Divine Root Bone

The cultivators of Xiling New City have been entrenched on the western side of Black Stone Ridge for many years. Those who come and go are all cultivators who practice meditation and have a cold and hardened mind. Day after day, they meditate, practice breathing exercises, and patrol the border. The monotonous and tense cultivation life has made everyone used to the cold and solemn atmosphere.

For generations, the cultivators who have lived here have adhered to an unwritten rule: they never set foot in the old town alleys east of Black Stone Ridge. That old alleyway, separated only by a ridge, seems to be a corner completely forgotten by the cultivators on the west side. No one explores it, no one understands it, and only a vague rumor circulates: the East Ridge is an old alley where mortals live, ordinary and without any mystery.

Long-term repression and curiosity eventually gave rise to a desire to test the waters.

A rogue cultivator of considerable skill, unable to bear the monotonous daily routine of guard duty, found his thirst for knowledge completely overriding his discipline. For over a hundred years, he had always gazed upon that hazy, old alley from across the mountain ridge, never knowing its true nature. Today, with nothing to do, he finally couldn't resist the urge to personally venture into that forgotten eastern ridge, to investigate and see what ordinary scenes lay hidden within this seemingly insignificant place.

With his mind made up, he concealed the sharp fluctuations of spiritual energy around him and suppressed his cultivator aura, then slowly crossed the boundary between the east and west sides of Black Stone Ridge.

With one step, the surrounding atmosphere instantly changed.

To the west lies the cultivator's quarters, perpetually shrouded in spiritual energy, cold and austere, where even the wind carries a sharp edge. But the moment you step into the old town alley of Dongling, a warm and welcoming atmosphere of everyday life washes over you, completely dispelling the chill of the cultivation world.

What you see is an extremely peaceful and serene scene of human life.

The crisscrossing old cobblestone alleys meander and twist, with layers upon layers of old brick and tile houses huddled together, their walls covered with mottled moss that has stood the test of time, the patterns old yet clean and tidy. The alleys extend in all directions to the horizon, devoid of any sense of danger or dread, only the gentle warmth of decades of everyday life that has settled within them.

The gentle morning light filters through the gaps in the eaves, scattering into golden specks that fall warmly on the bluestone path.

Under the old tree at the alley entrance, several elderly men with white hair sat quietly in bamboo chairs, leaning back in their chairs, their eyes gentle and their expressions serene. They chatted softly about everyday matters, their speech slow and even, their tone tranquil and relaxed. Occasionally, they would stroke their white beards or nod slightly in agreement, their relaxed and natural demeanor the most ordinary of elderly people in their twilight years.

In the middle of the alley, street vendors had already set up their stalls, with fruits, vegetables, grains, and everyday groceries neatly arranged. The middle-aged vendors, with their kind and gentle smiles, calmly and patiently organized their goods. When passersby stopped to browse, they would call out softly in response, their tone warm and simple, without a trace of cunning or calculation, treating everyone with sincerity and kindness.

In the narrow alley, several young children chased and played freely, their clear laughter echoing throughout the street. They ran and jumped, weaving between houses and lanes, their steps light and quick, their eyes bright and lively, their tender faces full of pure innocence and carefree joy, clean and untouched by any dust.

Ordinary people, young and old, men and women, strolled to and fro with unhurried and relaxed steps. Those hurrying along were unhurried, those strolling leisurely were content, and neighbors greeted each other with smiles and nods, their tone friendly and gentle, their every move exuding a sense of peace and tranquility. There was no strife, no hostility, no anxiety; the entire old alley was enveloped in an atmosphere of pure harmony and peace.

The monk's curiosity and doubts quietly dissipated.

He spread his sixth-level Qi Refining Realm divine sense, carefully extending it across the entire Dongling alleyway, probing the surrounding天地气 (heaven and earth energy) inch by inch. Under the sweep of his divine sense, the air was warm and clean, without a trace of yin or evil energy, without any strange spiritual energy fluctuations, and without any hidden restrictions or formations. The天地气气 (heaven and earth energy) was thin and stable, the most ordinary weather conditions of a mortal realm. Everything around him flowed naturally, the grass and trees, the breeze, the smoke and human activity, all in accordance with normalcy.

He strolled slowly through the winding old alleys, exploring at a leisurely pace, his gaze carefully sweeping over every corner and every passerby.

Nothing unusual was observed along the way.

The children's laughter is genuine and lively, the old people's idle chatter is genuine and gentle, the vendors' shouts are genuine and simple, and the people's words and actions are genuine and natural. Every person's expression, movement, demeanor, and tone of voice are vivid and lifelike, perfectly matching the various aspects of ordinary people's lives, without finding the slightest trace of deliberate pretense or the slightest strangeness or flaw.

He walked through deep, narrow alleys, passed through bustling street corners, and passed by open doors of houses. Inside, women were sewing and washing clothes, men were doing housework, the elderly were resting quietly, and children were playing in the yard. Every household was filled with the warmth of family life, a picture of peaceful tranquility.

For the duration of an incense stick's burning time, he walked through the core streets and alleys of Dongling Old Town, repeatedly exploring and observing carefully, and finally completely let down his guard.

It turns out that the rumors were true. East of Black Stone Ridge was indeed just a peaceful and simple old alleyway inhabited by ordinary people, with no dangers or wonders, and extremely ordinary.

The cultivator had no more doubts. He shook his head slightly, a hint of boredom in his expression. This ordinary place was indeed not worth the constant vigilance and deliberate avoidance of the cultivators.

He glanced back at the peaceful and tranquil old alley one last time, turned around, lifted his foot, and slowly walked away along the way he had come, step by step leaving the territory of Dongling and heading back towards the new city where the cultivators of Xiling gathered.

Just as his figure completely crossed the boundary between east and west, and completely left the old town alley of Dongling—

A deathly silence descended suddenly.

The cheerful laughter of children, the gentle chatter, and the shouts of vendors that filled the streets just a moment ago were abruptly cut off without any transition, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

The gentle breeze that had just been blowing through the alley, the aroma of cooking, and the vibrant life of humanity seemed to have been completely choked off by an invisible hand, plunging the entire world into absolute silence.

The wind suddenly stopped, human voices fell silent, and all things ceased to flow.

All the lively, carefree mortals who were just moments ago were now frozen in place.

The children, who were running and playing, were frozen in mid-air, their limbs stiff and their eyes wide open. Their innocent smiles were completely frozen, and they were suspended in mid-air, looking strangely distorted.

The elderly man, sitting quietly and chatting, remained motionless, leaning to the side to listen and stroking his beard. The gentle tranquility in his eyes vanished instantly, leaving only a stiff and cold expression.

The vendors hawking their wares along the street froze in mid-air, their honest and enthusiastic smiles frozen in place, the corners of their mouths stiff and eerily unnatural, devoid of any vitality.

People walking back and forth, neighbors stopping to chat, and pedestrians busy with their chores—hundreds of figures, large and small, are all frozen in their respective actions throughout the old alley.

The next instant, a terrifying scene that sent chills down your spine and pierced to the bone slowly unfolded in the otherwise silent alley.

All the frozen, lifeless figures, regardless of age or gender, slowly turned their heads in a bizarre, twisted, and stiff posture that completely defied the principles of human skeletal structure.

There was no smooth curve like a living person turning their head, no subtle tremor from muscle contraction, and no normal sound from neck rotation.

Only stiff, jerky, mechanically slow twists and turns, every inch of which exudes an inhuman rigidity and heaviness.

Kaka-

The faint, dry, and grating sound of bones grinding together slowly rose in the absolutely silent streets, crystal clear, penetrating the eardrums and sending chills down one's spine.

Each head, perfectly aligned and without the slightest deviation, turned westward—towards the crossroads where the cultivator had departed, to the alleyway that was now deserted.

All those once gentle and lively eyes have completely changed.

The clear, pure, gentle, and simple light in her eyes had completely faded, replaced by a lifeless, gray, and empty void.

No pupils, no light, no waves, no thoughts.

There was no emotion, no spirit, no vitality.

Pairs of empty, lifeless eyes, densely packed, filled the entire street, fixedly locked onto the desolate western border.

Hundreds of stiff figures stood silently, gazing intently, motionless, like a group of puppets completely controlled by invisible threads.

The old town alley, which had just been bustling with life and peaceful and simple, was now completely devoid of human warmth, swallowed up by boundless coldness, deathly silence, and eeriness.

If someone were to look closely now, they would discover even more horrifying details:

All the frozen figures, their chests no longer rising and falling, their mouths and noses no longer breathing, their bodies no longer possessing any warmth of life; the streets and alleys were devoid of any vitality, leaving only a bone-chilling coldness, and a sinister malice lurking in the shadows, watching over all living beings.

Throughout the old alley, hundreds of people stood like puppets, frozen in the deathly silence, maintaining an eerie posture of gazing westward, quietly lying in wait.

Waiting for the next uninvited guest, driven by curiosity, to step into this gentle death.

A cold and deathly atmosphere enveloped the entire old town of Dongling, silently and invisibly harming people.

Just as this old alley of Black Stone Ridge fell into an endless, eerie, and deathly silence, the scene of heaven and earth suddenly tore apart and switched.

The landscape shifted rapidly, the scene instantly traversing endless regions, leaving behind the eerie territory of Black Stone Ridge in the Southern Region, and suddenly cutting into the vast and boundless heart of the Central Plains.

The Central Plains are vast, with surging clouds and boundless spiritual energy, a world entirely different from this desolate little alley.