“Then how should I address you, Elder?”

Chen Qingyuan tactfully refrained from further questioning.

“You can just call me Lame One,” the old man said calmly, pointing to his broken right leg and the crutch in his hand.

“But how can I?” Chen Qingyuan didn’t dare to address a mysterious and unpredictable Elder as Lame One, fearing that it might offend him.

“It’s fine,” the old man didn’t mind the title, his expression indifferent.

Next, the old man arranged a place for Chen Qingyuan to stay for a while. He had to go out to prepare something to reshape Chen Qingyuan’s spiritual root.

“I am grateful for your help, Elder,” Chen Qingyuan said with a respectful bow.

“It’s what I should do,” the old man returned the gesture and then left.

The courtyard was messy, and Chen Qingyuan looked around, seeing spider webs in the corner, yellowing leaves in the flowerbed, and stone slabs on the yellow mud ground.

Following the stone path under his feet, Chen Qingyuan saw a woodshed with a lot of dry firewood inside.

“Strange,” Chen Qingyuan muttered to himself in confusion. “Why does the Elder’s way of life resemble that of a mortal?”

After observing the courtyard, Chen Qingyuan found that the items in the yard were all ordinary things, wooden tables and chairs, and dust all over the floor.

After glancing at the woodshed, Chen Qingyuan walked to the other side.

Compared to the simple woodshed, Chen Qingyuan preferred to walk in the garden, which was more pleasing to the eye.

As a mortal now, Chen Qingyuan needed to go out every day to buy food. After living here for ten days, he became familiar with the nearby streets.

Feeling the chilly autumn wind, Chen Qingyuan decided to cook porridge to warm himself up.

When he arrived at the woodshed, Chen Qingyuan prepared to light a fire and found a broken sword for chopping wood in the woodpile, which instantly piqued his interest.

“What is this…” The broken sword was about two feet long, rusty, and dark in color, with the marks of time all over it. Chen Qingyuan carefully examined it and found that this broken sword was not an ordinary item, but he couldn’t pinpoint the specific issue.

Squatting down, Chen Qingyuan reached for the black broken sword on the ground.

As his fingertips touched it, Chen Qingyuan suddenly felt a heavy pressure, as if countless mountains were pressing on his chest, suffocating him.

The feeling grew stronger, and cold sweat broke out on Chen Qingyuan’s forehead.

Just as Chen Qingyuan was about to use his trump card from the Sky Abyss Restricted Zone, a gust of wind blew into the woodshed.

Instantly, the oppressive feeling of the black broken sword disappeared without a trace, and Chen Qingyuan withdrew his hand, looking tense.

“Young Master, I’m back,” at the same time, the old man walked into the courtyard with his crutch, his hands empty.

Chen Qingyuan walked out of the woodshed and faced the old man, speaking frankly, “Thanks to your help just now, Elder, I would have been in trouble otherwise.”

“A broken sword can’t harm the Young Master,” the old man’s face was full of wrinkles, and he smiled slightly.

“If this is a broken sword, then there would be no precious swords in the world,” although Chen Qingyuan had lost his cultivation, he could still see the terror of the black broken sword.

“Young Master is joking,” if a sword was like this, then the old man who possessed it must be extremely powerful.

“Elder, did you gain anything from this trip?” Chen Qingyuan didn’t continue to inquire, changing the subject.

“Young Master, rest assured, everything is in order,” the old man nodded slowly.

Years ago, in the Sky Abyss Forbidden Ground, Chen Qingyuan encountered a red-dressed girl with a mysterious background and unfathomable strength.

The red-dressed girl severed Chen Qingyuan’s spiritual root and scattered his cultivation.

Then, she gave Chen Qingyuan a wooden plaque, instructing him to find this old man after leaving the Forbidden Ground, so that he could reshape his spiritual root and elevate his talent.

The old man opened a dusty secret room, where there was a bath made of ice stone, and a cold air filled every corner of the secret room.

Taking out various herbs and necessary items, the old man asked Chen Qingyuan to take off his shirt and sit in the ice tub.

Following the old man’s instructions, Chen Qingyuan sat in the ice tub and waited, his expression calm.

“Recently, I heard that the Eastern Joy Palace is about to form an alliance with the Heavenly Jade Sect. Do you know about this, Young Master?” the old man said in a hoarse voice while working with the herbs.

“I know,” Chen Qingyuan nodded gently.

“Do you need me to do anything, Young Master?” This time, the old man had thoroughly investigated Chen Qingyuan’s background. In addition, he had also made a trip to the border of the Sky Abyss Forbidden Ground.

“No need,” Chen Qingyuan shook his head. “The karma has been severed, Elder, you don’t need to worry.”

“That’s good,” the old man placed various precious herbs into the ice tub, and his cloudy eyes seemed to see through everything in the world.

Chen Qingyuan was extremely surprised to see these herbs.

“A bit of Red Rue, Eight-sided Mystic Leaf, White Moon Vine…”

Glancing over them, they were all extremely precious medicinal herbs that were hard to come by. There were also a few rare medicinal herbs that Chen Qingyuan couldn’t name, but their value was definitely higher.

“Young Master, reshaping your foundation may be a bit painful,” the old man kindly reminded.

“Elder, you have already helped me, I can bear it,” Chen Qingyuan nodded heavily, prepared for what was to come.

Then, a majestic spiritual qi surged within the old man’s body, and the floor of the secret room shimmered with light, revealing an ancient array of Dao marks.

Following that, the old man clapped his right palm on the ice tub and activated the large array with his left palm.

Hum—

It seemed as if thousands of stars appeared above the secret room, rippling like a vast and boundless starry sea. For a moment, Chen Qingyuan felt dizzy, his body imprisoned and unable to move.As time passed, Chen Qingyuan even felt as if his soul had left his body, being sliced by countless small knives, the pain was excruciating, and he couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan.

Chen Qingyuan clenched his teeth, drenched in sweat. The pain intensified, gradually making it difficult for Chen Qingyuan to maintain his composure.

The old man did not stop, watching indifferently as Chen Qingyuan writhed in agony.

A full two-hour period passed, and Chen Qingyuan’s face twisted in pain, his skin split open, and his flesh blurred. Upon closer inspection, one could see his internal organs through the torn flesh, a ghastly sight.

A strand of golden light appeared at the chest of Chen Qingyuan, resembling a seed.

“The time has come.”

The old man’s expression changed, and he hurriedly proceeded to the next step.

A thick chill enveloped Chen Qingyuan, as blood mingled with medicinal herbs, forming a thick, crimson mixture that was chilling to behold.

“Appear!”

The old man formed a seal with his hands, and a black box materialized in front of him.

He carefully opened the box, which contained a segment of bone.

The Black Bone, about a foot long, resembled charcoal.

“Can he withstand it?”

The old man glanced at Chen Qingyuan, who had fainted from the pain, and slowly shifted his gaze to the Black Bone in the box, murmuring to himself.

According to the old man, this Black Bone was the Dao Bone of an ancient being, fallen after a world-shaking battle, leaving behind only this Broken Bone.

Not long ago, upon visiting the Sky Abyss Restricted Zone, the old man followed the instructions of the Red-Dressed Girl and brought the Black Bone with him.

Rebuilding the foundation was not difficult; the challenge was integrating the Black Bone into Chen Qingyuan’s body.

“Can it really be done?”

At first, the old man was perplexed, unsure of what to do.

Later, the Red-Dressed Girl used Sound Transmission to instruct the old man to simply operate the Dao Array. Once a golden seed appeared at Chen Qingyuan’s chest, the Black Bone could be taken out, as everything was predestined.

After a moment, the Black Bone began to float.

“Whoosh”

The layer of material on the surface of the Black Bone peeled off, revealing a pure golden color, engraved with many ancient Laws, weathered by the passage of time.

The old man’s pupils contracted, his body tensed, watching as the Black Bone settled onto Chen Qingyuan.

Gradually, the Black Bone merged into Chen Qingyuan’s body, disappearing without a trace. No matter how the old man probed, he could not detect it.

“Truly a remarkable person.”

Initially, there was some rejection between Chen Qingyuan and the Black Bone, but this phenomenon quickly disappeared, and the compatibility was perfect, truly becoming one.

Several days later, Chen Qingyuan awoke.

The old man had been guarding by his side, fearing any mishaps.

Seeing Chen Qingyuan regain consciousness, the old man could finally let go of the heavy stone in his heart.

“My body…” Chen Qingyuan felt no pain, his body felt incredibly light, and there were no wounds.

The next moment, Chen Qingyuan sensed the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth, his expression changed, and he quickly checked his body’s condition.

“Golden Dao Bone?”

Chen Qingyuan was astonished, both shocked and delighted, and he looked up to meet the old man’s gaze.