372: Chapter 372 Mortal Bones Reconstructed, Stone Tests its Heaven-Opening Power

In the first-floor lobby of the Yuelai Inn, the air was filled with the rich aroma of white rice porridge, mixed with the faint scent of mold from aged old wood.

The streets outside were noisy. The shackles of the Heavenly Dao in the Qingping Realm had been broken, and Spiritual Qi was pouring back in. Chunyu City, originally a barren Mortal city, now seemed to be soaked in the eye of a churning spiritual spring. Emerald green moss emitting a faint glow grew from the cracks in the bluestone slabs, and the withered weeds in the corners sprouted tender buds visible to the naked eye.

Zhou Wannian sat at a square table by the window.

The tabletop was covered in knife marks and grease, showing a dark, soy-sauce-like color. He did not use any Spell to clean it, nor did he deliberately avoid it; he just sat there casually. A wash-faded azure robe draped over the long bench, blending in with the mundane atmosphere of the lobby.

Shitou carefully walked to the table, holding a wooden tray with both hands, and set down two bowls of steaming white porridge and a small plate of finely shredded pickled dried radish.

The youth had just bathed, carrying the fresh scent of soapberry. He had changed into a coarse cloth short tunic that was slightly large on him, but it didn't look cumbersome. The remolding by the Origin of Heaven-Opening had turned his originally skeletal body into one that was well-proportioned and sturdy, with a warm jade-like luster faintly flowing beneath his skin.

He held a small oilcloth bundle tightly in his arms. He had taken it out of his old clothes when he changed last night. It originally contained that piece of scrap iron; although the scrap iron had been crushed by Zhou Wannian, the oilcloth bundle had wrapped that High-Dimensional residue for many years and was stained with an extraordinary aura. Shitou couldn't bear to throw it away, so he kept it close to him.

"Sit down and eat."

Zhou Wannian picked up a pair of yellowed bamboo chopsticks and took a bite of the dried radish.

"Crunch."

The crisp sound of chewing was exceptionally clear in the noisy lobby.

Shitou nodded, sat down on half of the stool opposite Zhou Wannian, picked up the white porridge, and sipped it slowly. The warmth of the rice soup flowed down his throat and into his stomach, dispelling the slight chill of the early morning.

In the corner of the lobby, the Fat Proprietor was clicking away on an abacus. He was glowing with health; the spiritual recovery made this Mortal proprietor feel ten years younger, and even the back pain from years of labor had miraculously healed.

Everything exuded a sense of new life.

In this peaceful morning light...

"Boom!"

The two already dilapidated wooden doors of the inn were brutally kicked open from the outside.

The thick door panels snapped from their hinges, whistling through the air as they crashed backward, heavily hitting two empty tables. Wood chips flew everywhere, a porcelain teapot shattered on the ground, and broken pieces splashed along with the tea.

The abacus in the Fat Proprietor's hand dropped onto the counter with a "clack." He trembled in fear and quickly ducked under the counter.

The morning light from outside was blocked by three tall and burly figures, casting three long black shadows on the inn's bluestone floor.

They were three Cultivators full of Evil Qi.

Leading them was a Bald Brute, bare-chested, with knotted muscles covered in crisscrossing scars. He held a nine-ringed broadsword, and the iron rings on the back of the blade made a harsh clattering sound with every step.

To the left was a man who looked like a Skinny Bamboo Pole, with sunken eye sockets and high cheekbones. His triangular eyes flickered with a cold, snake-like light, and his hands were hidden in wide black sleeves.

To the right was a One-Eyed Dragon wearing tattered Daoist robes. His blind left eye was covered by a rusty iron eyepatch, while his remaining right eye gleamed with greed and madness. A row of bloody Storage Pouches hung from his waist.

These three were all at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

They were outlaws who had long wandered the fringes of the Qingping Realm, making a living by killing and looting. The phenomenon of surging Spiritual Qi had drawn all the surrounding Loose Cultivators to Chunyu City like blood attracting bloodthirsty flies. In their view, such a heavenly phenomenon must mean a great treasure had emerged.

Chunyu City was just a Mortal city with no defensive array or high-level Cultivators guarding it. To them, it was an undefended treasury.

As the three stepped into the inn's lobby, the strong smell of blood and the stench of sweat from not bathing for years instantly ruined the fragrance of the white porridge.

The Bald Brute's bell-like eyes scanned the lobby. His gaze lingered on the Fat Proprietor in the corner for a moment before moving away in disdain.

Finally.

His gaze locked onto Zhou Wannian and Shitou sitting by the window.

More precisely, it locked onto the oilcloth bundle Shitou was holding tightly in his arms.

On that oilcloth bundle, there was still a faint fluctuation of the Residue of Truth. To an ordinary Mortal, it was just a dirty cloth, but in the Divine Sense of these Cultivators who lived on the edge of a blade, that fluctuation carried an ancient and mysterious charm, definitely no ordinary item.

"Big brother, look at what that kid is holding," the Skinny Bamboo Pole whispered, a flash of greed in his triangular eyes.

The Bald Brute grinned hideously, carrying his nine-ringed broadsword as he walked toward the square table with heavy, swaggering steps.

His heavy cowhide boots stepped on the bluestone, making dull thuds.

Shitou's hand holding the porridge bowl shook slightly, and a few drops of hot rice soup splashed onto the back of his hand. He instinctively hugged the oilcloth bundle tighter, a hint of panic in his eyes. Although he had been remolded by the Origin of Heaven-Opening, he was essentially still a Mortal youth who grew up begging on the streets; the instinctive fear when facing these malevolent Cultivators still remained.

Zhou Wannian, however, didn't even lift an eyelid.

He continued to eat his porridge unhurriedly, his bamboo chopsticks picking up a piece of dried radish and chewing it slowly.

The Bald Brute walked to the table, his massive shadow completely enveloping Zhou Wannian and Shitou.

He slammed his nine-ringed broadsword onto the ground.

"Clang!"

A deep pit was smashed into the bluestone floor, sending stone fragments flying.

"Hey, you poor scholar, and you little beggar."

The Bald Brute looked down at the two of them, his voice as coarse as a broken gong, making the porcelain bowl on the table tremble slightly.

"Hand over everything valuable you have, and that cloth bundle the little beggar is holding. I'm in a good mood today, so maybe I'll leave you with intact corpses."

The One-Eyed Dragon stepped forward, his remaining right eye sizing up Zhou Wannian. Finding no spiritual fluctuations, he spat contemptuously.

"Big brother, why waste words with two Mortals? Just kill them and take the things. The city is in chaos right now; we need to hurry and make a few more scores."

Shitou stood up nervously, shielding Zhou Wannian.

Although he was scared to death and his legs were shaking, only one thought occupied his mind: the big brother is a good person, and he couldn't let these bad people hurt him.

"This... this is my thing. There's no treasure inside," Shitou gathered his courage, his voice trembling slightly.

The Bald Brute laughed wildly as if he had heard a huge joke.

"Hahaha! No treasure? Do you think I'm blind! That cloth bundle exudes spiritual charm. You're just a Mortal ant without a shred of cultivation; are you worthy of such a thing?"

His face darkened, and a cold murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"Refusing the easy way and choosing the hard way! Since you won't hand it over, I'll take it myself!"

Before his voice even faded.

The Bald Brute raised a fist the size of a vinegar pot, his fist wrapped in a layer of earthy yellow True Qi, bringing a whistling wind as he slammed it toward Shitou's face.

The physical strength of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator is enough to shatter stone. If this punch landed, let alone a Mortal's flesh and blood, even an adult tiger's skull would be crushed on the spot.

The wind from the punch blew against Shitou's hair.

The shadow of death instantly enveloped the youth.

However.

Zhou Wannian, sitting nearby, still had no intention of intervening.

He even picked up his porridge bowl again and took a sip of the warm rice soup.

Just as the Bald Brute's fist was less than three inches from the tip of Shitou's nose.

Time suddenly slowed down in Shitou's perception.

He didn't close his eyes.

In the depths of his clear eyes, an earth-shattering transformation occurred.

Within his left eye, the phantom of an ancient azure lotus slowly bloomed, emitting a life-generating, profound Sky-Opening Creation Power as deep as an abyss.

Within his right eye, countless gray geometric shapes and cold data codes flowed rapidly, carrying an absolutely rational and precise High-Dimensional calculation logic.

Two completely different powers that should have been incompatible crashed into each other within his Meridians, then perfectly merged in an incredible way.

This was a brand-new power that transcended the understanding of the Qingping Realm's cultivation system.

Half was the vibrant divine light of creation.

Half was the cold, silent iron law of machinery.

In Shitou's mind, a mechanical voice representing the Residue of Truth rang out abruptly.

"Warning. Fatal physical strike encountered."

"Target evaluation: Foundation Establishment Stage carbon-based organism, low energy level."

"Countermeasure: Activate Sky-Opening Origin Engine. Execute physical elimination command."

This voice was no longer an emotionless mechanical synthesis, but carried the youth's own clear voice.

Shitou felt as if an ancient Dragon was sleeping within his thin body. At this moment, the Dragon opened its eyes and let out an earth-shaking roar.

He didn't need to think, didn't need to form hand seals, and didn't need to circulate any Cultivation Technique.

Physical instinct took over everything.

Facing the Bald Brute's fist wrapped in earthy yellow True Qi, Shitou suddenly pulled his right arm back.

"Hum—"

The air let out a dull tremor.

A flash of brilliant azure immortal light, mixed with the phantoms of gray data streams, instantly coiled around the youth's right fist.

Then.

He threw a punch forward in an utterly unremarkable manner.

There were no Moves to speak of.

It was just the most ordinary straight punch used in a street brawl.

"Bang!"

One large and one small, two disproportionate fists collided fiercely in mid-air.

The cruel smile on the Bald Brute's face instantly froze.

He felt that what he hit was not the Physical Body of a Mortal youth at all, but a divine mountain spanning between heaven and earth, accompanied by countless high-speed rotating steel serrations madly cutting through his True Qi defense.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of breaking bones rang out.

The Bald Brute's thick arm shattered inch by inch, starting from the phalanges.

In the face of the intertwined power of azure and gray, the earthy yellow True Qi was like a fragile eggshell, instantly disintegrating.

"Ah—"

The Bald Brute let out a shrill scream to the extreme.

But the scream had barely left his mouth when it came to an abrupt halt.

The power on Shitou's fist was like a torrential flood breaking through a dam, rushing straight into the burly man's chest along his collapsed arm.

That power was too overbearing, too pure.

The Power of Creation stripped away life, while the Truth Code disintegrated physical structures.

With a muffled "Boom."

The Bald Brute's brawny body was like a watermelon stuffed with gunpowder, exploding directly within the inn's lobby.

No severed limbs or broken arms flew about.

His bones, flesh, and internal organs were forcibly ground into the smallest dust, imperceptible to the naked eye, within a ten-thousandth of a second.

A thick cloud of blood-colored mist suddenly spread through the air, then turned into specks of red light, scattering across the floor.

The Skinny Bamboo Pole and One-Eyed Dragon, who were still standing behind the Bald Brute, were dazed, not even reacting to what had happened.

They only felt a wave of warmth on their faces; reaching up to touch, their hands were covered in foul-smelling blood.

Their big brother, who had been standing alive before them just a second ago, had vanished into thin air, turning into a pool of blood.

"This... what kind of evil technique is this..." Skinny Bamboo Pole's voice cracked with fear, his triangular eyes filled with terror and despair.

He suddenly flicked his sleeves, and two flying daggers coated in emerald poison turned into streaks of light, stabbing toward Shitou's throat.

One-Eyed Dragon also let out a strange cry, slapping the Storage Pouch at his waist. A black shield carved with ghost faces appeared before him, while he simultaneously summoned a longsword emitting black Qi, aimed straight for Shitou's heart.

Both were veterans of many battles, knowing full well that retreating now meant certain death; their only hope was to fight for their lives.

Shitou looked at the incoming poisoned daggers and longsword, his eyes showing no emotion.

An azure lotus bloomed in his left eye, while data flowed in his right.

In his vision, the trajectories of the flying daggers and longsword became incredibly slow, the Spiritual Qi and toxins within them instantly parsed into strings of meaningless symbols.

He lifted his foot and took a step forward.

The moment his sole touched the green brick floor.

A ripple of intertwined azure and gray expanded outward from his foot.

The moment the two poisoned daggers touched the ripple, they froze in mid-air and then melted into iron droplets.

Shitou's figure flickered, his speed so fast he left an afterimage in the air.

He appeared before the Skinny Bamboo Pole, his right hand turning into a palm and lightly pressing against the Skinny Bamboo Pole's chest.

"Crack."

A soft sound.

The Skinny Bamboo Pole's triangular eyes bulged, his eyeballs bloodshot.

The Foundation Establishment Stage True Qi within him was forcibly blocked by a violent burst of code logic, and his heart instantly stopped beating under the impact of the azure immortal light.

His body collapsed like a pile of mud, his life force completely severed.

Seeing this, One-Eyed Dragon was scared out of his wits.

He no longer cared about killing and looting; he turned and bolted toward the inn's entrance.

Shitou did not pursue.

Standing in place, he slowly raised his right arm.

His fingertip pointed at One-Eyed Dragon's fleeing back.

"Elimination command, confirmed."

A cold sentence escaped the youth's lips.

A slender beam of intertwined azure and gray shot out from his fingertip.

The beam ignored the distance of space, instantly piercing through the black shield carved with ghost faces, entering through One-Eyed Dragon's back and exiting through his chest.

One-Eyed Dragon's steps came to a sudden halt, his hands clawing futilely at the air twice.

A light breeze blew by.

His body turned into scattered ashes, settling across the threshold of the inn.

Three Foundation Establishment Stage Loose Cultivators were slaughtered single-handedly by a twelve- or thirteen-year-old Mortal youth in less than three breaths of time.

Deathly silence returned to the inn's lobby.

Only the thick smell of blood permeating the air indicated that what had just happened was not an illusion.

The Fat Proprietor under the counter covered his mouth tightly, his eyes rolling back as he fainted from sheer terror.

Shitou stood dazed in place.

The azure and gray in his eyes gradually faded, returning to their clear black and white.

He looked down at his hands.

His hands were clean, without a single trace of blood.

Yet he felt a strong sense of palpitation and exhaustion. At the moment that power erupted, he felt as if he had become a high and mighty deity looking down on all living beings, viewing all things as ants.

This feeling of holding the power over life and death left the youth, who had never killed before, with a lingering fear.

"Bi... Big Brother..."

Shitou turned around, his voice trembling, eyes welling with tears.

He was afraid Zhou Wannian would treat him like a monster.

Zhou Wannian sat by the table, only one last mouthful of white porridge remaining in his bowl.

He tilted his head back and finished the porridge.

Putting down the porcelain bowl, he casually picked up a rag from the table and wiped his hands.

He looked at Shitou; his handsome face showed no shock or reproach, only his usual calm and laziness.

"What are you crying for?"

Zhou Wannian's tone was steady, as if he were talking about the weather.

"If others want to kill you, you kill them. It's only natural."

He pointed at the pool of blood on the floor that belonged to the Bald Brute.

"Power has no good or evil; it depends on how you use it. There are many wild dogs in this mud pit; if you don't sharpen your teeth, you'll be swallowed whole, skin and bones, sooner or later."

Shitou wiped his tears and nodded vigorously.

Zhou Wannian's words were like a stabilizing anchor, calming the youth's frantic mind.

Big Brother didn't despise him.

That was enough.

Zhou Wannian sat on the long bench, his gaze passing over Shitou's shoulder toward the ceiling of the inn.

In those eyes as deep as an ancient well, an extremely hidden and sharp glint flashed.

At the moment Shitou threw the punch and the power of the Origin of Heaven-Opening and the Residue of Truth within him erupted.

Zhou Wannian saw it clearly.

That transparent Fishing Line that had been silently floating in mid-air, leading straight to the sky.

It trembled violently.

It was like a leech that had caught the scent of blood; the end of the thread twisted madly in the air, trying to extend toward Shitou's direction.

It was an unconcealable greed and appetite.

The High-Dimensional The Anglers had developed a strong interest in this new power that fused the Origin of Heaven-Opening of a lower world with High-Dimensional broken code.

Or rather, this was exactly the mutated fruit they had been waiting for while casting their nets in this fish pond.

"The fox's tail is finally showing a bit."

A cold sneer curled at the corner of Zhou Wannian's mouth as he thought to himself.

He did not stop the vibration of that thread.

Once the fish bites the hook, the fisherman has to put in some effort to pull the line before it surfaces.

Meanwhile.

Deep within the remote and famous mountains and rivers throughout the Qingping Realm.

Some ancient existences that had slept for thousands or even tens of thousands of years were awakened by this peculiar fluctuation of power erupting from Chunyu City.

In the Abyss of the East Sea, a Bronze Ancient Coffin locked by undersea iron chains let out a dull thud, the seawater churning and boiling.

On the Northern Frontier Ice Field, a ten-thousand-zhang glacier shattered with a crash, and a pair of giant eyes emitting an eerie green light slowly opened in the wind and snow.

At the bottom of a range of dormant volcanoes in the Central Region, magma surged, and a withered figure covered in red hair sat up from the lava, greedily sniffing the lingering scent in the air.

"This scent..."

"The Fusion of creation and extinction..."

"The Great Medicine... has appeared in the world..."

Greedy Divine Thoughts intertwined and collided in the sky above the Qingping Realm.

These old monsters who once dominated an era, stimulated by the Spiritual Qi Recovery, all turned their gazes toward the remote Southern Region, toward that unremarkable Chunyu City.

Inside the inn's lobby.

Zhou Wannian stood up and stretched. His bones made a series of crisp popping sounds.

He picked up the somewhat dry bamboo chopstick from the table, casually playing with it.

"This breakfast was not peaceful; the flies are increasing."

He took steady steps and walked out of the inn's entrance.

The morning sunlight fell on his faded azure robe, casting a long shadow.

"Let's go, Little Shitou."

Zhou Wannian's voice drifted in from outside, imbued with a sense of easygoing leisure.

"The water in this city is too shallow to hold big fish."

"I'll take you to the river to catch the breeze and, while we're at it, go see the big bird that fell from the sky."