Chapter 398: Perfect Evolution Essence

Ye Feng still felt somewhat uneasy. Although the small plant had clearly told him it could transform living beings into entities capable of using top-tier divine crystals as energy sources, it was unpredictable what level of combat strength such beings would achieve.
“After replacing them with top-tier divine crystals, will their strength change too?” Ye Feng couldn’t help asking.
“Top-tier divine crystals are sufficient to replenish all the energy consumed by an emperor-god-level warrior in one go,” the small plant explained. “The new lifeforms created, though not as strong as true emperor-god-level warriors, are not far behind. However, once the crystal core is removed, the new lifeforms will forget their original innate abilities. Moreover, due to the limited energy storage capacity of top-tier divine crystals, their cultivation level cannot be improved. If the crystal core is retained, the innate abilities can be kept, but their cultivation level remains the same—though it can still be enhanced. Additionally, it takes much less time to cultivate them this way.”
“How long?” Ye Feng asked.
“If top-tier divine crystals are used as the energy source, I need to make significant changes to their physical traits. That black dragon will take around a hundred years to cultivate fully. As for that insect, it will take at least three hundred years, as evolving into a female insect itself requires a long time. If the original crystal core is used, for that black dragon, I only need to make minor adjustments to its body to transform it into a new lifeform, which should take about three years. As for its soul, I can imprint my mark on it instantly, as my soul is already at the sacred level from birth and far stronger than its soul. As for that insect, due to the process of evolution, it will take at least two hundred years to complete evolution, unless you capture a female insect and use it directly for transformation, in which case it would also take around three years.”
“Then it’s better to use crystal cores!” After hesitating for a moment, Ye Feng decided that in the long run, he certainly wanted combat strength that could be improved. Although the small plant could abandon the previously cultivated lifeforms, re-cultivating them would still take time. On the other hand, cultivating new lifeforms whose cultivation level could be automatically improved meant that, though they were weak now, things would be much easier in the future, with much less time required.
After materializing the small plant and having it retrieve two crystal cores, Ye Feng frowned slightly. “Catching a female insect is far too difficult… Is it possible to accelerate that insect’s evolution?”

“I’m not sure if gene drugs will work…” A thought suddenly popped into Ye Feng’s mind. “Although genetic technology on Earth isn’t advanced, many technological planets must have reached a certain level in gene research. Maybe there are gene drugs that could be useful.” With this thought, Ye Feng immediately sent his mental energy into the first realm of the Void Domain. “I need drugs for gene evolution!” As soon as he spoke, rows of shelves appeared automatically. Ye Feng glanced at them. “Gene repair fluid, used to repair damaged gene chains and restore their functions…” “Gene function enhancement particles, which add additional genes to gene chains to grant new abilities…” “Functional gene recombination, which reorganizes a single-function gene to achieve superior gene functions…” There were hundreds of gene drugs on those shelves, leaving Ye Feng dazzled and unsure of which one to choose. “Sort them by price!” With no other choice, Ye Feng resorted to this rather crude method. Yet, it was highly effective here—there was no need to worry about fake products, and since brand influence didn’t exist, those with better effects and higher costs naturally appeared first. At a glance, the top item was a purple liquid whose name sounded familiar to Ye Feng—Perfect Gene Essence. “Perfect Gene…” Ye Feng was slightly stunned. “This is the essence. I’ve seen Perfect Gene potions before; they must be made from this.” He looked up to check the price but found an infinity symbol displayed, indicating that the item was not for sale and was priceless. However, for Ye Feng, who had already gained the recognition of the Void Domain, it was still easy to obtain. “I want ten of these!” Ye Feng didn’t ask for too many, as he wasn’t sure of its effects yet. If it worked well, he would have plenty of opportunities to buy more in the future. He had three free purchases per day, and after today, he could buy whenever he wanted. “Purchase successful. Cost: 0.1 first-level domain value!” “Free purchases available today: 0.”

With ten tubes of the pure liquid in his hands, Ye Feng muttered to himself, “Since this thing is considered priceless, it must be the most effective among gene-based drugs. Moreover, ‘Perfect Gene’—just from the name, it’s clear it’s meant to turn an individual within a species into the most perfect version of that species. In that case, it shouldn’t be too difficult for that wasp-like bug to evolve into a female. Anyway, let’s give it a try first!”
Ye Feng summoned the small plant again. “I have a vial of potion here that should help that bug evolve. How about giving it a try?”
“Sure!” The small plant was happy to agree; it would save it a lot of time. Whether it worked or not, it was worth trying.
After wrapping one tube of the reagent with its leaves, it returned to Ye Feng’s mental sea.
Under Ye Feng’s watchful eye, it carefully inserted the tube into the bug’s body and injected the liquid inside.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes… Ten minutes passed, and no reaction occurred in the bug. Ye Feng shook his head helplessly and withdrew his mental energy from the mental sea.
“I was too naive. It’s strange if something from the mortal world could be used on a species from the divine realm…” This result was actually within Ye Feng’s expectations, but the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. He had set his expectations too high.
“Master, it’s changing!” Just as Ye Feng was about to retrieve the remaining nine tubes of the potion, a voice came from the mental sea.
Ye Feng once again sent his mental energy into his mental sea to check on the bug wrapped in the plant within that white expanse.
“It hasn’t changed yet, probably because I paused the gestation process just now. As soon as I resumed it, it started changing rapidly…” the small plant explained.
“I see! Since the gestation was stopped, it reverted to its original corpse state, with no fluid circulation inside. The potion didn’t spread, so no changes occurred!” Ye Feng immediately understood. “Even Perfect Gene pure liquid has no effect on a corpse. No matter how powerful this liquid is, it can’t bring the dead back to life!”

Under the nurturing of the small plant, the insect began to undergo visible changes. Ye Feng watched it for three days and three nights. The insect, whose wings had originally spanned over three meters, saw its size increase by more than a hundred times. Although it was still not as large as the black dragon, it was still extremely terrifying. Even more strikingly, the long needle on its rear transformed into a tail similar to that of a scorpion. Its mouthparts resembled alligator claws magnified hundreds of times, leaving no doubt about its biting power. Its six tiny legs turned into serrated scythes with black glints. Its two pairs of translucent wings reflected a cold light under the light, resembling extremely sharp blades.

“Has the crystal core been inserted?” Ye Feng asked.

“It has been inserted. That potion from earlier was really effective—such rapid evolution in just three days, even with the body being restructured, saving me a lot of time. This insect should only need a few more months of nurturing before it can fight!” The voice of the small plant came again.

“Inject a dose into that black dragon too; maybe that will speed things up!” Ye Feng’s goal was not just to speed up the process; he was also very curious to see what the black dragon would look like after being transformed with the perfect gene solution.

With the help of the small plant, another dose of the perfect gene solution was injected into the black dragon’s body. Then the small plant resumed the nurturing process.

This time, it took seven days, but the dragon didn’t change much. Only its head, shoulders, tail, back, as well as the tips of its wings and tail developed dark blue horns. Its original black color turned into a deep blue, giving it an elegant appearance. Ye Feng was somewhat disappointed. He had expected the dragon to evolve into the Eastern giant dragon he envisioned, but it turned out otherwise.

“The transformation of this dragon is basically complete. That potion greatly accelerated my transformation process. It only needs about another month of nurturing before it can fight for its master!” The small plant’s youthful voice sounded a bit tired.

Ye Feng knew that ten days of continuous work had taken a toll on it. “Little one, take your time. There’s no rush!”

“Since I keep calling you ‘little one,’ after some thought, I think it’s better to give you a name!” Ye Feng said after pondering for a moment.

“Okay!” The small plant immediately perked up.

“How about calling you Xiao Lan? Your leaves do resemble orchids a bit.” After thinking for a while, Ye Feng came up with this name.

“Xiao Lan…” The small plant muttered several times before coming back to its senses and happily agreed.
“Xiao Lan, let’s give you an injection of this potion too; it might trigger some level of evolution!” Ye Feng suggested.
“Okay, but let’s wait until after this period of nurturing is over. I’m afraid it might interrupt the process,” Xiao Lan said, feeling a hint of anticipation.
“Hmm, then let’s wait until then!” Ye Feng slowly withdrew his mental energy from his sea of consciousness.
Rubbing his head, Ye Feng left the Liuluan Hall. “I’ve lost 100 million points all at once. I wonder if it’s enough to buy an Imperial Divine Realm…”