BOOM~!

Gu Zheng threw a punch.

Divine Wondrous power surged, enhanced by Furious Fist Intent.

The Fist Seal was like a physical object, tearing through the air and slamming into the giant skeleton’s head.

"CRACK!"

A crisp snap echoed.

The giant skeleton’s entire head exploded, sending fragments of bone flying in all directions.

But in the next instant, bones flew in from all sides, converging where the giant skeleton’s head had been and reforming it.

Inside the dark, empty eye sockets, there was no Soul Fire!

’Where is the source controlling it?’

Gu Zheng retreated, circling the giant skeleton at high speed as he searched for the source.

The core of a Bone Demon was its Soul Fire.

But after circling this giant skeleton several times, Gu Zheng still couldn’t find where its Soul Fire was housed.

SWOOSH~

He activated his Eyes of Golden Flame, scanning the giant skeleton’s entire body.

The scan revealed a clue.

The Bone Tripod!

The Bone Tripod, swallowed into the giant skeleton’s abdomen, was glinting with a strange white light under his Eyes of Golden Flame.

WHOOSH!

Gu Zheng decisively wrapped the Divine Weapon Fragment in Divine Wondrous power and shot it forward.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!~

The Divine Weapon Fragment flew out, first shattering several bones, then striking the Bone Tripod and piercing straight through it, leaving holes in the front and back.

HISS HISS HISS~!

Wisps of grayish-white flame immediately began to seep out of the small holes.

The giant skeleton began to sway and stagger, no longer able to control itself. It completely ignored Gu Zheng.

WHOOSH!

Gu Zheng wrapped the Divine Weapon Fragment in Divine Wondrous power and shot it out again, piercing the other side of the Bone Tripod. With two soft thuds, two more holes appeared.

Without pausing, the Divine Weapon Fragment circled around, flew back, and continued to pierce the Bone Tripod.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!~

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

For a moment, the strange sounds were endless.

And as more and more holes were pierced, more and more of the grayish-white flame leaked out.

Finally, with a loud explosion, the giant skeleton blew apart. Its assembled body of bones scattered in all directions like flower petals in the wind.

THUD~

Riddled with small holes, the Bone Tripod crashed back onto the stone platform, enveloped in grayish-white flames.

Gu Zheng retrieved the Divine Weapon Fragment and slowly approached the Bone Tripod.

BUZZ~!

An invisible wave abruptly burst forth, surging from the bottom of the Bone Tripod like a tide and rushing toward Gu Zheng.

SHING SHING SHING~

The Reversed Soul Scale on Gu Zheng’s chest rapidly heated up, spinning continuously to block and nullify the invading Spiritual Power.

He could faintly hear a shrill, unwilling shriek.

’A Death Flame Spirit?’

Under his Eyes of Golden Flame, Gu Zheng recognized the grayish-white fire.

It was White Bone Death Flame, a special type of Dark Side Anomalous Fire. It only appeared in the bones of living beings after they died and became nothing but white, withered skeletons.

The bones of an ordinary creature could be piled up for hundreds of thousands of years and still not give birth to it.

Only powerful beings, those above a certain level like the Super Body Realm or a Tier-Two Bone Demon and above, had a chance of producing it.

After it was born, this White Bone Death Flame—which was harmless to the living but had terrifying destructive power against the dead—would develop a Spiritual nature!

Given enough time, it would even develop consciousness and become a new life form.

The White Bone Death Flame in the Bone Tripod had existed for who knows how long and had already developed a Spiritual nature.

However, its Spiritual nature wasn’t strong. Its attempt to invade Gu Zheng was easily nullified by the passive defense of his Reversed Soul Scale.

The remaining White Bone Death Flame continued to pour out from the holes on all sides of the Bone Tripod.

This kind of Anomalous Fire required a special Bone Artifact for storage.

The Bone Tripod was clearly such a Bone Artifact.

The problem was that it had been pierced with dozens of small holes by the Divine Weapon Fragment and was now useless.

Gu Zheng had no choice but to give up on collecting it.

He performed an Absorption technique on the inside of the Bone Tripod from a distance.

SWOOSH!

A Divine Weapon Fragment immediately flew out from the tripod.

The third fragment was his!

He placed the fragment with the others.

Instantly, the Divine Weapon Fragments merged, growing slightly larger again.

Wrapping it in Divine Wondrous power, he stored it in his Storage Leaf.

Gu Zheng scanned his surroundings, then headed back the way he came, leaving the underground space.

"Master!"

Pingbo Bone was waiting at the entrance. Seeing Gu Zheng emerge, he immediately bowed.

"That elder of yours is dead," Gu Zheng said calmly as he walked. "From now on, you will lead the Storm Bone Demon Fiends. Grow the clan."

’Once they’ve multiplied, I’ll come back and harvest another wave!’

"Yes, Master!"

Pingbo Bone responded respectfully, "Rest assured, Master. This subordinate will do his utmost to expand the clan and serve you."

"It’s just..."

Pingbo Bone asked hesitantly, "What about the other two elders who went to Master’s world..."

"They’re not coming back."

Gu Zheng stated definitively. "And even if they did, they wouldn’t live long!"

"Understood!"

Pingbo Bone was overjoyed to hear this.

Without the Tier-Three Silver Bones, he no longer had to fear any of the other Storm Bone Demon Fiends.

A smile also touched the corners of Gu Zheng’s mouth.

Now that he had broken through to the Heroic Body Realm and possessed the Divine Weapon Fragments, a Tier-Three Silver Bone was no longer a threat.

The Divine Weapon Fragments had lost their Spiritual nature and other powers, leaving only their sharpness attribute.

Used as a projectile, they could even break the defense of a Tier-Four!

But even as fragments, they were still parts of a Divine Weapon.

If anyone else saw them, it would inevitably attract envy.

Those in the Heroic Body Realm would be envious, and even those in the King’s Body Realm likely would be as well!

It was a Divine Weapon, after all!

For this reason, after returning to the present world, he couldn’t use the Divine Weapon Fragments lightly. And if he did, he had to leave no survivors!

...

Back in the canyon.

The fierce winds still howled.

Pingbo Bone remained to guard the cavern while Gu Zheng flew up and back toward the Tunnel Between Two Realms.

This trip to the other side of the tunnel had been incredibly fruitful.

Not only had he broken through to the Heroic Body Realm, but he had also obtained a new Demon Technique.

Wind Manipulation!

On top of that, there was the Demon Pill and the Divine Weapon Fragment.

Even with only its sharpness attribute remaining, the Divine Weapon Fragment was still immensely powerful.

WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The wind and sand in the canyon swept across the land.

From a distance, Gu Zheng saw an unusual fluctuation flickering at the tunnel entrance.

Before he could get close...

BOOM!

A tall figure suddenly shot out of the tunnel entrance at extreme speed.

It shone with a brilliant silver light, wreathed in black energy and surrounded by a lingering astral wind.

A Tier-Three Silver Bone!

’One of the two Tier-Three Silver Bone Storm Bone Demon Fiends that Meng Taiqi was fighting has escaped back here?’

Gu Zheng’s figure flickered. He dashed to the bottom of the canyon and watched the Tier-Three Silver Bone fly overhead.

He waited in place for a moment.

He confirmed that only one Tier-Three Silver Bone had returned.

He immediately turned and gave chase.

SWOOSH!

WHOOSH~

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Riding the fierce winds, the Tier-Three Silver Bone flying ahead abruptly turned and looked back.

Seeing Gu Zheng, the Soul Fire in its dark, empty eye sockets flickered wildly.

"A human? You have some nerve..."

SWOOSH!

SHING! SHING! SHING!

The Sword Gang became a thin line. He unleashed nine strikes at top speed, then combined the final strike to release his strongest power, pouring it all out to envelop the Tier-Three Silver Bone.

CLANG~ CLANG~ CLANG~

The sound of metal clashing rang through the air.

The Tier-Three Silver Bone sneered, "With just this, you’re not worthy..."

WHOOSH!

A flash of starlight suddenly appeared.

"PFFT!"

A strange sound erupted.

Wrapped in Divine Wondrous power, the Divine Weapon Fragment pierced the Tier-Three Silver Bone’s skull.

Inside the skull, the flickering of its Soul Fire immediately slowed to a minimum.

WHOOSH~

Gu Zheng dashed forward, appearing before the Tier-Three Silver Bone.

BUZZ!

An invisible wave enveloped the Tier-Three Silver Bone’s skull.

Spear of the Soul!

"AAGH~!!"

A shriek born from the soul instantly rang out.

SCHLICK!

At the perfect moment, the Celestial Frost Blade plunged into the Tier-Three Silver Bone’s skull through the hole made by the Divine Weapon Fragment.

As he thrust the blade in, Gu Zheng noticed that a large area of this Tier-Three Storm Bone Demon Fiend’s head was covered in cracks.

’This clearly wasn’t caused by the Divine Weapon Fragment. Someone else did this.’

In other words, this Tier-Three Silver Bone had been severely injured by Meng Taiqi outside the tunnel and was forced to flee back here.

Now, Gu Zheng had seized the opportunity. Injured and slow to react, it was struck first by the Spear of the Soul, and then the Celestial Frost Blade stabbed directly into its cranium.

CRACK CRACK CRACK~

"BOOM~!"

With an explosive sound, the Tier-Three Silver Bone’s skull completely shattered, its fragments shooting out in all directions.

The Soul Fire inside flickered weakly a few times before being completely extinguished.

CLATTER~

The tall skeleton’s body disintegrated and fell to the ground.

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +32]

[Demon Points +39]

...

Another Demon Pill!

And the fourth Divine Weapon Fragment.

He stored the Demon Pill as well and placed the new Divine Weapon Fragment with the others, which automatically fused together.

A sword!

With four fragments merged, the shape of this Divine Weapon was finally becoming clear.

It was the upper half of a blade, revealing the tip of the sword!

’Just one more piece left...’

Gu Zheng mused.

With a wave of his hand, he stored the Divine Weapon Fragment.

He turned and flew back toward the tunnel entrance.

He slowed his pace this time.

As he neared the entrance, he confirmed that no more Storm Bone Demon Fiends were coming out.

Only then did Gu Zheng leap into the tunnel.

He walked along the tunnel to the exit.

"A Bone Demon is coming out..."

"Uh, it’s Lord Gu!"

The Demon Suppression Guards stationed outside the tunnel entrance first cried out in alarm, then shouted in excitement, "Lord Gu is back! Lord Gu isn’t dead!"

’I’m dead?’

Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow and surveyed his surroundings.

The bodies of Bone Demons were strewn everywhere, as were the bodies of quite a few Demon Suppression Guards.

The earth-shattering commotion high in the sky was also gone.

The Tier-Three Silver Bone that had been over here no longer had any aura.

Meng Taiqi was also nowhere to be seen.

However, the Demon Suppression Guards cleaning up the battlefield all had joyful, inexplicably excited expressions.

"What’s the situation?"

Gu Zheng walked on the air and asked a Commander, "Is the battle over? How is General Meng?"

"It’s over, Lord Gu!" the Commander replied quickly. "General Meng was injured and is recuperating at the Command Headquarters. Not long after you entered the tunnel, Lord Gu, Lord Ji arrived. Thanks to Lord Ji, we defeated the two Tier-Three Silver Bones, killed one of them, and rescued General Meng."

"When he learned you had entered the tunnel, Lord Gu, Lord Ji ordered us to leave a team here to keep an eye on the entrance."

"We all thought that you... well, you know."

The Commander chuckled sheepishly.

Gu Zheng’s brow shot up. "Lord Ji? You mean the Commander? He’s here?"

"Yes!" the Commander said excitedly. "It was the Commander himself. His strength has grown even greater. General Meng was originally outmatched and on the verge of defeat, but thankfully Lord Ji arrived in time."

Gu Zheng fell silent.

Lord Ji...

The Commander of the Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau, Ji Tianping!

Gu Zheng had first heard of this number one expert of Fengzhou, Commander Ji Tianping, from Yan Hongxue. At the time, he had slain a Tier-Three Demon Fiend that came out of the tunnel near Silver Mansion.

But after that, he hadn’t heard anything more about him and didn’t know where he had gone.

’And now he suddenly appears...’

"I’m going to see General Meng!"

Leaving those words behind, Gu Zheng’s figure flashed as he sped toward the temporary rest area in the Command Headquarters.

When he found Meng Taiqi, the latter’s face was pale as he swallowed a Treasure Pill.

Seeing Gu Zheng, the tense expression on his face relaxed.

"It’s good that you’re back."

But Gu Zheng’s eyes were fixed straight ahead!