booktalesy Chapter 123 Iron Bones Transformation
Chapter 123 Iron Bones Transformation
Chapter 123 Iron Will Transformation (4K)
The transport team is easily defeated.
Of the thirteen people, only five were actually capable of taking action.
The leader, a peak-level Yi Jin Jing cultivator, reacted the fastest, grabbing a crescent shovel from beside the camel dung fire and rushing forward.
Xu Hao had never seen the Crescent Shovel's moves before. The blade was covered with a layer of gray-green energy, and when it swept across the ground, sand and gravel churned up. The fighting style was rough, as if it had been specially trained in the sand.
But the Yi Jin Jing is still the Yi Jin Jing.
There are two major levels of skill difference; what separates them isn't technique, but an insurmountable chasm.
Xu Hao drew the Sea-Devouring Blade from its sheath in his left hand.
No special energy was used.
They can overwhelm each other purely by their current physical strength and speed.
A flash of light.
The wooden handle of the crescent shovel broke in the middle, and the leader's hand also cracked at the same time.
Before he could react, the back of the knife had already struck his temple.
A muffled thud.
He fell to the ground.
Clean and neat.
The remaining four who made a move were all at the Bone Forging Realm, and Sha Fanzi could handle them all by himself.
This merchant, who had been in the Red Sands for twelve years, was much more efficient in action than in words—with a short blade and sand-walking techniques, he took down two men in three breaths. The other two turned and ran, only to be hit on the back of the head by a flying stone he threw, and fell into a sand dune.
The remaining eight skin-grinding soldiers knelt on the ground.
Xu Hao didn't linger too long with the transport team.
I searched through the results, but there wasn't much useful information.
The three camels were carrying water bags, dry rations, and several cages of live scorpions.
The scorpion, larger than an adult's fist, was kept in a wicker cage, its stinger gleaming with a ghostly blue light.
"Crimson Gold Scorpions." Sha Fanzi picked up a cage and looked at it. "A specialty of the Crimson Sand Domain, their blood contains crimson gold elements. These people are transporting scorpions into Burial Dragon City, most likely to use them as sacrificial offerings."
Xu Hao smashed all the scorpion cages.
The live scorpions darted into the sand with a whoosh and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The team leader, who had been knocked unconscious, regained consciousness and mumbled a few words.
"You—don't know the Great Protector—"
"How high is the Great Protector? How heavy is he? What realm is he in?"
The team leader's eyes darted around twice, then he shut his mouth.
Sha Fanzi squatted down, took out a thin silver needle from his sleeve, and waved it in front of the team leader with a smile. "Brother, I believe in mutual consent in business. If you're willing, we can part ways amicably. If not, the silver needle pierced the nail of the team leader's right index finger."
Before the scream could even travel half a foot, it was completely muffled by Sha Fanzi with a rag.
His screams were trapped in his chest, making his face turn purple and the veins on his forehead bulge out.
Sha Fanzi pulled out half a tattered cloth, his voice low, "Let's start over. What level is the Great Protector? How many people did he bring?"
""
"The Great Protector—peak of the Inner Strength Realm—is in the underground palace beneath the Dragon Bone Platform—and has led more than forty disciples—"
"Is the Great Protector a monk in a gray robe?"
"The monk—not the Great Protector—is a priest from the sect—I don't know what level he's at—I really don't know."
Sha Fanzi pulled out the silver needle and patted the team leader's face.
"Brother, you're really straightforward."
Xu Hao had already turned and walked forward.
Behind them came the sound of the camels snorting from the transport team and the last words of Sha Fanzi's order, "Tie these people up and leave them here."
time does not wait.
The two bypassed the sand dune and continued westward.
The moon sets.
Star rises.
The night in the Red Sand Domain was so quiet that only the sound of the wind and footsteps could be heard.
When the distance was 150 li, the surface of the land had completely changed.
It's not sand anymore.
It is a Gobi Desert paved with slag.
The gravel crunched underfoot, and the sensation of stepping on it was like stepping on a pile of scrap metal.
The metallic smell in the air was so strong that you could smell it, and there was a metallic, astringent sensation in your nasal cavity when you breathed.
Sha Fanzi's pace slowed down.
It's not that I'm tired.
It's because the body's protective energy was consumed too much.
Even seasoned veterans of the Crimson Sand Domain couldn't withstand this level of Xuan Tie interference field.
The time it took for his internal energy to circulate for one cycle was extended from three breaths to seven, effectively halving his efficiency.
"That area ahead is called 'Iron Coffin Beach,'" Sha Fanzi's voice was a little tense. "The entire underground is filled with high-purity black iron ore veins, and even animals don't come here. If a normal person goes in, they'll feel dizzy and vomit after half a day. Martial artists are a little better off, but those below the Inner Strength Realm are practically crippled if they go in."
Xu Hao's reaction was completely opposite.
The moment his feet touched the ground of the Iron Coffin Beach, the operating frequency of the "Prison Suppression Technique" increased once again.
His breathing automatically switched to an extremely deep and slow rhythm, with his chest rising and falling so much that even the person next to him could hear the muffled sound of his ribs expanding.
The bone tremors jumped from five times per breath to eight times per breath.
The essence of the black iron from the underground veins was drawn into the body by the Prison Suppression Technique like a sponge absorbing water.
The Yongquan acupoint is the entrance, the meridians are the channels, and the bones are the terminals.
pain.
It hurt more than any stretch of road I had traveled before.
Every vertebra in the spine is being tempered simultaneously.
The metallic patterns begin on the sacrum and spread upwards segment by segment, embedding themselves into the deepest layer of bone like vines taking root.
With each segment that is inserted, the vertebra emits a low hum.
The buzzing sound travels from the lumbar spine to the thoracic spine.
Buzzing, buzzing from the thoracic spine to the cervical spine.
The buzzing sound along the entire spine merges into a unified frequency, creating resonance.
Sha Fanzi was walking ahead when he suddenly stopped and turned around.
It was brought to a stop by the earthquake.
The bone resonance emanating from Xu Hao's body was not an internal issue.
The resonant frequency overflowed from his body, forming a visible ring of sand within a three-step radius. The slag and gravel beneath his feet trembled, not from the wind, but from the vibration frequency emanating from his bones.
"Is something rattling on you?" Sha Fanzi's voice rose a half-octave.
Xu Hao did not answer.
Sweat seeped from every pore on his body, a grayish-black liquid mixed with the smell of rust.
The coarse cloth shirt was soaked through from front to back, and when it clung to the skin, the traces of the contracted muscle fibers underneath could be seen.
He is walking.
He was also undergoing body tempering.
The two things can be done simultaneously without conflict.
The essence of the Prison Suppression Technique is "to stand firmly on the ground and cultivate the body through practice." Other techniques require sitting cross-legged, meditating, and circulating Qi through the Dantian.
This technique is unnecessary.
Walking is a form of cultivation; the harder the ground and the denser the mineral veins, the stronger the body-tempering effect.
The Red Sand Domain is a restricted area for others.
It was a natural training ground for him.
Two hundred li.
At the end of Iron Coffin Beach, the terrain suddenly sinks.
A dry riverbed, about twenty feet wide, stretched out in front of them, its bed filled with dark red sand and gravel—red gold sand.
The concentration is so high that the earth's surface gleams with a coppery-red luster under moonlight.
Sha Fanzi stood on the riverbank, his face already grim. "The Crimson Gold River. After crossing this river, it's another 150 li to the outskirts of Burial Dragon City."
But the density of mineral veins along this section is double. I—"
He didn't finish his sentence. The meaning was clear: he was about to collapse from the continuous high-intensity march.
"Go a little further ahead and show me the way." Xu Hao jumped off the riverbank.
The moment the soles of my boots touched the crimson sand, a surge of scalding heat coursed through my feet.
It's not because the temperature is high.
The red gold element is more active and has stronger penetrating power than the black iron, so it is injected into the Yongquan acupoint three times faster than before.
The operation of the Prison Suppression Technique suddenly entered a new stage.
It is no longer "infusion", but "smelting".
Black iron fills the gaps in the bones, while red gold seeps into the bone surface. The two metallic elements intertwine within the bone, creating a subtle fusion reaction.
A crisp cracking sound came from Ga's right arm.
It's not a bone fracture, it's an arm guard.
The dark gold arm guards given to him by Wu Qingshan had a crack appear at the elbow joint.
It was not caused by external force.
It's the volume of the arm bone that's expanding.
The increase in bone density has reached a certain critical point.
The arm guard, which used to fit my arm perfectly, suddenly became a size too small.
"Buzz"
The forearm bone emitted a long creak.
The sound wasn't loud, but it had a very strong penetrating power, carrying for thirty steps.
Sha Fanzi saw this scene from behind and his mouth was agape, unable to close it.
He watched as Xu Hao's arm underwent a visible transformation in the moonlight; the bluish-green sheen on the skin spread from the wrist to the elbow, then to the shoulder, and along the collarbone to the chest.
It's not a color change.
The newly formed metallic texture inside the bones reveals the underlying structure through the muscles and skin.
A line of text popped up in the sea of consciousness as the scroll of blessed land appeared.
[Breakthrough to the second level, "Iron Bone Realm," of the Prison Suppression Technique. Bone density: Profound Iron grade. Recovery ability: Four times that of a normal person. Power conduction efficiency increased by 60%.]
Xu Hao clenched his right fist.
There was no trial move, no manipulation of qi.
I just shook hands with him.
When the fist is clenched, the air is compressed, producing a short, muffled sound.
enough.
He looked up towards the west.
The moonlight illuminated a dark outline of varying heights in the distance.
It's not a mountain, it's a building.
ruins.
The broken stone tower spire pierced the horizon, like a row of broken bones stuck in the desert.
The stone towers are connected by huge arched walls, the surfaces of which are full of holes eroded by time, making a humming sound in the night wind.
Buried Dragon City.
Deep within his consciousness, the light of the Shuozhou secondary nail on the Six Nails Suppressing Dragon Diagram dimmed slightly.
The flashing frequency is once every two breaths.
The riverbed of the Chijin River is wider than it appears.
Xu Hao covered a distance of twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters) in sixty steps.
It's not that the road is difficult to walk, it's that with every step you take, the soles of your feet are hijacked by the Prison Suppression Technique.
The active elements in the red gold sand are too strong. After being poured into the Yongquan acupoint, it does not follow the normal path of the meridians, but directly penetrates into the outer layer of the periosteum.
My shinbone made a buzzing sound.
Then his femur made a buzzing sound.
The two frequencies overlapped, forming a standing wave within his body.
The standing wave node is precisely positioned on the inside of the knee joint—this is the pivot point for the transmission of lower body power.
My knee felt warm for three breaths, then it cooled down.
It's not that it's cold, it's that my perception threshold has changed.
The attachment points of the meniscus and ligaments inside the knee joint are being reinforced with metal treads, the sensitivity of peripheral nerves is being forcibly calibrated, and excess pain signals are being filtered out.
Stepping onto the other side, the ground changed from reddish-gold sand to iron-gray slag slate.
Xu Hao turned to look at Sha Fanzi beside him.
Sha Fanzi's face had turned pale.
It wasn't from being scared; it was a physiological reaction to the pressure on the body's vital energy being pushed to its limit by the interference field of the mineral vein.
The internal energy and blood of the cultivator circulate in this concentrated field of black iron, which is like punching through three layers of cotton blankets—it has no effect.
"Wait here on this side of the river," Xu Hao said.
Sha Fanzi opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
He looked down at his slightly trembling fingers and made a judgment: if they went another fifty miles, he would not be a fighting force, but a burden.
"The entrance to the secret passage is in the southwest of the city, at the base of the shortest stone tower." Sha Fanzi pulled a marked stone slab from his waist and threw it over. "The third brick on the east side of the tower base, push it all the way in, and twist it half a turn to the left."
Xu Hao caught it.
"Those bald monks' supply lines are cut off. Red Python and Iron Sand are keeping watch outside." Sha Fanzi leaned against a large rock on the riverbank, crossed his arms, and said, "They can hold them off for two days at most. Is that enough?"
"It has to be enough, whether it's enough or not."
Sha Fanzi snorted. He took out a pipe from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and struck the lighter three times before it was lit.
The interference field of the Xuan Tie (mysterious iron) even made it difficult to ignite.
"Go ahead." Smoke obscured half his face. "Let me know when you're back, so we can call it a day."
Xu Hao turned around.
Alone.
From the Chijin River to the outskirts of Zanglong City, it is 150 li.
The first thirty miles were made of iron-gray slate, which was hard underfoot, and the vibration of each step was as clear as the sound of a bell.
The density of underground mineral veins has exceeded what normal mining can imagine.
It wasn't just "there's a mineral," it was "it's all minerals." The iron content of the entire stratum was absurdly high; you could feel the Earth's magnetic pull when you stepped on it. The Sea-Devouring Blade he carried trembled slightly in its sheath, the metal being drawn towards the ground.
The Prison Suppression Technique entered a state of automatic operation.
Without his active guidance, the exercise automatically adjusts the breathing rhythm and bone vibration frequency, like a well-calibrated machine, precisely extracting what is needed from the earth's veins.
Fifty li.
Cracks appeared underfoot.
It wasn't caused by an earthquake; it was caused by the expansion of the mineral vein that cracked the rock strata. The gas seeping from the cracks had a smell of sulfur and rust.
The energy flow shifted from the leg bones to the pelvis and sacrum.
The tempering of the lower body is nearing completion, and the distribution of metal patterns has covered all the bones from the toes to the lumbar vertebrae.
Seventy li.
The change in his right arm was the most unexpected for him.
The arm guard cracked when it broke through to the Iron Bone Realm, and now the crack has widened.
It wasn't a poor-quality arm guard, a standard product of the Zhenbei Army's forging battalion; even a full-force punch from a Bone Forging Realm expert would only leave a dent.
The arm bone density increased too quickly, causing the arm guard to deform from the inside.
He removed the arm guards and threw them into the Sumeru Warehouse.
His exposed right forearm was a dark blue-green in the moonlight.
The metallic texture beneath the skin is so subtle that even a microscope can reveal the faint outline of the bone structure to the naked eye, like a very shallow relief embedded between the muscles.
He clenched his fist.
The sound of air being squeezed out was no longer a muffled thud, but a short, sharp "hiss." Like a blade slicing through taut animal hide.
One hundred li.
The ground was uneven. Large chunks of slate were raised, as if something had pushed them up from underneath. Between the raised slate slabs, dark silver ore bodies were exposed—veins of basalt ore so pure they were directly exposed on the surface.
The efficiency of the Qi circulation is only 40% of normal.
But he discovered something.
The bones tempered by the Prison Suppression Technique do not follow the path of Qi when transmitting power.
It takes a more primitive approach—skeletal resonance.
The force originates from the soles of the feet, travels along the metal texture between the bones, and moves faster than the Qi flowing through the meridians.
Without passing through the dantian or circulating through the body, it goes directly from the point of exertion to the target point in one step.
This means that in the restricted area of the mine where the Qi is suppressed, his physical combat strength is not affected.
Even stronger.
Because the Prison Suppression Technique is still being consumed.
The denser the mineral vein, the more active the cultivation technique.
Others come in as useless people, but he comes in to recharge.
One hundred and thirty li.
The outline of the ruins went from blurry to clear.
The texture of the most recent stone tower is now visible.
The tower is built of huge red gold rock, and its surface is engraved with inscriptions that have been mostly weathered away.
The brushstrokes of the inscription are similar to the seal script style on the Six Nails Suppressing Dragon Diagram—rough, heavy, and each stroke looks as if it were chiseled in.
But what concerned him even more was the signal coming from the soles of his feet.
The resonance between the Prison Suppression Technique and the earth's veins suddenly intensified at this location, 1300 kilometers away.
It's not that the ore veins are denser; in fact, the density of the ore veins hasn't changed after a hundred miles. What has changed is the underground structure.
There is a cavity.
A very large cavity.
Thirty feet below, a huge underground space spans a radius of a hundred feet.
The four walls of the space are flat, man-made rock surfaces, and the floor is made of some kind of metal.
There's something else under the floor.
An extremely faint sealing fluctuation, originating from the same source as the Dragon-Suppressing Nail, slowly pulsated from the very center of the underground space.
Secondary nail.
Right below here.