Chapter 481: Genetic Metamorphosis

Chapter 481: Genetic Metamorphosis

Based on his previous experience with gene recomposition, Ji Xinghuo anticipated that Qinghong would undergo an extended period of slumber and undergo a metamorphosis.

He moved into a house next door.

This was likely the residence of a legendary eccentric, located right next to Zogesoz's palace and occupying one of the best spots on the island. The house was well-built, complete with a courtyard, a garden, and even a cultivation room.

Ji Xinghuo moved in empty-handed and took out a ghastly eyeball in the cultivation room—none other than the Eye of the Heart Devouring Demon.

He had never heard of such a monster before.

However, based on the characteristics of this expansion curiosity, it must be an eerie psychic creature.

Using the Eye of the Heart Devouring Demon required one to be at least a legendary rank and have strengthened psychic defenses.

"I won't be needing this."

Ji Xinghuo squeezed the eyeball, popping it with a soft crack. Instead of juices, a thin mist of psychic energy floated out, which he inhaled gently.

In an instant, the transparent mist was sucked into his nose.

Ji Xinghuo's spirits lifted.

The next moment, an indescribable sound resonated in his mind.

It was as if a whisper came from the depths of his soul, vague and unclear, yet irresistibly alluring. The urge to listen intently would lead one to become unconsciously engrossed, eventually succumbing entirely to its influence.

"Mediocre."

Ji Xinghuo listened for a while before giving his calm assessment.

Most legends with strong enough willpower could withstand this level of psychic attack.

Not to mention his protection from the Myriad Star Pupils, which rendered the attack utterly ineffective.

His consciousness remained clear throughout, sensing a coolness flowing through his brain and quickly spreading throughout his body, infusing his flesh, blood, and stellar power before being completely absorbed. His interface now displayed [Fusion Count: 4].

"I can fuse with four different species now!"

Ji Xinghuo's face lit up with joy.

The four fusion counts were his new personal record.

One was from the previous use of the Mirage Spirit Pearl, two from the fragments of the Myriad Star Pupils, and the last from the Eye of the Heart Devouring Demon he had just consumed.

Ji Xinghuo had spent the last two days pondering how best to utilize these four fusion counts.

It would depend on Qinghong's situation.

If Qinghong acquired the Void Divine Dragon's genes and awakened the "Body of the Void Divine Dragon" after its metamorphosis, he would upgrade the Symbiotic Species Sharing by one level and share it with himself. As for the Void Divine Dragon's body, he would give it to Doomsday for fusion, thus saving a fusion count.

If Qinghong failed to awaken the Body of the Void Divine Dragon, he would have no choice but to fuse the species with Qinghong and then share it with himself.

After that, he would replicate the "Ethereal Clarity Heart" from Doomsday.

This star-falling exotic species was an enhanced version of etheric resonance, capable of increasing his stellar power limit, recovery speed, and cultivation efficiency.

Etheric abilities would benefit him for life.

Since he was preparing to challenge the Heavenly King realm, he couldn't afford to pass up on the Ethereal Clarity Heart to accelerate his progress. It would also be immensely helpful in his future advancement to become a Star Shepherd Saint.

Then, he would replicate the Annihilating Beam.

He decided to hold off on using the remaining two expansion counts, reserving them for the Stellar Power and the Magnetic Extremity Strike.

Upon evolving to the sixth stage, he would gain another fusion opportunity.

That would give him three in total.

At the Heavenly King stage, he could fuse with at least three different species. Even if he didn't acquire any more expansion curios, he wouldn't have to worry about his exotic abilities remaining stagnant throughout the entire Heavenly King stage, although the probability was low. Nonetheless, it was always better to be prepared.

At that moment, Doomsday poked its head into the cultivation room, gently nudging Ji Xinghuo and letting out a low growl.

Ji Xinghuo immediately understood what it wanted.

"Here you go."

He took out an Eye of the Heart Devouring Demon and handed it over.

Doomsday extended its tongue and crushed the eyeball in its mouth before closing its eyes, remaining still for a while. When it opened them again, a look of satisfaction could be seen in its eyes.

Ji Xinghuo checked his interface and saw that Doomsday's fusion count had increased to 1.

"We'll talk about it after Qinghong wakes up." He shooed away Doomsday, who was eager for the Void Divine Dragon's body, and then summoned the Nine Nether. He used a Mirage Spirit Pearl and a Heart Devouring Demon exotic species on it, increasing its fusion count to 3.

One of those counts was from the previous use of the Star's Tear.

Ji Xinghuo had always been perplexed by the Nine Nether, a spectral serpent spirit, as it was challenging to find suitable exotic species for it.

Its combat style focused on control and assistance, either through metamorphosis or attaching itself to his body.

Ji Xinghuo began searching through the Azure Sky Ring.

"Aha!"

He discovered an exotic species in Zogesoz's collection that matched the Nine Shadows perfectly. It appeared as a pitch-black sphere, emitting dark energy and causing a scorching sensation when held.

[Exotic Species: Shadow Burst]



[Grade: Super Limit]



[Fusion Success Rate: 71%, 28%, 92%, 35%]



[Upgradable: Yes]



The third number represented Nine Profundity's fusion success rate, an impressive 92%!

Ji Xinghuo examined it carefully.

The effect of Shadow Burst was to condense dark energy and unleash an explosive strike from a distance, inflicting not only explosive damage but also corrosion and shadow burns on the target. Subsequent hits from Shadow Burst would result in cumulative damage.

Shadow Burst was extremely fast but lacked range.

However, without a projectile, it was highly stealthy.

Even if an enemy had high defense and energy resistance, they would be blown to smithereens if hit by consecutive Shadow Bursts, each strike more powerful than the last.

Ji Xinghuo immediately handed the "Shadow Burst" exotic species to Nine Nether, which opened a slit in its head to swallow it. Black waves rippled across its body, and with a surge of undulating waves, it successfully fused with the exotic species.

[Exotic Ability: Shadow Burst (Level 1/283)]



Shadow Burst didn't require many exotic abilities to upgrade, and Ji Xinghuo didn't hold back, continuously infusing spiritual source energy into it.

With nearly 50,000 points of spiritual source energy, he directly upgraded Shadow Burst to (Level 5/181813).

"Don't turn into me when there's no need," Ji Xinghuo said, looking at Nine Nether as it mimicked his stature and appearance but contorted its posture and gestures, dancing and jumping around like a monkey, leaving him feeling helpless.

Nine Nether quickly changed back to its original form and, with Ji Xinghuo's permission, darted out to the seaside to test out its new Shadow Burst ability.

After some rest, Ji Xinghuo called back Doomsday and replicated the "Ethereal Clarity Heart" from it.

Replicating an exotic ability from a Dragon Vein user required the use of one fusion opportunity, and his interface showed that his fusion count had decreased to 3.

[Exotic Ability: Ethereal Clarity Heart (Level 1/1151)]



Immediately afterward, he invested 200,000 points of spiritual source energy, upgrading it all at once to (Level 6/777877), matching Doomsday's level.

Ji Xinghuo instantly felt the effects. His sensitivity to etheric energy surged again, and with the effects of his two Etheric Resonances stacking, he could almost directly control the etheric energy around him. With a mere thought, he could gather etheric energy from within a kilometer radius!

He could gather it or disperse it as he pleased.

Ji Xinghuo manipulated the etheric energy at will, immediately understanding how to apply it in combat. By disrupting an enemy's absorption of etheric energy, he could prevent their recovery of stellar power, giving him an absolute advantage!

The Ethereal Clarity Heart also conserved his stellar power expenditure.

Ji Xinghuo tested it out, and the consumption of all his exotic abilities decreased by about a quarter.

His stellar power recovery was faster, too!

He looked at the other two Etheric Resonances on his interface, both at (Level 6/2518/182111). They hadn't been upgraded in a long time, and he had shared one of them with Qinghong. If he upgraded them now, perhaps it would promote Qinghong's metamorphosis.

"Upgrade!"

Without hesitation, Ji Xinghuo invested 360,000 spiritual source energy, upgrading both Etheric Resonances to (Level 7/900971).

During the upgrade process, his range of etheric manipulation rapidly expanded.

At that moment, his range of control reached three kilometers! Endless etheric energy converged, forming an invisible energy storm that frantically poured into Ji Xinghuo's body, where it was absorbed and transformed into electromagnetic stellar power by his star glands. The stellar power value on his interface kept rising.

Moments later, the storm subsided.

[Stellar Power: 51275/51275]



Ji Xinghuo felt the swelling stellar power within him and looked at the numbers on his interface. In just over ten minutes, his stellar power had surged by over 13,000!

"This is great!"

It would save him a lot of cultivation time.

With the seventh-level Etheric Resonances, his stellar power limit and recovery speed increased again, and his cultivation efficiency rose accordingly.

Ji Xinghuo didn't upgrade his exotic abilities further but instead drank an "Etheric Refining Solution" and began to cultivate.

There was no training equipment in this house.

Moreover, with his current strength, ordinary equipment weighing several hundred tons wouldn't be very effective.

Therefore, Ji Xinghuo could only circulate stellar power through his star glands, accelerating its flow within his body and consuming it at an extremely high rate. Then, through repeated recovery, he would increase his stellar power. This was known as the "Star Gland Cultivation Method."

Although it wasn't as efficient as combining cultivation with training,

Ji Xinghuo possessed two Etheric Resonances, an Ethereal Clarity Heart, and an Etheric Resonance attached to his Photosynthesis Ring.

Even without the assistance of an Etheric Energy Gathering Room, his cultivation efficiency was extremely outrageous.

In one hour, his stellar power increased by about 10 points! In one Star Realm Day, it increased by 500 points!

Such a cultivation speed could be considered unprecedented in history. Even the most boring training sessions left Ji Xinghuo intoxicated, and he cultivated tirelessly every day, almost without rest, as if he had forgotten the passage of time.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Ji Xinghuo, who was in the midst of cultivating, seemed to sense something and immediately got up and flew out, arriving at Qinghong's side.

He had been paying attention to Qinghong's condition every day. From the first day, Qinghong had been digesting the Void Divine Dragon's flesh and blood in its sleep, and as it digested more, its body gradually shrank from its giant transformation state.

Yesterday, Qinghong had completely exited the giant transformation and returned to its true form.

Qinghong's true form was only a little over six meters long, which wasn't very large among monsters. Moreover, its proportions were relatively slender.

After this genetic recomposition, its true body length officially broke through the ten-meter mark, and then, within a few days, it grew to twenty meters.

There weren't too many changes to its overall form, but it had become more robust, completely shedding any traces of being a serpent. The golden, silver, and azure scales now also incorporated shades of gray-blue, blending the colors harmoniously. Its dazzling full-body scale armor, the golden mane growing from its neck, which was now denser, and the pair of horns on its head that pierced the void, all gave it an imposing and graceful appearance.

This form was more akin to the legendary Qilin.

At this moment, Qinghong opened its eyes.

A gray-blue glow flashed in its pupils, and Ji Xinghuo sensed a familiar aura from within—the characteristic of the Void Divine Dragon!

Qinghong slowly stood up.

This simple action conveyed both heaviness and lightness, combining two contradictory sensations as if it were effortlessly lifting a heavy weight.

Ji Xinghuo's face was filled with relief. Undoubtedly, Qinghong's genetic recomposition this time had been a success!

Suddenly—

Qinghong's eyes revealed a hint of cunning, and its body abruptly swelled, instantly transforming into a colossal being over a hundred meters tall, standing before Ji Xinghuo like a towering wall blocking out the sky. Its massive head lowered, and even a single eye was larger than Ji Xinghuo. A formidable aura, as substantial as a tangible object, exuded a terrifying oppressive force!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end