Chapter 98 Little Gold's Metamorphosis! Heavenly Hearing Technique! Purple Treasure Light!
The terrifying feedback force, comparable to a tsunami, originating from Zhou Ding's successful Core Formation, continued to transform and impact Xiao Jin for a full half-day before gradually subsiding like the receding tide.
Inside the spirit beast chamber, the chilling energy fluctuations and painful growls gradually dissipated.
Zhou Ding sat cross-legged at the doorway, his back soaked with cold sweat, clinging to his skin.
He slowly opened his eyes, the bloodshot veins in them not yet completely gone, and his face still somewhat pale, but the violent turmoil in his soul and blood caused by the sharing of consciousness had basically subsided.
His first glance was toward the center of the spirit beast chamber.
Little Jin was no longer writhing and convulsing in pain, but was lying quietly on the warm jade platform.
However, when Zhou Ding saw its current appearance, a clear look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Originally, Xiao Jin was already quite strong and majestic, nearly the size of an adult tiger, with a body length of nearly ten feet and a shoulder height of over five feet. Its whole body was covered with reddish-gold scales, with exposed fangs and sharp claws. When it crouched, it naturally exuded the fierce aura of the king of beasts.
But at this moment, Little Gold, who was lying on the jade platform, had shrunk in size!
Moreover, the reduction in size is extremely large!
Its current appearance is almost identical to its form when it was still a level one demon beast!
It was only about a foot long, chubby and round, with its crimson-gold scales still shimmering. But with the scales reduced in size, the sharp edges seemed to have softened a bit. Its eight short legs were hidden under its body, with only its round paw pads showing. Its tail was coiled at its side, and its small head was resting on its front paws. Its eyes were closed, as if it were asleep, or perhaps digesting its recent haul.
This creature doesn't resemble a level four demon beast at all; it's clearly an adorable and harmless peculiar "pet mouse"!
If Zhou Ding hadn't been able to clearly sense the unbreakable, even stronger, mental connection between himself and it, as well as the immense demonic energy within it—extremely restrained yet containing a heart-palpitating power—he would have almost suspected that something had gone wrong with the feedback force, causing Xiao Jin to "revert to its original form."
"Is this... a return to simplicity? Or body manipulation?" Zhou Ding's heart stirred, and his consciousness reconnected with Xiao Jin.
The next moment, something miraculous happened.
The tiny creature, about a foot in size, on the jade platform trembled slightly, as if it were stretching.
Immediately afterwards, its body began to "grow" at a speed visible to the naked eye!
No, it's not growth, it's more like expanding rapidly like air being blown in!
In just two or three breaths, the small body swelled dozens of times, transforming into a colossal beast with a body length of over five or six zhang and a shoulder height of nearly two zhang!
The crimson-gold scales now truly revealed their ferocity and weight. Each scale was the size of a palm, with sharp edges, layered upon layered, gleaming with a cold metallic luster under the light of the luminous pearl in the spirit beast chamber. Its thick limbs were like palace pillars, and its sharp claws extended slightly, easily leaving deep scratches on the hard jade platform.
The enormous head swayed slightly, and its scarlet eyes slowly opened, as if molten lava was flowing within them. An indescribable, ferocious pressure belonging to a top predator, like a tangible wave, instantly filled the entire spacious spirit beast chamber!
This is the spirit and physique that a level-five demon beast should have!
That surge of demonic energy had clearly reached a level equivalent to the early stage of Core Formation in humans, and due to its demonic beast talent and the foundation it had accumulated through repeated feedback, it appeared particularly profound and dangerous.
"Can it get even bigger?" Zhou Ding continued to manipulate it with his mind.
The conclusion was then drawn that it could continue to grow larger.
However, it requires more demonic power to support it, and the space in the spirit beast room already seems a bit cramped.
Zhou Ding understood and manipulated Xiao Jin to shrink.
A flash of light appeared on the body of the colossal beast, which was five or six zhang tall, and it shrank rapidly as if deflated. In a few breaths, it transformed back into the shape of a round, shimmering "treasure-hunting rat" about a foot long. It lay back on the jade platform and even gave a small, contented yawn, revealing its teeth.
"As expected, it can freely control its body shape!" A hint of joy flashed in Zhou Ding's eyes.
This is not a simple illusion or trick, but a real and exquisite control over one's own flesh, bones, and demonic power.
When it grows larger, its strength and defense increase; when it shrinks, it becomes more stealthy, consumes less energy, and is suitable for stealth, ambush, or disguise.
He named this new ability "Transfiguration," and it proved extremely useful.
"It looks better this way." Zhou Ding looked at Xiao Jin, who had returned to her petite form and even looked somewhat "cute," and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Its massive battle form is incredibly intimidating, but this small size is definitely more pleasing to the eye and makes it easier to relax one's guard.
He composed himself and began to carefully examine the specific changes in Xiao Jin's various innate abilities after advancing to level five.
Consciousness is closely connected, and the mind is immersed.
First is the most basic "Light of Breaking the Forbidden Zone".
This heaven-defying skill, originating from the bloodline of the Treasure-Seeking Rat and ignoring most array formations and barriers, remains one of Xiao Jin's core abilities.
Zhou Ding could sense that its essence had not undergone a fundamental qualitative change, but it seemed that as Xiao Jin's strength improved, the penetrating power, persistence, and ability to dismantle higher-level and more complex restrictions of this purple light were correspondingly enhanced.
It's still that unreasonable "master key," only now it can open more and more complex "locks."
Secondly, there is the "cloning technique".
This talent ability to create clones has been significantly enhanced!
Originally, Xiao Jin could only create two or three clones at a time.
Now, Zhou Ding can clearly perceive that Xiao Jin can simultaneously and stably maintain up to "five" real clones that are no different from the original body!
Furthermore, the duration and range of movement of the clones have been greatly improved.
With the five clones plus the main body, the tactical value they can exert during combat or exploration will increase exponentially.
Next is the attack method "Dark Light Claw".
The original characteristic of this move was that it could ignore the defensive aura and protective spells of most magical artifacts and directly attack the main body, making it ruthless and vicious.
This time, however, the Black Light Claw seems to have undergone a strange change.
Zhou Ding could "see" that deep within the dark claw-like light, there was an imperceptible, writhing, and intertwined dark red thread, emanating an extremely uncomfortable aura of decay and corruption.
"The power of corrosion?" Zhou Ding's heart stirred, and he carefully sensed it.
He realized that the newly formed dark red threads contained an extremely vicious and stubborn corrosive property.
Once struck by the Dark Claw, even if it only scratches the skin, this corrosive power will quickly invade the enemy's body like a bone-deep ailment. It will not only frantically erode their magic power and blood, weakening their strength, but it will also be extremely difficult to remove, like a maggot clinging to the bone, continuously causing damage and pain until the opponent is worn down.
This is no longer just a physical penetrating attack, but also includes continuous and extremely vicious "toxin" damage.
"What a vicious method!" A hint of surprise flashed in Zhou Ding's eyes, followed by delight.
In the treacherous world of cultivation, when facing enemies, the more methods one employs, the more ruthless, and the more effective they are, the better.
This added corrosive power undoubtedly elevates the threat level of the Dark Claw to a new level, turning it into a deadly move that strikes fear into people's hearts.
The abilities "Earth Escape Technique" and "Soul-Capturing Eye" have not undergone any qualitative changes; their power has only increased with the growth of Little Golden Demon Essence.
It can burrow underground faster, stealth deeper, and hide more effectively; the Soul-Capturing Eye is also more effective in intimidating, bewitching, and even enslaving weaker spiritual beings or those of the same or lower rank.
Finally, and this is the ability that has changed the most since Xiao Jin advanced, and that excites Zhou Ding the most.
"The Art of Hearing the Earth!"
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Zhou Ding took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and completely synchronized his consciousness with Xiao Jin. With a slight thought, he activated this ability that had undergone earth-shattering changes.
In an instant, it was not a sound, but a strange, colorful "vision" that spread out in all directions from Xiao Jin, covering an area of dozens of miles in radius!
In this entirely new perceptual "vision," the world is no longer simply the outline of mountains, rivers, vegetation, buildings, and the presence of living beings.
Instead, there are countless, colorful "spots of light" of varying sizes and brightness, filling every corner like stars on a summer night!
These points of light float in the air, are embedded in the mountains, buried underground, and even faintly flicker in the caves and storage bags of some cultivators.
They emit various colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, etc., with the "white" light spots being the most numerous and the dimmest.
After trying it out, Zhou Ding understood.
These points of light represent "treasures"!
It is an object in the world that contains spiritual energy, Taoist charm, or special value!
Spiritual herbs, ores, magical artifacts, fragments of magical treasures, relics of ancient cultivators, materials from demonic beasts, pills, talismans... even some naturally formed spiritual eyes and earth vein nodes, as long as they possess a certain "value" and "spirituality", will be captured by this new perception ability and presented in the form of light points!
The color of the light spot directly reflects its "treasure level" or "rarity"!
He immediately took out several items from his storage bag to verify them.
As soon as the thousand-year-old "Jade Marrow Fungus" obtained from the Crimson Forbidden Land was taken out, a clear "green" light spot lit up in the corresponding position in the field of vision, with a soft and stable light.
The ancient treasure "Suppressing Mountain Seal," which Zhou Jin had initially refined after obtaining it from an ancient cultivator of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, immediately emitted a striking "cyan" halo upon its appearance, much deeper and more dazzling than the green light of the thousand-year-old spiritual medicine.
He then took out a cold jade box covered with spirit-sealing talismans, inside which was sealed a small piece of "sea soul wood" core material that he had purchased at a high price at an auction in the Chaotic Star Sea. It was said to come from the depths of the outer sea and was over three thousand years old.
The moment the jade box was opened a crack, a refreshing coolness emanated, and at the same time, a pure and mysterious "blue" light appeared in the corresponding position in the field of vision!
Its radiance and the purity of its color far surpassed the previous green and blue light!
"Just as I expected!"
Zhou Ding was filled with excitement, and a clear pattern emerged in his mind.
White is the most common color, and may just be ordinary spiritual herbs, low-level magic tools, or low-grade spirit stones that are decades old.
Then, following the order of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple... the later the color appears, the higher the level of the treasure it represents, the greater its value, and the stronger its spiritual energy and Daoist charm!
Millennia-old medicinal herbs correspond to green, ancient treasures to cyan, and spiritual objects thousands of years old to blue...
How could this be any more "earth listening technique"?
This is clearly the legendary supreme "treasure-hunting technique" that can "see" all the treasures in the world!
No, the name "Earth Listening Technique" is far from sufficient to describe even a fraction of its power.
"Heavenly Hearing Technique!" Zhou Ding thought to himself, giving this newly reborn, heaven-defying ability a new name.
"Listen" to the precious energy of heaven and earth, and the spiritual light of all things, and you will have it all under your control!
With this Heavenly Hearing Technique, from now on, ancient ruins, cultivators' caves, and natural treasure lands will all be like undefended treasure troves in front of him!
Any concealment formation or isolation restriction, under the "vision" of the Heavenly Listening Technique, will be clearly visible like a torch in the dark night, as long as there is a treasure's spiritual light within it!
Combined with Xiao Jin's existing "Light of Restriction Breaking" and "Earth Escape Technique"...
Zhou Ding seemed to see countless legacies from his predecessors and rare treasures of heaven and earth opening their doors to him!
"Let's test the limit!" Zhou Ding suppressed his excitement, concentrated his mind, and pushed the Heavenly Hearing Technique to its current maximum.
"Buzz—"
The strange colors expanded the field of vision instantly! Fifty miles... seventy miles... ninety miles... one hundred miles!
Finally, after covering a vast area of one hundred miles in radius, the Heavenly Hearing Technique reached its current limit.
This is also the limit of distance that Zhou Ding's own Nascent Soul level divine sense can clearly cover and stably perceive.
Within a hundred miles, every detail is clearly visible!
The number of light spots in the field of vision reached a terrifying level, especially the white light spots, which were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.
With a slight thought, Zhou Ding filtered out the white light spots that represented the most ordinary and lowest value, making his vision much clearer. However, the remaining red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, and blue light spots were still scattered everywhere. Among them, there were nearly a hundred light spots of green and above, scattered in various places within a hundred miles, such as cultivators' caves, remote valleys, or hidden caves.
However, Zhou Ding's gaze was instantly drawn to a very special and dazzling "color" that appeared in his field of vision!
That's... "purple"!
A ball of precious purple light, about the size of a fist, radiating a noble, mysterious, and profound aura, quietly "floats" in an area about fifty miles west of Spiritwood Peak!
This purple light was not particularly intense or flamboyant, but it was exceptionally pure and solid, as if it contained a miniature purple star. In Zhou Ding's vision of the Heavenly Hearing Technique, it was like the brightest North Star in the night sky, outstanding and impossible to ignore!
"A purple radiance?!"
Zhou Ding's heart skipped a beat!
The three-thousand-year-old sea soul wood in his storage bag only appeared as a "blue" precious light under the Heavenly Hearing Technique.
The treasure represented by this purple light is clearly of a higher level and value than top-tier spiritual objects that are thousands of years old!
What does this mean?
Could it be... a miraculous medicine that has been preserved for thousands of years?
Or is it a fragment of some ancient treasure or magical artifact?
Or perhaps some kind of rare and precious treasure of heaven and earth that he has not yet recognized, but whose value is immeasurable?
This purple light, like a magnet with infinite magic, firmly attracted Zhou Ding's entire mind!
He was almost certain that this was the highest-grade treasure he had ever "seen" since he came into this world! Without a doubt!
"Location... about fifty miles west of Lingmu Peak..." Zhou Ding immediately imprinted the exact location of the purple light into his mind.
That area doesn't seem to be in the core of the Qingyun Mountains; it's in a relatively remote location.
If it weren't for the Heavenly Hearing Technique, who would have thought that such an astonishing secret was hidden there?
Suppressing the urge to immediately set off to investigate, Zhou Ding continued to scan the other high-level light spots within a hundred-mile radius.
Besides the unique purple light, he also discovered two other "blue" lights. Although these two blue lights were not as dazzling as the purple light, they were far more radiant than ordinary green or cyan lights, clearly representing precious treasures of the same level as the millennia-old Sea Soul Wood. Their value was equally astonishing, enough to make even Core Formation cultivators envious and eager to fight over them.
"One purple, two blue..." Zhou Ding's eyes flashed with a sharp light, like the sharpest sword light.
Having just successfully formed his core, he needed resources to stabilize his realm and further enhance his strength.
These three beams of light are truly a gift from heaven!
"With my earth-遁术 (earth-遁术, a technique that allows me to burrow underground) and 破禁光 (a technique that breaks through restrictions) 神通 (a technique that allows me to break ...
A confident smile curved Zhou Ding's lips. He had made up his mind that once his cultivation level was somewhat stable, he would immediately find a suitable opportunity to "take" the purple treasure light and the two blue treasure lights one by one!
With the "wise eyes" of the Heavenly Hearing Technique, the vast and chaotic starry sea will gradually shed its veil of mystery before him, revealing the infinite opportunities and treasures buried beneath.
The path of spiritual practice involves wealth, companions, Dharma, and the land, with "wealth" being paramount.
Now, the path to wealth has suddenly become clear to him.