Transformation

Li Dao had no attention to spare for the commotion outside.

The moment he entered the medicinal cauldron, dense vital essence engulfed him.

The billions of cells throughout his body cheered.

Like parched earth finally blessed with rain, they began swallowing the rich energy like a whale gulping down water.

Wisps of divine essence continuously slipped through his pores into his body.

Within his dantian, the blood-red furnace had more than doubled in size since that morning, its mouth wide open.

It ravenously absorbed and refined the endless stream of pure energy, sending currents of pure vital essence into every limb and bone.

Li Dao sensed the barrier to the Cave Heaven realm. It was like a thin sheet of paper; all he needed was a gentle poke.

He could easily step into the Cave Heaven realm, but he did not.

A towering building rose from level ground. He was still steadily reinforcing his foundation.

Streams of pure energy settled within his body, becoming his unparalleled potential.

Nourished by the divine essence, his crimson blood slowly began turning brilliant gold.

With each powerful beat of his heart, this surging blood and vital energy flowed into every corner of his body.

With his absolute control over his body, Li Dao could clearly feel every part of it growing stronger.

Brilliant golden blood continually washed over his bones and meridians, making them increasingly crystalline.

Faintly, beneath the cleansing tide of blood and vital energy, fragments of runes emerged on his gleaming white bones.

They exuded an air of indestructibility and profound mystery.

Under the cleansing surge of this vast energy, hidden injuries deep within his body that had previously been beyond repair began to change.

Drops of spent blood and pieces of damaged bone were expelled, forming a great blood-red cocoon around him.

It wrapped him tightly inside.

Time slowly passed, and blood-red ripples spread from the great cauldron holding Li Dao.

Beside him, the children had long since jumped out of their medicinal cauldrons.

Even Er Ya, who had held out the longest, had emerged.

However, once she learned that she had been the second-to-last to come out, her face immediately filled with smug delight.

The sight of the little snot-nosed boy's embarrassed expression lifted her spirits even further.

Li Kai was also in an excellent mood as he watched the formidable auras emanating from the children.

Had Li Dao's cleansing not still been underway, he would have already taken them to test how many jin of strength they had gained.

The children found Li Dao's continued stay in the cauldron both expected and unexpected.

They knew he was a freakish genius, but this degree of talent still shocked them.

Still, this was no time for them to worry about Li Dao. They could feel the abundant, undigested energy within their own bodies.

They hurriedly began sprinting around the village, hoping to accelerate their consumption of that energy.

The adults let them go, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the great cauldron from which blood-red ripples continued to spread.

Inside the cauldron, Li Dao had entered a mysterious state.

His understanding of his cultivation path and his study of precious techniques deepened.

The blood-red furnace within him grew increasingly solid, refining energy even faster.

He felt his body undergo a transformation. His strength had also surpassed the hundred-thousand-jin limit, reaching a staggering hundred and ten thousand jin.

Although it was only an increase of ten thousand jin, its significance was entirely different.

This was a qualitative transformation, one that meant he had forged his own path through the Blood Moving Realm.

The spreading blood-red ripples gradually faded, leaving only a great black-and-red cocoon inside the cauldron.

Crack, crack, crack-

With a series of crisp cracking sounds, spiderweb-like fissures immediately covered the black-and-red cocoon.

Bang-

Li Dao slowly opened his eyes. Bright as the moon, they seemed capable of seeing through everything in the world.

Looking at the impurities coating him, he gave his body a slight shake, instantly reducing them to fine dust that dispersed without a trace.

Thud-

The cauldron lid flew up, and Li Dao's figure slowly emerged.

Li Kai and the others eagerly looked over.

They saw a boy with bright eyes, rosy lips, and pearly teeth land steadily on the ground.

The golden boy of the legendary golden boy and jade maiden probably looked just like this.

Everyone present had the same thought.

Yet what caught Li Kai's attention was the pressure Li Dao exuded.

He was clearly only a child, but the imposing aura radiating from his body was more terrifying than a savage beast's.

The moment Li Dao emerged, he noticed everyone staring straight at him.

He looked down. His skin was as fair as a jade-white lotus root and gave off a faint fragrance.

Streaks of rosy light flowed beneath his skin, while divine radiance escaped through his pores.

Had they not known this was Li Dao, they might have thought some exiled immortal had descended into the mortal world.

This was a manifestation of cultivating the physical body to a certain level.

Li Kai was the first to break the silence. He approached Li Dao and patted his shoulder.

"Little Dao, how do you feel?"

Li Dao rubbed his head and said, a little sheepishly:

"I feel full of strength. Really good."

The others, stunned by Li Dao's earth-shattering transformation, quickly recovered and began fussing over him.

"Little Dao, with looks like those, who knows how many little girls you'd charm out in the world!"

"Exactly! That face alone would sweep crowds of them off their feet."

"If he already looks like this now, imagine him when he grows up!"

"..."

Watching the women display such formidable fighting power, the men exchanged helpless looks.

As hands reached toward him from every direction, Li Dao gained a profound appreciation for the aunties' fighting prowess.

Li Kai shook his head with a smile and finally spoke up, rescuing Li Dao from his sea of suffering.

He gathered the children together. Seeing them drenched in sweat yet brimming with vigor, he stroked his beard in an excellent mood.

Although they fell far short of Li Dao, they were already the most talented generation Golden Feather Village had produced in nearly a hundred years.

At that moment, however, the children kept glancing toward Li Dao.

The little girls, led by Er Ya, blushed after taking just one look at him.

Although the boys marveled at Li Dao's appearance, they were even more awed by his terrifying aura.

Simply standing there without moving, he placed them under enormous pressure. It was difficult for him not to draw their eyes.

"Ahem."

"Next, come and test how many jin of strength you've gained."

Li Kai cleared his throat, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Hearing this, anticipation flashed in the children's eyes.

They looked toward the dozen or so Qilin Stones of varying sizes beneath a huge banyan tree behind the village chief.

These were stones found deep underground. Even a small piece weighed several hundred jin.

Because they were often used to test strength and assess cultivation progress, the villagers of Golden Feather Village called them Qilin Stones.

The name signified that anyone who could lift a Qilin Stone was a Qilin Prodigy of Golden Feather Village.

Li Dao also looked toward the stones with anticipation. Although he knew his physical strength had reached another level,

He still did not know exactly how much it had improved, and he could not help looking forward to finding out.