Chapter 18 Unbreakable
Chapter 18 Unbreakable
"These stones offer absolutely zero magical power."
Hong Lian pointed a pale finger at the three glowing jade slips resting on the rock. She dropped her sweet facade entirely.
"They will not grant you elemental Qi or flashy spells. They are pure Outer Force manuals. They strictly forge mortal bones and muscle to inhuman levels."
Ye Chen looked closely at the ancient green stones. This was exactly what his fragile vessel needed to survive.
"I do not need magic," Ye Chen stated coldly. "I need a foundation that will not shatter when I swing my sword."
He picked up the jade slips. The cold stone felt incredibly heavy with ancient martial intent.
"We have a deal, Hong Lian. When the sect burns you will have Elder Wang's head."
"Do not die before then," Hong Lian smiled a razor thin smile.
She turned her back on him and walked out of the damp cave. She vanished completely into the dark mountain trees without making a single sound.
Ye Chen watched the empty tree line carefully. His martial instincts flared with deep caution.
She was absolutely not a simple rogue cultivator wandering the woods alone. Her vast resources and targeted hatred implied something much larger. She was probably the vanguard of a dark faction preparing to wage war against the Azure Cloud Sect.
He welcomed the coming chaos. It would serve as the perfect cover for his own vengeance.
"Three mortal villages vanished completely overnight."
Elder Zhao slammed his heavy fist directly onto the massive jade table. The loud crack echoed violently through the vaulted ceiling of the Law Enforcement Pavilion.
Five high ranking Inner Sect elders sat around the table in dead silence. Their ancient faces were carved with deep grim lines.
"The local magistrate sent a desperate courier this morning," Elder Zhao continued harshly. "The homes were completely intact. But every single man woman and child was gone."
Elder Zhao leaned heavily over the table.
"The only thing left behind in the dirt was thick pools of black corrupted blood."
"The Myriad Beast Forest corruption is bleeding directly down the mountain," a scarred elder whispered in pure horror. "It is no longer contained to the forbidden dead zones."
"Our outer patrols are being slaughtered," Elder Zhao revealed. He tossed a stack of bloody silver identity tokens directly onto the polished jade table.
"I sent two squads of elite trackers into the lower woods yesterday. We found their bodies ripped entirely to pieces by unknown entities."
The gathered elders stared at the bloody silver tokens in absolute dread.
They all knew exactly who was responsible for the initial demonic corruption. Elder Wang had spent years illegally siphoning the underground Spirit Vein and mutating beasts to harvest dark resentment.
"Wang has completely lost control of his own slaughterhouse," Elder Zhao stated firmly. "His illegal operations have spiraled into a regional threat. We must intervene immediately before the Capital is breached."
"We cannot touch him Zhao," another elder argued weakly. "He has Lady Su Rou standing directly behind him. And she has the Sect Master's favor."
"If we do not act the entire region will be devoured by rotting ghosts," Elder Zhao roared angrily. "I will not let this sect fall to demonic beasts just to protect one arrogant girl and her fat lapdog."
Ye Chen sat alone in the freezing darkness of his hidden cave. He pushed the cursed Nine Hells Devouring Art far to the side of the dirt floor.
He picked up the first jade slip Hong Lian had given him. He pressed the smooth stone directly against his forehead.
A flood of crude martial knowledge rushed instantly into his mind. It was the Iron Bone Vajra Skill.
The initiation requirement was incredibly brutal. It was not a peaceful breathing exercise. He needed to repeatedly strike his own major joints with a heavy stone. He had to manually force his fragile bones to absorb the pain while aggressively circulating his Chaos Qi.
Ye Chen did not hesitate for a single second. He picked up a jagged heavy rock from the cave floor.
He gritted his teeth and slammed the rock directly into his left kneecap.
The sharp sound of cracking bone echoed loudly in the small cavern. Blinding agony shot straight up his thigh.
"Again," Ye Chen commanded himself aloud.
He brought the heavy rock down on his knee a second time. He aggressively pushed his golden Chaos Qi directly into the fractured bone marrow. The energy desperately tried to stitch the micro fractures back together.
He moved systematically across his entire body. He smashed his elbows and bruised his shoulders heavily. He pounded his knuckles until they bled freely onto the dirt.
He endured the agonizing torture for three grueling hours. His entire body was a swollen and bruised mess of torn tissue.
He finally forced the golden Qi to complete a full circuit through his battered skeleton. The foundational physical pathway was forcefully established.
\[Skill Initiated. Iron Bone Vajra Skill Uninitiated.\]
The blue system interface chimed brightly in the dark.
"System," Ye Chen rasped through bleeding lips. "Upgrade the skill immediately."
He had fifty System Points remaining from killing the mercenary squad in the forest.
\[Upgrade cost is ten System Points. Deducting points now.\]
The System did not offer a gentle or slow transition. It violently rewired his entire skeletal structure instantly.
Ye Chen screamed aloud as his bones literally expanded and condensed simultaneously. The density of his marrow multiplied exponentially in a single second.
His skeletal frame turned from brittle chalk into forged iron.
The toll of rapid evolution was massive. Ye Chen coughed up a thick puddle of dark blood onto the floor. His torn muscles screamed in loud protest from the forced growth.
But a sudden wave of deep cooling energy flooded outward from his newly forged bones.
The stabilizing aura instantly reinforced his fractured Stage 4 meridians. The bruised and swollen flesh around his joints healed perfectly into thick dense muscle.
Ye Chen stood up slowly from the cave floor. He clenched his right fist tightly.
The bones in his hand felt incredibly heavy and unbreakable.