“Hey, Old Hou! Don’t be in such a hurry to leave!”

“Look, just answer me one thing: for this bone replacement, does it work with the bones of any Spirit Beast? I want to try it myself first.”

Wang Ba seemed completely oblivious to the lethal change in Old Hou’s demeanor. He grabbed the old man’s arm with a grip full of desperate sincerity.

In the distance, Yu Changchun’s hand froze. The invisible threads manipulating the puppet went slack.

A flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes.

He wants to perform the bone replacement on himself?

It seems he still doesn’t quite trust us… However, once you start down this path, the choice won’t be yours to make anymore!

Yu Changchun sneered coldly, but he flicked his fingers lightly, retracting the sharp bone spikes hidden in the puppet’s sleeve.

Recruiting a Laborer Disciple was no simple task. If success was within reach, he didn’t want to discard a potential asset for nothing.

After a moment of thought, he engaged his silver tongue, speaking slowly and deliberately through Old Hou’s mouth:

“As long as the beast has entered a grade, any bone will do.”

“The bodies of Spirit Beasts possess the innate ability to absorb and transform Spiritual Qi. After the replacement, the Spirit Beast bone will guide… lead the human body to transform, forcing a Spiritual Root to grow from within.”

“Of course, beast bones and human bones are different. After the surgery, you will experience the agony of rejection as your flesh and blood reshape themselves. And even if a Spiritual Root is born, it will likely be inferior to even a standard set of Five Spiritual Roots.”

“You should know that Five Spiritual Roots are already considered the bottom of the barrel.”

“Therefore, it is best to join the Ascension Society. We can select suitable bones for you and assist you with the procedure.”

Old Hou’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “You’ve read the first volume of the Buried Bone Secret Technique, so you know that the success rate of self-administered replacement is pitifully low. Most just suffer for nothing. Even if you succeed, the residual will in the beast bone often drives people mad.”

“Unless… you follow the method recorded in the Second Volume…”

He trailed off, the implication hanging heavy in the air.

Old Hou, as a member of the Ascension Society, naturally possessed the Second Volume. If Wang Ba asked for it, Yu Changchun intended to have the puppet hand it over with feigned reluctance.

He knew exactly how this would play out. Wang Ba, having struggled with indecision for three days, would be unable to resist trying the method from the Second Volume.

Once he tried, he would discover that without the specific bone sources and assistance provided by the Society, the success rate was virtually zero.

Desperate and broken by failure, Wang Ba would come crawling to them.

Yu Changchun hadn’t offered the Second Volume immediately for a reason. First, people rarely cherish what is given freely. Second, the rituals in the Second Volume were far crueler than the first. If shown too early, Wang Ba might have been scared off.

Only by luring him step by step, excavating the greed and selfishness buried deep in his heart, could he be truly drawn into the trap.

And that desperation was exactly what was required for the Second Volume’s ritual to succeed.

Of course, the source of the bones was even more critical. In fact, it was everything.

The Ascension Society provided not just technique, but the most crucial ingredient: suitable human bones.

As long as you practice the Second Volume and accept the bones we provide… hehe!

However, Yu Changchun was soon left stunned. Whether Wang Ba was too honest or simply too dense to pick up on the hint, he didn’t ask for the scroll. Instead, his eyes lit up with a manic confidence.

“I know! I’ve already thought of what to use!”

Yu Changchun blinked. “Uh…”

Before Yu could react, Wang Ba had already released Old Hou and sprinted back into his room. A chaotic clatter of pots and pans echoed from inside.

The room was in a blind spot. Yu Changchun considered sending Old Hou to investigate, but Wang Ba’s voice rang out again.

“Old Hou, you go do your thing! Once I succeed, I guarantee you’ll be amazed!”

After a moment of hesitation, Yu Changchun frowned and directed the puppet to leave the villa.

Alone in the mountain col, he poured more Spiritual Power into the water mirror.

The image rippled and expanded, zooming in on the eaves of the villa where Wang Ba was now standing.

Yu Changchun tried to adjust the angle to get a better view.

Suddenly, the surface of the water mirror trembled violently, blurring into incoherent ripples. It looked on the verge of collapsing.

“Damn it! The Sect’s defensive Formations are suppressing the surveillance!”

Yu Changchun cursed and quickly reduced his Spiritual Power output. The image shrank rapidly but stabilized.

He stopped fiddling with it. Although the perspective was awkward, it was enough to see what Wang Ba was doing.

At first, Yu Changchun was confused. Why was the kid lighting a stove and heating a knife over the flames?

When he saw Wang Ba grab a Spirit Poultry from the coop, he was still baffled.

But then, Wang Ba pinned the bird down, slit its throat, and began to carefully dissect it. With the precision of a butcher, he stripped the meat and picked out the bones one by one.

A vague, impossible guess formed in Yu Changchun’s mind. He refused to believe it.

Then he saw Wang Ba hold a small chicken bone up to the light, measuring it against his own hand.

Yu Changchun was dumbfounded.

A sense of utter absurdity washed over him.

Is he crazy?

No, am I crazy? Why would I waste my time recruiting a lunatic like this?

That is a chicken bone!

It’s a Spirit Poultry, fine, but it’s still a chicken!

You’re going to use a chicken bone for bone replacement?!

At that moment, the typically serene and immortal-like Yu Changchun felt his worldview crumbling. He began to doubt himself.

Am I too conservative? Have I fallen behind the times? Is this how young people think nowadays?

But he quickly realized it wasn’t a generational gap. It was just that this Laborer Disciple’s approach was too wild. Too unhinged.

Wang Ba didn’t seem satisfied with the first bone. He got up, grabbed another Spirit Poultry, gutted it, and stripped the bones.

Then another. And another.

Watching the massacre, even Yu Changchun felt a pang of distress.

“I’m at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, and even I don’t get to eat Spirit Poultry this often! This wasteful bastard!”

Finally, Wang Ba seemed to find the perfect bone. He placed it reverently into a bowl.

Yu Changchun unconsciously sat up straighter, his curiosity piqued despite himself.

I know replacing human bones with chicken bones has a ninety-nine percent chance of failure… but I really want to know which part he plans to swap.

The next second, Wang Ba bit down on a wad of coarse cloth, grabbed the red-hot knife, and sliced directly into the flesh of his left little finger!

A muffled, wretched scream pierced through the water mirror, causing Yu Changchun to wince sympathetically.

In the reflection, veins bulged on Wang Ba’s forehead. With brutal force, he severed the tendon and dug out the tip of his own finger bone. Then, with trembling hands, he jammed the Spirit Poultry bone into the bloody void!

Yu Changchun’s eye twitched.

You… you didn’t need to cut that tendon…

Wang Ba didn’t stop. With the chicken bone lodged in his flesh, he dipped his finger into his own flowing blood and clumsily drew a series of lines on the ground.

The bloody strokes connected into a circle, forming a crude but functional array.

When the last stroke was completed, Wang Ba—whose lips were bleeding from how hard he was biting them—took out six Spirit Stones from his robe. He placed them gently at the six cardinal points of the pattern.

Buzz!

The blood-colored circle instantly erupted with a brilliant crimson light!

Seeing the Formation activate, Wang Ba hurriedly thrust his mutilated left pinky into the light.

The crimson energy swirled, moving like young swallows returning to their nest, and dived rapidly into Wang Ba’s finger.

The intrusion of the energy detonated the pain.

Wang Ba collapsed, rolling on the ground, howling in agony.

The terrifying scene played out in silence on the water mirror’s surface.

Yu Changchun watched, stunned for a long moment. Finally, he shook his head and let out a long sigh.

“I have gained some insight today!”

Using a chicken bone for the ritual… what a goddamn genius.

Watching the laborer thrash and scream in the dirt, the look in Yu Changchun’s eyes shifted. For the first time, the mockery vanished, replaced by a trace of genuine respect.

To possess such a resolute heart for the Dao… to dare to gamble with one’s life…

Even if the replacement failed, this kid had proven his resolve. He truly had the potential to become one of them.

Not just a member of the Ascension Society. One of them.

But as he watched, Yu Changchun suddenly frowned.

“Huh… why does it feel like this laborer’s strength… has increased?”