A Startling Transformation

The black cauldron trembled, radiating waves of precious light. Little Dot had been sealed inside for over an hour. The lid was occasionally forced open, splashing golden liquid into the air, and the rich fragrance was intoxicating. Faintly, a golden Suanni seemed ready to burst out, roaring again and again. The sound was so real that it made everyone in Stone Village's scalps tingle.

It was not large, only a little over a foot long. It was battering the cauldron lid with all its strength, its entire body golden and dazzlingly radiant, occasionally baring its fangs and roaring at Little Dot.

The lid shook violently, making everyone who watched tremble with fear. Several villagers wanted to step forward and seal it tightly, but the old clan chief stopped them every time. This was the medicinal soul within the cauldron, the essence of it all. It had to be tempered in this manner and could not be disturbed.

The fragrance grew stronger and stronger. The black cauldron was heavy and solemn, and divine radiance continuously spilled from it, bursting through the gaps in the lid. Little Dot bobbed up and down inside, his eyes closed as he received the baptism.

"Clang." "Clang"...

The foot-long golden Suanni struggled ever more fiercely. Its entire body blazed as though it were a deity, charging left and right as it slammed into the black cauldron.

Everyone's expressions changed. Even Shi Yunfeng was tense, his eyes wide as he closely watched that medicinal soul—the divine fragment passed down by the ancestral emperor of the ancient Suanni.

"This is bad. Could it break out? Clan Chief, are you really not going to let us interfere?" Shi Feijiao asked.

Shi Yunfeng's face was grave. "The medicine cauldron has already been sealed. If we tamper with it carelessly, the essence of the medicine may explode and scatter into heaven and earth."

"Ah, oh no! It's starting to attack Little Dot!" Er Meng cried out from among the children.

Everyone's hearts clenched. The divine Suanni shone even more brilliantly, baring its claws and fangs, breathing out clouds and mist, and producing peals of thunder as it charged at Little Dot.

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

Little Dot sat with the solemn bearing of a treasured idol, utterly motionless. His flesh and blood shone as he immersed himself in a strange state. He paid no heed to anything outside, as though cut off from the world, tempering the divine radiance wrapped around him. He forged runes into his flesh and blood, melting them into rosy light and transforming them into divine dawn. Every drop of blood became a rune, each one an eternal divine furnace that emitted boundless light and nourished his body.

At that moment, every pore on his body opened. Every drop of his blood became a streak of divinity, inhaling and exhaling divine radiance. It was as though one deity after another sat cross-legged within him.

Divine radiance surged from his entire body. Speck after speck of light, densely packed, appeared as though countless deities were chanting, reciting scriptures, and shining with light that illuminated the blue heavens.

The golden Suanni charged over, guided by countless specks of light. It transformed into strands of radiance, purified by those countless light specks and melted into Little Dot's body.

"This phenomenon is so mysterious!" The villagers stared blankly, though their tension eased considerably.

"Roar..."

The Suanni struggled, its resistance growing fiercer. It evaded Little Dot and madly rammed the black cauldron, producing thunderous booms that made everyone shudder, afraid the cauldron might suddenly shatter.

In the end, the golden Suanni grew more and more ferocious, battering the black cauldron until it boomed and shook without cease. Yet at that very moment, the cauldron itself changed. The sun, moon, mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, fish, and insects upon it became far more lifelike, as though they were about to revive.

"Could it be that this ancient artifact passed down through our clan was originally a precious cauldron for refining medicine?" Clan Chief Shi Yunfeng said in astonishment. Its behavior was similar to the cauldrons of great tribes.

The golden Suanni flew into a rage and struck even more violently. Yet the cauldron became increasingly ancient and unadorned, exuding a mysterious aura. The runes on its walls lit up one after another, as if they were spontaneously combusting.

The roars of all manner of fierce birds and savage beasts rang out. Though indistinct, they were truly no illusion. At the same time, the cauldron walls gradually became translucent and began refining the golden liquid within.

The Suanni trembled. Its furious roar made everyone's eardrums ache. It had originally been an incorporeal divine entity, yet now its voice echoed tangibly through the village, filling people with dread. It was making its final bid, rising onto its hind legs and spitting bolts of lightning, as though it truly intended to blast through the cauldron walls.

The black cauldron shook.

The ancient forebears on the cauldron walls became increasingly lifelike. Waves of sacrificial chants emerged, followed by the unceasing sound of scripture recitations. "This great artifact handed down by our ancestors truly seems to be an extraordinary medicine cauldron!" Clan Chief Shi Yunfeng was shaken. He had never imagined that the inconspicuous black cauldron they used every day could be so miraculous.

At the same time, even more light specks appeared over Little Dot's body in the golden liquid, densely packed like ranks of deities emerging and sitting cross-legged to chant scriptures in resonance with the cauldron.

The Suanni grew terrified and trembled without cease before breaking apart. The black cauldron refined it into streams of golden divine light that sank into the golden liquid within.

At last, everything calmed down. The lid fitted seamlessly into place, sealing the medicine cauldron. No one outside could see what was happening within any longer.

"It's done. The cauldron is finally sealed. If nothing unexpected happens, Little Dot will succeed!" Shi Yunfeng said excitedly.

"Clan Chief, roughly how long will this take?" Shi Feijiao asked.

"It's hard to say. The duration of the baptism can vary greatly, from one day to three months," Shi Yunfeng said with a frown.

"What?" Everyone stood stunned. No wonder the old clan chief had told them to chop Black Flood Dragon Wood and prepare so much of it.

For a full day and night, the golden liquid boiled without drying up. Little Dot bobbed up and down within it, his whole body crimson as though blood might drip from him at any moment. The golden liquid continuously entered his body through his pores, then carried impurities back out, bathing him over and over again.

This was a terrifyingly brutal process. How could an ordinary child endure it? They would be tortured to death by the pain!

The golden liquid was not simply washing him. It invaded his body and rampaged through it, like bones being cracked apart and flesh being ground to pulp. Severed tendons and veins were common occurrences.

Little Dot gritted his teeth and remained motionless, guiding the golden liquid to baptize his body from the outside in. His entire body shone. Though the pain was excruciating, he felt his spirit growing fuller and fuller.

The divine radiance crashed through him tyrannically, nearly tearing apart his organs. Yet in the end, it nourished them back to health, leaving them with a crystalline sheen. His bones were nearly shattered as well, but they too were repaired in the end, becoming even denser, snowy white, and brilliant. And it was not only his body that received baptism—the power of divinity also nourished his spirit.

Over that full day and night, Little Dot underwent an unimaginable transformation!

When dawn arrived, he opened his eyes and called out, "Grandpa, the liquid is almost dry."

"It worked!" Shi Yunfeng cried in delight, telling someone to lift the lid. They saw Little Dot's entire body was clear and translucent, radiance gushing from his pores. The villagers were all astonished. They did not need to think to know that Little Dot had obtained tremendous benefits.

Shi Yunfeng hesitated for a while. In the end, he gritted his teeth and said, "Prepare the crimson precious horn of the Li-Fire Bull Demon and the Demon Ape's arm. Draw the blood!"

Shi Linhu extracted the ancient true blood contained within the precious horn, crimson as sunset glow, then released the black fluid within the ape arm and poured both into the cauldron.

"Moo!"

In an instant, a savage bull's roar made everyone's scalps tighten, nearly causing them to collapse to the ground.

"Roar..."

This was followed by a demonic howl. A Demon Ape suddenly appeared within the cauldron, raging alongside the crimson Li-Fire Bull and battering the cauldron.

Then the golden supreme treasure—the heart—once again gave rise to a Suanni. Golden light shot out in ten thousand rays as it joined them in striking the cauldron.

"Put the lid on!" the old clan chief ordered.

This time, it was even more intense. The three kinds of true blood mixed together—the crimson Li-Fire Bull Demon, the golden Suanni, and the black Demon Ape. All were ancient descendants, struggling and colliding violently as they sought to shatter the cauldron.

The ancient forebears on the cauldron walls appeared once more. Sacrificial chants rang out, and countless scripture recitations rose and fell, suppressing the three ancient descendants.

Little Dot was the same. Endless specks of light filled his body, while his bones and organs pulsed like a sonorous divine melody. Precious radiance spread from him, resonating with the black cauldron.

Both man and cauldron shone brilliantly, emitting all kinds of runes and Dao sounds. Clouds of vapor and rosy mist billowed here, while flowing light overflowed in a glorious splendor.

This process lasted two days and two nights. At last, everything calmed down. The lid was knocked open, and Little Dot leaped more than twenty meters into the air, soaring toward the heavens.

"I'm burned, I'm burned!" He kept rubbing his butt. His entire body was pitch-black, with only his big, lively eyes rolling about. Everywhere else looked as though it had been smeared with charcoal, making him resemble a little monkey.

The villagers all stood dumbfounded. Just now, Little Dot had slammed open the heavy cauldron lid and leaped into the sky with it. He had jumped more than twenty meters high!

The old clan chief burst into laughter. He knew it had succeeded. Little Dot's cultivation had reached perfect completion. After calming down slightly, he shouted, "Quick! Remove the fire beneath the cauldron and add water at once. The remaining medicine residue is still a rare treasure medicine!"

Little Dot landed on the ground, and a group of children surrounded him, pinching and poking him while laughing and teasing. Some also brought clean water to help wash him.

To their astonishment, they found that he had shed a layer of old skin. Once the charred black skin peeled away, it revealed a small, snowy-white, crystalline body that flowed with precious light.

"Wow, Little Dot, are you a silkworm? How did you shed such a thick layer of skin?" the children cried noisily. Several little girls also squeezed into the crowd. Seeing his clear, lustrous body, they were filled with envy.

Little Dot was utterly embarrassed. He hurriedly snatched a piece of clothing and pulled it on, drawing laughter from everyone.

"Child, let us see what changes have happened to you," one clan elder said.

Shi Linhu and the others strode over, each extending a palm as large as a cattail fan to feel him up and down. They all clicked their tongues in amazement, feeling as though they were touching a piece of warm jade.

Little Dot's little face turned red. Someone had actually flicked his little bird. These adults still treated him like a newborn baby. He struggled fiercely and shoved hard, nearly knocking Shi Feijiao to the ground.

The adults burst into laughter, but Shi Feijiao was astonished. "Don't laugh. This little fellow's strength is truly astonishing!"

When he swung his arms, he possessed five or six thousand jin of strength. Yet a child not even four years old had nearly pushed him over. How could that not shock him?

"Come, Little Dot. Lift the cauldrons and test how strong your body is," Clan Chief Shi Yunfeng said.

"Okay!" Little Dot felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He quickly escaped the laughing burly men who were groping him all over and ran off to the side.

"Up!"

Little Dot began with the thousand-jin bronze cauldron and powered straight through. Then he actually lifted the five-thousand-jin black-gold cauldron, leaving everyone in Stone Village petrified.

Little Dot had always been extraordinary. In the past, lifting the thousand-jin bronze cauldron had already been astonishing enough. Yet now he had lifted the five-thousand-jin black-gold cauldron in one go, shocking everyone into stunned silence.

"This isn't even his limit. Again!" Shi Yunfeng trembled, showing just how excited he was.

Boom!

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

Everyone was utterly shocked. Such divine strength at this age was something they had never even heard of!

"Child, when you grow up, if you don't hunt a true ancient ferocious beast—a True Hou, one of the deities worshipped by the ancient forebears—for your uncle, then you'll have let me down!" Shi Linhu cried after recovering his senses.