Tang Chuanwu only regretted that his age prevented him from cultivating; otherwise, he would not have been so passive in the face of cultivators, knowing so little about their methods. His only option was to continue to practice martial arts to strengthen himself.

Three months ago, he left the city to gather herbs. Since the journey to the collection site was so far, requiring a full day for a round trip, herbal apprentices usually stayed at the site for two or three days, and Tang Chuanwu was no exception.

He found an oasis to rest, and the first day passed without incident. However, on the second night, a person stumbled into the oasis, seriously wounded and bleeding profusely, clinging to a wooden box until death, eyeing him warily.

He did not want to stir up trouble and sensed that something significant had occurred, so without regard for the dangers of night travel, he prepared to leave.

But before he could leave, black-robed individuals bearing the mark of the Skull Divine Sect surrounded the oasis. Worried that Tang Chuanwu might leak their secrets, they used magic, causing his bones to grow rapidly within his body, piercing his flesh and heart, and killing him.

In his second reincarnation, Tang Chuanwu waited until the man died, opened the wooden box, and found an unknown elixir and a small fragment. He planned to take the elixir and flee, but it was a step too late—the black-robed individuals surrounded the oasis again, killing him.

In the third reincarnation, Tang Chuanwu immediately swallowed the elixir upon finding it. Agonizing pain sent him into unconsciousness, and while he was out, the black-robed individuals killed him.

In the fourth reincarnation, Tang Chuanwu disregarded the wooden box, planning to escape back to Kaihuang City at dawn. Unfortunately, the black-robed people had already set up an extensive encirclement nearby, preventing anyone from leaving the region. His escape failed, and he died.

In the fifth reincarnation, he broke out of the encirclement only to die in a sudden sandstorm.

The sixth, the seventh...

Tang Chuanwu kept reincarnating until he finally understood the whole story. These black-robed individuals were members of the Skull Divine Sect, all cultivators, their influence spread across the nearby eight cities, terribly fearsome.

Among them, one member coveted the treasures of the Divine Sect, stealing a Marrow Cleansing Pill and a fragment of mysterious origin, exceptionally sharp.

In the last reincarnation, he ambushed the one who had stolen the treasures.

The man was already gravely wounded, and combined with the Long Arm Boxing technique he had pilfered from the Kaihuang Temple, along with the familiarity of combat routines from previous reincarnations, he killed the man and seized the wooden box, swallowed the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and after regaining consciousness, broke through the encirclement.

The Skull Divine Sect’s men wanted to pursue him but were thrown into disarray by the sandstorm.

His body became stronger after the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and having prepared for the sandstorm, he finally escaped with his life.

Unexpectedly, three months later, he was still found by members of the Skull Divine Sect.

This is troublesome. He heard that the Constellation Protectors of the Twenty-Eight Constellations were all major figures at the Consummation of Qi Refinement. A direct confrontation was definitely not an option. He wondered how many times he would have to die before he could deal with Protector Jiao.

Tang Chuanwu’s mind raced with plans for the next reincarnation. The Buddha Bathing Festival would begin in ten days. Many cultivators from other regions were already entering Kaihuang City. Perhaps he could use these foreign cultivators to engage Protector Jiao. However, only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage could fight Protector Jiao, and such cultivators were not easy to find.

Moreover, he heard that the Master of the Skull Divine Sect was a Nascent Soul Elder, whose every move could cause extraordinary phenomena, and who was incredibly powerful, mastering over a hundred magic skills. Even if he got past this obstacle, how would he deal with the Divine Sect Master later on?

Wait, it seems that this time, reincarnation isn’t necessary.

Tang Chuanwu turned his head to look at Master Lu, who was deep in thought, and Master Meng, who wore a puzzled expression.

Cui Que’er and Tang Qiaoqiao looked at Protector Jiao with strange eyes—confusion, curiosity, amusement... but no fear.

The sleeves of the black-robed person continually extended bones, rapidly spreading across the entire room. Sharp bone spurs were aimed at Lu Yang and the others; with just one command, the spurs would proliferate again, stabbing them into a hive!

"What’s the matter, not handing over the treasures yet? It seems you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin," Protector Jiao sneered continuously. After he killed, he would just leave, and even Kaihuang Temple would not trace his whereabouts.

Protector Jiao gave a signal and ordered his Left and Right Protectors, "Do it!"

"Do what? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of thinking?" Meng Jingzhou said impatiently as he stepped forward, ignoring the thorny bone spurs, letting them pierce his body.

Protector Jiao’s pupils shrank. The supposedly indestructible bone spurs broke upon contact, like foxtails, causing no harm whatsoever.

"This is impossible, who are you!" Protector Jiao shouted, sensing something was very wrong. This time he had hit an iron wall!

Meng Jingzhou couldn’t be bothered to talk. He released his imposing aura; with his natural commanding presence, Protector Jiao, and the others felt as if they were carrying the weight of mountains on their backs. They collapsed to the ground with a clang, bleeding from all seven orifices!

"You wouldn’t dare kill me. Mess with the Skull Divine Sect, and even if you run to the ends of the earth, we will kill you!"

"Don’t even think that everyone else is like me; I’m just the weakest of the twenty-eight Protectors!"

"Above the Twenty-Eight Constellations Protector, there are the Seven Luminaries Protector, Four Symbols Protector, Left and Right Protectors, the Holy Daughter and Son, and the mysterious and unfathomable leader of the..."

Lu Yang looked up, his eyes widening in realization, "I was wondering why your clothes looked so familiar. I’ve seen them before."

He pulled out a black robe from his identity jade pendant, the robe’s skull emblem woven with gold and silver thread, a testament to its exquisite craftsmanship.

Protector Jiao, upon seeing the black robe in Lu Yang’s hands, reacted as if he had seen a ghost, a boundless fear spreading in his heart, his voice uncontrollable, "This, this is the Master’s clothing!"

During his time as a Protector, he had the fortune of seeing Lady Whitebone seated amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with countless blood and bone servants.

Lu Yang recalled the journey to Kaihuang City, "On the way to Kaihuang City, I happened to encounter a Bone Spirit who claimed to be Lady Whitebone, wanting to take Old Meng as a manservant. Old Meng casually disposed of her, so it turns out she was your Master."

If it wasn’t for the black-robed individual’s illustrious appearance, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou would have had little impression of Lady Whitebone, just another underling.

"How is this possible, the Master is an old Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator who broke core to reach Nascent fifty years ago!" Protector Jiao still couldn’t believe it, that was an all-powerful Nascent Soul cultivator!

Lu Yang thought about it, that Lady Whitebone was indeed formidable; fifty years ago, he definitely would not have been able to defeat her.

"It’s unexpected that this Bone Spirit had subordinates, but since you’ve come, let’s wrap this up in one go."

Lu Yang turned to ask Tang Chuanwu and the others, "You don’t have plans this afternoon, do you? Would you like to join us in taking care of this Divine Sect? We’ll try to be quick so we can make it back in time for dinner."

Tang Chuanwu nodded stiffly, his brain struggling to keep up.

Tang Qiaoqiao and Cui Que’er, however, were quite excited; this was far more interesting than just running around in Kaihuang City.

Following the results of Protector Jiao’s Soul Search, Lu Yang and his companion headed straight for the lair of the Skull Divine Sect, and without any nonsense, they began a massacre.

"Who dares to intrude upon the Divine Sect..."

"Constellation Protector, save me..."

"Seven Luminaries Protector, save me..."

"Four Symbols Protector, save me..."

"Left and Right Protectors, save me..."

"Tang Qiaoqiao, as the clone I’ve cultivated..."

"If you dare to kill me, I will detonate the blood within Tang Qiaoqiao’s body..."

"Holy Daughter, save me..."

"Saint Heir, save me..."

"Phew, finally dealt with that." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou fought their way through the Skull Divine Sect, eliminating six strongholds with incredible speed.

"Faster than expected."

"We killed them too quickly earlier. Speaking of which, doesn’t Tang Qiaoqiao look a bit like the Left Protector? Didn’t the Left Protector say something before he died?"

Meng Jingzhou shrugged his shoulders, "Probably something about a clone cultivated for Possession or the like. Not important, anyway; with the Left Protector gone, it’s better that the girl doesn’t know too much, or it might lead to psychological issues."

"That makes sense."

Tang Chuanwu was completely stunned throughout the ordeal, still unable to comprehend what had happened.

From the moment Protector Jiao broke into their home, Tang Chuanwu had braced himself to die dozens of times, to be caught in a cycle of Reincarnation, to survive in a constant state of peril, to match wits and courage against the Skull Divine Sect, perhaps even to uncover the mystery of his sister’s origins.

And yet, in just one afternoon, it was all resolved?