Xiao Ning sat cross-legged in the dim cave, waiting for the last traces of silver fire to disappear from his body.
The Codex had fallen silent. The Paradox Meridians had concealed his cultivation so completely that even the system could no longer interfere with him.
For the first time in a long while, he could finally think without that annoying voice constantly bothering him.
Surprisingly, he felt rather comfortable.
His cultivation had been reduced to nothing, but the feeling of freedom was worth something.
"Hmph." Xiao Ning rubbed his temples and smiled wryly. "Starting over again. Seems like this is becoming a habit."
He wasn't particularly bothered by it. Li Feng's cultivation foundation had been a mess from the beginning, full of shortcuts and hidden flaws. Even if he had repaired it, there was no guarantee he could have advanced much further without encountering more problems.
Now, he could start from scratch and build a foundation of his own.
"Well, at least I don't have to clean up that mess anymore."
Although his cultivation methods and spiritual energy had been purged, his physical body remained largely intact.
His fourth-stage body refinement, powerful bone marrow, and rich blood essence were still valuable assets. These alone gave him an advantage over many cultivators, even without a functioning cultivation foundation.
More importantly, two unusual remnants remained within his body.
The first was the residue of the Nine Serpents of Heavenly Blight. Although the curse itself had been purged, a trace of its essence remained within his bones and heart meridian. It contained a powerful destructive force mixed with the remnants of divine poison.
Xiao Ning placed a hand against his chest and examined it carefully.
"This thing is still here? How persistent."
He considered it for a moment before smiling.
"Well, since you refuse to leave, I might as well put you to use."
The second remnant was the faint silver crescent on his left palm.
The Ghost Moon Brand had disappeared, but the pure Yin essence it left behind remained intact. Unlike the destructive energy of the Heavenly Blight, this power was cold, stable, and free of corruption.
"Pure Yin, huh? Not bad."
He studied the crescent for a while. Such an essence could prove useful when cultivating techniques involving Yin and Yang, opposing forces, or the interaction between extreme energies.
With these two remnants, his situation wasn't quite as hopeless as it had first appeared.
Xiao Ning leaned against the cave wall and began searching through the techniques he remembered from his previous life.
Most were unsuitable. Many required specific spirit roots, while others relied heavily on the traditional meridian system. Neither option was practical for his current condition.
"Too many useless choices. Is there really no technique that doesn't depend on spirit roots or meridians?"
After thinking for a while, a technique suddenly came to mind.
The Annihilation Bone Scripture.
He had discovered it years ago in a ruined site near the Bone Ash Wastes. Its contents had been engraved on several crumbling stone tablets, and he had memorized part of the scripture before leaving.
At the time, he had possessed a much higher cultivation base and had seen little reason to risk abandoning his existing path for an unfamiliar technique.
Now, however, his circumstances were entirely different.
"The Annihilation Bone Scripture..."
Xiao Ning recalled its fundamental principles.
Rather than relying on spirit roots, a Dantian, or the conventional meridian system, the technique used the bones as the foundation of cultivation. By transforming them with destructive essence, a cultivator could gradually develop an entirely different source of power.
It was an unusual method, but that was precisely what made it suitable for him.
"I still have my fourth-stage body, powerful bone marrow, and plenty of blood essence. With the remaining Heavenly Blight essence and that Yin energy, I should have enough to begin."
Having made his decision, Xiao Ning sat upright and closed his eyes.
According to the scripture, the first step was to transform the heartbone, a special point within the chest that served as the anchor for the cultivator's will and vital energy. Although it had no equivalent in ordinary anatomy, it played an important role in certain body cultivation methods.
Xiao Ning began guiding the remaining destructive essence toward it.
The process was far from smooth.
The black energy resisted his control, and every attempt to draw it toward his chest sent sharp waves of pain through his body.
"Come on, you little bastards. Don't tell me you've become useless already."
He continued patiently, gradually gathering the scattered essence around the heartbone.
After several minutes, the energy finally began to converge.
A small black vortex formed within his chest.
The moment it took shape, intense pain surged through his body. Xiao Ning's muscles tightened, and sweat ran down his face as the destructive essence began transforming the heartbone.
He gritted his teeth and endured it.
Slowly, the bone grew denser. Its structure changed as the destructive essence fused with it, turning it into something fundamentally different from an ordinary bone.
A skeletal core capable of containing and controlling destructive power was beginning to take shape.
The cave gradually darkened.
The change wasn't caused by the disappearance of light. Instead, the light around Xiao Ning seemed to bend toward his chest, as though an invisible force were drawing it into the black vortex.
Faint threads of obsidian light appeared beneath his skin, spreading along the veins near his heart. Each heartbeat sent a subtle pulse through them, releasing waves of pressure that disturbed the surrounding air.
After a while, the transformation finally stabilized.
Xiao Ning opened his eyes and took several deep breaths.
"Not bad. At least the first step went smoothly."
His heartbone had only just begun to transform, and the destructive essence within it remained weak. Still, the initial stage of the Annihilation Bone Scripture had been completed.
Next, he turned his attention to the silver crescent on his left palm.
The Yin essence beneath it remained as pure as before. Compared with the violent destructive energy in his chest, it was calm and stable, showing no signs of resistance.
Xiao Ning examined it carefully.
"One destructive, one Yin. If I can make them work together without destroying each other, this combination might be quite useful."
He had no intention of rushing things. The two forces were fundamentally different, and forcing them together without understanding their properties could easily backfire.
For now, he would cultivate them separately and learn how they responded to his body.
Once he understood them well enough, he could consider combining their powers.
Xiao Ning looked down at his left palm, then placed a hand over his chest.
His cultivation had been destroyed, his spirit roots were disabled, and his Dantian was empty. Yet he had found another path forward.
And this time, he intended to build it properly from the beginning.