Chapter 460: Porcelain Patterns Cover the Body, Bone and Blood Nourish the Lamp! |
Chapter 460: Porcelain Patterns Cover the Body, Bone and Blood Nourish the Lamp!
Jiang Chen had always been very curious about the Dark Forest.
It was an incredibly vast expanse teeming with Demon Beasts and even more indescribable horrors.
To this day, not even the most powerful hunting parties had reached its deepest reaches, a testament to just how massive and dangerous the territory was.
Beyond common Demon Beasts, the ruins of cultivator cave abodes and rare secret realms had been discovered there more than once.
Because of this, Jiang Chen was far from the only one interested in the Dark Forest. Yet, even Perfected Master Wang, a Golden Core cultivator, only dared to build Green City on its outskirts and hire Rogue Cultivators to form hunting parties to explore it on his behalf.
The only time he had personally intervened was several years ago during the incident at Huang Yuanhua’s cave abode.
Now, hearing the manager’s description, Jiang Chen’s interest was piqued. He couldn’t help but press, “What exactly is it?”
Manager Wen smiled mysteriously. “Look, they are bringing it up now.”
Both the auctioneer and the guards escorting the item wore tense expressions.
A trace of genuine fear even lingered in their eyes.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, ‘What in the world is it?’
A moment later, the auctioneer’s voice boomed across the hall. “Everyone, this item can easily be considered the rarest and most unusual piece we have to offer today.
“It was excavated by the Crimson Flame Hunting Party from deep within the Dark Forest, in a place known as the Fierce Bone Kiln.
“I imagine many of you have heard of it…”
Before he finished speaking, he opened the wooden box, though the contents remained hidden beneath a layer of black cloth.
It was only when he pulled the black cloth away that the true auction item was finally revealed.
It was roughly the size of a palm, shaped like a half-lamp.
The base was constructed from the severed lower jaw of a Cyan Wolf Demon, its gums still bearing two yellowed fangs. The bone was covered in fine cracks, but these fissures had been filled with a milky-white porcelain glaze. The glaze was so perfectly smooth that it cast a clear reflection, making it look as though the bone and porcelain had naturally grown together.
The body of the lamp was even stranger. It was not a perfect circle.
Instead, it curved into a crescent shape, following the natural arc of the jawbone. Dark red patterns crawled across the porcelain, looking disturbingly like human blood vessels or the sinews of a Demon Beast.
Upon closer inspection, one would realize that those patterns were actually squirming, albeit so slowly that the movement was imperceptible unless one stared intently.
However, the most hair-raising detail was located at the bottom of the lamp, right where the jawbone had been severed. Embedded there was a black bead, smaller than a fingernail, with a single speck of crimson trapped within it.
At first glance, it looked exactly like an eyeball, giving off an incredibly unsettling aura.
The auctioneer only tapped it lightly, yet a portion of his own vital blood and Qi was instantly drained. The eyeball-like black bead flared to life, radiating a crimson halo.
Suddenly, an inexplicable buzzing echoed throughout the auction house.
At first, it sounded like a chorus of hushed whispers.
But upon listening closer, it resembled the low, guttural growls of a Demon Beast.
Fortunately, as the crimson light in the eyeball faded, the eerie sounds gradually dissipated.
Beneath the base, serving as a makeshift stand, was a human arm—stripped completely of its flesh, leaving only bone.
The skeletal fingers were curled tightly around the lamp, gripping it in a death hold, as if the owner refused to let it go even from beyond the grave. The sight was deeply sinister.
“This… this couldn’t be…”
“The Bone-Porcelain Symbiotic Lamp!”
“Yes, that’s exactly what it is!”
Although the vast majority of the crowd did not recognize the item, a select few did—including the man who had been bidding from the private box earlier.
Jiang Chen had never heard of it before, so he turned to Manager Wen and asked, “What exactly is this Bone-Porcelain Symbiotic Lamp?”
Manager Wen explained slowly, “A thousand years ago, there was an evil cultivator known as Mo Cizi. He pioneered a unique path of Cultivation known as ‘Porcelain Patterns Cover the Body, Bone and Blood Nourish the Lamp’…”
The method involved drawing the essence and blood of humans, the vital Qi of Demon Beasts, and the spiritual essence of all things into one’s own flesh, refining it into a sinister lifebound artifact known as Bone-Porcelain.
Bone served as the porcelain; the soul served as the porcelain spirit.
The practitioner became something that was neither fully human nor fully demon.
They could even refine living people into porcelain vessels, turning them into thralls.
Jiang Chen understood immediately. “So, it is an evil cultivator’s artifact?”
Manager Wen nodded affirmatively. “Correct.”
Jiang Chen asked in surprise, “Why wouldn’t the Shen Clan backing you want an item like this for themselves?”
Manager Wen smiled, stating the obvious, “Because it is far too sinister, of course.”
Jiang Chen abruptly stood up. “Coincidentally, I do not like sinister things either. Goodbye!”
He turned on his heel and walked out, leaving the two women no time to react.
Only after he had fully exited the room did Manager Wen finally snap back to reality.
She exchanged a bewildered glance with the beautiful receptionist. The two of them stared at each other in sheer disbelief, clearly having never anticipated such an outcome.
Stepping out of the auction house, Jiang Chen’s expression darkened. He muttered in annoyance, “An inauspicious start. Next time, I need to consult an almanac before leaving the house.”
Abandoning any plans to visit other locations, he headed straight for the Shen Clan estate.
…
…
At the Shen Clan estate.
Shen Peng and his wife, Lei Yunna, sat in a pavilion, watching their daughter chase butterflies in the garden ahead.
Sun Shangxiang was now over five years old—or six, by traditional reckoning.
“There is still no news from his side.”
“Are you a fool? Fellow Daoist Cai hasn’t visited in years. Do you honestly think he will just show up the moment you want him to?”
“What do you know? The sooner our daughter enters an Immortal Sect, the better!”
“But… would someone like him even take a liking to our Shangxiang?”
“Probably… right?”
Both the Shen Clan and the Lei Clan were established Cultivation families, fundamentally different from Rogue Cultivators.
With their current resources, status, background, and overall strength, nurturing Sun Shangxiang’s Cultivation would not be an issue.
The problem was that they were confined to a minor city built around a Rogue Cultivator Market.
They had lived here for decades. They could see the absolute limits of their future, yet they had no way to leave.
They were like birds trapped in a cage. No matter how vast the sky outside was, it had nothing to do with them anymore; their entire world had been reduced to the confines of this cage.
If Mystic Heart City had developed smoothly back then, they would have relocated long ago.
Who could have predicted the subsequent disaster? Not only had it ruined their standing with everyone involved, but they had also lost a massive sum of Spirit Stones and resources.
To Shen Peng and Lei Yunna, sending their daughter away—especially to an Immortal Sect—was the best possible outcome. It was their only chance to finally break free from this place.
Lei Yunna watched her innocent, lively daughter and choked back a sob. “I can’t bear to part with her.”
Shen Peng flew into a sudden rage, raising his hand to slap her, but he quickly remembered she was his wife. Re-directing his anger, he slapped himself across the face instead before sighing wistfully, “It’s not as if she can never come back to visit.”
Just then, a voice drifted over from the side. “She is indeed a bit young.”
Shen Peng let out a deep breath. “Then what do you suggest we do?”
The voice replied, “How about waiting a bit longer?”
Shen Peng froze, then looked at his wife in surprise. “How long do you plan to wait?”
Lei Yunna looked back at him with an innocent expression. “I didn’t say anything.”
Only then did Shen Peng realize the voice hadn’t sounded like his wife’s at all.
As the realization hit them, the couple whipped their heads around, instantly freezing in shock.
Standing right behind them was a man who had approached without making a single sound.
His presence blended seamlessly with his surroundings, as if he were a natural part of the environment.
Was this not the very Fellow Daoist Cai they had been longing to see for years?
