4 The Jade Bone Defense

A month later, in the cave.

Qi Tian was sitting cross-legged on his bed, focusing his mind as he poured his true essence into the Jade Bone Worm within his empty aperture.

The worm resembled a bone, with rounded ends and a slender midsection, its entire body resembling jade.

This was a third-transformation worm, requiring a massive amount of true essence to activate it. Qi Tian, being a high-level second-transformation, could only barely use it with the aid of the Tianyuan Lotus.

His true essence was almost completely exhausted as he poured it into the Jade Bone Worm. The worm melted into a jade-like liquid, flying out of his aperture and merging into his bones.

The unimaginable pain caused beads of cold sweat to appear on Qi Tian's forehead, and within moments, his entire body was soaked with sweat.

Qi Tian had endured much hardship. To survive, he was ruthless to others, but even more so to himself; otherwise, he wouldn't have become a Gu Immortal.

Gu Masters cultivate by refining three major aspects, and some worms, when used, provide an extremely unique experience. The Jade Bone Worm was one such case. When activated, it caused excruciating pain. This pain had to be endured; if Qi Tian fainted midway, all would be lost.

Throughout history, many well-known Gu Masters died from the extreme pain of worms like the Iron Bone Worm.

Despite this, Qi Tian's face contorted in agony as waves of pain flooded over him. His breathing was labored, and groans occasionally escaped his nostrils.

When his entire skeletal structure had been infused with the jade-like liquid, turning it a deep jade green, Qi Tian finally relaxed. Almost simultaneously, an intense dizziness overwhelmed him, and his vision went dark as he passed out.

---

One day later, Qi Tian slowly woke up.

"I've successfully refined my Jade Bone, and combined with the Ice Skin I cultivated over the past month, my defense is solid. I no longer need to worry about defensive power before reaching the third transformation."

The Ice Skin permanently transformed Qi Tian's skin, giving him both defensive capabilities and the ability to stop sweating and bleeding.

The Jade Bone Worm permanently altered the bones of a Gu Master, making them as tough and flexible as jade.

Gu Masters use their worms with deep focus. Different worms complement each other, often creating synergistic effects. "Ice Skin and Jade Bone" produced such a synergy, amplifying their effects.

"In my past life, I chose to focus on the Soul Path after reaching the third transformation, but it was an uphill battle. The accumulation of soul power was too slow. It wasn't until I inherited the Qi family's legacy that things improved significantly."

"In my past life, my greatest achievement was in the Soul Path, reaching the Master level. I couldn't give it up now, and I'll continue to focus on it once I inherit the Qi family's blessed land. But for now, I'll focus on building combat power with a more straightforward school of thought."

"Supplementing my physical strength path is also necessary. After all, the cost of the physical strength path is low, and it's effective for low-level Gu Masters, with minimal essence consumption. It's perfect as a supplement," Qi Tian thought to himself.

"After all, my goal right now is to reach the Qi family's blessed land, and I need to improve my combat strength to ensure a safe journey there."

Currently, Qi Tian's main worms were the Tianyuan Lotus, the Empty Worm, the Water Trace Worm, the Water Prison Worm, the Mist Sparrow Worm, the Ghost Howl Worm, and the Silver Relic Worm—seven third-transformation worms.

He also had the second-transformation Bone Thorn Worm and the Breathing Worm.

In addition, he had undergone body modifications, including Ice Skin and Jade Bone, and had the power of a pig and a wolf.

Though he used third-transformation worms less in battle, his combat strength was at the peak of the second-transformation, far surpassing his past life's abilities.

In his previous life, after three years of cultivation, with the help of the Relic Worm, he reached the middle stage of the third transformation. But back then, his experience was limited, and as a self-taught demonic Gu Master, he was cautious and low-profile.

However, raising these worms had been a hassle, consuming much of Qi Tian's effort.

---

One year later, in the cave.

Qi Tian sat cross-legged in the center of the cave, surrounded by darkness.

He observed the dark red true essence within his empty aperture, now completely transformed into a pale silver color. A smile appeared on Qi Tian's face.

After a moment, he calmed his emotions and took out the Silver Relic Worm.

The worm was a small, circular bead, silver in color, about the size of a fingertip. It could raise a third-transformation Gu Master by one rank without side effects.

When Qi Tian activated the Silver Relic Worm, it immediately released a dazzling light, illuminating the walls of the aperture.

About two hours later, Qi Tian, originally at the lower stage of the third transformation, jumped to the middle stage, with his true essence transforming from pale silver to flower-silver.

---

At dusk.

The glow of the setting sun bathed the graceful and beautiful coat of the pregnant female ghost leopard, casting an enchanting light.

Ghost leopards are typically paired in male and female pairs. Since the female was pregnant, the male went out to hunt.

In the air, a misty sparrow formed from vapor circled around in the distance.

At the same time, a young boy hid in the nearby woods.

"After watching for so long, I've finally got my chance."

Muttering softly, Qi Tian activated his Breathing Worm, moving closer to the ghost leopard.

Now that Qi Tian had reached the third transformation, the Breathing Worm, which was a second-transformation worm, was less effective. The ghost leopard noticed him from a hundred steps away.

Realizing that a sneak attack wouldn't work, Qi Tian no longer hid and decided to strike first.

He activated the Water Trace Worm to close the distance and used the Ghost Howl Worm for interference.

With a wave of his right hand, five or six bone spikes rapidly formed and shot towards the ghost leopard.

The ghost leopard, a powerful beast native to Purple Ghost Mountain, was swift and agile.

Though the female ghost leopard was pregnant, she narrowly dodged, with only one bone spike hitting her. However, it failed to break through her defenses, leaving only a shallow white mark on her purple coat.

This was within Qi Tian's expectations. After all, the Bone Thorn Worm was only a second-transformation worm, and it wasn't enough to inflict serious harm on a Beast King. But with enough quantity, it could still serve as a distraction.

The battle raged on, with both sides trading blows.

Though the Water Trace Worm was a rare third-transformation worm, it provided Qi Tian with speed on par with the ghost leopard, but maintaining such speed drained his true essence. As time passed, Qi Tian began to falter, slowly falling behind.

Finally, the ghost leopard left a deep, bone-visible wound on Qi Tian's left arm. Had it not been for the Ice Skin and Jade Bone, his arm would have been rendered useless. Thanks to Ice Skin, the bleeding stopped almost immediately.

But the ghost leopard's aggressive attack exposed an opening, giving Qi Tian an opportunity—just as he had planned, using a wound to create an opening.

Ignoring the injury to his left arm, Qi Tian suddenly surged forward. His right hand formed into a fist, and his skin became transparent, revealing the jade-like bones beneath.

He struck directly at the ghost leopard's abdomen, using the strength of the pig and wolf. Though not all of it was unleashed, it was enough to rip open the ghost leopard's belly.

As the ghost leopard fell, a piercing scream echoed from nearby.

Realizing something was wrong, Qi Tian cursed silently. The male ghost leopard had returned at the worst possible moment.