Chapter 240 - 25: Jingzhe Saber, White Bone Transformation

Chapter 240: Chapter 25: Jingzhe Saber, White Bone Transformation

He had gone to great pains to set up this Array.

The skull of a Resentful Infant, the Corpse Wrapping Cloth of a recently deceased widow, Cattail Grass soaked in corpse oil...

To Righteous Cultivators, these were vile objects to be avoided at all costs, but to him, they were indispensable treasures for casting powerful Magic.

Now, he had arranged these items on the various nodes of the Array according to some strange pattern, and they emanated a nauseating, evil aura.

In the center of the Array, the straw effigy inscribed with Chen Ye’s name remained.

This time, however, the effigy was also smeared with a black paste made from a mixture of bone ash and corpse oil, making it look even more sinister.

"Kid, you got lucky last night. I was careless." Li Gu stared at the straw effigy and let out a hoarse laugh, like the screech of a night owl.

"But today, I’d like to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve!"

A hint of venomous hatred flashed in his eyes.

When his Magic was broken last night, he had suffered a backlash that left him with considerable internal injuries. This pushed his hatred for Chen Ye to its absolute peak.

Therefore, to get his revenge and complete the mission assigned by his Sect, he was sparing no expense today.

The Magic that Li Gu was now casting was called White Bone Transformation, and it was one of the most powerful secret techniques passed down in White Bone Mountain.

Once this technique succeeded, the victim would be trapped deep within an Illusion Technique, believing they had become nothing but white bones. The moment they accepted this as reality, their flesh and blood would silently melt away, turning them into a true skeleton. It was an incredibly gruesome way to die.

Moreover, this technique was even harder to defend against than Name-Calling Soul Summoning, as it didn’t attack the Divine Spirit. Instead, it directly annihilated the target’s life force on a more fundamental level.

"For me to use a Curse Technique of this caliber to kill a nobody like you... you should be proud."

Li Gu sneered, bit the tip of his tongue, and spat a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the straw effigy.

"Go!"

At his command, the black paste on the straw effigy seemed to come alive. It writhed, transforming into fine wisps of gray mist that drifted into the night sky and vanished.

After completing the ritual, Li Gu’s face grew a few shades paler, but his eyes became even more frenzied.

He could feel it—he had established a stable connection with his distant target.

The power of the Magic was continuously eroding his target’s body.

Li Gu could almost see it now: that kid, Chen Ye, watching in horror as his own flesh and blood slowly vanished, leaving him to become a cold skeleton in a storm of endless despair and agony.

"Heh... Hehehehe..."

The thought of such a wonderful scene made Li Gu laugh again, the sound echoing through the secret chamber, especially chilling.

「Yuelai Inn. Room Two, B-Wing.」

Chen Ye sat quietly cross-legged on the bed. The sun and moon hung high in his mind, his Heart Spirit completely clear and empty. The bizarre changes in the outside world—enough to make any other Cultivator’s spirit collapse—were nothing but passing clouds to him now.

’A purely defensive stance is useless,’ he knew.

’That rat hiding in the shadows... when one plan fails, he just comes up with another. His methods are getting more venomous each time.’

Passively taking a beating had never been Chen Ye’s style.

Chen Ye disliked leaving his fate in others’ hands, and he especially hated this feeling of being vulnerable to a knife in the back at any moment.

’I have to drag him out. And then... kill him!’

The moment the thought arose, it spread like a wildfire that could not be contained.

Chen Ye reached out and gripped the Jingzhe Saber resting across his knees.

In his consciousness, though his hand had lost the sensation of skin and flesh, the feeling of a blood-bound connection from the depths of his soul remained incredibly clear.

The Jingzhe Saber let out a soft hum, as if responding to its master’s battle intent.

It could feel its master’s fury, as well as the evil power clinging to him.

For a weapon that had just birthed a Sword Spirit, this vile, corrupting Energy was what it detested most, and also what it most yearned to sunder.

In that instant, Chen Ye’s Heart Spirit and the Jingzhe Saber’s Sword Spirit achieved an unprecedented level of synchronization.

"Don’t be hasty," Chen Ye soothed. "You’ll have a chance to taste blood soon enough."

Then, he recited silently in his mind.

’Asura’s Eye, activate!’

In an instant, the entire world was bathed in a blood-red light.

Chen Ye breathed a silent sigh of relief. ’As expected,’ he thought, ’no Magic can interfere with the activation of my Professional Talent.’

Then, within Chen Ye’s field of vision, the flow of all Energy became perfectly clear.

He saw countless gray threads, each finer than a strand of hair, wrapped around the surface of his skeletal form.

These threads emitted a foul stench of decay and death. It was they that were constantly eroding his life force.

The other end of these gray threads passed through the walls, through the inn, and stretched far into the depths of the night-shrouded city.

A thought struck Chen Ye. ’Without a doubt, this must be the source of the Magic.’

Without hesitation, he rose to his feet. But instead of severing the threads, he leaped out the window and raced off, following them back to their source.

At night, Qingzhou Prefecture City shed its daytime clamor, embracing a newfound tranquility.

On the streets, scattered pedestrians—mostly Cultivators ending their day—hurried back to their residences.

Squads of Qingzhou City Armored Warriors, holding Long Halberds, patrolled the main roads in lockstep. Their cold armor plates reflected a grim light under the glow of the lanterns.

Higher up, on the rooftops and towers, a white-clad figure or two would occasionally flit past. They were disciples from the Celestial Sword Manor, watching over every corner of the city like hawks.