Whoosh!
Chen Qingyu lowered his auspicious cloud and landed before the Floating Heavenly Palace.
Without a moment's hesitation, he silently called out:
System!
I want to sign in!
A crisp, melodious notification instantly rang out in Chen Qingyu's mind:
Ding! Host's ninth sign-in at [Floating Heavenly Palace]! Congratulations, host! You have obtained Gestation and Transformation, one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations!
Chen Qingyu froze slightly.
Gestation and Transformation?
Judging by its name, this seemed to be a divine ability geared toward esoteric arts and transformations, rather than a powerful offensive ability.
His hopes seemed to have fallen through once again.
This really is...
He sighed and prepared to examine his newly acquired [Gestation and Transformation].
But just then:
Ding!
The crisp system notification sounded again:
The prize pool for the sign-in location [Floating Heavenly Palace] has been exhausted! Over nine sign-ins, you have obtained nine divine abilities belonging to the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations: [Qi Absorption in Nine Breaths], [Standing Upright Without a Shadow], [Soaring on Clouds and Riding the Mist], [Flying Sand and Moving Stones], [Drawing Out Primordial Yang], [Subduing Dragons and Taming Tigers], [Seeing Through Walls], [Summoning Wind and Rain], and [Gestation and Transformation]! With the prize pool exhausted, you can no longer obtain new rewards, but you can continue signing in to strengthen the rewards you have already obtained! Sign-ins are now available at the second sign-in location, [Heaven-Reaching Sword Gorge]!
At that moment:
Chen Qingyu froze, his feelings suddenly growing complicated, joy mingled with a trace of disappointment.
He was delighted that the second sign-in location he had been hoping for had finally appeared.
He was disappointed that the nine divine abilities had exhausted the Floating Heavenly Palace's prize pool. For the time being, he could no longer defeat Zhou Chenlong through the simple, brute-force method of signing in for a powerful divine ability.
Forget it.
Chen Qingyu took a deep breath, determination returning to his eyes.
The Ninth Ancestor said Zhou Chenlong wasn't truly heaven-defyingly powerful. It was merely that no one in this generation's Blood Sea Realm happened to be his match.
Zhou Chenlong has a supreme foundation, and so do I.
He can stand undefeated in the Blood Sea Realm, but I have cheats. Could I really lose to him in a head-on fight?
His former absolute confidence returned.
Compared with Zhou Chenlong, his greatest disadvantage was actually that he had cultivated for too little time to improve his martial techniques and accumulate combat experience.
But with nine Heavenly Gang divine abilities, he refused to believe he could not beat a mere Zhou Chenlong.
"Time to go."
He flicked his sleeve and turned, riding his auspicious cloud straight away from the Floating Heavenly Palace.
During his flight:
He focused his mind and examined his newly obtained ninth divine ability, [Gestation and Transformation].
A single glance filled him with delighted surprise.
This-this is practically having a pillow delivered just as I'm getting sleepy.
[Gestation and Transformation] was an art of transformation!
This divine ability contained the mysteries of all transformations under heaven. Even at the initial stage, he could freely transform into men or women, old or young, tall or short, fat or thin.
A step further, and he could transform into birds and beasts, fish, snakes, insects, and all manner of living creatures, or even any inanimate object, such as plants, rocks, gold, silver, and houses.
At its highest level, he could even transform fate and karma along with himself. Even a Great Luo Immortal standing before him would be unable to tell.
Now this is a true art of a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations!
Chen Qingyu smiled in satisfaction.
His soul was that of an adult. He had long since had enough of having a child's body, which made everything inconvenient.
This was also part of the reason he liked staying in the Supreme Void Dao Realm.
Now that he possessed [Gestation and Transformation], he could finally fulfill his wish and gain a truly grown body that could stand tall between heaven and earth, leaving his little hands and feet behind.
Let's do it!
He eagerly activated the divine ability and silently commanded:
Transform!
In an instant-
As his True Qi surged, his bones and sinews lengthened, his flesh reshaped-as though he had aged ten years in a single instant!
Chen Qingyu took on his sixteen-year-old appearance and build, the same appearance Chen Shaojun had in the Supreme Void Dao Realm.
Not bad!
Once the transformation ended, he excitedly looked himself over and could not help bursting into laughter.
With the wonders of [Gestation and Transformation], this transformation was practically equivalent to being reincarnated and having an entirely new body molded for him.
All his physiological functions had advanced to those of a sixteen-year-old.
Inside and out, he was a genuine sixteen-year-old youth, including his bone age, soul, and certain functions that had yet to develop at six...
"Ahem..."
He coughed twice and hurriedly stopped those wandering thoughts.
He was still only six. If he went out fooling around, his father would probably break his legs.
"Off I go!"
With a thought, he immediately rode his auspicious cloud through the nine layers of gale winds and flew straight down.
A short while later:
Chen Zhengxing had just finished cultivating and emerged from his quiet chamber. Seeming to sense something, he turned and casually said:
"Qingyu, you're back-"
Before he could finish, his voice abruptly cut off.
Seeing a sixteen-year-old Chen Qingyu step off the auspicious cloud onto the ground, he was utterly dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Where was his son?
Where was his six-year-old son?
How had he grown so big after just one day apart?
Had this seclusion actually lasted a full ten years?
"Dad!"
Chen Qingyu greeted him with a grin.
"You..."
Chen Zhengxing stared blankly at him and instinctively asked:
"What year is it?"
Chen Qingyu gave him a surprised look.
"The year 15663 of the Emperor Yuan calendar. Why?"
"Dad, haven't you gotten muddleheaded from spending so long cultivating in seclusion?"
Hearing this, Chen Zhengxing murmured:
"The year 15663 of the Emperor Yuan calendar... Then it hasn't changed. It's still this year."
He raised his head and looked hesitantly at Chen Qingyu.
"Are you really my son Qingyu? How did you grow so big? Did the ancestor give you some kind of spirit pill?"
At his words, Chen Qingyu immediately laughed.
"Dad, you're overthinking it."
"This is a special ability I just awakened. It only lets me change my build and appearance."
"Well? Surprised?"
Chen Zhengxing's expression turned strange at this.
"You've awakened another new ability?"
"This, this... I really have no idea just what kind of sacred, heaven-defying constitution you possess. It's truly..."
He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. After struggling for a long while, he finally managed:
"You're still easier on the eyes when you're little."
Chen Qingyu pursed his lips.
"Aren't fathers supposed to hope their children grow up sooner?"
As he spoke, he waved.
"Enough talking. I'm heading to the Supreme Void Dao Realm. See you later, Dad."
"Wait!"
Chen Zhengxing stopped him and asked:
"What's your cultivation now?"
At the question, the corners of Chen Qingyu's mouth lifted.
"Third heaven of the Blood Sea Realm."
"In another twelve days at most, I should break through to the Golden Bridge Realm."
"The Golden Bridge Realm..."
Chen Zhengxing fell silent for a moment before saying softly:
"At your cultivation speed, I'm afraid it won't take more than a few months for you to break through the shackles of the human body and enter the [Four Spirit Origin Realms]."
"And the clan has a rule: whether from the main line or a branch line, everyone who reaches the Spirit Origin Realm must go out to travel across the lands. Only after reaching the True Gang Realm are they permitted to return to the clan."
Looking at Chen Qingyu's sixteen-year-old appearance, his gaze briefly grew distant.
"Do you want to go out and travel?"