Fifth Rank Magical Beast Physique, a Near-Perfect Transformation

Improving physical strength was no easy task.

In truth, whether it was the improvement of soul power or the body, both were more difficult than raising one's cultivation.

Xiao Yan's soul power and physical strength now surpassed his cultivation because of his two golden fingers.

The gap between the body of a Fourth Rank Magical Beast and that of a Fifth Rank Magical Beast was like the gap between a Dou Ling and a Dou Wang—a qualitative transformation.

Ordinary magical beasts only awakened intelligence upon reaching the Fifth Rank.

Breaking through from the Fourth Rank to the Fifth Rank was extraordinarily difficult.

Even though Xiao Yan had gathered so many magical beast corpses for himself to devour and absorb, he still was not very confident.

At its core, the Spirit Devouring Body Forging Mantra could only devour a portion of a magical beast's blood essence, rather than all of its cultivation.

If he could absorb it all, then merely absorbing the full essence of the Amethyst Winged Lion King would directly raise his body to the strength of a Tier Six Magical Beast.

But in reality, such a heaven-defying technique that ignored all loss simply did not exist.

If he only absorbed magical beast blood essence, he would need the blood essence of more than ten Tier Five Magical Beasts, or at least three Tier Six Magical Beasts, to reach the Fifth Rank.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan had already improved considerably at the Fourth Rank before this. If he absorbed all these magical beast corpses now, there was a high chance it would be enough.

"Teacher, protect me while I cultivate!" Xiao Yan said to the ring.

Yao Lao's Soul Body drifted out of the ring. Looking at Xiao Yan, he said, "Although this is not the first time, whenever I think of that technique of yours that can absorb magical beast blood essence to strengthen your body, I am still astonished."

"You brat, your fortune is so profound that even this old man is envious."

Xiao Yan chuckled. "Look at it another way. Since I have such great fortune, once I grow strong enough, you will still be my teacher."

"By then, you will not fare badly either. In a roundabout way, your fortune is not bad either, Elder."

Yao Lao stroked his beard and nodded approvingly. "That is true enough."

"But if you put it that way, it is still you who has the better fortune, having a teacher like me."

"No, no, Teacher, you are the one with better fortune, having a disciple like me," Xiao Yan hurriedly denied.

The air fell silent for a moment, then the old man and the young man burst into laughter.

After their amusement faded, Xiao Yan began attending to business.

He first walked over to the three Tier Five Magical Beasts, took out sufficiently large containers, and began collecting the blood essence near their hearts. Before long, he had gathered it all.

As for the remaining flesh, the energy it contained was not low either. It would make decent food.

Then Xiao Yan took out another container and collected the Amethyst Winged Lion King's blood essence.

Once the collection was complete, Xiao Yan placed the two enormous containers beside him and removed all his clothes.

Taking a bathtub from his Storage Ring, Xiao Yan poured all the blood essence of the three Tier Five Magical Beasts into it and immediately circulated the Spirit Devouring Body Forging Mantra.

As the technique operated, strands of blood essence seeped through Xiao Yan's pores and into his body, transforming into pure energy that nourished his flesh, blood, muscles, and bones.

Time passed slowly. Once he had digested the blood essence of the three Tier Five Magical Beasts, Xiao Yan's body crackled like popping beans.

His physical strength rose another notch. If classified more precisely, it should have reached the middle Fourth Rank.

After moving his body a little, Xiao Yan did not hesitate. He immediately poured in the Amethyst Winged Lion King's blood essence and circulated the technique once more.

The moment the blood essence of a Tier Six Magical Beast entered his body, he clearly felt that its energy was far more majestic, and the improvement it brought was vastly greater than that of a Tier Five Magical Beast.

After consuming half the blood essence, his body had already entered the upper Fourth Rank.

However, even after Xiao Yan absorbed the remaining half, he still failed to touch the Fifth Rank.

"Teacher!" Xiao Yan called out.

Yao Lao shook his head helplessly and took on the hard labor, cutting open the hearts of the Rank Three Magical Beasts one by one, extracting their blood essence, and placing it into the bathtub.

Yao Lao collected it on one side while Xiao Yan absorbed it on the other, and the process went extremely quickly.

The moment Yao Lao poured some in, Xiao Yan immediately absorbed it all.

As the blood essence of one Rank Three Magical Beast after another was poured into the bathtub, Xiao Yan's physical strength finally began climbing slowly toward the level of a Fifth Rank Magical Beast.

Only when the blood essence of the final Rank Three Magical Beast—the Amethyst Winged Lion King Cub—was poured into the bathtub did Xiao Yan's physical strength finally break through that unseen boundary and enter the next level.

His blood and vitality began surging. Rolling waves of heat rose from Xiao Yan's body, and his formidable physique, comparable to that of a Tier Five Magical Beast, made even Yao Lao's Soul Body faintly sense a trace of threat.

Xiao Yan rose from the bathtub and changed into his original fitted outfit, only to find that it had become a little too small.

He looked himself over and discovered that he seemed to have grown somewhat in every respect, as though this breakthrough had directly brought his physical development to completion.

Moreover, his body seemed to be approaching perfection even more closely.

Every muscle and every part of his body exuded an indescribable sense of beauty.

"Tsk, tsk. Your fortune truly is terrifying, brat. This body-refining technique you cultivate is certainly no lower than the Heaven Rank."

"Not only can this technique allow you to absorb magical beast blood essence and rapidly strengthen your body, it even seems to be guiding your body toward its most perfect state. Fifth Rank Magical Beasts are a dividing line among magical beasts, and for you, I imagine it will be an enormous change as well."

"This is your first transformation. There should be more to come, and once it is truly complete, your body will likely..." Yao Lao suddenly stopped.

Xiao Yan had been listening to Yao Lao's analysis with great interest. When Yao Lao stopped, it left him unbearably curious, and he immediately pressed, "Likely what? Teacher, just say it."

Yao Lao grinned. "Hehe, this old man does not know either. I was merely making a guess."

"And stop showing off that asset of yours, brat. Hurry and get dressed."

"This breakthrough of yours took quite a while. If you do not hurry back, that little girl will start worrying about you."

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose awkwardly and hurriedly took out some loose clothing from his Storage Ring.

Since he would be out training for quite some time, he had prepared many sets of clothes before setting off. Now, he did not need to worry about clothing.

After getting dressed, Xiao Yan put everything away and left the Amethyst Winged Lion King's cave with Yao Lao.

Standing on the jutting cliff face, he spread the wings behind his back and was about to fly toward the small valley.

But in the next instant, an inexplicable sensation made him stop.

Xiao Yan turned to look toward the deepest part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range and said to Yao Lao, "Teacher, did you sense it?"

Yao Lao asked in confusion, "Sense what?"

"I cannot describe it exactly, but I have a faint feeling that there is something over there that is extremely attractive to my physique," Xiao Yan said.

Yao Lao assumed a thoughtful expression. His soul power stretched out with all its might, probing toward the deepest part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

After a moment, a gleam flashed through his eyes. Somewhat excited, he said, "Brat, I told you that your fortune is profound. In the deepest part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, your teacher sensed..."

"The aura of Heavenly Flames!"