27: The borderlands were shaken

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Corpse Demon General Luosha had completely gone mad.

Its massive body was like an out-of-control siege hammer, wildly crashing and slashing through the Rotting Bone Forest.

The terrifying power of a Tendon Changing Realm Peak was unleashed without reservation, transforming an area dozens of feet in radius into a forbidden zone of destruction!

The remaining low-level Demonic Beasts were already scared out of their wits, either swept into the storm and turned to dust, or desperately fleeing deeper into the dense forest.

At the center of the storm, Lin Jingyu's figure was like a ghost.

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

Dark golden Qi and blood surged within him like molten lava, pushing the Phantom Step to an unprecedented Peak.

Three, five, or even seven incredibly solid afterimages, with auras and postures identical to his main body, rapidly weaved, flickered, and shattered through the gaps in the sky-filling black blade Qi!

Every time the blade Qi approached him, he dodged it at the last moment with an incredible angle.

[Ding! Phantom Step experience +80! Evasion judgment improved!]

[Ding! Phantom Step experience +100! Afterimage solidity improved!]

[Ding! Phantom Step experience +120! Extreme directional change speed Breakthrough!]

...The cold System prompts furiously scrolled in the depths of his consciousness, like a stirring war drum.

His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's; he was waiting.

Waiting for a killing opportunity!

“Roar! Die! Die for this General!” Luosha's roar was deafening, its lava-like vertical pupils filled only with hysterical madness.

It had never been so humiliated!

An ant in the Bone Forging Realm actually played it, a Tendon Changing Realm Corpse Demon General, in the palm of its hand!

This was an utter disgrace!

The giant bone blade swung again, sweeping across with immense force!

The blade Qi tore through the air, forming a fan-shaped death zone that sealed off all evasion space ahead!

Now!

A cold light burst from Lin Jingyu's eyes!

This sweeping slash was incredibly powerful, but the moment it retracted, a very brief, yet fatally open, gap would appear at Luosha's waist and abdomen!

He no longer dodged!

He stomped his foot fiercely! Boom! The decaying leaves and dry bones exploded into a shallow pit!

Three afterimages instantly shot out, forming a triangular formation, bravely meeting the sweeping giant blade Qi!

Their stance was resolute, as if they intended to resist with their bodies!

“Hmph! Foolish!” A savage delight flashed in Luosha's eyes, and its blade momentum became even fiercer!

Boom! Crack!

The three afterimages shattered like fragile glass the instant they touched the blade Qi!

Just as the afterimages shattered, Luosha's old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet emerged, and the bone blade was retracting—

Lin Jingyu's true body appeared as if stepping out of the Void Realm! He had, at some unknown point, circled to Luosha's right rear, that visual blind spot covered by its bone wing!

The trajectory of the Sky-Piercing Finger was rapidly simulated, superimposed, and compressed in his mind... On the System panel, the massive numbers of evolution points frantically jumped and decreased!

[Ding! Detected that Martial Skill 'Sky-Piercing Finger' has reached the current Realm limit! Evolution conditions met! Consuming 10,000 evolution points! Deduce evolution direction...]

[Deduction successful! Martial Skill evolution — Star Shattering Finger (Minor Achievement)! Instantly master?]

“Master!” Lin Jingyu roared in his heart!

Buzz!

A brand new, more domineering, more condensed, and terrifying finger force, as if capable of shattering stars, instantly surged into his limbs and bones, integrating into his supremely condensed fingertips!

“Star Shattering Finger! Break for me!”

Lin Jingyu roared, his voice like thunder!

His two fingers, held together, transformed into a lightning bolt that tore through space! No longer the previous silver glow, but a destructive beam of light condensed to the extreme, imbued with dark golden patterns, and with dazzling silver-white starlight bursting from its tip!

Chi—!!!

The air was instantly pierced, emitting a sharp shriek that could pierce eardrums! The beam shot with extreme precision towards the temple of its head, where the lava-like vertical pupil burned!

Pfft!

Like a hot dinner knife piercing solidified butter... Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Luosha's massive body suddenly stiffened.

Its pierced lava-like vertical pupil, the crimson flame, instantly dimmed and extinguished like a candle being snuffed out.

In its other intact vertical pupil, the raging killing intent was completely replaced by boundless horror and disbelief.

“Im...pos...sible...” It squeezed out a few broken syllables from its throat.

The next moment—

Boom!!!

Luosha's hideous lizard head exploded from within, like a watermelon struck by a hammer!

The immense impact even caused its massive headless corpse to stagger two steps backward.

[Ding! Killed Corpse Demon General Luosha, a Tendon Changing Realm Triple Peak! evolution points +30000! Obtained 'luosha bone (Rare)' ×1!]

The cold and grand System prompt sounded in Lin Jingyu's mind... [Ding! Absorbed high-energy source! Realm Breakthrough! Current Realm: Bone Forging Realm Fourth Layer!]

An aura several times more powerful than before, like a slumbering Vicious Beast awakening, burst forth from Lin Jingyu's sturdy body!

The Rotting Bone Forest fell into a dead silence.

Only the dull thud of Luosha's headless corpse crashing to the ground, and the 'hissing' corrosive sound of the splattering foul blood on the withered leaves.

The remaining few Blood Claw Demonic Wolves cowered behind fallen withered trees, trembling uncontrollably.

“Woo... woof...” A slightly larger Demonic Wolf let out a dying whimper, tucked its tail between its legs, turned around desperately, frantically crashed through withered branches and fallen leaves, and fled for its life into the darkest depths of the dense forest.

“Monster! He's a monster!!” The thought of fear spread among the wolf pack.

“Run! Hurry and run! Go... go tell the 'Lord'!” Another Demonic Wolf wailed and followed suit.

Lin Jingyu slowly retracted his fingers, and the Star Shattering Finger light lingering at his fingertips slowly receded.

He didn't even look at the fleeing small fry, his gaze fixed on Luosha's massive headless corpse, fervent and satisfied.

Thirty thousand evolution points! And a 'luosha bone' that sounded extraordinary just from its name! This battle was worth it!

He bent down, preparing to collect his spoils.

Just then—

Hundreds of feet away, at the top of a giant withered bone tree that would require several people to embrace, the thick moss slightly moved.

Two black-clad figures, clinging tightly to the tree trunk, almost blending into the gray-green environment, now stood like two frozen sculptures.

They wore night-traveling clothes embroidered with the dark pattern of the character ' shortage' ( shortage - wild/wasteland), and were precisely the elite sentinels of the City Lord's Mansion responsible for monitoring the movements in the wilderness outside the city—the Desolate Character Camp Scouts.

One of them, codenamed “Owl,” tightly gripped an “Eagle Eye” crystal used for long-distance observation.

On the smooth mirror surface of the crystal, the distant scene in the forest clearing, like Hell, was clearly reflected: shattered earth, fallen giant trees, demon limbs everywhere... and the sturdy figure standing proudly beside the massive, hideous headless Corpse Demon General's corpse.

Owl's hand trembled violently and uncontrollably, his knuckles turning white from excessive force.

Cold sweat dripped down the scar on his forehead, soaking his masked black cloth.

His companion beside him, “Falcon,” was in worse shape, his face ashen, his teeth chattering uncontrollably, each breath accompanied by a clear tremor.

“Did... did you see clearly?” Falcon's voice was dry and hoarse, like an old bellows, filled with unconcealed terror, “That... that was Luosha! The overlord of the Rotting Bone Forest... the Tendon Changing Realm Corpse Demon General Luosha!”

Owl swallowed with difficulty, his Adam's apple bobbing violently, his voice equally dry and tight: “Saw... saw clearly... got... got its head blown off...”

The Eagle Eye crystal in his hand slightly adjusted its angle, capturing Lin Jingyu's profile as he bent down to inspect the corpse.

That sturdy body, like an iron tower, exuded a suffocating sense of oppression on the ravaged battlefield.

“Bone Forging Realm... at most Fourth Layer... the Qi and blood fluctuations on him...” Owl struggled to judge, his voice growing softer, filled with an unbelievable absurdity, “But he... he slaughtered Luosha! Slaughtered a Tendon Changing Realm Peak Corpse Demon General! Like slaughtering a chicken!”

“Monster...” Falcon's lips trembled, repeating the Demonic Wolf's earlier despairing wail, “When... when did such a monster appear in the Border Wasteland? Those movement afterimages... that final finger light that pierced Luosha's head... that simply... simply doesn't seem human!”

As elites of the Desolate Character Camp, they had ventured into dangerous places countless times, seen countless fierce Martial Artists, and witnessed powerful Cultivators battling Demonic Beasts.

But never before had any scene given them such a pure, such a paradigm-shifting shock of terror as what they had just witnessed!

A Bone Forging Realm individual, in the most violent, direct, and overwhelming manner, toyed with and ultimately blew up a Tendon Changing Realm Peak Demonic General! This completely overturned their understanding of Martial Dao Realms!

“Things are changing...” Owl stared intently at the sturdy figure in the crystal who had begun to strip valuable Materials from Luosha's body, his voice carrying a heavy, almost prophetic tremor, “Border Wasteland City... no, the entire Border Wasteland... things are changing! This news... must be reported immediately! Right away! To the City Lord!”

He abruptly shoved the Eagle Eye crystal into his embrace, his movements somewhat clumsy due to the haste.

“Retreat! At the fastest speed! We absolutely cannot let him discover us!” Owl's voice was extremely low, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness.

Lin Jingyu was putting the dark green 'luosha bone' into his embrace. It felt heavy and cold in his hand, covered with natural demonic patterns, and contained pure Corpse Qi and tough bone energy.

The System prompted that it was a rare material, its use currently unknown, but definitely a good item.

At the same time, his mind sank into the System panel:

[host: Lin Jingyu]

[Realm: Bone Forging Realm Fourth Layer (0/50000)]

[Cultivation Technique: Indestructible Vajra Divine Art (Minor Achievement), Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art (Major Achievement), Primordial Unity Qi Art (Beginner)]

[Martial Skill: Star Shattering Finger (Minor Achievement), Dragon-Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength (Major Achievement)]

[Movement Skill: Phantom Step (Major Achievement)]

[evolution points: 35210]

Looking at the skyrocketing evolution points and the newly evolved powerful Martial Skill, 'Star Shattering Finger,' a surge of heroic spirit surged in Lin Jingyu's chest.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking dully, feeling the power increase brought by the Bone Forging Realm Fourth Layer.

“Tendon Changing Realm... is nothing more than this!” He muttered to himself, his voice hard as iron and filled with absolute confidence, “It seems this Rotting Bone Forest has been pretty much squeezed dry.”

His gaze turned towards Border Wasteland City, sharp as a blade.

“It's time to go back. Border Wasteland City... I wonder if those so-called 'big shots' have heard the news yet?” A cold arc formed at the corner of his mouth, carrying unconcealed arrogance and anticipation.

The Yin Corpse Sect token in his embrace, after the luosha bone was put away, not only did its vibration not stop, but it became even more rapid and scorching, as if stimulated by some deeper force, emitting a nearly greedy desire.

Lin Jingyu frowned slightly, his finger rubbing the cold metal surface of the token, which felt scalding hot.

This damned thing, its reaction is a bit off... Is it related to Luosha? Or is there something deeper in the Rotting Bone Forest that it desires even more?

He looked up, towards the darker area deeper in the Rotting Bone Forest, where even sunlight seemed unable to penetrate, and thick, inky miasma rolled.

That was the core area that even Corpse Demon Generals like Luosha had never ventured deep into.

The abnormal vibration of the token was like a signal full of temptation and danger.

“Hmph, I don't care what kind of demons or monsters you are,” a fierce glint flashed in Lin Jingyu's eyes, “If you block my path, I'll blow you all up! evolution points, I'm taking them!”

He no longer lingered, taking large strides, treading over the corpses of Demonic Beasts and shattered withered bones, heading towards Border Wasteland City.