Cheng Xinzhan wasn’t lying.
In the煞穴 (Sha Cave), his flesh and skin had been burned away by the true煞 (Sha), and the scale he had placed on his chest had fused with his flesh.
When new skin grew, it enveloped the scale, and the marrow cavity of the scale connected with his meridians and blood vessels, taking root as if the scale had always been a part of his chest.
What puzzled him even more was that while he was clearing his百窍 (Hundred Apertures) to dissolve the true煞 (Sha) in his body, he discovered that this scale seemed to have become one of his apertures! This was an aperture that didn’t belong to the human body, something not mentioned in the《周天百窍内景经》(Zhou Tian Bai Qiao Nei Jing Jing).
He had no idea what its purpose was or how to open it.
The green螭 (Chi) dragon leaned over to take a look, her big eyes blinking, but of course, she couldn’t make sense of it either.
She simply nodded, indicating that she wouldn’t take the scale back.
Cheng Xinzhan pulled something out from his robe—a white jade bottle.
The bottle was slightly translucent, and inside, a blood-red light could be seen glowing.