However, the three were extremely cautious individuals and did not immediately land beside the skeleton. Instead, they exchanged glances before the elder surnamed Wu cautiously flicked his finger, sending a ball of black light slowly descending downward.
To their great surprise, as soon as the black light touched the blood-colored chains, it ignited with a “whoosh,” burning fiercely. Within a few breaths, the seemingly formidable blood chains turned to ashes in midair. The skeletal remains of the Celestial Witch, however, remained completely unaffected by the black flames, still pristine and smooth as before.
Seeing this, the three elders were overjoyed. The elder surnamed Wu wasted no further time, retracting his hand seal and extinguishing the black flames below with a single flash. With another flicker of movement, he landed atop a specific bone segment he had been eyeing earlier. At the center of this bone lay the indistinct shadow resembling a jade slip.
The other two elders, equally excited, floated down beside him.
“Fellow Daoists, can you now clearly identify what lies within?” the elder surnamed Wu asked, frowning after scrutinizing the shadow within the bone for a long while.
“No. The Celestial Witch’s bones contain some energy that disrupts spiritual sense. Though it’s slightly better than outside the iron cage, any attempt to probe inside scatters our divine sense immediately, making it impossible to discern the object’s true form,” the elder surnamed Yu replied, withdrawing his gaze with frustration.
“My spiritual sense is far inferior to yours. If even the two of you cannot manage, I am even less capable,” the third elder sighed in response.
“Enough. Whatever this is, since it was left by the Celestial Witch, it likely pertains to his legacy. Let’s simply break it open and retrieve it—then all will be clear,” the elder surnamed Yu said with a strange laugh, licking his lips.
Without waiting for the others’ agreement, a flash of white light appeared in his hand, revealing a slender white bone sword. With a swift motion, he viciously slashed at the shadow.
*Bang!*
The moment the white bone sword touched the skeleton, the immense power it carried vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by quicksand, and a tremendous force rebounded, sending the sword flying back. The seemingly razor-sharp blade left no mark whatsoever on the bone. The Celestial Witch’s remains were as hard as indestructible metal.
Far from being disheartened, the Three Witch Saints exchanged glances, their faces alight with excitement. If even the posthumous remains were this formidable, one could only imagine how profound the Celestial Witch’s cultivation techniques must have been in life. This only heightened their anticipation for his legacy.
“If the Netherbone Sword is ineffective, ordinary treasures won’t damage the skeleton either. More powerful artifacts might destroy what’s hidden inside. To be safe, let me extract it directly with a secret technique,” the elder surnamed Wu declared resolutely after taking a deep breath.
“Brother Wu, are you planning to use the Transference Art?” the elder surnamed Yu asked, his expression shifting.
“That is the only method that can retrieve the object without damaging the skeleton,” the elder surnamed Wu replied.
“But this technique consumes a tremendous amount of spiritual power. Brother Wu has already expended much energy earlier—can you still perform it successfully now?” the third elder hesitated before voicing his concern.
“Rest assured. Since I propose it, I have some confidence. If I fail, the two of you can resort to more drastic measures.”
Hearing this, the other two elders could say no more.
The elder surnamed Wu then took out a crimson pill, swallowed it, and sat cross-legged for a while. A bloody glow suffused his face as he stood up, his previously weakened aura seemingly restored somewhat.
After staring intently at the shadow within the bone, he raised his arm, his fingers swiftly forming an intricate hand seal while chanting an obscure incantation. The other two watched solemnly from the side.
As the chant grew louder, the spiritual energy around the blood lake trembled, oscillating in a bizarre rhythm. Around the elder surnamed Wu, milky-white runes of unknown origin began to appear, vibrating in sync and emitting a low hum.
When his hand seals ceased, he slowly extended a palm toward the bone containing the shadow. At that moment, the nearby runes paused briefly before turning transparent. The elder’s outstretched hand followed suit, becoming crystalline and translucent.
An incredible sight unfolded.
His transparent fingers sank into the bone as if intangible, reaching for the shadow within. Though the motion seemed simple, the elder’s spiritual power drained at an alarming rate, leaving him pale and drenched in sweat within moments.
*Pop!*
His fingers finally seized the shadow and began retracting, inch by agonizing inch, slower than before. As the transparent runes flickered wildly, his clenched hand finally withdrew from the bone, reverting to its original form in a flash. Simultaneously, the hovering runes exploded with a muffled sound.
Though exhausted, the elder surnamed Wu was ecstatic.
“Brother Wu, show us quickly! Is this the jade slip containing the Celestial Witch’s legacy?” the other two elders urged, their eyes fixed on his clenched fist.
Without answering, the elder surnamed Wu took a deep breath and slowly opened his hand.
A pitch-black jade tablet covered in dense spiritual patterns lay in his palm.
“This is…” the elder surnamed Yu murmured, puzzled.
Before he could react, the elder surnamed Wu suddenly paled and shouted, “No good!” He hurled the jade tablet into the air and leaped backward.
*Bang!*
The tablet exploded, releasing a torrent of black runes that scattered in all directions like a storm. Upon touching the massive skeleton, the runes seemed to come alive, burrowing into it frantically.
At such close range, despite their desperate evasions, the Three Witch Saints were unable to avoid some of the runes, which vanished into their bodies. Their protective spiritual light proved utterly useless.
The three gaunt elders panicked. One summoned several defensive treasures from within his body, another enveloped himself in towering black flames—but all three collapsed with a *thud*, falling from the air onto the skeleton.
Black threads now covered every inch of their skin, faces, and limbs. Their bodies and spiritual energy were completely paralyzed, and even the nascent souls within them were ensnared by the threads, rendering them immobile.
Furious and terrified, the Three Witch Saints could only watch helplessly as the black runes within the half-human, half-horse skeleton transformed into threads, spreading across its body. Just as they were about to cover every inch, two points of green light ignited in the skeleton’s hollow eye sockets, swirling before bursting into raging green flames.
Simultaneously, a bloody glow enveloped its massive frame, forming a crimson barrier that quickly condensed into countless blood threads, which drilled back into its body.
A strange *hiss* echoed from within the skeleton as the black and red threads intertwined like mortal enemies, writhing and devouring each other violently. The skeleton’s surface alternated between dark and bright flashes of light.
“A corpse demon—a Bloodfiend Corpse Transformation! That object wasn’t the Celestial Witch’s legacy but the Tian Ding True Person’s sealing runes to suppress the corpse transformation!” the third elder cried, his face ashen.
The other two elders were equally horrified, desperately attempting to mobilize their spiritual energy. But the black threads clung stubbornly to their meridians, rendering all techniques futile. Within moments, all three were deathly pale.
A bizarre shriek erupted from the skeleton’s gaping maw. The green flames in its eyes flared, and the previously motionless bones began to tremble. The blood threads inside thickened severalfold, shredding the black threads and absorbing them.
In the blink of an eye, the black threads vanished at a visible rate. The skeleton’s massive arm suddenly moved, pressing against the ground as its enormous body rose with a thunderous rumble.
The Three Witch Saints were petrified.
Under normal circumstances, they would not fear even a formidable corpse demon, but in their current helpless state, the situation was dire.
As the Celestial Witch’s remains transformed into a corpse demon and broke free from the Tian Ding True Person’s seals, the three elders resolved to fight for their lives.
The elders surnamed Wu and Yu roared in unison, their skulls bursting open as miniature figures shot out amid swirling smoke. The third elder’s eyes glowed green, his skin erupting with verdant runes before countless vines and branches surged from his body, transforming him into a towering tree-like entity over a dozen zhang tall.
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