Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
******
"This!"
"This, this, this!"
Old Jack was shocked.
Staring at the golden-veined 'sweet potato' in Su Wen's hand, wreathed in dragon qi, Old Jack fell into a state of shock.
If I'm not mistaken, that shape... it looks like a dragon, right?
Dragon qi?
Hiss...
My goodness, what kind of treasure has Little Wen brought back for me?
"Grandpa, this is called the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. It possesses earth dragon aura. Consuming it will definitely cause your spirit to evolve. Moreover, after you absorb the dragon aura within it, your body will also be transformed. Living another twenty or thirty years probably won't be a problem."
Su Wen didn't mention any other effects, just introducing it from the simplest level.
Hearing that he could live another twenty or thirty years, Old Jack understood the preciousness of this Earth Dragon Golden Melon even more.
"Little Wen, are you sure this... Earth Dragon Golden Melon is useless to you?" Old Jack looked skeptical.
Su Wen smiled wryly. "Grandpa, I really have consumed several treasured herbs of the same level. Giving this Earth Dragon Golden Melon to me truly wouldn't be of much use."
Half-believing, half-doubting, Old Jack accepted the Earth Dragon Golden Melon from Su Wen's hands, cupping it reverently.
"Just pluck it and eat it directly. Go ahead and consume it now," Su Wen urged.
Old Jack obediently took the Earth Dragon Golden Melon into his bedroom, sat cross-legged on the bed, and quickly ate it in a few bites.
Su Wen saw a golden light begin to emit from his body. A dragon aura slowly rose from his body surface, quickly forming the dragon shape that had previously surrounded the melon, circling Old Jack.
A heavy, profound feeling instantly filled the bedroom.
As for anywhere further out, Su Wen used his spirit power to isolate the area so no disturbance from the bedroom could be sensed.
Time passed slowly.
While shielding the disturbance with his spirit power, Su Wen also sat cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation.
"My third spirit skill isn't purely the 'Great Stone Formation'. The formation is just one manifestation of my third skill, 'Combination'."
After obtaining his third skill, although Su Wen hadn't stopped developing his spirit skills while at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he had undoubtedly spent more energy on increasing his cultivation.
His development and combat testing of this third skill were still insufficient.
Not to mention that he now had an additional fourth skill—Replication—which required even more time to develop.
"Combination plus replication... perhaps this will be the core of my future development."
Pondering his development direction and sensing the capabilities of his own spirit skills, time quietly slipped away.
The next day.
Su Wen opened his eyes.
Old Jack was finally about to finish absorbing the medicinal power of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.
Being elderly and only having level twenty cultivation meant it took Old Jack a full day to refine the melon.
However, such a long refining time also spoke to the effectiveness of the refinement.
As time passed, the dragon aura transitioned from circling Old Jack to slowly merging into him, finally becoming a part of his own aura.
At the same time, Old Jack's aura began to reveal a vast and steady presence.
Opening his eyes, Old Jack felt as if a lifetime had passed.
He released his spirit.
A sweet potato.
No, now it should be called the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.
It wasn't just a match.
It was a perfect match.
Although Old Jack's evolved spirit looked quite different from the original shape of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon herb, with the dragon qi wreathing it and the golden leaf veins, calling it an Earth Dragon Golden Melon was completely appropriate.
Same characteristics, just a different external appearance.
"My spirit has changed so much!" Old Jack was astonished looking at his transformed spirit.
'Trading a shotgun for a cannon' was an understatement.
"My first spirit skill seems to have changed too," Old Jack said, shocked.
Su Wen wasn't surprised.
With such an evolution, it was normal for the spirit skill to change as well.
He asked Old Jack about the current effect of his first skill.
"My first spirit skill is still basically the same, but due to the change in my spirit, it doesn't just provide energy replenishment anymore. I can also imbue it with a wisp of dragon qi, strengthening the consumer's physique."
"Hm?" Su Wen's gaze instantly changed. He hurriedly asked, "Grandpa, is it a permanent strengthening?"
Old Jack shook his head.
"No. The dragon qi will dissipate as the sweet potato's effect wears off, and the strengthened physique will return to normal."
Su Wen was a bit disappointed.
He had thought it was permanent.
"However."
Old Jack seemed to have learned how to keep people in suspense. His "however" instantly lifted Su Wen's disappointed mood.
"How should I put it... this strengthening is a real strengthening that takes place." He scratched his head, seemingly unsure how to describe it accurately.
Su Wen asked multiple questions and finally understood what Old Jack meant.
In other words, the dragon qi's strengthening of the Spirit Master does actually happen; it is a transformative strengthening of the physique by the dragon qi.
But, the foundation of it all is still the dragon qi. As the qi dissipates, this transformation will also regress.
But having been elevated once means you have been elevated once.
With the experience of this real strengthening, subsequent body tempering will be much easier.
It's as if the path has been cleared for you, and you can just walk it directly.
Su Wen sucked in a cold breath.
He looked at Old Jack with disbelief.
"Grandpa, do you know how heaven-defying your spirit skill is?"
First spirit skill, hundred-year level!
Inconceivable.
However, this all seemed to be a strengthening from the evolution of Old Jack's spirit itself; the first spirit skill merely displayed it.
A super-duper weakened version of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon?
But, given that it could be produced as long as there was spirit power... even a super-duper weakened version was more valuable than a single, whole Earth Dragon Golden Melon!
With the sweet potatoes made by Old Jack's first skill, body tempering would become easier, and the threshold for absorbing spirit rings beyond the limit would correspondingly lower...
Su Wen thought of many things.
"Grandpa, try not to reveal the effect of your first spirit skill to the outside world."
Su Wen quickly ran through the options in his mind and decided that after bringing Old Jack to Tian Dou City, he would have him cultivate with Dugu Bo.
The two old men should have common topics.
Moreover, the benefits of this weakened, temporary dragon qi for Dugu Bo's spirit were self-evident.
Perhaps, by eating it over months and years, Dugu Bo's spirit might one day evolve again.
From Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor to Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor...
Of course, that was an exaggerated hypothesis.
The reality was more likely that Dugu Bo's spirit would become increasingly tyrannical, and the dragon bloodline within it would be excavated, making it a billion times stronger.
On the third day after returning to New Moon Village.
Su Wen wandered around the village.
By coincidence, he arrived at Holy Spirit Village.
On a small hill in Holy Spirit Village, a figure was sitting cross-legged, seemingly cultivating.
Su Wen was dumbfounded seeing the figure from afar.
This...
Tang San seemed not to have left yet.
He had graduated, but he hadn't set off for Soto City...
"Hm?" Tang San also sensed the presence behind him and ended his meditation.
He stood up, quickly turned around into a defensive stance, and looked at Su Wen.
"You are... Su Wen?"
Based on a vague impression, Tang San identified Su Wen.
He slightly relaxed his defensive stance, but then, feeling something wrong deep down, he secretly became even more vigilant. He tightened his sleeves; the sleeve darts inside were ready to fire at any moment, and his hands were prepared to unleash hidden weapons.
(End of this chapter)