Chapter 129: The Golden Scaled Python
Chapter 129: The Golden Scaled Python
Ji Xinghuo observed Qinghong closely as it underwent an evolution that took far longer than expected. Aether energy continuously flowed into its body, fueling rapid growth.
Each of Qinghong's scales shimmered with a radiant glow, reflecting light in a mesmerizing display.
The most peculiar change, however, was its newfound transparency.
Ji Xinghuo was astonished by this transformation. It was as if Qinghong had unfolded from a three-dimensional being into a two-dimensional one, its entire body laid out flat, revealing every detail—veins, muscles, scales, and bones—with nothing left hidden.
"What's going on here?" he wondered, perplexed by this unusual occurrence.
After all, this was just a life evolution, yet it had triggered such a strange phenomenon.
Ji Xinghuo speculated that it might have something to do with spatial dimensions. Qinghong's abilities, Dimension Stomach and Miniaturization, were both related to space.
In its current state, Qinghong resembled a three-dimensional being existing in another dimension!
Gradually, Qinghong's serpentine body grew to a length of four meters.
However, the transparent form it had assumed due to the dimensional shift seemed to be expanding further. While its physical body remained at four meters, its ethereal shadow quickly exceeded five, then six, and then seven meters... continuing to grow even as half an hour passed, until its dimensional shadow surpassed ten meters in length.
Its body phased through the wall like a ghostly apparition.
Fortunately, the adjacent room was a bathroom, so there was no risk of others seeing it. Qinghong seemed to realize this as well and coiled its tail to remain within the room.
This evolution lasted a full five hours!
When Qinghong's dimensional shadow finally stopped extending, it had reached a length of over fifteen meters, curling around itself in circles within the room, its once-illusory form now possessing substance.
Ji Xinghuo had waited patiently throughout the entire process.
Finally, the radiance on Qinghong's scales faded, returning to a color that was half-green and half-gold, and it had truly become a colossal creature!
The sight left Ji Xinghuo awe-struck.
This was the wonder and power of life evolution, the mighty force naturally bestowed by the Star Realm!
The interface of the Myriads Star Pupil displayed Qinghong's information.
[Spirit Beast: Golden Scaled Python]
[Level: Superb]
[Abilities: Dimension Stomach (Level 2, 19/5101), Miniaturization (Level 2, 32/3049), Golden Scaled Iron Spine (Level 4, 1/5477), Spirit Scent (Level 4, 16/2273), Aether Affinity (Level 4, 41/7079), Thunderclap Strike (Level 4, 34/2833), Gigantify (1/359)]
Ji Xinghuo immediately noticed the new ability that Qinghong had awakened.
"Gigantify!"
"So, this is the super-limit ability!"
He understood now—Gigantify and Miniaturization were a pair of corresponding abilities, one causing enlargement and the other shrinking, both involving spatial dimensions.
Gigantify was distinct from the common ability, Gigantification.
Gigantification was an excellent ability and served as the core of the Giant Commander profession template. It allowed an aberrant to increase their body size by a certain proportion, gaining greater strength.
However, Gigantification typically increased body size by no more than a third, and even with level advancements, it was challenging to achieve a growth of half. Its essence remained that of a flesh-and-blood body, limited by the structural components of a biological entity, unable to create matter out of nothing, and it did not affect weight.
But Gigantify was different!
Its functioning principle involved changes in spatial dimensions, allowing for a volume increase of over ten times at the outset, with weight increasing synchronously.
Ji Xinghuo didn't fully comprehend these profound concepts, but he understood that both Miniaturization and Gigantify worked by pulling the entity's projection from another dimension or hiding it within that dimension, involving extremely complex and vast energy conversions.
And since energy and matter were two sides of the same coin, Qinghong's weight would correspondingly decrease or increase, a truly wondrous ability.
At that moment, Qinghong opened its eyes.
It looked at Ji Xinghuo standing before it, confusion evident in its eyes as it wondered why Ji Xinghuo had become so tiny. Nonetheless, it affectionately leaned its head forward, seeking to nuzzle him.
"Wait."
Ji Xinghuo jumped back, startled by the massive snake head approaching him, the sense of oppression it gave off was too intense.
"First, shrink back down to your original size."
Qinghong pondered his words for a moment before understanding, and its enormous body instantly shrank, returning to its true size of around four meters in length.
Then, it shrank further, down to only a few centimeters in length, that light and nimble miniature form.
Ji Xinghuo reached out his hand, and Qinghong crawled onto his palm to play.
Just like before, this miniature form of Qinghong had almost no weight, perhaps a mere ten or so grams. It was hard to imagine that it could transform into a gigantic snake exceeding fifteen meters in length.
A superb spirit beast!
It had surpassed its own kind and was no longer an Iron-Arrow Green Snake.
For non-intelligent beings in the Star Realm, whether monsters or spirit beasts, reaching the Superb level was the most critical and challenging step in their life evolution. This evolution was akin to a fish leaping over the dragon's gate, and once they crossed this threshold, the possibilities were endless.
Ji Xinghuo glanced at the interface.
"Golden Scaled Python!"
The name was quite fitting, but he wondered if there were other Golden Scaled Pythons in this world or if Qinghong was the only one.
With this advancement, Qinghong's power had skyrocketed.
Previously, it hadn't excelled in direct combat, and Ji Xinghuo usually assigned it to tasks like ambushing and stealth. Now, it could truly serve as a formidable ally.
The defense provided by its Level 4 Golden Scaled Iron Spine was astonishing and could rival the famous super-limit ability, "Iron Body."
And then there was its Level 4 Thunderclap Strike.
When Qinghong used Gigantify, its fifteen-meter-long body, weighing two tons, combined offense and defense. Any ordinary super aberrant who encountered it would turn tail and flee.
Ji Xinghuo looked at the information for the "Gigantify" ability. Advancing it from Level 1 to Level 2 would require only 359 points of Spiritual Source Energy.
It didn't take long for him to reach the East Extreme Pass, the easternmost point of the Stellar Defense Line. He passed through the pass and entered the territory of the Beilu Shimenzu, then followed the defense line southwest, intending to make his way back to Jian Gu Fortress while harvesting Spiritual Source Energy, just as he had come.
Of course, he couldn't take the exact same route.
Previously, in his haste to acquire Spiritual Source Energy, he had hunted too frequently and might have aroused the suspicion of the Beilu Shimenzu.
This return trip wasn't as urgent, so he could expand his hunting grounds a bit.
In the midst of a dense forest...
Ji Xinghuo sat beneath a fallen tree trunk, his magnetic field senses alert. About three hundred meters away, there was a concealed sentry post hidden among several densely packed trees entwined with thorny shrubs. There was a tree hole that led underground, dug out to form a cave.
A group of eleven Beilu Shimenzu were hiding in this underground cave, led by two large Gunren.
There were also five Shixi people, a Tengjing, and three Gelaokake.
In the darkness, Ji Xinghuo looked at Qinghong in his hand and said softly, "You've grown up now. It's time for you to learn how to harvest Spiritual Source Energy on your own."
Qinghong looked at him with a puzzled expression, unsure what Spiritual Source Energy was.
"It's the thing that makes you stronger," Ji Xinghuo explained with a smile. "You can get it by killing enemies."
Qinghong's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
"Go ahead."
Ji Xinghuo watched as Qinghong slithered swiftly through the grass. He activated his audiovisual bracelet to link his senses with Qinghong's, guiding him with their shared extrasensory connection. Soon, Qinghong found the hidden sentry post concealed beneath the trees.
There were two Gelaokake hiding in the trees, but they didn't notice Qinghong at all.
The miniature snake quietly slithered into the cave, unnoticed by the Shixi guarding the entrance. It made its way deeper into the underground lair.
Ji Xinghuo, through their shared senses, saw what Qinghong saw.
"Attack!"
With that command, Qinghong's body instantly expanded a million times, its massive serpentine form filling half the cave. A thick bolt of lightning burst from its mouth.
Boom!
The lightning flashed violently, shaking the entire cave.
The two Gelaokake hiding in the trees heard the commotion but had no chance to react as two invisible arrows took their lives, sending their bodies tumbling to the ground.
Screams of terror echoed from the cave, but they lasted less than half a minute before falling silent.
+3 Spiritual Source Energy
+7 Spiritual Source Energy
+6 Spiritual Source Energy
Ji Xinghuo watched as the Spiritual Source Energy values on the interface kept ticking up. Through their shared vision, he saw the horrific state of the Beilu Shimenzu in the sentry post. The strongest among them, a large Gunren, had been struck down by the Thunderclap Strike. The rest had been crushed, constricted, or devoured by Qinghong's massive serpentine body.
Their weapons and abilities left only shallow marks on Qinghong's body, unable to penetrate its tough scales.
The lone Tengjing escaped, only to be pierced through its plant core by Ji Xinghuo's arrow.
Ji Xinghuo entered the cave.
Qinghong shrank back to its miniature form and crawled onto his palm.
"Well done!"
Ji Xinghuo praised it, then collected the spoils of their victory. Not long after leaving the cave, he invested the 30-plus points of Spiritual Source Energy he had just acquired into "Gigantify."
Qinghong's gigantified form immediately grew even larger, its length now approaching sixteen meters!
This immediate display of enhanced strength filled it with vigor, and it eagerly urged Ji Xinghuo to continue hunting the Beilu Shimenzu.
For three consecutive days...
Ji Xinghuo ventured deep into the Beilu Shimenzu's defense line, striking at dispersed locations. He hunted their people and harvested over 300 points of Spiritual Source Energy. About ten kilometers from Jian Gu Fortress, he invested the energy to raise Qinghong's Gigantify ability to Level 2.
[Ability: Gigantify (Level 2, 1/3169)]
"Show me how big you can get."
Ji Xinghuo released his hand from Qinghong, and in an instant, its body expanded, surpassing twenty meters in length! In the sunlight, each of its scales reflected a dazzling radiance.
At its thickest point, its diameter was nearly a meter, and its estimated weight had exceeded three tons.
Its head towered three meters above the ground, its eyes cold and cruel. Its gaping maw could easily swallow several adults whole, its fangs like blades, and its throat leading to the Dimension Stomach. Electricity danced on its forked tongue, ready to be unleashed at any moment.
Even Ji Xinghuo, as its master, was awestruck by Qinghong's powerful aura.
Truly, it was an exceptional spirit beast, both beautiful and dangerous!
Ji Xinghuo stroked Qinghong's scales, realizing that its potential far exceeded his expectations. Moreover, as an exceptional spirit beast, it could fuse with exotic species and utilize expansion artifacts.
He hadn't decided yet what type of exotic species Qinghong should fuse with.
He would also need to arrange for an expansion artifact.
Ji Xinghuo had Qinghong shrink down and hide on his body as they entered Jian Gu Fortress, where he noticed a different atmosphere than usual—a festive air with an extra hint of cheer on people's faces.
"It's the New Year!"
Ji Xinghuo realized with a start as he stood on the street, feeling a bit dazed. "Today is New Year's Day, the year 2225, back on Earth."
Unconsciously, he had spent two New Years in the Star Realm.
He stood there, his expression complex.
After a long while, Ji Xinghuo's face regained its calm, and he continued on his way.
But instead of heading to an inn, he made his way to the airship landing field at Jian Gu Fortress. He was going to Olympia and then returning to Earth!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
