Chapter 11: The Appearance of Heavenly Bones and Fairy Qiuyue
The first trial was nearing its end.
The number of people at the mountain gate had sharply decreased from thousands initially to less than five hundred.
Ninety percent were Yellow Bones, with only thirty-odd people categorized as "Mystic Bones," and at the very top of the Disciple pyramid, the "Earth Bone" was represented by only one person—Dong Xiang.
This was the true distribution of the Immortal Cultivation Realm.
Aptitude, predetermined; social strata, already formed.
Qi Guanzhi stood in the air with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the mountain path, shaking his head slightly—average talent, rarely anything astonishing.
He had thought that today's trial would simply end like this.
However—
Just as the last Disciple stepped onto the bone-testing platform, suddenly!
"Boom!!!"
The originally dim greenish-gold Spirit Stone on the compass suddenly exploded with a golden flame, Spiritual Qi shot up into the sky, as if thunder rumbled, and dark clouds rolled back in the sky.
The bone-testing Disciple's pupils constricted violently, and he cried out in shock:
"Heaven...Heavenly Bone!!!"
In an instant, above and below the mountain gate, it was as if thunder had struck!
A resounding blast!
"Heavenly Bone! It's a Heavenly Bone!!"
"Oh my god, I actually saw a living Heavenly Bone!"
"A Heavenly Bone not seen in a thousand years at the Illusion Immortal Sect... Could it really appear today?!"
In the center of the stone platform, a child, about ten years old, dressed in a dark green Daoist robe embroidered with gold, had a stern face and deep-set eyes.
He stood still, unperturbed, with no hint of pride in his eyes, only indifference, as if looking at an ant colony.
That expression—it wasn't like a ten-year-old child at all, but more like an Immortal Child who had long stood above all things.
Qi Guanzhi was speechless for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a crimson-gold talisman from his sleeve, activated it with Spiritual Qi, and the talisman shot into the mountain gate!
"Boom!"
The next moment, a streak of light broke through the Void Realm, shooting from deep within the Illusion Immortal Sect, carrying the Nine Heavens' thunderous Qi, transforming into a gray-robed Elder who stopped in the sky.
The Elder's hair and beard were white, his brows majestic, radiating power without anger, and before he even spoke, his aura had already caused the Disciples below to kneel in unison.
Qi Guanzhi folded his sleeves, his face respectful, and bowed deeply:
"Disciple Qi Guanzhi respectfully greets Elder Huang."
The entire crowd erupted in an uproar!
"Elder Huang?! Is that...Immortal Master Huang Xian?"
"I heard he's the Grand Elder of the Illusion Immortal Sect, already having entered the 'Third Realm'!"
"Such an existence... appearing just for one Disciple!?"
"A Heavenly Bone... truly worthy of being a Heavenly Bone..."
Immortal Master Huang Xian looked down at everyone, his gaze falling on the Xuan-robed child, and a rare hint of appreciation and tenderness appeared in his eyes.
"Good, good. Bone Qi Perfection, unblemished fate star, unwavering Heart-Nature."
"The Illusion Immortal Sect gaining you, my sect is blessed by Heaven."
The young man lowered his head, bowed, and his voice was clear and cold:
"Greetings, Elder Huang."
The hearts of all the Disciples trembled; that posture, that voice... how could it be compared to merely "A Prodigy's First Appearance"?
Qi Guanzhi nodded repeatedly, smiling:
"With such Aptitude, you shall naturally be a direct Disciple of the Four Peaks Valley Master, exempt from all trials, and can directly enter the sect."
Unexpectedly, the young man shook his head and spoke in a deep voice:
"This Disciple does not wish for exemption. Since I came for the trial, it is a part of cultivation."
"If one has not experienced life and death, how can one speak of the Dao Heart?"
Qi Guanzhi was stunned, and Immortal Master Huang Xian also nodded with a smile:
"Commendable Heart-Nature, with the potential for Major Achievement."
He flipped his hand and tossed out a jade talisman, which glowed and slowly fell into the young man's hand:
"This talisman will protect you; you may undergo the trial, no need for life and death struggles."
The young man took the jade talisman and bowed deeply:
"Thank you, Immortal Master."
The entire area was silent.
Even He Xiuyuan on Guiyun Peak showed a hint of solemnity in his eyes at this moment.
Lin Jingyu's face was frosty, Zhao Chongyun's mouth twitched, and Hu Jingxing's gaze was sharp, none spoke further.
—With the appearance of a Heavenly Bone, everyone knew that the limelight of this year's trials could not be stolen by anyone else.
Lu Li, standing among the Yellow Bone Disciples, watched the young man descend from the light of the sky, his robes fluttering, Spiritual Qi swirling around him.
He didn't speak, his eyes filled only with profound depth.
And not far from him, a child chuckled softly, mocking in a low voice:
"This is how a Genius makes an entrance... unlike some people who still need a woman to lead the way."
Lu Li heard it. But he only remained silent.
Suddenly—
"This Immortal Gate... always likes to distinguish between noble and lowly."
It was a woman's voice.
Pleasant, even excessively pleasant.
Soft like the wind and rain, yet also like a snake's tongue licking an ear, carrying a strange, Entanglement, making one's heart beat faster instantly.
He abruptly turned his head to look around, but the surrounding Disciples were all looking up at the Heavenly Bone's appearance, as if they hadn't heard anything.
"Don't look," the voice sounded again, light and with a hint of coldness, "I'm on you."
"To be precise... in that bone in your embrace."
Lu Li lowered his head; the strange bone hidden close to his chest was quietly heating up.
The next moment, his Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly, and a blurry but incredibly beautiful face appeared deep within his consciousness.
It was a face almost impossible to describe with words.
Not the delicate beauty of the Mortal world, nor the ethereal grace of Immortal Gate female Disciples, but an extreme beauty with a fatal attraction, like a soul-capturing poppy, or a blood lotus blooming on a snowy mountain peak.
Her skin was like jade, so white it was almost transparent, yet stained with large patches of blood;
Her lips were fire-red, slightly upturned, yet carrying a hint of disdainful coldness;
Even though this face was covered in scars, cracks, and bloodstains at this moment—
It still made one unable to look away.
Lu Li didn't know when he had held his breath.
He had never seen such contradictory yet powerful beauty.
It was not a soft beauty that evoked pity, but an oppressive beauty from a high-ranking individual that made one want to prostrate themselves.
Even damaged, it still surpassed the complete appearance of all people in the world.
This was—
The former number one beauty of the Yuhua Immortal Sect, Lu Li's heart sank, and that name surfaced in his mind:
—Fairy Qiuyue.
Snowy skin, bloodstains, broken hair, red pupils.
She kept her eyes open, suspended upside down in the dark and sunless Void Realm, quietly looking at him, the corner of her lips seeming to smile but not smile.
She was not dead.
No, she was dead, yet... not entirely dead.
No words.
Only those eyes, constantly staring at him, as if appraising, and as if testing. He heard his heart rate accelerate.
He spoke in a low voice, speaking to her for the first time:
"What... do you want to do?"
Deep in the Sea of Consciousness, that exquisitely beautiful face showed a faint smile, her voice as light as the wind:
"...Guess?"
As the voice fell, everything returned to silence.
The strange bone's temperature receded, calm like a dead object.
Lu Li slowly tightened his grip.
Lu Li slowly lowered his head, his right hand resting on his chest, tightly pressing the bone fragment.
His eyes grew colder, but his expression remained unperturbed.
Fairy Qiuyue.
He certainly remembered that name, and he remembered her bloody, mutilated body, and that heart-wrenching wail when he stabbed Lu Yuan.
That despair, anger, killing intent... it didn't seem like a pretense.
She should have died then, completely dead.
But now, she was alive again, hiding inside that bone in his embrace, smiling and speaking.
She herself... probably didn't know how she survived.
Lu Li slowly lowered his eyelids, his long lashes trembling slightly, thoughts churning in his mind.
Qiuyue, ruthless and vicious, capable of secretly cultivating demonic arts for longevity, capable of devouring strange bones, nurturing Earth Fiends, killing Mortals, even her own Elder brother Lu Yuan died by her hand.
He was merely a Yellow Bone Mortal, if she could control the strange bone, why would she allow him to stay long?
She didn't kill him immediately, nor did she attempt to possess him.
That could only mean that she was incapacitated, or her soul body was damaged, temporarily unable to leave the strange bone, and even less able to harm him.
This meant that she needed him now.
But—that didn't mean she would need him later.
Once she recovered completely, would he still live?
Lu Li's hand was trembling.
He truly had the thought of throwing away this bone, immediately, now, as far away as possible.
It wasn't that he wasn't afraid, wasn't that he didn't know this was a hidden source of disaster.
But... he looked down at his hand—thin, pale, with distinct knuckles.
Yellow Bone.
Impure Spiritual Qi, inferior talent, destined not to enter the second Realm.
Without this bone, he would be the most lowly speck of dust in the Illusion Immortal Sect, not even having the qualification to contend with others.
A moment later, his hand slowly retracted, his fingers closing, tightly clutching the bone fragment.
He lowered his eyelids, calm and silent.
"No matter if you are human or ghost..."
"This thing... I'm keeping it."
He gritted his teeth fiercely, and whispered a word in his heart:
"Gamble."
The bone fragment pressed against his heart, silent, yet it seemed to tremble slightly.
As if it were smiling.