Chapter 728: Mutation

## The Mortal Realm

The subterranean cavern was like a thunderous swamp. Knee-deep dark river water flowed below, while thick thunderclouds loomed above. Qin Sang had never before seen such a peculiar terrain. How could thunderous power be generated deep underground, away from the light of day? Qin Sang was utterly perplexed.

The few six-petal butterfly violets grew at the other end of the dark river, rooted between rock crevices. Besides that spot, Qin Sang also found two excavated marks elsewhere along the dark riverbank. From these marks, Qin Sang deduced that it might not have been spiritual herbs, but rather some kind of ore. Not only did six-petal butterfly violets grow here, but also rare minerals, making this place a true treasure trove. The ore had fallen into the hands of the burly shaman, who had thoroughly extracted it. What type of ore it was, or its value, was now impossible to ascertain. Immature six-petal butterfly violets would wither immediately after being forcibly picked, leaving almost no medicinal potency. Judging by the man's actions, if not for this particular characteristic of the six-petal butterfly violets, these few plants likely wouldn't have been left to mature; he would have dug them all out. Perhaps the formation of the thunderclouds was related to that unknown ore.

Standing in the water, Qin Sang looked up at the thunderclouds, then lowered his gaze to the Sky-Eye Butterfly in his palm. After entering the subterranean space, the Sky-Eye Butterfly spontaneously awoke, sending a surge of eager desire to Qin Sang's mind. It desperately wanted to emerge, its target seemingly something within the thunderclouds. If there were any treasures within the thunderclouds, surely the burly shaman would have already claimed them? As a shamanic cultivator, he would almost certainly possess a life-bound spiritual insect. Could the thunderclouds only be appealing to the Sky-Eye Butterfly? Qin Sang didn't rashly release the Sky-Eye Butterfly. Instead, he took out the plump silkworm, which showed no reaction to the thunderclouds, confirming his suspicion. The thunderous power within the clouds wasn't as terrifying as that found in the outside world; the lightning it generated was incredibly fine. However, attempting to probe it with spiritual sense would still be a fool's errand.

Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then channeled his true essence, causing the thunderclouds to vibrate. Immediately, the cavern filled with swirling mist and rumbling thunder. Qin Sang soon stopped, for he had already glimpsed the core of the thunderclouds: it was nothing more than a mass of gaseous cloud. Finding nothing, Qin Sang had no choice but to release the Sky-Eye Butterfly. The Sky-Eye Butterfly joyfully flapped its wings, flying beneath the thunderclouds and beginning to circle. Soon after, the Sky-Eye Butterfly hovered at the center directly beneath the thunderclouds, then began to rapidly beat its wings. The Sky-Eye Butterfly was already quite strong; its vigorous flapping created powerful gusts of wind, agitating the thunderclouds. However, unlike Qin Sang's efforts, the winds generated by the Sky-Eye Butterfly possessed a peculiar suction force. As the thunderclouds vibrated, a wisp of milky-white mist gradually materialized in Qin Sang's vision. This wisp of mist was incredibly thin, pulled into a thread by the suction, with its other end connecting directly to the Sky-Eye Butterfly's mouthparts. The Sky-Eye Butterfly was absorbing this wisp of mist!

Qin Sang's face showed surprise. To him, the thunderclouds seemed ordinary, merely condensed water vapor. Yet, the Sky-Eye Butterfly treated them as a delicacy, and Qin Sang could clearly sense its joyful and contented emotions. "What could be inside the thunderclouds..." Qin Sang fell into deep thought. He glanced at the distant six-petal butterfly violets, then swiftly darted over to them. The six-petal butterfly violets were exquisitely beautiful and vibrant in color. There were even six of them, enough to help the Sky-Eye Butterfly mature to the peak of its second transformation. In the ancient texts of the Spirit-Controlling Sect, the description of the six-petal butterfly violet was very brief, merely stating that it was a spiritual flower favored by the Sky-Eye Butterfly and could be used for its cultivation. There was no extensive description of the six-petal butterfly violet's properties or its preferred growing environment. "Is it because of the unknown white mist in the thunderclouds that these six-petal butterfly violets are nurtured, and what the Sky-Eye Butterfly truly enjoys is actually the mist itself?" Qin Sang could only make wild guesses.

He took out six jade boxes and carefully harvested the six-petal butterfly violets. After scanning the surroundings to confirm there were no other treasures, he returned to the center of the dark river, focusing his attention on the Sky-Eye Butterfly's movements. In a short time, the white mist grew thicker, reaching the approximate thickness of a chopstick. The Sky-Eye Butterfly's tiny body seemed like a bottomless pit, greedily consuming the white mist without apparent satisfaction. Just then, a dense rumble of thunder suddenly echoed from deep within the thunderclouds. Immediately afterwards, a flash of electricity flickered within the white mist, and the two surprisingly merged into one. Witnessing this, Qin Sang's expression shifted. He was about to command the Sky-Eye Butterfly to retreat, but to his surprise, the creature showed no fear. Instead, it flapped its wings, flew upwards, and with a powerful drawing in, swallowed both the white mist and the lightning into its abdomen! Qin Sang was dumbfounded. He had not anticipated this at all and had no time to intervene. He hurriedly flew closer, nervously observing the Sky-Eye Butterfly's changes. What would be the consequences of swallowing lightning? Even the most minuscule bolt of lightning represents the most violent force in the world!

The Sky-Eye Butterfly hovered in mid-air, and the flow of white mist ceased. The air became calm and still, and the creature seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. Qin Sang was extremely tense. He attempted to connect with the Sky-Eye Butterfly's consciousness, and the good news was that its mind remained stable. However, its aura was far from steady. The Sky-Eye Butterfly lay on Qin Sang's hand, enveloped by wisps of white mist. Its body was trembling, clearly affected by the shock of the lightning. The Sky-Eye Butterfly's impulsive action caught Qin Sang off guard, but he certainly couldn't stand idly by. The only thing he could do was to use their bloodline connection and channel all his true essence to aid it. As time passed, the trembling in the Sky-Eye Butterfly's body gradually subsided; it had overcome the most difficult phase. Soon after, its aura finally stabilized. Qin Sang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned in for a closer look, only to find that the Sky-Eye Butterfly hadn't changed much after ingesting the lightning power. The only difference was that the patterns on its wings seemed slightly more radiant.

Unexpectedly, the Sky-Eye Butterfly flapped its wings once more and flew back up, continuing to greedily consume both the white mist and the lightning. Qin Sang's eyes flickered. This time, he didn't intervene, allowing the Sky-Eye Butterfly to continue. With each ascent and descent, the Sky-Eye Butterfly seemed to grow more at ease, continuing to devour the white mist and lightning voraciously. Once the last wisp of white mist had been swallowed, the Sky-Eye Butterfly returned to Qin Sang's palm, where it lay somewhat listlessly. Just then, its wings suddenly began to glow. Silver light pulsed and swam among its peculiar patterns. The light grew steadily brighter, and white mist began to emanate, eventually forming a cocoon-like structure of lightning that enveloped the Sky-Eye Butterfly. The creature lay inside this 'thunder cocoon', falling into a deep slumber. Qin Sang observed the entire transformation process without intervening, though he remained constantly alert to the Sky-Eye Butterfly's condition.

Qin Sang was certain that this slumber was not a mere transformation, but rather linked to a very rare change documented in shamanic records: the mutation of a spiritual insect! Generally, spiritual insects possess very singular abilities. It has been observed that spiritual insects sometimes have the chance to mutate when they encounter certain rare opportunities. While the probability of such a mutation is extremely low, it's not unheard of in the long history of shamanic insect mastery. Spiritual insect mutations appear randomly and cannot be replicated. Qin Sang had never expected to encounter such a fortunate opportunity here.