Yang Kai's gaze remained fixed on the thirty-two golden words shimmering on the book's page. Their meaning was straightforward... blood was the key to summoning the so-called Golden Body.
But even though he understood the process, doubt gnawed at the back of his mind.
This was a mysterious black book that had been disguised as a stone pillow for over a year. Why had it only activated now? Was it truly fate, or was he simply playing into something else's hands?
He scoffed at his own paranoia.
"Who would waste time scheming against a mere experimental disciple?"
After all, he was practically nothing... a nobody at the absolute bottom of High Heaven Pavilion, struggling just to survive. If there really was some grand conspiracy, it certainly wouldn't revolve around someone like him.
His fingers tightened around the heavy cover of the book.
"No risk, no reward."
With that thought, Yang Kai hesitated no longer. The writing on the page clearly stated that he must use his blood to guide it. He bit down hard on his index finger, breaking the skin, and allowed a drop of fresh blood to fall onto the page.
Drip, drip.
The blood splashed onto the dark paper, but initially, there was no apparent change. After a long, tense moment passed, a strange black light finally started to emerge from the page.
A pulse.
A slow, steady vibration trembled beneath his hands. The blood spread unnaturally, seeping deep into the book like water into dry earth.
Black light surged from the pages, crawling over his hands and slithering up his arms.
The dark energy began to coil, spiraling into a tiny, concentrated vortex at the center of the book. Within that vortex, something stirred.
A distinct glimmer of gold.
Yang Kai forced himself to remain clear-headed, despite the sudden throbbing in his skull. He watched intently as the golden glow grew stronger, the swirling black light eventually parting to reveal...
A skeleton.
A pure golden skeleton.
It was only about thirty centimeters tall, but it exuded a terrifying aura of ancient power.
At first, only the skull emerged from the vortex. Then, the rest of the bones followed, assembling themselves piece by piece in mid-air. When the entire skeleton was finally complete, it floated silently above the book, its legs crossed in meditation.
Golden light flickered off its polished surface, brightly illuminating the small, dingy hut.
Blood is cited, the golden body descends!
Yang Kai stared in stunned silence.
"This... is the Golden Body?"
This was completely outside of his expectations. He had imagined something grand... a towering warrior, a divine figure, or a massive immortal's remains. Instead, he got a small, incredibly smug-looking skeleton.
Yes. Smug.
Even though it had no eyes and no facial muscles to form expressions, Yang Kai distinctly felt like the damn thing was looking down at him with utter condescension.
Mocking him.
His lips twitched.
"You think you're better than me?"
Frustrated by its aura, he reached out to grab it.
But the moment his hand got close, the golden skeleton suddenly shot forward. It flew right past his outstretched hand and forcefully embedded itself directly into his chest.
A horrifying sensation erupted from deep within him... it felt like countless white-hot needles were stabbing through every single inch of his bones. His ribs cracked, his spine groaned under immense pressure, and his very marrow felt as if it were being violently shredded apart.
A scream tore from his throat, raw and unrestrained.
The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced in either of his lives.
He collapsed to the floor, his body curled in pure agony, completely unable to move. Every single bone inside him was breaking, shattering into absolute dust. But just as quickly as they broke, something mystical wrapped around the fragments... a strange golden-green energy.
This golden-green substance coated his shattered bones, rapidly repairing them, only for the brutal crushing process to repeat itself.
Crush. Rebuild. Crush. Rebuild.
Over and over again.
Through the haze of agony, Yang Kai recognized what was happening... his power, his immortal safety net, was hard at work keeping him tethered to life.
Pain like this should have made him pass out instantly. Any normal person would have lost consciousness long ago to protect their mind.
But Yang Kai fiercely refused to black out. He clung to his consciousness, relying on his unnatural endurance and sheer willpower.
He knew exactly how this worked. Someone always tried to seize the protagonist's body!
That golden skeleton... it wasn't just trying to refine his mortal bones. It actively wanted to take over.
From somewhere deep within the merging marrow, a hostile intent echoed in his mind: destroy the host's consciousness and seize the vessel!
Yang Kai's heart pounded.
"I was right."
His physical body trembled violently on the floor, but his mind remained terrifyingly sharp.
This was a battle of pure wills.
If he let go, if he gave in to the pain and passed out, his soul would be erased. His body would become nothing more than a puppet for this golden entity.
He knew he should be afraid.
But instead...
He grinned through his bloodstained teeth.
"You think I'm scared?"
If this thing wanted to take his body, then he just had to forcefully assimilate it first.
His awareness locked onto the invading golden presence, his selfish, unyielding spirit lashing out with all its might.
In his mind's eye, the golden entity actually flinched.
The bones inside him shattered once more, but this time... they were noticeably stronger when they reformed.
As Yang Kai's consciousness clashed with the golden skeleton time and time again, the continuous crushing and rebuilding cycle had fundamentally tempered his skeleton. With his newly forged bones becoming stronger and stronger, and the golden entity's invading power growing weaker and weaker, the excruciating pain naturally began to alleviate. The mental and physical struggle was nearing its end.
As the scales firmly tipped in his favor, the unbearable pain slowly became bearable. It transformed into a light tickle, and then eventually felt like refreshing splashes of cold water. The sensation was soothing, much like applying the healing cream earlier, causing his millions of pores to open and fully relax.
Aware of the golden entity's last, desperate struggle to survive, Yang Kai felt a surge of possessive fury. Cursing fiercely in his mind, he ruthlessly crushed the remaining hostile presence, devouring its essence.
Inside his body, everything finally calmed down.
A faint sigh seemed to echo in the room... a sigh full of comfort and a trace of great relief...not of Yang Kai.
The battle was over.
The golden entity's consciousness had been completely erased.
Only Yang Kai remained, now possessing the Proud Golden Skeleton.