"Huh?" Ten thousand Soul Masters?!"
Tang San himself was stunned when he translated this part. Naturally, he understood what "refining" meant—it was no different from alchemy or medicine-making, something the Breaking Clan did every day.
But using ten thousand Soul Masters to refine Spirit Bones!
Tang Long and Tang Hu's expressions shifted. According to Spirit Hall's laws, any Soul Master who cultivated by harming humans was considered a criminal—an Evil Soul Master. If that was the case, then this sect was practically an evil cult!
"Third cousin, what comes after this? Is there more?" Tang Long asked after a long silence.
Tang San nodded and continued translating: "Place the ten thousand Soul Masters into the Spirit Gathering Basin of the Soul Guidance Device. (Note: The Martial Soul, attributes, level, quantity, and age of the Soul Masters will all affect the final quality of the Spirit Bone. These are the most fundamental factors influencing the refinement process. Remember this.)"
Gulp. Tang Long and Tang Hu swallowed hard, their hairs standing on end. Even though they hadn't witnessed it firsthand, they could easily imagine the scene.
Tang Hu's voice lowered to a whisper, eerie and cold. "This level of detail… How many experiments must they have conducted to arrive at such precise conclusions?"
Tang San and Tang Long both shook their heads, but Tang San knew that the creation of any new medicinal formula required immense time and effort, with countless trials needed to achieve the best results.
Tang San continued translating: "Finally, transplant the Bone Seed into a Spirit Beast. Once the Bone Seed integrates into the Spirit Beast's body and the embryonic form of the Spirit Bone is observed, it can be extracted and placed into a Soul Bone Box for nurturing until it fully matures."
"The words after 'Holy Spirit Sect's leader' are illegible—they seem to have been worn away. All we know is that the inventor of this Soul Guidance Device was the leader of the Holy Spirit Sect." Tang San shook his head helplessly. The bottom-right corner of the plaque only showed the signature "Holy Spirit Sect's leader," but the name itself was unreadable.
"The Holy Spirit Sect? Does such a sect exist?"
"How could there be any records of it? Wasn't it wiped out long ago?"
Tang San thought for a moment and said, "The Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range… 'Ten Thousand Bones'—refining Spirit Bones using ten thousand people. This mountain range must have originally been occupied by the Holy Spirit Sect."
Only now did Tang San understand why the mountain range bore such a name—it had a dark origin!
Tang San added, "And if I'm not mistaken, in ancient times, the Holy Spirit Sect was likely destroyed by the Spirit Hall of that era—or perhaps by the followers of the Angel God, or even the Angel God themselves."
!?
"The Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul possesses both holy and fire attributes. The traces of fire damage outside could very well have been caused by the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. Moreover, the Spirit Hall was established in extremely ancient times, and the Holy Spirit Sect perfectly fits the kind of entity the Six-Winged Angel would judge." Tang San explained.
With this explanation, the others understood. Some events from ancient times might not have been passed down, not even the origin of the Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range's name or why the Spirit Hall was built nearby. But some things just fit together logically.
In fact, the Spirit Hall might not even have existed back then, but the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul certainly did—this was far too characteristic of the Six-Winged Angel.
The Spirit Hall's presence nearby was likely a form of deterrence—a warning from the Six-Winged Angel!
"A Soul Master can use Spirit Bones, and using Soul Masters to reverse-refine Spirit Bones—this idea..." Tang San didn't even know how to evaluate the leader of the Holy Spirit Sect anymore.
You couldn't say it was baseless—reverse derivation was indeed a viable path.
At this moment, Tang San looked again at the Spirit Bone Display Box in his hand and murmured, "No wonder you could emit a fleeting Spirit Bone aura. So this thing can nurture Spirit Bones."
Although the box couldn't create Spirit Bones out of nothing, this Soul Guidance Device likely functioned similarly to a mother's womb, solidifying the Spirit Bone fused with the Bone Seed into a complete, genuine Spirit Bone.
"Can we find that Bone Seed or something similar?"
"No, that so-called Spirit Gathering Basin doesn't seem to be in this room."
Tang San said, "Not surprising. A place for ten thousand Soul Masters wouldn't be this small. And judging by the formula, ten thousand is the bare minimum. If those Soul Masters had resisted, this place would've been destroyed."
Tang Hu suddenly interjected, "By the way, if we really do find the Bone Seed, what should we do?"
The moment he spoke, the atmosphere turned heavy, as if greed and righteousness were tearing at their humanity.
Use the box to cultivate it and then take it for themselves? But it was refined using human lives! Destroy it? But it was a Spirit Bone! Neither Tang Hu nor Tang Long had a single Spirit Bone yet.
Tang San knew now wasn't the time to debate morality. "Let's take it back first. The sect can decide what to do with it."
"Oh, what about those Illumination Soul Guidance Devices up there?"
"Take them. No point wasting them."
"The ones hanging on the walls?"
"Take those too."
"The ones underground?"
"Take them all."
Tang San hadn't forgotten the old tradition of leaving no stone unturned. The three of them planned to take every usable Soul Guidance Device, not leaving a single one behind. After all, Soul Guidance Devices were still highly valuable in this era, even simple Illumination Soul Guidance Devices.
After thoroughly looting the place, Tang San and the others returned to the surface. Seeing Tang San return, Tailong immediately ran over and said, "Third Young Master, we found a room with some things that still seem functional."
"Let's go take a look."
Without hesitation, Tang San and the others left the hidden underground chamber. Following Tailong's lead, they soon saw an enormous metal gate ahead in the great hall, inscribed with runic nodes of Soul Guidance Devices.
Tang San looked up and saw three ancient characters carved at the very top of the gate.
"Godhood Ascension Ladder?"
Hearing Tang San's words, Tailong and the other Clear Sky Sect disciples were stunned. Their eyes sparkled with admiration when they realized Tang San could read ancient script.
"Third Young Master, you can read ancient script? Come take a look here—there's a stone slab with ancient writing, probably about this Godhood Ascension Ladder."
Tang San walked over to a corner and saw a Soul Guidance Device stone platform with a metal-framed stone slab beside it.
Strangely, this Godhood Ascension Ladder was the only thing not burned by the angel's flames.
Tang San explained, "This Godhood Ascension Ladder seems to be the examination ground of the sect. This special Soul Guidance Device can test a Soul Master's potential. In the end, it grants them the sect status they deserve along with generous rewards. Some outstanding individuals might even obtain Spirit Bones, setting foot on the path to godhood."
Tang San gave a rough translation. To put it simply, this thing was exactly the same as Spirit Academy's entrance examination—both tested disciples' potential before assigning them to different academies. Even the Clear Sky Sect had similar admission tests, offering ordinary Soul Masters the opportunity to join their ranks.