Yi Tianxing was already intimately familiar with the secret method for opening the Dragonbone Life Aperture. He had memorized it thoroughly.
The foundational principle of opening any Life Aperture (命窍) lies in runes (符文). These runes are the essence of Life Aperture divine abilities—they represent the laws of heaven and earth. They are embodiments of Daoist principles, forming the backbone of divine abilities (神通) through their combinations. Runes are Dao; divine abilities are the manifestations formed by the fusion of various runes.
A complete divine ability requires dozens or even hundreds of runes. Stronger ones may require thousands.
However, opening a Life Aperture is not the same as condensing a divine ability.
When runes are used to create divine talismans (神通符箓), they can be nourished in the divine sea, allowing the user to cast various techniques. But once such a talisman is formed, its power and potential are fixed.
This is different from a Life Aperture divine ability.
The abilities nurtured within a Life Aperture are naturally born, without defects or instability—they are innate divine abilities, with the potential for continuous growth.
Even if one knows the method to cultivate a divine ability and the runes involved, one cannot simply carve those runes into the Life Aperture Core Pill (命窍丹) and open a Life Aperture. Why? Because the runes of a talisman lack something critical—the Primordial Blueprint (总纲).
Only with this blueprint can the divine ability emerge from the Life Aperture. The Life Aperture is the root; the divine ability its manifestation—this is the true essence of the Life Aperture system.
Thus, those who rely solely on talisman crafting to cultivate divine abilities will find it nearly impossible to open a true Life Aperture—unless they possess extraordinary comprehension and can reverse-engineer the Primordial Blueprint.
This is why inheritance is so vital.
"The Dragonbone Life Aperture requires 783 runes to form the foundation and the Primordial Blueprint. The entire process must be continuous and flawless—any pause or error would lead to failure."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath. All the prior steps had merely been preparation. The most crucial moment had arrived.
Any mistake at this stage would result in complete failure.
"Let's begin. This is the moment of truth."
Without hesitation, with a single thought, the blueprint and runes for the Dragonbone Life Aperture appeared in his mind.
Each rune was unique. As his mind focused, a rune naturally took form within his divine sea, fully conjured by his spiritual will. Once formed, his true essence flowed into it, intensifying the Daoist resonance it emitted. This attracted a wisp of natural law from the heavens, merging it into the rune. The rune was then branded onto the Life Aperture Core Pill.
Ding!
The rune imprinted itself with a clear chime, like gold striking jade. The sound was crisp and pleasant—a celestial note, cleansing the soul.
Whether it was illusion or not, after imprinting the first rune, Yi Tianxing sensed that the Core Pill had grown ever so slightly—imperceptibly, but undeniably.
Ding ding ding!
At first, with his willpower full, his speed of conjuring runes was fast. Each rune, once formed, resonated with heaven and was engraved onto the Core Pill, producing waves of clear Daoist tones.
As more runes merged, the Core Pill visibly expanded, each rune vividly etched upon it, exuding mystical power.
Yet as it grew, its density decreased—much like an inflating balloon, becoming thinner.
Yi Tianxing paid it no mind. No matter the change, he couldn't stop now. To stop was to fail, and failure meant the loss of the rare and precious treasures he had consumed.
That was unacceptable.
Ding ding ding!
The sounds of runes imprinting echoed like springs and morning bells.
The runes danced and interwove across the Core Pill, glowing with ethereal light as if they possessed life. Fortunately, the foundation materials of the Core Pill were extraordinarily powerful—true dragon bones, Godzilla bone, and Kunpeng bone. Even as it grew, it held its solid state, not dissolving into liquid or gas.
This was important.
During imprinting, the Core Pill may transition through three states: solid, liquid, and gaseous. Solid was best, gaseous the weakest. A liquid Core Pill meant even the inscribed runes would become fluid, reducing their strength—a massive loss of power.
Yi Tianxing didn't know whether the Core Pill could withstand the full load. But it had held so far.
Ding ding ding...
Time passed unknowably. One by one, 783 runes were conjured and inscribed.
When the final rune landed, the Core Pill had expanded enormously—but it remained solid. Victory.
"Done. Now let's see the transformation."
Yi Tianxing exhaled deeply. He had succeeded in inscribing the full Primordial Blueprint. Now, it was up to the Core Pill to undergo its metamorphosis.
Crack!
As all the runes activated, divine light surged. Daoist resonance filled the air. The Core Pill began to crack, as if overloaded with divine essence.
Cracks spread rapidly until the entire pill fractured.
Boom!
ROAR!!
With a shattering sound and a thunderous dragon's roar, the Core Pill exploded into 783 fragments, each holding a single rune. The roar carried the will of the undying.
In response, the runes converged above the divine sea, forming—a dragon of bone.
Not a winged Western dragon, but an Eastern true dragon. It had only a skeleton, but its aura was overwhelming, radiating a will of eternal battle and immortal strength.
The bone dragon howled and flew from the divine sea into Yi Tianxing's body, diving into his skeleton.
The moment it entered, it began to tear through his bones with thunderous cracks, as if exploding popcorn. It roamed his entire skeletal system before burrowing into his spine, where it detonated.
A space opened up inside his spine—a void.
The bone dragon shattered again, and its 783 runes reassembled, now fusing with this void. As they merged into the walls of this space, mystic Dao patterns emerged, linking to the heavens. When the last rune was embedded—
A phantasmal skeleton appeared.
"This is… my own skeleton. But it's illusory. Once it fully materializes within the Life Aperture space, it will become the Immortal Dragonbone—radiating unending Daoist power and dragon majesty."
Yi Tianxing instantly understood.
This was the divine ability spawned from the Dragonbone Life Aperture—a power that refined and strengthened his entire skeleton, gradually turning it indestructible and immortal.
From the Life Aperture, Daoist resonance spread through his body, strengthening every bone. Yi Tianxing clearly felt his bones growing denser, tougher—imbued with dragon might.
Even his physical strength increased by over ten thousand jin.
"So this is the Life Aperture system. Truly profound. Aside from lacking the innate edge of a naturally born Life Aperture, there is no real difference. The Dragonbone Aperture, as a core aperture, will keep enhancing its origin and may even birth further bone-type divine abilities."
"Right now, I can even control every bone in my body. I could shrink my skeleton at will, like in bone-shrinking techniques, and even surpass them."
Feeling the transformation within, Yi Tianxing silently contemplated.