Yi Yun could faintly hear a series of deep resonating hums, like wind was blowing through the cave.
The sound turned clearer as Yi Yun continued venturing deeper. He came to realize that it was not the sound of wind.
Badump! Badump!
It was the sound of heartbeats.
Yi Yun looked more carefully around the cavern and suddenly felt that the entire mountain seemed to be alive.
This discovery left Yi Yun shuddering. He immediately went to the mountain wall and carefully observed it.
Through the mountain's heartbeat, Yi Yun discovered that beneath the stalactites were white things that resembled veins.
And these white veins were actually all massive bones.
Yi Yun became more alarmed the more he noticed. The entire cave was actually being held up by a set of bones. The skeleton had become a towering mountain after its death and its body's interior was now a spacious cave.
The behemoth skeletons that scattered within were nothing worth mentioning in comparison to this discovery.
They were probably prey that the skeleton had devoured while alive. Where he was standing might have even been the skeleton's stomach.
Although the skeleton had transformed into a mountain after its death, one could still hear the terrifying heartbeat sounds while walking inside it.
If this truly was the burial grounds of a Fey God, this skeleton was probably the Fey God's skeleton.
Yi Yun stood in front of the mountain wall, looking up at the snow-white bones. These bones trembled gently in response to the heartbeat. For a long dead skeleton to show signs of life was truly unbelievable.
At that moment, a black shadow suddenly charged out of the Blood Fey Bone, flying towards the skeleton.
The shadow's speed was extremely fast, nearly as fast as lightning.
And if Yi Yun had only discovered its motive now, he would have been too late to stop it.
But after the shadow dashed out a hundred feet, it suddenly let out a tragic cry like it had slammed into an invisible barrier. Instantly, its flight was stopped, its body turning more ethereal.
Simultaneously, laws began to seal the shadow's surroundings as the shadow attempted to barge in every direction only to slam into those laws. It kept letting out tragic cries as its figure turned faded more and more.
"Yi Yun, what did you do to me?" screamed the shadow.
Yi Yun looked at it, revealing a sarcastic look. "That's indeed your true goal. You were unable to enter the mountain so you wanted me to bring you here. You were worried that I would turn suspicious if you mentioned a cave immediately so you deliberately avoided talking about it. Instead, you brought me near to it so I would discover it on my own."
"That's right. I can't enter the cave on my own. I have already done what I can. Won't you let me off now?" asked the shadow angrily.
"You are no Blood Fey Bone. This mountain is transformed from the Blood Fey Bone. If you are the Blood Fey Bone, why can't you enter your own corpse?" replied Yi Yun with a sneer.
"You were already that suspicious of me?" The shadow's tone sank. It was not strange that Yi Yun could guess that the white bones inside the walls were Blood Fey Bones, but Yi Yun was still wary of the one he held. And the hidden aspect of Yi Yun's seal was something it failed to detect. It clearly had checked it thoroughly a few times.
"But why do you say I'm not the Blood Fey Bone? The Blood Fey Bone is in your hand. Go ahead and compare it with this skeleton," said the shadow.
"There's no need for comparison. I'm not saying that this bone is not a part of the Blood Fey Bone, but that you are not some intelligence born from the Blood Fey Bone. Instead, you are a soul that possessed the bone. By being able to possess it, especially just this tiny bit of the Blood Fey Bone, shows how strong you are. Who are you really?" asked Yi Yun.
The shadow fell silent. Yi Yun had already guessed its origins.
Soon, the black shadow's featureless face gradually produced features. It looked like a middle-aged man with long brows, making for an extremely sinister and ruthless face.
"You are right. I was originally a warrior, a Royal Sealed Divine Lord. I must be quite unlucky to fall into the hands of a junior like you." The middle-aged man's face revealed a look of hate.
After he perished in an accident in the Fey God Tomb, only his essence soul escaped. He later discovered a tiny bone which could have been washed out of the cave by the blood river after it fell off of the massive skeleton.
After discovering the tiny bone, he immediately decided to inhabit it. Thankfully, he was adept in an engulfing law, for if he wasn't he would have been devoured the moment he attached himself to it. Even if his essence soul remained, his intelligence would have long turned murky.
After successfully attaching himself to the tiny bone, the middle-aged man sensed the location of the true Blood Fey Bone through it.
The tiny Blood Fey Bone gave him tremendous strength, opening up another cultivation path for a remnant soul like him. If he could claim the real Blood Fey Bone as his own, his future strength would very likely exceed his past Royal Sealed Divine Lord self.
This was too enticing to him. Apart from absorbing blood essence inside the Fey God Tomb to strengthen himself, all he thought of was the real Blood Fey Bone.
But with his crippled abilities, there was no way for him to enter the cave.
He had planned on using Nameless Sword to temporarily leave the Fey God Tomb. He would then return to the Fey God Tomb once he was stronger to obtain the whole Blood Fey Bone.
But now, having fallen into the hands of Yi Yun, he knew that Yi Yun would not agree to let him escape the Fey God Tomb. His only hope was to lure Yi Yun over. He did not believe that Yi Yun could truly enter the cave. When Yi Yun failed, he planned to find an opportunity to escape into the blood river but Yi Yun actually succeeded in entering.
At the instant they entered the cave, the middle-aged man's excitement nearly exposed him. He had actually arrived inside the Blood Fey Bone effortlessly.
But his excitement did not last long before he was figuratively slapped in the face by Yi Yun. He was beaten back into harsh reality.
"You were once a Royal Sealed Divine Lord? You sure did have a tragic outcome." Yi Yun shook his head. The person had perished in the Fey God Tomb and his corpse was left in the open. It had probably been weathered to bone somewhere.
However, the person was also strong-willed. With only an essence soul, he still managed to survive on in the form of a bone.
"Tragic? If I can obtain the Blood Fey Bone, why would I mourn the loss of my old body?" The middle-aged man let out a wretched cry. His promising future had been shattered by Yi Yun.
"This Blood Fey Bone is indeed not bad. Thank you for leading the way. I won't stand on ceremony and will definitely accept it. As for you… it's best you return to the land," said Yi Yun with a smile.
With death hanging over him, the middle-aged man's expression changed. He rushed to say, "Wait! I was from the Great Cosmic State. If you spare me, I can get the Great Cosmic State to give you treasures that would satisfy you. I also have cultivation techniques. I can tell you where my body lies…"
He tried his best to offer whatever benefits he could think of, hoping to entice Yi Yun.
Although he was feeling ashen after losing the Blood Fey Bone, it was better than being reduced to actual ashes.
"Great Cosmic State?" Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, Yi Yun revealed an odd look.
"That's right! I'm from the Great Cosmic State!" the middle-aged man finally saw something that interested Yi Yun as he said immediately with a nod.
"Oh? So you know Li Fire, I suppose?" asked Yi Yun.
"Li Fire? Naturally. He's my junior brother. Since you also know Li Fire, you should know that I'm speaking the truth. If you bring me to him, he will definitely reward you to your satisfaction." The middle-aged man saw a glimmer of hope. Yi Yun's expression had changed when Li Fire was raised. He was apparently very familiar with Li Fire.
Yi Yun was not from the Great Cosmic State. For him to know Li Fire implied that Li Fire had also come to the ancient battlefield. Perhaps mention of him made Yi Yun think twice or for some other reason.
If he could obtain the help of a Royal Sealed Divine Lord, Yi Yun's chances of leaving his name on the ancient battlefield would only be greater.
"Bring you to him? Alright then." Yi Yun's expression turned increasingly odd. Immediately, Heretical God Fire lit up in his hand.
The middle-aged man jolted. He could sense a terrifying power coming from the tiny blob of fire. He looked at Yi Yun and felt an ominous foreboding. "Yi Yun, what's the meaning of this?"
"Meaning? Didn't you ask to be brought to Li Fire? That's why I'm preparing to send you to hell," replied Yi Yun.
"Li Fire is dead?" The middle-aged man was taken aback. Then, he looked incredulously at Yi Yun, "Don't tell me you killed Li Fire? You… Ah!!"
Before the middle-aged man could finish his sentence, he let out a shrill scream.
His soul was being enveloped by the Heretical God Fire. Amid the terrifying flames, his soul was melting bit by bit. The pain was even worse than what the warriors who were sucked dry by him had experienced.
Gradually, the middle-aged man's soul was completely burned to nothingness by the Heretical God Fire. He had survived an ignoble existence as a soul for years but having finally come to the Blood Fey Bone that he yearned for the most, he was burnt to nothingness by a tiny blob of fire.
After destroying the middle-aged man, the tiny Blood Fey Bone in Yi Yun's hand immediately lost its sinister feel. It also gradually lost its luster, but when Yi Yun raised it towards the cave wall, the Blood Fey Bone gradually resonated with the gigantic Blood Fey Bone skeleton.
The Blood Fey Bone's aura began to change before it produced a vital aura.
Yi Yun held the Blood Fey Bone and sighed. He had never seen such potent lifeblood before.
Yi Yun did not discover any evil spirits in the cave. He guessed that due to the naturally formed array formation, evil spirits were barred from entering. Therefore, there was no danger inside the cave which was also the source of the blood river.
Yi Yun walked deeper into the cave by following the vein-like bones. The further in he went, the clearer the heartbeat sounds were. Eventually, he felt that he was standing on the skeleton's heart.
And at that moment, Yi Yun suddenly saw a milky-white pool ahead of him.
The loud heartbeat sounds were coming from the pool.
"Those are… Divine Stalactite Marrow?" Yi Yun raised his head suddenly. He saw white stalactites above him, each dripping stone marrow essence into the pool…