Volume 5 Chapter 45
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Volume 5 Chapter 45: Bone Staff
The green skull, seemingly emerald, after days of investigation by Xu Qingfan finally showed some clues, but he could not be sure. It wasn’t until now, seeing Little Black absorb a large amount of death energy without any mutations, and the skull’s energy was pure and free from evil, that Xu Qingfan was relieved.
According to Xu Qingfan’s guess, this skull should be a part of the treasured "Purgatory Staff" of the "Zhong Family of Corpse Refiners."
The ancestor of the "Zhong Family of Corpse Refiners," Zhong Ling, originally relied on his knowledge of corpses to become a Corpse Catcher in the mortal world, a rather mystical profession known for their deep understanding of corpses. They could control corpses to move slowly, but besides that, they had no other supernatural abilities.
In the mortal world, many people die far from home for various reasons, and transporting bodies over long distances is very inconvenient, with many taboos. Corpse Catchers could control corpses, prevent them from decaying, and safely return the deceased to their homeland. This profession thrived in the mortal world—not enough to make them wealthy, but it was a reliable way to earn a living.
However, Zhong Ling was different. He accidentally obtained a partially incomplete cultivation method for immortality. Using his innate talent, he reached the Condensed Core Stage without any sect’s support. His close dealings with corpses led him to understand the art of refining them, which marked the rise of the "Zhong Family of Corpse Catchers."
The Number Two that Xu Qingfan encountered before might be a descendant of the Zhong family or someone who unintentionally obtained their mystical technique, as the "Art of Refining Corpses" started with the Zhong family.
But from the very beginning of his cultivation, Zhong Ling had no interactions with the cultivation world. Although he possessed the strength of a cultivator, he did not have their mindset. Ultimately, he was just an ordinary person with the means of a cultivator. Later, as the Zhong family’s influence grew stronger, they began to interfere in the affairs of the mortal world, which violated the taboos of the cultivation world. Eventually, they were suppressed by the major sects of that time, losing much of their power.
Zhong Ling was a stubborn person. He believed that the major sects of the cultivation world were suppressing his increasingly prosperous family. His pride and joy, the Art of Refining Corpses, quickly failed under the various mystical techniques of the immortals. Zhong Ling blamed his failure on not possessing powerful artifacts like the major sects and the lack of strength in the bodies he refined.
Ultimately, Zhong Ling did something astonishing. He summoned the death energy from thousands of refined corpses into his own body, creating a magical artifact with his own body. This was the aforementioned "Purgatory Staff," crafted with his spine as the staff’s body, his skull as the head, his life and soul as the key, and the death energy from countless refined corpses as its power, resulting in an unprecedented, extraordinary magical artifact—the "Purgatory Staff."
In Zhong Ling’s vision, the "Purgatory Staff," filled with immense death energy, would have unparalleled attack power, as the cultivation world had no means to resist death energy. Not to mention, this magical artifact would significantly enhance the Zhong family’s ability to refine corpses.
As long as they possessed this precious artifact, even though Zhong Ling had died, his descendants could lead the Zhong family to even greater prosperity, standing invincible in the entire cultivation world.
Zhong Ling’s plan ultimately succeeded, but also failed. Under his genius or perhaps insane idea, the "Purgatory Staff" was eventually forged, with power equaling the legendary artifacts in the cultivation world. Yet, the idea ultimately failed because Zhong Ling overlooked one crucial point: the energy of death cannot be controlled by any living being. The death energy contained within the "Purgatory Staff" was immensely powerful, and although it was successfully crafted, the Zhong family descendants were completely unable to wield it. With even the slightest contact, their bodies would be invaded by the death energy, turning them into skeletons in an instant.
Thus, the Zhong family fell into the awkward situation where the family’s pillar had died, and the powerful artifact he left behind was unusable. They ultimately could not avoid being defeated under the suppression of the major factions in the cultivation world, and the prized "Purgatory Staff" eventually went missing.
Xu Qingfan initially paid no mind to this piece of history, but when describing the "Purgatory Staff," it was mentioned that under the refining of death energy, the staff was entirely emerald green, with a skull at its head, its eyes glowing with a blood-red light. The potent death energy within was strikingly similar to the skull Xu Qingfan held in his hand.
At that moment, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but wonder if this skull was part of the "Purgatory Staff." If it was, then it should only contain pure death energy without any other mechanisms, which is why he felt comfortable letting Little Black absorb the death energy inside, while gathering Spirit Qi within his body to immediately halt if something went wrong. Yet, as Little Black continued to absorb the death energy without any strange happenings, Xu Qingfan gradually dispelled the gathered Spirit Qi.
Xu Qingfan feared that this skull might not only contain powerful death energy but also harbor some malefic force, ultimately causing Little Black to unknowingly fall under its control.
However, seeing Little Black absorb death energy from it, the skull likely was indeed the staff head of the legendary "Purgatory Staff," with death energy exceedingly pure. It was only unknown where the staff’s body was or why such a powerful artifact had been split in two.
And this skull was the first true artifact Xu Qingfan had obtained in his years of cultivation, albeit just a part of one. Prior to this, Xu Qingfan’s most potent artifact was a failed creation, the "Five Spirit Bell," yet it was already the most powerful and useful tool in his possession.
Although Xu Qingfan was still puzzled, he didn’t dwell on it further. After careful observation, finding nothing unusual with Little Black, he calmly closed his eyes, working to circulate the "Withered Qi" and "Flourish Qi" inside him. This served to increase his Spirit Qi and to familiarize himself with the subtleties of both energies, preparing for the eventual refinement of the "Formula of Life and Death."
Before closing his eyes to meditate, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but think, "With this skull continuously supplying energy, during my twelve years of seclusion, it seems Little Black’s progress will far surpass mine. I wonder how much Little Black will eventually grow."
As he pondered, Xu Qingfan’s mind finally became completely tranquil, and he began to focus on his cultivation.
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While Xu Qingfan was investigating the origin of the skull, another story unfolded elsewhere on the Shenzhou Continent.
After the "Treasure Pavilion" was either destroyed or vanished within half a day, the entire cultivation world was in an uproar. Many cultivators rushed to the nearest "Treasure Pavilion" ruin, hoping to find something valuable, as the demand for resources among cultivators is limitless, and the "Treasure Pavilion" was renowned for its collection of rare treasures.
However, they were all too late. After the "Treasure Pavilion" was destroyed, the treasures inside had already been seized by those in purple robes. Later on, the Righteous Alliance cultivators took away the remaining valuable items. Although it was just a ruin, it was thoroughly picked clean, and apart from a few lucky individuals who found a few high-grade spirit stones, most people came away empty-handed.
Once everyone realized there was nothing of value left in the "Treasure Pavilion" ruins, the once bustling area became deserted. The location itself was remote, and now it was even more desolate.
But that night, the situation was very different.
At the "Treasure Pavilion" ruins Xu Qingfan had visited, shadows flickered as over a hundred black-robed cultivators searched the debris for something, yet after a long time, they still found nothing.
In a place a hundred yards away from the ruins, two figures stood quietly, watching the group of men in black as they searched the ruins.
Among the two figures, one had an ordinary build and wore a purple robe, with three golden stripes woven into the edges. On the robe was a frenzied blood-red character "Ming," and on his finger was a jade ring carved with the word "Hong."
This man in purple was indeed "Hong," one of the top-ranked core members of the mysterious "Ming" organization.
"Hong" usually acted in a low-key manner within "Ming," never taking part in various battles; however, he was very powerful and quite gloomy, so very few people would dare to provoke him.
However, at this moment, "Hong" looked panicked, respectfully standing behind and to the left of the other figure, his hands lowered.
The other figure was frail and small, hidden by a large black robe that obscured their face, with swirling dark smoke around them, making it impossible to see their true features.
The most striking thing about this figure was the skeletal hands extending from the black robe, tightly gripping a long green staff as they stood motionless.
The long green staff looked eerily like a human spine!
