Known across the Outer Sect for his ferocious cultivation strength, Donovan Valdez's infamy was tied to his signature martial technique: the Bone Eroding Fist Art. Regarded as one of the most costly techniques in the Pavilion of Myriad Arts of Outer Sect, it was the bane of the Outer Sect's foundational Bone Tempering Art. Its practitioners, dubbed "Dustweavers," earned the title for their ability to reduce enemies to crumbling husks. A single well-aimed strike could dissolve bone tissue over hours, condemning the victim to a slow, agonizing death as their skeleton disintegrated. Even a glancing blow inflicted crippling pain and lasting structural damage, nearly impossible to heal without advanced restorative arts.
Each punch or palm strike targeted vital joints and bones, unleashing a supernatural corrosive force that ate away at the skeletal structure. Unless the victim had mastered the rare high grade Jade-tier Bone in Bone Tempering Art, this malice force ensured a gruesome, inevitable end.
"That brat might still be breathing now," Zoe Wright mused and smirked, "but without Jade-tier cultivation, he wouldn't survive more than a few hours, likely dead by dawn. Let the forest beasts enjoy what remains."
The Dominator Squad pressed upward along the rugged path toward the mountain's peak with footwork art, soon crossing the threshold into the forecourt of the Hanz Clan Ancestral Shrine.
A broad courtyard unfurled before them, its view of the main hall blocked by a towering entrance wall inscribed with four bold characters: "Hanz Clan Ancestral Shrine."
Crimson-painted torii gates lined a stone path from the entrance to the wall, flanked by overgrown flowers and tangled grasses. The once-vibrant plants were now trampled, the earth churned into mud, their broken stems and shattered flagstones scattered across the forecourt, caked in dust and mud that clung to the torii gates and courtyard walls.
"Captain, the shrine seems empty," a male cultivator said as they approached the entrance wall. He knelt, pinching a clump of dirt and sniffing it. "The Thorn Squad was ambushed here by some powerful enemy. They scattered in all directions, fleeing just moments ago."
Donovan Valdez's brow furrowed, but his voice remained steady. "All of them fled? Even Garrick Blackthorn?"
The cultivator closed his eyes, sniffing again. When he opened them, furry ears sprouted from his head, his eyes turning green with vertical pupils, a feral aura overtaking his face as he channeled an unknown tracking technique. After a moment, he shook his head. "I'm not certain about the others, Captain, but Garrick Blackthorn… he's still inside the shrine hall."
"Let's move!" Donovan's tone was ice-cold. He led the squad past the entrance wall, eyes fixed on the tightly shut gate of the ancestral shrine's three-story main hall. Glancing at the tracking cultivator, who nodded in confirmation, the Mister First Dominator unleashed a fierce kick, slamming the gate open with a thunderous crash. With killing intent radiating from him, he strode into the shrine, the Dominator Squad close behind.
——
Lordi Payne sprinted toward the outer ring gatehouse, the known breach point of the Hanz Clan Estate, his heart pounding with desperation. He didn't dare pause to check his wounds, fearing another lethal strike from an unseen pursuer. The memory of Chen Mave's tracing bees, wielded by the demonic sect comrades with their terrifying tracking prowess, haunted him. He couldn't risk assuming the Dominator Squad had abandoned their hunt.
A searing pain clawed at his chest as he pushed his Blood Spectre Footwork Art to its limits. Mid-stride, he veered off course, wary that the Dominator Squad might ambush him at the gatehouse. His mind raced, recalling the Hanz Clan Estate map. He made a snap decision to seek refuge in the residency area—a place unlikely to deploy the Treasury House. With the area once bustling with clan members, he wagered the Hanz officials wouldn't place deadly traps there either. His plan was simple: hide in an unassuming house until his sect comrades found the Treasury House and returned to the Abyss Pit Sect, then slip away safely.
As he dashed toward the residency area in the rear mountain, a strange itch flared near his ribs, where his Blade of Life Hater had recoiled during Donovan Valdez's fist strike, slicing into his flesh. The mix of pain and itching stirred memories of the grueling Ice Pith Fire fusion process, but he shoved the thought aside. Lordi barged into a small, unassuming courtyard—the kind that belonged to some nobody mortal, not a cultivator. With a quick glance around, he slipped into the house, praying to the heavens he hadn't just stumbled into some hidden master's domain. The door clicked shut behind him, silent as a shadow.
Lordi pressed his back against the door, ears straining for any hint of movement outside. When silence answered, he slowly crouched, sharp eyes sweeping the room. The interior was not lavish yet cozy—a mortal's home, not a cultivator's den. To his left, a bedroom housed an exquisite zither, its lacquered wood glinting in the dim light. To his right, a child's chamber burst with frilly pinks and plush dolls, their beady eyes staring blankly from the bed and floor. No arrays. No traps. Just the quiet opulence of ordinary wealth. Yet his muscles stayed taut, nerves prickling—something here didn't sit right.
Another wave of pain and itching surged through his chest. He tugged open his robe to inspect the injury. To his shock, the cut had already healed. Startled, Lordi reasoned that Donovan Valdez, underestimating his Seventh Layer Qi Refinement strength, hadn't used his full power—a fortunate reprieve.
But the relief was short-lived. A fresh wave of agony erupted from his ribs, accompanied by nausea and a splitting headache. Pressing a hand to his chest, he staggered under the overwhelming pain. Unbeknownst to him, the Bone Eroding Fist Art was at work, its corrosive force silently disintegrating his skeletal structure.
Another excruciating surge hit, blurring his vision. "How strong is Donovan Valdez…" Lordi muttered, mistaking the pain for spiritual depletion from overusing his Blood Spectre Footwork Art. Without warning, he coughed up a mouthful of black blood, the bitter taste a grim harbinger of the unseen decay ravaging his body.
After ensuring his body was stable for the moment, Lordi Payne adjusted his robe and turned his thoughts to the Cosmic Path Establishment Technique, his mind racing with fragments of knowledge gained during the journey to the Hanz Clan Estate.
On the Blood Puppet Float, Lordi had leveraged the favorability earned through sharing the Legendary-grade Bone Tempering Pills to glean insights from Garrick Blackthorn and other Thorn Squad members about the Cosmic Path Establishment Technique. In this cultivation world, ascension to the Foundation Stage followed one of three Establishment Technique methods:
Human Path – The conventional route, methodical and prescribed.
Earth Path – A rarer, more demanding method.
Cosmic Path – The most enigmatic and perilous.
At the peak of the ninth-layer Qi Refinement stage, a cultivator's body reached its limit for storing spirit energy. To progress further, they needed to forge a Prime Elemental Sea—a new individual conscious realm within their mind—to hold vast amounts of spirit energy. This sea would then generate potent spirit essence power, enabling the creation of a formidable Dao Foundation to ascend to the Foundation Stage.
The cultivation of Human Path Establishment Technique followed a structured approach. At the ninth-layer peak, a cultivator consumed a Foundation Establishment Pill, then channeled their accumulated spirit energy to breach the singularity within their conscious world, forming the Prime Elemental Sea. From this sea, they drew spirit essence power to establish their Dao Foundation and ascend via the Human Path.
This spirit essence power was significantly stronger—triple or more—than the spirit energy wielded by peak Qi Refinement cultivators. The Prime Elemental Sea also allowed near-limitless absorption of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, unbound by the body's physical constraints. Upon reaching the Foundation Stage, a cultivator's soul, body, and the spirit essence surging through their meridians underwent a profound transformation, granting strength far beyond that of any Qi Refinement cultivator.
The Earth Path Establishment Technique imposed far stricter demands than the Human Path. Beyond consuming a Foundation Establishment Pill, a cultivator needed to absorb the earth core essence from specific natural treasures. This essence was refined into the body as a foundational base before channeling spirit essence power to ignite the singularity within their conscious world, forming the Prime Elemental Sea. By continuously drawing in the powers of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—the five elements—into this sea, the cultivator could ascend to the Foundation Stage via the Earth Path.
The spirit essence power generated by an Earth Path Dao Foundation was exceptionally pure, refined by the Earth Core's influence within the Prime Elemental Sea. Unlike the vapor-like spirit essence of the Human Path, the Earth Path's spirit essence power condensed into a liquid state under immense gravitational pressure, far surpassing the Human Path's potency despite appearing similar in quantity. Additionally, Earth Path cultivators, having integrated the five elements' essence during foundation building, developed a natural affinity with these forces, granting them superior control and strength. In combat within the same realm, an Earth Path Foundation Stage cultivator could effortlessly overpower a Human Path counterpart.
The Cosmic Path Establishment Technique, however, was an even more grueling ordeal, with brutal requirements and a success rate so low it was almost mythical. Yet, those who succeeded wielded unparalleled might, dominating all peers in their cultivation realm. It was rumored that Senior Brother Krogh Hanz, the martial genius of the Hanz Clan, had vanished while pursuing this elusive technique.
Details about the Cosmic Path were scarce, even among the Thorn Squad. Neither Captain Garrick Blackthorn nor his squad members knew much beyond whispers. Still, every Outer Sect comrade of the Abyss Pit Sect was certain of one thing: a cultivator who ascended to the Foundation Stage through the Cosmic Path would be invincible among their peers.
With such a prize hidden within the Hanz Clan Estate, Lordi Payne resolved not to miss his chance to peek it.