I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 42: Bone One's Evolution
On the eighth day, before dawn, Lin Luo's phone suddenly buzzed violently.
Not a message alert, not an idle update – a violent vibration he had never felt before. The whole phone jumped on the table. Yue Long shot up from her bedding, her rabbit ears straight up, fumbling for her phone – but it wasn't hers. It was Lin Luo's.
"Master! Your phone is going to explode!"
Lin Luo had already picked up the phone. The image on the screen made his pupils contract – Bone One's interface no longer showed the small, fragile skeleton.
In the image, Bone One knelt on one knee in the middle of the ruins. His skeleton was changing dramatically – dark gold light seeped out from inside his gray-white bones. Not the bright gold of ordinary gold, but a deep, restrained black-gold, like steel tempered in dark fire. The light poured out from deep within the bone marrow, spreading along the bone's grain. Wherever it passed, the bone became denser and more slender.
Yue Long leaned over, her rabbit ears almost poking the phone screen. "Master, Bone One is glowing!"
"Evolving."
"What will he become?"
"Watch."
Bone One's skeleton was shrinking – not getting smaller, but reshaping. His bones became more slender and flexible. His originally somewhat bulky ribs became fine as feathers. Thin, blade-like bone plates grew at his joints, each one sharp as a knife. His height didn't increase – he was actually a little shorter than before – but the lines from head to toe were smoother, like a short blade in its sheath.
After the dark gold light faded, a layer of black mist seeped out from between his bones. The black mist wasn't a dull, lifeless color – it was alive, flowing and circling around Bone One's body like a translucent cloak. Where the mist passed, Bone One's figure became blurry, its outlines twisting and melting in the air.
Yue Long's rabbit ears went up. "Master, is he invisible?"
"Not completely invisible. Visual distortion. You can't see his exact position."
"So cool…"
Bone One's skull was also changing. His cranium became more compact, his cheekbones narrower, his eye sockets deeper. Two green flames burned deep in his eye sockets, but their color was slowly shifting – from green to dark gold, then back to green, finally settling into a dark green somewhere between the two, like a wolf's eyes in the deep night.
His shoulders didn't develop heavy pauldrons. Instead, two rows of small bone spikes grew diagonally from the outside of his shoulder blades. Each spike was only an inch long, their tips gleaming with a dark purple light.
Yue Long pouted, her cheeks puffing out and then deflating with a breath. "Master, are those bone spikes poisoned?"
"Deadly poison."
"When did he learn to use poison?"
"I don't know. Probably came with the evolution."
Bone One stood up. His build was leaner than before – about 1.6 meters tall, compact skeleton, very low center of gravity. His right arm was changing – a gap opened between the radius and ulna of his forearm, and slowly, a bone crossbow pushed out from the gap. The crossbow merged with the bone of his arm. The string was silver-white, glowing with cold light. Twelve bone arrows were neatly arranged in the magazine. The arrowheads were also dark purple.
Yue Long's eyes went wide. "He has a crossbow hidden in his arm?!"
"Yes."
"Can he still use his hand?"
Bone One clenched his right fist. His fingers moved freely. The crossbow was embedded on the inside of his arm – from the outside, it looked like nothing more than a small bony protrusion. When needed, the bone split open and the crossbow emerged.
Lin Luo opened Bone One's status panel.
[Bone One (Demon Cultivation · Black-Gold Skeleton · Assassin Form)]
[Cultivation: Body Refining Layer 5]
[Attack: ~520 (melee) / ~480 (crossbow)]
[Defense: ~500 (bone hardness at mid-grade magical tool level)]
[New equipment: Poison Bone Spikes ×12 (consumable, can be fired, poison lasts 30 seconds), Bone Crossbow (range 80 meters, magazine 12 bolts, auto-replenish 3 bolts per day)]
[New skill: Skeleton Roar (area sound wave attack, stuns enemies below Golden Core for 2 seconds within 30 meters, stuns Golden Core and above for 0.5 seconds, cooldown 30 seconds)]
[Trait: Black Mist Wrapping (figure distorts when moving, visual debuff, target hit chance reduced by 20%)]
[Status: Standing by]
Yue Long stared at the line "Attack ~520" for several seconds. "Master, Bone One's attack is higher than yours."
"Yes."
"Aren't you worried?"
"No."
"Why?"
"He's mine."
Yue Long opened her mouth, then closed it.
Lin Luo switched to Bone One's perspective. In the image, Bone One crouched at the edge of the ruins. Black mist wrapped around his skeleton, blending his figure into the gray sky. He looked down at his right arm, made a fist, and opened it. The crossbow trembled slightly on the inside of his arm. The cold light of the arrows flickered in the gaps between his bones.
Bone One stood up and walked to the remains of the Nascent Soul demon beast. The remains had mostly been dismantled – only the largest leg bones and spine remained. Bone One crouched, pressed his hand on the largest leg bone. The black mist from his skeleton spread to the remains, and the spiritual energy of the remains drained away rapidly. Within minutes, the whole remains turned into gray-white powder, blown away by the wind.
[Nascent Soul demon beast remains collected. Items have been stored in Shared Storage.]
Lin Luo switched back to the main account and opened the Shared Storage. A new pile of items appeared inside – Nascent Soul demon beast bones ×12 (selected), Demon beast core (Nascent Soul) ×1, Demon beast essence blood ×5.
Yue Long crouched beside him, her rabbit ears drooping. "Master, is Bone One coming back?"
"Not yet. He's waiting for a new target."
Lin Luo opened Bone One's idle settings and swiped across the map – deep in the ancient battlefield, an Ironback Wolf King at Golden Core Layer 3, about three kilometers away.
[New target locked. Ancient battlefield · Golden Core Layer 3 demon beast (Ironback Wolf King).]
[Predicted win rate: 82%.]
[Idle battle started.]
Bone One's figure vanished from the edge of the ruins. Black mist wrapped around his skeleton, nearly invisible in the gray battlefield light. He ran without sound, his steps light as a cat's – only the occasional crunch of breaking bones giving him away.
Yue Long stared at the screen. "Master, Bone One is so strong."
"Yes."
"Did you ever think he would become like this?"
"No."
"What did you think?"
Lin Luo thought for a moment. "I thought he could just keep idling."
Yue Long smiled. She stood up and brushed her skirt. "Master, Bone One is stronger than you now. You need to work harder."
"I am working."
"How? You just chop wood every day."
"Chopping wood is also training."
Yue Long stared at him for two seconds. "You're teasing me."
"No."
"When you chop wood, is your spiritual energy circulating?"
Lin Luo looked at her. "You noticed?"
"I'm your disciple." Yue Long's rabbit ears went up. "Every time you chop wood, the Nine Cycles Mystic Art is running. You're not just chopping wood – you're using the movement to guide your spiritual energy through your meridians. Right?"
Lin Luo didn't speak. The corner of his mouth moved.
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched. "Master, you never say what you're doing."
"If I said it, it wouldn't be idling."
Yue Long took a deep breath and stopped asking.
She went to make soup. Today she put in just the right amount of salt, tasting it three times before bringing it over. Lin Luo took a sip and didn't speak. Yue Long crouched beside him, her rabbit ears up.
"How is it?"
"Just right."
Yue Long's rabbit ears sprang up. "Say it again."
"Just right."
Yue Long smiled. She held her soup, crouched by the spirit field, her rabbit ears twitching.
Rat One poked his head out of his grass nest, squeaked twice, and ran over to crouch by Yue Long's feet. Yue Long scooped a little soup with her spoon and put it on the ground. Rat One took a lick, then another lick, then buried his whole face in it again.
"Master, Rat One is drinking soup again."
"He's drinking it off the ground."
"It's still soup."
Lin Luo didn't answer.
Yue Long finished her soup, took the bowls away, crouched by the stove, and washed them. As she washed, her rabbit ears slowly went up.
"Master."
"Yes."
"What is Bone One doing now?"
"Fighting a Golden Core demon beast."
"If he wins, will he send the bones back?"
"Yes."
"Then we'll have more bones. Peak Master Chen can make more magical tools."
"Yes."
"Then the inn can open."
"Yes."
Yue Long dried the bowls, put them away, walked over to Lin Luo, and sat down beside him. Her rabbit ears slowly drooped, resting on his arm.
Her phone rested on her knee. The chibi figure hit the wooden fish again and again. Merit +1, merit +1, merit +1.
Rat One poked his head out of his grass nest, squeaked twice, and ducked back in.
Lin Luo leaned against the stone wall, his eyes half closed. Bone One's idle interface turned in his mind – the black-gold skeleton running through the ruins, black mist wrapped around his skeleton, his figure nearly invisible in the gray battlefield light. He ran without sound, only the soft click of the crossbow being cocked giving him away – click, click, click, like a heartbeat.
Lin Luo picked up his phone and sent a command.
"Keep idling."
A line of text appeared on Bone One's interface.
[Command confirmed. Idle battle continuing.]
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(End of Chapter 42)
Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 3 (Displayed: Qi Refining Layer 1)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Third Cycle (progress 0.1%)
Lightning Prison Indestructible Body: Second Layer
Defense: 1000
Attack: ~400
Spirit Stones: 5250 (900 owed to inn)
Possessions: Nascent Soul demon beast bones ×12, Demon beast core (Nascent Soul) ×1, Demon beast essence blood ×5
Plan: Go to Artifact Refining Peak to see Peak Master Chen for equipment; go to Dining Hall to cook essence blood for pills; gather for a meal in three days
Alt Account · Bone One (Demon Cultivation · Black-Gold Skeleton · Assassin Form)
Cultivation: Body Refining Layer 5
Form: ~1.6m tall, black-gold skeleton, black mist wrapping, lean and agile build
Equipment: Poison Bone Spikes ×12 (consumable, poison lasts 30 seconds), Bone Crossbow (range 80m, 12 bolts, auto-replenish 3 bolts/day)
Skill: Skeleton Roar (area sound wave attack, stuns enemies below Golden Core for 2 seconds within 30m, stuns Golden Core+ for 0.5 seconds)
Trait: Black Mist Wrapping (figure distorts when moving, target hit chance reduced by 20%)
Status: Idle battle · Ancient battlefield, target Golden Core Layer 3 Ironback Wolf King, win rate 82%
Alt Account · Blood One
Cultivation: Qi Gathering Layer 8
Status: Hidden – Demon Abyss second layer
Alt Account · Rat One
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering Layer 6
Status: Spirit field at mine land
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Members: Yue Long, Su Xiaoxiao (bloodline awakening)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Contribution: Yue Long 50, Lin Luo 0
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (Human) + Essence Gathering Layer 1 (Buddhist)
Merit points: ~1000
Fudo Myoo's Resolution: 0.15%
Sect Contribution: 50
Spirit Stone balance: ~1100
Idle Sect Disciple · Su Xiaoxiao (bloodline awakening)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 1
Status: Inside Divine Phoenix Ruins, Five-Colored Divine Phoenix bloodline awakening in progress
Awakening time: ~12 hours remaining
Communication status: Cannot communicate
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Appendix: Special Cultivation Systems for Lin Luo and His Alt Accounts
Immortal Cultivation (Main Account · Lin Luo):
Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Core Opening → Fusion → Heart Movement → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Departure → Spirit Separation → Body Integration → Cave Void → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Demon Cultivation (Alt Accounts · Bone One, Blood One):
Qi Gathering → Body Refining → Core Condensation → Desire Embodiment → Devouring → Demon Infant → Soul Departure → Sense Separation → Body Fusion → Void Break → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Beast Cultivation (Alt Account · Rat One):
Spirit Gathering → Intelligence Awakening → Body Tempering → Bone Refining → Beast Core → Transformation → Soul Condensation → Spirit Roaming → Body Purification → Void Training → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Buddhist Cultivation (Yue Long):
Essence Gathering → Mortal Liberation → Core Mind → Will Dispersion → Clear Mind → Relic → Soul Movement → Void Transcendence → Pure Spirit → Void Passage → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Note: The above are the exclusive cultivation systems for Lin Luo and his alt accounts. Everyone else (side characters, enemies, etc.) uses the traditional system: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Training, Body Integration, Great Ascension, Tribulation Transcendence.
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(End of Chapter 42)