Ashbone: The Record of Burning Heaven

Chapter 4: The Furnace of Bones

The thrill of the kill faded, leaving only the damp cold of the Blackwater Swamp.

Lin Jin dragged his feet through the sludge. The energy he had stolen from the Rot-Tooth Wolf was swirling inside him, wild and chaotic. It felt like he had swallowed a ball of hot iron.

"It burns," Lin Jin gritted out, leaning against a dead cypress tree. "I thought... I thought you said this was food."

"Raw meat gives you strength, but it can also give you parasites," the Entity replied lazily. "You consumed the wolf's essence, but it is impure. It is mixed with the beast's rage, its fear, and its filth. If you don't refine it, you will turn into a mindless monster."

Lin Jin shivered. He didn't want to become a beast. He wanted revenge. To get revenge, he needed a clear mind.

"How do I refine it?"

"Sit down."

Lin Jin found a relatively dry patch of roots and sat cross-legged.

"Forget everything the Lin Family taught you," the voice commanded. "They taught you to draw Spirit Qi from the heavens into your Dantian (lower abdomen). That is the path of Life."

"Our path is the path of Entropy."

"Visualize your spine. Not as a bone, but as a chimney. The energy in your body is the fuel. Ignite it."

Lin Jin closed his eyes.

It was difficult. For eighteen years, he had been told he was trash because he couldn't sense Spirit Qi. But this... this was different. He didn't need to sense the outside world. He only needed to look inside.

He focused on the hot, chaotic energy of the wolf. He pushed it toward his spine.

WOOSH.

In his mind’s eye, a grey flame ignited at the base of his tailbone.

"Gah!" Lin Jin’s body jerked.

Pain.

It wasn't the dull ache of his disease. It was sharp, searing pain, as if someone was scraping his bones with a knife.

"Endure it!" the Entity roared. "Fire purifies! Burn away the impurities! Keep only the Ash!"

Lin Jin clenched his jaw so hard his gums bled. He forced the energy into the grey flame.

He saw the red, angry aura of the wolf being consumed. The rage, the filth, the beastly instinct—it all burned away, turning into black smoke that seeped out of Lin Jin’s pores.

What remained was a trickle of pure, silver-grey liquid.

It dripped onto his spine.

Drip.

Where the liquid touched, the bone didn't rot. It hardened. It turned from a sickly white to a metallic, dark grey.

[System Notification: Bone Refining Successful.]

[Physique Improved: Mortal Body -> Iron-Rust Body (Stage 1)]

Lin Jin opened his eyes.

He exhaled a breath of turbid, black air.

The pain was gone.

He looked at his hands. The skin was still pale, but the muscles underneath felt tighter, denser. He squeezed the thick root of the cypress tree next to him.

Crack.

The wood splintered in his grip like dry chalk.

"I’m stronger," Lin Jin whispered. "Much stronger."

Before, he couldn't even lift a heavy sword. Now, he felt he could punch through a wooden door with ease.

"Barely adequate," the Entity scoffed. "You have merely reinforced your skeleton to the hardness of rusted iron. A real cultivator could still crush you with one finger. But... it’s a start."

Lin Jin didn't mind the insult. For the first time in his life, he felt progress. He wasn't dying anymore. He was evolving.

"What is this technique called?" Lin Jin asked.

" The Ashbone Scripture. There are nine stages. You are currently at the bottom of the trash pile."

Lin Jin stood up. His stomach growled again. The wolf's energy had been used to refine his body, leaving him empty once more.

But this time, it wasn't a desperate hunger. It was a calculated craving.

He needed more fuel.

Rustle.

Suddenly, voices drifted through the fog.

"Are you sure he went this way?"

"Positive. I saw the blood trail. The Patriarch said he was heavily wounded."

"Heh. Easy money. The Lin Family put a 500 Gold Coin bounty on his head. Dead or alive."

Lin Jin froze. He melded into the shadows of the cypress tree.

Through the mist, he saw three figures approaching. They wore leather armor and carried torches. Mercenaries.

They weren't strong cultivators—probably just Body Tempering Stage 3 or 4—but they were armed, and they were hunting him.

A day ago, Lin Jin would have trembled in fear.

Now, looking at them, he didn't see killers.

He saw three walking batteries.

Three sacks of calcium and marrow.

A cold, cruel smile touched his lips. The grey mist around his fingers thickened.

"500 Gold Coins?" Lin Jin whispered to the darkness. "My life is worth more than that."

"Go," the Entity whispered, sounding pleased. "The furnace needs more coal."

Lin Jin stepped out from behind the tree, blocking their path.

The mercenaries stopped. The leader, a scarred man with a machete, squinted.

"Hey! Is that him? The cripple?"

Lin Jin tilted his head. His eyes were devoid of light.

"Gentlemen," Lin Jin said softly. "Thank you for the delivery."

End of Chapter 4