Did He Look Impressive?

Putting on a show in front of all humanity—that had to feel even better.

Wu Hen was getting a little excited himself.

Xiao Yi was getting excited too. Especially when they mentioned all of humanity holding a feast—these days, that was what it looked forward to most!

"What's going to happen to this body of mine? It's not my original account, but I'm still a little attached to it," Wu Hen said.

He could be reborn into a good body, sure. But what if Aunt came looking for him one day and couldn't find him?

Oh, wait. That wouldn't happen.

The body's appearance was already changing to resemble his own. Aunt had probably seen what he really looked like.

"Just melt it down and use it as fertilizer for the Five-Colored Soil," Ming Yi said, unconcerned.

"No way. That's too cruel!" Wu Hen exclaimed.

Ming Yi immediately burst out laughing. It took her a while to say, "I'm just teasing you. Our Nuwa Mother treats Lost Ones very gently."

As she spoke, Ming Yi led Wu Hen to an area of glowing trees.

Even though they were on the Divine Tree, it was as magnificent as a mountain. It still had all kinds of strange plants growing on it, and those plants were just as lush and dense, forming a wondrous, colorful forest.

"Look up there." Ming Yi raised a hand and pointed toward the heights of the Divine Tree.

Wu Hen lifted his head and saw countless leaves crisscrossing beneath the canopy!

They were quite unusual. They weren't emerald green, but a starry blue, and each one looked like a crystal shard perched on a treetop like a butterfly or bee.

Looking closely, he could see that some of the crystalline leaves could even flutter like butterflies, carefree and untroubled.

They seemed like the simplest little lives in the world, following only the most basic of rules. They didn't care whether life was brilliant or insignificant, or whether time was long or short...

Wu Hen saw one of those crystalline butterflies fly over his head and instinctively reached out to catch it.

Ming Yi hurriedly stopped him and shot him a glare. "Don't touch it. That's one of the people in our home."

"That butterfly?" Wu Hen asked, surprised.

"Right. Each Core Butterfly Leaf represents one person in our home," Ming Yi said.

Wu Hen froze. He thought of how every flower and every leaf could contain a world, and then of Zhuang Zhou's dream of a butterfly...

His eyes came into focus as he looked toward the crown of the tree. Countless Core Butterfly Leaves covered its tens of thousands of enormous branches. Some of the larger boughs bore layer upon layer of them, hundreds of thousands in all, forming an even larger Nuwa Butterfly Leaf!

Suddenly, Wu Hen remembered that the first time he'd spoken with Ming Yi, he had compared people to leaves.

But when those butterfly leaves shimmered with the glow of crystalline cores, another image came to mind:

They weren't merely leaves of all kinds on the Nuwa Divine Tree. They were also the countless exquisite chips in the Nuwa Divine Terminal, bearing billions of souls!

Was this what they called the truth??

Honestly, if he'd been at the forefront of human technology and had discovered this when exploring humanity's ultimate mystery, he would've been just as shaken.

No wonder even Li Feng, humanity's leading researcher, had announced in such a helpless tone that the world was virtual!

What lay at the end of the pursuit of knowledge?

And what lay beyond faith?

Humanity had always been so proud. Those scholars who sought the truth about the world would rather they'd never opened that Pandora's box.

Wu Hen couldn't imagine what the first person to reach the Nuwa Divine Terminal and witness this scene must have felt.

Sometimes, being as carefree and simple as a mayfly was its own kind of happiness.

Smallness and grandeur were just measures people used to judge the world.

"Come on. It's time to receive the true rite of shaping." Ming Yi gently nudged Wu Hen.

They passed through the colorful forest and reached a temple pool.

The pool was just as ancient and wild in its atmosphere, and colorful resin flowed within it.

Ming Yi gestured for Wu Hen to wade into the Colored Resin Temple Pool.

"From now on, you're a true member of the Nuwa People—a Desolate Dust Lifeform with a physical form." Ming Yi gave Wu Hen a gentle push, sending him into the pool.

Wu Hen was completely unprepared. His whole body sank into the soft, warm resin.

When his skin touched the seven-colored resin, he felt as though his body were merging with it...

The sensation was so strange. His body was blending with this special fluid of life, yet his consciousness remained perfectly clear. He could even sense the whole incredible process.

"Remember when we first spoke? Your first task upon entering the Desolate Dust is to survive, then return to the Nuwa Divine Terminal with your host body..."

"In truth, Lost Ones are just walking corpses and wandering ghosts in the Desolate Dust. They need to be guided home."

"Congratulations. You've successfully guided a Lost One home..."

"Look at that branch."

"Isn't it sprouting a new bud?"

"That means a new life is about to be born into our home!"

As Ming Yi explained all this earnestly, her bearing seemed to change. She was like a devout believer, one who still had thoughts of her own.

Wu Hen could hear her words.

But he couldn't answer.

Right now, he was just a wisp of consciousness fused with the Pool of Life.

"Plop~"

Suddenly, a fruit fell from high above and landed right in the seven-colored Pool of Life.

It was an extraordinary fruit, just like the ginseng fruit in the legends of the immortals: crystalline, translucent, and smooth as jade.

The seven-colored life resin began to ripple. It gathered into the shape of a person and wrapped itself around the crystalline fruit...

"Nuwa Mother, please make our classmate Wu Hen handsome and impressive!" Ming Yi clasped her hands together and began praying to the Nuwa Divine Terminal.

What?

They were already making a person?

And what did "impressive" mean? Could he actually add points to his stats by making a wish?

Tall, impressive, charismatic, intelligent...

He already had plenty going for him, so they could just leave him as he was. But who would complain about getting a few extra points in impressiveness?

"Liii~ Liii~~~"

That melodious sound rang out again, as soft and beautiful as a lullaby.

Wu Hen felt like a baby. He had no sense of time, only a feeling of peace and comfort.

He had no idea how long passed before he suddenly became aware of other things: hearing, sight, touch, breath...

Then came his arms, followed by his chest, and finally the feeling that he could walk. It all happened so quickly, like waking up from a nap.

Wu Hen tried to take a step forward.

Soon, a figure made of water and mud slowly emerged from the seven-colored Pool of Life.

Like a finely crafted piece of porcelain, the seven-colored life fluid slid smoothly over his sculpted features, making his face look even more handsome.

Then came Wu Hen's well-proportioned physique, every curve striking a perfect balance between strength and grace.

"Wow, that's great!" Ming Yi's eyes sparkled.

She gazed at the man, who perfectly blended masculine beauty with delicate emotion and radiated a unique charm, and couldn't help praising him. "You look even more perfect than you did back in our home. You've truly been reborn!"

Wu Hen had stepped out of the seven-colored Pool of Life. As the clear liquid, like body paint, slid completely off his skin, his very well-endowed naked body was exposed to the air...

The wildest part was that a stunning beauty was standing right in front of him.

Wu Hen's face turned red, and so did the rest of him.

"Here, put this on!" Ming Yi smiled with easy grace. She'd prepared clothes for him in advance.

Wu Hen was relieved she hadn't given him a leaf to cover himself.

He hurriedly pulled the clothes on, and only then felt a little more at ease.

"So, did I look impressive?" Wu Hen couldn't afford to lose face, so he raised an eyebrow and asked.

"I'm very satisfied." Ming Yi bashfully covered her eyes.

"..." Wu Hen was speechless. She'd already seen everything before covering her eyes. "Next time you get shaped, let me help with the design... though you're already perfect."

"The shaping process is very private. How could I let anyone watch?" Ming Yi laughed.

"Huh? But you just..." Wu Hen's eyes widened.

Ming Yi stuck out her tongue. "I'd never seen one before. It's not every day I get the chance!"

As a seasoned pervert, Wu Hen felt he'd met his match in this shameless girl.

"Does anything feel different?" Ming Yi asked.

"My five senses seem sharper. For example, I can estimate your measurements just by looking..." Wu Hen looked her up and down. When it came to lechery, he absolutely refused to lose to such a beautiful girl!

"Huh? Did you awaken a second sense? I heard people with awakened vision can see through things," Ming Yi said in surprise.

See through things???

People with awakened vision could see through things??

Just tell me which Desolate Dust big shot I need to kill to awaken clairvoyance!!

"Hehehe, I'm just teasing you. Look how excited you got." Ming Yi laughed for a while, then explained seriously, "Our bodies used to have genetic shackles, but now your body has been fully awakened. Both your sensory limits and your strength limits will increase significantly."

"Really?" Wu Hen tried doing a set of radio calisthenics.

He dribbled an imaginary ball between his legs, leaned left and right, swung his arms, leaped, and swept his palms back...

His strength, his speed, his grace—Ming Yi was so astonished that her jaw dropped. She'd never imagined anyone could dance the Kun dance so fast he left afterimages!

"After taking the Yuan You Oral Liquid, my physical abilities were already three times better than an ordinary person's."

"After being shaped this time, they seem to have reached five times the ordinary level."

"And..."

Wu Hen could clearly feel the Gold-Radiance Crystal Silk evolving again, turning into the more advanced Jade Profound Silk. This material might already be no inferior to the battle garments worn by that Order Guardian, Ice Phoenix!

"And your hearing improved by a level, right?" Ming Yi asked with a smile.

Only then did Wu Hen pay attention to his hearing.

He focused on listening, starting with the sounds nearby.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~"

"Thump-thump~ Thump-thump-thump~~"

Wu Hen heard Ming Yi breathing. He heard her heartbeat.

A smile tugged at his lips.

So the beauty looked calm and composed on the surface, but inside, her heart was racing like a startled fawn...

Clearly, Ming Yi still hadn't calmed down after boldly watching him naked!

She sure talked tough.

He'd thought she was an experienced girl!

Recommended: a new book by the great urban fantasy author Lao Shi!