73: Eight Desolations, Six Directions, Four Symbols, Two Elements

After dealing with all the Flame Demon Lions, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear shifted its gaze back to the mountaintop, locking onto Shen Guyan.

"Still persistent..." Shen Guyan snorted coldly. The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was truly at the end of its tether now; it no longer posed any threat to him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Guyan quickly donned his azure dragon mask and dove down like a sharp arrow.

Faced with the human's provocation, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear fully displayed its violent nature, stomping its paws on the ground and leaping into the air.

Clang!

Blade and sharp claws collided, instantly sending sparks flying everywhere!

Buzz... Shen Guyan used the counterforce to tumble in mid-air, his expression instantly becoming solemn. He never expected that after a bloody battle, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear could still burst forth with such powerful strength that it actually made his canglang sword let out a mournful cry.

It was fortunate that he had his canglang sword; had it been any other Tool Spirit, it might have been torn to shreds by the Dark Gold Dreadclaw long ago!

If anyone else had been present to watch the battle, they would have been shocked speechless.

A Spirit Master with only one spirit ring was actually going head-to-head with a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!

"Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies!" Shen Guyan quickly changed his sword techniques, barely blocking the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's pursuit as he maneuvered back and forth in mid-air using the impact.

The Six Harmonies of the Vast Sea created by Shen Lang originally only had the Eight Desolations Sword Technique. After being improved by Shen Guyan's father, it gained the Six Harmonies variations—one for offense and one for defense, making it invincible.

During those years living in seclusion in the mountains, Shen Guyan further perfected the Six Harmonies of the Vast Sea, creating even more powerful sword moves.

"Four Images!"

The sword light changed again. This time, the sword technique was no longer broad and sweeping, but instead switched to a vibrating method of four rapid sword points. With a majestic Aura, it actually managed to forcibly crush the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's claw strikes.

The Four Images Four Consecutive Strikes was a sword technique Shen Guyan developed by drawing inspiration from the sword styles of the Taibai and Zhenwu Sects. It could break an enemy's heavy and powerful attack head-on with four consecutive hits, compensating for the lack of strength when sword-type weapons clashed with heavy weapons.

Just as in her past life, Ming Yuexin's weakness of insufficient physical strength was noticed by Gongzi Yu, who then taught her a Qinggong move and told her to follow a golden rule: if strength is lacking, compensate with speed.

The Four Images Four Consecutive Strikes differed from the broad movements of the Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies. It employed four steps—meeting the sword, sticking to the sword, leading the sword, and pressing the sword. It not only utilized the technique of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds but could also counterattack with multiplied strength.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear refused to accept defeat and continuously swung its Dark Gold Dreadclaw to attack, but all were crushed by Shen Guyan's Vast Sea Four Images Sword Technique. Both its arms were numbed by the opponent's sword moves.

Shen Guyan found the exact moment the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was faltering from his sword moves and landed a heavy Taibai 'Azure Dragon Emerging from Water' strike right on its chest.

Blood splattered!

To Shen Guyan's surprise, the moment the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's fur was hit by the canglang sword, it rapidly changed its growth pattern, blocking most of the damage.

"As expected of a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, truly troublesome."

Shen Guyan praised inwardly, pulling back his sword and tapping his feet on the ground like a dragonfly skimming water to put distance between himself and the bear.

He had considered the bear's attack speed and the lethality and destructive power of those claws, but he had underestimated his opponent's defensive capabilities.

However, against an enemy focused on defense, the Six Harmonies of the Vast Sea wasn't necessarily without a countermeasure—

"Roar..." The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear raised its two paws to cover the wound on its chest. Those eyes, filled with fierce light, no longer held only brutality and ferocity, but also a hint of cowardice.

It finally realized that the human before it could pose a fatal threat.

"Are you afraid?" Shen Guyan sneered. How could he let such a great prey escape him?

Everything before him had been hard-won, from Leng Yaozhu remotely cutting the surveillance, to designing the Flame Demon Lion pack to exhaust the bear's stamina, to the all-out effort of the Six Harmonies of the Vast Sea... A strong Killing Intent instantly erupted from the youth's agile body. The first spirit rings of his twin Spirits shone brightly, and he shot forward like lightning, actually leaving his spirit rings far behind!

Feeling the other's Killing Intent, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear finally showed fear. In its panic, its massive body actually burst forth with a layer of dark gold light, and its fur flattened against its skin, adopting its strongest defensive posture.

Vast Sea—Two Poles!

The sword light flashed past, accurately penetrating the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's chest. With the penetration point as the center, the Sword Qi split horizontally, actually cleaving the bear's massive body in two.

One sword of Two Poles, dividing Yin and Yang!

As the upper half of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's body hit the ground heavily, its cold and fierce eyes finally lost their luster. Curiously, its body did not have Spiritual Qi surging out like other Spirit Beasts; instead, its corpse turned into specks of dark gold light and began to show signs of disintegrating.

Just like those Flame Demon Lions, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's massive body vanished into specks of dark gold light. However, right where it disappeared, something on the ground was shimmering with a dark gold glow.

Is this... a Spirit Bone?

In ancient times, a Spirit Bone was a symbol of a powerful Spirit Master. This was because fusing a Spirit Bone would greatly enhance a Spirit Master's physical abilities and, at the same time, grant them a Spirit Ability associated with the Spirit Bone.

Shen Guyan quickly picked it up. The piece in his hand was clearly a left metacarpal bone. If it was a Spirit Bone, after Fusion, it would greatly strengthen the power of the left palm, and the Spirit Ability would also be related to the left hand.

"This is a Spirit Bone? Why would a Spirit Bone appear? This is the Spirit Ascension Platform, isn't it a virtual World?" Shen Guyan immediately questioned Leng Yaozhu. A Spirit Bone was a physical entity, not an energy body like Spiritual Qi. What was the point of a Spirit Bone appearing in the Spirit Ascension Platform? He couldn't take it away anyway.

"The Spirit Ascension Platform is not actually an absolute virtual World, but a World between illusion and reality. The Primary Ascension Spirit Platform is undoubtedly the most illusory, but it also has real things within it. Otherwise, how could you absorb the Spiritual Qi here?" Leng Yaozhu's tone was clearly surprised, but she still gave a detailed answer.

"Wait a moment, let me check the data on the Spirit Ascension Platform Guardian for the Eastsea City Spirit Pagoda." Leng Yaozhu dropped these words and immediately went silent.

Shen Guyan knew that whether it was the Elementary, Intermediate, or advanced Spirit Ascension Platform, there were Guardians. All Spirit Ascension Platforms were actually a single whole, and this whole was divided into these three levels, accessed through different methods.

To keep them separated and prevent Spirit Masters from easily entering higher-level platforms from lower ones, there had to be a force responsible for monitoring and guarding. Within the World of the Spirit Ascension Platform, only Spirit Beasts were responsible for guarding, and they had to be exceptionally powerful ones.

Since it wasn't illusory, it meant this thing could be absorbed, and it was even a continuously evolving external Spirit Bone!

Shen Guyan wasn't about to sit and wait for the opportunity to slip away. Without a word, he sat cross-legged on the ground, preparing to absorb it along with the surrounding Spiritual Qi.

As if thinking of something, Shen Guyan smiled. With a tug of the silver threads at his fingertips, the Zhou twin sisters, whom he had knocked unconscious on the cliff earlier, were also pulled down by him, both landing in his arms.

After the series of intense battles, the Spiritual Qi around him was so dense that he certainly couldn't absorb it all alone. Moreover, they had saved his life in the Far North. While Shen Guyan might not be a particularly 'good' person, he was definitely not someone who would hog all the experience for himself.