Metamorphosis

The black cauldron trembled, radiating waves of precious light. Little One and the other boy had been sealed inside for more than an hour. The lid kept shaking loose, splashing golden liquid into the air. Its rich fragrance was intoxicating. Faintly, a golden Suanni seemed about to burst out, roaring again and again. The sound was so real that everyone in Stone Village felt their scalps crawl.

It was not very large, only a little over a foot long. It rammed the lid with all its might, its body golden all over and dazzlingly bright. Every so often, it also snarled at Little One.

The lid shook violently, making everyone's hearts pound. The villagers had tried several times to go up and press it shut, but the old chief stopped them each time. That was the Medicine Soul inside the cauldron, the very essence of the medicine. It had to be simmered this way, and no one was to disturb it.

The fragrance grew stronger and stronger. The Black Cauldron was heavy, and divine radiance kept spilling out through the gaps in its lid. Little One bobbed up and down inside, eyes closed, receiving the baptism.

"Clang!" "Clang!" ...

The foot-long golden Suanni struggled more and more violently. Its body burned like that of a deity as it charged this way and that, smashing into the Black Cauldron.

Everyone's faces changed. Even Shi Yunfeng was tense, his eyes wide as he watched the Medicine Soul closely—that was, the divine fragment passed down from the Primordial Suanni Ancestor Emperor.

"This can't be good. What if it breaks out? Chief, are you really not going to let us intervene?" Shi Feijiao asked.

Shi Yunfeng's expression was grave. "The medicine cauldron is sealed. If we tamper with it, the essence of the medicine might explode and disperse into the world."

"Oh no! It's attacking Little One!" Er Meng cried out among the children.

Everyone's hearts tightened. The divine Suanni blazed with even more dazzling light. It bared its claws and fangs, spewed clouds and mist, and rumbled like thunder as it charged at Little One.

"Don't panic. It died long ago. This is only a divine fragment; it has no true consciousness," Shi Yunfeng said.

Little One sat perfectly still, solemn and composed, his flesh glowing. He was immersed in a strange state, paying no heed to anything, as if cut off from the outside world. He tempered the divine radiance enveloping him, refining runes into his flesh until they fused into rosy light and transformed into divine radiance. Every drop of blood was a rune, an eternal furnace that shone with immeasurable light and nourished his body.

At that moment, every pore across his body opened. Each drop of blood became divine, breathing in and out divine radiance. Within him, it seemed that deity after deity sat in meditation.

Divine radiance surged from his entire body. Countless specks of light appeared, densely packed, as if innumerable deities were chanting, reciting scriptures, and shining down upon the azure sky.

The golden Suanni charged over, drawn by the countless specks of light. It turned into streak after streak of radiance, purified by each speck and refined into Little One's body.

"What a mysterious phenomenon!" The villagers stared in a daze, but their anxiousness eased somewhat.

"Roar..."

The Suanni struggled and fought back even more fiercely. It dodged away from Little One and frantically slammed into the black cauldron. Each booming impact made everyone tremble with fear, afraid the cauldron might suddenly shatter.

In the end, the golden Suanni grew fiercer and fiercer, battering the Black Cauldron until it boomed and shook incessantly. Yet at that very moment, the cauldron changed as well. The sun, moon, mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, fish, and insects depicted on it all looked far more lifelike, as if they were about to come alive.

"Could the ancient vessel passed down in our clan have originally been a medicine-refining cauldron?" Chief Shi Yunfeng wondered aloud. Its performance was much like the cauldrons used by great tribes.

The golden Suanni raged and struck even harder, yet the cauldron grew more ancient and unadorned, emanating a mysterious aura. The runes on its walls lit up one after another, as if spontaneously igniting.

Roars from all kinds of fierce birds and ferocious beasts rang out. They were faint, but unmistakably real. At the same time, the cauldron's walls gradually turned translucent, beginning to refine the golden liquid inside.

The Suanni trembled, its furious roar making everyone's eardrums ache. It had been an incorporeal divine fragment, but now its voice echoed through the village, striking fear into their hearts. It was making one final attempt. Rising upright, it spewed bolts of lightning, as if it truly meant to punch through the cauldron's walls. The Black Cauldron shook. The ancient people depicted on its walls grew ever more lifelike, and waves of sacrificial chants rang out. Then came the sound of scripture being recited, echoing without end.

"This ancestral vessel really does seem to be an extraordinary medicine cauldron!" Chief Shi Yunfeng was shaken. He had never imagined that the unremarkable Black Cauldron they used every day was so wondrous.

At the same time, more and more specks of light appeared across Little One's body in the golden liquid, densely packed like a host of deities. They sat in meditation and recited scriptures, resonating with the cauldron.

The Suanni was terrified. It trembled incessantly before breaking apart. The Black Cauldron refined it into beams of golden divine light, which sank into the golden liquid inside.

Nearby, Shi Lin was shrouded in black and red mist. A little golden bull and a little black Demon Ape stood beside him, battling against him.

Shi Lin was drenched in sweat. Clearly, he was struggling to hold his own.

Suddenly, a beam of golden light blazed from behind Shi Lin, enveloping the golden bull and the Demon Ape.

The restless bull and ape suddenly calmed down. Shi Lin seized the chance to guide them into his body, making them his essence.

In an instant, the sound of scripture came from Shi Lin's abdomen. A little figure, its entire body shrouded in white mist, sat cross-legged before him. It was like a deity descending into the world, radiating divine light. The Demon Ape's severed arm and the Li Fire Bull Demon's horns instantly turned into countless golden specks, which circled Shi Lin before entering his body one by one.

At last, everything quieted down. The lid fitted tightly over the cauldron, sealing it shut. No one outside could see what was happening within.

"It's done. The cauldron is finally sealed. If nothing goes wrong, Little One and Shi Lin will succeed!" Shi Yunfeng said, extremely excited.

"Chief, about how long will it take?" Shi Feijiao asked.

"It's hard to say. A baptism can take anywhere from a day to three months," Shi Yunfeng replied, furrowing his brow.

"What?" Everyone stared in disbelief. No wonder the old chief had told them to chop Black Flood Dragon Wood and insisted on preparing this firewood.

For a full day and night, the golden liquid boiled without drying up. Little One bobbed up and down inside, his whole body red as if blood might drip from him. Golden liquid continuously seeped through his pores into his body, then carried out impurities. The process of purification repeated again and again.

It was a terrifying process, fiercely brutal. How could an ordinary child endure it? The pain would kill them!

Red and black wove together inside Shi Lin's body, fused, separated, then fused again, over and over.

Every pore across Shi Lin's body glowed as impurities seeped out and settled at the bottom of the cauldron.

Little One gritted his teeth and remained perfectly still, drawing the golden liquid to cleanse his body from the outside in. His whole body glowed. Though the agony was intense, he could feel his spirit growing fuller and fuller.

The divine radiance surged through him with brutal force, nearly splitting his internal organs. Yet in the end, it nourished and healed them, leaving them with a crystalline sheen. His bones nearly shattered, but they too were eventually repaired, becoming denser, whiter, and more brilliant. It was not just his body that underwent the baptism; the power of divinity also nourished his spirit.

For a full day and night, Little One underwent an unimaginable metamorphosis!

Shi Lin's body entered a wondrous state as well!

When dawn came, Shi Hao opened his eyes and called out, "Grandpa, the liquid's almost dry!"

"It worked!" Shi Yunfeng cried with delight and had someone lift the lid. Little One's whole body was crystal-clear, light pouring from his pores. The villagers were all astonished. They could tell without asking that Little One had gained enormous benefits.

Shi Lin opened his eyes a moment later.

Suddenly, a powerful aura burst from him, knocking the lid right off the cauldron.

Little One then leaped more than twenty meters into the air.

"It's burnt! It's burnt!" he cried, rubbing his bottom again and again. His whole body was pitch-black, save for his lively, rolling eyes. The rest of him looked as if he had been smeared with charcoal, like a little monkey.

The old chief laughed heartily. He knew it had worked and that Little One had reached perfection in his cultivation. Once he had calmed down a little, he shouted, "Quick! Put out the fire beneath the cauldron and add water at once. The remaining medicinal dregs are still precious medicine!"

Little One landed on the ground, and Shi Lin climbed out too. A crowd of children swarmed around them, pinching and poking them while teasing them. Some brought clean water to help wash them off.

To everyone's surprise, Little One had shed a layer of old skin. Once the black, charred skin peeled away, it revealed a tiny, fair, crystalline body shimmering with precious light.

Shi Lin looked much the same, except he had grown fairer and taller.

"Wow, Little One, are you a silkworm or something? How did you shed such a thick layer of skin?" the children cried. A few little girls squeezed into the crowd too. They gazed at his gleaming, luminous body, envious beyond words.

Little One was mortified. He hastily snatched a piece of clothing and pulled it on, setting everyone off laughing.

"Child, let us see what changes you've undergone," one of the clan elders said.

Shi Linhu and the others strode over and each reached out a broad, fanlike hand to feel him from head to toe. They all clicked their tongues in amazement, saying it felt like touching a piece of warm jade.

"Good lad!" Shi Linhu slapped Shi Lin on the bottom.

"Dad!" Shi Lin cried out in embarrassment.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Little One's face flushed red. Someone had even flicked him; these grown-ups still treated him like the baby he had been at birth. He struggled with all his might, then shoved hard, nearly toppling Shi Feijiao to the ground.

The adults roared with laughter, but Shi Feijiao was astonished. "Don't laugh. This little fellow's strength is incredible!"

One had to know that Shi Feijiao could produce five or six thousand jin of force with a swing of his arms. For a child not yet four years old to nearly topple him with a shove—how could that not shock him?

"Come, Little One. Try lifting the cauldron and see how strong your body is," Chief Shi Yunfeng said.

"Sure!" Little One was as relieved as if he had been pardoned. He quickly escaped the group of laughing, burly men who had been groping him all over and ran to the side.

"Lift!"

Little One started with the thousand-jin bronze cauldron, then kept going. He actually lifted the five-thousand-jin Black Gold Cauldron, leaving everyone in Stone Village utterly dumbfounded.

Little One had always been extraordinary. Lifting a thousand-jin bronze cauldron had already been astonishing. Now he had lifted a five-thousand-jin Black Gold Cauldron in one breath, leaving everyone staring in a daze, unable to speak.

"That's not even his limit. Again!" Chief Shi Yunfeng trembled, so overcome with excitement that it was plain for all to see.

"Boom!"

For his final lift, Little One raised the heaviest cauldron in the clan above his head. It was an eight-thousand-jin Hou Pattern Tripod, engraved with a terrifying ferocious beast.

Everyone was shocked. They had never heard of such divine strength in someone so young!

"Come on, child. You give it a try too!" Shi Yunfeng called to Shi Lin, who was getting dressed.

"All right, Grandpa Chief!" Shi Lin hurriedly finished getting dressed and went to Little One's side.

"Brother Lin, you try too!" Little One said.

"All right!" Shi Lin lifted the Hou Pattern Tripod and heaved upward, raising it straight above his head.

"Impressive, Lin!" the villagers praised him without end.

"Heh, heh, it's nothing, really!" Shi Lin said modestly.

"When you two grow up, if you don't hunt down a real ancient ferocious beast for your uncle—a True Hou, the kind of deity worshipped by the ancient people—you'll have let me down!" Shi Linhu shouted.

The children all cheered and ran forward, squeezing and poking the two of them from every side. It took quite a while before they finally let go.

Little One's entire body was fair and crystalline, with divine radiance held within. His smooth, jet-black hair fell to his shoulders, and his bright eyes were full of life. He looked brimming with energy.

Shi Lin was tall and straight, his long hair streaming in the wind. His brows and eyes were full of heroic spirit, and his face was perfectly handsome, with a gentle warmth. Long, thick eyelashes framed his dark, bright eyes, which were gentle and smiling, carrying a captivating charm. His hair was black and lustrous, fluttering lightly with a soft, elegant beauty.

The old chief laughed heartily, his worries finally gone. He held Shi Hao and Shi Lin close, looking them over from every angle. He seemed to have grown ten years younger all at once, the wrinkles on his face easing away.