Chapter 76: Mutation

“Rod, you…” Seeing Rod’s strange gaze and his panting appearance, no one was stupid—they all realized something was wrong at that moment. Yet before they could ask, Rod had already retreated to a corner to begin practicing.
“Bit, you and Ada go on duty. Chelly and Daiya will stay here to watch!” It was Lucia who spoke up at this critical moment, assigning tasks to everyone.
Perhaps it was her calm command and explanations during the previous wolf attack that had made everyone gradually accept her, so this time there was no hesitation. Bit and Ada exchanged a deep look at Rod, whose face turned alternately blue and red, then nodded at Lucia before quickly retreating toward the entrance. Although the wolves had withdrawn, who knew if they might turn back? Wolves are always cunning creatures. Even if they didn’t return, wouldn’t the noise they made have alarmed other magical beasts? The Magical Beast Forest was vast, teeming with tens of thousands of magical beasts. Just a few more could lead to a catastrophic outcome.
The energy within his body grew stronger, the fiery force intensifying, as if his body were on fire. Under the influence of this power, his combat energy seemed to become increasingly terrifying, surging uncontrollably like boiling water.
“What’s going on…” Frowning deeply, he circulated his combat energy through every meridian, trying to ease the discomfort in some way. Although each full cycle improved his condition slightly, in less than a moment, the heat returned, even worse than before. This situation left Rod extremely anxious.
“Don’t worry. This is an opportunity! Circulate your combat energy and follow my instructions to complete the next steps!”
Contrastingly to Rod’s anxiety, the voice of the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit inside him sounded somewhat excited. While cheering, it urged Rod anxiously.
Today, Rod had reaped a great deal. Despite facing dangers—first battling the Red-Clad Snake and then fighting the Silver Moon Wolf King—opportunities always arose amidst such peril.
For example, having accidentally consumed snake blood and gall earlier, and now eating the Silver Moon Wolf King’s eyes, heart, and gall—Rod might not understand the significance of these things, but the experienced Xuanyuan Sword Spirit knew that while they might be useless to others, their effects on Rod could be unimaginable.

His own combat techniques originated from the evolution of Chinese martial arts, so using them on Rod naturally couldn’t avoid being influenced by that background. Such elements had an extraordinary stimulating effect on this type of combat technique. Previously, the effects of snake gall and snake blood had already enabled Rod to advance from the beginning stage of bronze to the intermediate stage just by a small amount of their effects; the rest remained hidden within his body and hadn’t fully manifested yet. Now, stimulated by the wolf’s eyes, gall, and heart, those effects finally came into play. Combined with the effects of the subsequent elements, Rod experienced them intensely.

Such an opportunity couldn’t be wasted; guidance was necessary for better absorption. Otherwise, relying solely on his own absorption, he might not gain even one-tenth of the benefits. Wasting the rest would be a shame. With proper guidance, absorbing up to the sixth or seventh layer should be no problem—the benefits were obvious.

“Hurry, don’t block it, cooperate! Isn’t your combat energy attribute fire-based? If it’s meant to burn, let it burn! Give it fire and make the storm even more intense!” The Sword Spirit quickly added.

Hearing the Sword Spirit’s words, Rod also realized the importance of the situation. Under normal circumstances, even if he encountered great difficulties in his cultivation, the Sword Spirit would hardly suddenly appear in his mind and speak to him like this.

Following the Sword Spirit’s instructions, Rod quickly gathered all his combat energy and drew it back into his dantian. Then, starting from the dantian, he slowly spread it throughout every corner of his body, enveloping every inch of his flesh and every cell, gently nourishing them. Enduring the scorching heat, he panted heavily, allowing that heat to reach its peak under the stimulation of his combat energy. His entire body was like a raging fire, with no inch of skin, no nerve, and no cell failing to feel it clearly. Gradually, the sensation spread from each cell to the bones, and under the stimulation of the scorching heat, the bones made creaking sounds that could be heard clearly.

……

“Is he okay?” Seeing Rod sitting in the corner, his face alternating between red and purple, his distorted face, and the strange noises coming from within his body, Lucia, who had never seen such a scene before, couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

“I don’t know; it’s my first time seeing this. I hope everything’s fine. This guy’s endurance is even greater than that of a cockroach—he should be okay!” Not knowing what exactly was happening, she frowned deeply, looking at Rod over there. Seeing his painful expression, she couldn’t do anything to help. Cheri could only speak hesitantly, silently praying that Rod would survive this mysterious crisis.

It was unclear what had happened to Rod. Water-based healing magic definitely couldn’t be used—using it might cause even bigger problems. So the only thing she could do was pray that Rod could get through this ordeal on his own.

He no longer felt anything outside; all his energy was focused on fighting the pain. Even so, he still felt overwhelmed. Sweat poured from his forehead, and his back was soaked, emitting an unpleasant smell. His body felt like molten lava, with its temperature rising to an unknown level—probably well over 100 degrees. With a weak smile, he thought that such high temperatures hadn’t killed him—perhaps it was a miracle.

As that energy surged wildly within his body, his consciousness began to blur. Amidst the continuous shocks, he started to go numb.

Just as he was on the verge of collapsing, he felt the heat suddenly begin to subside rapidly. His fighting spirit seemed to be drawn along every meridian in his body, circulating through them one after another. Wherever it passed, he felt a cool breeze—so soothing that it almost made him groan.

But after just a brief moment, everything stopped abruptly, as if nothing had happened. The internal battlefield returned to calm. If not for his exhausted state and the intermittent pains throughout his body, no one would have guessed what had just occurred.

“Is it all over?” He gave a pale, weak smile, thinking to himself as he let out a long sigh of relief.

“Boom…” Yet, just as he relaxed, a massive explosion sound came from within his body, like an atomic bomb blast, nearly knocking Rod out of his senses.

His internal energy surged exponentially at an unbelievable speed. After growing rapidly until reaching a critical point, it finally began to calm down and started circulating on its own along his training pathways.

With each cycle completed, the amount of Dou Qi decreased, becoming more concentrated and pure. At the same time, external fire elements would enter his body in a timely manner to replenish it. Through continuous compression and replenishment, after an unknown amount of time and countless cycles, Rod felt he had reached a limit—yes, he sensed that he had now been compressed to its utmost.

All Rod could do was watch passively. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to control it, but he simply lacked the extra strength and ability to do so. Exhausted both physically and mentally, he could only let things unfold. Moreover, he had a feeling that this change would only bring benefits to him, with no downsides. Whether it was fortune or misfortune, he couldn’t avoid it—so he left everything to fate.

After another round of cycles, everything returned to normal, truly normal this time, with no further changes. After waiting for a long time without any new developments, utterly drained, he lay down on the ground and fell into deep sleep. The entire world became completely quiet, enveloped in darkness—endless darkness.

……

“Rod, what’s wrong with you?” From the moment Rod began his cultivation and showed signs of abnormality, Cheri and the others had stayed by his side without leaving, guarding him for three full days. Throughout those three days, they watched every change in Rod, their hearts torn apart by concern for their comrade in arms. They truly went to great lengths for him.

Hard work pays off. After three days, they finally sensed that Rod’s condition was improving. But just then, he collapsed suddenly, without any sign of life, which terrified Cheri and the others. They thought the venom from the Red Armored Snake had taken his life.

Hearing Cheri’s cry, Aida and Bit, who were guarding at the entrance of the cave, rushed in quickly. Seeing Rod lying face up on the ground, they rushed over immediately, their anxious expressions evident.

After a brief pause, they rushed to Rod’s side, examined him carefully, felt his pulse, and listened quietly to his chest for a while. Finally, Aida breathed a sigh of relief.

“He’s fine. He’s just fallen asleep!” His pulse and heartbeat were normal, with no signs of anything abnormal. Feeling this, Aida let out a deep sigh of relief, along with a faint, wistful smile.

Hearing Ada’s words, everyone let out a sigh at the same time. Staring at the unresponsive culprit on the ground, they were on the verge of cursing violently. With Bit’s help, they threw the guy, who was sleeping like a dead pig, to the side. Instantly, everyone felt as if the burden on their shoulders had been lifted; all their worries finally vanished.