Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

Chapter 104 The Formation of Glazed Bones

The chill seemed to intensify, as if it were about to tear people apart.

Ye Xiao remained unmoved, continuing his breathing and walking meditation several more times, focusing his mind solely on himself.

After an unknown amount of time, the light in his eyes rekindled.

【Crimson Blood Stake - Perfection】

【Dingyue Pillar - Complete】

【Vajra Stance - Perfection】

[Breaking Through the Heavens - Perfection]

【Dragon-Locking Weight-Bearing Stakes - Complete】

【Layered Waves and Silk-Entwined Pile - Perfection】

【Collapse Mountain Fist - Perfection】

In an instant, it was as if a string stretched to its limit within Ye Xiao suddenly straightened.

There was no loud bang.

There is only one kind of clean stillness.

The skin changes first.

The cold air descends, and should have been gently rubbing into the pores, but at this moment it only swirls on the skin's surface, like hitting a thin film that sticks to it but has difficulty penetrating.

Ye Xiao raised his hand and brushed it across the back of his hand. The sensation wasn't hard, but tight—tight to the bone, as if all the excess looseness had been cut away. The heat beneath the skin couldn't escape, and the cold couldn't penetrate; it could only rub against the outside, without making a sound.

What changes next is the muscles.

With each inhale and exhale, the fascia in his chest and back first stretches slightly, then returns to its original position.

It doesn't bulge or expand, but it's denser, more elastic, and more integrated: when the force is lifted, the strength of the stance is like a taut bowstring, ready to be released instantly; when the force is withdrawn, it's like the tide returning to the dam, returning cleanly and neatly.

The cold sensation tried to make an opening in the thin fascia, but as soon as it probed in, it was bounced back.

Finally, there's the bone.

The changes on this layer are the quietest and most obvious.

As the chill pressed down, it felt as if the bones were being ground together, unbreakable when bearing weight and undisturbed when recovering strength.

The sharp brilliance of the golden bones has completely faded, leaving only clarity and harmony. The light is no longer dazzling, like a sliver of cold, moonlight encased in glass.

The glass bone is complete.

Ye Xiao remained standing by the pool, his expression unchanged, not even his breathing erratic.

He let his breathing return to normal, allowing the cold breath to continue to subside.

He was still cold, but it couldn't suppress his blood and qi, nor could it force out that splitting pain.

From this moment on, the cold pool could no longer shatter him.

Ye Xiao glanced up and swept his eyes across the dark, still water.

The moment the glass bone returned to its place, he suddenly realized that his senses had become "clearer".

Distracting thoughts no longer wander; once a thought settles, it becomes steady. Perception becomes clearer, and even the slightest rise and fall in one's breath is clearly discernible.

It's not that the mine is quieter, it's that the noise in my heart has been suppressed. As soon as a thought arises, I can settle down and stop drifting.

He didn't close his eyes.

But the dark, murky water surface seemed to have an extra layer of "texture" for him to see: cold air emanated from the center of the pool, folded back along the shore rocks, and twisted into rings that never dissipated.

It was darker at the center of the ring.

The darkness was unnatural, as if something had nailed this pool to the spot, preventing it from freezing over and only allowing ripples to form.

Ye Xiao's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He was almost instantly certain: there was something at the bottom of the pool.

He did not go any further, nor did he explore the water.

Just keep that dark spot in mind, and come back to investigate it when you have the chance in the future.

Once the thought is withdrawn, that clarity also returns to its place, neither ostentatious nor outwardly displayed.

Ye Xiao turned and went uphill, preparing to return to the city immediately.

Now he is not only fighting to survive, but also to ensure that he and his family can live according to their own wishes.

He always knew very well: if you're not strong enough, you can only be pushed around by others. You'll be pushed wherever they take you, and you'll only be able to protect whoever you can, and even your life will depend on your temper—that's not what he wanted.

That's why he pushed himself to this point.

For more than two months in the icy pool, he gritted his teeth and refused to back down, letting the cold seep into his bones, all so that if anyone reached out to him again, he could immediately push that hand back.

-

The meat and medicine from the exotic beasts they brought had long been exhausted.

Although the Glazed Bone was formed, the cold injuries within his body had not completely healed, and that chilling energy was still gnawing at his meridians deep within. It was unrealistic to immediately advance to the Martial Master level; he needed to replenish the energy required for his destiny before he could use its power to cleanse away the remaining chill.

His boots trod over the gravel without making a sound.

Even after stepping out of the cold pool, the frost on my body didn't melt; instead, it clung even more, like a thin layer of armor.

The two town guards outside the cordon saw the figure coming up from the bottom of the ditch from afar and were both shocked.

When Ye Xiao had been inside for a month, they assumed he had perished. But now, his steps were unhurried, his shoulders and back were relaxed, and he showed no signs of weakness, as if he had simply taken a short walk.

One of them, his Adam's apple bobbing, asked in a low voice, "Really out?"

The other man slowly released his grip on the knife hilt, his voice even colder: "Guard the entrance and ask fewer questions."

Ye Xiao ignored them.

The shadow of his straw hat obscured his eyebrows and eyes, and his veil clung to his chin. A black paper warrant flashed and then disappeared; he stepped across the sealed line, his steps unwavering.

On the way back to the city, the sky was gray.

The cold pool is not close to the North Gate. It is a ten-mile stretch of barren slopes and dirt road. It is not difficult to walk, but it is tedious.

Ye Xiao didn't take a car; he pushed himself forward steadily with his feet. The light of day gradually faded from overcast to pale, and the cold clouds behind him were left behind.

After walking seven miles, the gravel underfoot turned into frozen mud, and ruts were etched into the road like old scars.

Ye Xiao's steps remained unhurried, but the coldness in his chest occasionally stung him, reminding him that the injury was still there.

After walking for another half hour, the outline of the city wall finally emerged from the gray fog in the distance.

The closer you get, the narrower the road becomes, and the more the terrain shrinks.

The entrance to the city wall ahead is squeezed into a single line by the jumbled rocks and reeds on both sides; once you get there, there's no way to avoid it.

He suddenly paused.

It wasn't that he heard anything, but rather that he felt a faint, yet precise, prick on the back of his head, like being gently pricked by a needle. That sense of "clarity" resurfaced, making his hair stand on end.

He didn't look for the reason, but simply tightened his breathing slightly, allowing his blood and qi to flow steadily along the path of the pillar. The glassy bones had just been formed, and the coldness of the icy pool was still hidden deep within the bone crevices, occasionally piercing him.

Further ahead is the narrowest opening closest to the city wall.

The terrain is extremely narrow, with rocks and reeds scattered on the left and right, making it ideal for hiding people and burying them.

Ye Xiao stood outside the entrance for a moment.

He didn't look up at the reeds, nor did he look at the jumbled rocks.

He only looked at the ground.

The mud strips were trampled and crushed so neatly that it looked as if someone had deliberately wiped them clean; there were fine fragments in the cracks between the rocks, which didn't look like soil powder, but rather like slag from grinding iron; the rhythm of the wind blowing through the reeds was also off, with some clumps swaying half a beat slower, as if someone was pressing their breath into the leaves.

In the past, Ye Xiao would have had no chance to perceive all of this.

But now it's different; he's certain someone has tampered with this place.

Ye Xiao lifted his foot and stepped into the narrow passage.

"Whoosh!"

The first tripwire under the reed root snapped up at an angle so sharp it looked like it was about to cut your ankle.

Ye Xiao flicked his toes, landing not by stepping, but by tapping. He tapped the dead spot of the rope's force, causing the rope to snap back with a "crack."

Almost simultaneously, two points of cold light shot out from the cracks in the rocks, aiming straight for the knees and sides of the hips—a truly sinister attack.

Ye Xiao felt a weight on his shoulders and twisted his waist.

He didn't dodge dramatically, but simply adjusted his posture. The cold light grazed past his clothes, as if hitting an invisible wall, deflecting half an inch before embedding itself in a nearby stone with a muffled thud.

A voice muttered from the reeds, "This isn't good enough?!"

The next moment, a figure emerged from the ditch.

Ten aspiring martial artists surrounded them, brandishing knives, clubs, and short blades.

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