LOST CULTIVATION METHODS

The air inside Jin's house was stifling.

Not from heat alone, but from the pressure of something primal — wild, powerful, and deeply unnatural. The scent of blood, incense, and yin essence lingered like perfume.

Jin lay in the central room, chest bare, body covered in glowing veins of demonic qi. His face was peaceful, yet his presence radiated danger. His heartbeat echoed like thunder through the walls.

Lana knelt beside him, face pale, hands trembling as she applied another damp cloth to his head. Arielle stood by the window, watching the unmoving undead horde through the shutters. Selene leaned against the door, arms crossed tightly — not in anger, but restraint.

Sarah had retreated to the far side of the house. She hadn't spoken in hours.

No one had.

The entire city was silent.

One Week Earlier... The Night of the Mistake

When they first brought him in, Jin was nearly gone.

The system's voice was faint. His body rejected pills, potions, even elixirs. No healing formation could stabilize him.

[System Alert: Host requires urgent replenishment of dual-natured essence. Yang Qi Overflow approaching fatal threshold. Spiritual collapse imminent.]

Arielle was the first to act. She gritted her teeth, swallowed her pride, and stepped forward.

"He needs yin energy," she said. "I'll… I'll do it."

They had done it before. She thought she could handle it again.

But this time… it wasn't Jin.

It was something else.

The moment her skin touched his, his eyes flashed crimson — and he moved.

Not with clarity or control, but hunger.

His demonic bloodline had taken hold — overwhelming reason. His instincts latched onto the closest source of yin, and Jin — unconscious, unaware — reached out.

And didn't stop.

What began with Arielle spiraled.

He turned from one to the next.

Selene resisted for a heartbeat — then failed. She had spent too much time watching him, training beside him, denying her feelings. And when he reached for her with heat and power and desperation…

She fell.

Lana had tried to stop him. She had entered the room only to cool his forehead, check his wounds.

But in his broken haze, Jin couldn't tell who was who.

His grip on her wrist was firm. His touch burned.

And in her moment of hesitation — torn between love, guilt, and fear — the unthinkable happened.

She didn't fight.

And no one stopped him.

Not because they didn't want to — but because none of them realized what was happening until it was too late.

Now: One Week Later

No skeleton had moved since the day of the battle.

The city was sealed.

Shops closed. Streets empty.

The undead army stood outside the walls like statues. Eyes blank. Bodies still. Thousands of them — motionless. It was a sight both horrifying and strangely calming.

Netizens dared not step outside at night. Outsiders refused to come in.

The word spread fast. Valeria became known as the City of the Sleeping Tyrant.

Rumors ran wild in the capital.

"Did he die after the battle?"

"No one's seen him in days."

"Did the women kill him for power?"

"Or worse... was he devoured by the undead army he created?"

None of them knew the truth.

That inside the house, Jin was undergoing a transformation so ancient and profound that even the system had gone quiet for days — unable to fully explain what was happening.

System Update – Six Days In

[Demonic Bloodline Progression: 15% → 20%]

[Bloodline Evolution: Crimson Sovereign Lineage Detected. Blood inheritance stabilizing.]

[Tyrant Body Stage: Final Stage of Silver Realm Achieved. Advancement Pending.]

[Warning: Memory Fractures Formed During Berserk State. Host unconscious. Retention of events: 0%]

The Awakening

The morning light filtered through the windows — soft, golden, silent.

The city held its breath.

Inside the house, a shift occurred.

Jin's fingers twitched.

Then his breath deepened.

The demonic markings on his body faded slowly, replaced by a faint, golden glow. His heartbeat slowed to a steady rhythm. Steam rose gently from his skin, like a furnace finally cooled.

Arielle stirred from her place beside the bed. She reached for his hand.

"Jin…?"

His eyes fluttered.

Then opened.

The world came back in pieces — smells, light, sensation.

His body ached.

His chest felt like molten stone.

He blinked several times… then sat up slowly, looking around.

And froze.

Blankets tossed. Pillows on the floor. Clothes scattered — his, and others.

Arielle, asleep, slumped over his arm.

Selene, snoring lightly against the doorframe in her thin inner robe.

Sarah… half-covered by a discarded shawl on the couch nearby, her face red even in sleep.

And—

Jin's breath caught.

Lana.

Lana Woods, his mother, knelt by the bed.

Her head rested on her arm, her long hair draped across his chest. Her face was calm. Peaceful.

Too peaceful. Too close. Too... bare.

Jin's pupils shrank.

"What the hell…"

He lifted the covers.

And his world collapsed.

His jaw dropped.

His heart stopped.

Then started again — like someone had punched his soul.

"No. No no no—"

He fell back against the pillows, eyes wide, mouth dry.

He couldn't even remember how — but something had happened. Too many things had happened.

Too close. Too intimate.

He couldn't breathe.

The system chimed gently in his mind — the worst possible timing.

[Good morning, Host. Welcome back. You've been unconscious for seven days, three hours, and forty-seven minutes.]

[Congratulations. Your body survived the transformation. Your bloodlines advanced. Your cultivation stabilized. And your… relations… intensified.]

[New Title Unlocked: Crimson Sovereign of the Bound Dead.]

[Personal Note: You may want to speak to the women… very gently.]

Jin stared at the ceiling.

He wanted to crawl into a hole.

Or rewind time.

Or die.

Maybe all three.

Then Lana stirred, blinking awake. Her eyes met his.

For a moment, they both just stared.

No one moved.

Then — horror bloomed across her face, just as it did on his.

"You're awake?" she whispered.

Jin couldn't respond. His mouth opened. Closed.

Selene sat up next, rubbing her eyes. "He's… Jin?! You're up!"

Arielle jolted awake and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

Sarah groaned and rolled over, murmuring, "He's… burning less now…"

All eyes turned to him.

He turned pale.

"I… I need air."

"You're naked," Selene pointed out.

"I'll crawl."

Outside – Moments Later

Jin stood alone in the garden, wrapped in a spare robe. His hands trembled.

The skeleton army was still there.

Waiting.

Like him.

Motionless. In a strange slumber. Bound by his soul.

He looked at his hands.

Power surged through them. He felt faster, stronger, deeper. But inside… he was still the same Jin. Lost. Terrified.

And deeply, utterly embarrassed.

But behind all that… something had changed.

He wasn't just a survivor anymore.

He was a force.

And the world would never forget the week the city fell silent…

…and the dead obeyed.