Another Transformation!

Lu Changsheng quickly swept his gaze around. Seeing that the Lake Monster was nowhere nearby, he stopped hesitating and immediately rushed toward the spiritual medicine ahead, placing his claws on its leaves.

"Discovered one two-hundred-year-old Ice Spirit Grass. Collect?"

The familiar prompt sounded.

"Collect, collect..."

Lu Changsheng frantically tapped the panel, terrified that the Lake Monster would suddenly come charging over.

But the more he feared something, the more it came true.

Not far to the northeast, a colossal creature was rushing toward him, churning up waves of lakewater.

It was the terrifying octopus monster from before.

"The system is collecting. Please wait..."

One breath, two breaths...

As Lu Changsheng stared at the progress bar on the panel, those few short breaths felt incomparably long.

Watching the monster draw ever closer, his heart pounded wildly with tension.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

Just then, a massive tentacle lashed fiercely toward Lu Changsheng. The oppressive force behind it was suffocating.

Lu Changsheng's body tensed, his heart racing.

"Collection successful."

The instant the prompt sounded in his mind again, he heaved a sigh of relief and immediately burrowed toward the cave entrance, swift as lightning.

"Whoosh..."

Unfortunately, he was still a fraction too slow. Just as Lu Changsheng burrowed into the entrance, the giant tentacle scraped directly across him.

Bang, bang, bang...

The blow left Lu Changsheng seeing stars, his blood and qi churning. He had no time to inspect his injuries and hurriedly burrowed deeper into the cave.

Within a few breaths, he had rushed into an even narrower passage.

Boom, boom, boom...

As he escaped, the Lake Monster's tentacles furiously battered the cave entrance behind him, as if venting the rage in its heart.

Only then did Lu Changsheng have time to inspect his condition.

Fortunately, he had merely been grazed rather than struck head-on. Otherwise, the consequences would have been difficult to predict.

There was nothing seriously wrong inside his body, thanks to the protection of his scales.

If his scales had not transformed again after breaking through to the Beast King level, he probably would not have been able to withstand even that hit.

The deep mountains and ancient forests were indeed fraught with danger.

That was also Lu Changsheng's most direct impression after exploring the mountains these past few days.

No wonder the depths of these mountain ranges were considered forbidden zones for humanity. Even ordinary martial artists found it difficult to emerge unscathed after venturing in.

After this incident, Lu Changsheng decided to change his approach.

He decided to strengthen his Pangolin avatar first. Otherwise, if he encountered such a situation again, he might not be so lucky.

Only by making his Exotic Beast avatar stronger could he explore deeper into the jungle for more treasures.

Then, by feeding the gains back to himself and improving together at full speed, he would have made the best choice.

No matter how he looked at it, this deal was worth it.

Having figured it out, Lu Changsheng immediately took out the spiritual medicines he had gathered over the past few days and laid them out in the passage.

A heap of spiritual medicines spread across the mud, releasing waves of faint fragrance.

He drew a deep breath, and even his spirit seemed to be invigorated.

"Absorb."

A moment later, all of the spiritual medicines turned into Source Energy Points and vanished.

Looking at the number on the panel, he was overjoyed.

Source Energy Points: 62.

"System, add points!"

He roared inwardly.

He tapped the plus sign behind the Pangolin's level four times in succession.

Boom, boom, boom...

His entire body began to expand wildly, as though it were being inflated.

The scales all over his body trembled violently and began rearranging themselves, their luster growing ever deeper.

Surges of blood and qi erupted from deep within his body, flowing through every bone and muscle.

Before long, the transformation was completely finished.

His body had expanded enormously, becoming more than twice as large as before.

Not only that, but his strength had more than doubled as well.

The scales on his body were arranged more tightly, and his defense had grown even stronger.

He opened the panel.

Bound Exotic Beast: King Pangolin (Red)

Level: 15.

Skills: Burrowing—Proficient, Armor Enhancement—Proficient, Underwater Breathing—Proficient.

Source Energy Points: 22.

Status: Good.

Note: An existence of the Pangolin Royal Clan that has undergone another transformation. A miraculous bloodline lies within its body and is currently awakening...

A minor transformation occurred every five levels, and this advancement had brought an enormous improvement.

The Exotic Beast avatar's strength had increased severalfold.

If he encountered the same situation as before, as long as he was not struck head-on, there would be almost no danger.

Lu Changsheng stared at the description after the entry, deep in thought.

According to what it said, some kind of miraculous bloodline within him was gradually awakening.

Once he reached level twenty, he would likely undergo an enormous transformation.

That filled him with anticipation.

After this evolution, he only had twenty-two Source Energy Points left, but it had been worth it.

He planned to save these remaining Source Energy Points for emergencies.

If he encountered a life-or-death crisis, he could still use them to improve his condition.

Whenever he went out, Lu Changsheng always kept some Source Energy Points in reserve. This was his final means of preserving his life.

A moment later.

Lu Changsheng gathered his thoughts and began his next move.

After choosing a direction, he rapidly swung his claws and dug toward the central region.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

The underground was dark and silent, with only the sound of his digging remaining.

Lu Changsheng did not find it tedious. On the contrary, he was full of drive.

He desperately wanted to know what kind of transformation the Pangolin would undergo next.

After this improvement, he discovered that his digging speed had increased by more than double.

The tunnel he had originally estimated would take five days to dig through could now be completed in at most two days, which delighted him greatly.

Looking at his sharper, tougher claws, he worked even harder.

The soil before him was like tofu, easily carved apart.

Over the next few days.

Lu Changsheng dug madly beneath the lake, turning the entire lakebed into a transportation hub with passages extending in all directions.

Whenever he reached an area, he carefully sensed the situation there.

If he detected the fragrance of spiritual medicine, he would cautiously emerge to investigate before collecting it.

After repeating this process over and over, his gains were considerable. He acquired several dozen more spiritual medicines.

He had nearly stripped this lake clean of spiritual medicines.

During this time, he encountered the Lake Monster several times. Each time, he easily evaded it. By the end, the Lake Monster had even begun wildly devouring spiritual medicines itself, looking like it had smashed the jar and given up on saving the contents. It left Lu Changsheng utterly dumbfounded.

Roar, roar, roar...

After stealing another spiritual medicine, Lu Changsheng looked at the incomparably furious Lake Monster above him with a calm expression.

It began crazily ramming the cave entrance, as if it would never rest until it killed this treasure-stealing thief.

Bang, bang, bang...

Its eyes were bloodshot as it whipped its tentacles about, frantically battering the mud at the lakebed.

The surrounding lakewater surged violently, raising wave after towering wave.

Lu Changsheng paid it no heed and simply turned around, rushing toward the shore.

The spiritual medicines here had nearly all been collected. There was no need to waste any more time.

If the creature had not devoured more than half of them, his haul would have been even more astonishing.

That was perhaps his only regret.

Lu Changsheng suspected that this Lake Monster had grown to such a size precisely by devouring a vast quantity of spiritual medicines.

These spiritual medicines could be considered its family fortune.

He had never expected to strip them all away. No wonder it hated him so much.