Chương 68: Chapter 69: Buddhist Bead, Demon Bone

A full day had passed when Reyn's eyes, tightly shut in meditation, slowly drifted open. A sharp, incandescent glint flickered within his pupils before receding into a calm, fathomless depth. Feeling the tumultuous surge of mana coursing through his meridians like a Great River, Reyn nodded in quiet satisfaction. This period of seclusion had done more than just replenish his depleted essence blood; the lingering medicinal potency of the pills had further tempered and purified the spiritual energy within his core.

The moment his eyes opened, Yu Meiren's voice resonated within the recesses of his mind.

"Begin at once. Even I am starting to feel a flicker of curiosity regarding this little trinket." Reyn gave a subtle nod. With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved an object from his storage bag—the pebble-sized Buddhist bead he had plundered from Xuan Liao. It was an unassuming thing, pierced through the center with small holes, yet as it rested in his palm, it radiated a faint, refreshing chill that cleared his mind and sharpened his senses.

Haunted by the grueling lesson he had learned while blood-refining that high-grade Dan Treasure, Reyn took no chances. He bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a thick mist of essence blood directly onto the bead. The sudden loss of vital energy caused his recently regained color to drain away, leaving his face ashen once more. As the essence blood splattered against the bead, it did not soak in immediately. Instead, the crimson liquid writhed and twisted across the surface in a grotesque, serpentine fashion.

Under the veil of blood, the once-modest bead took on a sinister, malevolent aura. However, as Reyn's fingers blurred, weaving the intricate mudras of the Blood Refinement Art, the blood finally began to sink into the material. The bead gradually softened, transforming into something resembling warm, translucent jade. Pure Buddhist energy began to radiate outward, accompanied by the ethereal resonance of chanting sutras.

Within the shimmering golden light, phantasms of countless Buddhas seemed to manifest, their voices rising in a solemn, majestic chorus of scripture. Watching the sacred display, Reyn felt a profound sense of tranquility wash over him, his mind cleared of all stray thoughts and worldly desires.

"Hmph! Just as I suspected. This bead is far from ordinary!" Yu Meiren's voice remained steady, yet it carried an unmistakable undertone of pleasant surprise.

"What do you mean, Daoist?" Reyn asked internally.

"Is there some hidden secret buried within this Buddhist treasure?" Yu Meiren fell silent for a heartbeat before replying, "If my senses are correct, this bead is an item of extreme importance to me. By absorbing its essence, the injuries sustained by my Primordial Spirit can be significantly alleviated." Reyn was momentarily stunned, then he nodded slowly. Yu Meiren had saved his life more than once; if this object could aid her recovery, he would stop at nothing to refine it and hand it over.

The Blood Refinement Art was an advanced technique for subduing treasures. By using essence blood as a catalyst and secret incantations to accelerate the process, a cultivator could completely bind a treasure in record time, achieving a state of heart-to-heart synchronization that made the artifact an extension of their own body. While the fundamental concept was simple, the variations of the mudras were staggering—numbering exactly nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine.

According to ancient records, this art was capable of refining any treasure below the rank of a Spirit Treasure. However, given Reyn's current cultivation, his absolute limit was less than two hundred seals. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. As the mudras flew from his fingertips, Reyn's expression grew increasingly grim.

Refining the high-grade Dan Treasure had only required one hundred and eighty seals, yet he had already executed over a hundred and fifty, and the Buddhist bead showed no signs of total submission. If this continued, his mana and Divine Sense would be hollowed out long before the task was complete.

"Do not panic," Yu Meiren said coolly, sensing his rising anxiety.

"Since I told you to proceed, I have the means to see it through. Focus on the seals." Bolstered by her assurance, Reyn's hands moved with even greater fluidity. Despite the agonizing complexity of the mudras, he did not falter, his movements precise and unerring. Finally, as the one hundred and ninety-seventh mudra struck the bead, a violent transformation erupted. The dense Buddhist light was suddenly pierced by threads of pitch-black demonic qi.

The bead, which had looked like warm jade, turned as dark as the abyss in an instant. The sacred aura vanished, replaced by a roiling, suffocating cloud of pure, concentrated demonic energy. By the one hundred and ninety-eighth mudra, Reyn's vision began to swim. The spiritual energy in his Dantian was bone-dry; only a few trickles remained within his meridians. The demonic qi atop the bead intensified, and a faint, primal roar seemed to echo from within the darkness.

At the one hundred and ninety-ninth mudra, the last of his strength evaporated. Reyn's face turned deathly white as his internal reserves hit zero. The bead's shape warped and stretched, elongating from a sphere into a three-inch-long, one-inch-wide segment of blackened bone—a finger phalanx. A wave of extreme, tyrannical malevolence exploded from the bone, accompanied by the thunderous, phantom roars of a demon.

Darkness crowded Reyn's vision, and a crushing sense of weakness threatened to pull him into unconsciousness. Yet, the refinement was still incomplete.

"Only one seal left... I will finish this!" A flash of madness ignited in Reyn's eyes. He clenched his fist and slammed it against his own chest like a war drum, forcefully coughing up one final globule of essence blood.

"With my blood as the final seal—Refine!" His breathing was heavy and ragged, his features contorted in pain, yet his hands remained elegant and light, moving like a gentle breeze. The essence blood split into seven droplets under the guidance of the mudra, sinking into the finger bone instantly. Buzz! As the final seal settled, the black bone shuddered violently. The roiling demonic qi was sucked inward, vanishing into the marrow.

The bone became dull and lightless, resembling a piece of ink-black jade that kept its brilliance hidden deep within.

"Daoist Yu Meiren... the blood refinement is complete. See if this is what you require," Reyn gasped, his breath shallow and his skin tinged with a sickly grey hue. After a brief pause, Yu Meiren's voice finally drifted out.

"Indeed. It is exactly what I need." A weak, tired smile touched Reyn's pale lips.

"Good. I need to recover for a time. Take it." With that, Reyn reached out and swallowed several Peiyuan Pills he had prepared beforehand. As the pills dissolved into pure energy to soothe his meridians, his breathing stabilized, though his complexion remained ghastly. The massive loss of essence blood was not something that could be mended in a few hours. Yu Meiren's ethereal, translucent figure manifested beside Reyn. She picked up the black finger bone and looked down at the meditating youth.

A complex emotion flickered in her eyes. After a long silence, she let out a soft, melodic laugh.

"Ruthless in execution, decisive in slaughter, yet possessed of a stubborn sense of loyalty deep in his bones... Hehe, it seems choosing you wasn't a mistake after all. Perhaps... I truly can rely on your strength..." Her voice faded into a whisper, and her silhouette blurred, eventually vanishing back into the void. For five consecutive days, Reyn remained in a cycle of pill-consumption and meditation. His hollowed-out mana and Divine Sense slowly returned, feeling even more condensed and robust than before.

On the fifth day, the youth on the prayer mat snapped his eyes open. Two beams of brilliant light shot forth before fading into a calm depth, his dark pupils appearing even more profound than before. Exhaling a cloud of turbid air, Reyn allowed a bitter smile to cross his face. His current strength was still far too meager; to be rendered so pathetic by the refinement of a single treasure was a harsh reminder of the long road ahead.