After the path was cut off

Two hundred miles south of Baixi Town, a gray-white mountain suddenly rises from the ground.

From a distance, the mountain doesn't look like a mountain at all, but rather like the skeleton of a giant beast abandoned in the wilderness. Jagged bony spikes jut out from the ridge, and the mountain is riddled with deep, dark holes, through which the wind makes a long, wailing sound.

At the foot of the mountain, blood-red mud slowly seeped out along the cracks in the rocks, flowing into a foul-smelling swamp.

Deathly aura, resentment, putrid blood, and ashes mingled together, lingering for years, eventually emitting thick black mist that completely enveloped the entire mountain of bones.

This place is White Bone Mountain.

It is also the lair of the evil cultivators of Zhongzhou, the "Bone-Chewing Demon".

For sixty years, the Bone-Chewing Demon has been entrenched in this place, gathering more than thirty evil cultivators and establishing the White Bone Path, specializing in refining bone nectar and marrow from the bones of mortals. His fearsome reputation has spread for hundreds of miles around.

Not to mention ordinary people, even evil cultivators would shudder at the mere mention of "White Bone Mountain".

At this moment, deep within White Bone Mountain, an uninvited guest arrived.

Inside the grand hall, where bones were piled up, the candlelight flickered, illuminating the bone patterns on the four walls in a ghastly white light.

On the left side of the main hall sat an old man in a plain white brocade robe.

The old man had white hair and beard, a kind face, and his hands rested quietly on his knees. If you only looked at his appearance, he really looked like the most respected elder in the countryside.

He was none other than Blood Butcher, Wang Xiande.

On the right side of the main hall, however, lay a completely different scene.

The Bone-Chewing Demon's body, tempered over many years and as white as jade, was now enveloped from the inside out by a ball of pale bone fire.

The fire was neither fierce nor leaping; it simply clung quietly between his bones and flesh, burning inch by inch.

The remaining flesh and blood melted in the fire, turning into wisps of essence that were forced into the white jade skeleton.

This is not burning and killing, but refining and returning.

The Bone-Chewing Demon's flesh, cultivation, and soul were all forced back into his most prized "Jade Bones" by the bone fire, bit by bit.

The white jade skeleton struggled violently in the fire, its ten fingers like hooks, gripping the void with a clanging sound.

"Wang Xiande!"

The Bone-Chewing Demon's soul-stirring voice exploded from the depths of its skeleton, a mixture of pain and rage that sent bone fragments raining down from the ceiling.

"You old dog! You dare to betray me!"

Wang Xiande sighed softly.

"Nephew, why be angry?"

His tone remained gentle, as if he were advising an ignorant junior.

"Li Wangxiang's sudden return has disrupted the situation in Baixi Town. Originally, the plan was to wait ten years before forcing him to return, but unfortunately..."

He looked up at the white jade skeleton, and there was a hint of regret in his eyes.

"It's a pity that I have to use my nephew as the main ingredient ahead of schedule."

"Main ingredients?"

The Demon Soul of Chewing Bones surged fiercely.

"You're using me as a furnace?"

"You don't deserve it!"

The next instant, a blinding burst of light erupted from within the white jade skeleton.

The bone fire was forcibly pushed open by a single thread.

The Bone Chewing Demon roared:

"He relinquished his body and merged with his bones, his jade soul vanished into the void!"

This is his real way to save his life.

He gave up his bones and blood, abandoned all his cultivation, and began to nurture his soul, thus turning to the path of the ghosts.

The cost was extremely high.

With this method, he will only be able to walk in a soul form for the rest of his life, with no chance of reshaping his flesh and blood. The path to the Golden Core is thus severed.

He would never use it unless he was forced into a corner.

But in the next instant, the jade light that should have vanished into the void flashed and disappeared within the skeleton.

The Soul Flame of the Bone-Chewing Demon trembled violently.

"What happened?"

"What did you do?!"

Wang Xiande shook his head, as if showing some pity.

"Foolish child,"

Have you not heard the ancient admonition: "Treasure found by the roadside is either a blessing or a curse; if you do not understand its origins, do not covet or touch it"?

"My dear nephew, you have been cultivating the Tao for so many years, how come you still don't understand this principle?"

The soul fire in the empty eye sockets of the Bone-Chewing Demon suddenly froze.

"Jade Bone Palace..."

"It's you!!"

"Was that Jade Bone Palace a setup by you?"

"Exactly."

Wang Xiande nodded calmly.

The Bone-Chewing Demon God's soul trembled violently. Many old events only became clear at this moment.

Back then, in order to seize the "True Chapter of Jade Bone Blood Refining" in that underground palace, he personally killed his fellow practitioners and slaughtered all those who knew about it. Later, when he practiced this method, he endured the excruciating pain of having his bones and marrow crushed a hundred times, yet he always firmly believed that it was a tremendous opportunity that he had seized.

It turns out that from the very beginning, it was bait that someone else offered to him.

"You old scoundrel!"

The voice of the Bone-Chewing Demon Soul was hoarse.

"How do you know that my jade-like essence will definitely blend with your blood essence?"

"And who taught you this method of reconciliation?"

Wang Xiande did not answer immediately.

He glanced up at the top of the hall, as if trying to confirm a certain time.

After a moment, he said:

"Is my nephew waiting for the earth's veins to replenish it, hoping to use the death energy accumulated in the Bone Mountain to further refine this bone fire?"

The Bone-Chewing Demon Soul Fire twitched slightly.

Wang Xiande smiled.

"It's still early."

"Since it's still early, I'll let my nephew die knowing why."

He spoke slowly:

"You cultivate the 'Jade Bone Refining Blood True Chapter,' I cultivate the 'Bone Melting Blood True Chapter,' and there is also the 'Blood Bone Carrying Soul True Chapter.'"

"All three originate from the same scripture."

"It is called the Scripture of Salvation."

The Bone-Chewing Demon was taken aback. Then, the soul fire emitted an indescribable chill.

"The Sutra of Salvation?"

"This heretical scripture is called the Scripture of Salvation?"

Wang Xiande's gaze was far-reaching:

"One hundred and sixty years ago, I obtained it from a member of a collateral branch of the clan."

"That child is dull-witted. He obtained the scriptures, but only knew how to harm people using the evil methods described within. He did not understand the true mystery of this scripture for saving people."

"Seeing him squander this opportunity, I decided to help him sever his worldly ties."

A strange light flashed in Wang Xiande's eyes.

"This sutra truly delves into the mysteries of creation, beyond comprehension!"

"The evil methods recorded within are more than a hundred. Even the methods for obtaining gold have nine different paths."

"I have pondered this for many years, but I still cannot choose one."

"Since you don't understand."

"So I simply raised several different species."

Wang Xiande raised a withered finger and gently pointed it at the Bone Chewing Demon.

"Therefore, I took out more than ten methods from them, made some minor modifications, and scattered them throughout the Central Plains."

"These methods can guide qi, build a foundation, and even allow some exceptionally talented individuals to go extremely far."

"But deep within its foundation lies a hidden thread."

"Made for my immortal foundation [to repay my blood relatives]."

He looked at the Bone Chewing Demon, and finally a hint of genuine approval appeared in his eyes.

"Many people practice cultivation, but only you, my nephew, have reached the level of clear jade bones and abundant primordial essence, making you worthy of being the master of the cauldron."

"If this isn't fate, then what is it?"

The Bone-Chewing Demon Soul Fire trembled violently.

Anger, humiliation, and resentment surged within that white jade skeleton like poisonous fire.

He suddenly chuckled softly.

The laughter grew louder and louder.

"God willing?"

"Wang Xiande, you dare to talk about destiny?"

"You think you're the master of chess just because you've obtained the complete method of gold smelting?"

How do you know you're not just a fish in someone else's trap?

"How do you know that the 'Scripture of Salvation' wasn't a seed sown by someone from a higher realm?"

A very faint shadow flashed across the depths of Wang Xiande's eyes for a fleeting moment.

But it was only for a moment.

He quickly regained his gentle demeanor.

"Nephew is right."

"Perhaps."

"But so what?"

He slowly stood up.

As he stood up, the stench of blood suddenly intensified in the hall.

Strands of dark red blood seeped from beneath his white robe, moving across the ground like living things.

"When I obtained this scripture, I already understood that it was a path of no return."

"If you don't leave, you'll always be meat on someone else's chopping board."

"If we leave, at least there's still a sliver of hope."

Wang Xiande gradually descended into becoming a bone-chewing demon.

His body began to melt; his white beard, flesh, bones, and robes all sank into the crimson, turning into a pool of thick, deep blood.

His voice also began to sound high and unpredictable.

"This area, spanning a thousand miles, has long been a breeding ground for poisonous insects."

"Once you're trapped, there's no such thing as innocence or purity."

"The weak are like fuel, the victors are like gold."

"Nephew, accept your fate."

"Accept your fate? Hahaha!!!"

The voice of the Bone-Chewing Demon Soul suddenly rose in pitch.

"I acknowledge your ancestors!"

The white jade skeleton suddenly trembled, and it seemed as if a drop of chalcedony was forcibly detonated deep within the bone mountain.

boom--

A destructive burst of jade light erupted from the ground, shooting straight up the four walls of the main hall.

Wang Xiande, who had transformed into a pool of blood, did not avoid it.

The pool of blood lunged forward, like a gaping, blood-red maw, swallowing the Bone-Chewing Demon and the bursting jade light whole.

Countless pained faces flashed by in the blood.

"I hate it! I hate that Heaven is blind, for not allowing me to be born a hundred years earlier! Otherwise... the one who would be skinned alive, bones torn apart, marrow drained, and soul sucked today... would be you, you old dog!!!"

The Bone Chewer's final curse ripped through the air:

"Old dog!"

"I curse you to one day, just as I am today, to be dismembered, your soul extracted, and refined into a furnace!"

"I curse you to fail in your quest for immortality, and to be doomed to eternal damnation!"

"I curse—"

The sound stopped abruptly.

Inside the main hall, only the bone-melting sound from the depths of the blood pool remained.

Gurgle.

Gurgle.

Moments later, the entire mountain of bones began to tremble.

First, the white bones on the roof of the hall fell one after another, and then the bone pillars around the hall broke one after another.

Deep within the mountain, the deathly aura, resentment, ashes, and bloodlust accumulated over decades, as if drawn by some invisible force, transformed into torrents of blackish-gray, surging wildly towards the pool of blood underground.

Outside White Bone Mountain, the evil cultivators of the White Bone Path awoke in alarm.

Someone wanted to escape.

Some people knelt down and kowtowed.

Someone hissed and called out to the Bone Chewer.

No matter how much they struggled, their vital energy was forcibly pulled out in the next moment, turning into thin, long blood streaks that disappeared into the mountain's belly.

One by one, the corpses fell.

In an instant, it turned into dried bone powder.

The entire White Bone Mountain seemed to be being cleansed from the inside out by an unseen hand.

The blood-red swamp gradually dried up.

The stains on the mountain wall faded away inch by inch.

The black mist of resentment that had lingered for years also quickly faded under that terrifying suction.

In the end, even the wind subsided.

The sky had darkened without us noticing.

Dark clouds gathered.

Rain suddenly began to fall.

It started as a drizzle, but soon turned into a downpour.

Heavy rain washed away the collapsed mountain of bones, cleansing it of the last traces of blood and dust.

When the rain stopped, White Bone Mountain no longer looked the same.

The gray-white mountainside collapsed, revealing scorched and silent soil.

Several tiny green shoots sprouted from the soil.

The White Bone Mountain, which once struck fear into the hearts of people for hundreds of miles around, became clean and dry after a rain.

It was so clean it looked like it had never taken a life.

Deep within the mountain, beneath countless skeletons, a new body is slowly taking shape.

His bones were as white as jade.

Blood as red as gold.