Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

Wan Wujiu stepped off the platform, each step landing on the low growls of the beasts.

The snow-white beast behind him had cracked the ground when it landed, and now it lay at his feet, its four paws gripping the soil and rocks, its throat rumbling with a low, muffled growl.

The giant black birds in the forest folded their wings and landed on high branches, like countless black sculptures.

Deeper still, countless scarlet eyes flickered in the dark purple light, enclosing the entire dense forest as a natural cage.

Wan Wujiu stopped ten zhang away.

He scrutinized Dongfang Weiwo closely, a hint of undisguised greed flashing in his vertical pupils.

"Lu Moshen once said that the inheritor of the God and Demon skeleton would not be older than twenty-two years old."

His voice was soft and gentle, yet each word was clear: "You're twenty-two this year, right? That's you."

"Are you very familiar with him?" Dongfang Weiwo asked.

"So close that he broke my legs." Wan Wujiu laughed like a venomous snake. "Thirty years ago, I wanted to cross the bridge with him, but he wouldn't let me. He was a desperate, homeless dog, yet he stopped everyone from touching that demonic corpse. Do you know why?"

He took a half step forward as he spoke, and the snow-white little beast followed him, leaving two rows of deep gashes behind it.

"Because he wanted to do something with that corpse."

In your words, it's called a covenant of burial. But that covenant never concerned burial.

Dongfang Weiwo stepped forward without making a sound, shielding Lin Xiaoman behind him.

"What do you want?"

Wan Wujiu raised three fingers.

"I need a living skeleton, the blood of a card holder, and a heart that died in the Myriad Star Domain."

"Once all three are gathered, the ancient gods and demons can return in another form." He stared at Dongfang Weiwo, his vertical pupils contracting to needles. "Your skeleton is that body. You are the vessel for its return."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"You're talking nonsense." Lin Xiaoman suddenly spoke, her voice not loud but extremely steady. "The covenant of burial bones is not about resurrection. I remember the contents of the covenant: 'Return the bones to their homeland, return them to the gods in heaven, and preserve their blood in the earth.' This is to bring gods and demons back to silence, not to possess them."

Wan Wujiu raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Little girl, you remember it quite clearly. But what you remember is the story that Demon God Lü told you, isn't it?"

His greatest skill is only showing you half the truth.

He pointed at Dongfang Weiwo, "Ask him, when you were merging those fragments, did you feel a voice calling to you every time? Did that voice become clearer as it went on?"

Dongfang Wei did not answer.

Because Wan Wujiu was right.

From the core segment of the ulna in Shattered Bone Ridge, he could faintly hear that ancient voice. Upon reaching the Myriad Star Domain, that voice was no longer just a whisper, but could converse with him, even resonating within his body.

"The remnants of gods and demons have never disappeared," Wan Wujiu said slowly. "They are just waiting for a body that is good enough."

Lu Moshen was the first one chosen, but he was too strong and his will was too unwavering. Even after thirty years of trying, the remnant consciousness of the gods and demons could not break through him. So Lu Moshen sealed him away.

But what happened next? The seal wore off, and the remnants of divine and demonic consciousness awaited a new, younger, and less resolute vessel.

He raised his hand and pointed to Dongfang Weiwo's chest.

"you."

"And then?" Dongfang Weiwo asked calmly, "What do you want from telling me all this?"

Wan Wujiu laughed.

"I want to make a deal with you. You leave Lin Xiaoman with me, and I'll help you completely remove the remnants of the ancient gods and demons from your body."

"Without it, you won't be possessed even if you fuse with a complete divine and demonic skeleton. Go back to the Myriad Star Domain, fulfill whatever 'Burial of Bones' pact' you want, seize whatever 'Return to the Void' you want—it's all up to you. I only want that little girl's blood."

"Bullshit." Before Dongfang Weiwo could speak, Chuan Ying had already taken a step forward.

He held no knife, yet his entire being seemed to radiate an unexpected aura, like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath. "You know in your heart what her blood is. What's the difference between wanting her blood and wanting her life?"

Wan Wujiu did not deny it.

"There will be some damage. But with her bloodline, she can recover in another ten or eight years."

Dongfang Weiwo looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"You've waited for her for thirty years," he said slowly. "Are you so sure that with these beasts behind you, you can keep us here?"

The moment he finished speaking, he made his move.

Dark golden marrow fire surged from both palms simultaneously, with one palm slamming into the ground.

The flames spread along the ground like a spider web, scorching the ground within a radius of twenty feet into a charred black.

Those tiny tentacles that emerged from the soil—the predatory limbs of some worm-like beast buried deep underground—instantly curled into ash in the marrow fire.

Wan Wujiu's expression changed.

"Marrow Fire? I underestimated you." He took a half step back, flipped his right hand, and a bone whistle appeared in his hand. The whistle was short and thick, as if it had been ground from the finger bone of some giant beast. He put the whistle in his mouth and blew it hard.

No sound.

But at the same time, the roars of beasts echoed throughout the entire forest.

The giant black birds in the treetops were the first to move. They spread their wings and swooped down towards the group with a powerful gust of wind, their scimitar-like claws tearing through the air with a sharp, piercing sound.

Deep underground, the worm-like ferocious beasts that had been hiding underground burst forth from the soil in astonishing numbers. Each one was as thick as a bucket, covered with slimy, grayish-black scales, and its mouthparts bloomed like chrysanthemums, revealing dense barbs.

Wu Wudi let out a low roar and charged headlong into the horde of beasts.

Although the sword was broken, it was still superior to any divine weapon in his hands.

He swung his sword, cleaving a giant bird in two, wings and body, then punched a worm in front of him into its mouth. The force of his punch exploded from the worm's body, sending bits of flesh flying everywhere.

He was covered in blood and fought faster and faster. His unrestrained way of using his human body to fight against the ferocious beast made Wan Wujiu, who was far away, change color slightly.

Yan Fei darted out from the side, his old sword drawing a crescent-shaped arc of light, cleaving the three giant birds that were pouncing on Lin Xiaoman in half at the waist with a single strike.

Chuan Ying had no weapon, so he used his palms as blades. Each palm strike carried an extremely fine blade of energy, firmly blocking the approaching beast horde from the outside.

Dongfang Weiwei did not move.

He kept his eyes fixed on Wan Wujiu.

"You want us to stay," he said softly.

The marrow fire from his right fist surged up the sword, and all nine hundred and ninety-nine ancient array patterns on the dark gold longsword lit up simultaneously. He gently raised the sword, pointing it at Wan Wujiu.

"I'll kill you first, and see if these beasts will still obey orders."

Wan Wujiu took a step back, and a serious expression finally appeared on his face.

"Dongfang Weiwo, do you know what kind of place this is?"

The earth's veins in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain are connected to a tailbone from the remains of an ancient god or demon. The ferocious energy accumulated from three hundred years of beast tides is enough to extinguish your little flame.

"Then give it a try."

Only I, from the East, draw my sword.

He only used 70% of his strength in this sword strike.

The dark golden sword light, wrapped in marrow fire, lunged at Wan Wujiu like a fire dragon.

Where the sword flashed, a deep trench was plowed into the ground, and all the ferocious beasts along the way—whether giant birds swooping down from the sky or worms crawling out from the ground—were reduced to ashes in the marrow fire.

Wan Wujiu did not take the hit head-on.

He touched the ground with his toes and floated backward as if he were weightless.

The snow-white little beast blocked his way, its four paws planted firmly on the ground, and it roared. The shockwave from the roar collided with the sword light as if it were a tangible force, and the two forces clashed, uprooting dozens of giant trees around them.

The sword light was blocked, but a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of the snow-white beast's mouth.

"Such a powerful sword." Wan Wujiu narrowed his eyes. "However—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

A dark golden beam of light suddenly shot up from the depths of the ground, illuminating the entire forest.

The pillar of light was located beneath their feet, growing thicker and brighter, as if something was awakening underground, echoing the Eastern Unique Self.

His divine and demonic skeleton resonated with the "tailbone" underground.

The beam of light tore through the earth, turning the once flat forest upside down.

The beasts, terrified by the pillar of light, collapsed to the ground, howling in pain. Wan Wujiu also turned sharply, gazing into the depths of the pillar of light.

"The Heart of All Beasts..." he murmured, "is actually in this place."

Dongfang Weiwo finally understood.

The coccyx bone of the god and demon beneath Mount Wanshou is the entrance to the "Corridor" marked on Lu Moshen's map.

The corridor is not a road.

The corridor is the tailbone of the ancient god and demon remains, the only part of the entire ancient god and demon corpse that is still "alive".

It stretches from the Myriad Star Domain all the way to the Heavenly Martial Continent, like a spine connecting the two worlds. Wan Wujiu has been entrenched here for many years, yet he is unaware of it.

Within the pillar of light, a passage paved with dark golden bones was faintly visible.

Dongfang Weiwo grasped Lin Xiaoman's hand.

"Let's go!"

Wan Wujiu reacted extremely quickly, his figure as fast as lightning, and struck Dongfang Weiwo in the back with a palm.

That palm strike carried the ferocious aura that had accumulated over three hundred years in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain; wherever the palm wind swept past, the air became foul and pungent.

Dongfang Weiwo turned and swung his sword.

"roll!"

The marrow fire erupted to its peak, the dark golden flames tearing apart Wan Wujiu's palm strike, the remaining force crashing into his chest. He retreated violently, his face finally revealing fury.

"Stop them!"

Countless ferocious beasts rushed towards the pillar of light.

But the dark golden light emanating from the pillar was too intense; the nearby ferocious beasts melted like snow, not even having time to let out a scream.

Wu Wudi, Yan Fei, and Chuan Ying rushed into the pillar of light one after another.

Dongfang Weiwo, holding Lin Xiaoman, leaped into the water.

Wan Wujiu chased to the edge of the pillar of light, reaching out to grab something, but was repelled by the divine and demonic aura on the surface of the pillar, his five fingers charred black.

He stood beside the pillar of light, his face terribly grim.

"So this is the corridor." He murmured to himself, his vertical pupils reflecting the light. "Good. Dongfang Weiwo, I've been searching for this place for thirty years. Thanks."

He suddenly burst into laughter, and the whole forest trembled with his laughter.

"Once the pillar of light is activated, the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain will no longer be able to suppress it. The Divine Demon's tailbone has awakened, and those old monsters on the Heavenly Martial Continent will soon find out. Dongfang Weiwo, you won't go far."

The dark golden passage within the pillar of light closed behind everyone, and the forest, the beast horde, and Wan Wujiu's maniacal laughter all vanished.

Instead, there was a dark golden bone tunnel that stretched inwards and seemed to have no end.

Dongfang Weiwo stood at the tunnel entrance, with Lin Xiaoman in his arms looking up at him.

"There are living things in this passage..." her voice trembled slightly.

Footsteps approached from deep within the tunnel.