Lican flipped through the pages of the manual, his eyes wandering over the blurred drawings without any real concentration. He was searching for ideas, trying to find a connection that could help him overcome his current predicament. "Since I know I can use other materials, how should I go about it?" he muttered.
He needed a way to redirect the strain caused by his inscriptions, either by transferring it to a substitute or finding a way to make the inscriptions exert their effects on something other than his own body. Another possibility was to inscribe the runes directly onto his chain. He picked it up and examined it, turning the idea over in his mind as he searched for a practical solution.
Lican continued mumbling to himself, considering one idea after another, until something struck him. What he needed was something solid, movable, and adaptable. As he pondered this, he wrapped the chain around his wrist, fidgeting with it while he thought. Suddenly, the chain tightened against his skin.
"Ah!"
He quickly loosened it, but his hands froze as his eyes widened. Staring at the chain around his wrist, he felt an idea take shape in his mind. A bracelet! What if he made a bracelet embedded with beads, each one serving as a vessel for a rune? By activating them individually, he could control when each inscription took effect rather than relying on several runes at once. He could even add supporting inscriptions to reinforce the bracelet, making it sturdy enough to withstand the strain of repeated use.
Lican's only problem now was finding suitable materials to make the bracelet. He needed something that would be easy to carve and inscribe, yet sturdy enough to withstand repeated use. Stone was an option, but it would be too heavy and time-consuming to work with, not to mention difficult to conceal. He paused, looking around his cave for something that might suit his needs, until his gaze settled on an object he had carelessly tossed aside.
He stood up and walked over to it before picking it up. Turning it over in his hands, he tapped it a few times, testing its sturdiness. Then, an idea struck him. A bone! He could carve it into whatever shape he needed and inscribe runes onto its surface. A smile slowly spread across his lips, but it soon faded as he considered another problem. Ordinary bones wouldn't be sturdy enough. He needed something stronger, something that could withstand the strain of repeated use.
Lican fell into thought, wondering where he could find such a material. Then, he suddenly burst out laughing as he remembered the Mountain Ape. That fellow had helped him in both life and death. I owe him one, he thought with a sigh, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. The ape's bones were much sturdier than those of ordinary beasts, making them suitable for his bracelet. With the right inscriptions, he could reinforce them further, while the ape's tendons could serve as strong cords to hold the beads together.
The next day, Lican returned to his usual hunting grounds, where he had fought the Mountain Ape. The corpse was still largely intact, save for a few bites taken by scavenging beasts. In this world, the stronger a cultivator became, the longer their body took to decay after death. Even after several days, the Mountain Ape's remains had yet to rot completely.
Lican's gaze settled on the corpse as he considered what he needed. If he wanted to create a bracelet capable of holding his inscriptions, he needed a material that was both sturdy and suitable for carving. After examining the remains, he settled on one of the ape's long bones. Before removing it, however, he had to deal with the flesh surrounding it.
He began stripping away the skin and muscles, his body gradually becoming stained with blood. He made sure to collect the heart blood first, carefully storing it before continuing with the rest of his work. It would be a waste to discard something so valuable from a beast of this strength.
Hours passed before he finally separated the bone from the remaining flesh. Lican picked it up and ran his fingers along its surface, feeling its remarkable hardness. It was considerably sturdier than the bones of ordinary beasts he had encountered, making it a promising material for his invention.
After examining it for a while, he took out his tools and began cutting away a section. The work proved more difficult than he had expected. The bone resisted his blade, forcing him to proceed slowly to avoid damaging it. Even so, he eventually managed to separate a small piece and began shaping it, carefully smoothing its edges as he worked.
A bead began to take shape beneath his hands, but Lican wasn't satisfied. The shape and size weren't what he had envisioned for his bracelet. He turned the piece between his fingers, examining it from different angles before setting it aside. This was only his first attempt, and he still needed to figure out how to create beads that suited his needs.
Lican considered the possibilities, imagining the runes he could carve onto the bone's surface. If the material could hold an inscription properly, he might finally have a way to carry several runes without relying entirely on fragile talisman paper. However, he couldn't afford to rush the process. Before committing the rest of the bone to his idea, he needed to test whether his inscriptions would work on it.
He placed the unfinished piece beside him and reached for his tools, picking up his jade pin and the smaller needles he had purchased earlier. He examined them briefly before turning his attention back to the bone. The materials were ready, but he still had much to learn about carving inscriptions onto a surface so different from talisman paper. The real challenge had only just begun.
The trees swayed gently in the breeze, lending the surroundings a sense of serenity. Beneath their shade, a young man carefully scraped a tiny pin across a small white bone, his movements cautious as though he feared damaging the piece he had spent hours working on. He was attempting to engrave a rune onto its surface, but his efforts had yielded little success. Sometimes the lines came out crooked, while other times the bone cracked under the pressure. He had been practising on small bone beads for hours without a single successful attempt, yet this was one of the most important steps in creating his bracelet.
Lican wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed in defeat. Perhaps he should practise with other materials first to familiarise himself with the patterns before attempting to inscribe the bones of the Mountain Ape. This wasn't going to be easy, especially since there were still several runes he hadn't learned that he wanted to incorporate into the bracelet.
One of them was the Essence Reservoir Seal, a rune designed to gather and store energy within an object, allowing it to serve as a reservoir that could power the other inscriptions. Since he couldn't rely on his own Qi to activate the bracelet, he needed an alternative source of energy. Beast heart blood might be the answer. If he could gather enough heart blood from different beasts and combine it through the appropriate method, perhaps he could create sufficient energy to power the inscriptions. However, he wasn't certain whether the different energies would work together or whether combining them would create unexpected problems.
"Hmm..." Lican fell into thought, considering the possibilities. There was still much he needed to figure out, and he couldn't expect to solve everything in a single day. This was going to be a lengthy process.
He gathered more bones and stored them away before packing up his tools and returning to clean himself. Tomorrow, he would continue practising his inscriptions while hunting for more beasts. If he wanted to bring his idea to life, he would need both the materials and the patience to see it through.