115 So That Was It

Extinguishing the other two runic workstations, Xiunan stared at the Ghost Steed model on his left and began the next phase of the operation. The process of compression and ignition was equally critical.

Time slipped away second by second, and finally, as the sunset cast a dim, golden glow over the room, Xiunan completed all the steps for the first-ring Ghost Steed and successfully extracted the rune.

Suspended in mid-air, a coin-sized horse-head rune hovered silently, emitting a ghostly green radiance. It pulsed with a rhythmic, flickering light, much like a flame.

Now, Xiunan had to proceed to the next step: stripping the Dead-Eye Vulture rune from his Secret Ring.

This was no simple task, as replacing one's own runes was a grave taboo. Every Secret Ring Master’s ring power was gathered through these runes, functioning much like the water in a lake flowing and discharging through a single designated breach. To replace a rune, one first had to discard the original, which was akin to plugging that breach completely and tightly. It was by no means easy for a Secret Ring Master to carve out a new channel.

Those with poor luck might seal the opening so thoroughly that they would never be able to forge a new channel again, effectively ending their path as a Secret Ring Master.

Xiunan, however, was not overly worried; his other rune could still shoulder the burden of gathering ring power. The brief collapse of ring power caused by the disappearance of the Dead-Eye Vulture rune would not have a significant impact. This was a conclusion he had reached after several days of research. To be safe, he had also requested auxiliary medicines from the Taurus Chamber of Commerce to use if necessary.

Ten minutes later, in another compartment of the laboratory—a space with high airtightness specifically built for special experiments to ensure minimal interference—Xiunan prepared to perform the rune replacement.

After instructing his assistant to ensure no one disturbed him, Xiunan closed the door and locked it securely. He turned back and switched on all the lights. The sealed laboratory was instantly illuminated, revealing a circular pool standing in the center of the room.

Xiunan walked over and pressed a button. Water quickly flowed into the pool from the edges, and within moments, the clear surface began to ripple. He stretched a hand over the pool and slowly poured in a vial of potion, instantly staining the water blue. He followed this with another vial, turning the water red. Vial after vial was added, interspersed with solid crystal fragments and twigs.

The water in the pool began to react, bubbling and churning as if it were boiling. A faint white vapor rose from the surface. Xiunan took a sniff and frowned. It wasn't a foul stench, but the fumes were incredibly pungent, reminiscent of a newly renovated room.

He glanced at the water; it had transformed into a viscous, glue-like substance, deep purple in color, swaying slightly.

"..." Xiunan fell silent, then took out the most important ingredient: three vials of Spirit Grid Potion. These were blue liquids, as pure as gemstones.

Spirit Grid Potions were expensive and difficult to acquire, primarily supplied to advanced Rune Masters with specific needs. They could enhance a person's inspiration in a short time, allowing their consciousness to transcend the physical body and communicate with the omnipresent Mystery Ring. This potion was classified as a cultivation aid; using it could increase one's ring power.

However, it had a flaw: the more it was used, the more dangerous the process of mental sublimation became. Once a Secret Ring Master’s consciousness transcended the physical body, they might not encounter the Mystery Ring, but rather other indescribable, horrific things. There were plenty of Secret Ring Masters who, greedy for progress, lost their sanity during repeated use of the Spirit Grid Potion, or even suffered "mental death"—a truly eerie fate.

While dangerous, the first use of the Spirit Grid Potion carried almost no risk and offered significant benefits. Increasing ring power was equivalent to increasing the endurance of one’s runic combat—a vital necessity for any Secret Ring Master.

Xiunan tapped the mouth of the bottle and poured in the Spirit Grid Potion. An intense mist surged up, swirling for a long time before dissipating. Inside the pool, the dark purple liquid eerily returned to a transparent state—not the transparency of clear water, but that of viscous glue.

Almost there...

Xiunan exhaled heavily, stripped off his clothes, and stepped into the pool. His feet felt as if they were stepping on a marshmallow; it took a while for his legs to sink and touch the cold, hard metal bottom. He submerged his entire body, leaving only his head above the surface, and sat there.

Everything was normal so far; the potion surrounding him showed no reaction. It would only take effect when Xiunan exerted his ring power to the fullest.

Three minutes later, Xiunan slowly opened his eyes.

*Hummm...*

Behind him, the white Holy Bone Secret Ring began to rotate rapidly in a clockwise direction, both runes glowing faintly. A film of light wrapped around his entire body.

With a splash, as if water were flowing past, two figures gradually appeared behind him.

On the left was the elegant and refined Dead-Eye Vulture, White Wood, hovering in mid-air like a noble aristocrat. On the right stood a ferocious and savage figure, over three meters tall, its heavy armor exuding an aura of oppression, while its eerie bone spurs and blood-red patterns tempted the soul.

"Begin..." Xiunan sighed softly.

"STRIP!!!" he roared.

In an instant, the clockwise rotation of the Holy Bone Secret Ring halted. After a brief pause, it began to accelerate violently in the opposite direction.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*

Circles of air were swept up, swirling and flying.

*Pfft...*

The transparent airflow was suddenly stained red as plumes of blood mist sprayed from the gaps in the Holy Bone Secret Ring, splattering the distant walls. The entire laboratory was filled with the scent of blood.

Xiunan’s expression was like iron, but the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably. His entire body felt distorted, as if a tight rope were being untwisted in reverse. It felt as though his skin, muscles, and bones were separating inch by inch, accompanied by an indescribable agony.

It was painful, but still within his tolerance.

As the Secret Ring spun in reverse, the Dead-Eye Vulture behind him became increasingly ethereal. An exquisite rune slowly detached from the Holy Bone Secret Ring, inch by inch. At the same time, the Ghost Steed rune in Xiunan’s hand appeared at the edge of the ring. It replaced the position of the Dead-Eye Vulture rune bit by bit; the replacement for both occurred simultaneously.

Xiunan endured the pain, persisting for a few more moments. At a certain threshold, he suddenly exerted his ring power, and the potion he was soaking in began to hiss. A thick white mist enveloped him, filling the entire laboratory within three or four breaths. The mist was dense, as milky and thick as smoke.

With each breath, as his chest heaved, Xiunan inhaled a large amount of the mist. A searing, burning sensation traveled from his nasal cavity to his lungs. Vaguely, he felt as if he had entered another world.

Xiunan didn't know what this state was called—soul leaving the body? Consciousness transcending? Or perhaps just a hallucination...

He seemed to have detached from his physical form, viewing his own body soaking in the pool from a god-like perspective. This perspective couldn't move; it simply rose slowly, like a floating balloon. Gradually, his view passed through the solid concrete wall, breaking through the ceiling of the laboratory inch by inch, then the warehouse.

A moment later, Xiunan was in mid-air.

But this place did not seem to be the real world. A glance revealed a desolate landscape where various strangely shaped rocks were piled together, and withered, twisted tree trunks twined and trembled like the arms of demons. The earth was cracked, the black soil bone-dry. The sky was shrouded in a hazy, deathly gray mist that induced a sense of coldness just by looking at it, filling one's heart with a faint sorrow and a sense of death.

"I think I can move..."

Xiunan shifted his perspective toward the sky, and his pupils contracted instantly. Above the gray-black heavens, a massive halo carrying a bright tail of flame rotated silently. Round after round, it seemed never to stop. Its appearance was like the galaxy vortex Xiunan had seen in reality, incredibly awe-inspiring.

Eternal, ancient, noble...

One word after another surfaced in his mind. But in the end, there was an inexplicable trace of sadness. Xiunan didn't know why he felt this way—perhaps because of the desolate gray mist before him...

"Is this... the Mystery Ring?"

*Ding!*

A sound suddenly descended from the firmament. Xiunan looked up again. The massive halo trembled violently, and a group of scattered fragments fell from a gap like snowflakes. As it rotated at high speed, they were flung outward. Large swaths of brilliance dissipated in mid-air, but a significant portion of the radiance fell straight down.

Xiunan watched that radiance, an endless craving erupting in his eyes. It seemed like a delicacy that no one could refuse! It was a hunger born of biological instinct, even the instinct of the soul.

"ROAR!!!"

The surrounding gray mist suddenly churned violently, like boiling water. Xiunan stared ahead.

A hand as vast as a mountain range slowly reached up, its terrifying expanse eclipsing the only remaining light. The giant palm snatched a piece of the radiance and then retreated heavily, causing the gray mist to roll like waves.

It wasn't just this arm; further away, there were towering giant trees, bone skeletons shrouded in fields of death, armored knights a hundred meters tall, powerful beings wrapped in dazzling clusters of light, and so on. They were fighting and scrambling madly. Blood and roars shot into the sky; the earth fell into chaos.

*Zoom!*

A meteor-like cluster of light plummeted straight from the sky, and its landing point seemed to be exactly where Xiunan was.

"Damn it! Don't come over here!"

Xiunan gulped frantically while being gripped by sheer panic. He swallowed because it was an instinctive reaction—a primal desire to obtain the light. His panic was obvious: such a large cluster of light would surely attract conflict. It would be too easy for them to crush him.

Xiunan turned and ran. His current form was like a marshmallow, so he didn't move very fast—comparable to a normal person taking a stroll.

*Roar! Roar! Roar!*

The sea of mist churned violently around him. Tall, black shadows like gods and demons appeared on the land. They reached out with pitch-black arms or limbs, either colliding and fighting each other or reaching out from afar toward the light.

*Crack!*

The cluster of light whistled past, shattering the limbs that blocked its path. Although its size was shrinking and its light was dimming, it continued to fall forward relentlessly, crashing into the earth like a meteorite.

*BOOM!!!*

Thousands of tons of soil shot into the sky. Fire raged across the land.

Xiunan was crushed; his entire being was blown to pieces, all his mental fragments entangled with the fragments of light. Yet he didn't die. The power from the Holy Bone Secret Ring was slowly re-condensing his consciousness, inch by inch, while something was quietly changing.

Surrounding these fragments, the three runes were also quietly enveloped, as if suspended in liquid. Under the binding of the Holy Bone Secret Ring’s special power, Xiunan’s mental fragments slowly coalesced, and a large cluster of light fragments was absorbed into the mix. Even the Ghost Steed rune and the Pale Knight rune nearby were drawn in, gradually forming a vortex at the center.

Finally, the Dead-Eye Vulture rune was also pulled in.

*Whoosh! Boom! Crack!*

Massive limbs collided, and the shadows in the mist slaughtered each other to claim ownership of the light. Unbeknownst to them, in a small corner of the light cluster, a tiny vortex was gradually forming.

Blood rained, and the gray mist rolled. After a series of manic battles, several winners were finally decided. A few large black shadows approached inch by inch.

*Thump!*

A giant footprint left a deep crater in the ground. A hand that could touch the heavens reached down from the gray mist.

*Swish!*

A blurred human figure vanished into thin air. The three shadows did not notice anything unusual.

In the pale laboratory, inside the pool, a figure lay silently in the viscous liquid. The once-transparent pool was stained blood-red. The air was filled with a rich scent of blood. Xiunan’s body was stiff, his chest not even rising or falling; he looked like a corpse.

Suddenly, his eyelids trembled. Then, he took a violent breath, the airflow even forming a pale white vortex at his nostrils.

His eyes snapped open.

After several gasps, Xiunan gradually calmed his emotions. He began to recall the strange experience he had just had. What exactly was that cluster of light? It could make one feel such endless longing in the depths of their soul...

And he seemed to have fused with a small part of the light fragments, escaping with the help of the Holy Bone Secret Ring.

"Wait! My power..."

A strange brilliance erupted in Xiunan’s eyes. He quickly reached out toward empty space, preparing to cast a combined rune. However, the rune did not produce the desired effect.

Xiunan frowned, and then suddenly, he had an epiphany.

"So that's how it is!"