Chapter 1637: Bone Body

Chapter 1637: Bone Frame

Ye Chen followed Hei Wuchang, hurrying straight in one direction.

No wonder it's called Yin Cao Di Fu; everywhere was dark and foreboding.

Wherever they passed, chilling winds howled, the light was dim, wails echoed all around, and fierce ghosts roamed wildly, their faces twisted and grotesque.

Along the way, they saw many houses carved with ghost heads, each one hanging a red lantern and placed with a small incense burner.

The trees they encountered were all pitch-black.

Among them, a few had skulls hanging as decorations, making everything feel icy and eerie just to look at.

"Living here all year round must drive anyone insane." Ye Chen walked with his hands in his pockets, sighing as he went; it was just too oppressively gloomy.

"You'll get used to it." Hei Wuchang glanced at Ye Chen.

"I mean, with your tongue sticking out that long, aren't you tired?" Ye Chen shifted his gaze from the surroundings to Hei Wuchang.

"Mind your own business." Hei Wuchang snapped back.

"Watch it, don't bite your tongue." Ye Chen coughed lightly.

Hei Wuchang's face darkened completely at that remark.

Well, his face was already black, blacker than charcoal—that's why he's called Hei Wuchang; even his name suggests he doesn't lighten up.

"I wonder if he has a hard time eating." Ye Chen stroked his chin, tempted to tuck Hei Wuchang's tongue back in; it dangled so long, looking downright uncomfortable.

"My temper isn't the best, so don't push it."

"I've noticed." Ye Chen subconsciously rubbed his nose; with a face that dark all day, his temper was clearly foul.

As they talked, they arrived at a valley and followed a narrow path deeper in.

The path was uneven and pockmarked, with pools of blood gathered here and there.

On both sides, not a blade of grass grew, and occasionally, a flower or two appeared, but their petals were black, gleaming with a ghostly light.

Deep in the valley stood a Gui Men Guan pass, and such passes were always guarded by powerful ghosts, like twin door gods.

When the ghosts saw it was Hei Wuchang, they didn't block the way and stepped forward to bow.

But when they spotted Ye Chen, the two ghosts showed a bit of surprise; they'd never seen a yuan shen as refined as his.

Ye Chen ignored them and followed Hei Wuchang into the pass.

Inside the pass, it was like an underground palace, vast beyond sight, with chilling winds raging and darkness everywhere.

Ancient copper pillars rose straight to the ceiling, etched with ghost patterns.

Besides the pillars, there were rows of stone platforms, each holding a skeleton devoid of flesh and blood.

These were the physical bodies the judge had mentioned—essentially just skeletons.

That didn't matter much; once the yuan shen merged with the skeleton, flesh could regenerate on its own, making it no different from a real body.

"Where did these skeletons come from?" Ye Chen asked curiously.

"You don't need to know, and you don't qualify to know."

"I was just asking casually; no need to keep that stern face."

"Pick one!" Hei Wuchang said flatly, standing there.

"Any one?" Ye Chen looked at Hei Wuchang tentatively.

"Whichever." Hei Wuchang replied, then turned and left the underground palace. "You can only choose one. I'll wait outside; come out when you're done."

"What did I ever owe you?" Ye Chen muttered under his breath.

With that, he started wandering among the stone platforms, eyeing the skeletons one by one; he had to pick a good one.

The number of skeletons here was impossible to count, and many were damaged.

He browsed like he was shopping, walking and examining, occasionally stopping to tap a finger on a skeleton.

For a body, he needed one that was tough and a good fit.

If it shattered in a fight, that would be ridiculous.

Soon, he stopped at one stone platform and looked at the skeleton on it.

That skeleton was dark black and fairly sturdy; its owner had likely been at least in the Huang Jing during life.

"A demon clan's skeleton." Ye Chen tapped it lightly; though the person was dead, a trace of demonic aura still lingered.

After a few seconds, he shifted his gaze to the one beside it.

Compared to the first, this one was bulkier, and its size was several times larger than average.

"Clearly, a barbarian clan's skeleton." Ye Chen stroked his chin; he was quite familiar with barbarian bones.

Then, he looked at the one on the left.

This one looked exceptionally fine—crystal clear and radiant; its owner must have been at least a Sheng Ren in life.

Though it was impressive, Ye Chen passed it by, since it was a female skeleton.

"A spirit clan's skeleton." Gazing at the female bones, Ye Chen murmured softly, detecting a familiar aura from it.

He furrowed his brow, wondering where the underworld had gotten this skeleton—surely not stolen from the heavens?

That guess seemed plausible; when people from the heavens died and entered the underworld, they came as souls, not with their bodies.

Putting those thoughts aside, he glanced between the demon clan skeleton and the barbarian clan skeleton; after looking around, these two were the only ones that caught his eye.

"I'll take you." Ye Chen thought it over and chose the barbarian clan's skeleton; he preferred a body that could take a beating.

But before he could touch it, a strange force emanated from deeper within, making even his soul tremble.

The feeling was incredibly familiar, like reuniting with family.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, withdrew his hand, and headed toward that direction.

The closer he got, the stronger the sensation, and his yuan shen trembled more intensely—it was a call from his very essence.

It wasn't until he reached a spot in the underground palace that he stopped.

There was a stone platform there, with a skeleton on it.

That skeleton was pitch-black all over, perhaps neglected for so long that it was covered in dust, nothing particularly remarkable about it.

Ye Chen leaned in and gently brushed off the dust, squinting as he examined it; though he lacked immortal eyes, his insight was still sharp.

As he looked, his eyes began to gleam with brilliant divine light, and his breathing grew more rapid.

"Sacred bone! It's actually a sacred bone! And from the Huang Gu Sheng Ti!"

Ye Chen was overwhelmingly excited, nearly jumping on the spot.

His excitement was so intense that even his hand trembled as he touched the bones, almost wanting to cradle them.

What a surprise, an unexpected delight.

Who would have thought there was a Huang Gu Sheng Ti sacred bone here?

Normally, sacred bones of the Huang Gu Sheng Ti were golden and radiant.

But this one was pitch-black, not its true form—it had been sealed with a powerful obfuscation technique.

Otherwise, how could so many ghosts pass it over when choosing bodies? This was on a whole other level compared to the rest.

All thanks to that obfuscation; if not for his Chen Zhan Sheng Ti essence, he never would have found the sacred bone.

"Junior Ye Chen, I pay my respects to the senior of the sacred body lineage."

After the excitement, Ye Chen stepped back, bowed respectfully with hands clasped, his eyes filled with reverence.

Though he didn't know which sacred body this belonged to, he knew that all sacred bodies were ancestors worthy of admiration.

Inheriting the sacred body lineage was his greatest pride; this bloodline was fierce and dominant, leaving behind countless immortal legends.

"Junior must offend you this time, senior; I have no choice."

After the bow, Ye Chen took a deep breath, climbed onto the stone platform, and slowly lay down on the skeleton.

Immediately, the dust on the sacred bone dispersed, shedding its pitch-black hue to reveal a dazzling golden color, radiating brilliant golden light.

Ye Chen's yuan shen trembled, and the sacred bone hummed in response, merging without any resistance—it went even smoother than expected.

Crackling sounds of bones colliding echoed one after another.

Ye Chen's body began to form visible to the eye: veins took shape, flesh condensed, and organs followed.

Then came the head, limbs, and facial features.

Every drop of sacred blood, every inch of flesh, was surrounded by golden energy, shimmering like molten gold.

The sacred bone resonated with his essence, weaving vast surges of vital energy, strands of golden blood energy brimming with immense power.

Ye Chen sat up cross-legged, his golden hair flowing.

Behind him, various visions manifested, domineering and splendid, just like when he had fused with the Chen Zhan sacred bone before.

The sacred bone's power was formidable, its hidden strength awakened by the sacred body essence.

That power propelled Ye Chen's cultivation upward, from the initial Tian Jing straight to its peak.

Then, it surged past the Quasi Huang Jing, breaking into the Huang Jing, advancing through each level in an instant, until it reached the Huang Jing peak.

Only then did his realm stabilize.

The sacred body had formed but was still reorganizing—not just the physical form, but the yuan shen as well, perfectly aligning with the sacred bone.

Old sensations returned in full, and with his eyes closed, Ye Chen revealed a long-lost smile, as if he had found his roots.

The underground palace was dark and shadowy, but he glowed with golden light, like a radiant pearl illuminating the darkness.

Everything proceeded methodically in the gloom.

In the underworld, within a majestic palace, a golden figure stood tall, his back broad and unyielding as a mountain, seemingly eternal.

His eyes encompassed the heavens and earth, with endless dao principles evolving within.

His hair cascaded like a waterfall, each strand tinged with gold.

He was like a god of the world, overlooking the eight directions, his presence shaking the heavens, with an aura faintly like that of a great emperor.

He was Di Huang, the one who had faced five heavenly demon emperors alone to protect the Donghua Empress in her ascension.

He was also in the underworld, like Ye Chen and Chu Ling'er, having died quite unexpectedly and ended up here.

Time had changed him from the Di Huang of old, yet he remained the war god who commanded the seas and shook the eight directions, standing shoulder to shoulder with great emperors.

"Even at your level, you still play favorites."

As a ethereal voice sounded, a black figure materialized beside Di Huang, woven with emperor dao principles and radiating supreme emperor might.

This was, without a doubt, the ruler of the underworld: Ming Di.

Among the three realms—heaven, earth, and human—he was the sole great emperor of the earthly realm, having lived for ages untold, witnessing the eternal vicissitudes of the underworld.

"What do you mean by that, Ming Di?" Di Huang smiled faintly.

"You're even willing to give him Ba Yuan's sacred bone; that's quite surprising to me." Ming Di spoke lightly, his words drifted.

"He is my hope." Di Huang chuckled softly.

"If I'm not mistaken, what's next is your divine repository."

"We both know it in our hearts; no need to spell it out so plainly."

"Ba Yuan's sacred bone, Chen Zhan's essence, Di Huang's divine repository—the three most extraordinary sacred bodies in the heavens. I'm eager to see if he can overcome the trials you couldn't."