The Opportunity for Bloodline Awakening!

Lu Changsheng returned beneath the great tree and began inspecting his gains.

With a thought,

A pile of spiritual herbs spread out across the depths of the cave, their fragrance assailing his nostrils.

Looking at the heap of spiritual herbs before him, Lu Changsheng felt quite pleased.

If that fellow had not jumped over the wall in desperation and devoured more than half of them, his harvest would have been even more astounding.

"Absorb."

Lu Changsheng absorbed every last spiritual herb from the ground.

He opened the panel.

Source Energy Points: 106.

His gains had once again surged past the hundred-point mark.

Lu Changsheng intended to press on while the iron was hot and raise the Pangolin to level twenty, to see exactly what kind of mysterious bloodline it could awaken.

"Add points."

He hesitated no longer and tentatively tapped it.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."

The blood and qi within his body churned as his body continued to swell. His scales grew ever more lustrous and beautiful, while his claws gradually became sharper as well.

Bound Exotic Beast: King Pangolin.
Level: 16.
Source Energy Points: 86.

Looking at the blue Light Screen before him, Lu Changsheng's heart stirred.

The cost of this upgrade had actually doubled. A single point allocation now required twenty points, and it might increase even further later on.

Not only that,

He discovered waves of numbness spreading through his body, while the mysterious bloodline continued awakening further.

Even his scales, muscles, and bones had strengthened by several degrees.

His current size was already comparable to that of a small lamb, which was truly frightening.

If he underwent another transformation later, he would likely grow even larger.

After a moment, he no longer hesitated and added two more levels in succession.

"Buzz..."

As a warm current flowed throughout his body, Lu Changsheng felt his strength increase significantly once more.

Bound Exotic Beast: King Pangolin.
Level: 18.
Source Energy Points: 16.

Staring at the gray button behind his level, he fell into thought.

The point cost was clearly increasing now. To break through to level twenty, he would probably need at least several dozen more points.

These last two upgrades had clearly cost thirty and forty points.

As two exceptionally crucial levels, perhaps the final two would cost fifty and sixty?

Lu Changsheng stopped dwelling on it and began digging toward the depths of the mountain range again.

He could hardly wait to gather more spiritual herbs.

Not only did the Exotic Beast bloodline need awakening, but he also had a whole pile of skills waiting to be upgraded. On top of that, the situation was growing increasingly strange. The Black Mountain Bandits and the Scent Worship Cult would make their moves sooner or later, and no one knew what might happen.

There was also Zhao Yuanjing, the "top courtesan" of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion, who filled him with extreme wariness.

Once these forces lurking in the shadows erupted in full, the destruction they caused could not be underestimated.

He had to raise his strength as quickly as possible. There could be no slackening whatsoever.

"I dig, I dig..."

Relying on his increasingly sharp claws, Lu Changsheng rapidly tunneled through the underground space.

The soil before him was like tofu, crumbling away in heaps with every scrape.

Ten days later.

In the northwestern corner of the Cangyun Mountain Range.

Within an underground space.

Lu Changsheng stared at the large amount of silvery-white rock ahead of him and fell into thought.

These past few days, he had searched all over the mountains for traces of spiritual treasures. He had found some things, but it was still far from enough to meet his needs.

Yet when he arrived at the foot of this mountain range, his nose suddenly caught a faintly unusual scent.

A cool sensation drifted through the air, distinctly different from spiritual herbs.

This greatly piqued his interest.

There might be something novel inside.

He knew that the Attribute Modifier could absorb not only spiritual herbs, but also any other objects containing energy. It refused nothing that came its way.

Lu Changsheng gathered his thoughts, approached the rocks, and placed a claw against them.

At that moment, a message appeared on the panel.

Moon-Patterned Stone: Formed from absorbing moonlight and the essence of the earth veins. Its quality is too low to absorb...

Looking at the system Light Screen before him, his spirits rose.

It was actually an energy ore, but it contained too many impurities to provide energy.

Judging from the size of the mountain, this place was clearly shaped like a small hill. There had to be purer Moon-Patterned Stone deeper within.

As long as he could dig it out, he would surely gain a large amount of Source Energy Points.

This place was his opportunity to rise. He absolutely could not miss it.

Lu Changsheng immediately began moving.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

He swung both claws and madly dug at the rocks before him. After the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, he had only managed to carve out a small hole barely large enough for him to crawl through.

Then, he suddenly stopped.

These Moon-Patterned Stones were far too hard. At his current speed, it would be difficult for him to dig deep into the mountain.

Even his claws were beginning to ache. This had never happened before, leaving him greatly astonished.

Stones containing energy truly were extraordinary.

Though he had encountered a predicament, he worked even harder instead.

"Add points."

Lu Changsheng no longer forced himself and directly allocated points to the Burrowing skill.

As a warm current circulated through his body, the claws on all four of his limbs began undergoing an intense transformation.

Before long, they had changed drastically.

Not only had they become sharper, but they also looked much thicker and sturdier. A cold gleam flickered at their tips.

Skills: Burrowing—Excellent, Armor Enhancement—Fine, Underwater Breathing—Fine.
Source Energy Points: 6.

This point allocation had made his claws more than twice as strong, and the skill level had risen from Fine to Excellent.

It had consumed ten Source Energy Points, which was still acceptable to him.

Excellent-grade skills were clearly much stronger than Fine-grade ones.

At that moment, he swung his massive claw and fiercely struck the rock ahead.

"Bang..."

A small piece of Moon-Patterned Stone was clawed straight off. There was only slight resistance, much better than before.

Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer. His claws moved rapidly as he resumed digging.

After the skill upgrade, his speed had increased by more than double as well.

Time passed.

A day later.

Lu Changsheng suddenly felt the space before him open up. A small tunnel appeared not far ahead, too narrow even for his current body to pass through.

"Could there be other creatures here?"

The thought made him more vigilant. Although his strength was decent now, he was still far from being able to swagger through the mountain range unhindered. Naturally, he had to be extra cautious.

Lu Changsheng dug open the tunnel entrance and slowly burrowed forward.

Before long, a bright silver stone ahead caught his attention.

The stone was only the size of a palm and emitted a faint glow.

The discovery lifted his spirits.

He quickly dug over to the stone and placed a claw against it.

A new entry appeared on the panel.

Low-Grade Moon-Patterned Stone

Note: Contains a portion of moonlight power. Can slightly enhance the blood and qi and strength within the body.

"There's hope?"

Delight appeared on Lu Changsheng's face. He immediately swung his claws and dug out the Moon-Patterned Stone, leaving behind a small pit.

"Unknown energy source detected. Absorb?"

A crisp system notification sounded.

"Absorb."

Lu Changsheng immediately nodded.

Source Energy Points +1.

A message appeared in the system, and his Source Energy Points increased by one.

Though it was only a single tiny point, it still thrilled him immensely.

This small mountain contained far more than just this one piece. As long as he could dig them all out, the harvest would definitely be substantial.

And this was only Low-Grade Moon-Patterned Stone. If there were higher-grade ones inside, would that not be a huge windfall?

With that thought, Lu Changsheng dug even more vigorously. He bent himself to the task and crazily burrowed toward the depths of the mountain.