"I wonder what I'll catch this time?"

"I'm lacking many things right now, whether it's spirit stones or various cultivation resources. It would also be nice if a cultivation technique appeared..."

Inside the cave, Gu Xiu continued fishing while silently calculating his needs.

Being a rogue cultivator might seem carefree and unrestrained to outsiders, but this freedom was just an illusion. The truth was, rogue cultivators lacked a sect's backing, and their disadvantages were glaring. Whether it was guidance from a master or cultivation resources, they could only rely on themselves. They didn't even have the basic protection of a sect; if they were ambushed and killed along the way, they would just die, unmourned and unavenged.

Gu Xiu didn't need guidance. Not to mention he had once stood at the peak himself, starting over now meant he had ample experience to draw upon. Moreover, Gu Xiu also had the nameless ancient tome within his dantian. He could fully comprehend any cultivation method or secret technique, so he had even less need for a teacher. As for protection... as long as he was vigilant, he could manage.

What Gu Xiu truly lacked was just one thing: cultivation resources!

The cultivation world emphasized four pillars: Wealth, Companions, Methods, and Location. Among these, wealth ranked first for a reason. With abundant spirit stones and materials, even someone with the poorest aptitude could grow rapidly.

If Gu Xiu wanted to cultivate, he inevitably needed resources. Relying solely on the thin ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth... given the vastness of his dantian... progress would be agonizingly slow. Therefore, Gu Xiu's need for resources was far greater than others'.

Holding the green bamboo rod now, what Gu Xiu most hoped for was a large haul of resources. Preferably spirit stones or spirit pills.

"It's here!"

Just then, the rod in his hand suddenly vibrated. Gu Xiu's eyes lit up; he immediately focused his mind and began to lift. He thought it would be as difficult as the last catch, but unexpectedly, although there was some resistance, it was much simpler.

Before long, Gu Xiu lifted the rod. The object at the end of the line slowly appeared before his eyes, causing him to freeze.

"This is..."

"What???"

Unlike the imagined pile of spirit stones or rare herbs, what dangled at the end of Gu Xiu's line... was a segment of finger bone!

Was this... trash?

Gu Xiu felt a wave of disappointment. He had seen in the illusion that Jiang Xun had caught various strange pieces of junk more than once. He thought that since he caught the Heavenly Book Talisman on his first try, his luck was exceptional. But now, with this finger bone appearing, Gu Xiu understood: this green bamboo rod didn't play favorites.

"Huh?"

"This finger bone..."

"It's absorbing the Dao Rhyme of Heaven and Earth?"

Just as Gu Xiu was about to discard the bone, he paused, his gaze fixed on it in astonishment.

He saw that at the end of the spiritual silk, that seemingly ordinary segment of bone was slowly attracting the manifestation of Dao Rhyme from the moment it appeared!

This phenomenon was very faint. Even a powerful talisman master present might not notice it unless they examined it closely. But Gu Xiu had comprehended the Heavenly Book Talisman and had become exceptionally attuned to these rhythms. He clearly sensed that the Dao Rhyme, which had been extremely friendly towards him before, was actually drifting towards this bone.

One must know that even many talisman masters found it difficult to attract the Dao Rhyme of Heaven and Earth, let alone a lifeless object doing so. Yet... this scene unfolded right before Gu Xiu's eyes.

Filled with immense curiosity, Gu Xiu took the finger bone off the spiritual silk to observe it closely.

To be honest... to the naked eye, it looked utterly ordinary. It appeared to be a segment of a human right index finger bone. It seemed very ancient, showing signs of severe weathering. One glance made one suspect that squeezing it a bit harder might crumble it into dust.

However... now using the Heavenly Book Talisman to examine it, Gu Xiu saw something unusual.

"There seems to be the power of rules on this!"

Gu Xiu was surprised. After hesitating for a moment, he squeezed down hard. But the bone did not turn to dust.

On the contrary... it remained completely undamaged!

Although Gu Xiu was only at the third layer of Qi Refining, his physical strength was not insignificant; he could bend an iron rod with his grip. Yet facing this seemingly fragile bone... he couldn't damage it in the slightest!

Gu Xiu tried burning it with fire, soaking it in water, and even using spells to forcibly destroy it.

But without exception... all attempts failed! This segment of finger bone was impervious to damage!

Finally, after trying for a while longer, Gu Xiu reached a conclusion: "There are rules entwined upon it that allow only the power of time to affect it. Apart from time, no other force can touch this bone!"

This conclusion stunned even Gu Xiu. What kind of existence was the owner of this finger bone? Even after thousands upon thousands of years since death, even though their body had decayed... just one segment of bone remained indestructible!

"A Divine Demon?"

"Or an Immortal?"

Gu Xiu murmured to himself. He too had once stood at the peak and understood the hierarchy of power. Based on his knowledge... such resilience was simply impossible for ordinary cultivators to achieve!

"Even if the Great Dao crumbles and suns and moons revolve... my body remains indestructible!"

Gu Xiu murmured inwardly, feeling immensely shocked. Such power could be called peerless! But at the same time, Gu Xiu was also astonished by the power of time—that such a peerless figure still couldn't escape being erased by the ages... it was lamentable.

Just then, Gu Xiu made another discovery.

"Huh?"

"This finger bone... can absorb spiritual energy?"

It was an inanimate object. But just now, when Gu Xiu channeled spiritual energy to investigate... he discovered that the energy silently vanished inside.

Gu Xiu felt puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he took out a spirit stone and placed it next to the bone.

The bone showed no reaction.

However, as Gu Xiu activated the spirit stone, directing its energy towards the bone... he immediately discovered that the energy entering the bone disappeared without a trace, like a stone thrown into the ocean.

"Interesting."

"This finger bone has no vitality left, yet it can autonomously absorb energy once it enters."

"What do you want with this energy?"

Gu Xiu murmured. He then took out several more spirit stones, wanting to probe the secrets hidden within.

But...

When one piece after another turned into dust, completely absorbed by the bone... Gu Xiu began to feel heartache over the cost!

There was no helping it; he was just a rogue cultivator after all! Although he had managed to skim eight hundred spirit stones from Ye Hongling—like plucking feathers from a passing goose—making him temporarily wealthy... he couldn't afford such consumption!

Twenty spirit stones—a full twenty pieces thrown down—and not even a single ripple resulted!

The finger bone acted like a bottomless pit, accepting everything without refusal.

However, just when Gu Xiu wanted to give up... he suddenly sensed a change in the Dao Rhyme around them.

Gu Xiu raised an eyebrow slightly; a sudden intuition arose within his heart.

Immediately pricking his fingertip with a nail, he drew out a drop of essence blood. Channeling it forth, he caught it swiftly, then used his finger as a brush and blood as ink to rapidly write out a series of Dao symbols upon the bone!

Instantly, outside the cave, the winds shifted and clouds changed. Violent gales roared wildly!

Strange, eerie forces frantically surged towards Gu Xiu as if trying to prevent him from writing the seal!

This was invoking spirits! And these obstructions were the interference of the natural order!

If an ordinary talisman master were unprepared, they might truly miss the opportunity. But what kind of person was Gu Xiu? He had fought bloody battles within the secret realm for five hundred years! His murderous aura was formidable beyond measure.

Now, merely sweeping his gaze over the surroundings, he snorted coldly. "Hmph!"

Instantly, those terrifying eerie forces turned into dust under the impact of his will; the remaining forces trembled fearfully, not daring to approach further!

Seeing this, Gu Xiu no longer hesitated, speeding up his writing!

Moments later, when the eerie forces began stirring restlessly again, Gu Xiu completed the final stroke, finishing a full talisman.

Yet Gu Xiu didn't stop. His hands formed seal gestures, and he uttered a single syllable: "Jie!"

Immediately after the seal landed upon the bone, the blood talisman erupted with brilliant radiance, then slowly surged into the bone itself!

The next moment, the gales vanished and the heavy rains ceased. The blood-linked seal written by Gu Xiu also completely disappeared, leaving only occasional flickering streamers of light.

Simultaneously, a connection began forming between Gu Xiu and the finger bone.

It was established forcibly by Gu Xiu utilizing the suddenly invoked 'Jie' talisman. This character meant 'to know hearts, bind bodies, and control souls'. It was similar to the common master-recognition talismans used for divine tools, but far stronger. It was capable of forcing treasures to recognize masters.

The finger bone was not a treasure, but under the influence of the 'Jie' talisman, it was forced to connect with Gu Xiu.

Looking again, Gu Xiu immediately understood the secrets hidden within. His eyes revealed delight and surprise.

According to his observations, within this segment of finger bone existed a remnant trace of the original owner’s power—a single finger's worth of strength attached thereto.

The reason it absorbed massive amounts of spiritual energy was that it stored the energy, waiting to accumulate enough to unleash that stored power. Moreover, he discovered that a considerable amount had already been accumulated over long ages. Clearly, many people like Gu Xiu had discovered its peculiarity and poured energy inside, but pondered fruitlessly and eventually gave up.

However, the situation was different for Gu Xiu. Under the power of the 'Jie' talisman, he could not only see the secrets hidden within but also activate them!

"This single-finger technique is quite profound. I cannot discern exactly how powerful it is, but probably... extremely strong!"

He didn't rashly attempt to use it. Judging from the intensity of the stored energy, it was terrifying. More importantly, he discovered that once activated, the stored power would be completely expended. To use it again, he would need to refill it anew.

This posed a dilemma, because according to his estimates, even if he poured all his remaining seven hundred spirit stones into it, it probably wouldn't reach the current accumulation level.

Nevertheless, he remained spirited.

"Spirit stones can be earned again, but this thing is a lifesaving ultimate weapon!"