First Transformation of the Meridians

Xiao Xian stared at his wrist.

Xiao Jue's sharp teeth pierced it with ease, and the purple glow clinging to its fangs immediately surged inside.

Prickling pain, numbness, disappearance—several sensations flashed past in quick succession. In the end, Xiao Xian felt as though his wrist had vanished.

And that "vanished" sensation rapidly spread toward his fingers and arm, while the faint purple glow at the wound continued creeping upward!

Xiao Xian calmly withdrew his hand and slowly closed his eyes.

It was more or less the same result he had gotten from those rabbits earlier.

The moment the purple glow entered his body, it shot straight into his meridians, almost frantically "destroying" and "corroding" them. Moreover, without any deliberate support from his Soul Power, it was actually continuously devouring his Soul Power on its own to grow stronger?!

The feeling was somewhat hard to pin down, and Xiao Xian could not make a clear judgment for the moment.

The purple glow originated from the same source as his Soul Power, however. No matter how much it devoured and strengthened itself, he could absorb it back in an instant and turn it into Soul Power again.

But this repeated process was far from pleasant...

Xiao Xian had just converted the purple glow in his shoulder back into Soul Power when the numbness that had "erased" his shoulder immediately vanished!

In its place came an intense, burning sting, though it was somewhat different. If he had to describe it, it felt as though scorching magma had just flowed through his meridians. They had been burned dead, only to show a trace of life again and grow a layer of new flesh—yet the next instant, the purple glow surged back in like magma once more...

Again and again, in an endless cycle.

Layer after layer of dense sweat silently seeped across Xiao Xian's forehead. The beads of sweat gradually ran downward, and before long, his entire body was drenched. The muscles all over his body tensed and trembled from time to time.

Xiao Xian deeply regretted this. If he could, he definitely would have chosen a different soul beast.

"..."

"Brother Oscar, wake up... wake up... Give me some sausages!" At daybreak, Xiao Xian, pale-faced, nudged the sleeping Oscar. His hand was weak and faintly trembling, and he could barely move him.

In truth, he did not even have the strength to walk back from the small wooden cabin a few dozen meters away.

Xiao Jue had carried him back that short distance in its mouth.

Oscar jolted awake from his dream, clutching the blanket in both hands as he stared blankly at Xiao Xian. Only when he saw Xiao Xian's paper-white face did he snap fully awake.

There was no time to ask what had happened to Xiao Xian, nor even time to get out of bed.

"I've got..."

Several sausages appeared in Oscar's hands in rapid succession. At the same time, he hurriedly got up and handed Xiao Xian a Super Recovery Sausage before helping him sit on his bed.

Xiao Xian weakly ate several recovery sausages, and a warm current immediately spread through his body... The excruciating pain, exhaustion, torment, and even his mental fatigue all eased. Even the wound on his wrist had healed somewhat.

"Brother Xian, were you... bitten by Xiao Jue?!" Oscar spotted the injury on Xiao Xian's wrist. It was clearly a bite mark left by sharp teeth.

Xiao Xian had recovered a little, though his face was still pale and he looked exceedingly weak.

He shook his head and said, "Thanks, Brother Oscar. It's a long story. Just think of it as cultivation. I'll... rest first."

Xiao Xian staggered back onto his own bed.

At that moment, every inch of the meridians within his body hurt.

The purple glow of the Dark Gold Dragon Crocodile was far more domineering than he had imagined.

Rather than quietly devouring Soul Power to strengthen itself, it was more like it viciously occupied the meridians, transforming them into an environment familiar to itself while continuously drawing nutrients from the human body.

To enemies, this was corrosion and destruction.

Because once the meridians had been transformed, they no longer belonged to them.

Unless they could gradually eliminate the purple glow, then slowly reopen their meridians, reclaim control over them, and destroy the traces left by the purple glow's transformation.

But to Xiao Xian, the purple glow was his. There was no difference between the two.

Especially since he had the Mysterious Heaven Skill, which allowed him to keep the purple glow firmly under control.

Still... Xiao Xian faintly sensed that there might be some problems with it.

He did not even know whether it was a blessing or a curse.

Yet once the purple glow disappeared, the numbness vanished as well, leaving behind only the agonizing pain brought by the frenzied "corrosion" and "destruction."

That pain left Xiao Xian with no time to think about such matters.

Right now, he only wanted to fall asleep quickly and make himself feel a little better...

Oscar watched Xiao Xian lying motionless on the bed, only twitching occasionally. He scratched his head, looking conflicted.

But in the end, he still rushed straight out of the wooden cabin and headed for Flender's residence.

When in doubt, find the Dean. Looking at Xiao Xian's condition, what if he died in bed...

Cultivation... how could cultivation leave someone like this?

Flender came to take a look very quickly. He had not even put on an outer robe, wearing only his pajamas.

After examining him, Flender's expression immediately turned conflicted.

The state of his meridians... was far too strange!

After hesitating for a long while, Flender merely took out several candy pills from his Soul Tool and forcibly fed them to Xiao Xian. Then he told Oscar not to go anywhere today and to stay in the dormitory to watch over him.

Oscar was initially rather uneasy as well. Only when Xiao Xian's breathing gradually became steady did he feel slightly relieved.

"..."

As the sun gradually climbed into the sky, Dai Mubai came running over to find Xiao Xian, full of excitement, only to be stopped by Oscar.

When he saw Xiao Xian lying there like a dead dog, he could not help feeling utterly disappointed.

At the same time, a sense of urgency even rose in his heart—after Xiao Xian had separated from them last night, what exactly had he done?

Had he secretly cultivated while they were asleep?!

Without saying a word, Dai Mubai returned to the dormitory and began cultivating cross-legged as well.

Not until evening.

Xiao Xian woke up and immediately examined all the meridians throughout his body.

Just as he had expected, they had become much tougher, and his Soul Power circulated far faster. Only...

Whenever his Soul Power passed through certain meridians, an extremely tiny portion would mysteriously vanish, transforming into faint specks of purple light.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that there was no small amount of purple light within his meridians. Moreover, it resembled a kind of Soul Power that he could easily control through the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

"So that's how it is..." Xiao Xian calmed himself and silently pondered.

Ordinary Spirit Masters who survived the Dark Gold Dragon Crocodile's Kiss would all damage the meridians that had been altered by the Dark Gold Dragon Crocodile's purple light to some extent, preventing them from continuing to draw on their own nourishment to form new purple light.

Naturally, he could do the same.

He even had the Mysterious Jade Body, which would make it easier and simpler for him, though it would take quite a bit of time.

But...

There was no need for that at all.

To other Spirit Masters, the purple light was foreign Soul Power with astonishing destructive force. But to him, it was perfectly normal—he could even instantly convert it into Mysterious Heaven Skill Soul Power.

It drew on his own nourishment? Wasn't that simply a new cultivation accelerator?

"I'll test it first. If I can use it normally, then I'll use it. If not... then I'll figure something out."

Xiao Xian felt that the meridians in his body had become far more unobstructed, putting him in an excellent mood. He suppressed his excitement and joy, opened his eyes, and slowly sat up. He had not eaten anything all day and was somewhat hungry.

"Brother Xian, you're awake!" Oscar had just finished washing up. Sitting cross-legged on the bed with a sausage in hand, he looked toward Xiao Xian in delight.