Chapter 5

Amidst the vast sea, a peculiar corpse floated, seemingly drifting from the distant horizon, and perhaps would continue to drift endlessly, never to rest.

At first, it was just a small black dot, then it gradually came closer and closer. Soon, it was right before him.

In the sunlight, a faint purple glow could be seen emanating from his shoulder. This purple glow was as brilliant as a star, as large as a candle, and faintly revealed a beast's head, which quickly disappeared, seemingly the tail of a giant bow.

As the mist blew away, the sunlight reflected in Tanggu's eyes, making the purple glow particularly noticeable, as if it were tied to the back of the black-clad figure.

Blood began to spread on the sea surface, attracting a group of bone-eating fish, which competed to chase and devour the corpse.

"Who is this person, and why did they die here?"

Tanggu felt a sense of strangeness. Near Shiyan Town, there were rarely any other humans, and this black-clad cultivator was dressed in peculiar attire, unlike the clothing favored by the cultivators of the Snowy Wheel Region.

He wondered about the man's origins and why he had appeared here.

Seeing that the corpse was about to drift past the island and continue its journey, Tanggu suddenly ran down to the shore where he had moored his boat and quickly untied a thick rope.

Before long, the corpse was within reach. He threw the rope and looped it around the black-clad figure's feet, then pulled with all his might.

"Whoosh..."

A wave of air surged on the sea surface, and the black-clad corpse slowly deviated from its original path, drifting toward Tanggu.

Closer, closer, finally, Tanggu could clearly see the corpse's appearance.

It was the body of a middle-aged man in black, with a rather gaunt and pale face. His fingers were extremely thin and cold, like eagle claws. At the most important joints of his fingers, thick calluses were visible, clearly formed from frequent bow-pulling or sword-gripping.

Considering the giant, peculiar bow on his back, the answer was obvious.

On his back, the giant bow had a crystal-clear back, with green horns and black ribs, and golden strings. The entire bow was half purple, with two large beast heads on each side, resembling pixiu. Tanggu had never seen such a bow, and few in this world had.

The bow's design was ancient and unique, exuding a prehistoric aura. It was clearly no ordinary object, and its age was undoubtedly great.

Who could possess such a bow? This mysterious black-clad figure, who had drifted from who knows where, must be someone extraordinary. What kind of person could wield such a peculiar bow?

Tanggu was extremely curious and pulled the corpse to the shore with all his strength.

At first, it didn't seem too difficult, but as the water became shallower, he had to exert more and more force. The corpse was abnormally heavy, and even with the buoyancy of the water, it would have been impossible to pull it without it.

"This is..."

Tanggu knew that the corpse of a middle-aged man in black could not possibly be so heavy. A human body, no matter how hard, could not weigh like iron. The only explanation was the giant bow on his back.

What puzzled Tanggu even more was how this person, carrying such a heavy bow, could still float on the sea surface, drifting with the waves. This seemed to defy reason.

Could there be something else on his body that allowed him to float on the sea surface?

Tanggu became even more curious.

With great effort, until his arms were stiff and his wrists ached, and his fingers bore deep red marks, he finally managed to pull the corpse to the shore and flipped it over.

Instantly, large and prominent wounds appeared before his eyes—knife marks, sword marks, spear marks, and club marks...

Tanggu had never imagined that a person could have so many wounds. What kind of fierce battle must this person have endured before his death?

Tanggu was deeply moved and felt a genuine admiration for this black-clad middle-aged man with the peculiar bow.

He knew that if he had experienced such a battle, he would have died long before it was halfway over.

Moreover, he felt that this black-clad man was no ordinary person. The knife marks, sword marks, spear marks, and club marks were all extremely strange, indicating that only a great master could have inflicted them.

Neither the pursuers nor the pursued seemed to be ordinary people.

Tanggu searched the black-clad man's body.

First, he tried to pick up the giant bow, but he immediately gave up, nearly falling over. He had felt its weight in the water, but now, it was even more astonishing. It was heavier than a mountain.

He doubted that even with a few hundred more pounds of strength, he could pull it.

However, such a peculiar object was right before him, and he couldn't give up. He tried to pull the bowstring without moving the bow. The moment he touched the string, he felt all his energy being drained into the bow.

The next moment, the bow emitted a purple glow, as bright as a star, and the entire island trembled. Tanggu felt a surge of joy, but the next moment, he jumped back in horror, never daring to touch the bow again.

In that instant, he felt as if he had aged seventy or eighty years, and all his energy was drained. A intense hunger quickly overwhelmed him, making him stagger and nearly fall.

"What is this?"

Checking his body, Tanggu found that all his energy had vanished, leaving him feeling extremely weak and hungry, as if he could eat a whole cow.

But he usually had a small appetite and a strong body, and shouldn't feel so hungry so easily.

This hunger was not like missing a meal but like not eating for decades.

Such a bizarre situation made him stare in horror, and he dared not touch the "demon bow" again, even though he knew it was probably due to his lack of strength.

If even he couldn't pull it, how much strength would it take to pull this giant bow? Perhaps it would take the strength of a giant with twenty thousand pounds of force.

But Tanggu didn't know if such a giant existed in the world.

At least, he didn't want to try, at least not for now.

He wondered what the power of this giant bow would be if it could be pulled, whether it could even split the sky.

After giving up on the most attention-grabbing giant bow, Tanggu found two more items on the black-clad man.

The first item was a mysterious purple bone wrapped in layers of white cloth, about two inches long and as wide as a palm, emitting a strange light. Once opened, it floated into the air, light as a feather, transparent, and emitted a "wuuu" sound.

In the purple light, countless tadpole-like characters seemed to rush into Tanggu's brain, making him feel as if his head would split. He quickly moved the strange object away from himself.

No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like a good thing. Everything on this black-clad man was bizarre, not something a normal person could have.

The second item was a transparent crystal ball, about the size of a palm, completely white, and as bright as a star. Inside the crystal ball, a light blue, palm-sized spirit beast, resembling a raccoon, with nine tails, was sealed.

The palm-sized spirit beast was sealed in the crystal ball, motionless, lifelike, like a miniature raccoon.

Tanggu recognized it as a magical artifact used by "Soul Cultivators," called a "Spirit Sealing Ball," which could seal and absorb the spirits of beasts. Powerful Soul Cultivators could even control all things and possess various incredible abilities.

Could this transparent crystal ball contain the spirit of a legendary beast? But from its appearance, it didn't seem very powerful.

He wondered what grade this peculiar raccoon would be in the eyes of a Soul Cultivator.

Putting these two items aside, Tanggu fell into deep thought.

The purple bow, the peculiar bone, and the spirit, each of these items was not ordinary. Clearly, this black-clad man was no ordinary person and had a significant background.

For some reason, he was pursued by several other powerful figures and ultimately met his end here.

Each of the three items on his body was extraordinary. As Tanggu had guessed, the object that allowed him to float on the sea surface was neither the giant bow nor the Spirit Sealing Ball.

The more likely candidate was the light, flying purple bone.

This bone, taken from some unknown beast, could emit a continuous glow, reaching the sky.

The tadpole-like characters on it were profound and mysterious. In that moment, Tanggu almost fell for it, but he managed to escape in time, though his mind was still filled with new information.

He vaguely understood that the purple bone contained a mysterious soul technique called "Ancient Soul Art," which could devour and control the spirits of beasts.

The Ancient Soul Art advanced by devouring the spirits of beasts, and the more powerful the spirit, the more powerful the technique. It possessed various incredible abilities.

The principle of the technique seemed similar to the soul refinement techniques practiced by ancient ghost cultivators, who could only refine low-level spirits. However, the Ancient Soul Art aimed to refine ancient fierce beasts and demons, which were thousands of times more powerful than low-level spirits and could easily backfire.

Through soul devouring and refinement, practitioners of the Ancient Soul Art would form a "Soul Crystal" or "Soul Thought" in their minds.

The more powerful the Soul Thought, the more powerful the beasts they could control, divided into ten grades.

He wondered if the Ancient Soul Art could be used against the "Phantom Flame Copper Eagle."

Tanggu felt a sense of anticipation but was hesitant. While he had obtained the Ancient Soul Art, he was unsure if he should practice it, as it clearly had both good and bad aspects.

Practicing this technique could make him a powerful domain ancestor, but a single mistake could lead to his destruction, turning him into a half-human, half-beast or a bizarre existence like a spirit.

The tragic end of the black-clad cultivator, who was clearly a Soul Cultivator, was evident. Despite his strength and the possession of the purple bow, he was overwhelmed by a group of powerful figures, not by a spirit backlash.

These powerful figures likely targeted him because of something important he possessed or a secret he knew.

Tanggu didn't know the exact details, but he could guess. The Soul Cultivator's emphasis on the purple bone, wrapped in thick cloth, suggested that his death was related to it.

The more powerful the soul refinement technique, the more taboo it was. It was no surprise that he was coveted or feared.

...

First update, please give 1 recommendation and 1 collection.

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