Bones Glowing

Blood suns closed their eyes, and white bones began to glow.

He wondered if those blood suns were actually eyes?

These were indeed the bones of immortals.

Even after being buried here for countless ages, a trace of immortal essence still lingered upon them.

Xu Xian patted one and clicked his tongue, "These are all good things."

His thoughts were written all over his face: [Mine, mine, they're all mine...]

"What breed of creature do you think these bones belonged to? They'd probably fetch a lot of money outside."

"Hmm... if I ground them into powder and swallowed it raw, would it be nourishing?"

The youth muttered to himself as he investigated.

During the day, he hadn't paid much attention, thinking they were just ordinary bones.

They didn't seem to have much use.

But at night, when they glowed, it was a different story.

They looked like treasure.

In Xu Xian's eyes, anything that glowed was bound to be worth something.

Seeing Xu Xian unable to tear himself away, the little book spirit was speechless.

It complained, "Master, are we doing our job or not? Are we still looking for people?"

"Uh..."

Xu Xian choked, reluctantly pulling his hand away from the white bone.

"Right, find people first. Business comes first."

The search continued, but the mental calculator in his heart was already clicking away loudly.

The burial ground at night was much darker than during the day.

Without the blood-red tint, it felt less baleful, but the pale bones and heavy darkness created an atmosphere fraught with hidden killing intent.

The creatures in the burial ground were much better behaved now.

They hunkered down in defense, briefly ceasing their battles to rest and recover by the moonlight.

Of course, there were others like Xu Xian who had their eyes on the bones.

They figured they couldn't win the inheritance anyway, so since they were already here, they couldn't leave empty-handed.

Taking a few immortal bones back seemed like a good deal.

Unfortunately, even after ten thousand years of weathering, immortal bones were not something mortal strength could shake.

They smashed, hacked, cut, and chopped, but the bones remained perfectly intact.

The more indestructible they proved to be, the more the creatures realized their value and wanted them.

But the bones were massive; a single one was the size of a mountain or a giant tree.

Moving them back was unrealistic.

There were smaller, scattered pieces, though.

Finding one meant a fight.

And so, they started fighting again and again...

After all, not everyone had a vast storage sub-world like the Divine Sword Pool.

As the little book spirit helped search, it nagged, "Master, I must warn you again. Don't even think about those bones for now. If you cause too much of a commotion, the Twilight Emperor will notice."

"I know!" Xu Xian said confidently.

The little book spirit didn't believe him at all and continued to advise him, "No one knows if those blood suns are the Twilight Emperor's eyes. It's very likely that every move in here is under his surveillance."

"My ability can only block divine sense detection for a short time when you're taking things out."

"If you move all the bones here into the Divine Sword Pool, you'll definitely be targeted."

"When that happens..."

"You might lose your life here."

Xu Xian grew a bit depressed as he listened.

The book spirit made sense.

He had cheats, but he couldn't guarantee there weren't patrollers.

If he made too much noise and got caught, he'd have nowhere to cry if his account got banned.

In the Twilight Burial Realm, his greatest threat was never the beings from Fanzhou.

Under the age of a hundred, who could possibly match him?

Even against those old fogies outside, he could hold his own.

His only threat—and his greatest—was the Twilight Emperor, the one who had set up this entire game.

At first, Xu Xian couldn't guess why the Twilight Emperor was doing this.

But after a day of the book spirit sensing things, he had gone from mere suspicion to a near-certain answer.

The Twilight Emperor was indeed choosing a successor.

Through this slaughter, he would pick the most talented being in Fanzhou and grant them his inheritance.

As for the future... whether he planned to possess the person or use them to help himself escape the seal was another matter.

One thing was certain: the Twilight Emperor's current situation was likely similar to the Nether Tortoise's, only he was stronger and more sophisticated.

He possessed the means to eventually break free.

Since he knew the goal, Xu Xian's plan was simple: play along.

An ant cannot shake a tree, but an ant can use the tree to grow.

One day, when he was strong enough, he would devour the tree in return.

It was a simple logic.

Take the inheritance, figure things out, and then backstab him later.

Thinking about it was quite thrilling.

Of course, the prerequisite was not letting the other party see through his intentions.

He could let the Emperor know he was extraordinary, but he could never let him know he possessed the White Jade Capital.

Otherwise, given the history between the White Jade Capital and the Li family, and the Emperor's grudge against them, he'd likely be killed on the spot just to be safe.

So... he had to be low-key about his cheats.

At least so far, he had been quite restrained, with the book spirit providing cover.

Xu Xian continued to speed along, not forgetting to change the subject.

"I just estimated that at least ten hours have passed since the opening, but the sky has only just turned dark. Time in here must be different from Fanzhou."

The little book spirit agreed. "Yes. Either the nights are extremely short, or a full day and night cycle is twenty-four hours."

Xu Xian calculated silently. "Then wouldn't ten days here be equal to twenty days?"

They couldn't possibly be counting the duration based on the time flow outside.

The book spirit said it wasn't sure either.

It would need to see how long the night lasted to give an answer.

Meanwhile, Xu Xian and the book spirit continued to discuss the Twilight Emperor's motives.

It all came down to those few possibilities.

However, the book spirit's attitude remained very relaxed, as if everything was under control.

As he moved through the ravines and mountains of the burial ground, Xu Xian frequently encountered people.

Groups of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands.

By coincidence, he overheard some rumors about himself, which left him speechless.

"Did you see that Xu Xian during the day?"

"Of course."

"That brat is terrifyingly fierce."

"He's more of a beast than actual beasts."

"The rumors weren't lying at all."

...

"Who do you think is in first place now?"

"Who else could it be? Xu Xian, obviously."

...

"Senior Brother, who do you think will take first place in the end?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, it'll be Xu Xian of the Wendao Sword Sect."

"Oh? You're that certain?"

"Nonsense, he's more of a beast than an animal!"

During the day, Xu Xian had fought six rounds back and forth, and many had seen him.

It was their first time seeing him in person.

Their evaluation of him could be summed up in one phrase: he lived up to his reputation.

The rumors were true.

But hearing them call him a beast made Xu Xian a bit unhappy.

Is being strong a crime?

There was no admiration, only pure jealousy.

The little book spirit's divine sense suddenly rang in his mind.

"Master, I've found them."