When he unrolled the scroll, the air grew heavy. The ink was not black but a deep, iron red. Characters burned with residual heat as if written in fire.
> [Technique Identified: Crimson Bone Baptism]
[Grade: High Earth | Classification: Body Refinement | Incomplete Form]
[Status: Condemned | Usage Resulted in Three Deaths, One Disfigurement]
Lin Zian sat on the cold floor and traced the first line with a finger.
"Temper the marrow through inner flame. Burn the weakness from the bone. Refine the shell. Strengthen the vessel."
He remembered this name — whispered among the inner court as a technique once offered to the sect's most promising body cultivators. But it had vanished after a disciple's skeleton cracked mid-breakthrough and his heart burst like a flame-struck bell.
Lin Zian's eyes narrowed.
"The fault is not in the path... but in the breath."
> [Flaws Detected in Breath Cycle Loop – 4th Circulation]
[Suggested Correction: Reverse Spiral Intake + Delayed Meridian Seal Compression]
[Risk Index: 68% | Success Projection: 32% → 78% with Manual Override]
He exhaled.
"Acceptable."
He removed his robe, folded it neatly beside him, and sat shirtless in the center of the sealed chamber. The walls felt close — as if pressing inward, as if watching.
Drawing his Qi inward, Lin Zian guided it through his dantian, cycling it through his twelve meridians as described in the scroll. His bones grew warm. Then hot.
Soon, every breath carried fire.
The Vault hovered just behind his senses — not loud, not leading — but gently stabilizing.
> [Marrow Activation: Initiated]
[Spiritual Flame Tempering: Level I → Level II]
Pain erupted through his chest. His ribs creaked. The Qi that normally flowed like a river now pulsed like molten iron, dragging across his joints and spine.
Lin Zian's fists clenched until his knuckles bled.
He focused.
His breath grew shallow, not from panic — but discipline. He pushed the Qi deeper, threading it into the marrow, the spaces between vertebrae, the hollows of his femurs.
> [Final Circulation Loop Approaching – Caution Recommended]
The heat surged all at once.
His vision dimmed. Blood ran from his ears. But he held the cycle — just long enough — and with one final spiral through his meridians…
Silence.
Then—
Crack.
A sound, not of breaking, but renewal.
Lin Zian exhaled smoke. His skin glowed faintly with internal light. The fire had not consumed him — it had cleansed him.
> [Crimson Bone Baptism – Corrected Form Acquired]
[Body Foundation Enhanced: Skeletal Density +45%, Qi Recoil Resistance +30%]
[Technique Status: Safely Usable – Tier Adjusted: Low Heaven Grade]
He rose slowly, body steaming, eyes clear.
His muscles felt tighter. Not bulkier, but coiled — like tempered wire waiting to snap.
"Another piece reclaimed," he murmured.
As he stepped from the stone chamber, light crested the horizon.
But far above, hidden on a distant cliff overlooking the sect, a shadow stood beneath an old pine tree.
The man wore elder robes, though no name was stitched into the collar. His aura was faint, concealed, yet deep as an ocean.
He had watched Lin Zian descend. And now, as the Vault-bearer emerged with new strength, his lips curled faintly.
"So he returns… through forgotten flames and forbidden bones. Foolish. He will stir the old ghosts if he continues this path."
The elder turned and vanished into the mountain fog.