Revive, My Old Comrades!

To help Red Snake transform, there were at least three steps.

First, he had to guide her in condensing her "demon body," bringing it into a state of "perfect harmony," then increase the degree to which her King-Class Crystal Core fused with this body.

Those two steps would not be difficult. Even if she could not complete the transformation afterward, Red Snake's strength would still improve noticeably.

The third step was the most crucial.

Once Red Snake was ready, Wang Jixuan would set up the [Demon Transformation Great Array]—a name he had come up with himself. If cultivation was not enough, the array would make up for it and help Red Snake complete her transformation.

If she used an active Transformation Spell, Red Snake would probably need to cultivate for several hundred more years.

Wang Jixuan wanted Red Snake to increase her strength as soon as possible, so he could only use the Enlightenment Method.

After transforming, Red Snake could operate the Psionic Mecha developed by Shen Qionglin, or pilot Human Civilization's ultimate weapon, the Terror Series Giant Mech...

That would definitely be great.

Wang Jixuan ignored Peony and Black Shell standing behind him. Maintaining his meditative posture, he continued speaking to Red Snake through telepathy.

"Red Snake, I'll first help you with some adaptation exercises. They'll raise your strength a little... Once you're ready, we'll begin. First, get into a comfortable sitting position and focus completely."

"Alright."

Red Snake yawned. Her enormous body slowly shifted, settling into a somewhat strange sitting posture before Wang Jixuan.

Azure Light flickered between Wang Jixuan's brows.

"Relax as much as possible. Next, I'll try guiding the circulation of psionic energy within you. Remember this route. For the next month or two, you'll need to keep guiding your psionic energy through it every day.

"This is the foundation for the real experiment later."

"Understood." Hearing the gravity in Wang Jixuan's telepathic voice, Red Snake became serious as well.

She focused completely. Her soul appeared above the crystal core, and following Wang Jixuan's instructions, she mobilized a portion of her psionic energy. That energy was then taken over by Wang Jixuan and began flowing continuously through her massive Blade Beast body.

The route was extraordinarily complex.

Wang Jixuan had adjusted it from the demon race's Transformation Cultivation Method, creating a version better suited to a Blade Beast's physical structure.

Red Snake studied intently for two hours, while Wang Jixuan patiently demonstrated and guided her through it three times.

Red Snake could clearly sense that her Sub-King Class Blade Beast body had actually grown a little stronger.

This was not some vague feeling. She could truly feel it—her six limbs were stronger, her exoskeleton had become tougher and thinner, and its protective power seemed to have increased markedly. Her body, which had always felt somewhat bloated, now carried a touch more lightness. But...

Wang Jixuan had only just stopped guiding her.

"I-I can't learn it, bro."

Red Snake's telepathic voice carried a hint of guilt and helplessness.

"This route is too complicated. There are more than three hundred nodes, and some parts loop around and around."

Wang Jixuan: ...

"Fine. I'll simplify it for you a little and take you through it a few more times. Don't spread this around."

"Even if I wanted to spread it around, other people would have to be able to use it first."

"True enough. Then don't tell Deep Sea," Wang Jixuan said deliberately, keeping her in suspense. "Once you've achieved some initial success, give Deep Sea a little surprise."

"Uh, are you sure this will surprise my husband instead of scaring him?"

"It should be a surprise."

Daoist Wang answered calmly. After thinking carefully, he began streamlining this new Transformation Technique.

Another Half an Hour passed. Wang Jixuan's spiritual sense detected some additional "equipment" outside the hangar. With a quick scan, he understood Old Fu's intentions.

They were urging him to refine pills.

Master was right after all. The wonders of pills are irresistible even to emperors and generals.

Though there were many matters to handle, they had to be dealt with one by one.

By the time Red Snake finally got on track, she was slowly but steadily guiding psionic energy to nourish her entire body.

Wang Jixuan raised a hand and wiped the hot sweat from his forehead. He was somewhat tired as well.

This girl's learning ability was truly not very good.

Wang Jixuan meditated for a while, calming his mind and relaxing his body and spirit before rising to his feet.

Peony, who had been standing behind him, immediately opened her eyes and bowed slightly to Wang Jixuan.

Still dressed in her standard maid outfit, Peony was as radiant as ever.

Black Shell was dozing by the hangar entrance.

Although the old general's appearance had not changed at all—his silver-white short hair still stood up strand by strand, his slightly gaunt face remained incomparably aged, and his Mechanical Body was still dominated by bronze tones—

Somehow, Black Shell now gave people the feeling of I'm still damn young.

That was the improvement brought by "divinity."

The low-grade Crane Origin Pill, originally meant to strengthen a mortal's whole body, had been specially used to strengthen Black Shell's brain, his remaining nerves, and his eyeballs. The effect was truly extraordinary.

Wang Jixuan could not help sighing inwardly.

The "power" of an ordinary King-Class Blade Beast was almost equivalent to that of some great demons, though the two were hardly comparable. Blade Beasts had far too few methods at their disposal.

Yet these Half-Human Mechs relied solely on mortal bodies, undergoing continuous Mechanical Modification to fight powerful Blade Beasts below the Pillar-Class...

That really wasn't easy.

Peony asked softly, "Sir, Instructor Shell asked me to wake him immediately once you got up."

"I'll do it."

Wang Jixuan lightly moved his fingers. Strands of spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips and transformed into a single drop of dew.

With a flick of his finger, he sent the dew onto Black Shell's forehead.

The old instructor's mechanical body shuddered. When he opened his eyes, a faint glow bloomed in them. He felt utterly refreshed, as though he had slept soundly for an entire day after a fierce battle.

"Teacher Wang Zheng!"

Black Shell shot to his feet, pressed both hands against the outer sides of his thighs, and bowed deeply with great seriousness.

"Thank you for saving me!"

Wang Jixuan raised a hand in a gesture of support and said calmly, "It was nothing. No need for formalities."

"Please save my old comrades!"

Black Shell cried out earnestly.

"Although most of us never managed to kill a King-Class Blade Beast alone in our lives, every one of them is a true warrior who guarded the borders of the D5 Comprehensive War Zone for over thirty years!

"They activated Terror Mechs through overload after overload, becoming a vital force that deterred King-Class Blade Beasts!

"If they can be pulled back from death's doorstep, the D5 Comprehensive War Zone will gain a group of veteran generals with extraordinarily rich Combat Experience! The pressure on our front lines will be greatly relieved!

"I sincerely hope you can help us!"

Wang Jixuan gave a bitter smile. "You're all too impatient. We have to wait until Beta's hair follicles recover... Call Beta and go to the Seventh Floor."

He turned to glance at Red Snake.

The Sub-King Class Blade Beast was currently wrapped in psionic energy.

Wang Jixuan said simply, "Do not disturb Red Snake. Keep the surroundings quiet."

"Understood!"

Black Shell turned to the side and pulled open the hangar doors.

Wang Jixuan walked out with Peony.

In the shadows outside, seven transparent Nutrient Pods of varying shapes stood on both sides. Behind each pod were several elderly people in White Coats.

Inside the Nutrient Pods, four men and three women—seven aged Half-Human Mechs—slept with tubes and wires plugged all over their bodies.

Peony softly explained beside him.

"Two first-generation models, three second-generation models, and two Third Generation Half-Human Mechs. All of them participated in the Rebellion War in the Psionic Capital fifty years ago. After successive major battles, their bodies were ultimately preserved, but their brains atrophied.

"The Commander-in-Chief distributed them among different Military Research Institutes... There were mainly two reasons.

"First, to delay their deaths by every possible means, placing hope in technological progress so they could regain their vitality.

"The other reason was to use them as experimental bodies and data templates for upgrading and iterating Half-Human Mech Technology.

"They all agreed to it themselves."

Wang Jixuan nodded, deeply moved.

They had been generals in life, then material when near death.

The legacy of the Half-Human Mechs was far too heavy.

"Have the Maid Group come over. Each of them can take care of one person. Peony, go invite Beta to the Seventh Floor. I'll refine two more batches today."

"Yes, sir," Peony replied with a smile. "Poor treant Beta has already been taken by Captain Zhou to soak in a bath. A bath of nutrient solution."

Wang Jixuan: ...

Why take a bath?

Could these people be planning to make full use of Beta's hair all over his body?

This...

Ancestor Ge above, please make sure the medicinal ingredients for alchemy only use Beta's head hair!

Before starting the furnace this time, Wang Jixuan tinkered with the Alchemy Furnace and added several sets of restrictions.

He was Not Good At alchemy, but he was skilled in artifact refinement. Upgrading the Alchemy Furnace as much as possible under limited conditions could also increase the success rate of pill refinement and reduce the loss of Spiritual Medicine.

With his previous experience, Wang Jixuan was more practiced now.

While refining pills, he kept only Peony at his side to assist him, with Beta nearby as an emergency supplier of Spiritual Medicine. Everyone else could only wait outside.

Shen Qionglin was extremely curious about this matter.

But she restrained that curiosity and voluntarily avoided the area.

At nine in the evening, seven Mechanical Maids received a new batch of slightly higher-quality Crane Origin Pills and began treating the seven decorated generals.

The treatment would last two or three hours.

Wang Jixuan watched for a while, then had Peony stay and keep watch while he returned to his quarters to shower, meditate, relax, and cultivate.

The three extra Crane Origin Pills from this batch had already been sent to other areas of War Zone D5.

At present, there were nine Half-Human Mechs in this Industrial Fortress whose strength was only slightly below Black Shell's. Wang Jixuan felt thoroughly secure.

He steadied his mind and meditated with his eyes closed, slowly absorbing the spiritual energy released by the crystal core.

After guiding Red Snake for so long today and refining pills for so long, he had gained several new insights into his Dao Heart.

Later, once Red Snake entered beneath the fortress, he would see if they could unravel the mystery of those "Glowing Stone Shards" and learn more about Blade Beasts.

Buzz, buzz!

Wang Jixuan suddenly remembered that he had forgotten something. He stopped meditating and hurriedly drew the vibrating communicator into his hand.

[Ling Tong (Under Maintenance): Have you finished your meeting?]

[Wang Zheng (Light of the Righteous Path): It wasn't a meeting. That was an automatic reply. I just finished preparing medicine here.]

[Ling Tong: Captain Zhou already told me you had something important to handle over there. I only contacted you earlier to say hello. Nothing urgent.]

She wasn't angry?

Wang Jixuan stroked his chin and considered it carefully.

According to Mu Liang's memories of fantasies about romance, shouldn't a girl be very angry when stood up?

[Wang Zheng: Where are you now?]

[Ling Tong: Preparing for my first speech. Memorizing these scripts is tiring, but it's manageable. Picture.]

[Wang Zheng: Shouldn't a speech be vivid and expressive? I suggest you send me a recorded video so I can help correct it.]

[Ling Tong: Wait a moment.]

Uh, she was really going to send one?

About two minutes later, a video appeared.

Although the image quality had been compressed, Ling Tong's outfit and her beautiful face filled with seriousness were still clearly visible.

She seemed to be trying on outfits. Her oval face was adorned with delicate light makeup.

The white silk blouse added a touch of elegance to her, while the black Tight Jeans displayed the nearly perfect shape of legs honed through long-term training.

Ling Tong stepped back two paces. Her high ponytail bounced lightly as she steadied herself.

For a Hard Cultivation practitioner like Wang Jixuan, he could not think of suitable words to describe this Combat Machine for a moment.

Calling her Graceful and Tall felt a little too youthful. Calling her seductive and graceful was too alluring. Calling her fresh and capable was too simplistic, while calling her cute and charming could not encompass even a hundredth of her appeal.

Ling Tong held the Mechanical Arms fitted with Simulation Skin before her and began speaking seriously.

She did not display many expressions, nor was her speech particularly impassioned, yet she possessed a remarkable charm that made people believe every word she said.

The speech mostly criticized the Psionic Capital.

The video was two minutes long in total.

Wang Jixuan replied with two thumbs-up emojis.

[Ling Tong: Is it alright?]

[Wang Zheng: You could say it was perfect.]

[Ling Tong: Excessive praise is also slander.]

[Wang Zheng: It was genuinely great.]

[Ling Tong: Alright, I believe you. I'll keep practicing. Later I still need to decide on my outfit. Do you think I should wear a military uniform or casual clothes? The casual outfit is the one I just wore.]

[Wang Zheng: Casual clothes, please.]

[Ling Tong: Why?]

The Daoist lowered his head and coughed twice. He typed the words "because they look good," then deleted them, repeating this several times. Too embarrassed to praise her directly, he finally typed, "They make you seem more approachable."

He did not send it. A large block of text suddenly appeared on the square screen.

[Serious Business (Border Defense Sword Array): Um, interrupting you two dating in the public channel is truly an unforgivable crime. But there's something Wu Man wouldn't let me mention, though I think I should say it anyway. Wu Man had a little accident. While he was on guard duty earlier, he said he saw someone. It happened very suddenly, and he did not see clearly at all. Then Wu Man became groggy, sleeping for a while and waking for a while. He's been asleep for four hours now, and I'm worried something happened to him. Several experts have already examined him and said there's no problem, but he clearly looks like there is a problem to me. His face is pale, and his breathing is rapid, like he's constantly having nightmares. Wu Man won't let me send him back, saying he's afraid of causing you trouble... So, what should we do?]

Wang Jixuan's brows furrowed slightly.

Based on Old Zheng's description, Wu Man sounded somewhat like he had Soul Loss Syndrome. But that condition usually happened to mortals, whose Three Souls and Seven Spirits could become unstable from excessive fright.

Wu Man was a Psionicist with strong mental power.

Wang Jixuan suddenly thought of something. His expression changed slightly as he revised his message.

[Send him back immediately.]