Feeling the warm current continuously flowing out from within his body, Xu Ran couldn’t help but gasp.

Unexpectedly, the bone marrow of the White Jade Giant Bone, which he had absorbed before, was not fully absorbed but stored within his body. If not for this cultivation session, where the mysterious golden rune emerged and forced out all the bone marrow within him, who knows when it would have been completely absorbed.

"Crackling!"

Just as Xu Ran was shocked by this, the white bone marrow had already flowed to every part of his body. A mysterious power swept through his entire body once more, a power Xu Ran had never felt before.

"This power, so familiar yet so unfamiliar?"

Xu Ran felt a bit strange. This power was extremely ancient, likely comparable to the power from ancient times.

After a moment of pondering, Xu Ran’s eyes suddenly lit up.

"This power comes from the White Jade Giant Bone!!"

Now, Xu Ran finally remembered where the power sweeping through his body came from. It was from the White Jade Giant Bone he had recently absorbed.

The moment he figured it out, the white power instantly filled his entire body. As soon as Xu Ran’s skin made contact with this white power, there was a sizzling sound, like that of roasting meat.

Indeed, this power was not obtained effortlessly.

This white aura, though powerful, mysterious and ancient, was not easy to acquire. Previously, when absorbing the bone marrow power, he was enveloped by a purple sphere, similar to this time. Last time, it was due to external danger, and this time, it came from his self-examination.

Under the excruciating pain that seemed to burn everything, Xu Ran could only grit his teeth. His child-like body tensed up accordingly.

"Bang--- Bang--- Bang---"

Suddenly, there was a burst of explosive sound from within Xu Ran. The white bone marrow spilling out continuously destroyed his body. If one could see inside Xu Ran’s body, they would find that not a single bone was intact. All the bones looked like a honeycomb, extremely terrifying.

"Hold on! Once you get through this, there’s a bright road ahead!" Xu Ran continuously cheered himself on. The feeling was extremely painful.

"Bang--- Bang--- Bang---"

Another explosion rang out from within his body. The white aura, like blazing flames, penetrated every corner of his shattered bones. At this moment, Xu Ran’s body seemed like it was engulfed in a sea of fire, subjected to endless burning. The burning sensation arose from within his body, as his muscles, bones, and internal organs all suffered from this endless torment, as if his entire being was about to be reduced to ashes.

"Innate Saint’s Sacred Body!"

Feeling the endless torment from within, Xu Ran gritted his teeth. From the Sea of Spirit, endless Innate Qi began to repair the fractured areas continually. Only then did the burning sensation dissipate slightly, giving him a moment to breathe.

The bone marrow’s power continued to circulate within his body. Although it brought great pain, in the endless burning, every place the white bone marrow passed through became exceptionally resilient. A powerful force continuously surged, like a volcano on the verge of erupting at any moment.

At this moment.

The golden vortex hovering above his head began to gradually shrink, indicating that Xu Ran’s cultivation was nearing its end.

Soon, the golden vortex completely disappeared.

Immediately.

Xu Ran opened his eyes. A faint golden light surfaced in his eyes, accompanied by a hint of light red, extremely subtle, but visible upon close inspection.

Meanwhile, his aura at this moment carried an ancient flavor.

"Screech!!"

At this moment, the Peregrine Falcon spread its wings and quickly descended from high above, coming to Xu Ran’s side, continually rubbing Xu Ran’s body with its feathers, while strange light emanated incessantly from its eyes.

This light seemed as if it had encountered a peerless treasure.

"What’s wrong?" Xu Ran asked, noticing the Peregrine Falcon’s strange behavior.

The Peregrine Falcon examined Xu Ran up and down, then a faint blood-colored aura emanated from its body, forming a gigantic Kunpeng Illusion behind it.

This illusion also carried an ancient aura.

"Are you saying that my body also carries such an aura?" Xu Ran asked.

The Peregrine Falcon nodded.

Now, Xu Ran understood. No wonder the Peregrine Falcon’s behavior was strange; it had sensed the ancient aura within him.

It had absorbed the Blood Kunpeng Grass and had a trace of Kunpeng Bloodline in its body. The Kunpeng, being the ancient ruler of raptors and King of Demonic Beasts, would naturally be attracted to such an aura.

"Doesn’t that mean the owner of the White Jade Giant Bone was from the same era as the Kunpeng?" Xu Ran speculated.

Even if not from the same era as the Kunpeng, at least it belonged to ancient times. Even if it were the end of ancient times, it would still be extremely powerful.

"The strange village that Dad accidentally entered before, what kind of place is it?"

"Why, in this borderland without a complete cultivation system, is there such a place?"

"Could the Snake King be sleeping here because this place is too strange?"

At this moment, Xu Ran had three questions in his mind.

After pondering for a moment, he found no answers and shook his head.

"Not going to think about it. There is too little information now, and it’s impossible to know the hidden truths!" He then looked towards the Great Mountain, "If I could enter that peculiar village once, perhaps some secrets could be unveiled!"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Xu Ran was puzzled as he gazed in the direction of the Great Mountain. The giant trees there kept falling, and hundreds of raptors flew out as if escaping from that place. Such an occurrence had never been seen before!

"What’s happening to the Great Mountain? Are Demonic Beasts cutting down trees? Could it be for building houses?"

...

At the same time.

The Guardian quartet of the Jackal, Wolf, Tiger, and Leopard carried a sedan chair with heavy steps, slowly walking.

With each step, they left a shallow footprint on the ground.

The Tiger General was still leisurely lying in the sedan chair as at the beginning, but now, there were considerable bloodstains on the chair.

Looking around.

The tall giant trees around constantly collapsed, and the accompanying Demonic Beasts continually cut down the giant trees blocking their path, forcefully carving a road through the forest-dense Great Mountain.

On either side of the road, there were dozens of Demonic Beast corpses. Even in death, they exuded a terrifying aura, indicating that they’d all been of similar cultivation as the White Ape.

On this journey, any that blocked Tiger General’s group were killed, using only one move, with no Demonic Beast surviving. Their terrifying power swept across the Great Mountain.

The weaker Demonic Beasts could only follow behind and be at their disposal, continuously chopping trees.

In the dense forest five miles from Tiger General’s group.

This stretch of forest had a hill dozens of meters high. Atop the hill sat a dilapidated old temple, which was drafty all around, with only two framework-hung red lanterns dangling from the eaves.

Inside the old temple, there was no statue of Buddha, only a dust-covered memorial tablet. Inscribed on it was:

Mountain God---- Protect every hunter who enters the mountain.

Clearly, this was an old temple specifically for hunters, though it had been long since anyone had tended to it.

This place, on the outskirts of the Great Mountain, was the dedicated offering place for hunters entering the mountain to hunt.

Suddenly.

The hill dozens of meters high shook abruptly, and at the top of the hill, two ferocious beams of light appeared, resembling two eyes.

Immediately, the ground shook and the mountains trembled.

```