Chapter One: The Jade-Like Skeleton with Nine Openings
On the mist-shrouded peak of Qingyashan, twelve massive bronze tripods are suspended in the air.
The ancient runes on the tripods are swirling in the morning light.
The annual grand selection of the Cloud Mist Sect is underway, with a hundred thousand cultivators gathering in the square in front of the mountain gate.
"Next up, the third son of the Lin family, Lin Yunche.
The sixteen-year-old boy walked slowly onto the testing platform.
The pure white robe was blown up by the mountain wind, revealing the bronze compass hanging at his waist.
His palm still bore the bloodstains from the beating he received from his father with a cane the previous night in his ears, he could hear his mother's last words: "Yun Ché, remember your bloodline..."
"The root test begins."
The examiner, Elder Li, tapped his fingers and three drops of water entered the young man's brow.
The test crystal ball suddenly lit up, and seven colors flashed in sequence, but at the seventh color, it suddenly froze - that was the Nine-Away Perceptive Bone, which was said to be able to communicate with the laws of heaven and earth!
The square suddenly erupted into chaos. Qin Yixuan, the leader of the Yunlan Sect, suddenly stood up. The ninth-level blue phoenix beneath him let out a clear and melodious cry.
However, an unexpected event occurred.
The crystal ball exploded loudly, and countless ice spikes shot out from the void, aiming directly at the young man's throat!
"Be careful !"
A cry rang out among the crowd, and a figure in white rushed towards him like a fleeting swallow.
Lin Yunche's pupils contracted suddenly. He realized that the person who had saved him was none other than the top seed in today's election - Su Hanyi, who was known as the "Ice Spirit Maiden".
"Yunche, give me the compass right now!" Su Hanqi's voice was filled with an unprecedented urgency.
The bronze compass hanging from the boy's waist suddenly trembled violently, and the surface of the compass revealed the same runes as the huge cauldron.
Twelve huge bronze cauldrons simultaneously roared, and a blood-colored light beam descended from the sky, enveloping Su Hanyi.
"The Celestial Monument has appeared!" Elder Li exclaimed in astonishment. "Activate the mountain protection array immediately!"
From the blood-red beam of light came the painful moans of Su Hanyi.
Her skin began to reveal fine scales, and her icy blue hair gradually turned blood red.
Lin Yunchee instinctively grasped Su Hanyi's hand, and a cold and bone-chilling force flowed along her blood vessels into his mind.
At the moment when consciousness was about to fade into darkness, the young man saw a towering and unyielding bone monument emerging behind Su Hanyi.
The monument was covered with ancient characters he had never seen before. In his last glance, it was Su Hanyi's tearful eyes and the three words silently on her lips: "Survive."