Life Transformation Divine Ability (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

After downing a few cups of spirit tea to steady his mind, Lin Changheng took a deep breath and sank back into his consciousness. The Origin Cauldron remained in his sea of consciousness, and the terrifying visions from before had vanished.

However, the mouth of the cauldron looked vastly different. In the place where the crimson treasure seed had once rested, a phantom Dao Fruit now bobbed up and down.

[Fire Crow Treasure Seed · Level 5]

[Spirit Snatch: 1/100]

[Life Transformation: 0/10]

[Utility: Miscellaneous-grade beast bloodline, innately fire-aspected. Once Spirit Snatch is complete and Life Transformation is fulfilled, it can be refined into the bloodline atavism ability: the true intent of "Fire Control."]

"The next one to take shape is a Dao Fruit? It's no longer a treasure seed?"

Lin Changheng noticed this immediately; the form of the object within the cauldron was starkly different.

Before, it was a "seed," but now it was a "fruit"—the distinction was clear as day.

With a flick of his thoughts, he continued to read. "Spirit Snatch" was as he expected, and he naturally understood its function.

But the "Life Transformation" that followed made his pupils constrict.

"It finally appeared..."

Lin Changheng muttered to himself.

Yet, he was immediately plunged into confusion. "If Spirit Snatch is for extracting 'Fire Crow essence blood,' then what does Life Transformation require?"

It was the same problem as before: there was no manual, and he would have to figure it out on his own.

After pondering for a moment without a clue, Lin Changheng turned his gaze to the final "Utility" section.

The first half was standard, but the second half left him both shocked and overjoyed.

"Bloodline atavism! The ability [Fire Control]!"

Could it be... that the giant bird of flame he saw in his trance was the result of Fire Crow bloodline atavism, tracing back to an ancient, primordial existence?

What kind of bloodline power was that? It was truly terrifying.

Recalling it now, Lin Changheng still felt a shiver run down his spine. In front of that creature, he felt far too insignificant.

Then came the excitement! Extreme, unbridled excitement!

The more terrified he had been, the more exhilarated he felt now.

"Could it be that I, a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator, can touch such an ability? Even if it is only the true intent of the ability..."

Lin Changheng's heart raced. He paced around the courtyard, letting the night breeze soothe his agitated spirit.

Once he had completely calmed down, Lin Changheng realized something was amiss.

He felt he might have been overthinking it.

If the [Origin Cauldron] could truly grant him the innate ability of that giant flame bird through the treasure seed, that would be wonderful.

But based on his understanding of the Origin Cauldron over the years, it was always a matter of "one part essence blood, one part feedback."

It could not provide results that exceeded its limits, let alone create something from nothing.

It functioned more as a tool for conversion or cultivation.

Therefore, it was highly unlikely that he could obtain a world-shaking, earth-shattering, true divine ability from a miscellaneous-grade Fire Crow.

Even if he did, how could his Qi Refining stage mana and physical body possibly wield it?

It would be no different from an ant swinging a golden cudgel or a spoon trying to bail out the endless sea—it was impractical.

"However, by using this bloodline—which has been passed down through a trace of ancient heritage—to awaken the power hidden deep within, mastering a sliver, or even a portion of the ability's true intent and Dao rhyme, is entirely possible. And that alone will benefit me infinitely."

Once Lin Changheng reasoned this out, his mind felt clear and his spirit refreshed.

Although he had always been a down-to-earth person who avoided reaching for the unattainable, he couldn't help but yearn for the future. Perhaps one day, he could truly stand before that nameless fire bird, borrow its essence blood for his own use, and transform that essence into a divine ability!

Immediately, he began to plan his next steps. Without a doubt, the most important task was to uncover the requirements for [Life Transformation].

"Since 'Spirit Snatch' involves extracting essence blood, 'Life Transformation' might follow the same logic. I should focus my attempts on beast essence blood."

"Hmm, fire-type first."

After thinking for a long while, Lin Changheng formed a preliminary plan.

If that didn't work, he would have to resort to the clumsy method of elimination; it would be slow, but effective.

He prepared himself mentally, knowing that this process of exploration would be like fishing in murky water—sometimes you strike gold immediately, and other times it could take years.

However, he had enough patience.

It was worth noting that Lin Changheng's Wood Spirit Root had also gained another wisp of spiritual rhyme due to the [Green Wood Snake Treasure Seed] reaching the fourth level.

This meant his Wood Spirit Root now possessed eleven wisps of spiritual rhyme, officially entering the category of low-grade spirit roots.

From this point on, his cultivation of wood-attribute techniques and spells would far exceed his past progress, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Lin Changheng's Five-Element Spirit Roots had already seen two attributes evolve into low-grade spirit roots, while another, his Fire Spirit Root, already possessed fourteen strands of spiritual essence!

This was nearly half the amount of spiritual essence required for a mid-grade spirit root.

The speed of his progress could hardly be called anything but fast.

As for the standoff outside the Wilderness Valley over the past year, the scales had slowly begun to tilt in favor of the Xu Family.

The most critical reason for breaking the stalemate was that the Xu Family's leadership commanded with precision, and their clansmen were united in heart and mind, fighting desperately on the battlefield while providing full support from the rear.

After several grueling battles, both sides had tasted victory and defeat.

Yet, the Xu Family's resolve remained unshaken; the will of their leadership permeated the entire clan, and no one dared to question it.

The Chen Family, however, suffered a crushing defeat, after which those who had previously failed in power struggles and had been lying in wait began to harbor thoughts of retaliation and engage in backstabbing, seizing the opportunity to scramble for power and profit.

They stirred up trouble, causing the leadership to crumble from within.

Although the Chen Family's upper echelon realized the situation quickly and, in less than a month, cut through the chaos to unify their stance and suppress the usurpers, the negative impact was difficult to eliminate in such a short time, leading to a rapid decline.

Now, the Xu Family held a significant advantage.

Yet, at this moment, the Xu Family's leadership was not as relaxed as one might imagine, nor did they display the composure of those who had victory in their grasp.

At the high-level meeting, everyone wore a furrowed brow.

This was because, according to intercepted reliable intelligence, the Chen Family had been secretly reaching out everywhere and had finally moved a Foundation Establishment clan called the Qiu Family of Flying Cloud Valley, who might intervene to apply pressure.

Long ago, Alchemist Mo, having received news from Mo Zhaoli, had already warned the clan that the Chen Family was seeking support from superior sects and noble families.

However, because the Chen Family had hit walls everywhere and never succeeded, becoming a laughingstock, they had not taken it too seriously.

As it turned out, the Chen Family had fallen all the way down, from major sects to noble families, and then to veteran Foundation Establishment clans, only to now find a newly established Foundation Establishment clan.

From the Xu Family's perspective, the Chen Family had completely lost their minds, for one would usually seek a backer of a higher tier; seeking one only a single step above was merely spinning a cocoon around oneself.

This was because the resource requirements of the two families would overlap significantly.

Resources would easily be plundered clean, leaving not even a scrap of anything good to slip through their fingers.

It would severely squeeze the Chen Family's room for development.

Yet, even so, the Chen Family had "recklessly" thrown themselves into it.

While the side effects of this maneuver had yet to manifest within the Chen Family, the Xu Family was already being roasted over a fire.

Facing a Foundation Establishment clan, even a newly established one, was something the Xu Family could hardly handle.

If handled poorly, it was feared that the advantage they had paid such a heavy price to seize over these years would all vanish into thin air.

For the Xu Family, this was, in any case, unacceptable.

Of course, these were matters for the leadership to consider.

For the newly recruited immortal seedlings and the ordinary Xu clansmen, they only hoped the war would end soon.

In this year-long tug-of-war, Lin Changheng and his two immortal seedling friends would never be seen again; they had been trapped in the fray of battle, and only their ashes were recovered.

Facing the two cold urns of ash, Fugui grieved, Feng Xian sighed softly, and Lin Changheng remained silent, vaguely seeing:

When they first met, just stepping onto the immortal path, they were but youths, full of high spirits;

More than ten years later, they were confidants, clinking cups and engaging in grand discourse;

Now, all that remained were two cups of leftover wine, growing cold on the table, with no one left to drink with...