Chapter 427: Foreign Bones, Fusion

"SCREEECH..."

The Flying Feather Black Eagle, a beast at the True Fate Realm Peak, couldn't help but cry out again. Its eyes filled with a mixture of defiance and terror, but in the end, it could only obey Lu Chao's command and give chase in the direction Nan Zhuiming had fled.

On the walls of the Dragon Flame Royal Capital...

Marquis Longyin and the others watched as Lu Chao disappeared into the distant sky.

Suddenly, one of the Flying Bird Knights swallowed hard and murmured, "That Flying Feather Black Eagle... We nearly killed ourselves capturing it, and lost who knows how many men in the process. General Lu Chao just... tamed it with a single shout?"

They had all participated in the hunt for the Flying Feather Black Eagle, and what Lu Chao had just done was utterly staggering.

To the Dragon Flame Flying Bird Knights, this was even more astonishing than his battle with Nan Zhuiming.

As for Marquis Longyin, his eyes were also filled with shock. He had only heard tales of Lu Chao's exploits—the second turmoil in the Chaotic Hundred Countries, the great tournament between the academies, the appearance of Yan Mu from the Cyan Sword Great Empire—but he had never witnessed them himself.

He had imagined all sorts of things about Lu Chao, hearing that he had grown immensely powerful after retrieving his two Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones.

But seeing him in action today still surpassed all expectations.

Suddenly, a thought struck Marquis Longyin, and his expression darkened.

His gaze slowly swept over his subordinates and the Dragon Flame Guards. "Report what just happened to my royal brother immediately," he said in a low voice. "At the same time, issue an order to lock down the entire city. I want a complete purge of all spies from the Saint Bone Zheng Family."

As his voice fell, a grim, murderous aura descended upon the area before the city gate.

Marquis Longyin then immediately turned to Cheng Yunsu. "Young Madam Lu, I will arrange lodging for you at once. I will ensure your safety."

There were still hidden members of the Saint Bone Zheng Family about. Lu Chao's wife had to be protected at all costs, or she would surely become a target.

Cheng Yunsu gave a slight bow. "Thank you for your trouble, Marquis."

As she spoke, Cheng Yunsu thought to herself, 'I must stabilize my condition as soon as possible and help Lu Chao overcome this crisis.'

And so, under Marquis Longyin's arrangements, Cheng Yunsu was settled into a secret courtyard.

She began to frantically cultivate the Fire Phoenix Technique.

...

Meanwhile, Lu Chao stood atop the Flying Feather Black Eagle, a sharp glint in his eyes.

'If I want to kill Nan Zhuiming, I need another breakthrough.'

'And when I face the Young City Lord of Red Sword City again, I can't just stake my life on it. I can't be so passive.'

Lu Chao muttered to himself. Although Mo Jing's Yan Soul City would surely move against Red Sword City, no one could predict what would happen next. It was highly likely that the Young City Lord Red Sword would still do everything in his power to seek mad revenge.

If he dispatched his ten Blood Sword Guards to assassinate targets in Dragon Flame, the situation would become extremely dangerous.

Those ten Blood Sword Guards were all in the Creation Realm.

And they were genuine Creation Realm masters, not like Nan Zhuiming, who had artificially boosted his power. Nor were they merely at the Creation First Layer.

Therefore, Lu Chao had to continue getting stronger—fast.

But that was easier said than done.

'I've taken too many Azure Flame Bone-Refining Pills; they're temporarily ineffective.'

'Inside my Bone Inner World, I can't see the Star Moon-level Heavenly Destiny Bone at all. This proves that at the Peak Second Layer, I can't summon a second Moon-level Heavenly Destiny Bone yet. I can't rely on this to advance for now.'

After all, the Moon Profound Breaking Soldier Bone had only been summoned when Lu Chao was at the True Fate Eighth Layer.

It was very likely that the second Star Moon Level Bone would also require him to reach the Peak Eighth Layer.

"Xiao Su'er's Fire Phoenix Technique... can I cultivate it?" Lu Chao suddenly murmured to himself.

His current cultivation had no corresponding cultivation technique. He possessed the Life-taking Star-devouring Bone, so where would he find a technique for it?

He had always cultivated using the various Heavenly Destiny Bone Meridian Maps he summoned.

The more Meridian Maps he comprehended, the stronger his Star Devouring Bone's True Qi became. No cultivation technique had any effect—he had already tested this right after he was revived from death.

'The Fire Phoenix Technique might be different, though.'

'Because I was reborn from death, I also possess some of the Fire Phoenix Divine Emperor's power. I might as well give it a try.'

As he said this, Lu Chao immediately took out a small booklet. Written on it were the words: *Fire Phoenix Technique, First Volume: Fire Phoenix Soldier Flame.*

This was, of course, what Cheng Yunsu had recalled and written down after regaining consciousness.

One must remember that the *Fire Phoenix Technique* had appeared directly in Cheng Yunsu's mind, and she was currently only able to write out the first volume.

Sitting cross-legged on the back of the Flying Feather Black Eagle, Lu Chao began to cultivate directly according to the incantations and circulation methods of the "Fire Phoenix Soldier Flame." He activated it in tandem with the Fire Sparrow Meridian Map within his Star Devouring Bone.

After just a short while, Lu Chao opened his eyes...

'It works. My Fire Sparrow Meridian is constantly strengthening.'

'But it can't become a true core cultivation technique; it only enhances the power of my Fire Sparrow Bone. Still, every little bit helps.'

And so, Lu Chao began cultivating the first volume of the Fire Phoenix Technique.

Four hours later, Lu Chao opened his eyes again and said, "The Fire Sparrow Bone Meridian has been strengthened to its current limit, bringing my cultivation to the peak of the Peak Second Layer. But I won't be able to break through anytime soon. I need to find another way to accelerate my progress."

At this, Lu Chao took out the Azure Flame Treasure Manual, intending to see if there was anything inside he could cultivate.

But he quickly stopped and put the Azure Flame Treasure Manual away. "Right, I haven't finished comprehending the ten foreign Destiny Bones yet. Chi Ting's Red Bee Bone is especially good. If I can fully comprehend it, the effects will definitely be significant."

And so, Lu Chao settled his mind and focused on comprehending the Meridian Maps of the ten foreign Destiny Bones.

He had already finished comprehending those below the level of Star Saint Bone... Now, only three Star Saint Bones and one Moon Mortal Bone remained.

Half a day later, Lu Chao announced, "Ming Huasheng's Heavenly Destiny Sun and Moon Bone, comprehended."

Another half a day passed. Lu Chao spoke again, "The Shen Family's Heavenly Blood Sword Bone, comprehended. To think it contains a secret technique that can grant a brief Dying Glow to someone who has just died. Truly impressive, and worthy of its origins in Red Sword City."

Two more days later, Lu Chao opened his eyes once more. "The Red Bee Bone, comprehended."

BOOM...

The instant the words left his mouth, the barrier of the Peak Second Layer was torn apart.

He had reached the Peak Third Layer.

A cold glint flashed in Lu Chao's eyes as he looked ahead. "Three days have passed, and I haven't detected Nan Zhuiming's aura anywhere along the way..."

Over these three days, Lu Chao hadn't just been absorbed in cultivation; he had also been observing his surroundings from time to time, searching for Nan Zhuiming's whereabouts.

But there was nothing...

Given the speed of the mount Nan Zhuiming used to flee the Dragon Flame Royal Capital, the Flying Feather Black Eagle should have caught up in a short time.

Since he couldn't catch up, there were only two possibilities...

One, he had switched to a faster mount. Two, Nan Zhuiming wasn't heading toward Marshal Fan at all.

As for Lu Chao, he was heading directly for Fan Changcun's location. It came back to the same reasoning: Mo Jing would never allow a skilled military commander to exist in the Azure Flame Domain. If Nan Zhuiming didn't go to assassinate him, other experts from Yan Soul City might.

He wasn't just pursuing Nan Zhuiming; his true objective was to protect Fan Changcun.

'No matter what, I have to keep improving. The Peak Third Layer isn't enough...'

As Lu Chao spoke, his gaze fell once more on the ten foreign Destiny Bones.

He spoke softly again, "Next, I'll fuse the Meridian Maps of the ten foreign Destiny Bones and comprehend even more profound and unpredictable Meridian Maps from them to spur my progress."

But just as the words left his lips, Lu Chao froze. His consciousness flashed into his Bone Inner World.

Immediately after, he witnessed a wondrous scene.

The ten foreign Destiny Bones were actually fusing together, bit by bit, with the Red Bee Bone at their core.