Chapter 1357: Sever the Body, Divide the Path for New Life; The Former False Demonic Beast Now Becomes Real

"Bang bang bang..."

Long Xing zhi Ling watched the human Xu Xiaoshou, full of life, bouncing around and hitting the giant he had summoned. It felt completely bewildered once again.

Just a moment ago, this kid was completely exhausted!

His energy, spirit, and life force were all gone, leaving him like an empty shell!

But after collapsing in the mountains and sleeping for less than fifteen minutes, this fellow woke up, and in just over ten breaths, he was back to full strength?

"Is this even a human?" Long Xing zhi Ling wondered, baffled.

Having lived for so long, it was the first time it had questioned the species of a human so many times in such a short period.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoshou, who was fiddling with the shell of the Jixian Juren, had already tested its hardness.

"It's dropped to third grade..."

Before, even Cang Ku couldn't scratch this thing, but now it could!

After waking up, Xu Xiaoshou's first priority wasn't to check his own condition.

With his various passive endurance skills active, as long as he wasn't dead, his state would always fluctuate between zero and full.

Naturally, testing the power of the Jixian Juren was the most urgent task.

"With my first strike after waking up, it was about the hardness of a first-grade spiritual artifact – Cang Ku couldn't even cut it."

"And Long Xing zhi Ling said I was unconscious for a little over half an hour, which means when I fell from this Jixian Juren shell, it must have had the strength of a Sheng-level entity."

"After all, the quality of this giant shell is degrading over time..."

"But Sheng-level is just for the unmanned state."

"If I were inside it, with my intelligence, could even a Bansheng withstand a punch from the Jixian Juren?"

"Damn, it's really huge!"

Xu Xiaoshou paused his analysis, marveling to himself, "This second awakening is even more ferocious than the Kuangbao Juren!"

At over ten thousand zhang tall, this was just the initial transformation - the Jixian Juren truly lived up to its name.

Such height...

Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts drifted back to Kong Xu Island.

If he'd had this skill back then, the Void Attendants would have been like children, and the Tianji God Envoy would have had to liberate himself first before daring to fart in front of me!

However, manifesting the Jixian Juren shell had drained all of Xu Xiaoshou's power, and it wouldn't last forever.

As time passed, the spiritual energy on the giant shell was dissipating, weakening its strength and hardness.

Now, even the giant's eyeballs had turned into spiritual energy and returned to the heavens.

Xu Xiaoshou estimated that in about an hour, the shell would dissolve completely, not even leaving bone fragments.

"If I break through to Bansheng and my Sheng force surges, allowing the Jixian Juren to draw more power and evolve..."

"Could a single transformation leave behind an eternal giant shell that lasts forever?"

Xu Xiaoshou pondered this.

Soon, he dismissed these unrealistic thoughts, as he was still far from the Bansheng realm in Lian Ling.

He flashed over to where Long Xing zhi Ling had been and asked, "Senior, what did you think of that punch?"

"Pity." Long Xing zhi Ling was concise.

Xu Xiaoshou knew what the ancestral tree was thinking, so he pressed on, "If I could stay rational, could that punch rival a Shengdi?"

When he asked this, Xu Xiaoshou already had his own answer. After all, he had fought a wisp of the Wangze Shengdi's divine intent incarnation and even inherited the power of the Four God Pillars.

These were invaluable experiences in battling a Shengdi!

Long Xing zhi Ling's eyes grew extremely serious. It stared deeply at this human youth, who was only at the Wangzuo Dao realm, and finally nodded its dragon head.

"Maybe."

Hearing the affirmation, Xu Xiaoshou burst into laughter. "Senior, after witnessing ten thousand eras, have you ever seen anyone as invincible as me?"

Long Xing zhi Ling wanted to nod and deflate the young man's arrogance, but after a long pause, it sighed.

"Few."

"Probably not, right?" Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, looking as if he had seen through everything. He clasped his hands behind his back, puffed out his chest, and strode away into the void.

As if struck by some profound insight, he paused, flicked his sleeve, and sighed poetically:

"Through a hundred eras, no peer like me exists,

In ten thousand years, no greater talent arises.

Senior, coming to Xing Jie was truly the right choice."

Long Xing zhi Ling was genuinely stunned by this bold declaration.

This young man...

Using his "perception," Xu Xiaoshou saw the astonished and doubtful expression on the ancestral tree spirit behind him and couldn't help but smile.

He understood why so many in the East Domain revered the Eight Venerables An.

Old Eight might be a bit of a show-off, but his ambition was high, and his strength matched it - he had real substance!

Collecting his thoughts, Xu Xiaoshou looked at Xing Jie, which now resembled a post-battle Kong Xu Island, and nearly felt his heart ache.

"The Jixian Juren is too powerful - just one transformation shattered half of Xing Jie..."

"Though this world is newly formed, with unstable space, imperfect rules, and no spiritual arrays for protection."

"But it's still exaggerated!"

"Good thing Long Xing zhi Ling protected the Shen Nong Yao Yuan and my precious lifeblood..."

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at another medicine garden.

It had been ravaged by Tan Shen and later revived by Lei Xier, but after this explosion, it was utterly destroyed.

He decided that from now on, he'd keep important things near Long Xing zhi Ling. The ancestral tree probably wouldn't steal them, but it would definitely protect them in danger.

After all, dragons love treasure...

"What if I transformed in Yujing City? I wouldn't even need to punch - just if the Kyoto Grand Array couldn't hold, there'd be countless casualties..." Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts wandered.

Without a doubt, the Jixian Juren was a second awakening that would make him completely lose control!

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't felt this way in a long time.

The last time was when he first tried the Kuangbao Juren.

But things were different now. He didn't need to train or control the Kuangbao Juren through trial and error anymore.

He delved into deep thought:

"In Shenmin Shike, I can stay absolutely calm."

"In Jixian Juren state, I completely lose control."

"So, what would happen if I activated Shenmin Shike and entered the Jixian Juren form at the same time?"

A flash of madness, even he couldn't detect, gleamed in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes.

Outside Xing Jie, Jin Ren felt a wildly destructive power emerging from nowhere and trembled in fear.

"Boss, don't do it! It's probably not about whether you can control the Jixian Juren calmly - it's that you might get drained dry and pass out in an instant!"

"But what if I use the Breathing Method and Dayukuoduoyutuo to seize a massive amount of enemy energy first, then use it to transform?" Xu Xiaoshou felt like Jin Ren and he were debating in his mind, like a little white figure and a little black figure arguing.

"Boss..." Jin Ren's legs were shaking.

"Stop calling me that - get in here."

"I'm not your enemy, though..."

"Get in!"

Jin Ren seemed to despair. His body swayed, his eyes went dull, and he tore through space, found the spatial node of Xing Jie, sighed, and entered.

Without needing orders, he already had "Sheng · Wuzhi Wen Zhong zhi Shu" glowing in his hand...

"You all, stay back!" Long Xing zhi Ling couldn't help but speak up.

"Oh." Xu Xiaoshou glanced over, then led Jin Ren to the world's edge.

Perfect - this barren place would be for testing skills from now on!

From afar, Long Xing zhi Ling stretched its neck to watch.

It wasn't thrilled about the master of Xing Jie conducting these explosive experiments in its world, but since they shared this realm, there wasn't much it could say.

Besides, Long Xing zhi Ling was genuinely curious about how far this human youth at the Wangzuo Dao realm could go.

"One should be enough, right?" Jin Ren held up "Sheng · Wuzhi Wen Zhong zhi Shu" for approval. "I've done my best."

"You deserve to die - this is your best?" Xu Xiaoshou mocked, then swiftly formed ten "Sheng · Wuzhi Wen Zhong zhi Shu" and tossed them out.

Jin Ren lacked the Shengdi-level endurance, so he couldn't produce that many energy forms quickly.

But the original could.

The original's ten "Sheng · Wuzhi Wen Zhong zhi Shu" flew out, and Jin Ren trembled as he activated Dayukuoduoyutuo, swallowing all the energy.

Long Xing zhi Ling's eyelids twitched at the sight.

This was like a game of killing and being killed - were all humans this twisted?

After devouring that immense energy, Jin Ren's body cracked instantly, and his eyeballs nearly popped out.

He hastily condensed the unstable "Sheng · Wuzhi Wen Zhong zhi Shu," expelling the energy as much as possible.

- Over ten beams of destructive light!

"Boom boom boom boom..."

The world's edge erupted like a catastrophe, and even Long Xing zhi Ling and Tan Shen in the central area felt the massive quake.

Xu Xiaoshou activated the Breathing Method and Dayukuoduoyutuo together.

In one gulp, he absorbed the energy that could destroy half the world.

His "transformation" kicked in immediately, converting that vast energy into his own.

Even so, Xu Xiaoshou felt the need to vent.

"Shenmin Shike!"

Without hesitation, he activated his second awakening, entering a state of divine insight and attunement to the heavens.

Only then did he feel a bit better.

His internal energy depleted rapidly, but there was still surplus!

"It really works - the energy isn't exhausted..." As this thought flashed, under Shenmin Shike, Xu Xiaoshou roared and soared into the sky, transforming into the Kuangbao Juren.

A pause.

Even from afar, Long Xing zhi Ling sensed something big was coming.

Sure enough, the golden giant roared again.

But this time, it didn't lose its mind!

"Ji! Xian! Ju! Ren!"

With a thunderous boom, the nine heavens darkened.

The colossal giant, over ten thousand zhang tall and blotting out the sky, rose up, like the descent of Tianzu, unmatched in the world.

This was Long Xing zhi Ling's second time seeing it, yet it still felt its heart stir.

The Jixian Juren's eyes were blood-red as it raised its fists menacingly. Long Xing zhi Ling quickly protected the Shen Nong Yao Yuan.

But this time, the fists didn't smash down.

The Jixian Juren clapped its hands in the air, shattering space and sending shockwaves surging. It then threw back its head and howled, its roar swallowing mountains and rivers:

"Through a hundred eras, no peer like me exists,

In ten thousand years, no greater talent arises!"

One breath...

Two breaths...

Three breaths!

After fully three breaths, "hiss" - a massive amount of steam erupted from the Jixian Juren, and its eyes lost their luster.

Beneath the Shen Nong Yao Yuan, Xu Xiaoshou had somehow detached from the giant shell and stepped over.

His skin was shriveled and red, his state utterly exhausted, but his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Senior, how was that?"

Long Xing zhi Ling fell silent.

This human youth was a bit mad, but he had done it!

In that state, he could clearly shout the words he'd said earlier, proving his consciousness was clear and he could control his power.

And with that level of power, if he could self-control for three breaths...

This was no longer Wangzuo Dao realm.

This human was a monster in Wangzuo Dao realm skin, capable of slaying Sheng!

For Sheng Shen Continent, three breaths might be long or short - who knew what stories or disasters could unfold in that time...

Long Xing zhi Ling could almost imagine it.

Bravado wasn't for nothing.

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't just showing off his breakthrough power to Long Xing zhi Ling.

He tossed the dragon corpse in front of it without a word, easily gathering ninety-nine Long Xing seeds.

This time, Long Xing zhi Ling didn't object and harvested the fruits swiftly!

No one helps you for no reason.

But once you're strong, those willing to back you will flock to you.

So, invest in yourself, and others will invest in you.

"Major success!"

With ninety-nine Long Xing seeds in hand, Xu Xiaoshou didn't consume them right away. Instead, he checked his inventory.

Passive points: 1,562,558.

Not many left - just enough to upgrade three skills.

"Lottery, Yun Dao Zhong, Evolution Water?"

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated, then realized that after getting three second awakenings, these could wait.

They couldn't compare to the second awakenings.

Better to make solid progress - upgrade the passive skills directly!

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou made a choice that wasn't impulsive.

Passive points: 1,562,558.

Passive points: 62,558.

"Fan Zhen..."

"Fan Zhen (Shengdi Lv.0)."

"Feng Li..."

"Feng Li (Shengdi Lv.0)."

"Tou Xing..."

"Tou Xing (Shengdi Lv.0)."

He upgraded frantically.

His physical power surged wildly.

The void echoed with three thunderous Sheng Jie sounds, as if celebrating Xu Xiaoshou's experiment success and applauding his physical breakthrough.

Long Xing zhi Ling could no longer stay calm.

It knew each thunderclap signified a major breakthrough for this human youth.

But outwardly, he seemed unchanged from before Xing Jie evolved.

This was terrifying.

Just the tip of the iceberg, yet it hid a whole universe!

How many trump cards did this young man have...

Xu Xiaoshou upgraded without much hesitation, extending the passive skills purely out of compulsion.

With these three skills reaching the extended passive level, his basic and extended passives were all at Shengdi Lv.0 - his panel looked perfect.

The rest were just "Chu Yi Jing Tong" and "Hui Hua Jing Tong" left un upgraded.

Those two were actually stronger, with more bizarre and profound effects.

But they lost out this time because there were two of them, not three - upgrading them wouldn't make the panel look as neat.

"A million passive points isn't much - I can gather them from a fight."

"And for mastery-type passive skills, I can upgrade them mid-battle, just like I did with textile mastery before."

"Extending the passives first is safer - it provides more physical protection than abstract mental insights."

Xu Xiaoshou summarized, then tested his newly upgraded extended passives.

"Fan Zhen" was powerful now - it could truly realize the fantasy from when he first drew the skill: a flick of the finger to shake mountains and rivers, a blink to shatter space.

"Tou Xing" was impressive too. Xu Xiaoshou didn't test it much, but paired with "Fan Zhen," it felt like, "I don't want to move, and aside from Shen Yi, no one in the world can make me."

"Feng Li" had an exaggerated effect. Influenced by the Tianzu inheritance, it wouldn't harm those around him anymore.

But as soon as he exposed those edges from beneath his skin, Xu Xiaoshou found that even his hair was sharper than Cang Ku!

In response, Cang Ku let out a aggrieved "hiss."

"You really need a master to fix you up..."

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to laugh but couldn't, because he didn't know who in the world could help Cang Ku.

Maybe he'd have to ask the Eight Venerables An later.

Weighing the spatial ring in his hand, filled with Long Xing seeds, Xu Xiaoshou sat cross-legged and entered the next phase of cultivation.

One, two, three...

With the Breathing Method fully active, the medicinal power of the Long Xing seeds was no longer hard to absorb.

The euphoric sensation was only slightly weaker than before, not diminished much.

So, Xu Xiaoshou started rolling on the ground again.

"Ah"

"Feels great!"

"Oh oh oh"

This time, he was determined not to wait, so even as the pleasure nearly made him explode, he kept devouring the Long Xing seeds.

Tan Shen was used to seeing its master rolling joyfully on the ground.

Long Xing zhi Ling, witnessing this, didn't find it all that surprising.

It realized it was starting to be convinced!

No matter what this human youth did, it seemed to have deeper meaning.

As dusk fell and night descended, Xing Jie experienced its first cycle of yin and yang, day and night.

By then, Xu Xiaoshou had consumed all ninety-nine Long Xing seeds and fully digested their power.

"Roar—"

A resounding dragon cry thundered from his throat, and a new aura of ancestral source power emerged from him.

In the eagerly anticipated Shen Nong Yao Yuan, Long Xing zhi Ling's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.

Xu Xiaoshou had transformed again!

The faint dragon patterns on his body, which had been vague since swallowing the first Long Xing seed, now fully manifested as a set of resplendent, red-gold dragon scales - true dragon armor!

As he roared, dragon horns grew on his head, majestic and imposing. His internal power converged wildly, collapsing into particles at his chest to form a red-gold dragon pearl.

"Mo Di zhi Cai Jue!"

The cheesy skill name from Mo Di Heilong flashed in Xu Xiaoshou's mind - that move shattered a dragon pearl for a world-ending attack.

Now, he had formed the foundation of that power - a dragon pearl of his own.

Though it was small now, only the size of a dragon's eye (the fruit, not the actual eye), it couldn't compare to Long Bao's.

"But the dragon pearl is incredibly useful - it can instantly gather my whole body's power for storage and decide whether to release it right away."

"That way, I can use the Breathing Method, transformation, and so on to absorb others' power and store it in the dragon pearl."

"When needed, release it or use it to activate 'Shenmin Shike' plus 'Jixian Juren'..."

Xu Xiaoshou was nearly overwhelmed by this massive surprise.

He felt the dragon pearl was like an enhanced dantian, fully integrating his various powers as a central hub.

It came at just the right time!

Beyond the dragon pearl, the biggest breakthrough from inheriting the Long Zu power was the dragon transformation!

With a single thought from Xu Xiaoshou,

"Roar!"

In Xing Jie, above the clouds, a red-gold five-clawed true dragon materialized, coiling through the sky with extraordinary presence.

Through "perception," he compared it and found that, aside from size, this thing was in no way inferior to Mo Di Heilong in appearance, aura, or potential...

"Was the Long Zu's true form this noble red-gold color?"

"This Long Bao would fall for me in an instant!"

Xu Xiaoshou was thrilled with his new form.

With another thought, he reverted to human shape and even vanished briefly to accelerate time and dress.

This way, he appeared majestic in dragon form and polite upon returning, avoiding any embarrassing exposure.

The expected fierce clash between Long Zu power and Tianzu power didn't happen.

Instead, his internal ancestral forces were lopsided - the Long Zu power cowered, not daring to resist.

Xu Xiaoshou figured it out.

After all, his current Long Zu power came only from swallowing ninety-nine Long Xing seeds, so it was still weak, like Jian Nian, needing nurturing.

The Tianzu inheritance, from Kong Xu Island's Tianzu spirit, was the genuine power of one of the Ten Ancestors, vast and terrifying.

Now, Xu Xiaoshou hadn't even fully digested the Tianzu power, so its quality and quantity were extraordinary.

How could mere ninety-nine Long Xing seeds dare act up?

Even so, Xu Xiaoshou felt that with the dragon scales manifested, relying on his extended passives, he could take on Jiang Buyi without issue.

He finally dared to claim, even at Wangzuo Dao realm, that he had Bansheng-level ability!

No longer like before, where his combat awareness lagged or he could only match weakened ordinary Bansheng.

"Mission accomplished!"

After digesting all the power and insights, Xu Xiaoshou looked at his second true body, whose eyes were full of envy.

"You..."

Honestly, Xu Xiaoshou felt a pang of sympathy.

"Kill me." The second true body closed his eyes resolutely, without begging.

He was Xu Xiaoshou, and Xu Xiaoshou was him.

Seeing the original grow stronger after upgrading and eating the seeds...

And realizing that even forming "Sheng · Wuzhi Wen Zhong zhi Shu" was instantly outdone by the original...

The second true body couldn't handle it.

Just as Xu Xiaoshou couldn't accept his own weakness, the second true body couldn't accept being a useless version compared to the original.

Before Xing Jie and after - it was a massive difference, and the second true body saw it clearly.

"Bear with it!"

Xu Xiaoshou said no more and swiftly struck his second true body with a sword, then clutched his head, enduring the pain.

This felt like killing himself...

Once the pain subsided, Xu Xiaoshou began groaning and "giving birth," leaving Long Xing zhi Ling staring in shock.

With a rip, the new Jin Ren emerged, half-dressed.

"I am invincible!"

Upon appearing, Jin Ren smiled at the corners of his lips.

"Stick to the old routine - you're Jin Ren, my guard outside. Don't cause trouble; we'll put on a show to intimidate others when needed, and you can pretend then." Xu Xiaoshou tossed him new clothes.

"No problem." Jin Ren agreed quickly, knowing he'd likely live longer this time.

With most passive skills at Shengdi Lv.0, even if the remaining two mastery-types were upgraded, they'd just grant insights.

And insights could be shared mentally between original and second true body.

In other words, Jin Ren now almost perfectly mirrored the original's strength, except for external items and forces.

Even if the original upgraded the remaining mastery passives later, he wouldn't need to die again.

Of course, he could live longer!

"So..." Xu Xiaoshou smiled brightly at Jin Ren.

Jin Ren understood implicitly. After dressing, he adopted the guard's demeanor and said seriously:

"We can go out and stir up trouble."

Xing Jie cracked open a passage to Sheng Shen Continent.

In the outside world, this was known as the descent of a sub-dimensional space.

"We look just like a pair of villainous ghost beasts making an entrance - you can turn into a dragon, I can become the Jixian Juren; we're definitely here to cause chaos." Jin Ren stepped into the rift.

"It's true? We're at least at the level of ghost beast kings - dragons and giants..." Xu Xiaoshou laughed.

"Then let's call Tan Shen too, make it grow big, swallow the Kyoto Grand Array in Yujing City, or use San Jie Nan Yan to summon heavenly tribulations as our backdrop. With Hui Hua Jing Tong, we could paint some sound effects and music - boom, the perfect evil trio!"

"Sounds fun - want to try?"

"Forget it, we'd scare Xiang Yi."

"True... What a strange feeling - this must be how Feng Yu Jin felt leaving Bai Ku back then?" Xu Xiaoshou felt like their conversation was amplifying his inner thoughts.

"No, young master, back then he defeated a group of red-clothed warriors. I wonder how many from Bai Ku's red-clothed are still alive - such nostalgia!"

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen Shou Ye in ages..."

"Yeah, he wasn't on Kong Xu Island either - who knows if he died in the Nine Deaths Thunder Tribulation."

"That would be a shame."

"It is, but we did our best."

"Yeah, he wasn't a good person, but he was a decent one."

"That's high praise - you're good with words."

"You too."