Chapter 68: Relying on My Cheat All the Way

Once a formidable secret ring master, whose obsession lingered even after death, still manipulating shattered runes to guard the hidden sanctuary.

Xiunan leafed through the information for a while longer, but found nothing else of use. He placed the brass badge back where he found it and hurried away from the corridor.

Moss crept over the rocky walls on either side, emitting a faint glow that illuminated his path forward. Xiunan followed the only passage that lay before him, descending deeper into the unknown.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he stopped again, confronted by a stone door looming ahead.

Its design and emblem were identical to the ones he had seen before.

To be safe, before entering, he allocated his remaining three evolution points to Baimu.

Xiunan had originally intended to test the fusion function, having acquired two incomplete runes. Yet the ability showed that fusion was impossible—he could not tell if it was due to conflicting rune attributes or simply a lack of evolution points.

In the open space, Baimu’s form surged upward, growing from its initial two and a half meters to three meters in height. Its beak and talons began to shed, replaced by new ones that gleamed with a black metallic sheen.

Clearly, they were harder and sharper than before.

Baimu pressed its talons to the ground, each step resonating with a heavy, muffled thud. Its body towered, occupying nearly half the height of the corridor.

A casual leap would certainly collide with the ceiling.

Xiunan was rather pleased. He slowly extended his hand, and the Cangmu Eagle, Baimu, obediently crouched, rubbing its head against Xiunan’s palm in a gesture of submission and affection.

After half a minute of companionship, Xiunan pointed at the stone door ahead, and Baimu’s massive body rammed into it with force.

Dust spilled down from above the door with a thud.

Xiunan slipped inside in an instant, executing a low roll. In the midst of his movement, he summoned Baimu again, using its robust form to shield himself completely.

A wolf’s howl echoed, filling the corridor.

Beside the stone door, an ice-blue giant wolf glared menacingly at them, poised to attack.

It stood over two meters tall; its thick blue fur radiated a chilling aura. Its enormous claws pressed into the ground, creating patches of thin ice beneath them. The ice wolf howled at the ceiling, charging forward in rage.

With every step, icy paw prints materialized.

Xiunan was prepared. He ordered Baimu to use its ossification ability. A succession of mechanical gear-like sounds reverberated, as the two sacs at its jaw operated simultaneously. Four pale eyes fixed upon the frost wolf.

Crack, crack, crack, crack...

The wolf’s speed diminished with every stride—once it had raced like the wind, now it moved as if in slow motion. Despite its powerful stance, it simply could not run fast.

Its pace was no faster than that of an old man strolling.

With a wave of Xiunan’s hand, Baimu eagerly charged forward, its wings whipping up a gale.

Howl! Screech! A fierce struggle ensued, full of biting and clawing.

Three minutes later, the passage returned to silence.

Xiunan emerged from the shadows, extending a hand to comfort Baimu. It had been injured in the fight—one wing had been frozen solid.

Fortunately, Baimu’s strength had advanced; sacrificing a wing, it managed to slay the frost wolf.

Xiunan nodded, satisfied—the improvement in Baimu’s power was obvious, far greater than before. But there was no cause for pride, since these runes had weathered untold ages, the ring force within them surely depleted. Without a master to control them, being defeated by his Baimu was only natural.

“You have gained evolution points: 3.”

“You have gained an incomplete rune: Frost.”

“Tip: If you collect enough of the same type of incomplete rune, you may be able to fuse them.”

Xiunan’s mind stirred with possibility.

He had been using the evolution ability of the White Bone Secret Ring, but had never once called upon its fusion ability.

Perhaps, with enough incomplete runes, he could fuse them with the Cangmu Eagle rune and unlock new powers.

But for now, it was best to spend the points…

Decisively, Xiunan invested them, and Cangmu Eagle Baimu evolved yet again, its form soaring to nearly three point six meters.

Its gigantic body now filled almost half the corridor.

Xiunan now had to look up to see Baimu’s head—their difference in size was growing ever more pronounced. Hopefully, he wouldn’t blow out the corridor by adding too many points…

After a brief rest, he pressed onward into the darkness.

Stone door after stone door, ghost warrior after ghost warrior. Xiunan had no idea how long he had wandered this dark corridor… Throughout this time, he repeatedly faced peril, nearly meeting his end more than once.

He encountered the shadow of darkness again, battled against ghost warriors with their powers more intact, forced his way through a corridor riddled with terrifying blood-sucking vines, and was relentlessly pursued by a white bone statue engraved with battle circuits…

His survival depended entirely on the Cangmu Eagle, Baimu, which had evolved to its utmost limit. Xiunan poured all the evolution points he had earned along the way into it.

In a place so dangerous, holding anything back was folly—survival was the only road to a brighter future.

In the darkness, Xiunan leaned against the wall to rest. By his side, a silent figure stood vigil.

This shadow was about as tall as Xiunan, pitch-black in color, its entire body clad in bone armor. Its skull was twisted at the head, resembling a rudimentary crown.

It was none other than Baimu, now evolved to its ultimate form!

With a constant supply of evolution points, its body had grown to four meters, then began to compress in an uncanny manner.

From four meters, it shrank back to two, its shape growing slender and graceful, no longer bulging with wild muscle. Yet in truth, Baimu’s musculature had become tougher and more resilient, its strength surging to an unimaginable degree.

It could seize a three-meter-tall wild bear with its claws and slam it against the wall in a frenzy—like picking up a chick, every movement bursting with brute force.

Moreover, Baimu’s body was clad in a layer of bone armor, its defense greatly enhanced.

Ordinary attacks from enemies were now much less effective.

But its greatest improvement was undoubtedly the three pairs of eyes lined down its forehead, and the three sacs bulging from its jaw. Baimu’s group ossification effect was now three times greater, and its single-target ossification was nine times more potent!

Just now, when Xiunan battled a ghost warrior, Baimu managed to use its ossification to immobilize the enemy! It was as if time had stopped for that ring beast!

It could not move, nor attack, transformed into a lifelike statue—helpless before Baimu’s playful torment and savage claws, which tore it to shreds!

The powerful evolution ability had produced the ultimate form of the Cangmu Eagle, gradually clearing all the corridor’s dangers.

It could be said that Xiunan’s entire journey depended on his cheat!