Gou Zai, a corpse sewn into a spirit in a mortuary during the Republic of China era, became a spirit

Xie An was overjoyed and quickly put down the rattan cane, watching the radish stalks swim vigorously towards him in the water.

To be fair, even though Luo Bu Si was just a skeleton, her swimming style was still quite standard. She soon got ashore, brushed off the seaweed, and then started gesturing wildly at Xie An. Because of her excessive excitement, Luo Bu Si's jaw kept opening and closing, making a "click-click" sound.

Through the information transmitted via the mental link, Xie An roughly understood:

The four soldiers who were chasing the radish vines had just swum to the middle of the river... when they were eaten by the giant snake.

Xie An's heart tightened, and he instinctively looked up at the rushing waters of the Qinghe River in front of him.

Is that big snake lurking in the water?

"Why didn't the giant snake hurt you?"

Facing Xie An's question, Luo Bosi proudly raised her head and pounded her chest. At the same time, a message arrived: "That giant snake said we have a connection and has taken me as its follower. The snake boss is very satisfied with the food I brought him."

Xie An was utterly speechless upon hearing this...

This girl, Luo Bosi, has only been under my control for less than a month... and she already dares to privately acknowledge someone as her elder brother?

As for the giant snake's so-called food, it is most likely living people or corpses.

Previously, Radish sent four corpses to the giant snake, and today she sent four living people to it... No wonder the giant snake likes Radish.

A simple phrase like "acknowledging him as my little brother" was enough to make Luo Bosi willingly submit...

This level of intelligence... is really...

Seeing that Xie An didn't speak, Luo Bosi thought he was angry, so she immediately started trembling nervously and waving her hands. She pointed to the other side of the Qinghe River and gave a thumbs up, then gave Xie An two thumbs up.

The general meaning is: In my heart, the master is the boss, and the snake boss can only be second.

Seeing how diligently the radish was trying to prove its loyalty, yet also looking quite frightened, Xie An patted it on the shoulder encouragingly: "Good job. Does your second snake really like eating people?"

The radish shreds nodded repeatedly, indicating that they liked it very much.

Xie An nodded secretly, then asked about the strength of the second snake.

Luo Bosi said that the snake boss's strength was extremely abnormal... but it was far inferior to her master's.

Xie An: "..."

The second half of the sentence felt like flattery, like he wasn't being sincere.

Xie An didn't mind and praised the dried radish shreds for being well-dryed. He then asked the radish shreds what the great news was.

Luo Bosi seemed to suddenly remember something, slapped her head hard, then untied a tattered cloth bag tied to her back and took out a palm-sized piece of pork rib from the bag in front of Xie An.

Xie An took it and looked at it; the familiar icy touch made his pupils shrink instantly…

It's the same kind of pork ribs as last time.

Moreover, this bone is more than twice the size of the last one.

"Where did this come from?"

Radish scratched her head and said, "It's a reward from the snake boss for bringing it food. I don't know how to use it, but I feel I should still give it back to my master."

Xie An played with the bone with obvious delight, a smile playing on his lips. "Radish, you did a good job. This bone... where did Snake Two get it? Does it have many more of these bones?"

Radish nodded emphatically, then pointed to the opposite bank of the river, indicating that there were many more bones like this... and even the second snake was sleeping in a pile of bones like this.

Turtle...

Xie An was truly shocked.

It's worth noting that last time Xie An absorbed only the Yin energy from a single bone, and it reshaped his physical constitution and even created something called Jade Bone Ice Marrow. This shows just how precious that bone was.

And this second snake was sleeping in such a precious pile of bones... that's incredibly extravagant.

Xie An originally thought this giant snake was just a simple snake monster, but now it seems... he greatly underestimated the snake's level.

"What does the second snake look like?"

When Xie An asked her questions, Luo Bo Si gestured wildly, but she couldn't make it clear. The general meaning was: "About the same as me."

That's a giant serpent monster, how could it be comparable to you?

Xie An found it unbelievable, feeling that the description of the radish was somewhat inaccurate. But he also felt a growing curiosity about the giant snake.

call!

Xie An glanced at the dawning sky in the east, took a deep breath, and said, "There's no time to lose. Go to the camp and process all the corpses, making them look like they were killed by monsters. Go quickly and come back soon; I'll wait for you here."

Luo Bosi nodded in agreement and quickly ran towards the distant camp.

Xie An sat cross-legged on the reef, holding pork ribs in both hands and turning the cutting board.

[6 points of Ghoul Essence detected.]

[Absorbable.]

Time was of the essence, and Xie An didn't hesitate; he immediately conceived the idea: Absorb.

The instant the thought formed—

The palm-sized bone in his palm suddenly began to vibrate!

It was as if some kind of extremely concentrated coldness was erupting wildly, rushing upwards along the meridians of the arm and straight into the crown of the head!

"Ugh—!"

Xie An let out a low growl that was suppressed to the extreme.

This impact was several times more intense than the last. If the last one was like ice spikes piercing to the bone, this one was like an entire glacier bursting its banks, the raging torrent of Yin energy instantly shattering his barely maintained defenses. His entire skeleton felt as if it had been thrown into the crevice between a forge and an icy hell—the outer layer was being frantically forged by a red-hot iron hammer, while inside, millennia-old black ice was freezing, expanding, and then exploding wildly within his marrow cavity!

"Click, click, click..."

The sound of bones popping and reforming, like popping beans, echoed continuously from his body.

Beneath the skin, one can clearly see the bones undergoing intense remodeling, becoming dense and solid, their surface gleaming with a strange luster that is both warm and jade-like, yet subtly reveals a metallic chill. The originally fair skin shimmers with an almost transparent sheen, beneath which the newly formed bone structure is as fine as the finest porcelain, yet harder than refined steel.

"Buzz—!"

As the last bit of Yin energy was completely devoured and transformed, a deep and powerful hum suddenly emanated from Xie An's body.

That wasn't the sound of flesh and blood, but the resonance of tendons and bones!

The tendons, like the taut string of a powerful bow, vibrate at their limit; the newly formed iron bones, like a bronze bell, resonate in unison. The vibrations of the tendons and bones gradually merge into one, finally transforming into a long, solid, and resonant "clang" that seems to penetrate flesh!

A tingling, burning sensation shot straight to the top of my head.

Xie An knew... this was what martial artists often called "the muscles and bones resonating together."

It is a sign that one has entered the Iron Bone Realm of the Three Gates.

Iron Bone Realm, achieved!

Xie An suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as lightning, seemingly drawing a tangible trajectory in the pre-dawn darkness.

He instinctively clenched his fist.

"Buzz!"

The moment the five fingers closed, a sonic boom was created by squeezing the air in the palm! An overwhelming sense of power surged from every bone and tendon, as if a light leap could smash through a mountain rock and a casual wave of the hand could tear the air apart.

"It seems I have truly broken through the third level of the Iron Bone Realm!"

He looked down at his wound.

Along the edge of the charred "weld" seam on his abdomen, fresh granulation tissue was growing at a visible rate, slowly replacing and covering the charred dead flesh. The knife wound on his ribs had already healed, leaving only a fresh, pink scar.

Not only external injuries, but also the vital energy and blood essence depleted by the repeated fierce battles were rapidly replenished and nourished by the new life force transformed from the vast Yin Sha.

The physical fatigue vanished, replaced by an overflowing energy and a kind of... completely refreshed "powerful" quality from the inside out.

He slowly stood up.

With each movement, his entire skeleton emitted a series of deep, melodious sounds, like the clash of metal.

In the Iron Bone Realm, muscles and bones resonate, and the body is as if cast in iron.

Xie An practiced the Hunyuan stance again, this time with even greater depth and power. He then practiced Bajiquan once more, his movements even more forceful and powerful, surging like the sea.

The same martial art, but the power is incomparable.

The effects of Jade Bone Ice Marrow were not limited to an increase in cultivation level; it also caused a dramatic surge in power and speed. Although both were at the Iron Bone Realm, Xie An felt that his power was more than twice that of other Bronze Mirror experts.

This gave Xie An immense confidence.

He looked towards the faintly bright eastern horizon, his eyes becoming much more resolute.

call!

Taking a deep breath, Xie An opened the control panel.

[Coffin owner: Xie An]

[Spirit Acquired: Mandrill]

Mandrill Level: Level 1 (7/100)

[Ghoul Essence: 6]

[Mountain Demon: It can devour mountain spirits and moonlight, and consume the aura of corpses and ghosts. It is adept at sensing the earth's veins and yin orifices, and is a malevolent spirit of the dark and turbid mountains and forests.]

[Currently Commanding a Corpse: Level 3 Skeleton (Evolves into an Ironbone Skeleton by consuming 15 Corpse Essence)]

[Gained Talent: Shadow]

[Shadow Level 2: You can remain invisible even in areas with limited light.]

[Consuming 20 points of Ghoul Essence will upgrade Shadow to level 3.]

"My progress on the mandrill has increased by four points. Besides the ghoul essence, this bone has many other benefits... If I got a few more, I'd be able to reach the fourth level of the Five Organs Realm much faster. That new snake buddy I met, Lao Er, is a treasure..."

"Besides, that second snake likes to eat people. Next time, let Radish send a few people to it... Would it be feasible to have Radish ask for a couple more bones?"

As his ideas expanded, a plan emerged in Xie An's mind.

Da da da.

Radish rushed back at this moment, patting her chest to indicate that the scene had been dealt with.

Xie An gave Luo Bosi some approval, then said, "Go find your second brother and tell him that a large group of people are coming here soon, and he should come and eat them. After it's done, ask your second brother for a couple more bones. Got it?"

The shredded radish nodded emphatically.

Xie An said, "Go. Once your second brother has replied, send me a message immediately."

Luo Bosi nodded in agreement, and then began to swim towards the other side.

Watching the radish shreds disappear across the Qinghe River, Xie An slung his rattan rifle over his shoulder and headed towards the cave. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, he even hummed a tune.

Not far away, a cold, childlike voice came from behind.

Hehe~