Chapter 317: Metamorphosis

'What the hell?!'

The Old Man's expression drastically changed as he stared at the two beautiful figures that had suddenly appeared beside him.

He never expected that someone else had already laid claim to this guy's body!

No wonder the kid had been so insistent on taking him in. He already had so many lice he didn't fear the itch!

"You two... we can talk this over..."

The Old Man immediately offered, "I don't need much. How about this... you two can dominate his mind day-to-day. I just want the weird energy this kid absorbs, and only twenty percent at that. How does that sound?"

"If you agree, I can teach you both immortal arts."

He acted submissive and compliant on the surface, but a dark glint flashed deep in his eyes.

Judging from the kid's performance, these two couldn't possibly be omnipotent figures. As long as he lay low and waited until he fully recovered, he could definitely take them both down in one fell swoop.

When that time came, not only would he claim the kid's body, but he would also bag two decent soul bodies for free. It would kill two birds with one stone.

Unexpectedly, the moment he finished speaking, Fei Yu smiled and glanced at the Fear Bird.

"Let's split it nine to one."

"It should be at least eight to two..."

The Fear Bird sounded reluctant, but Fei Yu just smiled faintly.

"It seems you don't even want ten percent..."

"Nine to one it is!" the Fear Bird panicked. She had no leverage to bargain with.

"Wait!"

The Old Man realized something was wrong and turned to flee. However, Fei Yu unleashed a swirling mass of air. Within the confined space, the cyclone instantly transformed into a fierce gale that swept him right back.

"This wind carries innate spiritual nature..." the Old Man muttered, using a specialized term from his era. His expression was filled with absolute terror.

How could this be... Entities possessing innate spiritual nature were actually huddled inside this kid's body...

"Spare me! Spare my life!" he screamed. But the Fear Bird made her move. Endless tentacles shot out, instantly tearing the Old Man's nearly transparent body to shreds.

"An immature scion of the Source of Mutation!"

Even after being ripped to pieces, the Old Man didn't die immediately. The parts of his body that hadn't been eaten by the Fear Bird fused back together, forming a miniature version of himself.

Having spanned two great eras, he finally recognized the Fear Bird's origins. His scalp went numb with terror, and he scrambled wildly into the distance.

"This 'immortal' tastes pretty good."

The Fear Bird licked her lips, having already eaten her ten percent.

"You're wrong, you're wrong! I'm not an 'immortal'! I'm not an 'immortal'!!! There are no more 'immortals' left in this world!"

The Old Man fled desperately.

"I am willing to acknowledge you two as my masters! From now on, I will toil like a beast of burden for you!!!"

"You aren't qualified,"

Fei Yu said flatly. "And I don't have the qualifications to take servants, either."

She reached out her hand once again. This time, several cyclones wreathed in seven-colored radiant light descended from the sky like falling rain. They instantly transformed into sharp swords, and the Old Man's body shrank by another eighty percent in a flash.

His remaining twenty percent made a final, desperate struggle:

"Then I'll acknowledge this human as my master!!! Please, spare my life!"

Little did he know, the moment those words left his mouth, not only Fei Yu but even the Fear Bird grew furious.

What kind of status did he think he had to be a servant?! She was nothing more than a prisoner herself!

Did this mean he thought he could manage her?

Without waiting for Fei Yu to act, she revealed her true form. A massive bird that blotted out the sky appeared. Tentacles surged from the quill of every single feather, and crimson eyes opened one after another in the gaps between her plumage. With just one swipe of her claw, the Old Man was reduced to a mass of energy and delivered right in front of Fei Yu.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing had also reached a critical juncture.

He had suddenly remembered that he still had a Ritual Blessing Coupon. The moment he sensed that the Fear Bird and Fei Yu had finished off the Old Man, he immediately used it.

The familiar cold currents and blazing flames of the past did not appear.

Instead, a passage of scripture slipped silently into his body.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of a digital clock rang in his ears.

"Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep—"

The alarm-like sound woke Yan Jing, and he slowly opened his eyes.

At this moment, a completely different demeanor shone in his eyes.

No, to be precise, his entire body gave off a strong sense of fragmentation.

His right half seemed covered in a layer of dust, causing any light that fell upon it to automatically deflect. Pitch-black threads formed a swirling vortex in his right pupil, and behind him stretched the massive Wings of Chongming. He looked like a Deity who had fallen to the mortal realm, giving off the aura of a tarnished treasure.

His left half was the exact opposite. A faint, lustrous white glow started from his hair and washed over his entire body. His clothes fluttered without any wind, and even the phantom projection of the Fear Tree seemed to transform into a divine tree under this light, capable of holding up the sun, moon, and stars. It swayed gently as he moved, making his disposition closely resemble the ethereal, immortal-like entity from just moments ago.

[Fula Rite: Stone Immortal (Semi-Complete Form)]

[Quality: Red]

[Fula Rite Ability 1: Like Mortal Stone]

[Originating from the mortal heart of a great entity combined with the stone dao of the 'Stone Immortal'. In this state, you will escape into the mortal dust, capable of hiding and disguising yourself from entities up to three tiers above your own, retracting your aura, and shedding your Transcendent Tier body.

At the same time, any mental abilities targeting you will be weakened by 90% (due to the sacrifice of that great entity, this effect ignores tier differences), and any crowd-control abilities targeting you will be weakened by 90% (ignoring tier differences).

You may choose to keep either this state or Ability 2 active long-term.]

[Fula Rite Ability 2: Like an Immortal Deity]

[Originating from the divine heart of a great entity combined with the immortal dao of the 'Stone Immortal'. In this state, you will gain an aura like that of a Deity, capable of disguising yourself as an entity up to three tiers higher than your own.

At the same time, any mental abilities you cast on your selected targets will be enhanced by 90% (ignoring tier differences), and any crowd-control abilities you cast on them will be enhanced by 90% (ignoring tier differences).]

[Fula Rite Extra Trait: Your next Ritual will naturally rise by one tier, your previous Ritual will naturally rise by one tier, and the third form of the Fear Stance is unlocked.]

Yan Jing gently clenched his hands, feeling the power surging through his body, and took a deep breath.

This Fourth Rite was undoubtedly another metamorphosis for him.

Setting the two abilities aside, the trait that elevated the quality of two Rituals was a qualitative change in itself.

As the Wings of Praying for Death ascended to orange-red, the cooldown of the Chongming State dropped from a month to ten days. The duration of its weakening effect on weird energy-based abilities increased from five minutes to fifteen minutes. At the same time, the physical enhancement granted by the Chongming State saw a massive boost.

As for his rarely used Praying for Death Evolution, its ability-nullification effect went from working on enemies two tiers higher than him to those up to three tiers higher. Its usage limit increased from twice a day to three times a day, and the speed of the death evolution was drastically improved.

Simultaneously, the daily passive physical enhancement provided by the power of Chongming had also greatly improved.

Paired with the physical boost from the Fourth Rite and the secondary enhancement of the Hercules Potion, he now felt that even without activating any forms, his base strength had reached the level of his previous first-form Fear Stance stacked with the Power of the White Stone and his Fear Bird Form.

And he knew exactly why the upgrade had been so massive this time—it was because of that man in the green shirt.

He didn't know if the man had ultimately managed to leave the great curtain.

But in the split second he opened his eyes, he had vaguely seen the hem of the man's green shirt sweep past his vision.

"Good luck to you," he whispered softly. Then, he pushed open the door and walked out.

Hearing the door open, Shen Youran, who had been waiting anxiously, immediately stood up. But a second later, upon seeing Yan Jing's current appearance, she unconsciously swallowed hard.

She didn't know how to describe Yan Jing right now. Words like 'handsome' didn't quite fit; it was an incredibly unique temperament. He seemed to possess a strange, magnetic attraction that made people want to approach him, yet hold themselves back.

"Did it work?" she asked, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah."

Yan Jing smiled faintly.

"Nice!!!"

Shen Youran pumped her fist, jumping up from the sofa before falling back into a pile of pillows.

Using a pillow to hide her flushed face, she lay on her stomach on the sofa and peeked at Yan Jing over the edge.

Yan Jing smiled and asked, "Teacher Shen, would you like a glass of milk?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Taking advantage of the moment Yan Jing turned around, Shen Youran excitedly grabbed her phone and snapped a flurry of pictures of him.

Then, she grabbed Yan Jing's phone, dialed Wang Changnian's number, and jogged over to hand it to him.

"Quick, Xiao Yanzi, this news has to come from you first!"

"Only after you leak it can I leak it!"

Shen Youran giggled, her eyes curving into crescents as she flashed a bright, toothy smile.

Yan Jing gave a helpless smile and spoke into the receiver, "Uncle Wang."

"Ah, Xiao Jing!"

Wang Changnian answered the phone with a hearty chuckle.

"How is it? Are you satisfied with the three items your Uncle Wang picked out for you?"

"I'm satisfied. Incredibly satisfied. Thanks for all your hard work this time, Uncle Wang. You really went out of your way for me."

Yan Jing thanked him sincerely.

Hearing this, Wang Changnian was elated.

"It's nothing. Have you decided what to pick in the end?"

"Yeah. I've already finished accommodating it,"

Yan Jing replied.

"Finished accommodating, that's grea—wait, that fast?!"

Wang Changnian realized something was off and couldn't help but sound surprised.

"What did you pick? The gloves or the milk?"

"Neither."

Yan Jing chuckled. "It was that stone."

"You succeeded?!"

Wang Changnian's excitement practically spilled out through the phone screen.

"Yeah."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Thanks to you, this can really be called a metamorphosis for me."

"Good. Good, good, good."

Wang Changnian repeated the word several times in a row.

He was genuinely thrilled, wishing he could instantly tell his old friend the news and show off his own good eye.

An orange-red Fourth Rite! A black-orange Third Rite!

Two Rituals that surpassed the limit!

At this point, it could be said that Yan Jing already had more than half a foot into the ranks of the future Seventh Rank. Even the Eighth Tier wasn't an impossibility!

And he himself was now virtually one hundred percent guaranteed to break free from his current predicament.

The top-ranked deputy Domain Chief?

That was no longer something he even needed to consider.

As long as Yan Jing didn't fall, no one would be able to say a word even if he, Wang Changnian, took the position of the true Domain Chief.

Following that, he excitedly briefed Yan Jing on safety protocols and explained that he would strengthen the security details around Ling'an.

But right at that moment, he received a notification on his phone. The instant he saw the contents of the message, Wang Changnian's pupils shrank abruptly.

[Yueyin Level-One Security Council Meeting is about to commence.]

[All personnel must join the video conference within three minutes.]

[Level-One Combat Readiness Alert.]