Deep in the cave, the stone door creaked like a corroded coffin lid, sending goosebumps along the back of Chen Yuan's neck. In the hidden chamber, skeletons were arranged in a perfect circle, each with its phalanges driven into its own sternum in a grotesque ritual pose. Only the central crystal coffin remained intact. Within it lay a cultivator clad in a black robe embroidered with cloud‑and‑thunder patterns, his face so lifelike it seemed he merely slept.
[Ancient magic‑path energy field detected]
[Recoverable items: Myriad‑Bone Soul‑Refinement Jade Slip ×3; Bone Banner Fragment ×2; First Patriarch's Jade Token ×1]
"I should've searched every ant‑hole in the rotwood yesterday if I'd known I could pick up gear by spelunking." Chen Yuan stepped over fragments of bone toward the coffin. As his fingertip brushed the lid, every skeleton clicked its jaw sockets and turned its hollow gaze upon him. "What the—System, why no warning about a skeleton array?"
He stumbled back and instinctively drew the bone dagger at his waist—the "Bone‑Fang Blade" he had forged from the priests' remains. It glowed hot in his hand and its edge shimmered with clouds‑and‑thunder light. Around him, the skeletons rose, their rib cages exhaling gray mist that coalesced into twisted human faces—echoes of the beasts he'd refined before.
[Warning! Ruins' guardian mechanism triggered: Myriad‑Bone Soul Return Array]
[Bypass condition: inject primal magic‑path energy into the Patriarch's Jade Token]
"Primal energy? I haven't even reached mid‑Level‑2 Qi‑Refinement!" He saw the skeletons advance slowly—but each step raised his corruption by one percent. Desperate, he seized the jade token from the coffin ledge and recalled the flicker of power when he first touched his pendant on Earth. Forcing his blood‑breath power into it, he poured all his Blood‑Death Seal energy into the token.
A blinding jade light flared. Bones cracked; the skeletons collapsed. Chen Yuan sank to the floor, watching a line of tiny characters emerge on the token's surface:
"Later disciples must remember: the magic‑path refines the heart, not the form; refine bones and souls, but never the spirit."
At that moment, the system unlocked a new passive:
[Unlocked Passive Skill: Bone‑Vein Resonance (sense all skeleton distributions within 1 km)]
"This would've been handy earlier," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. The jade token hummed in resonance with his system menu, and the previously gray‑locked skill tab glowed golden. The exchange cost for the Myriad‑Bone Soul‑Refinement fragment dropped from 20 to 10 points.
Surveying the chamber walls, he noted a complex star chart—several symbols matched those on his jade token. Gathering the scattered jade slips, he saw each required a drop of blood to activate. As soon as he licked the first slip, torrents of arcane knowledge flooded his mind: a complete primer on corpse‑refinement, from selecting materials to infusing them with deathly qi.
"So the system's earlier lessons were kindergarten level?" he scoffed, reading the "Three‑Yin Corpse‑Puppet" forging method. "If I'd had these, I would've kept that priest's body intact last night—where will I find good remains now?"
Suddenly, the cultivator within the coffin opened his eyes—but it was only a residual projection. His voice was like a coin in ice water, distant and cold:
"I am the First Magic‑Path Cultivator, Azure Bone. I left these ruins for the worthy. The primordial chaos of the Cthulhu World is but corruption of ancient magic path spirit‐qi…"
At a crucial point, the projection flickered and went dark. Frustrated, Chen Yuan banged the jade token—but the system warned:
[Projection fragment failed to load. Collect three Azure Bone jade slips to unlock.]
He scowled and stowed the slips in his satchel, his gaze drawn to the Bone Banner fragment by the coffin's side—it was drawing in the nearby bones' energy, its edges gleaming metallically.
"Later. Let me check my stats first." Opening his panel, he saw his realm had advanced to mid‑Level‑2 Qi‑Refinement (92/100), and activating the jade token had reduced corruption to 25%. "Eight more XP to Level 3… Maybe I should refine these skeletons?"
[Refinable targets detected: Ancient magic‑path skeletons (Strength 0.4 ×7)]
[Warning: refining same‑path cultivator remains causes heart‐mind backlash; +50% corruption risk]
"High risk again." He eyed the cloud‑and‑thunder‑etched phalanges. Then recalling Azure Bone's words—"refine bones and souls"—he gritted his teeth:
"I'm already on the magic path. Better a backlash than staying stuck."
To his surprise, the refinements went smoothly. As the first skeleton dissolved in jade light, cool energy poured into his dantian, utterly unlike the scorching chaos qi he'd absorbed before. No corruption warnings appeared; instead:
[Pure magic‑path energy detected; corruption −3%]
"Why didn't you say so?" He refined the rest in rapid succession. Corruption dropped to 17%, and his XP filled to Level‑3 Qi‑Refinement, golden light spinning within him. Even better, each skeleton's refinement extended his Bone‑Vein Resonance range by another hundred meters—he now perceived skeleton clusters three hundred meters beyond the cave.
"So refining same‑path remains cleanses corruption too?" He stroked his chin, eyeing the crystal coffin. The cultivator's body was too perfect to refine. "Too bad I can't touch you, Patriarch—respect."
He stored the Bone Banner fragment and the jade token. Noting that the token now harmonized with his qi flow—each time he invoked a skill, a cloud‑and‑thunder watermark shimmered on his chest—he felt an ancient presence watching, yet granting freedom of choice.
Before leaving, he experimented on his Bone‑Fang Blade with the jade slip's instructions. He pricked his finger, dripping three blood drops onto the blade, and whispered the "Bone‑Contract Incantation." The blade hummed, a half‑foot bone‑like extension sprouted from its edge, bristling with microscopic barbs.
[Artifact Upgrade Success: Bone‑Fang Blade (Mortal Grade–Low)]
[Bonus Effect: Rending Wounds (targets bleed qi‑blood over time)]
"Finally, a worthy weapon." Swishing the blade, he heard the snapping of bone on bone in the air. "If I get better materials, maybe I can forge a Corpse‑Toxin Banner—and raise an army of corpse‑puppets."
Returning to the cave's main hall under full darkness, he lit a fire and studied the Blood Pool schematic from the mill. The warped Cthulhu script grew clear under the token's jade light: the "Blood Pool" was a perversion of an ancient magic‑path blood‑refining array, corrupted by Cthulhu cultists to mutate humans.
"So they share origins." He recalled Azure Bone's projection—perhaps the world's chaotic qi was tainted magic‑path spirit‑qi. "Then my refinements are actually purifying that energy. The system said I practice the orthodox path—guess it was right."
At that moment, twigs snapped outside. He extinguished the fire and activated Tentacle Sense. This fluctuation was more complex than ever—mixed human blood‑essence and monster chaos qi. Three heat sources formed a semicircle around the cave.
[Targets detected: Mid‑Tier Cultists (Strength 0.7 ×3)]
[Recommended Strategy: use Bone‑Vein Resonance to command outer skeletons as distraction, then evacuate via northern secret passage]
"Finally you're useful." Chen Yuan crept to the cave's depths to the narrow fissure he'd found while refining the parasite. With Bone‑Vein Resonance, skeletons within three hundred meters clattered to life, rattling the forest floor.
"What's that noise?" The cultists whirled, stomping their bone‑staves on the ground. The deer carcass they'd set out glowed fiercely, transforming into a colossal stag wreathed in burning blood‑flame. Seizing the chance, he slipped into the fissure—but a kicked stone's clack alerted the beast, and its antlers scraped his heels as it lunged.
Deeper in the tunnel, water dripped. He raced by feel until he saw a faint jade glow—a hidden magic‑path ruin or trap? He had no time to ponder; the flaming stag's roar shook the walls. Remembering the jade slip's "Bone Prison Art," he bit his tongue and drew blood‑sigils on the rock ceiling. Above, skeletons animated and formed a cage, smashing down on the stag. In the flash of impact, he spotted moonlight at the exit—a sheer cliff dropping into the forest canopy.
"All in!" He leapt, activating Basic Invisibility mid‑air. The stag's flaming horns grazed his tunic, burning scorches into the hem, but it missed. He plunged into vines among the treetops as the cultists' curses trailed behind.
"Next time, I'll set defenses at the entrance." Gasping among the vines, he saw a gash on his left arm. Blood dripped onto the leaf litter below—and the plants recoiled in disgust. His corpse‑toxin resistance from past refinements had just saved him.
By dawn, he was back in the cave. Checking his status, he found he'd reached mid‑Level‑3 Qi‑Refinement (35/200) with corruption at 15%—still manageable. He retrieved the Myriad‑Bone Soul‑Refinement jade slip: 10 points required to learn it, but he had only 7.
"Need more points." He sighed and looked at the Bone Banner fragment. Recalling Azure Bone's hint—that forging artifacts demands soul infusion—he thought, "Maybe I can fuse those bone seeds I've refined into the fragment. Worst case, nothing changes."
He tried—and to his amazement, the fragment cracked with a crisp sound and glowed faint jade. The system reported:
[Bone Banner Fragment Repair: 20% complete; can summon 3 Basic Corpse‑Puppets]
"A small step, but it proves artifact growth is possible." He pocketed the fragment, token, and slips, remembering the star chart in the hidden chamber. Those points likely mark other magic‑path ruins. "Next I must leave this rotwood and head for Mist‑Hidden City—to see if the Shadow Circle is foe or friend."
Packing, he tore a piece of Azure Bone's black robe to wrap his token and jade slips. Where his blood touched the cloud‑and‑thunder cloth, the pattern faintly glowed—confirming the inheritance's continuation. He didn't know whether Lilith's dagger or Old Mo's schemes lay ahead, but he was no longer the novice who depended on tongue‑biting to stave off madness.
"System, open map function."
He tried, though expecting it still locked. The interface remained grayed out—but a single red dot now blinked on the black map: the hidden chamber, labeled "Azure Bone's First‑Era Dojo."
"So to unlock the map I must activate a ruin." He laughed softly, tucking the Blade at his side. "This 'finger of God' isn't cheat codes—it's a mystery box. Every feature costs half my life to reveal. But… that makes it fun, right?"
With the first sunlight filtering through the rotwood canopy, Chen Yuan set off on a new journey. His shadow stretched long on the forest floor, occasionally flickering with skeletal echoes—the mark of Bone‑Vein Resonance, and a badge of honor. In the shadows of the Cthulhu World, a magic‑path cultivator outside any system norms was forging his own path of defiant resurgence.