Chapter 168: Madam White Bone

After leaving the Yin Apparition Forest, Chen Luo began channeling his inner evil magical power, gradually altering his aura to resemble that of an evil practitioner. This way, he would be less conspicuous.

Three hundred kilometers westward lay an enclave of evil cultivators known as White Bone Ridge, controlled by Madam White Bone herself.

Upon entering White Bone Ridge, Chen Luo distinctly felt an intensification of malevolent and resentful energies. Even the spiritual essence of the environment seemed infused with an indescribable force, making evil cultivation techniques particularly potent here. This piqued Chen Luo’s interest in the evil cultivation method Bai Su had traded him earlier.

Recalling Guo Mountain County within the Luxury Nation and Master Daoist Wuwei’s primary cultivation technique, Chen Luo started forming subtle speculations about his master’s origins.

White Bone Ridge.

The entire ridge was surrounded by mountains, densely covered with forests.

From this point on, there was only one path leading forward. Before reaching the checkpoint, Chen Luo noticed thick gray mist enveloping the mountain peaks, akin to smoke signals.

The malevolent qi had condensed visibly to the naked eye!

At the entrance stood a wooden watchtower patrolled by numerous mundane warriors dressed in feathered garments, akin to barbarians. Black and white feathers adorned their heads, while bone-made swords hung from their backs, occasionally flashing with a dark green hue—clearly sinister magical artifacts designed specifically against cultivators.

Like any ordinary person, Chen Luo proceeded through the checkpoint without encountering any trouble. Everyone here was highly cautious, rarely engaging with strangers. Along his way, he came across several cultivators, but they all moved hastily; their first reaction upon seeing someone approach was to draw their magical artifacts defensively.

Upon arriving in an unfamiliar place, the initial step is naturally to gather information and familiarize oneself with the surroundings. At Shanyin Pass’s exchange meet, Chen Luo had acquired a vast amount of knowledge, including details about White Bone City. Following the clues left by Blood Bone Madame, he effortlessly located the corresponding establishment within the city.

It was a meat shop.

The shop appeared deserted, with only two unsold cuts of meat hanging at the stall, their origin unclear. A burly butcher sat behind the counter, casting cold, menacing glances at passersby. His gaze seemed to treat them like moving slabs of pork, sending chills down one’s spine.

“I want meat.”

Chen Luo approached the stall and tossed two spirit stones onto it.

Using Wan Ming’s method, he had altered his appearance to match that of a solo cultivator. Combined with the malevolent qi emanating from him, his demeanor blended seamlessly with the locals within the city.

“How much do you need?”

The butcher accepted the spirit stones, weighing them in his hand before giving Chen Luo a thorough once-over.

“All the local White Bone City pork,” replied Chen Luo.

Before arriving here, he had gathered extensive information and absorbed the ‘brother’ of Black Wind Cave Lord, gaining a clear understanding of their local slang. “Local pork” referred to insider knowledge, while “White Bone City’s local pork” meant purchasing all available information specific to White Bone City.

“That won’t be enough.” The butcher grinned, recognizing a significant deal at hand.

“At least this amount.” He spread out his fingers for emphasis.

“Fifty spirit stones?” Chen Luo frowned. Considering information could be repeatedly sold, he expected thin margins and high volume sales.

“It’s five thousand!” The butcher’s gaze turned menacing, expressing dissatisfaction at Chen Luo’s ignorance.

“That expensive?” Chen Luo glanced at the butcher, subtly noting the shape of his head—it seemed quite round.

“If you’re poor, don’t buy meat! Go find those lowlife rats for scraps; they’ll sell rat meat cheaply over there.”

With a dismissive look, the butcher sat back down at his stall. This was White Bone City, and with Madam White Bone’s presence ensuring safety, he had no concerns. Moreover, operating such a large ‘meat shop’ within the city meant there were influential backers behind him.

“I’ll take one.”

Chen Luo retrieved five sparkling spirit stones from his bag of holding and casually placed them on the table. These were high-grade spirit stones, courtesy of Elder An’s contributions; thus, money wasn’t an issue for him. However, he disliked being deceived.

“Now that’s more like it.”

Satisfied, the butcher opened a drawer, rummaged through it with greasy hands, and pulled out a black bone script. He tossed it to Chen Luo.

“Payment received, goods delivered.”

Having completed the transaction, the butcher paid Chen Luo no further attention. Earlier, he had attempted to gauge Chen Luo’s cultivation but couldn’t discern it, indicating that Chen Luo’s cultivation base was stronger than his—likely at least Late Stage Qi Refinement. Treatment based on power is what evil cultivators value most, so the butcher naturally avoided unnecessary trouble.

After purchasing the bone script, Chen Luo didn’t linger and found an uninhabited dwelling, pushing open the door to enter.

In White Bone Ridge, numerous similar houses stood vacant.

Whether their owners had left or died, nobody seemed to care much about these dwellings.

Inside the room, Chen Luo crushed the bone script, absorbing its contents.

Quickly, a general overview of events in White Bone City over the past century filled his mind.

Despite his shady nature, the Butcher’s information proved reliable. No wonder Blood Bone Madame and Black Wind Cave Lord sought to trade with him. Initially, Chen Luo had planned to eliminate the Butcher and seize his knowledge directly, but now it seemed keeping him alive might be more beneficial for future dealings.

The Black Wolf City mentioned by Ning Chenye did indeed exist, but that was four hundred years ago.

Four centuries past, this area was under the domain of the demon cultivator Great King Blackwolf. Later, when Madam White Bone achieved Foundation Establishment, she used evil magic to curse and kill Blackwolf, transforming Black Wolf City into the present-day White Bone City.

Over the subsequent four hundred years, the region remained firmly under Madam White Bone’s control, with all challengers meeting their demise.

‘Ning Chenye and the woman from Yin Apparition Forest must have lived at least four hundred years.’

Chen Luo mentally noted down the location of Yin Apparition Forest.

Once his strength increased in the future, he would undoubtedly return to investigate further. Many secrets within Yin Apparition Forest remained unexplored, including the identity of the hairy man and the woman running the inn.

“I’ve also found clues about the main ingredient for the Yang Yuan Pill.”

Elder An’s three revered divine pills were on his mind until death, and upon arriving here, Chen Luo has already discovered information about one of them.

Quality comes at a price, and among the information from the butcher, he found the main ingredient for refining the Yang Yuan Pill—the Heart Origin Stone.

This rare mineral was entirely absent from the seven nations’ territories; it could only be found in White Bone City.

Even within White Bone City, the Heart Origin Stone was exceptionally expensive, making it unaffordable for most individuals.

No wonder Elder An couldn’t successfully refine the Yang Yuan Pill before his death. Even Madam White Bone herself likely had limited access to Heart Origin Stones, let alone them being available in the seven nations region.

Without reaching Foundation Establishment, one simply couldn’t acquire resources of such caliber.

“I just don’t know how approachable this Madam White Bone might be,” Chen Luo’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

The Heart Origin Stone was in Madam White Bone’s possession, so to obtain it, he would have to interact with this demonic entity who has controlled White Bone City for four centuries.

After over 400 years, Madam White Bone’s longevity must be nearing its end. Foundation Establishment cultivators enjoy a lifespan of five hundred years, but without achieving Core Formation, their fate remains sealed upon reaching that limit. When faced with life or death, there is no deal too impossible to negotiate. Moreover, as an ‘evil cultivator’ now, his mastery of pure evil magic cannot be feigned. Unlike Daoist Wuwei in the past, he won’t face expulsion by local cultivators.

Early next morning,

Chen Luo stepped out, heading towards Madam White Bone’s immortal’s cave. He had no interest in attending the Qi Refinement Realm exchange meets; they were too rudimentary, offering little chance to find valuable items. Unless by sheer luck one could acquire some information, there was minimal worth and merely a waste of time. For Chen Luo now, what mattered most wasn’t gathering more information but transforming the ‘information’ he already possessed into genuine power.

The street was not long, quickly traversed within moments.

Beyond lay winding mountain paths, with structures scattered along its slopes.

As Chen Luo ascended, the number of people visibly decreased, and even patrols were absent. In the eyes of those from White Bone City, the most perilous place on White Bone Ridge was the White Bone Cave, guarded by Madam White Bone herself, their strongest protector. The madam trusted no one, and anyone approaching without her permission risked being slain and turned into a white bone puppet.

Following the steps uphill, the malevolent qi gradually intensified. The aura shrouding White Bone Ridge, visible earlier from afar, originated here.

With each step forward, the malevolent qi grew denser.

Grayish-white withered grass, crumbling stone steps, and piles of bleached bones lined both sides. Each icy skeleton bore silent testimony to the ferocity of the mountain’s mistress.

Crack!

A stark-white skeleton suddenly reached out and grabbed Chen Luo’s ankle. Nearby, other white bones also began to stir, each emanating strands of malevolent qi.

“Don’t waste time with such trivial tricks.”

Chen Luo lifted his hand, summoning a Gale Lotus within his palm. With him as the center, martial winds swirled, dispersing the surrounding malevolent mist. The ground skulls toppled en masse.

Harnessing the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he effortlessly shattered the bones lining the path like cutting through grass.

Having demonstrated his strength, Chen Luo continued ascending towards the summit.

To meet Madam White Bone, one must display commensurate power after all. Weaklings have no voice here.

White Bone Ridge was not particularly high, and Chen Luo swiftly reached the top. Near the cliff edge, there was a flat platform featuring a stone table and several stools. Neatly arranged on the table were sets of skulls. Directly opposite stood a mountain cave, flanked by two hanging skeletons. One appeared massive, resembling a wild beast, nearly five meters long, while the other was human-sized, presumably a humanoid skeleton.

Both sets of remains exuded strong energies, indicating they had been Foundation Stage beings during their lifetimes.

Chen Luo put on gloves and approached to touch the two skulls gently. Having seen them, there was no reason not to investigate further!

Unexpectedly, he found no brains within.

“These were my formidable foes when I was weak, both Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators during their lifetimes.”

Suddenly, one of the skulls on the stone table spoke.

Chen Luo turned around and witnessed numerous white bones emerging from the swirling malevolent mist. They swiftly gathered together, transforming bit by bit before his eyes.

In the end, they coalesced into a woman clad in bloodstained garments.

It was none other than the mistress of White Bone Ridge, Madam White Bone herself!

“It has been nearly two hundred years since anyone last visited. Are you the third challenger?” As soon as Madam White Bone appeared, intense malevolent qi converged around her, with countless vengeful spirits circling ominously.

Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment!

With just a glance, Chen Luo discerned her cultivation base. His divine sense, nearing Late Stage Foundation Establishment, gave him a slight advantage.

“I’m here solely to propose a deal, Madam.” Chen Luo took a step back, effortlessly evading the attack from nearby Foundation Stage skeletal remains. True to her reputation as the dominant force at White Bone Ridge for four centuries, she wasted no time launching a surprise assault, showing little regard for appearances.

With his divine sense nearing Late Foundation Establishment, he held this advantage. In just one glance, Chen Luo discerned her cultivation base.