A delicate Jade Bottle stood quietly on the desk, its body gleaming with a warm luster in the candlelight.
He pulled out the stopper, and specks of golden light spilled forth.
This was the "Spirit Rhinoceros Bone Quenching Dew."
A body-tempering spiritual medicine of elder rank.
If this stuff were put up for sale at an outside Marketplace, those Rogue Cultivators would probably beat each other senseless over it.
Gu Chengming took a deep breath and composed himself.
He bathed, changed clothes, burned incense, and washed his hands. Though he was a modern soul who didn't care much for such elaborate formalities, he was about to make a breakthrough in the Hundred Bones Resonance that had tormented him for so long. A sense of ceremony was still in order.
Once everything was ready, Gu Chengming slowly poured out the diluted spiritual liquid from the Jade Bottle.
It was a strange, pale gold, thick as honey.
When the first drop touched his skin, Gu Chengming couldn't help shivering.
Cold.
Cold to the very core.
It was like someone had stuffed a handful of crushed ice down the back of his neck in the middle of summer.
But the next instant, that chill transformed into a raging inferno!
"Ah—"
Gu Chengming sucked in a sharp breath. Not daring to delay, he quickly spread the spiritual liquid over his whole body with both hands, paying special attention to his spine. As the liquid seeped in, he felt as though countless tiny needlepoints were pricking through his skin.
It really was worthy of being an elder-grade spiritual medicine.
Gritting his teeth and enduring the discomfort, Gu Chengming began assuming the cultivation posture for Hundred Bones Resonance.
He faced due east, toward the "Zhen" position, feet slightly apart and planted firmly in the "Kun" earth position.
His spine straightened, reaching toward the "Qian" heavens, as he circulated the Cultivation Method.
That familiar, tearing pain struck again. But this time, beneath the domineering agony, there was a layer of gentle protection—the medicinal power of the Spirit Rhinoceros Bone Quenching Dew taking effect.
He drew in the earth's yin through Yongquan, guiding it upward along the Governing Vessel.
Gu Chengming lowered his mind's focus, seeming to sense the heavy, cold, turbid energy deep within the earth. It was forcibly drawn out through the Yongquan acupoints on his soles, then surged upward along the Governing Vessel on his back, like a great dragon.
At the same time, he absorbed the heavens' yang through the throat, guiding it downward along the Conception Vessel.
With each breath through his nose and mouth, the clear, drifting energy between heaven and earth entered his throat and transformed into a stream of pure-yang heat, rolling down his chest along the Conception Vessel.
Yin rose, yang descended.
The two utterly different currents finally collided with a roar at the Shanzhong acupoint in his chest.
He focused his mind on Shanzhong, urging the Kan and Li energies to boil like water and fire refining mercury!
The pale golden spiritual liquid smeared over his body seemed to come alive, transforming into countless golden threads that seeped into his meridians.
They were like the finest catalyst and the sturdiest coolant, forcing the originally violent Kan and Li energies together.
Within his chest, it was as if a great cauldron were simmering.
Mist-shrouded Resonant Qi was born!
A current of energy unlike any he had felt before emerged within the Shanzhong acupoint.
This was the core of Hundred Bones Resonance—Resonant Qi.
Daring not to be careless, Gu Chengming immediately guided this newly born Resonant Qi and poured it into the Zhen Pivot at the back of his neck, like a giant whale gulping down water.
Boom!
A muffled sound seemed to ring out in his mind.
The Dazhui acupoint was where all yang meridians converged. As Resonant Qi flooded into it, agony struck.
Even with the spiritual medicine protecting him, the feeling that his bones were about to burst still twisted his face, cold sweat pouring down like rain.
His vertebrae creaked with a teeth-grating sound, as if they couldn't bear the strain.
When the resonant light within his spine built up until it was on the verge of bursting, the Resonant Qi exploded!
At last, that force slammed hard into his tailbone.
"Vmmm—"
An exceedingly deep sound rang out from within Gu Chengming and reverberated through his body.
It wasn't as crisp as clashing metal. Instead, it was like a rotten bell that had slept for a thousand years, struck hard with a giant wooden beam.
The shockwave rebounded through all his bones!
With that single "bell toll," a visible shockwave erupted from his coccyx and swept across all 206 bones in his body.
Gu Chengming trembled all over, his legs wobbling so badly that he nearly lost his balance.
The resonance took root in his Dantian.
With that, Tremor Bone Resonance Merit was complete!
"Phew..."
Gu Chengming let out a long breath of stale air.
He'd done it.
As the Resonant Seed settled firmly in his Dantian, the system's notification chimed right on cue.
[Congratulations! You have begun cultivating Hundred Bones Resonance.]
[Constitution +1]
[Current Constitution: 4]
[Status: Essence Blood Depletion (current maximum HP permanently reduced by 30%, and continues to decline daily. Estimated remaining lifespan: 380 days)]
Seeing his lifespan surge, Gu Chengming was deeply moved. It hadn't been easy. He had finally evolved from someone liable to drop dead at any moment into a sub-healthy person who could "just barely live another year." Next, the system interface refreshed again, and a new line of text appeared. [Target of Affection selected: Hundred Bones Resonance] [Favorability: 5/Stranger] [Hundred Bones Resonance slowly woke up and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, still somewhat dazed. But when it realized what had happened, it was overcome with joy.] [It was back! After so many years buried in dusty old books, it had finally seen the light of day and returned to the world!]
Reading the system's description, Gu Chengming was struck by an intensely familiar feeling.
That tone... those lines...
Why did Hundred Bones Resonance's personality feel so damn familiar, despite being a stranger?
[Hundred Bones Resonance turned its attention to you, thinking: So this is the disciple fortunate enough to cultivate me after all these years?]
[It looked over your meridians and bones, then furrowed its brow slightly.]
[This aptitude... was far too poor.]
[Blocked meridians, brittle bones, insubstantial Qi and Blood—simply an eyesore.]
[It sighed, with more than a hint of frustration at your failure to live up to its expectations.]
[Forget it. After being reborn, it was still dependent on someone else. It would first see what was so special about you, boy.]
[Hundred Bones Resonance tried to take control of your body and circulate Twelve Heavenly Cycles on its own, to show off its strength.]
[Allow?]
[Yes/No]
"What the hell..." Looking at the translucent prompt box that appeared before him, Gu Chengming was caught off guard. This was the first time the system had offered specific options during an interaction, beyond basic functions like "selecting a Target of Affection." As expected, options were what made a proper GALGAME! After a moment of reflection, Gu Chengming unhesitatingly selected—
[No]
It wasn't for any particular reason. As a veteran GALGAME player, Master Gala's instincts told him that at times like this, he had to take the initiative. Though he hadn't fully figured out this new Target of Affection's personality, one thing was clear from those thoughts just now— Hundred Bones Resonance was definitely the domineering, self-satisfied type. With a character like that, the biggest mistake was to be obedient from the start. If you acted timid and submissive, the other party would only treat you like a tool to order around. Your Favorability might rise, but not by much, and it'd be difficult to unlock the real core story. When dealing with a Target of Affection like this, you had to take the initiative and show a little "coldness" or "indifference" to catch their attention and rouse their competitive spirit. In other words—Playing Hard to Get.
[You refused Hundred Bones Resonance's request.]
[Hundred Bones Resonance found your rudeness so outrageous that it was amused.] [It thought you were truly an ungrateful brat, but said nothing more. It only snorted and watched with its arms crossed.]
If it wanted to be ignored, fine. He'd leave it alone for now.
With nearly a year of lifespan remaining, Gu Chengming felt much less pressed for time.
Then, over the next few days...
Gu Chengming completely ignored it. He didn't even cultivate Hundred Bones Resonance once.
Every day, rain or shine, he took that battered Wood Sword into the courtyard and practiced the most basic Huiyuan Sword Art, grunting as he went.
"..."
During that time, thanks to the boost from the earlier You Yuyao incident and his diligent practice over the past few days, his Huiyuan Sword Art Favorability kept climbing, finally breaking through 90.
[Huiyuan Sword Art Favorability: 90/Adoration] [It no longer thinks of itself as insignificant, because it knows that in your hands, it is the strongest.] [It is willing to give everything for you, even to overdraw its own potential, just to make every one of your sword strokes flawless.]
Gu Chengming stood in the courtyard, Wood Sword in hand, breathing evenly.
After these few days of practice—especially since his Favorability had reached 90—he felt as though he had formed a strange connection with the sword in his hand.
It was no longer just swinging a sword. It was... resonance.
He slowly raised his hand and thrust out a sword.
The stroke was plain and unremarkable, with no flashy movements. It wasn't even fast.
Yet at the instant he struck, the air around him seemed to freeze for a moment. The sword's path was natural, yet impossible to trace.
A stunning stroke, as if heaven itself had made it.
It lasted only an instant, and it was only the most basic sword move, but that wondrous state of mind was undeniably real.
Hundred Bones Resonance, which had been watching with its arms crossed, ready to laugh at him, keenly noticed this as well.
[Hundred Bones Resonance was utterly shocked. The boy's aptitude was clearly average, so how could he perform such a stunning sword stroke?]
[Had it misjudged him?]
[No, that wasn't it!]
[A flash of inspiration struck Hundred Bones Resonance, and it pieced together a startling "truth."]
[It realized you treated that Sword Art very well, carefully wiping the Wood Sword every day and often defending the art in conversation. The power that shabby Sword Art displayed in your hands also far exceeded what was reasonable.]
[By contrast, though it was a high-tier Cultivation Method, you treated it coldly and had ignored it for days. As a result, it was still stuck at the beginner stage.]
[A bold guess took shape in its mind. Could it be that how much a person liked a Cultivation Method directly affected how quickly and powerfully they could cultivate it?]
[The more he liked a Cultivation Method, the stronger it became in his hands; conversely, if he disliked it, it was nothing more than a scrap of paper?] ```
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