Chapter 357 - The Bone's Power
Shi Hao examined the inside of his body, and what he saw startled him. He deduced the origin of that little figure. It was evolved from the symbols on the supreme being bone that had managed to take on a human shape.
The transformation was remarkable enough to make any other creature sigh in admiration. It was worthy of being known as the human race’s supreme being bone. Once revived, it possessed an astonishing power. A human form would appear and resonate with the great dao.
It was completely different from other divine abilities. Typically, other precious techniques would always form vicious birds and savage beasts when they materialized, but never materialize human form.
Throughout the long history of cultivation, the human race had always been weak. After undergoing endless years of struggles and imitations, humans gradually evolved and established their own power.
It all came down to the fact that the humans did not have symbols of their own. Every human cultivator had to acquire symbols from somewhere else before they could create their own.
However, there were exceptions. There were a few individuals who bitterly cultivated and advanced one step at a time until they made great achievements and became unrivalled in this world. They were able to construct their own symbols, and those were unique precious techniques exclusive to themselves.
Even harder to come by were cultivators like Shi Hao, who had been endowed with supreme symbols at birth. They would enable him to have the world at his command and let him roam freely anywhere in the world.
The agglomeration of symbols to form a human shape was the embodiment of the human race’s deepest mysteries. Along the endless cultivation journey and precious techniques, such phenomenons were indeed very rare.
It went without saying that such precious techniques bore unfathomably profound meanings. Each time they made an appearance in this world, they would be accompanied by frightful disturbances. The power they possessed was considered both unprecedented and earthshaking.
The only problem though, was that the current situation looked rather bizarre. No one had ever heard of a blazing little figure sitting cross-legged on a dao bone while reciting scriptures. Had the word got out, the whole world would be shocked.
By now, Shi Hao had been drained of his spiritual essence. Even someone as sturdy as he was, with a nearly indestructible physical body, could not stop shivering. Divine light could be seen rising from inside his flesh and blood, rushing towards his chest.
As time went by, the fluid in the Pond of Rebirth gradually decreased until the pond was almost dried up. The mightiness of the bone was almost unimaginable. It devoured everything, as if it would wipe the world clean if it was allowed to do so.
After two days had passed, Shi Hao became almost unrecognizable. His skin and muscle were rumpled and shriveled, his internal organs had lost their translucency, and even his bones appeared lusterless. His current appearance seemed dispirited and listless.
The change was so frightening that it was making the divine striking stone shudder and flee backwards. Had the stone gotten any closer, it might have been sucked dry. The bone was like a bottomless pit.
However, Shi Hao was feeling more lively than ever. His physical body might have lost its vitality, but he was full of spirit and energy on the inside. The fact that the supreme bone was reviving in front of his eyes filled his heart with joy.
However, this bone was way too frightening. The energy it would consume to maintain its growth would be unfathomable.
The pond contained essence left behind by the rebirth of the archaic Vermillion Bird. Such substance would trigger a sensation if brought to the outside world, and even supreme experts would fight tooth and nail for it. The impact would be catastrophic.
Although the Pond of Rebirth was mainly filled with magma, not all of it was composed of divine substances.. However, there was still an astonishing amount, for it had been accumulated for over a decade.
The small supreme bone alone had drained the pond of its fluid. However, Shi Hao could see with his naked eyes that the bone did not become any larger and only became glossier than before.
More importantly, profound and complex symbols were flickering on the bone, and stored within were the heavens’ profound mysteries!
The discovery was making Shi Hao a little fretful. He had been observing this bone all this time. The snowy white and translucent bone piece was not that big. The symbols on it were so mysterious that he could not even figure them out.
The first reason was that the symbols had been showing up in a fleeting manner and were never distinct enough. Moreover, the pattern they formed was way too complicated. They almost resembled a sky covered with stars, as if they formed another heavenly domain.
Another few days passed and now, the Pond of Rebirth was finally dried up completely. The bone inside Shi Hao, however, was still of the same size. A little figure surrounded by swirling multicolored light was sitting on top with its legs crossed, chanting sutras the entire time.
In the end, the divine essence created by the rebirth of the Archaic Vermillion Bird had become so thin that it could no longer nourish the bone. It was only until then that everything started to quiet down and stop.
The bone had gone silent. The blazing little figure disappeared, turning into a symbol and concealing itself inside the bone.
Shi Hao sat cross-legged without making a sound. There was nothing left in the Pond of Rebirth apart from some rocks. He frowned and activated the supreme bone, trying to reveal the profound meanings within.
However, he sensed a tightness in his chest accompanied by a sharp pain. Despite its small size, the intimidating aura the bone possessed was almost powerful enough to split open the skies.
His current action of activating it by force almost tore apart his own body.
The bone was difficult to control. This was a huge problem!
The main reason for that, Shi Hao realized, was that the supreme bone was incomplete and had not been revived to its full extent. As a result, when he tried to activate it, there were many aspects where it did not match with him.
However, Shi Hao was a tough and fearless person. He continued to persevere and test out this bone.
Finally, an excruciating pain hit him, and it felt as if his soul was being split apart. His spirit immediately declined, and cracks appeared on his chest. Something terrifying had happened.
This was a result of Shi Hao forcing the bone to revive. A violent fluctuation was released that inflicted great pain on Shi Hao.
Shi Hao persisted on and did not give up. In the end, he felt as if all the bones in his body were shattering, and he was on the verge of blacking out. Blood oozed out from his chest and cracks covered his forehead, leaving him with serious injuries.
Hong!
A streak of frightening light erupted from his chest, puncturing the wall of the grand palace. The ground trembled, and magma surged violently!
“Yi, what happened? Is the Holy Emperor’s Palace in trouble?” Within the volcanoes above the surface, the little red bird was perching on an ancient tree and was puzzled by the noise.
Shi Hao had no idea how long it took before his spirit and soul found their way back to his body. What happened just then was too dangerous. That symbol light was not something he could comprehend. It transcended everything, shaking him so greatly that his soul left his body.
The streak of light that had shot through the ceiling was unbelievably frightening. The shocking power damaged the Holy Emperor’s Palace.
Shi Hao found it hard to measure the exact magnitude of that eruption, since his spirit and soul had been blasted away from his physical body, leaving him completely overwhelmed. The only thing he could tell for sure was that it was incredibly formidable.
Nevertheless, such mighty power was both hard to control and not easy to utilize. His action of activating it by force had resulted in a terrible repercussions that almost ended his own life.
“Even a physical body as tough as mine was injured?” Shi Hao felt rather unsettled.
After snapping back to reality, he was overwhelmed by the excruciating pain all over his body. His chest looked like a rag, mangled beyond recognition. The blast also left him with quite a few broken bones. It was… just too horrifying.
He was speechless. What happened was truly dangerous, and it had almost taken his life.
Shi Hao quietly assessed his physical condition. Activating the bone would result in a lot of trouble. What if he only used it for defense? That shouldn’t be as difficult, right?
“The bone has not fully developed yet and will not yield to my control, leading to this result.”
However, Shi Hao did not remain low-spirited for long. He stirred himself up, and his gaze became fiery. The supreme being bone was so powerful when it hadn’t fully grown yet, so once it completely formed, just how terrifying would it become then?!
He had a feeling that this was the precious technique that would suit him the best. This innate ability was completely unique and far surpassed anything he obtained previously.
Even the bone that Shi Yi had seized from him was different, for the one he had now had withered, laid in silence for many years, and then revived. It had turned into something completely different.
“I’m looking forward to its rebirth and maturation!” Shi Hao said to himself.
However, he began to grimace in pain soon afterwards. The pain was not caused solely by the injuries created from recklessly activating the supreme bone, but because his body was already not in its best condition. When he tried to revive the bone, his entire body was devoured by flames. His spiritual essence was drawn out, almost to the point of sucking him dry.
With his shrivelled body, lusterless internal organs and bones that were no longer translucent, he looked incredibly miserable, as if he was someone who had been thrown back into the mortal world.
Had any other individual seen his current appearance, they would never be able to imagine the havoc this place must have gone through to dishevel this young man whose body was as tough as an unbreakable vajra body to become so tattered. It really was a bit scary.
Fortunately, his foundation remained unharmed and the damage was limited to the superficial level. With some recuperation, he would recover in no time.
Shi Hao took out the Little Devil Wine and poured it down his throat. He gulped down more than a jin of the liquor with gudong gudong sounds. His body started to illuminate, and color returned to his skin. He did not look as ashen and pale as before.
Where did the divine striking stone go? After thinking for a moment, he immediately realized why and raised his head. The fellow was suspended in mid-air, and like a thief, it quietly drank the divine liquid through its mouth.
The fluid created by the rebirth of the archaic Vermillion Bird was hidden within the fiery domain. Every so often, a drop of the fluid would permeate the Fire Imperial Palace and show up in mid-air.
The two Ponds of Rebirth were formed this way after countless years of accumulation.
At this moment, the divine striking stone was hiding at the mouth of the spring in midair. During these past few days, it was able to drink a few drops.
“It’s neither stone nor earth. What are you drinking it for?” Shi Hao asked.
“Nonsense. The fluid is mixed into the magma, so it can be considered a type of rock as well. Of course I can refine it!” The Divine Striking Stone was extremely alert, reminding one of a fierce dog guarding its food.
“Yi, there is a chaos stone over there,” Shi Hao revealed a surprised look.
“Where?” The Divine Striking Stone turned to look, but cried out immediately, “You bastard! You lied to me!”
In that split of a second, Shi Hao switched position with it, making it right on time to catch that drop of liquid. It was bright red with a dab of pale gold. He then landed on the ground.
The divine striking stone was infuriated. It had waited for a day and a night, yet the drop almost came down. When it finally did, it ended up being taken away by someone else.
“My body is injured. I need it for recovery!” With that, Shi Hao sat down cross-legged and did not say another word.
The rebirth fluid was indeed astonishing. Shi Hao had several broken bones from the blast, but after taking in that drop of liquid, crackling sounds rang out from inside of him as his bones reconnected and his vital essence was nourished.
For someone with a physique comparable to the unbreakable golden body like him, to have a broken bone meant something major must have taken place. Normally, who was powerful enough to hurt him? It was definitely a serious injury.
Yet now, those bones were set in place again almost instantaneously.
In the next couple of days, Shi Hao fought with the divine striking stone over the rebirth fluid several times and completely mended his physical body. Moreover, he even replenished the spiritual essence that had been used up before.
He had returned to his peak state, becoming extremely powerful again!
Now, he no longer fought over the fluid with the divine striking stone, so his ears were able to catch a break.
Huo Ling’er remained in her cocoon. It was fiery red with a light golden glow. She was in a deep state of dormancy, experiencing the most important transformation of her life.
Shi Hao marched forward and stopped a few hundred zhang away. In front of him was a magnificent wall. Ancient stone gates were set at intervals along it.
“What is this?” He was puzzled.
Every stone gate was extremely large. On top of them were diagrams of vicious beasts and divine birds. They appeared extremely ferocious, as if they really were creatures pouncing out from the primitive wastelands.
He stood in front of a stone gate and touched the image of a Pixiu with his hands. Immediately, he could hear a roar that greatly shook this place.
He was taken by surprise and released his hands involuntarily. He was not in a hurry to open the gate.
He walked to another gate where a Golden-Winged Peng was carved on top. The image was almost lifelike in appearance. Its domineering and bloodthirsty manner was so terrifying and unsettling that he felt as if it was coming down from the wall.
“What is inside?” He was surprised and bewildered.