Yin Sha Bone-Tempering Method

Chen Mo's thoughts stirred.

The thin booklet in his hand seemed to tremble faintly. The information written on its pages was drawn out by an invisible force, turning into specks of light that sank into Chen Mo's brow.

A new entry immediately appeared on the surface of the Moonlight Treasure Mirror:

[Loaded Techniques]:

Nether Paper-Crafting Art—Incomplete (Third Layer)

Executioner Sha Body-Forging Method (Incomplete) (Not Yet Initiated)

At the same time, the details of the Executioner Sha Body-Forging Method—including its crude method for condensing sha and descriptions of the baleful intent found at execution grounds—were clearly imprinted in Chen Mo's mind.

"Just as overbearing and dangerous as I thought..." As he felt the blood-soaked method fill his mind, cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

That Red Sun Blood Crystal was precisely the material Lei Tiger had prepared to cultivate this body-forging method.

The technique practically trained its practitioners to death, with pitifully low odds of success. No wonder Lei Tiger had acquired only a fragment and didn't dare try it lightly, keeping it only as a collectible or a backup plan.

But an astonishing light lit Chen Mo's eyes.

Dangerous?

His current situation was the greatest danger of all!

He couldn't find any conventional, gentle solution. This unorthodox path—fighting poison with poison—was instead a sliver of life in the face of utter despair!

The Moonlight Treasure Mirror's analysis confirmed as much. The yin sha inside him was a calamity, but if used properly, it could still be turned into the fuel needed to cultivate the Executioner Sha Body-Forging Method!

The key lay in extrapolating, fusing, and adapting the techniques.

"Moonlight Treasure Mirror, show the extrapolation and fusion options." Chen Mo focused his mind.

The light on the mirror shifted once more:

[Based on the techniques currently available, the following extrapolation/fusion operations can be performed:]

Basic Completion: Consume Moonlight Spiritual Charm to extrapolate and complete the Executioner Sha Body-Forging Method to high-grade Yellow Rank, including basic sha-condensing and a simple spirit-protection method. Requires more than 2 points of Moonlight Spiritual Charm.

Targeted Fusion: Use the Nether Paper-Crafting Art as a base and fuse it with the principles of sha application from the Executioner Sha Body-Forging Method to derive the Nether Sha Puppet Art—capable of sealing some yin sha or external baleful intent into specially made paper puppets, granting them sha-based attacks. Requires 1 point of Moonlight Spiritual Charm.

Deep Optimization and Adaptation: Rather than raising its grade or deriving a new ability, focus solely on Chen Mo's current state, with yin sha inside his body. Extrapolate and optimize the incomplete Executioner Sha Body-Forging Method to the utmost, adapting it to create the Yin Sha Bone-Tempering Method, which guides the yin sha in his body to strengthen his skeletal foundation at the lowest possible cost. Requires 0 points of Moonlight Spiritual Charm.

Chen Mo's gaze swept quickly over the three options.

Basic Completion required too much Moonlight Spiritual Charm.

Targeted Fusion would boost his combat strength the most, but he didn't have even a single point of Moonlight Spiritual Charm right now. All he could do was stare at it.

His gaze finally settled firmly on Deep Optimization and Adaptation.

"What I need most right now is a foundation that will let me survive!" Chen Mo realized. "Even if the Yin Sha Bone-Tempering Method can only strengthen my bones and slow the loss of my vitality... that will be enough!"

"Choose Deep Optimization and Adaptation. Derive the Yin Sha Bone-Tempering Method!" Chen Mo ordered without hesitation.

In an instant, a torrent of information flooded his mind.

It was a cultivation method tailored to him: three distorted static postures, each designed to guide the yin sha inside him into striking the bones of his limbs, torso, and skull.

But this method also required the Red Sun Blood Crystal to cultivate.

Without the crystal's utmost yang source energy to protect his bone marrow, the moment the yin sha entered his bones, his marrow would freeze and his bones would crack.

During cultivation, he had to guide the crystal's warm current so that, at the instant the yin sha tempered his bones, the two forces could achieve a trace of yin-yang union within the marrow.

Its principle was to control yin with yang and temper bone with sha.

Every time he practiced, it would be like his marrow being plunged into a hell of icy needles and ground beneath them. The Blood Crystal's power was the only thing that could keep him alive.

Like repeatedly quenching raw iron in a frigid spring untouched for ten thousand years, the method used the yin sha already threatening Chen Mo's life, guiding and forcing it deep into the structure of his bones to temper them.

Once the two forces were successfully harmonized, the major bones throughout his body would undergo a transformation into [Mystic Yin Sha Bone].

These bones would be as hard as cold iron, far beyond ordinary weapons, and would greatly increase his strength.

A casual gesture could unleash the force of a thousand jun, while his bones would seem to weigh less, making him as swift as a startled hare.

The optimized Yin Sha Bone-Tempering Method had three layers in total.

The first layer tempered bone until it was like iron; the second, until it was like steel; and the third perfected the Mystic Yin Sha Bone.

"Lei Tiger really is a good man!"

After reading through the Yin Sha Bone-Tempering Method in his mind, Chen Mo sighed. Not only had Lei Tiger sent him a life-saving technique, he had prepared the materials needed to cultivate it as well.

He put away the other valuables and the wooden box, leaving out just one of the three Red Sun Blood Crystals. Carefully, he placed it within easy reach.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his excitement, he slowly assumed the first foundational posture of the Mystic Yin Bone-Tempering Method—the Yin-Embracing Posture.

The pose seemed simple: his arms folded across his chest and his body curled slightly, like an infant in the womb.

But his muscles, fascia, bones, and even his breathing all had to be subtly adjusted along the paths laid out in his mind.

As soon as he settled into the posture, Chen Mo felt an odd pull throughout his bones, especially around his thoracic vertebrae and ribs.

The yin sha that had been coiled in his meridians and flesh immediately responded to the Yin-Embracing Posture, surging toward his sternum and ribs of its own accord!

"Ugh—!" Chen Mo groaned, his face turning as pale as paper.

It wasn't ordinary pain. It felt as if countless icy steel needles were drilling inward along his marrow cavities!

That was only the first step, the yin sha surging of its own accord. Yet it made his vision darken, and he nearly passed out.

Chen Mo clenched his teeth, the coppery tang on his tongue jolting his nerves.

This was only the beginning. The most crucial step still lay ahead.

Trembling, he reached for the dark gold-red Red Sun Blood Crystal. It felt smooth and warm, yet heavy in his hand.

Following the technique's instructions, he pressed both ends of the crystal with a specific hand gesture and cautiously drew out a thread of pure, searing Red Sun warmth.

"Hiss!" The instant the current entered his body, Chen Mo sucked in a sharp breath.

It felt like a drop of molten rock falling into a frozen vein!

The Red Sun energy immediately clashed violently with the yin sha that filled his body. Wherever it passed, his meridians burned with pain, while the yin sha's chill made him suffer an extreme torment of ice and fire.

He didn't dare let his concentration waver. With sheer force of will, he guided the thread of Red Sun warmth along the special route specified by the technique, struggling toward the depths of the marrow in his sternum.

The process was slow and perilous.

The Red Sun energy was like a small boat fighting its way upstream through a raging, frigid sea, liable to be swallowed at any moment.

The yin sha, meanwhile, was like an enraged frost beast, trying to extinguish the invading warmth entirely.

Just as Chen Mo felt his mental strength nearing its limit, that faint thread of Red Sun warmth finally reached the core of the marrow at a point in his sternum!

At that very instant!

"Yin and yang unite; sha tempers bone and gives it life!"

The incantation appeared in his mind of its own accord.

The thread of Red Sun warmth was like a spark falling into an ocean of marrow filled with yin sha.

It didn't explode. Instead, it boiled with cold.

The yin sha and Red Sun energy—two utterly opposing forces—reacted strangely in the depths of Chen Mo's marrow, guided and constrained by the precise workings of the Mystic Yin Bone-Tempering Method.

"Crack... crack..."

[Mystic Yin Bone-Tempering Chapter Cultivation Progress: Initiated (1%)]

[Estimated Remaining Lifespan Adjusted: 263 Days (Yin Sha Erosion Rate Reduced by Approximately 2%)]

[Moonlight Spiritual Charm: 0]

The progress was minuscule, and his lifespan had barely changed, but Chen Mo's pale face showed the first genuine smile since he had crossed over.