Tang Chuanwu resented himself for being too young to cultivate; otherwise, he wouldn’t be this helpless before cultivators, with little understanding of their methods. All he could do was keep training in martial arts to become stronger.

Three months ago, he had gone out of the city to gather herbs. Due to how far it was, a round trip would take a full day, so medicine shop apprentices usually stayed at the harvesting site for two to three days. Tang Chuanwu was no exception.

He had found an oasis to rest. The first day passed without incident, but late into the second night, someone stumbled into the oasis. That person was badly wounded and bleeding profusely. Even in death, the person still clutched a wooden box tightly, staring at Tang Chuanwu with wary eyes.

Sensing major trouble, Tang Chuanwu decided to leave, despite the dangers of traveling at night.

But before he could depart, black-robed figures bearing the emblem of a pink skeleton surrounded the oasis. Fearing that Tang Chuanwu would leak their secret, they employed a spell to make his bones grow at an alarming rate. The bones pierced through his body and heart, killing him. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

In the second loop, Tang Chuanwu waited for the person to die. He opened the box and found an unknown pill and a small fragment inside. He tried to escape with the pill, but was a step too late. The black-robed figures surrounded the oasis again and killed him.

In the third loop, Tang Chuanwu swallowed the pill immediately after finding it. The pain was unbearable, and he lost consciousness. While he was out, the black-robed figures killed him.

In the fourth loop, Tang Chuanwu ignored the wooden box and tried to flee back to Kaihuang City at dawn. But the black-robed figures had already set up a tight cordon around the area, preventing anyone from leaving. His escape failed, and he died.

In the fifth loop, he managed to break through the encirclement, only to die in a sudden sandstorm.

The sixth loop...the seventh...

Loop after loop, Tang Chuanwu finally pieced together the full story. These black-robed figures were members of the Skeleton Divine Creed, whose members were all cultivators. Their influence spanned eight nearby cities, a truly terrifying force.

One member coveted the divine creed’s treasure and had stolen a Marrow-Cleansing Pill and a mysterious fragment. It was extremely sharp and of unknown origin.

In the final loop, he ambushed the thief, who was already gravely injured. Coupled with the Long Arm Fist he had secretly learned from Kaihuang Temple and the combat patterns he had familiarized himself with through previous loops, he killed the thief, seized the wooden box, and swallowed the Marrow-Cleansing Pill.

When he awakened, he broke through the encirclement. The Skeleton Divine Creed members tried to give chase, but a sandstorm threw them into disarray.

After the marrow cleansing, his physique had grown stronger, and with his prior preparations against the sandstorm, he managed to escape. Yet three months later, the Skeleton Divine Creed still found him.

This is troublesome. I’ve heard the Twenty-Eight Constellations Protectors are all big shots at the Great Perfection Qi Training Stage. A head-on confrontation is out of the question. I wonder how many times I’ll have to die this time to deal with Protector Jue.

Tang Chuanwu’s mind raced, planning for the next loop. The Buddha Bathing Festival will begin in ten days, and many foreign cultivators have already entered Kaihuang City. Perhaps I can make use of them to fight Protector Jue, but any cultivator capable of facing him will need to be at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and such cultivators are not easy to find.

Moreover, I’ve heard that the creed leader of the Skeleton Divine Creed is a Nascent Soul old monster who can trigger unusual celestial phenomena with every move. This creed leader has mastered hundreds of spells and is unimaginably powerful. Even if I get past this hurdle, how will I deal with the creed leader afterward?

Wait, I may not need to go through loops this time.

Tang Chuanwu turned to look at Master Lu, whose head was lowered in thought, and Master Meng, whose face was filled with bafflement.

Cui Que’er and Tang Qiaoqiao looked at Protector Jue with strange expressions—a mix of bewilderment and even amusement—but there was no fear.

Bones continuously extended from the sleeves of the black-robed figures and spread, soon covering the entire room. The sharp bone spurs pointed at Lu Yang and the others.

At a single command, the bone spurs would extend further and turn them into a hornet's nest!

“What, still not handing over the treasure? It looks like you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin!” Protector Jue sneered repeatedly. I’ll kill them and leave. Kaihuang Temple won’t find anything, even if they investigate.

Protector Jue signaled with his eyes and ordered his men. “Act now!”

“Act what? Can’t you see that this young master is thinking?” Meng Jingzhou said irritably. He strode forward, ignoring the thorny bone spurs, letting them prick him. He couldn’t help but feel that he had seen these black robes somewhere before.

Protector Jue’s pupils contracted sharply. The supposedly indestructible bone spurs snapped at the slightest touch like green foxtail, causing no damage at all.

“This is impossible! Who exactly are you?!” Protector Jue yelled, an ominous feeling welling within him. We’ve hit an iron wall this time!

Meng Jingzhou didn’t waste his breath. Without a word, he released his oppressive pressure. Protector Jue and his men felt as though a mountain were weighing down on them. With a thud, they collapsed to the ground, blood seeping from their seven orifices.

“You wouldn’t dare kill me! If you offend our Skeleton Divine Creed, we will hunt you down even to the ends of the world!

“Don’t think everyone is like me. I’m the weakest of the Twenty-Eight Constellations Protectors!

“Above the Twenty-Eight Constellations Protectors, we have the Seven Luminaries Protectors, the Four Divisions Protectors, the Left and Right Protectors, the Holy Maiden and Holy Son, and the unfathomable Creed...”

Lu Yang looked up, realization dawning upon him. “No wonder this outfit of yours looks familiar. I’ve seen it before.”

He pulled out a black robe from his identity jade tablet. The skeleton on the robe was embroidered with gold and silver threads with exquisite craftsmanship.

Seeing the black robe in Lu Yang’s hands, Protector Jue looked as if he had seen a ghost. Boundless terror spread through his heart, and he could no longer control his voice. “Th-this is the Creed Leader’s robe!”

When he served as protector, he had been fortunate enough to see Lady White Bone once, seated upon a mountain of corpses and seas of blood, surrounded by countless blood servants and bone servants.

Lu Yang recalled their journey to Kaihuang City. “On the way to Kaihuang City, we happened to encounter a bone demon spirit who called herself Lady White Bone or something. She wanted to take Old Meng as her male servant, and he disposed of her on the spot. So she was your creed leader.”

If these black-robed figures hadn’t come to make their presence known, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou wouldn’t have remembered Lady White Bone, mere small fry.

“How is this possible? The creed leader is a veteran Basic Nascent Soul cultivator who shattered her golden core to form her nascent soul fifty years ago!” Protector Jue still couldn’t believe it. That’s an invincible Nascent Soul cultivator!

Lu Yang pondered for a bit. This Lady White Bone is indeed quite impressive. I certainly couldn’t have defeated her fifty years ago.

“I didn’t expect that bone demon spirit to have underlings. Good that you’ve come. Let’s wipe all of you out.” Lu Yang turned to Tang Chuanwu and the others. “You don’t have any plans this afternoon, do you? Do you want to follow us to deal with this so-called divine creed? We’ll try to be quick; we should make it back for dinner.”

Tang Chuanwu nodded stiffly, his mind struggling to process it all.

On the other hand, Tang Qiaoqiao and Cui Que’er were ecstatic. This is far more interesting than running around Kaihuang City.

Based on the results of the soul search on Protector Jue, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou went straight to the Skeleton Divine Creed’s lair. Without wasting words, they unleashed a massacre.

“Who dares trespass the divine creed...”

“Constellation Protector, save me...”

“Seven Luminaries Protector, save me...”

“Four Divisions Protector, save me...”

“Left and Right Protectors, save me...”

“Tang Qiaoqiao, as the clone that this esteemed one has nurtured...”

“If you dare kill me, I’ll detonate the blood within Tang Qiaoqiao...”

“Holy Maiden, save me...”

“Holy Son, save me...”

“Whew, finally done.” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had fought their way through the Skeleton Divine Creed, uprooting six strongholds with remarkable speed.

“Faster than expected.”

“You killed them too quickly earlier. Speaking of which, doesn’t Tang Qiaoqiao look a bit like the Left Protector? What did the Left Protector say before dying?”

Meng Jingzhou shrugged. “Probably a clone nurtured for body takeover or something. That’s not important. In any case, the Left Protector is gone. If that lass knows too much, it may easily lead to psychological problems.”

“True.”

Throughout the entire process, Tang Chuanwu’s gaze remained vacant, his mind still reeling.

The moment Protector Jue had burst into his home, he was prepared to die dozens of times, go through endless cycles, survive in the cracks, outwit and outfight the Skeleton Divine Creed, and perhaps even uncover the mystery of his sister’s origins.

How did everything get settled in one afternoon?