The new tattoo pattern was complete,
Zhou Xuan pulled out the Netherworld Stone and asked the Blood Tree, "Tree, do you recognize this stone?"
The moment the Blood Tree saw the Netherworld Stone, its branches rustled violently, whipping through the air before transforming into whips that lashed viciously at the stone.
Not only did these two seem to know each other, but there also appeared to be deep animosity between them.
Zhou Xuan mimicked the method from the Blood Well Divination, took a Bone Tooth, sliced open his palm, and dipped his hand in his own blood, drawing a simple "gate" pattern on the Netherworld Stone.
After completing the pattern,
Zhou Xuan held the Netherworld Stone in his right hand, raising it while pointing down to the ground with his other hand.
The Blood Tree extended two branches, one pressing against Zhou Xuan’s forehead, the other coiling around the Netherworld Stone.
"The Hundred Bone Song! The Hundred Bone Song!"
In the Netherworld Stone, Zhou Xuan heard frenzied cries erupt.
It was shouting for someone—or something—called "The Hundred Bone Song"?
Zhou Xuan thought the term "Hundred Bone Song" didn’t sound like a person’s name but more like an eerie, ancient entity.
"Hundred Eyes, Copper Coin, I see it now—opportunity is near, it’s coming soon, just twenty-three years from now,
I will go to East Market Street and prepare the Hundred Bone Song ahead of time.
Twenty-three years later,
all you have to do is use my Netherworld Stone to find the Hundred Bone Song,
it will guide all the clan members into their new forms!
The Ancient Tattoo Clan shall descend en masse upon East Market Street and together nail the Fifth Nuodai into place,
when the Fifth Nuodai is killed, the Lord of the Netherworld Stone shall arrive to open the Heavenly Vault Jade Gate,
the entire Tattoo Clan,
shall ascend through the Jade Gate!"
A series of hoarse, ancient voices echoed in Zhou Xuan’s mind, making his hair stand on end.
"Nail the Fifth Nuodai to death?"
Hearing this, Zhou Xuan came to a conclusion.
The Ancient Tattoo Clan had already nailed four Nuodai to death,
and he would be the fifth?
"Does the Ancient Tattoo Clan have some sort of grudge against the Zhou Family’s Nuo God bloodline?"
From these ancient words, Zhou Xuan discerned that the Ancient Tattoo Clan was plotting something massive.
That "massive thing" was the so-called "Jade Gate Ascension."
To execute this grand plan, the first step was—finding something or someone called the Hundred Bone Song and nailing the Fifth Nuodai to death.
Since Zhou Xuan possessed the Sukuna Hand, in the eyes of the Ancient Tattoo Clan, he was likely even more useful than a Nuodai.
"No wonder the Ancient Tattoo Clan ’linked’ themselves to me—they’re trying to accomplish something big."
Zhou Xuan continued listening to the voices from within the Netherworld Stone.
The ancient voice stopped, and two new ones arose.
"The Hundred-Eyed Priest awaits the Yumen High Priest’s success!"
"The Copper Coin Priest awaits the Yumen High Priest’s success!"
At this moment, Zhou Xuan remembered what Si Yuer had once mentioned: through the Blood Well, her observed eye had glimpsed an incredibly fearsome Tattoo Evil Ghost—the Hundred-Eyed High Priest.
According to her, every time this High Priest entered the Blood Well, an additional eye would appear on their body.
The "Hundred-Eyed High Priest" that Si Yuer described must be the one referred to by the Netherworld Stone.
"Damn it, just for the record, I didn’t provoke anyone or mess with anyone..."
Zhou Xuan recalled what his elder sister had said—Nuodai types had never reached high Incense Fire Levels before,
and yet, here he was, with just two "sticks of incense" worth of spiritual strength, being linked to by the terrifying Ancient Tattoo Clan feared by every state in Jing Country, targeted for nailing to death. How could his "incense fire level" even hope to rise?
"Wait, something feels off."
Zhou Xuan pieced together some clues. During his time in Mingjiang Prefecture, he’d encountered members of the Ancient Tattoo Clan.
Moreover, he had inadvertently killed one of them.
Which meant the Ancient Tattoo Clan fully knew where he was—after all, linking wasn’t something done for free.
"If they know I’m in Mingjiang Prefecture, and my sister and master aren’t around to protect me, why haven’t they mobilized the entire clan to nail me to death?"
"Honestly, they probably don’t even need the entire clan—just the Hundred-Eyed High Priest and the Copper Coin Priest alone would suffice to nail me."
Zhou Xuan knew his own limits. At present, his combat strength was only about a "four sticks of incense" level.
The Hundred-Eyed High Priest, whom even a "four-stick" fighter like Si Yuer described as "super powerful," had to be at least above "six sticks."
To someone with that much Incense Fire Power, killing Zhou Xuan would be easier than squashing an ant.
"So if it’s so easy, why don’t they kill me? Why am I still alive and well?"
"Could it be... that the current me isn’t even worth killing?"
Zhou Xuan boldly speculated but remained cautious in confirming.
He likened the Ancient Tattoo Clan’s "Jade Gate Ascension" plan to preparing a dish of "chopped chili fish head."
The dish required various ingredients—chopped chili, fish head, ginger, garlic, scallions, and so on.
The Nuodai, previously nailed to death, were the other ingredients; Zhou Xuan was the fish head.
To prepare a good dish of chopped chili fish head, you first needed a big fish. If all you caught was a palm-sized fish, what was the point—might as well just fry the entire fish instead?
Zhou Xuan was simply an immature fish.
"They’re waiting for me to grow up?"
To the Ancient Tattoo Clan, Zhou Xuan’s current Incense Fire Level was too low to be worth killing.
"So for them, at what ’stick of incense’ level would I become worthy of being nailed to death?"
Zhou Xuan contemplated whether to use the Blood Well Divination for answers or proceed to the library as planned to look up ancient texts and figure out what exactly the Tattoo Clan was scheming.
"Jade Gate Ascension!? Ascend your damn granny!"
Zhou Xuan continued holding the Netherworld Stone, hoping to hear more from within.
But the Blood Tree couldn’t wait any longer.
It extended multiple branches, wrapping them around the Netherworld Stone, lashing at it wildly and violently.
The iron whip-like branches first cracked the stone, then with several more strikes, shattered it completely. The fractured surface seemed coated with a layer of mucus.
Upon seeing the mucus, the branches leapt like leeches, their ends latching onto the fractured stone surfaces, sucking furiously.
It didn’t take long before the Netherworld Stone was completely drained, leaving behind a dead, spiritually barren rock.
The Blood Tree, now satiated from consuming the stone, seemed jubilant. Its branches swayed with a triumphant, crackling sound, as though it had finally exacted its revenge.