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 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 trials disciple?"
After all, he was nothing—a nobody at the bottom of the High Heaven Sect, struggling just to survive. If there really was some grand conspiracy, it wouldn't revolve around someone like him.
His fingers tightened around the book.
"No risk, no reward."
Thinking of this, Yang Kai hesitated no more. The writing clearly on the book clearly states that he must drip blood in order to lead. Thinking of this, he bit onto his finger hardly and dripped a drop of blood on to the page.
Drip, drip. The blood went onto the page, but there was no apparent change. After a fair amount of time passed, from the page, black light started to emerge.
A pulse.
A slow, steady vibration trembled beneath his hands. The blood spread unnaturally, seeping into the book like water into dry earth.
Black light surged from the pages, crawling over his hands, slithering up his arms.
The black light began to coil, spiraling into a tiny vortex at the center of the book. Within that vortex, something stirred.
A glimmer of gold.
Yang Kai forced himself to remain clear-headed, despite the throbbing in his skull. He watched intently as the golden glow grew stronger, as the swirling black light parted to reveal—
A skeleton.
A golden skeleton.
It was only about thirty centimeters tall, but it exuded an 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. When the entire skeleton was finally complete, it floated above the book, legs crossed in meditation.
Golden light flickered off its polished surface, illuminating the small hut.
Blood is cited, the golden body descends!
Yang Kai stared in stunned silence.
"This… is the 'Golden Body'?"
This was completely outside his expectations. He had imagined something grand—a towering warrior, a divine figure, an immortal's remains. Instead, he got a small, smug-looking skeleton.
Yes. Smug.
Even though it had no eyes, no facial expressions, Yang Kai felt like the damn thing was looking at him with condescension.
Mocking him.
His lips twitched.
"You think you're better than me?"
Frustrated, he reached out to grab it.
But the moment his hand got close,
the golden skeleton flew out towards him. Flying past his hand and embedded himself on his chest.
A horrifying sensation erupted from deep within him—like countless hot needles stabbing through every inch of his bones. His ribs cracked, his spine groaned under immense pressure, his very marrow felt as if it were being shredded apart.
A scream tore from his throat, raw and unrestrained.
The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
He collapsed to the ground, body curled in agony, unable to move. Every single bone inside him was breaking, shattering into dust. But just as quickly as they broke, something wrapped around them—gold green.
A gold green substance coated his bones, repairing them only for the process to repeat again.
Crush. Rebuild. Crush. Rebuild.
Over and over again.
Yang Kai recognized it immediately—his power, his immortal power, was at work here.
Pain like this should have made him pass out. Any normal person would have lost consciousness long ago.
But Yang Kai refused.
Not in the literal sense, but Yang Kai had always believed in one thing: as long as he didn't give up, he could not die. After all, he had read enough novels to recognize this common trope
Hadn't he read enough cultivation stories to know how this worked?
Someone always tries to seize the protagonist's body!
That golden skeleton—it wasn't just trying to refine his bones. It wanted to take over.
From somewhere deep within, a message echoed in his mind: Destroy Yang Kai's consciousness and seize his body!
Yang Kai's heart pounded.
"I was right."
His body trembled violently, but his mind was sharp.
This was a battle of wills.
If he let go, if he gave in to the pain, his soul would be erased. His body would become a vessel for whatever this golden entity was.
He should be afraid.
But instead…
He grinned.
"You think I'm scared?"
If this thing wanted to take his body, then he just had to take it first.
His awareness locked onto the golden presence invading him, his spirit lashing out with all its might.
The golden entity flinched.
The bones inside him shattered once more, but this time… they were stronger when they reformed.
It's no wonder, after Yang Kai and the golden body clashed time and time again, the numerous crushing of his bones had strengthened them. With his bones becoming stronger and stronger, and the golden body's powers becoming weaker and weaker, the pain thus naturally alleviated. The struggle will soon end.
With the scales tipping in his favor, the unbearable pain slowly became bearable. Transforming into light tickles, then becoming like splashes of cold water. This feeling was like applying cream, allowing his millions of pores to open and relax.
Aware of the golden body's desperate struggle, made Yang Kai furious. Cursing loudly, he crushed that presence within him.
Inside his body, it had finally calmed down.
A sigh could be heard, a sigh full of comfort and trace of great relief.
The battle was over.
The golden presence had been erased.
Only Yang Kai remained.