Chapter 113: Integrating The Celestial Fox Transformation
Du Bai's situation was equally unique, in a sense. The Celestial Fox Vision might not be very useful at a lower level, but the bloodline tier of the Celestial Fox Transformation was as high as bloodline tiers could get. Generally, the mighty bloodline power would naturally facilitate breakthroughs for the members of the actual Celestial Fox clan, but that was not the case for Du Bai, who seemed to have a very diluted bloodline.[1]
"What should I do? Tang San, you even helped our eldest senior brother with his cultivation. Can you help me? I want to be useful and don't want to keep holding everyone back. I..." At this point, Du Bai, unlike his usual lively and mischievous self, had a hint of redness in his eyes.
Tang San patted his shoulder and said, "I have a method we can try. But it might be somewhat risky. I don't know if your Celestial Fox Transformation will be compatible. I've had others try it before, and the results weren't good. But your Celestial Fox Transformation is special..."
"I'm willing, I'm willing to try. Rather than keep being useless forever, what's the harm in taking a risk?" Du Bai said somewhat excitedly.
Tang San's mouth twitched slightly. He knew that his master, the mayor, was probably nearby, watching over them, but he wouldn't come too close so as to avoid interfering with their experience. Indeed, their conversation would not be overheard by Zhang Haoxuan.
If Master heard I was preparing to let Du Bai take a risk in his cultivation... I wonder if he would want to kill me. But Du Bai is right about one thing. If things continue this way, from what I’ve seen, he’ll likely never break through the third order in his lifetime.
Tang San took a deep breath and said, "Let's try. Well, here’s the deal. The problem you have is that you can’t break through a major bottleneck because your bloodline is weak. There’s nothing I can do about bloodline power unless you somehow get some intense stimulation, which might work. Or if you could bathe yourself in the blood of the Celestial Fox demons, but we both know that's just a pipe dream. So, we have to approach this from a different angle. We need to focus on spiritual power. I have a method to cultivate spiritual power alone.
"Apart from me, no one else with the Demonic God Transformation has been able to cultivate it successfully. Some people tried, but they couldn’t. But you might have a chance since your ability is related to your eyes. If you can cultivate this thing up to the third order or higher, it might actually help your Celestial Fox Transformation break through to the next level. The Celestial Fox Vision is an eye of fortune, but it also seems to be influenced by spiritual power. Forcing a breakthrough with spiritual power might just work.”
"Alright, I'll learn from you," Du Bai said firmly again.
These past few days, he had watched everyone successfully hunt demonic beasts under Tang San's leadership, each reaping their gains and growing stronger. How could he not be envious? After all, he was still just an eleven-year-old boy. He, too, longed to be useful!
So, Tang San's words were like a lifeline to him; he had to try it, no matter what.
"Go rest first," Tang San said.
"Ah? Aren't we practicing now?" Du Bai asked eagerly.
Tang San said, "Now is not the time for cultivation. I'll wake you early tomorrow morning. But you must keep this a secret. If the teachers find out, I'll be in serious trouble. But I'm more than eighty percent confident that it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you even if it doesn’t work."
"Okay, don't worry, I'll keep it a secret. Right now, I'm just praying that it works."
Tang San patted his shoulder. "Go and rest now. Keeping your spirits up will increase the chances of it working."
"Okay." Du Bai was generally easy-going, and with Tang San’s reassurance, his mood immediately improved. With that, he went up the tree to rest.
Watching him climb the tree, Tang San smiled slightly. He genuinely wanted to help Du Bai. Helping his “senior brother” was, in a way, helping himself!
The risk wasn't just for Du Bai but for Tang San as well.
Silently feeling the somewhat faint but shining white bloodline imprint within himself, Tang San's heart also warmed up.
Yes, he had already extracted some of the Celestial Fox Transformation's bloodline power over the past few days from Du Bai through contact. He hadn't rushed to extract from the others because they needed to be ready for battle at any moment. Weakening them even a little could be detrimental in a fight against demonic beasts. After all, they were all together, so there was no rush. However, Du Bai wasn’t participating, so there was no problem on that end.
Having stayed in the area for more than a day, they had carefully observed the surroundings, and they seemed free of danger. As Tang San was to keep watch during the night, he was also planning on attempting to see if he could integrate Du Bai's Celestial Fox Vision into his own Discerning Eye.
For him, this was undoubtedly a crucial experiment. If the mutation was successful and in a favorable direction, then his Discerning Eye would indeed ascend to a new level, acquiring even more extraordinary abilities.
Focusing inward, he adjusted his state of being.
When Tang San felt that his physique, energy, and spirit had reached their peak, he slowly began to control the imprint of the Celestial Fox Transformation within him to move towards the imprint of the Discerning Eye.
As the two imprints gradually neared each other, Tang San distinctly felt his eyes beginning to burn intensely. This was the feedback from the bloodline imprints.
His Discerning Eye was at the fourth order, while the Celestial Fox Transformation he absorbed from Du Bai was about second-order. Given enough time and continuous absorption, reaching a third-order Celestial Fox Transformation wouldn't be a problem. However, Tang San was worried that the stronger the Celestial Fox Transformation, the more difficult it would be to merge the two. Therefore, he began the attempt while it was still at the second order.
As the two different imprints gradually came closer, Tang San couldn't help but feel nervous. Success or failure hinged on this moment. If successful, he would enter an entirely new realm. If he failed...who knew what would happen?
The Discerning Eye seemed to sense the aura of the Celestial Fox Transformation, and it began to emit an intense light. The near-incandescent glow made Tang San's eyes feel even hotter. He didn't need to open his eyes to sense the elemental fluctuations in the air around him.
However, the Celestial Fox Transformation’s imprint showed no change and continued to approach slowly. Throughout the process, there was no sign of repulsion.
Then, in the next moment, something shocking happened to Tang San.
Without any warning, his Discerning Eye imprint exploded.
The cluster of white light burst open almost instantly, and the white radiance scattered outward. Tang San shivered, and he felt a sharp pain in his eyes. The sensation of external elements instantly disappeared.
Damn, this is bad, was his first thought. But it was already too late to reverse what had happened.
He was about to lose the Discerning Eye.
This was particularly distressing for Tang San. The Discerning Eye's abilities were exceptional, enhancing his normal vision and spiritual power as well as his abilities to observe the surroundings, capture the opponents’ flaws, and control the battle. Naturally, he didn't want to lose it.
But having lived three lifetimes, his mentality was stable. He wasn't swayed by this sudden change and continued to circulate his energy, focusing inward calmly.
Then, he witnessed an extraordinary scene.
The imprint of the second-order Celestial Fox Transformation seemed utterly unaffected by the explosion of the Discerning Eye. It casually moved to the original location of the Discerning Eye and imprinted itself there. Meanwhile, the exploding light of the Discerning Eye did not dissipate but instead formed a halo-like ring around the periphery.
What was even more peculiar was what happened next. It began to move after the Celestial Fox Transformation’s imprint that was now settled in place.
1. Here and in the following chapters, the terms “Celestial Fox Vision” and “Celestial Fox Transformation” are used very liberally to refer to both the bloodline and the ability. This has been rectified in the translation, with “Celestial Fox Transformation” referring to the overall transformation of Du Bai and the bloodline imprint of Tang San, while “Celestial Fox Vision” refers strictly to the visual ability. This is similar to Wind Wolf Transformation vs. Wind Blade—the former is the bloodline imprint, while the latter is the ability granted by the imprint. ☜
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