After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Zhou Ran closed his eyes and poured a wisp of his primordial spirit power into the broken pen.

Both bone pens lit up at the same time.

The bloodstains spread out within the formation, gradually condensing into a soul fluctuation that devours bones.

Zhou Ran did not rush to respond.

The longer you wait, the more likely the other party will become suspicious.

But the response was too quick, and it didn't seem like they had just been in a battle.

He deliberately silenced the formation for twenty breaths.

The person on the other end finally asked another question.

"Swallow Bone, are you injured?"

Zhou Ran raised his finger and pressed down on his Adam's apple.

When he opened his mouth, his voice had already become like swallowing bones.

"The target has been eliminated."

The formation paused for a moment.

"Zhou Ran is dead?"

"His physical body was severed, and his remnant soul was suppressed by the Primordial Black Blade."

"Where's the knife?"

"In my possession."

The more answers you give, the more flaws you reveal.

Zhou Ran only provides the result, without providing the process.

He answered each question asked by the other party.

This attitude is befitting someone who swallows bones.

Tun Gu is a Grand Duke of the Sixth Heaven. He is cooperating with the Emperor's son, not serving him as a servant, and will not voluntarily disclose all the details.

Qin San stood outside the formation, observing Zhou Ran's aura.

Imitation of swallowing bones requires the consumption of primordial spirit, and sweat has seeped from Zhou Ran's forehead, but the fluctuations in the formation remain stable.

The person on the other end did not fully believe it.

"Zhou Ran is the greatest threat on the list left by the Imperial Prince."

"He bears the mark of a door bolt, the essence of a demon emperor, and a magical artifact that rewrites the rules. How will you kill him?"

Zhou Ran had anticipated this question.

"He forcibly opened the boundary gate, causing his cultivation to plummet, which in turn attracted the tribulation lightning of the Nascent Soul stage."

"I will form an array with 100,000 demon soldiers to grind away his last rule."

Where is the body?

"It's ruined."

Give me the remnant soul.

Zhou Ran did not respond.

Inside the secret room, Xuan Ying's hand was already on the hilt of his sword.

If the other party requests to receive the remnant soul through the formation, the lie will be difficult to maintain.

Xiao Rou also raised the Gu box, waiting for Zhou Ran's instructions.

A low laugh came from the other side of the formation.

"Swallowing bones, do you perhaps intend to swallow the door bolt all by yourself?"

Zhou Ran was waiting for these words.

He pushed the remaining primordial blood from the Bone-Swallowing Technique an inch into the center of the formation, his voice revealing an uncontrollable fragility.

"Zhou Ran's remnant soul is turning against me."

"His magical artifact based on rules shattered, and the fragments entered his primordial spirit. Forcibly removing them would destroy the bolt as well."

"I need the Concentration Jade."

The other party did not answer immediately.

"Your treasure trove contains the Nine Netherworld Divine Marrow."

"The essence of the body cannot suppress the rules of the imperial son."

Zhou Ran paused.

"If Your Highness only desires a corpse, I will burn the remnant soul right now."

At this point, the choice rests with the other party.

Send the Mind-Concentrating Jade to preserve Zhou Ran's remnant soul.

If you don't send it, swallow the bone and burn the target.

The person on the other side needs to complete the Emperor's mission and dares not risk taking on the most threatening target.

As for whether the Devourer will consume the bone alone, that will naturally be dealt with once the divine messenger descends.

A moment later, the fragments of the Emperor's Bone within the formation lit up.

"How much do you need?"

"Eighty-one top-grade Concentrating Jade, three drops of Soul-Stabilizing Heavenly Marrow, and ten Tribulation-Transcending Level Magic Crystals."

Gu Li stood at the doorway, his eyelids twitching.

He originally thought Zhou Ran would want a few pieces of Concentration Jade.

He asked for eighty-one yuan right off the bat, and also added Heavenly Marrow and Tribulation-Crossing Magic Crystal.

The Concentration Jade is a rare item in the Sixth Heaven, and it can directly repair the foundation when the primordial spirit is damaged.

Even a cultivator undergoing tribulation might not be able to scrape together twenty coins.

The person on the other side of the formation wasn't angry; they just asked...

"What are the ten Tribulation-Transcending Demon Crystals used for?"

"Activate the Soul-Suppressing Array."

"Only three Soul-Suppressing Arrays are needed."

Zhou Ran coughed up a mouthful of blood, letting it fall into the Bone-Swallowing Origin.

The formation's fluctuations subsequently became disordered.

"Zhou Ran just destroyed 20% of my primordial spirit."

"If you think it's too much, then come and take over yourself."

The other side fell silent.

Xuan Ying turned her head away, suppressing a laugh.

This does not count as demanding supplies.

This is using a non-existent remnant soul of Zhou Ran to claim reimbursement for medical expenses from the Emperor's informant.

The other party dared not refuse.

The sound of a mechanism being activated came from the other end of the formation.

"Ready to receive."

The cross-dimensional array patterns expanded outwards, forming a teleportation portal half a zhang wide in the center of the secret chamber.

The first black wooden box fell from the passage, followed by the second and the third.

Nine boxes in total.

Xiao Rou didn't approach; instead, she released the Gu worms to check.

"There's no poison, and the box has tracking patterns."

Zhou Ran was not surprised.

"Eat the tracking marks, but don't touch the Emperor's Bone Mark."

Xiao Rou nodded.

Hundreds of worms burrowed into the bottom of the box and gnawed along the wooden crevices.

The tracking pattern was still lit up, but Xiao Rou had already moved the coordinates to the bath in the Bone-Swallowing Palace.

If the other side tries to track them, they will only see that the supplies are constantly soaking in water.

All nine boxes landed, but the teleportation portal remained open.

"That's what the person on the other side of the formation said."

"Ninety pieces of Concentrating Spirit Jade, five drops of Soul-Stabilizing Heavenly Marrow, twelve Tribulation-Crossing Demon Crystals. In addition, there is a bottle of Emperor's Blood, which can suppress the door bolt."

Zhou Ran looked at the last blood-red jade bottle that fell.

The supplies were more than he had requested.

The other party wasn't very generous; they were worried that Tun Gu wouldn't be reliable, so they sent more to protect the remnant soul.

The prince was indeed willing to spend money to capture him.

When will the divine messenger arrive?

Zhou Ran asked casually, but his finger pressed on the edge of the array's core.

The other party did not answer directly.

"Why do you ask the messenger of the gods?"

"Zhou Ran mentioned before his death that the coordinates of Blue Star had been severed. I need new dimensional gate coordinates to send my remnant soul there."

"No need for you to deliver it."

The person on the other side of the formation paused for a moment.

"Twelve days later, the divine messenger will descend upon the Sixth Heaven through the Nine Nether Well."

"At that time, you will take Zhou Ran's remnant soul and the Primordial Black Blade to Nine Nether City."

Zhou Ran noted down the location and time.

"Which divine messenger?"

"This is not within your authority."

"I've executed someone, yet I can't even ask who came to claim the credit?"

"Swallow the bone, don't push your luck."

Zhou Ran did not get angry.

Even when facing the Emperor's spy, Tun Gu might be greedy and competitive, but he wouldn't turn against him on this matter.

He pressed the Taihuang Black Blade onto the formation, allowing the opponent to receive a complete blade intent.

"Twelve days later, at the Nine Nether Well."

"I will wait for him."

The person on the other end of the formation confirmed the aura of the Taihuang Black Blade, and their wariness lessened considerably.

"Hold the target tight. If Zhou Ran's remnant soul is lost, your Sixth Heaven is no longer worth keeping."

"There's one more thing."

"explain."

"There have been some activities by former members of the Demon Realm recently. The Imperial Prince has compiled a list, which has already been placed in the supply box."

"Three people on the list once followed Ye Futian. If they come into contact with Zhou Ran's remnant soul, the bolt will be reactivated."

"Can you kill him?"

"It would be best to capture her alive. Especially Huan Yin, she knows a secret cause and effect of Ye Futian."

Zhou Ran did not press the matter further.

Asking too many questions will make the other person realize that their interest in swallowing bones is wrong.

He controlled the broken pen, severing the connection between his soul and spirit.

Before the formation went out, another sentence came from the other side.

"Swallowing Bones, why is your soul mixed with the laws of the underworld?"

Zhou Ran raised his hand and pressed it towards the center of the formation.

"Zhou Ran bit me before he died."

The formation is closed.

The sealed room returned to silence.

Gu Li looked at the nine boxes on the ground, then at Zhou Ran.

"Your Excellency, do you bite?"

Zhou Ran put the two pieces of bone pen back.

"Would you like to try?"

Gu Li turned around and went to move the boxes.

"I was just asking casually."

Qin San opened the first box.

Ninety pieces of Concentration Jade were neatly arranged inside, each sealed with an independent restriction.

The second box contained the Soul-Stabilizing Heavenly Essence, and the third contained the Tribulation-Crossing Demon Crystal.

These things are enough to repair the cracks in Zhou Ran's primordial spirit and also allow him to completely stabilize his early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

The emperor's son sent men to hunt him down.

In the end, I paid for his medical expenses first.

Xuan Ying picked up the bottle of Emperor's Blood and examined it for a moment.

"The blood contains the ability to obey rules, but it cannot be used directly."

"Give it to Xiaorou."

Zhou Ran picked up a piece of Concentration Jade.

"Unbreak the rule of obedience, and save the rest of your blood. It will come in handy when the messenger of the gods arrives."