<h4>Chapter 15: Body Tempered by the Celestial Phoenix''s Essence</h4>


    Pang Jian was having a nightmare.


    The excruciating pain of being gnawed by tens of thousands of ants seemed to have be a reality within the dream world. The only difference was that, in his dream, it was not tens of thousands of ants, but rather gracefully soaring Celestial Phoenixes that were inflicting the pain.


    These countless tiny Celestial Phoenixes, as small as specks of dust, roamed his ribcage and arms. Their divine forms brought him indescribable torment from within his bone marrow.


    The agony Sun Bin inflicted when he used lightning to test Pang Jian''s talents was nothingpared to this. Back then, he could grit his teeth and endure, but this pain was so terrible he passed out.


    After Pang Jian''s fever subsided, he slowly woke up.


    Opening his eyes, Pang Jian saw Zhou Qingchen sitting cross-legged nearby and keeping an eye on him. Zhou Qingchen grinned at Pang Jian with a de of grass hanging from his mouth.


    "How did you suddenly fall sick?" he asked. "How are you feeling now?"


    Pang Jian''s stiff neck cracked when he attempted to move.


    "Hm?" His eyebrows twitched.


    It felt like he had been blessed with a mysterious divine power. His body brimmed with inexhaustible strength and a strange sensation in his chest made him feel as though his ribcage was as strong as iron and gold.


    He shook both his arms. The bones within them seemed to have been tempered.


    His body felt strange. However, he hesitated to inform Zhou Qingchen about these changes. Thus, he could only ask him indirectly, "Young Master Zhou, I heard the third cultivation realm for cultivators is the Marrow Cleansing Realm. What exactly does it entail?"


    Pang Jian recalled the bizarre scene from his dream, where divine phoenixes soared within the bone marrow of his arms and ribcage.


    "Why do you want to know? Even I have yet to step into the Marrow Cleansing Realm. You shouldn''t think about it." Zhou Qingchen chuckled. Even so, he proceeded to exin, "The first realm of cultivation is the Qi Practicing Realm. In this realm, one needs to guide the spiritual qi of heaven and earth into their dantian and spiritual sea. The process is about umtion. There''s no qualitative improvement in overall strength and cultivators in this realm aren''t much stronger than ordinary people.


    "However, the Meridian Opening Realm is different. In this realm, we channel the spiritual power from within our dantian and spiritual sea into the meridians on our limbs. Once our meridians are filled with spiritual power, we can channel it outward through our limbs to increase our strength and unleash remarkable power.


    Zhou Qingchen extended an arm, rolled his sleeve up to expose his forearm, and exerted his strength.


    A faint red light flowed through Zhou Qingchen''s meridians, all the way to his palm.


    <i>Swish!</i>


    A majestic deep red light rose from the palm of Zhou Qingchen''s hand. He skillfully transformed the light into a small, exquisite crimson mountain, smashing the illusory mountain into arge rock nearby with a casual swing of his arm.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Therge stone exploded with a resounding st.


    "This is the power of the Meridian Opening Realm," Zhou Qingchen exined calmly.


    Themotion attracted the attention of the members of the Zhou n, the Ning n, and Shangguan Qin in the distance.


    "The Marrow Cleansing Realm involves bone forging and marrow cleansing. It focuses on tempering the bones, flesh, and internal organs of one''s entire body. Achieving great sess in the Marrow Cleansing Realm often signifies a rebirth, with the shedding of one''s mortal flesh and the transcendence of one''s physical limitations." Zhou Qingchen''s eyes revealed a hint of pride as he raised his head and said, "Once I reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm, I''ll be able to cleanse away all impurities hidden within my flesh, blood, muscle, and bones, and my cultivation in the Red Mountain Sect won''t be hindered either."


    Cultivators of the Fourth World naturally retained impurities in their bodies because of the impure nature of the spiritual qi in the Fourth World. Before Zhou Qingchen officially entered the Red Mountain Sect, he would first enter the Marrow Cleansing Realm toplete his rebirth and shed his mortal body.


    "Bone forging and marrow cleansing," Pang Jian murmured, lost in thought. He had the feeling an inexplicable divine power had tempered his ribcage and arms while he was unconscious.


    He suspected the cluster of faint lights was the cause but did not have definitive proof. He also did not mention it to Zhou Qingchen.


    The sky was growing dimmer and night would soon fall.


    After that insightful discussion with Zhou Qingchen, Pang Jian nced around at his surroundings.


    He spotted the Ning n''s warhorses resting nearby. The servants from the Zhou n were busy preparing dinner. Meanwhile, Ning Yuanshan and Ning Yao rested near the campfire. However, there was a distance between them and members of the Zhou n.


    A rift had formed. The Zhou n and Ning n were no longer on friendly terms and both sides had be wary of each other.


    Han Duping was preupied with teasing Shangguan Qin, wearing a mischievous smile as if oblivious to her exasperation.


    Pang Jian slowly stood up, ncing at the mountain peak behind him before turning toward the sound of flowing water.


    A small waterfall cascaded down from the mountain peak behind him and converged into arge, dark pond.


    The water from the waterfall was crystal clear, but strangely enough, it turned ck upon hitting the pond.


    Near the base of the pond, close to the mountain wall, protruded an enormous butckluster withered bone. Taken aback, Pang Jian eximed, "Is that a bone of the Celestial Phoenix?"


    Zhou Qingchen chuckled and nodded. "Most of the bone is submerged and only a small portion is exposed."


    "I examined it while you were unconscious from your fever, but there''s nothing particrly mystical about this withered bone. It''s not the sacred bone possessing the inheritance of the Celestial Phoenix that everyone has been desperately searching for." Zhou Qingchen was convinced the sacred bone would never appear in the Fourth World.


    Pang Jian recalled the withered bone in the forest with the mysterious lights. Although it did not possess the inheritance of the Celestial Phoenix, these bones seemed to contain hidden wonders.


    "Don''t worry, we''re being very cautious this time. As soon as there''s a tremor, we''ll retreat immediately." Zhou Qingchen was rxed as he assumed tremors would prelude abnormalities around the withered bone.


    Pang Jian turned to stare at the pond behind him, expression turning grave.


    "ck...water? ckwater Pond!" he suddenly shouted. "This ce isn''t safe! You can''t camp here!"


    His father had designated ckwater Pond and its surrounding area as one of the forbidden areas of the Solitary Mountain Range. Pang Jian had faithfully adhered to his father''s instructions and, over the years, had never ventured into any area his father had ssified as forbidden.


    Pang Jian had a younger sister to care for and Pang Lin would live a troubled life if he disappeared like his father. Thus, he could not afford to take such risks.


    Pang Lin had yet to reach adulthood. Losing her father at such a young age was hard enough; she could not afford to lose him too.


    "Is there something wrong with this area?" Zhou Qingchen asked. He gestured for Han Duping to stop pestering Shangguan Qin ande over. "Old Han, get everyone ready. We need to leave as soon as possible."


    After thest time, Zhou Qingchen trusted Pang Jian unconditionally and was ready to act on his word without hesitation.


    He and Pang Jian headed toward the warhorses.


    Their actions caused Ning Yao and Ning Yuanshan to be nervous, as they had been discussing whether they wanted to go to the northernmost part of the mountain range.


    Shangguan Qin also felt unsettled. She headed over to the horses as well before Pang Jian.


    As she approached, all the warhorses frothed at the mouth and copsed.


    The warhorses had sumbed to deadly poison.


    "Zhang Heng!" Ning Yuanshan roared furiously in the direction of the forest. "I told you to feed the horses. What did you feed them?"


    "He probably poisoned them." Han Duping''s expression darkened. "He mentioned the water in ckwater Pond wasn''t very clean and went to find water elsewhere. I bet he went to meet someone!"


    "He probably poisoned the warhorses to prevent us from leaving," Zhou Qingchen added solemnly.


    The young master of the Zhou n and Pang Jian arrived in front of everyone, seemingly unafraid. They nced in the direction Zhang Heng had gone, then turned to look behind them at ckwater Pond, and the towering, smooth cliff behind it.


    That was evidently not a viable escape route.


    Despite the trees and scattered dry grass around them, the terrain fanning out in front of ckwater Pond was fairly open and viable for escape if the need arose.


    "Unless there''s some treasure precious enough to incite envy, the seven major ns rarely engage in outright conflict." As the genius of the Zhou n, Zhou Qingchen had both high status and confidence. With a calm and fearless look on his face, he dered coldly. "I''d like to see which n dares to make a move against me, Zhou Qingchen!"


    "It''s no wonder you''re the chosen genius of the Red Mountain Sect," a strange hoarse voice suddenly rang out. A person riding a python emerged from deep within the dry grass.


    The python wasrge and had an alternating ck-and-white pattern. Its tongue flickered in and out randomly, and its eyes gleamed with a fierce green light.


    The person riding the python appeared as thin as a bamboo pole and wore loose-fitting garments in a pattern that matched the python. Both his hands were tucked into his sleeves.


    "I am Hong Tai, a former member of the Blood Moon Sect. Unfortunately, I was expelled a hundred years ago," The person riding the python introduced with a chuckle. He then sighed forlornly. "I couldn''t stay in the upper world, so I could only roam the lower world."


    <i>Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!</i>


    With his appearance, more people stepped out of the waist-high dry grass.


    Zhang Heng was among them.


    "Hong Tai?"


    Members of the younger generation like Zhou Qingchen and Ning Yao were puzzled at the mention of the name. However, Han Duping wore an expression of recognition.


    "Hong Tai!" He stared at Hong Tai as he told Zhou Qingchen in a small voice, "He''s from the Shadow Specter Sect."


    "The Shadow Specter Sect?" Pang Jian looked confused.


    The looks on Zhou Qingchen''s, Ning Yao''s, and Ning Yuanshan''s faces turned grim.


    The seven major ns were the most powerful and influential forces in the Fourth World.


    They also typically had some connections to the sects from the upper world. The ns acted as these sects'' official and orthodox representatives in the Fourth World and controlled the seven major regions with the richest cultivation resources.


    The seven major ns had close ties and their rtionships were generally harmonious on the surface, with very few instances of all-out conflicts.


    The Shadow Specter Sect, however, stood apart from the seven major ns. This group of cultivators roamed and operated in the dark, peripheral regions of fragmented territory.


    The term "Shadow Specter" referred to wandering souls lurking in the dark.


    The seven major ns often joined forces to hunt down the Shadow Specter Sect. However, this organization was adept at hiding and had yet to bepletely eradicated. Thus, they continued to operate in the dark, shadowy corners of the world.


    Even the identity and cultivation realm of the Sect Master of the Shadow Specter Sect were still unknown to the seven major ns. All they knew was that he had recruited evil cultivators who could not make it in the upper worlds and provided them with refuge in the lower world.


    "News of the Celestial Phoenix''s skeletal remains being scattered throughout the lower world have reached the Shadow Specter Sect. Naturally, we''re also interested in trying our luck as well." Hong Tai then pointed at Zhang Heng and introduced, "He''s a member of our Shadow Specter Sect nted within the Ning n. There are many members like him in the seven major ns. They only reveal themselves during crucial moments to help us aplish big tasks."


    His blunt admission of traitors within the seven major ns weighed heavily on Zhou Qingchen and the rest.


    "Enough small talk. Let''s focus on the task at hand." Hong Tai pped his hands and ordered with a smile, "Kill everyone except the two women. There''s no need to leave anyone else alive."