19: Chapter 19 Qi Gathering Level 4

Seeing this, Ye Tian breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare to linger. He ran further ahead until the sound of the snake had completely vanished before slumping down against a massive boulder, gasping for air.

A piercing pain radiated from his back; the injury was clearly severe.

He pulled out some Golden Sore Ointment and applied it haphazardly, then swallowed an ordinary Healing Pill.

After resting for a moment, he finally had the chance to survey his surroundings.

He was now deep within the valley, where the miasma was so thick it seemed solid. The silence was terrifying; even the sound of the wind was absent.

Bones were scattered across the ground—some humanoid, others from massive beasts—and a scent of decay permeated the air.

Meanwhile, the stone bead in his pocket began to emit an unprecedented warmth, its guidance becoming incredibly clear.

It was just ahead, behind a pile of jagged rocks!

What was there?

Ye Tian gripped his short blade, stood up alertly, and cautiously crept toward the rock pile.

Rounding several massive boulders, the sight before him made him gasp!

The skeleton of a massive, unknown Vicious Beast lay half-buried in the rocks. The bones were a dull gold, and even after countless years, they still radiated a heart-pounding pressure.

And leaning against the skeleton was a humanoid skeleton!

The clothing on the humanoid skeleton had long since weathered away, but the bones were as translucent as jade, faintly shimmering with a luster that set them apart from the ordinary bones nearby.

The skeleton's finger bones were resting on a rib of the dull-gold beast skeleton, as if it had been fighting the creature until its final breath.

What made Ye Tian's heart race even faster was a ring worn on the skeleton's left ring finger!

The style and patterns of that ring were almost identical to the ring he had found outside the forest!

Except this one was a deeper color, and although the central gemstone was covered in dust, it emitted a faint, subtle light!

The heat and guidance from the stone bead originated precisely from this skeleton and this ring!

Ye Tian suppressed his excitement and slowly approached.

He first surveyed the area cautiously to ensure there was no danger before squatting down to take a closer look.

On the ground in front of the skeleton, several lines of blurred characters had been carved with something sharp. The handwriting was distorted, but he could barely make out the general meaning:

"I... Master Xuan Gui... was plotted against by a Rebellious Disciple, and the 'chaos bead' was lost here... eventually my strength failed... I regret being unable to purge my Sect... any who come after... if you obtain my ring and bead... I hope... you will slay the Rebellious Disciple 'Hei Sha'... to appease my soul..."

The writing stopped abruptly there.

Master Xuan Gui?

chaos bead?

Hei Sha?

Ye Tian was profoundly shaken!

He suddenly pulled his own ring from his pocket and looked at the ring on the skeleton's hand.

Could his stone bead be the so-called "chaos bead"?

Wasn't this left behind by his father when he passed away?

Unfortunately, his father had left too suddenly to tell him where the stone bead had actually come from.

And this skeleton was Master Xuan Gui, who had left the ring?

Then who was "Hei Sha"?

He tried, very cautiously, to take the ring from the skeleton's hand.

The moment his fingers touched the ring—

Buzz!

The chaos bead in his pocket and the ring in his hand vibrated violently at the same time!

Two streams of energy from the same source suddenly resonated!

The gemstone in the center of the ring on the skeleton's hand suddenly flashed with a faint light. An extremely weak intention, yet one containing a vast amount of information, surged through his fingers and into his mind!

A flood of images and fragments of information flashed by: an ancient Sect, fierce battles, betrayal, flight... and finally, a fragmented technique on how to initially guide and use the "chaos bead" to absorb and refine energy!

It was countless times more sophisticated than the crude methods he had figured out on his own!

The flow of information stopped abruptly, and the light of the ring dimmed, as if it had exhausted its last bit of power.

At that moment, the skeleton's translucent bones quietly turned to ash and scattered with the wind.

Only the ring and the massive, dull-gold beast skeleton remained.

Ye Tian stood frozen in place, digesting the sudden information in his mind, his heart pounding wildly.

He understood!

His stone bead was indeed a massive Opportunity!

And the fragmented technique he had just obtained was exactly what he needed most right now: how to use the chaos bead more effectively to Cultivate!

He suppressed the urge to try it immediately, first picking up the ring from the ground and carefully putting it away.

Then, his gaze fell upon the dull-gold beast skeleton.

This Vicious Beast must have been incredibly powerful in life; even years after its death, its remains still contained a trace of unimaginably vast energy!

The rib that the skeleton's finger had been touching had the most obvious energy fluctuations.

According to the hints from the fragmented technique he had just received, the chaos bead could absorb and refine various types of energy, including the energy from such powerful remains!

A bold idea surged into his mind.

He sat cross-legged in front of the beast skeleton, placed both hands on the dull-gold rib, held his breath, and focused his mind. He followed the method from the fragmented technique and tried to guide the chaos bead in his pocket.

At first, there was no reaction.

But he persisted, his concentration intense, trying over and over again.

Finally, when his focus reached a certain critical point—

Buzz!

The chaos bead vibrated suddenly, and a powerful suction force erupted!

In the next moment, Ye Tian was shocked to feel a stream of pure, vast Spiritual Qi being forcibly drawn from the dull-gold beast bone. It flowed through his hands and continuously into the chaos bead!

The chaos bead instantly became scalding hot, hungrily devouring the energy!

At the same time, it began to feed back a gentler, yet equally pure energy into Ye Tian's Meridians!

This energy was far more concentrated than Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!

Ye Tian did not dare to be careless. He immediately circulated the Qi Induction Mantra and that nameless Body Refining manual, guiding this energy to strike at the barrier of Qi Gathering Stage 4 while simultaneously tempering his Physical Body!

Boom!

The energy was like a torrent, roaring and surging within his body.

Under the impact of this powerful energy, the barrier to Qi Gathering Stage 4 began to crumble!

The Bottleneck of Body Refinement Level 2 also began to loosen!

Feelings of pain and growing power intertwined!

After an unknown amount of time, when the color of the dull-gold rib had turned grey and its energy was nearly depleted—

Crack!

Something inside his body shattered completely!

An even more turbulent current of air surged forth; his Meridians were widened, and his Dantian Qi Sea became more stable and vast!

Qi Gathering Realm, Stage 4!

At the same time, his Physical Body emitted a series of crackling sounds. His strength soared, and his bone and muscle strength reached a new level!

Body Refining Level 3!

Ye Tian snapped his eyes open, his gaze sharp and bright!

Feeling the majestic power far exceeding what he had before and his toughened Physical Body, a surge of powerful confidence arose within him!

He stood up, looked at the now lusterless beast bones, and touched the two warm rings and the chaos bead in his pocket.

Surviving a desperate situation and finding a blessing in disguise!

He turned and strode out of the valley.

The night was deep. Ye Tian sat cross-legged on his hard bed, with three items spread out before him.

The grey stone bead, which he now knew was called the "chaos bead," and two rings of similar design.

One was picked up near the Yin Wind Ravine and was slightly dull.

The other was obtained today from Master Xuan Gui's remains; it was deeper in color, and the central gem still held a trace of light.

He picked up the chaos bead, his fingertips brushing its rough surface.

When his father was gravely ill, he had pressed this bead into his hand and said weakly, "Tian'er... this is a family heirloom... a memento... keep it..."

At the time, he had only thought it was his father's delirious words in his final moments, or perhaps a wish to leave his son something to hold onto. He never imagined this seemingly ordinary stone would hide such a world-shaking secret.

"Father, did you know what it was you found?" Ye Tian whispered to himself.

He picked up the two rings again and compared them carefully.

The patterns were indeed from the same source, but the aura contained in Master Xuan Gui's ring was much deeper.

He tried bringing the chaos bead close to the rings, or the two rings close to each other, but aside from a faint warmth, there was no other special reaction.

Trying to sink his consciousness into them was like throwing a stone into the ocean.

"It seems that if I want to truly uncover their secrets and resolve the grudge between Master Xuan Gui and 'Hei Sha,' I will need more clues and greater strength."

Ye Tian sighed and stopped his futile attempts.

The most important thing right now was to digest the gains from this trip to the Black Cloud Mountains and prepare for the imminent Family Grand Competition.

He wrapped the two rings carefully in thick cloth again and hid them deep within the crack in the wall.

The chaos bead, however, he continued to wear close to his body.

Then, he closed his eyes and sank his mind into his body.

His Qi Gathering Stage 4 cultivation had stabilized. The currents of Qi surged incessantly, far more majestic and refined than when he was at Stage 3.

At Body Refining Level 3, his physical strength was surging and his bones were tough.

More importantly, there was the fragmented technique for guiding the chaos bead that he had obtained from Master Xuan Gui's ring.

He tried following the method described. He no longer crudely "commanded" the chaos bead to absorb Spiritual Qi with his mind as he had before.

Instead, in a more harmonious way, he guided his own inner strength to resonate with the chaos bead, then used it to draw in and refine external energy.

It was awkward at first, but with a clear technique to guide him, it was far more efficient than when he was figuring it out on his own.

Gradually, he felt the thin Spiritual Qi in the surrounding air being drawn in at a faster rate. After being transformed by the chaos bead, it turned into pure energy and merged into his body.

Although the speed couldn't compare to directly absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the beast bone, it was already several times faster than before!

"At this rate, combined with the assistance of that special aura in the Ancestral Hall, I might be able to further advance my Stage 4 cultivation before the Grand Competition!" Ye Tian thought excitedly.