The insects had done their work well; nearly all the flesh had been stripped away, leaving only clean, pale bones. As Li Wei looks at the piles, these bones, once the vessels of his enemies, will now be tools for his ascension.
Li Wei assesses his situation, recognising the absence of bone fire. The lack of it grates on his nerves, another obstacle to slow his progress. But frustration won't solve anything, and he refuses to let it hinder him.
With only mental instruction, the bone slave picks up the bones and begins the process of breaking them down into smaller fragments. Its stiff, precise actions feel almost ritualistic. Li Wei stands back, observing with cold satisfaction as the bones snap under the slave's force.
The fragments are reduced in size, then ground into a fine powder. The slave works tirelessly, its bony hands moving rhythmically as it completes the task. Li Wei's eyes remain fixed on the process, a sense of calm settling over him as he watches the bone dust accumulate. The silent, relentless labour of the bone slave serves as a reminder of the control he holds, not just over the creature but over the situation as a whole.
It is the efficiency that pleases him most. The bone slave doesn't tire, doesn't complain, and it carries out its orders without question.
Li Wei watches the process with great enthusiasm, taking note of how easily the bone slave handles the laborious tasks that would otherwise consume his time and energy. This creature will allow him to focus on more important matters—like his cultivation and potioneering.
"If a simple creature like this can be created and controlled, what heights could I reach with the right knowledge and resources?"
The bone slave starts gathering the powder and placing it into a sack.
As he continues to read the potioneering book, Li Wei becomes increasingly absorbed by its contents. This is the most valuable resource he has encountered so far. The author, clearly an expert in the field, extols the virtues of potioneering over traditional pill refining. According to the text, while pill refining requires numerous extra steps and results in the loss of material, potioneering is a more efficient and effective process. The liquid form of potions, the author argues, is easier to assimilate, providing more immediate and potent benefits.
Li Wei is intrigued by these claims, uncertain of their absolute truth but impressed by the logic behind them. The explanations provided in the book make sense, and he finds himself increasingly drawn to the idea of mastering potioneering. The potential benefits are immense, and the more he reads.
Li Wei positions himself carefully, facing the bare wall of his cave, ready to practise the techniques he's recently acquired. The dim light barely cuts through the shadows, but it's enough for him to focus on what needs to be done. "Better not ruin anything," he thinks, casting a glance over at his belongings. He makes sure they're well out of harm's way.
Li Wei stands, mentally preparing himself for the practice of Bone Mist. Unlike more straightforward techniques, this one requires preparation—specifically, bone dust. With a sharp breath, Li Wei focuses on his index finger, channelling qi into it until a bone growth protrudes from the tip. The process isn't without cost; the bone pierces through his skin, and blood seeps out. His index finger, already damaged from previous attempts, throbs with pain.
With the bone growth complete, Li Wei instructs the bone slave to grind it into powder. The creature works quickly and efficiently, breaking the bone into fine dust. Watching this process, Li Wei feels a sense of satisfaction. Despite the pain and the damage to his finger, this is progress.
Once the bone dust is ready, Li Wei gathers his qi, initiating the Bone Mist technique. The powder disperses into the air, forming a dense cloud that shrouds the cave. This time, the technique feels different. Li Wei senses a connection to the bone dust—an extension of his own body. Through the mist, he can feel every surface the particles touch, every shift in the air. The Bone Mist doesn't just distort vision; it enhances his awareness, allowing him to detect movements and presences within the mist. The power of this technique suddenly becomes clear: it's not just an offensive move, but a defensive one as well, giving him an acute sense of his surroundings.
The cave is thick with the swirling dust, and Li Wei stands at the centre of it, his connection to the particles making him feel almost omnipresent within the mist. He can sense everything, even the faintest of movements, making the Bone Mist a formidable technique in the right hands.
With the mist still lingering, Li Wei contemplates the potential of this ability. It's more effective than he initially imagined.
However, as he attempts to pull the bone dust back into himself, he encounters a problem. While some of the particles respond to his control and return, most of the mist has already dissipated into the air, beyond his reach.
Next for Skeletal Gale, as with Bone Mist, involves preparing the necessary material—bone shards. He focuses on his index finger once more, pushing his qi into it, forcing another bone growth to form. The sharp pain is familiar now, though no less unpleasant, as the bone pierces through his skin.
This time, instead of grinding the bone into powder, Li Wei breaks it into small chips. The bone slave assists him, its movements precise as it helps snap the growth into fragments. Once the shards are ready, Li Wei takes a step back, positioning himself away from his belongings to avoid damaging them.
With the shards prepared, Li Wei channels his qi into the technique. The Skeletal Gale forms as several bone fragments hover in the air, held in place by his focused energy. With a sharp release of his qi, the shards shoot forward, their paths precise and deliberate. Each fragment strikes the cave wall with a satisfying thud, leaving visible marks behind. The sound is rapid, calculated blows—efficient and deadly. When the dust settles, the impact is clear, with several deep marks left in the stone.
Li Wei clenches his jaw, realising the damage he caused to his own living space. Practising such a technique in the confines of his cave might have been a mistake.
Li Wei turns his attention back to the bone dust, intrigued by its potential. Skeletal Gale might be effective, but there's something about the bone dust that captivates him. He plays with the remaining dust, his fingers weaving through the fine particles. With focused intent, he attempts to shape the dust into various forms. His control isn't perfect—there are moments where the dust scatters, slipping out of formation—but he persists, mesmerised by the possibilities.
He focuses intently, compressing the bone dust into a dense sheet. The material, once light and scattered, is now firm under his control. Its surface appears smooth, almost polished, and it holds a weight that feels more substantial than he anticipated.
Curiosity gets the better of him. He draws back his fist and delivers a powerful punch, putting his full strength behind it. The impact reverberates through his knuckles, but to his astonishment, the sheet remains undamaged. Not even a crack.
Pain shoots through his hand, and he pulls back to inspect his knuckles. Blood seeps from small cuts where the skin has split, but the bone sheet is completely unaffected.
A grin spreads across his face, a flicker of excitement lighting up his eyes. The strength of this compressed bone dust is beyond what he expected.
"This is so fucking good," he mutters, chuckling to himself. The versatility of the bone dust excites him in a way that Skeletal Gale never could. The potential applications of this dust are limitless, he realises.
He thinks to himself that all these bone techniques are essentially the same thing—manipulating one's own bone in various forms. Whether it's Bone Blade, Bone Shot, Basic Bone Armor, or Bone Spire, they all revolve around the same principle: the manipulation of bone.
"I should experiment more, come up with my own techniques," he muses. "All these techniques—honestly, I should have thought of them myself." The idea of creating something unique, something that truly reflects his understanding of the bone techniques, fills him with excitement.
Li Wei spends hours experimenting with the bone dust, driven by both curiosity and ambition. He forces more bone growth from his body, the process becoming more familiar but no less painful. His index finger bleeds as he extracts new bone. The bone slave grinds it down efficiently into fine dust, creating a growing mound of material for Li Wei to manipulate.
Li Wei pushes further, experimenting with condensing the dust into solid forms. At first, the dust resists, slipping away as he tries to force it into rigid shapes. But with persistence, he manages to create crude spikes, solid enough to strike out at enemies. He realises that he can use the dust as an extension of his own body, launching it outward in concentrated bursts, replicating Bone Shot and Skeletal Gale.