Chapter 46: 阴魂、毒蜂、骨狮

The journey lasted nearly three months, not far off Wang Yu's estimate. Although the bone ship was faster than a Qi Cultivator, Gu Zhengshun stopped using spirit stones to power it after leaving the sect. Instead, he had his many disciples take turns operating it. Wang Yu also got a feel for controlling the bone ship; it wasn't much different from riding a boat in his previous life, except that it was in the sky. Outside the sect, there was no need to put on a show; he was quite frugal with spirit stone expenses and saw no reason to waste them on travel speed.

Thus, by the end of the third month of Wang Yu's third year as an outer disciple, the group barely managed to reach Mount Darkbone. Its topography was completely different from what Wang Yu had imagined. It comprised three colossal, high mountains resembling open-air wells. They had been extensively sculpted by hand, with hollow centers and towering at least several thousand meters tall. Each level featured an openwork design, supported by only a few dozen pillars. From a distance, they looked like stone towers.

White bone trees grew between the levels. The tallest were only six meters high, while each level was about ten meters tall. Each of these well-like mountains had approximately three hundred levels. This was a planting method specifically modified after the area was transformed. Crude stone and wooden houses were evenly distributed on each level. The bottom and top levels featured several stone halls, adorned with the Blood Demon banners of the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect, symbolizing their sovereignty.

Between the three Mount Darkbones lay a large camp, capable of accommodating a thousand people. The landscape was nearly devoid of vegetation and greenery, and the land was barren. Numerous low, rocky hills surrounded the area. A faint stench of corpses permeated the air.

"Finally, we're here!" Gu Zhengshun exclaimed, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Their group, belonging to the Heavenly Corpse Peak, was still the last to arrive, even though they hadn't stopped at the main cities of Yeqiong or Feng Provinces along the way. The other two peak masters had already chosen their mountains and were directing their subordinates to take over the old formations and set up new ones. Of the three Mount Darkbones, only the rightmost one remained. This cylindrical, well-like mountain had the fewest and most sparse Darkbone Trees, clearly underdeveloped. Gu Zhengshun didn't mind and immediately piloted the bone ship to the bottom, giving orders.

"Go count how many Darkbone Trees there are. You, and you, go inspect the Spirit Gathering Formation, Soul Absorption Formation, and Bone Tree Nurturing Formation. You, go set up the formation flags I brought and bury the corpses."

As each command was issued, everyone quickly got busy. While demonic cultivators were skilled at murder and arson, that was merely one characteristic. The notion that they didn't engage in production didn't mean they completely neglected resource generation. When not at war with the righteous sects, they still produced resources; they just weren't as adept at management as the righteous path.

Most of these Darkbone Trees were first-grade Yin Wood, but a few had reached second-grade. They greatly benefited Armored Corpses, Malevolent Corpses, and Yin Souls. Thus, it was natural for the Heavenly Corpse Peak and the Five Yin Peak to be here. As for the Gu Poison Peak, they were here for something else.

Wang Yu did nothing in particular, mostly just wandering through the layers of Darkbone Tree forests and looking around casually. His main task was to check if there were any protruding white bone growths on the tops of the trees. Some mature bone trees would grow Profound Essence Flowers. These had the effect of purifying spiritual energy, helping Qi Cultivators overcome bottlenecks and swiftly complete their second and third Spirit Refinements. Second-grade Profound Essence Flowers were even somewhat helpful for breaking through to Foundation Establishment. If one could obtain several more plants, passing the True Essence hurdle, one of the three Foundation Establishment trials, would be effortless.

This was the true reason Gu Zhengshun came here. Breaking through to the late Qi Cultivation stage, and even condensing spiritual energy into a semi-liquid state ready to transform into true essence at any time—his five years here were solely for this purpose! Situ Hong likely had a similar plan.

There were actually many treasures that could aid in passing the 'True Essence hurdle'; even high-grade Foundation Establishment Pills had this effect. Therefore, Mount Darkbone's resources were mediocre for true disciples, and even some inner disciples with strong backgrounds looked down on them. However, for inner disciples like Situ Hong and Gu Zhengshun, who were neither top-tier nor low-tier, they were quite appealing.

Profound Essence Flowers bloomed once every three years. It was now late December, long past their blooming season. The next blooming season wouldn't arrive until late spring or early summer of next year. Bone trees that had bloomed required three years to accumulate the necessary reserves to bloom again. Wang Yu's act of recording plants with bone growths was not without purpose. This was laying the groundwork for future harvests.

The higher one ascended this Darkbone Tower Mountain, the colder and more desolate it became. The winds that swept through seemed to turn black, and occasional black shadows flitted through the sparse bone tree forests. Those were actually the legitimate 'farmers' of this place. According to the intelligence, these entities were 'Geomantic Spirits' that shared a symbiotic relationship with the bone trees and could protect a certain area of bone trees from various harms. It was said that the original ruling clan of Mount Darkbone, after being annihilated by the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect, were refined into 'Yin Soul Farmers.' This was the demonic path's method of production: bloody, cruel, and utterly inhuman!

Situ Hong of the Five Yin Peak came here not only for the Profound Essence Flowers but also for the environment, which was suitable for Yin Soul cultivation. He would have his cultivated ghost servants coexist with the bone trees for five years, which was roughly similar to their own cultivation speed but crucially, cost no spirit stones. If they could coexist with second-grade bone trees, the effects would far surpass normal cultivation efforts, achieving twice the result with half the effort, and potentially even mastering a unique spell.

As for Liu Jinxian of the Gu Poison Peak, she was most likely here for a natural disaster unique to Mount Darkbone!

When Wang Yu reached the two hundredth level, a dense buzzing immediately filled his ears. He looked closely and saw a large, flat, ganoderma-like honeycomb hanging from a tall second-grade bone tree, surrounded by other bone trees. Giant bees with grey bodies, bone patterns, and bird-skull-like heads were hovering around. These creatures were one of Mount Darkbone's disasters — the Corrosive Venom Bee Swarm! Naturally, these creatures were peak first-grade unusual insects. Once they formed a large swarm, even Foundation Establishment cultivators dared not face their might. They were also natural Gu worm materials. The corrosive venom they secreted had a restrictive corrosive effect on various spiritual metals. It was a potent weapon against cultivators' magical artifacts, strong enough to be a trump card for Qi Cultivators and would not become obsolete even for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Their utility was immense. Coming here for the Corrosive Venom Bees and Profound Essence Flowers was absolutely worthwhile.

While investigating, Wang Yu merely marked them and continued to ascend, piloting his flying artifact, the Black Silk, to circle around them. Corrosive Venom Bee Swarms fed on bone tree sap and loved the nectar of Profound Essence Flowers, yet they were only one of Mount Darkbone's troubles.

The second type of disaster was a type of demonic beast, named — the Ferocious Bone Lion! These demonic beasts were typically solitary and claimed second-grade bone trees as their territory. They would dig a hole to nest and fed on the bone trees. This Yin Wood enhanced their physical strength and the length of the bone spurs on their backs. It was said to be beneficial for reproduction and could attract the favor of female Ferocious Bone Lions. There were virtually none on the lower levels. From the two hundredth level upwards, each level had two or three of them, almost all possessing peak first-grade strength, making them difficult to deal with.

After a thorough inspection, this Mount Darkbone not only had the fewest bone trees but also the highest number of entrenched Ferocious Bone Lions. It was a tough nut to crack, no wonder it was handed to Gu Zhengshun.