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The shedding came far faster than Su Qingqiu had imagined.
Like a thunderclap, it burst without warning.
An irresistible wave of dizziness washed over him. He had just enough time to cover himself in Spiritual Light for protection before sinking into a deep sleep.
As he fell asleep, the 'blacksmithing' sounds that had continued for two months in the Blood Spirit Ruins finally fell silent.
The demons around the Blood Spirit Ruins all breathed a sigh of relief. They no longer had to endure that terrifying spiritual pressure or serve as living targets. Every last one of them fled in a frenzy.
Even the Evil Qi that filled the area seemed to deliberately give the terrifying monster a wide berth.
The air within five miles of the Blood Spirit Ruins cleared at a visible pace.
But the silence did not last long. Centered on the Blood Spirit Ruins, a series of crashing roars rolled outward like surging tides, vast and turbulent as the sea.
The sound came from inside Su Qingqiu. It was the sound of blood coursing through his body.
His body began to pulse rhythmically. His crimson heart shone with brilliant red light that radiated through him, and from a distance it looked like the heart of a God or Devil.
Each beat made Su Qingqiu's body shudder, and the Blood Spirit Ruins shook with him, as if the earth itself were trembling.
In no time, the shaking subsided. A thick, black substance seeped from beneath his scales—impure blood and filth, purged through refinement.
Then fierce flames rose around his serpentine body, burning the impurities away. A strange, scorched stench filled the Blood Spirit Ruins.
It was revolting beyond words.
Flames blazed, Water Vapor gathered, and Cloud and Mist Companion formed. Heat and dampness circulated without end, now turning to rain, now to clouds, then suddenly to fire, then to wind.
For a time, the wondrous sight of water and fire reflecting one another spread around Su Qingqiu, making the entire Blood Spirit Ruins seem like an immortal paradise.
At the same time, the Crimson Fire Horn and Crimson Fire Dragon Spine began to produce wondrous new substances. They further transformed his body, and his Spiritual Patterns evolved along with them, growing ever more complex and burrowing deeper into his bones until they covered every muscle and organ.
Now, Su Qingqiu's defenses were no longer confined to his scales. Even his flesh and bones were imbued with the protection of Spiritual Patterns.
This was what it truly meant to stack armor upon armor.
And there were countless other changes, impossible to understand or describe in simple words. Everything was changing toward the unknown.
One day
Two days
Three days
Seven whole days passed in a flash.
Su Qingqiu was still asleep.
By now, however, his body had unknowingly grown to more than twenty meters long. Including the Crimson Fire Horn on his forehead, he was over twenty-two meters in length.
He had already surpassed the largest Spiritual Python recorded in the history of the Dragon-Raising Temple, bringing him close to the thousand-year-old Spirit Lords.
Above Spiritual Pythons came Spiritual Boas!
But Su Qingqiu was still at the Spiritual Python stage. He had only shed his skin twice.
Once everything had settled and his transformation had stabilized, Su Qingqiu looked majestic and imposing, his Dragon Qi spreading around him. His whole body seemed cast from diamond, perfectly proportioned—not an ounce too heavy or too thin.
A huge crack opened near the Crimson Fire Horn, then spread along the Crimson Fire Dragon Spine and across his entire body.
Name: Su Qingqiu Species: Guardian Python Spiritual Essence: 19200 Physical Strength: 345.6 Physical Defense: 459.4 Spiritual Patterns: Aspect Defense... evolving... Basic Data: Length 22.3 meters, weight 14,000 jin. Overall Assessment: 3500 Talents: Protecting the Residence, Exorcism and Blessing. Divine Abilities and Skills: Diamond Sutra ↑, Spiritual Serpent Spiritual Eyes, Crimson Fire Dragon Spine ↑, Crimson Fire Horn ↑, Shape-Shifting Illusion, Rain Accumulation Technique ↑, Cloud and Mist Companion, Bashe Swallowing Elephant ↑...
Half of his divine abilities and skills had actually improved!
Unbelievable.
This transformation had strengthened him in every way. Not only had his length and weight surged, but his physical strength and defense had both doubled!
As expected, shedding skin was the true path to a Spiritual Serpent's growth.
With a splash—
Su Qingqiu tore himself free with brute force, and his discarded skin fell in pieces around him. A sweep of Crimson Fire passed over it, reducing it to ash.
He eagerly took out the mirror and admired himself, delighted.
Thick!
Big!
Strong!
Thick and powerful, majestic and imposing.
His enormous body was more than twenty meters long; even coiled up, he looked like a small mountain. A one-meter-long horn rose from his forehead, wreathed in flames. His entire body was golden, and a jagged line of fire ran from head to tail along his back.
His Fire Dragon Spine had grown a full third taller, thrusting upward and brazenly radiating danger, warning everyone that this creature was not to be trifled with.
Around his neck, a ring of black reverse scales shone brilliantly. After absorbing the devilish energy within the Devil Pill, they had undergone an inconceivable transformation.
He could sense something gestating deep within the reverse scales. Once it was ready, it would surely be something earth-shattering.
"This Spiritual Serpent is just too handsome!"
"How could there be such a beautiful giant serpent?"
"Magic mirror, magic mirror, I really am the most beautiful Spiritual Serpent, aren't I?"
Su Qingqiu murmured happily to the mirror.
He was extremely satisfied with this shedding.
His Spiritual Patterns had also changed. Their complexity and the various powers they contained were so great that even Su Qingqiu couldn't make sense of them in a short time.
After absorbing the lingering Spiritual Light and will of Si Snake within the Blood Spirit Ruins, his Spiritual Patterns had mutated dramatically. Figuring out their abilities would indeed be difficult.
"There's no rush. The most important thing about this transformation isn't these changes. It's..."
Su Qingqiu used his Spiritual Light to peer inside himself. His bones had completely crystallized, and droplets of golden blood were continually being refined from his marrow before eventually blending into his original scarlet blood.
Golden blood, like the blood of a god!
It was truly hard to comprehend.
His blood had taken on a faint golden hue. Though subtle, it gave his once-bright red blood a trace of nobility.
This was a bloodline evolution.
It was also the greatest gain from this shedding.
After absorbing Si Snake's Spiritual Light and will, Su Qingqiu's bloodline had instinctively begun to approach that legendary, ancient mythical creature.
This was the same as expanding the limits of his python body's species, completely opening the path of evolution and giving him the ability to keep advancing toward becoming a mythical creature.
Unfortunately, the amount of Si Snake bloodline he could produce was far too small. Compared to Su Qingqiu's enormous body, his bones could only produce blood at a painfully slow rate. To transform his entire bloodline even once within a hundred years was pure fantasy.
"I need more of Si Snake's Spiritual Light and will..."
Su Qingqiu thought to himself.
He could only search for such things in other Spirit Ruins. There was no point in rushing; he would have to take it one step at a time.
At the very least, he had found a way to evolve. As long as his bloodline concentration became high enough, he would certainly enter the third shedding stage.
Of course, there were many ways for serpents to evolve. Besides bloodline evolution, he still needed to find other methods of transformation. Only by doing so could he draw ever closer to the legendary True Dragon, until the day he truly became one.
The more times he shed his skin, the better.
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