Night fell like ink, dotted with myriad stars.
Inside Gu Chengming's room, however, the lights were bright.
On the table, an exquisite jade bottle stood quietly, its body reflecting the candlelight with a warm luster.
Pulling out the stopper, specks of golden light spilled out.
This was the "Spiritual Rhinoceros Bone Tempering Dew."
An elder-level body-refining spiritual medicine.
If this item were placed in an outside market, it would probably cause rogue cultivators to fight tooth and nail for it.
Gu Chengming took a deep breath, adjusting his mindset.
He bathed and changed, burned incense, and purified his hands. Although he had a modern soul and didn't care much for such formalities, he was, after all, about to attempt the initiation into "Hundred Bones Resonating," which had tormented him for so long. A sense of ritual was still necessary.
After all preparations were complete, Gu Chengming slowly poured out the diluted spiritual liquid from the jade bottle.
The liquid displayed an eerie pale gold color, viscous like honey.
When the first drop of spiritual liquid touched his skin, Gu Chengming couldn't help but shiver.
Cold.
A cold that pierced to the bone.
It was like someone had shoved a handful of crushed ice down his neck in the middle of summer.
But immediately after, that chill instantly transformed into a raging inferno!
"Hiss—"
Gu Chengming gasped, not daring to delay, and quickly spread the spiritual liquid all over his body with both hands, especially along his spine. As the liquid seeped in, he felt his skin being pricked by countless tiny needles.
Was it truly worthy of being an elder-level spiritual medicine?
Gu Chengming gritted his teeth, enduring the discomfort, and began to assume the cultivation posture for "Hundred Bones Resonating."
He stood facing the "zhen position" in the east, feet slightly apart, firmly planted on the "kun position" of earth.
His spine was held perfectly straight, connecting directly to the "qian position" of heaven, and his cultivation art began to circulate.
That familiar, tearing pain struck again, but this time, beneath that domineering pain, there was an added layer of warm protective film—the medicinal power of the "Spiritual Rhinoceros Bone Tempering Dew" was taking effect.
Drawing the earth's yin from the yongquan acupoint, ascending along the governing vessel.
Gu Chengming's consciousness sank, as if he could feel the heavy, cold turbid qi from deep within the earth being forcibly drawn out through the yongquan acupoint on his soles, flowing upstream along the great dragon-like governing vessel on his back.
At the same time, absorbing the heaven's yang into the Chonglou (Throat), descending along the conception vessel.
With each breath, the clear spiritual qi freely roaming between heaven and earth was drawn into his throat's Chonglou, transforming into a pure yang heat current, rolling down the conception vessel on his chest.
One yin, one yang; one rising, one falling.
Two distinctly different energies finally met with a roar at the danzhong acupoint in his chest.
Focusing on Danzhong, urging the Kan and Li energies to boil like mercury in clouds and water!
The pale golden spiritual liquid applied to his body now seemed to come alive, transforming into countless golden threads that permeated his meridians.
They were like the highest-grade catalysts, yet also the most robust coolants, forcibly kneading the originally violent Kan and Li energies together.
Inside his chest, it felt as if a great cauldron was cooking.
resonance qi, manifest!
A never-before-felt current of qi was born within the danzhong acupoint.
This was the core of "Hundred Bones Resonating"—resonance qi.
Gu Chengming dared not be careless in the slightest, immediately guiding this newborn resonance qi, like a long whale drawing water, to forcefully infuse into the zhenshu acupoint in his back neck.
"Boom!"
A dull thud seemed to echo in his mind.
The dazhui acupoint was the convergence of all yang, and now, with resonance qi pouring in, intense pain struck.
Even with the spiritual medicine protecting his body, the feeling of his bones being about to burst still twisted his face, and cold sweat poured down like rain.
His spinal vertebrae emitted a grating "creak" that set his teeth on edge, as if they couldn't bear the load.
When the resonant light in the spine accumulated to the point of explosion, the resonance qi burst forth!
Finally, that power violently struck his tailbone.
"Om—"
An extremely dull sound emanated from within Gu Chengming's body.
This sound was not crisp like the clang of metal, but rather like an ancient, decaying bell that had slept for a thousand years, now struck hard by a giant log.
The shockwave reverberated through all his bones!
With this "bell chime," a visible wave of vibration, centered on his tailbone, instantly swept through all two hundred and six bones in his body.
Gu Chengming trembled all over, his legs shaking, nearly losing his balance.
The resonant sound then planted itself in his Dantian.
Thus, the Bone Resonance Activation Art was complete!
"Hoo..."
Gu Chengming exhaled a long, turbid breath.
It was done.
As that "Resonance Seed" completely stabilized within his Dantian, the system's prompt arrived as expected.
"Congratulations! 'Hundred Bones Resonating' has been initiated."
"Physique +1"
"Current Physique: 4"
"Status: Essence Blood Depletion (Current HP cap permanently reduced by 30%, and continuously decreasing daily. Estimated remaining lifespan: 380 days)"
Looking at his greatly increased lifespan, Gu Chengming was incredibly moved.
It wasn't easy; he had finally evolved from being able to drop dead at any moment to a "barely able to live for a year" sub-healthy individual.
Immediately after, the system interface refreshed again, and a new line of text appeared.
"Target acquired: Hundred Bones Resonating"
"Affection: 5/Stranger"
"Hundred Bones Resonating slowly awoke, looking at the unfamiliar ceiling, still a bit dazed. But after realizing what was happening, it was overcome with ecstasy."
"It's back! After so many years, buried and gathering dust in old papers, it has finally seen the light of day and returned to the world!"
Gu Chengming looked at the system's description, and a strong sense of déjà vu immediately surfaced in his mind.
This tone... these lines...
Why did the personality of "Hundred Bones Resonating" feel strangely familiar, despite being new?
"Hundred Bones Resonating turned its attention to you, thinking, 'Is this the disciple who is fortunate enough to cultivate me after so many years?'"
"It scrutinized your meridians and bones, its brow furrowing slightly."
"This aptitude... is simply too poor."
"Blocked meridians, loose bones, weak qi and blood; it's simply unsightly."
"It sighed, with a hint of disappointment that iron couldn't be forged into steel."
"Never mind, reborn into this world, I am ultimately dependent on others. Let me first see what is special about this kid."
"Hundred Bones Resonating attempted to take control of your body, to circulate twelve grand cycles on its own, to demonstrate its power."
"Allow?"
"Yes/No"
"What the hell..."
Looking at the translucent option box that popped up, Gu Chengming was suddenly surprised.
This was the first time the system had given specific option branches during an interaction, apart from basic operations like "select capture target."
Indeed, having options is what makes a proper galgame!
After a moment of internal reflection, Gu Chengming chose without hesitation—
"No."
It wasn't for any other reason, but as a veteran galgame player, Gal Master's intuition told him that at such times, he absolutely had to take the initiative.
Although he hadn't fully grasped the personality of this new capture target, one thing was clear from its inner thoughts just now:
—"Hundred Bones Resonating" was definitely the type of capture target that was strong-willed and self-important.
For this type of character, the biggest taboo is to be overly compliant from the start.
If you act meek and submissive, the other party will only treat you as a disposable tool. While affection might increase, it won't be much, and it will be difficult to unlock the true core storyline.
Facing such a capture target, you must take the initiative and appropriately show "indifference" or "disregard" to attract their attention and ignite their competitive spirit.
Commonly known as—playing hard to get.
"You rejected Hundred Bones Resonating's request."
"Hundred Bones Resonating was amused by your impoliteness."
"It thought to itself that this kid was truly unappreciative, but it said no more, merely snorted coldly and watched with folded arms."
If it ignores me, then so be it. I'll put it aside for now.
Looking at his remaining lifespan of nearly a year, Gu Chengming's sense of urgency significantly lessened.
Then, in the following days.
Gu Chengming completely ignored it, not even cultivating "Hundred Bones Resonating" once.
Every day, he unfailingly practiced the most basic "Huiyuan Sword Art" with his broken wooden sword in the courtyard, huffing and puffing.
"..."
It was during this period that, due to the bonus from the You Yuyao incident and these days of diligent practice, the affection for "Huiyuan Sword Art" soared, finally breaking the 90 mark.
"Huiyuan Sword Art Affection: 90/Adoration"
"It no longer feels humble, for it knows that in your hands, it is the strongest."
"It is willing to give everything for you, even if it means overdrawing its own potential, to make your every sword strike flawless."
Gu Chengming stood in the courtyard, holding a wooden sword, his breathing steady.
After these few days of refinement, especially after the affection reached 90, he felt as if a mysterious connection had been established between himself and the sword in his hand.
It was no longer simply swinging a sword, but a... resonance.
He slowly raised his hand and delivered a sword strike.
This strike was unremarkable, without any flashy movements, and not even fast.
But at the moment the sword was drawn, the surrounding air seemed to solidify for an instant. The sword's edge traced a path that was natural, yet untraceable.
A naturally stunning sword strike.
Although it was only for an instant, and only the most basic sword move, that artistic conception was truly present.
And "Hundred Bones Resonating," which had been watching with folded arms, ready to see a joke, keenly noticed this.
"Hundred Bones Resonating was utterly shocked. This kid's aptitude was clearly unremarkable, so how could he unleash such a stunning sword strike?"
"Did it misjudge him?"
"No, that's not right!"
"Hundred Bones Resonating suddenly had a flash of insight, concocting a startling 'truth' in its mind."
"It discovered that you treated that sword art extremely well, diligently wiping the wooden sword daily, and often speaking in its defense. And the power displayed by that tattered sword art in your hands far exceeded common sense."
"In contrast, although it was a high-tier cultivation method, because of your cold attitude towards it, even ignoring it for several days, it was still stuck at the introductory stage."
"A bold conjecture formed in its mind: Could it be... that this kid's level of affection for a certain cultivation method directly influences the speed and power with which he cultivates that method?"
"The more he likes a cultivation method, the stronger that method becomes in his hands; conversely, if he dislikes it, it becomes a mere scrap of paper in his hands?"
Gu Chengming looked at this series of psychological descriptions on the system interface and was completely dumbfounded.
"..."
Is this cultivation method's personality a bit too... divine?
The key is, although its process of deduction was completely wrong, its conclusion... it seemed to have guessed half right?
After all, Gu Chengming indeed got stronger by raising affection.
"Hundred Bones Resonating Affection +5"
"Current Affection: 10/Stranger"
Gu Chengming: "..."
Damn, you're a Strength Enthusiast too!
Rabbit Head Controls Big Head?
Immediately after, a clamor of voices suddenly echoed in his mind.
It was the impatient transmission of "Hundred Bones Resonating's" inner thoughts.
"Hundred Bones Resonating attempted to attract your attention."
"Hundred Bones Resonating began to promote its advantages."
"In the path of body refinement, some are fiercely powerful, shaking mountains with brute force; others are soft and enduring, skillfully deflecting immense power. These are all inferior methods."
"However, my Dao, 'Hundred Bones Resonating,' does not cling to the crude strength of the outer physical body, nor does it stop at the flexibility of tendons and membranes."
"Its profound mystery is hidden deep within the hundred bones, where sinews and bones resonate, seeking the resonance of form and spirit, drawing the rhythm of heaven and earth into one's supreme wondrous realm."
"Cultivate to great accomplishment, and the body becomes like a grand bell, with one tremor, all spells are repelled, all evils retreat; this is the path to heaven!"
It was like a salesperson eager to push a product, frantically listing its advantages, trying to pique Gu Chengming's interest and boost his "affection" for it.
Gu Chengming listened to this rapid-fire pitch, finding it amusing.
However... this seemed like a good opportunity to capture it?
Since you're being so proactive, I won't be polite.
So, he put away his wooden sword, sat cross-legged, and assumed the cultivation posture for "Hundred Bones Resonating."
Due to the previous five points of affection gained by "Hundred Bones Resonating," Gu Chengming was surprised to find that his understanding of this cultivation method seemed to have truly deepened.
The previously obscure meridian circulation routes now became clear.
The circulation of qi and blood in his body was also much smoother than before, and while the tearing pain was still present, it had significantly lessened.
The cultivation process, unusually smooth.
But this scene, in the eyes of "Hundred Bones Resonating," was a different sight altogether.
"Hundred Bones Resonating was ecstatic!"
"It felt it! That fluidity, that compatibility... this kid's cultivation speed was clearly much faster than when he first initiated!"
"Indeed, as long as his affection for it increased, his cultivation speed would receive a massive boost!"
"Hundred Bones Resonating thought, 'So this is my cheat code?'"
Precisely because of this self-congratulatory ecstasy, "Hundred Bones Resonating's" affection increased again.
"Hundred Bones Resonating Affection +3"
"Hundred Bones Resonating Affection +2"
As the affection increased, Gu Chengming felt that his cultivation became even smoother.
The circulation speed of resonance qi in his body accelerated, and the efficiency of bone tempering also increased.
And this, in turn, further confirmed "Hundred Bones Resonating's" misunderstanding.
"Hundred Bones Resonating Affection +5"
Thus, it fell into a strange, self-reinforcing loop.
The more Gu Chengming cultivated "Hundred Bones Resonating," the more "Hundred Bones Resonating" believed it was due to the increased affection, and thus its affection grew higher.
The higher "Hundred Bones Resonating's" affection, the more feedback and bonuses it gave Gu Chengming, and the faster Gu Chengming's cultivation speed became.
The faster Gu Chengming cultivated, the more "Hundred Bones Resonating" was convinced of its theory, and its affection increased even more enthusiastically.
After just an hour of cultivation, Gu Chengming opened his eyes and looked at the system panel.
"Hundred Bones Resonating Affection: 20/Stranger"
It's already... twenty?
This is too easy to raise!
"Hundred Bones Resonating thought, 'After all these years, I am finally becoming a peerless cultivation method.'"
"It thought, 'Indeed, my Hundred Bones Resonating is not inferior to any cultivation method in this life.'"
"Gu Chengming, break through for me!"
Seeing this, Gu Chengming finally couldn't hold back and realized where that strange sense of familiarity came from.
Damn, where did this webnovel protagonist come from?
How the hell do you capture this type of character? Gal Master never taught me this!
Rate on N.U.
