Chapter 969: Bone Dragon (2)

“Should you rest a while?” Li Xiaofei asked, pulling out a Jade Dao Fruit and tossing it over.

Liu Shaji didn’t stand on ceremony. He caught the fruit and munched on it. “No need. Let’s hurry and get to the final formation.”

Li Xiaofei asked, “How do you know Lin Beichen’s true body isn’t in this Burial Sea?”

Liu Shaji flicked away some ash and replied blandly, “That’s how it goes in all the novels. You don’t see the real guy until the final spot.”

Li Xiaofei fell silent,

What kind of nonsense logic is that?

But he had to admit, it sounded kind of right.

As they spoke, Zhu Zhixun came running over and said, “Seniors, we found something. Come quick and take a look...”

He pointed toward the Burial Sea. Liu Shaji turned his head, and the moment he looked, his expression shifted slightly.

The gray mist within the Burial Sea was expanding. The sound of the tides grew louder in their ears. It felt as though enormous waves were crashing toward them. The roar of the tides was accompanied by the continuous flow of funeral miasma.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“The Burial Sea is expanding?” muttered Liu Shaji, glancing at Li Xiaofei.

When he saw that the latter’s expression remained calm, he relaxed as well. He figured the sly bastard had done something inside the Burial Sea that triggered such a change, and it seemed to be a good thing.

“Let’s go.” Liu Shaji stood up straight and said, “It’s about time we left the Blade Ruins.”

According to Zhu Zhixun’s earlier explanation, the final formation was not located within the Blade Ruins.

Li Xiaofei nodded and said, “Let’s move.”

He recalled the instructions left by Priestess Qin. He waved, summoning the undead bone dragon Ao Ying. Due to the jade whistle and several other special reasons, Ao Ying had become the only undead warrior capable of surviving outside the funeral miasma. Everyone leaped onto the dragon’s back.

"Roar." With a mighty roar, the bone dragon shot into the skies like a streak of lightning.

So fast,

even Liu Shaji was taken aback.

The five young warriors were nervous at first, but after realizing that it felt like standing on solid ground, they finally relaxed.

“Senior, with the Burial Sea expanding and the funeral miasma leaking out, are you sure it’s not a problem?” asked Zhu Zhixun.

He still seemed a bit worried. He thought of the weapons left behind by the human martyrs, of the phantom of Ling Chi, and of the remains of Elder Ling Taixu.

“No need to worry. Everything follows the course of destiny,” Li Xiaofei replied.

Only then did Zhu Zhixun let out a breath of relief. Then, smiling, he asked, “By the way, Senior, would you like something to eat? It actually tastes pretty good.”

Before Zhu Zhixun could finish his sentence, a faint aroma drifted through the air. Li Xiaofei turned his head.

To his surprise, Master Jin and Xiong Gang had somehow already set up a grill and a black pot on the back of the bone dragon. The pot was bubbling, and chunks of meat were stewing inside.

The delicious scent was wafting from the pot. Li Xiaofei’s interest was piqued, and he walked over. He took a piece of tender, steaming meat from Grandpa Jin and took a bite. Immediately, a rich, savory flavor lingered on his tongue. More than that, the meat carried a surprisingly pure energy that quickly spread through his limbs and bones. This was good meat.

Li Xiaofei ate several more bites and curiously asked, “What kind of meat is this?”

Grandpa Jin chuckled and replied, “From a hunt.”

“A hunt?” Li Xiaofei asked, “Void Beasts?”

Xiong Gang scratched the back of his head as he said, “Sort of.”

Li Xiaofei felt these two were acting strangely. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he had truly satisfied his appetite. He had barely enjoyed a proper meal ever since arriving in the Ancestor Court star system, and especially after entering the world of the Holy Ruins.

Standing beside the black pot, he scooped up more meat and dug in heartily. It really was delicious, and it replenished the body too.

When he saw how happily Li Xiaofei was eating, Liu Shaji came over and grabbed a few chunks for himself. Soon, his mouth was covered in oil and he said, “Who would've thought... the meat of a Heavenly Eye Guard tastes this good.”

Li Xiaofei froze mid-bite.

“What did you just say it was?” he asked.

Liu Shaji wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and answered, “Heavenly Eye Guard.”

The expression on Li Xiaofei’s face slowly stiffened as he said, “You’re telling me this pot is cooking a Reaper?”

“What else would it be?” Liu Shaji said. “I only came over because you were eating so well. Gotta say, Old Six, you’ve really let go of all your hangups. But this meat really is excellent.”

Li Xiaofei stood there stunned for a moment,

So that Heavenly Eye Guard who got tossed into the black pot hadn’t just died, he had been stewed.

Which raised an important question.

Reaper meat... is actually delicious? And it can even replenish energy?

Something didn’t add up. He clearly remembered reading in the records back in Chongque City that Reaper corpses could only be used as raw materials for crafting weapons. Even then, the process was difficult and time-consuming.

As for eating them? Well, it wasn’t like no one had ever tried. After all, Reapers, especially the beast-type ones, looked very much like wild animals. Killing them and cooking them up like a hunted game wasn’t completely out of the question.

But the results had always been disappointing. The meat was tough, foul-tasting, and often laced with toxic substances. At best, it caused severe indigestion. At worst, it killed you.

Reapers were essentially cosmic tumors, abominations with no nutritional value for humans whatsoever. Yet now, the meat stewing in this black pot was inexplicably delicious.

Li Xiaofei mulled over the contradiction, then suddenly remembered something. Back at the Burial Ice Cliff, when Lin Beichen had been grilling and stewing meat at the cave entrance, he had assumed it was Void Beast meat.

But now... It was highly likely that what Sword Immortal Lin had been eating Reaper back then. If that were true... Then why am I still hesitating? Reapers have devoured plenty of humans over the years.

With that thought, the meat in his hand somehow tasted even better.

And so, the seven of them began feasting with gusto. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Xiaofei suddenly had a wild idea.

He circled the black pot and said, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could copy this pot? Imagine tens of billions of these things distributed to every military field kitchen. No more need for rations.”

“That might actually work,” Liu Shaji said, his eyes lighting up.

“How so?” Li Xiaofei asked eagerly.

“I’ll introduce you to a guy. Name’s Little Biscuit.”

“Can he be eaten?” Li Xiaofei asked, deadpan.

“What do you mean ‘can he be eaten’?” Liu Shaji rolled his eyes. “It’s a nickname. He’s from the Xiao Kuang Star Region, the same as us. That’s his turf. The guy’s a pro at replication. If anyone can copy this black pot, it’s him.”

He knocked on the pot’s surface.

“As long as it’s not an Emperor-tier artifact, that guy can replicate it.” Liu Shaji spoke with full confidence.

Li Xiaofei said, “Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Consider it done,” Liu Shaji declared, puffing up his chest as he took full responsibility.

The five young warriors sat on the dragon’s back and peered down. They were nearing the edge of the Blade Ruins. The Reapers had made no further moves ever since the ten Heavenly Eye Guards had been killed.

It was likely that news of the deaths hadn’t yet reached their side. The Ancestor Court seemed to place too much confidence in the strength of the Heavenly Eye Guards and hadn’t prepared any backup plans.

Half a day later, they rode the dragon out of the Blade Ruins.

“The final illusion formation lies within the stage nine danger zone, The Land of Sacred Fall. That’s one of the four most dangerous forbidden zones in the Holy Ruins.

“It’s said that an Apex Reaper Sacred Beast, beyond even level nine, once fell in that region. Even the Heavenly Eye Guards don’t dare enter lightly. The entire area is riddled with deadly traps.”

Zhu Zhixun sighed as he continued, “I haven’t been able to gather much intel on that place. Our original plan was to find Senior Lin in one of the other four formations so we wouldn’t need to come here at all. But now... it looks like we have no choice but to take the risk.”

The Land of Sacred Fall. Ao Ying, the undead bone dragon, carried the group toward the deadly zone. A stage nine danger zone. This wasn’t just one stage harder, it was a whole different league.