Cultivation: Starting from a Mortal Bone

Hall Master Duanmu Hong stood up at this moment.

Evidently, all of this was beyond his expectations.

Holding a pearl in his hand, his gaze directed toward the crack at the Array Hub, his brows furrowed.

In previous repairs of the Ancient Array, the things suppressed beneath had never reacted so fiercely.

Yet, this undoubtedly proved that something down below had generated... fear?!

Perhaps only fear could make it rebound so violently.

”Boom!”

”Boom!”

It continuously collided with the Ancient Stele at the Array Hub, and although the stele trembled, it remained firmly in place.

It seemed that it couldn’t break through the Ancient Array any time soon!

Indeed.

If it could break the Ancient Array, it wouldn’t wait until now.

Quickly, Duanmu Hong made a decision.

”You all go out first!”

He directed this statement at the other nine, not including Qin Yu.

Seeing the relief on their faces, Duanmu Hong’s expression remained calm.

When facing disaster, some choose to escape, while others choose... to confront.

This has always been the case throughout history.

One cannot say they are wrong, knowing it’s like a mantis trying to stop a cart or an ant shaking a tree, escaping is instinctive.

Yet in this world, full of wounds and holes, if not for some who choose to repair, it might have already...

When cataclysm descends upon the world, how can any creature possibly remain unscathed?!

Where would they escape to then?

”Swish!”

Duanmu Hong waved his sleeve, and the nine were sent flying, exiting the Array Hub area.

Soon, they reached the outer region.

Luo Lizhu approached them, yet did not see the Hall Master, nor Qin Yu.

”What happened at the Array Hub? Where is the Hall Master?”

Faced with her questions, the nine could not answer.

For they were unsure what happened, and why the Hall Master left Qin Yu behind.

Luo Lizhu frowned deeply but still restrained her impulse to enter the Array Hub and investigate.

”Continue!”

She began to urge the group, continually condensing the Array and embedding them into the Ancient Stele.

That’s all she could do.

...

At the Array Hub.

Only Duanmu Hong and Qin Yu remained.

After several fruitless collisions, perceiving no threat, the entity beneath the Ancient Array returned to silence.

Whether the collisions caused it harm, no one knows, but several visible cracks opened beneath the Ancient Stele at the Array Hub.

Fortunately, the Ancient Stele was just a vessel. As long as the Ancient Array kept running, the thing couldn’t escape.

However, due to the cracks, the speed of erosion notably increased.

”Hehe.”

Looking at a slightly nervous, slightly uneasy Qin Yu, the old man suddenly chuckled, though perhaps because he hadn’t smiled for years, his smile appeared somewhat... awkward.

Memories of Qin Yu’s journey surfaced in his mind.

A Loose Cultivator from a city in the Yunlan Domain, spent over twenty years in the Outer City, only to encounter opportunity due to advances in Spiritual Power.

He also remembered Luo Lizhu mentioned about Qin Yu’s Dao Companion.

Even heading to the Immortal Sect, he remained loyal to his Mortal Bone Dao Companion.

This was why as Hall Master he held Qin Yu in high regard and even granted him a Golden Core Formation Pill.

He could understand Qin Yu’s current confusion, sometimes even an escapist mindset.

When he first arrived here, wasn’t he the same?!

Qin Yu managed to remain empathetic and loyal even in the environment of a Loose Cultivator City, proving... his nature is good.

That is enough!

At this moment, the old man conceived a thought.

”Do you have many questions you want to ask?”

Duanmu Hong maintained that stiff smile, but Qin Yu could discern the goodwill from the old man’s face.

”Yes.”

After calming down, he nodded.

”Before that, I want to ask you a question, you must answer truthfully.”

After a pause, Duanmu Hong spoke, ”Have you comprehended the entirety of the Star Prison Array?”

”Star Prison Array?”

Qin Yu was momentarily puzzled, then quickly understood, and under the old man’s gaze, he nodded gently.

He admitted it.

At this moment he was thinking, having comprehended the Ancient Array, the Hall Master should appreciate him and grant him something?

Though he was at Cyan Mountain Sect, after reaching Golden Core, he realized that the resources of the Immortal Sect seemed scarce at the Golden Core level.

Don’t mention the medicated baths that aren’t sustainable, even Spirit Stones might not be able to supply him indefinitely.

Worry.

He already planned—to return to Cyan Mountain Sect and refine Elixirs to earn Spirit Stones for his many beloved wives.

However, upon seeing Qin Yu admit it, Duanmu Hong visibly showed excitement, his eyes shining brighter.

That look was like someone walking in darkness finally seeing a beam of light.

Perhaps that beam couldn’t illuminate the entire world, but it could brighten a small region.

At this moment, he had already made a decision.

Should anything unexpected occur, even if it costs his life, he must ensure the safe departure of the young man from the Secret Realm.

”Do you know what is suppressed beneath this Star Prison Array?”

Due to hints from a flame, Qin Yu had guessed some but still shook his head.

”Malice Spirit!”

The old man proceeded to narrate some events.

Ancient texts record a dark period when heaven and earth were ruthless; a monumental catastrophe erupted between immortals and gods, countless lives perished in the chaos, their numbers immeasurable, even leading some species to extinction.

Mountains of corpses and seas of blood covered the earth, blood flowed like rivers, laying vast hidden dangers for future generations.

Fortunately, earlier sages perceived the dangers, collectively created the Star Prison Array, sealing one by one those latent threats.

If not, who knows how the world would look.

However, with time, the Star Prison Arrays experienced varying degrees of erosion.

Nothing is eternal!

Even the Star Prison Array weathers, coupled with the erosion from malice, accelerating their collapse.

Some places have already experienced outbreaks, and even a notorious realm called... Netherworld emerged!

It’s an absolute life-prohibited zone.

”Once the Ancient Array here ruptures and the Malice Spirit breaks free, the entire realm will be doomed, potentially becoming the next Netherworld!”

When Duanmu Hong spoke these words, Qin Yu felt a tingling on his scalp.

Is it that terrifying?!

His first thought was to leave everything behind and flee this area with his beloved wives.

But won’t other regions face similar issues?!

No escape?!