Chương 172: Chapter 61: Joint Slaying and Further Evolution

BOOM! A split second later, the Shura Secret Bone's reaction proved a fraction too sluggish. The white skeleton's heavy palm slammed into its shoulder with devastating force, the sound of splintering bone echoing sharply as the Shura Secret Bone was sent hurtling toward the ground in a battered, desperate arc. Roar! The white skeleton let out a triumphant, guttural howl.

It transformed into a streak of pale light, diving after its prey with its skeletal palm held taut like a guillotine blade, aiming straight for the Shura Secret Bone's skull. Right at that moment, Reyn let out a cold snort, his eyes flashing with a murderous glint. With a sharp flick of his finger, the Heaven-Turning Seal expanded violently, swelling until it reached a staggering thirty zhang in width.

It hung in the air like a miniature mountain, a monolithic slab of divine weight, before crashing down toward the white skeleton with the force of an avalanche! Roar! The white skeleton skidded to a halt, roaring as the twin white flames in its hollow sockets flared with intensity. It raised its skeletal fists, intending to punch through the Heaven-Turning Seal that now blotted out the sky. The Heaven-Turning Seal—a treasure of pure Earth-attribute essence.

At thirty zhang, it possessed the crushing gravity of a mountain peak. Its descent was absolute, an unstoppable decree of terrestrial power! Though this white skeleton boasted the prowess of a mid-stage Golden Core expert and possessed bones as resilient as a middle-grade magic treasure, it could not withstand the sheer mass of the Seal. A cacophony of bone-grinding pops and cracks erupted as the creature was slammed ruthlessly into the earth.

The skeleton crashed before the White Bone Palace, forced into a kneeling position. It thrashed and roared, radiating waves of primal fury and desperation. Yet, the earthen-yellow divine light emanating from the Heaven-Turning Seal pulsed with rhythmic cruelty. No matter how the creature struggled, it remained pinned, suppressed by a weight it could not fathom!

"Strike while it's down!" Reyn muttered, his gaze predatory. The skeleton's arrogance in trying to tank the Seal was its undoing. Reyn would not squander this opportunity to finish the beast. With a surge of mental intent, the earthen-yellow radiance of the Heaven-Turning Seal reached a blinding crescendo. The artifact, already at its perceived limit, expanded further, reaching a colossal thirty-two zhang. It now resembled a majestic, divine mountain, its mere presence enough to strike terror into any onlooker.

The pressure intensified. The white skeleton's frame emitted a series of frantic, staccato snaps. Its other leg buckled, forced into the dirt. It howled in agony, yet the Seal remained as immovable as the heavens themselves! Though the skeleton lacked the tongue of man, its sapience was high. It had underestimated Reyn, believing that a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator's treasure could be shattered by its Golden Core-level strength. That hubris was now its cage.

Had it relied on its superior speed and durability rather than raw ego, Reyn and the Shura Secret Bone would have struggled immensely to corner it. But now...

"Slay it!" Reyn bellowed. The pale orange flames in the Shura Secret Bone's eyes erupted into an inferno. It blurred into a streak of orange light, its hand flattening into a blade of concentrated energy as it lunged toward the pinned skeleton's skull. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Swish! The bone-palm moved faster than the human eye could track, tearing through the atmosphere with a piercing sonic boom!

Sensing its imminent demise, the white skeleton let out a frantic, vibrating roar. Suddenly, the first rib on the left side of its chest snapped off of its own accord! This detached bone instantly shimmered with a brilliant, translucent luster, resembling the finest jade in existence. Simultaneously, a wave of extreme, soul-shuddering danger radiated from the rib. Whoosh! The rib-bone transformed into a bolt of jade light, shooting directly toward the Shura Secret Bone's descending palm.

As the rib was expelled, the white skeleton's aura plummeted. This was clearly a desperate, high-cost trump card. The power contained within that jade rib was terrifying; if the Shura Secret Bone tried to take it head-on, the price would be catastrophic. Reyn's expression turned ruthless. He flicked his wrist, launching the cone-shaped artifact he had seized earlier. It whistled through the air, a sacrificial lamb of steel and mana.

"Detonate!" A low growl escaped Reyn's throat. The cone-shaped artifact let out a mournful, metallic wail as its internal structures collapsed into a chaotic vortex. At the precise moment of impact with the jade rib, it exploded. Shrapnel and raw spiritual force tore through the air, creating a localized sun of destruction. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The white rib was extraordinary, but the cone-shaped artifact was a Middle-grade High-rank treasure.

Its self-destruction, focused entirely on a single point by Reyn's precise control, unleashed a tidal wave of devastation that even the jade rib could not bypass. The white rib, having endured the cataclysmic shockwave of the magic treasure's self-detonation and a relentless barrage of jagged shards, was finally blasted aside, spiraling violently away from its intended trajectory. Although he had successfully repelled the lethal strike, Reyn spat out a mouthful of warm, crimson blood.

His visage turned deathly pale in an instant, yet his eyes burned with a fierce, incandescent brilliance, overflowing with unbridled anticipation. The Shura Secret Bone's current prowess already rivaled that of an Early Golden Core cultivator; if it could successfully assimilate this ancient white skeleton, its power would undoubtedly skyrocket. To Reyn, sacrificing a single Mid-grade magic treasure and enduring the backlash of its destruction was a small price to pay for such a monumental leap in strength.

In his cold, calculating mind, this was a bargain of the highest order. Reyn's decisive strike—the ruthless detonation of his own artifact—had unfolded in the mere span of a heartbeat. Beneath the crushing weight of the Heaven-Turning Seal, the white skeleton's sockets flickered with unstable, pale flames. Through the chaotic ripples of mental energy, a sense of pure, unadulterated terror finally seeped out.

Seizing this fleeting opening, the Shura Secret Bone brought its skeletal palm crashing down upon the white skull with the force of a falling mountain. Crack! The skull was exceptionally resilient, yet even its ancient density could not withstand the blow. It shattered partially, revealing a pulsating, pale golden light orb within the cavity. Without a moment's hesitation, the Shura Secret Bone snatched the essence and swallowed it whole. Boom!

As the pale golden orb entered the chest cavity, the Shura Secret Bone's frame erupted with countless blood-red filaments. Like a swarm of parasitic leeches, they pierced into the orb, hungrily siphoning its concentrated energy. With every pulse, the golden light dimmed, while the aura radiating from the Shura Secret Bone surged with a velocity that defied all reason.

"Roar!" A thunderous, primal roar erupted from the lightless depths of the great hall, saturated with infinite fury. A colossal, suffocating pressure crashed down upon Reyn like a collapsing sky.

"Mortal worm! You dare disrupt the grand designs of this King? I swear, there will come a day when I shall strip the marrow from your bones and seal your very soul within a skeletal cage, where you shall suffer the eternal searing of earth-fires and a thousand agonies!" The voice rolled forth like an invisible, tsunamic wave, sweeping across the chamber. Caught in the direct path of the sonic assault, Reyn let out a muffled groan.

Blood began to seep from his seven orifices, and his body staggered back several meters. Yet, his expression remained unnervingly calm. He noted that despite the entity's rage, it had not intervened during the struggle. This confirmed his suspicion: the mysterious being was either unable to act or currently restricted by some profound constraint. Otherwise, for a being possessing the might of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, erasing him would have been as effortless as snuffing out a candle.

By now, the Shura Secret Bone had completely refined the golden essence. The orange flames within its eye sockets flared with renewed intensity, and the hue of its bones deepened significantly, acquiring a lustrous, obsidian-like sheen. Its stature swelled, reaching a towering height of two zhang, as its cultivation base firmly established itself at the Mid-Golden Core stage.