful demeanor. He was in the process of healing Fang Tiancheng. A bird with a small head and a puffed-out chest perched on his shoulder, preening its feathers.

This bird was extremely unusual. From time to time, it would vanish into thin air.

A moment later, it would reappear on the youth’s shoulder.

Not a trace of Demon Power could be felt from it; it was as if this was an innate ability, activated naturally.

Master Hei Feng didn’t dare to disturb them. He waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before the ghastly green youth withdrew his hand from Fang Tiancheng’s body amidst a puff of white smoke. Only then did he step forward.

Fang Tiancheng’s injuries were unique. Otherwise, with the powerful life force he could borrow from his Lifebound Spiritual Beast, he would have long since regenerated his limbs and grown new flesh on his bones.

He wouldn’t be in his current state, needing to find a Tier Four Short Limb Rebirth Spirit Pill to recover, having to soak in Spiritual Liquid day in and day out, and even requiring the help of a junior sect brother just to keep his body from deteriorating further.

"Hei Feng, what are you doing here?"

The ghastly green youth shot him a sidelong glance, making Master Hei Feng shrink back slightly. He said, "Senior Brother Feng, I came to check on Senior Brother Fang’s injuries... and also to report some news. Daoist Hex of the Ghost Spirit Sect was killed with a single sword strike—his Divine Soul was annihilated!"