Chapter 685: A Thousand-Year-Old Turtle Pretending to Be a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old King
A thousand zhang away.
The white bone demons stared at Shen Mo's back from afar, whispering among themselves.
"He wants to touch the scripture? Looks like he's courting death."
"Heh heh heh, if he wants to die, all the better—we can take the chance to ambush him!"
"That's a page from the White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture. Only a Supreme would dare touch it. How could a mere Nirvana Realm withstand its spiritual impact?"
"Heh heh heh, let's wait for the feast to start!"
"He stepped on my head just now. I'll remember this grudge!"
Under the watchful eyes of countless white bone demons, Shen Mo didn't hesitate and reached out to touch the page.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A terrifying spiritual impact instantly surged into his mind.
At this moment, he was like a lone boat in the middle of a raging storm.
At any moment, it could be shattered and sunk.
But Shen Mo did not move.
No matter how fierce the wind and waves, I will always stand tall!
Each time, the white bone demons thought Shen Mo would be struck down by the spiritual impact.
Yet though his body swayed slightly, he never fell.
In the end, the more restless among them could no longer hold back.
The boldest white bone demon bared its fangs and claws, lunging toward Shen Mo's back.
"You dare attack my master!"
"I won't allow it!"
A golden dragon-patterned armor suddenly manifested on Shen Mo's body.
The artifact spirit, Black Rock, appeared.
That white bone demon was flung far away on the spot.
It exploded midair into a rain of scattered bones, falling down in a clatter.
The surrounding white bone demons looked at one another.
Each of them quickly retreated another thousand zhang.
"What fine weather today, let's take a walk."
"That one was looking for death, daring to offend such a powerful human cultivator."
"Lend me your bones for a bit—hey, I'll return them."
"Return my ass! My bones are still new. Yours have been rotting for ages."
Black Rock stood guard at Shen Mo's side, never leaving, eyes locked on the surrounding white bone demons.
Not allowing them to show Shen Mo the slightest disrespect.
"A Dao Saint Artifact—how dare a mere Nirvana Realm touch it?!"
At this moment, from within the page came an ancient, lofty voice.
The voice was condescending, full of disdain toward Shen Mo.
Pain covered Shen Mo's face.
Yet he still smiled.
"If you were the complete White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture, I would have no thought of touching you."
"But don't forget, you're merely a single page of the White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture."
"Borrowing the tiger's might—what's a thousand-year-old turtle pretending to be a ten-thousand-year-old king?"
Shen Mo sneered.
"You!"
An angry voice came from within the page.
But it quickly fell silent.
It could not refute Shen Mo.
What he said was true.
Had it not separated from the White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture in battle, and spent nearly twenty thousand years in this White Bone Lake, it would never have developed self-awareness.
"Boy, your soul is strong. I cannot kill you."
"But your wish to control me is nothing but delusion!"
The ancient voice coldly snorted.
Shen Mo suddenly withdrew his hand.
The ancient voice was stunned, then gave a strange laugh. "Knowing when to give up is true wisdom."
"Now get lost. I won't kill you!"
Shen Mo said calmly, "It seems I overestimated you. I thought I could control you through a relatively merciful method."
"Now it seems that to deal with a hard bone like you, I'll need to be harder than you."
The ancient voice froze, suddenly sensing something wrong. "You… what are you doing?"
Shen Mo raised his hand, and in his palm suddenly burned a golden flame.
It was the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Flame!
Shen Mo said calmly, "I give you two choices—submit to me, or become its fuel."
The ancient voice said nothing.
But Shen Mo could clearly see the page tremble.
Like the shiver of a normal person confronted with fear.
After a long moment, the ancient voice barked, "Ridiculous. Do you think I would submit to you out of fear?"
Shen Mo asked curiously, "Then why did you shiver?"
The ancient voice argued, "Because of the wind! The wind moved me!"
Shen Mo glanced around.
In the White Bone Lake, there was never the slightest breeze.
Where exactly this so-called "wind" had come from, he had no idea.
Shen Mo was about to speak again. "So, you—"
But the ancient voice interrupted, "I will not bow because of fear!"
"I will only submit out of admiration!"
"Master, please accept me! My admiration for you flows endlessly like the great river!"
Shen Mo smacked his lips but said nothing.
Tai Er appeared beside him, curling his lip. "Old thing, you're pathetic. I just bet with Black Rock that at the very least, the master would have to bring the different flame close before you admitted defeat."
The ancient voice sounded slightly embarrassed.
Shen Mo said calmly, "You are merely the spirit formed from one page of the White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture, without a name."
"From now on, you'll be called Shu Ling."
The ancient voice nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes, I'll be called Shu Ling."
The page fluttered around Shen Mo, looking perfectly obedient and pleasing.
The white bone demons watched silently, one by one burying their heads into the ground.
Shameful.
Utterly shameful.
This page had strutted over them with arrogance every day.
But now, before a true expert, it submitted faster than anyone.
"You all, come here as well."
Shen Mo turned and swept his gaze around, speaking lightly.
The white bone demons looked at each other, shaking their heads like rattles.
"If you don't come, I'll burn you."
In Shen Mo's palm, the Nine Nether Ice Flame flared again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One by one, the white bone demons rolled toward him at top speed.
In the blink of an eye, they were at Shen Mo's feet.
Their demeanor was nothing but respectful.
Shen Mo said calmly, "Shu Ling, these white bone demons should all have come from your page, right?"
"Yes, yes, they are all my subordinates," Shu Ling nodded.
Shen Mo said lightly, "Take them all back. Leave none."
"Yes."
With a wave of Shu Ling's hand, all the white bone demons were drawn into the page.
Shen Mo said evenly, "Tell me the details of the White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture."
"Yes, yes." Shu Ling didn't dare refuse and recounted everything in full.
A moment later, Shen Mo gave a slight nod.
So that's how it was.
The White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture had three thousand six hundred pages, each containing its own independent space filled with countless white bone fiends.
At its peak, each page could hold one hundred million white bone fiends.
All together, that was three trillion six hundred billion.
When they were all unleashed, it was truly like an ocean.
However, these white bone fiends came in many forms.
Some were transformed from humans.
Some from demonfolk, demon beasts, flood dragons, even true dragons.
Their strength also depended on their power in life.
The stronger they had been, the stronger their white bone fiend form, and the further toward the front their page would be.
According to Shu Ling, in its prime, the very first page of the White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture even held the white bone fiend of a Tongtian Saint after death.
Its power was unimaginably terrifying.
This page was neither far in the front nor too far in the back.
It ranked at page two hundred and two.
Roughly in the middle.
It was only because this page had fallen out of the White Bone Yin Fiend Scripture that the white bone fiends within it had scattered far and wide.
Hey readers! If you're eager to dive into advanced chapters, consider joining our Patreon. By joining, you'll get access to 20 chapters ahead and enjoy 8 new chapters per week. Plus, we have 2 more exciting fics with the same chapter release rate, giving you a total of 32 chapters per week! Join now and keep the adventure going!
Patreon: https://patreon.com/Alex_Cruise