Chapter 164: Chapter 139: White Tiger, Bi Fang

Song Changsheng pinched it between his fingers and could vaguely feel a scorching presence brewing within it. When he injected a bit of Spiritual Power, the feather instantly burst into flames with a WHOOSH.

The flame was incredibly hot. In just a short while, the temperature in the room had risen noticeably, and the Spiritual Power covering Song Changsheng’s hand began to SIZZLE, threatening to burn through at any moment.

Despite this, the feather, enveloped in flames, showed no signs of change. Instead, it grew even more brilliant from the infusion of Spiritual Power.

"It really is the True Feather of Bi Fang. I hope you can give me a pleasant surprise. After all, the price I paid this time was far too great."

After dispelling the flames, Song Changsheng placed the True Feather of Bi Fang in front of him.

He then took out the massive White Tiger Skeleton. It was perfectly preserved, with very few scratches, making one wonder how it had been hunted down.

For a Puppet Master, a complete skeleton is a prime material for crafting puppets. Unfortunately for them, Song Changsheng was an Artifact Refiner, so he unhesitatingly disassembled it to be used for future Artifact Refining.

If any Puppet Master were to witness this, they would surely curse him out, but alas, no one could stop Song Changsheng.

Artifact Refining Materials also have varying qualities. The most valuable parts of this skeleton were its two pairs of claws, its interconnected tailbone, its spine, a few straight bones, and its teeth.

What Song Changsheng needed was one of its teeth, to serve as a medium for comprehending a Body Forging Method.

He had already cultivated the Earth Dragon Flipping Over Painting to the Great Success stage. Now that he had the White Tiger Fang and the Bi Fang Feather, he could comprehend the White Tiger Heaven-Pouncing Map and the Bi Fang Chasing the Sun Painting.

This time, he didn’t plan to tackle them one by one in order. He intended to work on both simultaneously to save time. After all, he really didn’t have much time left.

The Great City Lord’s birthday was now less than half a year away, and his journey in Luoxia City was finally nearing its end. However, he had heard some very bad news today at the West Market—the City Lord’s Mansion was purchasing large quantities of strategic resources like Healing Medicine and Talismans.

This was a measure taken by the City Lord’s Mansion to guard against the Demon Beasts advancing from the north.

Song Changsheng had noticed this when he first arrived, during the negotiations between Song Luhuai and the Grand Steward, Qian Duoyu. It wasn’t very obvious back then, and not many people had picked up on it, so it was all just speculation.

But things were different now. It seemed to have become common knowledge, and many Cultivators had already chosen to leave. After all, if the Demon Beasts did advance northward, the City Lord’s Mansion would certainly conscript them to help defend against the enemy.

If they didn’t want to fight a bloody battle against the Demon Beasts in the wild, the best option was to leave directly.

Song Changsheng wanted to leave too, but unfortunately, the task the old man had given him was not yet complete. His only choice was to improve his strength as quickly as possible to protect himself.

Holding the translucent, golden White Tiger Fang in his left hand and the Bi Fang Feather in his right, Song Changsheng sat cross-legged, held his breath, and focused his mind, beginning his comprehension...

The sky was dim and starless, blanketed in dark clouds. The desolate land was deathly still, devoid of life, with only decaying skeletons buried in the soil.

Suddenly, a ray of golden light pierced through the heavy, leaden clouds, shining down upon the dead land. Slowly, the light dispersed the dark clouds, allowing color to gradually return to the sky.

The land, too, began to reawaken with the arrival of dawn. Gradually, Life began to sprout from the soil.

It was an incredibly scorching sun, a newborn sun, hanging high above the Nine Heavens, scattering light across the world and dispelling the darkness.

Suddenly, a heaven-shaking tiger’s roar echoed. At the edge of the land, a behemoth as large as a mountain appeared. It was a fierce, pure-white tiger, exuding a powerful, oppressive aura.

Its tiger eyes scanned its surroundings, striking fear into all who saw them.

It stared at the great sun in the sky and slowly walked toward it. Wherever it passed, mountains shattered and the earth quaked.

The White Tiger eventually ascended a peak that soared into the clouds. It slowly crouched down, the muscles on its body bulging, filled with explosive power.

It was waiting, waiting to launch a fatal strike against its prey.

Closer...

"ROAR—"

The White Tiger let out a roar that shook the Nine Heavens, its enormous body suddenly pouncing into the air. With its gaping maw wide open, it shot forward like a bolt of white lightning.

Its target was actually the sun. It wanted to devour the sun!

Just as it was about to succeed, the "sun" suddenly moved. It transformed into a three-legged bird enveloped in raging flames—it was the legendary Three-legged Golden Crow.

It flapped its wings, dodging the White Tiger’s pounce, and sped off toward the west, the land of sunset.

The White Tiger’s attack missed, but it was unwilling to give up. It was of the metal element, while the Golden Crow was of the fire element; in this world, the Golden Crow was its natural counter.

As a King between heaven and earth, it would not allow anything to stand above it. Therefore, it had to seize this opportunity while the Golden Crow was young and crush it!

It followed closely behind the Three-legged Golden Crow, pouncing relentlessly, pushing its muscular strength to the absolute limit with every attack...

’The Body Forging Technique of the White Tiger Race primarily targets the muscles, developing their physical strength to an incredibly high level.’ Watching this scene unfold, Song Changsheng was struck by a sudden realization.

He began to observe, carefully dissecting what he saw. Finally, he comprehended the Body Forging Technique of the White Tiger Race.

But the vision in his mind did not end there...

The Three-legged Golden Crow left the White Tiger far behind. As long as it reached the land of sunset, the White Tiger would no longer be a threat to it.

Suddenly, a drastic change occurred!

A series of cries seemed to ring out from the horizon, the sound like a chant: "Bi Fang, Bi Fang..."

WHOOSH—

A scorching ball of fire came roaring from the horizon. It was a great bird bathed in flames. It resembled a red-crowned crane, with a white beak, but it had only one leg. Its body was deep blue, dotted with crimson spots.

It cried out ceaselessly, each call seeming to announce its own name—Bi Fang.

Wherever the Bi Fang passed, great fires spontaneously erupted on the ground, consuming everything. Yet it, like the White Tiger, wanted to devour this newborn Golden Crow.

The Golden Crow and the Bi Fang were both Venerables among fire, but this world could only have one being who was the master of Flame. Therefore, it had to devour the other to become the one and only sovereign.

It quickly caught up to the Golden Crow and became entangled with it. Flame had no effect on either of them, so they could only resort to the most primitive method—a physical brawl.

At this moment, the Bi Fang displayed immense Physical Body strength, beating the Golden Crow into a steady retreat.

Then, the pursuing White Tiger also joined the fray. The former enemies chose to team up in the face of a greater threat, and together they tore the Three-legged Golden Crow to shreds.

The newborn sun had fallen...

The land was plunged into darkness once more. The instant the last ray of twilight vanished, a behemoth deep underground turned over in its sleep. In that moment, mountains shattered and the earth cracked...

The vision ended there. Song Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, a little puzzled.

He had tentatively tried to comprehend both mediums at once, but he hadn’t expected to see such a scene. Not only were there the White Tiger and the Bi Fang, but also a Golden Crow.

He was also very familiar with the final scene: the shattering of mountains caused by an Earth Dragon flipping over.

He had originally thought these five "paintings" were independent, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case. They all appeared to exist in the same world.

’I just don’t know what kind of world that is. Is it real or just a fantasy? And what’s the purpose of this design?’

Song Changsheng had no answers for any of this. He had only obtained the Body Forging Techniques of two races. Adding the Earth Dragon Race from before, that made three.

These three were also distinctly different. The Earth Dragon Race’s technique trained the body’s internal organs, while the White Tiger Race’s trained the muscles.

The Bi Fang race’s method, however, was quite insane. They trained the sinews and bones—and tempered them with raging flames!

That’s right. What he comprehended from the Bi Fang was precisely the "Fiery Fire Bone Forging Method."

The mere thought of having to scorch his own sinews and bones with raging flames made Song Changsheng’s face turn a little green...

P.S. I had a competition and an exam today, which is why this is so late. Please forgive me~~~