Storms Stir Beyond the Seas, Bones of the Roc

Chapter 556: Storms Stir Beyond the Seas, Bones of the Roc

“What use is there in dwelling on idle thoughts now?” Han Li looked at the earthfire pool and could not help but smile bitterly in reply.

“It is good that you understand the stakes, Fellow Daoist.” Though Feng Xi’s words were agreeable, a cold smirk was frozen on his face. It was clear he did not believe Han Li’s insincere words for a moment.

Seeing this, Han Li maintained a bitter expression on his face but cursed the “old monster” inwardly.

He then walked to a corner of the formation and sat down cross-legged.

Only after witnessing Han Li obediently sit in the spot he had designated did Feng Xi nod in satisfaction. He turned his face to the Venom Flood Dragon and Turtle Demon and said courteously, “Both worthies, please enter the formation as well. Prepare yourselves.”

The Venom Flood Dragon and Turtle Demon did not object. They stepped forward, entered the formation, and stood upon the formation eyes they had long since memorized.

Only then did Feng Xi chuckle lightly. He patted the storage pouch at his waist.

The pouch flew out on its own, drifting unhurriedly over the earthfire pool. The mouth of the pouch inverted, and a spray of multicolored light shot forth.

Within the radiance, a small ball of silver light abruptly appeared. It rapidly grew from small to large, transforming in the blink of an eye into a pair of bone wings, each over three meters in size and covered in stark white bones.

Of this pair of bone wings, one was missing the tip of its upper half, while the other was tattered and incomplete.

At first glance, they appeared utterly unsightly. Yet these residual bones gleamed with a silver light, exuding an immense pressure that instinctively commanded solemnity.

“These are the wings of a Roc! Though badly damaged, they certainly seem extraordinary. No wonder it is a legendary spiritual bird of the ancient wilderness!” The Venom Flood Dragon stared fixedly at the bone wings, letting out a “tsk tsk” of astonishment.

“Naturally! This Roc did not die peacefully at the end of its lifespan. Its skeletal remains have been broken to this extent; it must have been trapped in its final resting place and besieged to death. Otherwise, with the Roc’s speed, which almost lords over the world, and its late-stage Transformation cultivation, even if it could not win, it could at least have fled.” Feng Xi stared at the object without blinking, a look of fervor gradually spreading across his face.

By this time, Han Li was also admiring the Roc bone wings with a look of surprise on his face.

“Let us begin. Who knows how many months this refining will take!” The Turtle Demon seemed rather uninterested in the bone wings. After staring for a moment, he urged them on with a hint of impatience instead.

Hearing this, Feng Xi was stunned for a moment. But then, as if recalling something, he chuckled in realization.

“Hehe! I had nearly forgotten. Brother Gui has only just passed his Transformation Tribulation less than a century ago, so it is only natural that he finds thunder-attribute objects deeply uncomfortable. Then let us waste no more time. We shall cast the spell together!”

The Venom Flood Dragon naturally raised no objection.

From the mouths of the three, a series of low incantations that Han Li could not understand began to resonate. Their bodies slowly released an astonishingly fierce demonic aura, and white, blue, and yellow lights respectively began to shine from them.

Whether it was the demonic aura they released that drove the formation, or whether the three had employed some other technique to secretly activate it, the formation began to operate. Amid a slight tremor, the more than ten mid-grade spirit stones embedded around its perimeter successively emitted blinding light.

Han Li glanced around a bit uneasily.

Just then, Feng Xi suddenly let out a low shout. He brought his hands together and then separated them downward. Two beams of white light, as thick as an arm, shot out simultaneously and plunged into the formation beneath his feet.

A humming sound rang out. The ground trembled slightly, and the earthfire pool at the center of the formation began to churn with rolling flames.

With a “pfft” sound, a ball of fire the size of a human head shot up from the pool, hurtling straight toward the bone wings floating above.

A crackling sound followed. The blazing crimson flames engulfed the bone wings.

Seeing this, the Venom Flood Dragon and Turtle Demon exchanged a glance before raising their hands in unison.

A dense spray of blue and yellow light threads shot from their palms, piercing through the flames to directly entangle the pair of bone wings. The threads began to cross, glow, and deform.

In the space of a few breaths, relying solely on these spirit threads, the two had repaired the broken bone wings into a complete form.

Just as Han Li was feeling enlightened by the spectacle, the demon cultivator Feng Xi’s eyes flashed with an unusual light. He formed a hand seal and rapidly flicked his ten fingers.

Several dozen white balls of light, each the size of a thumb, shot out in succession, landing precisely on the bone wings.

Instantly, a piercing thunderclap erupted from within the flames. The bone wings, just barely repaired by the spirit threads, suddenly emitted countless tiny arcs of electricity.

These arcs were extremely thin and gleamed with a bright silver. After springing forth, they quickly merged into the blue and yellow spirit threads.

After absorbing them, the spirit threads blazed with silver light, intertwining with one another. Their color also instantly shifted to silver-white.

Seeing this, Feng Xi stamped his foot with a grave expression.

A spell formula was transmitted into the formation.

“Puff, puff…” Several muffled sounds rang out.

Five beams of light, each of a different color, shot diagonally from around the earthfire pool. They converged on a single point upon the bone wings, the light dazzling.

Han Li could not help but squint his eyes. When his vision returned to normal, a dense, flickering five-colored light barrier had appeared in the air.

A flicker of emotion passed through Han Li’s eyes, but he quickly returned to an expressionless face.

The silver-white bone wings, wrapped in flames, burned fiercely within the barrier, showing no sign of abnormality.

The three demon beasts below all let out an identical long sigh of relief.

The first step had been completed without error. There had not been a single mistake!

Next, Feng Xi, with a much more relaxed expression, pulled a blue, translucent crystal from his body. It was unclear what it was, but without any hesitation, he tossed it into the light barrier.

After a short while, the crystal softened and liquified.

Feng Xi hurriedly sent out white spirit threads, using them to evenly coat the liquid onto the surface of the bone wings.

After finishing all this, a look of caution returned to Feng Xi’s face.

He glanced at the other two demons, gave a slight signal, and lightly uttered a single word, “Wind.”

Then, he opened his mouth and spat out a white, sparkling demonic core. It instantly shot into the light barrier.

The Venom Flood Dragon and Turtle Demon did not dare to be remiss. They likewise spat out their own demonic cores, which they had painstakingly cultivated for many years. The cores flew into the air and began to chase and intertwine with one another.

At that moment, Feng Xi flicked his wrist. A spell formula shot toward his own demonic core. Instantly, a white wind-attribute demonic flame blazed forth from around the core.

The other two demonic cores, one yellow and one blue, behaved differently.

Under the manipulation of the Venom Flood Dragon and Turtle Demon, they simultaneously spat out jets of demonic flame as thick as a thumb. These flames met and merged mid-flight, letting out a “crackling” sound before transforming into a silver-sparkling blaze.

As soon as these two types of demonic flame appeared, they each absorbed half of the surrounding red earthfire, their momentum immediately surging.

Only then did they, as if imbued with spiritual intelligence, each wrap around one bone wing, slowly beginning to refine it.

At this moment, a barely concealed look of joy appeared on Feng Xi’s face. He beckoned to the other two demons and then sat down cross-legged on the spot.

The Venom Flood Dragon and Turtle Demon did the same.

For a time, the enormous formation fell silent.

Han Li sat alone in a corner, silent, but a strange light flickered unceasingly in his eyes.

However, when he looked around, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

It was unclear how the formation had been designed. At the same moment the five-colored light barrier had formed in the air, an identical barrier also materialized around Han Li’s seated position, trapping him inside, unable to move an inch.

If it weren’t for the fact that no flames had appeared within his barrier, Han Li would have almost suspected that the three demons intended to refine him as well, as a kind of material.

Han Li was somewhat uneasy. The fact that nothing had happened to him yet only made him worry more.

Just then, a change finally occurred. The light barrier flashed with light, beginning to flicker intermittently.

Han Li’s pupils contracted sharply, but he quickly returned to normal.

Before he could guess what was happening, he suddenly felt a peculiar sensation in his body. He tensed and quickly looked down.

He saw that, in tandem with the flickering of the five-colored barrier, a faint, barely visible azure light began to emanate from his body. Though the process was slow, his spiritual power was indeed dispersing from his body on its own, being slowly absorbed by the barrier.

Han Li frowned, his expression darkening.

It seemed the three demons had no intention of letting him take part in the treasure refining at all. For now, they were simply using him as a giant spirit stone.

But after thinking it over, his expression returned to normal. Inwardly, however, he sneered coldly.

He did not believe that the three demons would keep him trapped forever, siphoning his spiritual power in this manner.

According to his estimation, they would inevitably need his direct assistance sooner or later.

Otherwise, why bother finding someone like him, who was proficient in wood-attribute techniques? They could have just laid out more wood-attribute spirit stones.

Thinking this, Han Li’s heart calmed slightly. He closed his eyes, pretending to cultivate, while passively allowing the formation to slowly absorb his spiritual power.