Buzz! As Lu Jin's low growl echoed through the ancestral hall, the pitch-black spirit tablets on the sacrificial altar, after a few moments of silence, suddenly began to vibrate slightly. Mysterious, crimson glowing runes emerged from the spirit tablets.
The dim ancestral hall was illuminated by the crimson light, turning it a blood-red scarlet.
It felt as though a dense scent of blood filled the entire hall.
This sudden turn of events left both Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei with looks of shock on their faces.
“Father, this is?!”
However, Lu Jin was in no mood to answer them. He stared blankly at the majestic crimson light. Even when facing the humiliation from Jiang Ling and Zhang Yue earlier, this iron-willed old man had borne it in silence. Yet at this moment, tears streamed down his aged face.
As the current head of the Lu family, he knew better than anyone what this dense crimson light represented.
It was the foundation accumulated bit by bit by generations of Lu family ancestors using their own blood and bones when they were suppressed and ground down to despair by the Spirit-Sealing Curse, all to give their descendants a chance to turn the tables.
And now, he had activated this foundation.
At this moment, Lu Jin felt an extremely heavy pressure. His decision might very well cause the painstaking accumulation of countless Lu family ancestors to vanish into nothingness...
But he believed in his grandson!
Thud!
Lu Jin bowed deeply, his forehead slamming against the bluestone floor so hard that cracks spiderwebbed across the tiles. His hoarse voice rang out, “Thank you, Ancestors!”
Without a hint of hesitation, he raised his left palm, and a blazing trail of fire sliced off one of his fingers.
Blood splattered. Lu Jin's severed finger instantly exploded, turning into a beam of bloody light that shot straight toward the blood mole between Lu Ming's eyebrows.
This bloody light seemed to transform into a guiding path.
In the next instant, the dense crimson light flying out from the spirit tablets roared along this path of blood, ultimately gathering around the blood mole on Lu Ming's brow.
The crimson light transformed into a red circle that seemed to burn with raging flames, trapping the blood mole within.
The blazing red circle spun slowly, temporarily sealing away the bizarre suction force of the blood mole that devoured the profound light of the Divine Ability Bone.
Without the interference of the blood mole, the radiance radiating from the Divine Ability Bone in Lu Ming's chest rapidly restored itself, transforming from a silver glow back into the golden light of an Upper-grade Divine Ability Bone.
“A-Ming's Divine Ability Bone has restored to Upper-grade!” Lu Qingyan nearly wept with joy. He knew all too well how crucial an Upper-grade Divine Ability Bone was to the Lu family's current plight.
Lu Jinglei also collapsed to the floor, panting heavily as sweat poured off him. This emotional roller coaster was far too intense, easily ten times more terrifying than the shock Zhang Yue had brought them earlier.
The golden light continued to intensify. Gradually, a band of Glazed Heavenly Light was birthed once again from within the golden glow.
This time, no one spoke. They all watched with bated breath, terrified that another disaster would strike.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly this time.
Band after band of Glazed Heavenly Light continuously condensed.
Ultimately, when the fifth band appeared, everything returned to tranquility. The five bands of Glazed Heavenly Light sank into the Divine Ability Bone, dyeing it a glazed hue.
However, the glaze was not completely pure, still speckled with faint golden spots.
“Five bands of Glazed Heavenly Light... what grade of Divine Ability Bone is that?” Lu Jinglei asked cautiously.
“As long as even a single band of Glazed Heavenly Light appears, it is already a Divine Ability Bone superior to an Upper-grade. These five bands of Glazed Heavenly Light make it a 'Sub-Heaven-grade.' In the future, if he can obtain some rare spiritual medicine capable of elevating the grade of a Divine Ability Bone, he might be able to patch this flaw and remove the 'Sub' prefix,” Lu Jin pondered.
“Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone...”
Lu Qingyan's expression was a mixture of tears and laughter. For all these years, their Lu family had desperately yearned for even a single Upper-grade Divine Ability Bone to no avail. Who could have imagined that a Sub-Heaven-grade would appear today?
If Lu Ming had awakened two years earlier, why would their Thunderfire Hall have needed to invest so heavily in that filthy creature Zhang Yue?
Lu Jin looked down at his left hand, where blood was still dripping from his severed finger, but he didn't care. Instead, a faint smile emerged on his aged face.
Perhaps, the cursed spell that had choked and brought despair to the Lu family bloodline had finally revealed a crack today.
Lu Jin's expression suddenly shifted, and he raised his eyes to look at Lu Ming. At this moment, the surging primordial energy of heaven and earth inside the ancestral hall was frantically and actively pouring into the Divine Ability Bone in his body. Such majestic force was far beyond what a normal cultivator in the Bone Refining Realm could achieve.
“Hiss, the primordial energy of heaven and earth is actually refining bones for A-Ming! And he hasn't even used a Bone Refining Pill yet!” Lu Jinglei could not help but gasp in amazement.
Lu Jin smiled. “One who possesses a Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone will continuously and actively absorb primordial energy from heaven and earth to temper their body, even without actively circulating a Qi Refining Technique. Thus, even when Little Ming is asleep, his cultivation will not stop.”
“Furthermore, any cultivation resource will yield far better results for him, because a Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone has extremely strong tolerance, capacity, and channeling efficiency.”
“Not to mention that any divine ability technique unleashed through a Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone will have its power boosted by several tens of percent.”
“Many bottlenecks in divine ability cultivation will no longer be an obstacle.”
Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei looked at each other. This Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone was truly monstrous.
The phenomenon of primordial energy drawn by Lu Ming lasted for the duration of an incense stick before finally dispersing.
And when the final wisp of primordial energy vanished, the three of them could faintly hear a low, rumbling sound, resembling both a roaring tiger and rolling thunder, echoing from within Lu Ming's body.
“Tiger-Leopard Thunderous Roar... he succeeded in his first bone refinement just like that?” Lu Qingyan's lips twitched.
To break through the Bone Refining Realm, one had to complete three bone refinements. Back then, even with his Upper-grade Divine Ability Bone and a continuous supply of Bone Refining Pills from the Thunderfire Hall, it had taken Zhang Yue a whole month to complete his first bone refinement.
Yet now... within the span of a single incense stick after his Divine Ability Bone was born, Lu Ming had already passed the first stage of bone refinement without relying on any Bone Refining Pills.
Such speed...
“Terrifying. Is this a super genius?” Lu Jinglei was dumbfounded. This cultivation speed filled him with a deep sense of inferiority.
If a "Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone" was already this monstrous, how terrifying would a true Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone be? Would they just skip the Bone Refining Realm entirely and step straight into the Dharma Inscription Realm, becoming a Great Divine Ability User?
“Ugh...”
While the three of them were immersed in the shock brought by the Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone, Lu Ming opened his eyes, feeling completely refreshed. He stretched lazily, causing his bones to pop and crackle. An unprecedented sense of fullness flowed through every limb and bone in his body.
“So comfortable.”
Lu Ming was somewhat dazed. He felt as though the entire world had changed. The primordial energy of heaven and earth, which used to ignore him during his previous cultivation, now swarmed toward him actively without him even needing to circulate his Qi Refining Technique, almost as if it were eagerly trying to curry favor with him.
After enjoying the sensation for a moment, Lu Ming realized the atmosphere was a bit off. Looking up, he saw his grandfather, father, and second uncle staring intently at him, their faces filled with undisguised envy and affection.
“Huh? Grandfather, what happened to your finger?”
“And what happened to the spirit tablets on the altar?”
With a single glance, Lu Ming noticed Lu Jin's severed finger, the blood splattered all over the floor, and the spirit tablets that had once filled the altar, which had now turned into a table full of black powder.
Lu Qingyan spoke up and explained everything that had just transpired in detail.
Lu Ming's expression shifted repeatedly as he listened. He clearly hadn't expected so many thrilling and terrifying events to have occurred in the ancestral hall while he was undergoing his Bone-Opening.
Most terrifying of all, he had almost started his journey as a useless nobody.
After all, if one could start as a genius, who would willingly choose to be a useless loser and get ridiculed? That would just be asking for abuse...
“Grandfather, are you alright?” Lu Ming asked with concern first.
Lu Jin smiled and shook his head.
“Grandfather, what exactly is this Spirit-Sealing Curse? Why does it shackle our Lu family bloodline?” Lu Ming touched the space between his eyebrows. The bizarre blood mole had already disappeared, but he could faintly feel an eerie power lingering there, giving him a sensation like thorns in his back.
Lu Jin fell silent for a few moments before speaking. “You've probably guessed by now that our Lu family once had a glorious and prosperous past. As for how grand it was, to be honest, even I do not know. To shield us from karma, the Lu family ancestors concealed all of that history.”
“I only know that during our peak, the Lu family obtained a great opportunity, which drew the schemes of a major faction. There was an extremely terrifying existence within that faction. Under their machinations, the Lu family fell apart, was devoured and divided, and the remaining clansmen were forced into exile, fleeing our ancestral land. Yet, that terrifying existence still did not stop there. Using supreme divine abilities, they planted the Spirit-Sealing Curse within our Lu family bloodline. Under this curse, anyone of Lu family blood can never birth an Upper-grade Divine Ability Bone.”
“How vicious!”
Lu Ming felt a chill run through his entire body. What kind of deep-seated hatred was this? Destroying the peak Lu family wasn't enough; they even had to cast a curse to suppress the Lu family bloodline, ensuring their descendants would never have a chance to rise.
But such methods were far too terrifying. To affect even future generations with a single curse—such grand power was something even a Divine Ability Grandmaster could never achieve.
It seemed the Lu family indeed had a magnificent past, otherwise how could they have drawn the greed and intervention of such an existence?
“This Spirit-Sealing Curse destroyed many geniuses of our Lu family, but our ancestors did not give up. In their desperation, they searched tirelessly for a way to protect their descendants, and in the end, they found a method.”
At this point, Lu Jin looked at the spirit tablets that had turned into black powder on the altar with a heavy gaze. “These ancestors shattered their own Divine Ability Bones, merging them with their flesh and blood to forge these spirit tablets. Through this, they accumulated power over hundreds of years, seeking a sliver of hope for their descendants to break the deadlock.”
“And earlier... when you attempted to awaken a Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone, you triggered the Spirit-Sealing Curse. Thus, I activated this foundation forged from the blood and bones of our ancestors, helping you temporarily seal the Spirit-Sealing Curse and preserving your Divine Ability Bone at the Sub-Heaven-grade.”
“Now that the Lu family's accumulated foundation has been exhausted, these spirit tablets have naturally vanished into dust.”
Lu Ming opened his mouth, staring at the empty altar. He felt a profound sense of gravity and admiration. These ancestors were indeed as resilient as cold iron. Even in such despair, they had still gathered a sliver of foundation bit by bit to give their descendants a chance to turn the tables.
If not for this foundation, he would have been forced down to a Mid-grade Divine Ability Bone today. His future path would have been filled with obstacles, making it difficult to scale the heights.
Lu Ming knelt on the futon and respectfully kowtowed three times toward the black powder on the altar. Word by word, he spoke with absolute sincerity, “Descendant Lu Ming thanks our ancestors for protecting me with your blood and bones. If I achieve success in my cultivation in the future, I will do everything in my power to help the Lu family bloodline break free from this cursed spell.”
Inside the ancestral hall, a gentle breeze seemed to blow past, swirling the black powder on the altar.
“Grandfather, do you know which great faction it was that devoured and divided our Lu family? I have received the grace of our ancestors. Although I lack the ability now, I must keep our enemies in mind,” Lu Ming stood up and asked.
“Unspeakable, unknowable. Our Lu family shares a deep karmic connection with that place. Once spoken, it might be traced back to us. You have not grown up yet, so there is no need for you to know. Otherwise, it will only bring unnecessary worry and fear. When you truly meet people from that place in the future, you will naturally understand,” Lu Jin shook his head, keeping the secret closely guarded.
Lu Ming fell silent and could only nod. Right now, even though he possessed a Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone, he was ultimately just an ordinary Divine Ability User with no power to do anything.
“It seems that even though our Lu family has fallen this low, they still refuse to let us go.”
“Of course they won't.”
Lu Jin let out a low chuckle. “Because the opportunity they plotted to seize has remained with our Lu family all along.”
Both Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei were startled. Clearly, neither of them had known about this secret.
“Father, our Lu family is already in such a miserable state. Why didn't our ancestors use whatever opportunity it was instead of leaving it behind?” Lu Jinglei asked in confusion.
Lu Jin replied calmly, “Because to unlock this opportunity, one requires a Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone.”
“Uh...”
Lu Qingyan fell into deep thought. “In that case, the existence who plotted against our Lu family and planted the Spirit-Sealing Curse did so not only to make us sink into ruin, but also to prevent our descendants from ever birthing a Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone and unlocking this opportunity, right?”
Lu Jin nodded slightly. He moved a futon in front of the altar, pried out several bluestone bricks with his bare fingers, bit his fingertip, and let his blood drip onto one of the bricks.
As the blood dripped, the dusty bluestone brick suddenly glowed. Lines of light intertwined, faintly transforming into profound runes that outlined a jade box.
“A Divine Ability Restriction?”
Lu Qingyan gasped in surprise. A so-called "Divine Ability Restriction" was a barrier constructed from special divine ability power. The restriction on this jade box seemed extremely terrifying, sending a shiver down his spine.
However, Lu Jin clearly possessed the method to open it. Guided by the blood, the Divine Ability Restriction on the jade box gradually dimmed and finally dissolved into nothingness.
Only then did Lu Jin open the jade box.
Lu Ming and the other two curiously peered inside.
Inside the jade box lay an ordinary-looking black ring.
Lu Jin picked up the black ring and sensed it for a moment, but there was no reaction. He then handed it to Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei.
The two of them examined it curiously, but the black ring remained unresponsive.
“It seems it indeed requires a Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone to open.” They handed the black ring to Lu Ming, their eyes filled with hope.
Lu Ming scratched his head and said nervously, “I only have a Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone. I don't truly meet the requirement, do I?”
“Give it a try. You are our last hope. Aside from you, our Lu family will not see another Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone,” Lu Jin said.
“If even you cannot do it, then perhaps this is simply the fate of our Lu family.”
After all, there was no second foundation left to counter the Spirit-Sealing Curse.
Hearing this, Lu Ming took the black ring and directly activated his Divine Ability Bone, channeling a wisp of primordial energy into it.
In the next instant, a dark glow flashed on the black ring. Lu Ming's body suddenly staggered, and he fell backward.
Lu Qingyan hurriedly caught him. Looking at Lu Ming's eyes, he found his pupils rolled back, and his eyelids were gradually closing.
“A-Ming?! Father, this...” Lu Qingyan frantically looked at Lu Jin, only to find that instead of panicking, the latter's face was filled with wild ecstasy.
“Little Ming's consciousness has entered the black ring.”
Lu Jin took a deep breath, his trembling voice brimming with excitement.
Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei erred, exchanging a look of sheer joy.
Did... did it succeed?!
...
“Where is this?”
At the same time, Lu Ming discovered that he was no longer inside the ancestral hall, but had appeared in a massive, grand, yet somewhat dilapidated plaza.
The plaza was empty and deathly silent, with an endless darkness stretching into the distance.
Mist lingered over the plaza.
“Is this the space inside the black ring?”
Lu Ming looked down at his body, which appeared extremely illusory. He immediately understood that it was not his physical body that had entered the black ring's space, but rather his consciousness.
The black ring had pulled his consciousness inside.
Fortunately, he could still clearly feel his physical body and the existence of the Divine Ability Bone in his chest.
Calming his mind, Lu Ming walked forward. Through the mist, broken and shattered stone pillars were faintly visible. After walking for an unknown amount of time, his footsteps came to a halt.
He looked ahead, where a stone lotus sat.
The stone lotus was mottled and ancient, as if it had endured the passage of endless years and witnessed immortality. An indescribable charm radiated from it, filling the entire mysterious space.
Crack.
At that moment, the mottled surface of the stone lotus suddenly began to crack, and fragments quickly peeled away. Within a brief moment, under Lu Ming's astonished gaze, raging flames erupted from the stone lotus.
A flame lotus radiating divine charm slowly blossomed.
Upon the petals of the flame lotus flowed countless profound and unrecognizable runes of information.
In the next instant, the flame lotus transformed into a beam of light and shot toward Lu Ming. Unable to dodge in time, he could only watch helplessly as it crashed into his chest and merged into his Divine Ability Bone.
Instantly, a massive torrent of information seemed to flow through his mind.
This was a mysterious divine ability.
Lu Ming absorbed the information and softly murmured the mnemonic chant of the divine ability: “Under the Buddha's wrath, no ghosts or demons shall remain.”
This divine ability seemed to be called...
Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus?
Rate on N.U.
