Far from the Eastern Continent, within the Endless Sea's Evernight Palace, Hengye Yuemi lay on a purple oval mattress that rested on blue coral-shaped bed frames. In the Endless Sea where seashell-based decoration abounded, this setup surprised no one. However, the large white tiger crouching by Yuemi's side brought the scene to a new dimension, making onlookers wonder where, what and why a mortal beast of the five continents smeared the Evernight Palace with its presence.
Seven cloaked men kneeled before the bed, not daring to look up. An eighth man sat by the edges of the mattress, with his eyes shut tight. Over two meters tall, the man wore a large-sleeved black robe with large crystal-blue epaulets. No form of energy leaked from his form, not even the divine light present in other Night Spirits. Add to that his pale-white skin, and most would mistake him for a corpse.
"Welcome back Baxian," Hengye Yuemi said as a ninth man walked into the room. A slender giant with neatly combed black hair tied in a topnot, the man bore a striking resemblance to the silent giant sitting by Yuemi's bed. Yet, despite the obvious family ties, they didn't glance at one another. The kneeling seven, however, turned towards the newcomer and said in sync: "Welcome back, God-Child." As if to match the words, overflowing divine light gushed out of the man's skin, lighting up its pale hue as his jet-black eyes—a clear inhuman trait—swept the scene.
He was Hengye Baxian, eldest son of Hengye Wuxin and God-Child of the Eternal Night Dynasty. "Greetings, Divine Mother," Hengye Baxian ignored the men's greeting to focus on Yuemi. And unlike all others on the scene, he didn't restrain the tyrannical Immortal Qi leaking from his form.
"Baxian, if I treated you as my son, I'd call you Xian'er. I don't, because I'd rather not have you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. Yet, you keep referring to me as mother. This is why I dislike keeping you in the palace. You always ruin my mood." With a leisurely pose, Hengye Yuemi stretched one hand out, unleashing squalls of Divine Power that slammed into Hengye Baxian and brought him down to his knees.
No ripples flashed on his face. Better, he smiled—as if he not only anticipated but welcomed the aggression. "My apologies, Lord Regent."
"You always apologize, and don't mean the words one bit. Never mind. Initially, I was waiting for your return before having the elders bring Zhen'er back. However, our Divine Ancestor just sent me a message. It seems that a certain event forced open one of Zhen'er's shackles. The lock only lifted itself to protect Zhen'er, so initially, our Divine Ancestor didn't think much of it. But when it tried to read through the lines of fate, foreign forces restrained its reach—Devils, most likely." Though she spoke in a calm, unhurried tone, Hengye Yuemi's words carried a gravity that made the kneeling men's hearts palpitate. Baxian arched one eyebrow, puzzled by the incident.
"That Zhen'er confronted difficulties that forced open one of his locks is, by itself, not a big deal. But the possibility that Devils have taken note of his existence, now that's worrying to say the least. We cannot allow the sanctity of Zhen'er's Divine Soul to become compromised. So while the elders bring him back, I want you to investigate all the events that are taking place in that backwater region and find out what triggered this change."
"Do these foreign forces only shroud his fate?"
"No, it is the entirety of our world that has been put on lock-down. As we speak, diviners all over the globe must be losing their jobs."
"That being the case, Devil or not, this might not have anything to do with Zhen'er…" The "Zhen'er" had barely crossed Baxian's lips that Hengye Yuemi flung one hand at him—sending formless forces to slam through Baxian's teeth and choke the word down. His skin turned blue and he spurted blood.
"Who are you? What are you? How dare you refer to our Greatest One by his given name? Baxian, I allow you to run amok before me due to your potential and many achievements. But, you should never forget that, when compared to Zhen'er, your title of God-Child is nothing but an insignificant ornament. Know your place." Hengye Yuemi vanished and reappeared before Baxian. A long mourning veil kept her face covered, preventing curious eyes from getting a clear look at her face.
"What about you then?" Undaunted, Baxian picked himself up, and without a care for the dripping blood, cast Yuemi a defiant gaze.
"I'm different! He's my little boy! I'm his mother!" Unable to tolerate Baxian's rebuke, Yuemi screamed her head off and seized her son's throat, choking him even as he smiled at her.
"Doesn't that make him my little brother? Laughable, your true son stands before you, but you insist on discarding him for a child that will never be yours. Lord Regent, Zhen'er and I are pitiful people. The power and glory that should by right be ours was stripped early because of the old man's foolishness. And while we are left to pay for his errors, taking orders from a delusional lunatic that can no longer make sense of who or what she is, he enjoys years of peace in that pathetic monastery. I can't accept it. I want to tear him into shreds, cannibalize his Divine Soul and FEED HIS SPARK TO THE WHALES OF THE ENDLESS SEA! If you insist on using your position as Lord-Regent to have me investigate this event, I will have to go. But then don't blame me if I fail to resist my urges and tear his head off—Records of the Eternal Night or not, I will have that mongrel's head." Though he didn't resist Yuemi's choke, Hengye Baxian's words carried overwhelming hatred, convincing the regent that once she dispatched him to Dongli, their years of planning would turn futile.
…
Meanwhile, Xinzi still studied his bones. As expected, the Divine Power teeming from them was more than enough to cover for any trace of demonic touch. However, the defiant aura the bones projected made Xinzi feel ill-at-ease.
'On a structural level, they do seem very similar to Celestial Dao Bones. The Divine Power contained within is also a match. In fact, if not for this defiant aura, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.' Being defiant towards Heaven and challenging Yongye were two different concepts. Be it in the past or present, more than one deity had rejected Heaven's laws. But for Xinzi, who was trying to portray himself as a loyal and dutiful child, defiance didn't seem appropriate.
Xinzi never considered getting answers from Tusha or his master, because as far as divine matters were concerned, he knew more than the two of them combined.
'We can always blame it on the refining process. After all, I did use Heaven's Grace to cast them. Perhaps this is a natural consequence and Yongye will not mind their existence. But can a sane man base his survival on "perhaps"? That's professional suicide. My only chance is to directly offer to destroy this body and hope that Yongye would rather have me keep it.' Xinzi heaved a sigh.
When facing the eyes of a supreme being, plans could only carry you so far. One had to be ready to sacrifice to avoid calamities. Xinzi would rather not give up on this body, a body created and cultivated by his own two hands—a body that carried all his hopes for freedom. But should things reach that point, he wouldn't have a choice.
Divine Power filled the room, making Tusha and Xue Yuanshao marvel at Xinzi's splendor. "Dao Bones! And if I'm not mistaken, this level of Divine Power can compete with a Celestial Dao Bone constitution. Abbot, congratulations!" Tusha said, for while she couldn't identify these Dao Bones, Dao Bones they still were.
Throughout the cultivation world, organ and bone-based constitutions were by far the rarest. Even when we account for organs having a plethora of variety, they still are just as hard to find as bone-based constitutions—de facto making them the rarest. However, ask any cultivator worth the name which one they'd rather have, and they'd pick the bones instantly.
The reason was simple.
They offered too much.
Unmatched power, speed and resilience, were just the the lowest of perks that one could expect from Dao Bones. Their true dominance lay in the massive comprehension boost and the ability to draw and resonate with a specific Dao. On top of that, the better the Dao Bone, the more outrageous their innate skill was.
Celestial Dao Bones encompassed all the Laws of Heaven and the Supreme Dao that immortal cultivators chased. Xinzi's bones, however, seemed to reject these laws. Better, they suppressed them.
"Let's try it out." Our monk said and raised his right hand. Rings of silver light took shape, summoning violent energies that sent tremors throughout the Dream Mountain. Xue Yuanshao fell face-first, and even Tusha, whose current strength reached the peak of Divine Transformation, struggled to resist the pressure.
Nature's laws fled the scene, the Dao bent the knee, and all seemed to chafe under the tyranny of these bones. The longer Xinzi studied them, the more in love he became. So much so that, since he couldn't find their name, he decided to baptize them.
"We will call them…Heaven-Trampling Dao Bones. A fitting constitution for Dongli's number one boner," Xinzi said and stroked his chin, marveling at his own genius. Black lines formed on both Tusha and Xue Yuanshao's foreheads as the two failed to accept that this boneheaded joke had come from the man they praised a moment before.
"Abbot, you really…" Tusha started, but here, the seven Inverse Dao Seals on Xinzi's right arm flashed, and from them, low grumbling sounds akin to starving stomachs resounded.. A multitude of red portals surrounded the monk, with one gaping canine jaw rising from his arm to bite at his neck.