Chapter 157 - 155: The Nether Sea Awakens!
After entering the Dragon Transformation Pearl, it magically transformed into a mass of vivid red energy and dispersed.
Song Changming felt as if he hadn’t swallowed anything; this energy did not even enter his stomach, but began circulating throughout his body.
The next moment, he felt a buzzing sound, as if a dragon’s roar exploded by his ear.
At the same time, the image of a dragon appeared in his mind.
Vast energy converged, repeatedly washing over his whole body.
A transformation unfolded.
Unlike the gradual accumulation of Martial Tao Body Refinement, the visible physical enhancement on the surface strengthens muscles and bones, increasing immediate combat power.
This special energy from the Dragon Transformation Pearl elicited a deeper transformation.
Song Changming couldn’t express it clearly at the moment, he simply accepted and adapted to this transformation.
As time passed, the dragon image in his mind became increasingly furious, charging forward violently, seeming to break free and escape, causing Song Changming to feel dizzy and disoriented.
The dragon image’s every rampage in his mind felt like stabs, causing him intense discomfort, making it difficult for Song Changming to concentrate.
His spirit became scattered, even to the extent that Song Changming experienced a weightlessness akin to a soul leaving the body.
This instinctively made Song Changming tense and uneasy.
Fortunately, the dragon image, seemingly imprisoned in his mind, couldn’t actually harm him.
After its fury, it gradually calmed down, then fell silent, unknowingly dissipating, transforming into pure spiritual energy that nourished Song Changming’s previously scattered mental consciousness.
"This!"
Song Changming regained his ability to think; as his spiritual power grew stronger, gathering and refining, he detected the presence of ’self’ for the first time!
Strictly speaking, he truly felt the presence of the refined spirit body in his mind!
This feeling was quite subtle; when he controlled his spirit to spread throughout his body, even more unexpected situations occurred.
He felt the existence of his organs, the composition of bones and muscles, even the finer network of his veins!
When he applied his spiritual power to them, it felt as if he was actually touching these inner structures with his hand, quite magical!
This change stemmed from the sudden strengthening and refining of his spiritual power, and from the dragon image’s tumult in his mind!
It was brought by the Dragon Transformation Pearl he swallowed.
At this moment, an unexpected yet seemingly reasonable thought emerged.
Previously, Liu Dingsheng had mentioned the existence of the Nether Sea to him.
Only by opening the Nether Sea and mastering the mysterious power of the spiritual realm can one then control powerful qi and cultivate martial techniques!
One of the abilities after opening the Nether Sea is known as ’Introspection’.
According to Liu Dingsheng’s description, this ’Introspection’ ability was very similar to him using spiritual power to ’touch’ his body’s internal structures at the moment.
He could say he was operating his suddenly gathered spiritual power, introspecting his body!
From this, could a conclusion be drawn.
He had just opened his Nether Sea!
Thinking of this made Song Changming instantly excited.
Though he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, it was very likely, wasn’t it!
When he instinctively ceased his control over his spiritual power, the spiritual energy belonging to him returned quickly to his mind.
They swiftly condensed into a whole, obediently staying there.
Through the spirit body, he could feel the existence of that space.
Dark and confined, the radiant spiritual waves resided within this space like ripples, like a gathering spiritual ocean.
It could be widely defined as the ’mind’, or as the martial artist’s ’Nether Sea’.
Mind is Nether Sea, at least Song Changming was seeing it this way now.
Ordinary people can’t feel the concrete existence of the mind; it’s more like an abstract concept.
But after opening the Nether Sea, he could feel this unique dark space, specifically for storing his spiritual energy.
Of course, to truly confirm whether he opened the Nether Sea Liu Dingsheng described, real verification is needed.
With the transformation process ending, Song Changming took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Hmm!" The surrounding environment was unchanged, yet seemed different.
The dim sunset poured through gaps in the dense forest’s massive trees, forming golden spots.
The mountain breeze blew, making tender green leaves rustle.
He saw some small mountain mosquitoes landing on branches, and detected a spider slowly crawling behind the branches, as if aiming for those mosquitoes.
His insight was meticulous; glancing back at this world, he couldn’t help but feel its strange vibrant colors.
Though the perspective was no different from before, he seemed capable of seeing more world details.
This was not an advancement or evolution of visual perception, but the refined spiritual energy playing a role.
It constantly cooperated with his five senses ability, enabling him to see sights previously unseen.
"Half a day has passed?" Song Changming looked at the twilight sky and couldn’t help but ask.
Not far away, on a large stone, Song Ping’an, who was being vigilant of the surroundings while holding a large piece of roasted meat with juices dripping down his mouth, saw Song Changming awake and immediately responded.
"Brother Song, a whole day and night have already passed!"
Song Changming was taken aback. He hadn’t expected time to fly by so quickly.
Since he swallowed the Dragon Transformation Pearl, the process of transformation had surprisingly taken such a long time.
He had been entirely immersed in this transformation, neglecting all changes in the outside world.
Thankfully, he had brought Song Ping’an along this time, who could guard by his side and take him away if necessary.
Otherwise, he would have been worried about swallowing the Dragon Transformation Pearl in the wilderness.
"Brother Song, have some food." Song Ping’an handed a large, arm-thick piece of roasted rib to Song Changming.
Song Changming noticed that this was exotic blood meat from the wild boar, and now that it was roasted, the aroma was mouthwatering, making it hard not to salivate at the sight.
Not to mention, Song Changming hadn’t eaten for a whole day and night, and his stomach was already empty.
Without hesitation, he took the rib and began tearing into it.
It must be said that after these years of practice, Song Ping’an’s culinary skills had reached perfection, able to masterfully handle any ingredient.
Even in the wilderness, with no tools, this rib was roasted perfectly and tasted impeccable.
While eating, Song Changming opened his personal panel.
Apart from seemingly unlocking his Nether Sea, he felt the Dragon Transformation Pearl should have other functions.
The information on the panel soon confirmed his thoughts.
Name: Song Changming
Life Span: 127 years
Spirit: 35
Root: 50
Related Physique: Sword Practitioner (White), Strong (White), Dragon Body (Blue)
Martial Arts...
First, there was a qualitative leap in his Spirit and Root, the two Innate Talents!
Thanks to the Dragon Transformation Pearl, his Spirit Attribute surged by 23 attribute points!
The Root attribute, which represents root bone aptitude, soared by 30 attribute points!
This is what transformation means!
Now Song Changming somewhat understood the weight of the words "defy destiny, reborn anew" in those old tales.
Anyone, no matter how mediocre or poor their past aptitudes, could leap to becoming a martial arts genius in others’ eyes after swallowing this Dragon Transformation Pearl!
If this isn’t rebirth, then Song Changming didn’t know what is.
If a person originally had outstanding talent and aptitude, obtaining this opportunity would surely allow them to soar even higher!
Song Changming himself, speaking purely in terms of talent and aptitude, had, through years of constant enhancement, slightly moved beyond the realm of ordinary people.
Now, with a Dragon Transformation Pearl in his stomach, in Donglai Prefecture, he definitely counted as a standout in martial arts talent.
This significant enhancement in innate attributes also allowed him to undoubtedly progress faster and further on the path of martial arts.
For this point alone, the Dragon Transformation Pearl truly deserved to be called a great opportunity.
In fact, there was more; besides the surge in two innate talents, his related physique section also gained a blue-level ’Dragon Body’ physical trait!
"Blue level!" Song Changming’s gaze fixed on the blue-glowing new trait on the interface.
Compared to the white traits ’Sword Practitioner’ and ’Strong,’ this ’Dragon Body’ appeared particularly dazzling.
Even without considering anything else, just the visual of this new trait looked unique and powerful!
Dragon Body (Blue): Water Dragon, powerful physique, extraordinary talent.
The interface displayed related information about the new trait.
Among them, he had already perceived some of the extraordinary talent from the two innate attribute enhancements.
As for the Water Dragon and powerful physique aspects, he had yet to experience them.
But he wasn’t disappointed.
He knew that traits like these need substantial development over time before their power and effects are fully realized.
The ’Strong’ body trait he acquired previously was just like this.
Before acquiring the ’Strong’ trait, his Body Refining Barbaric Power was about 15,000 jin.
After two years of development, this body trait’s effect increasingly manifested, and now, in terms of pure Barbaric Power, he self-assessed it to be over 20,000 jin!
The so-called Nine Bull Power and Extreme Bone Forging are entirely insufficient to describe the terrifying Qi Power Song Changming has honed at present!
Therefore, he eagerly anticipated what surprising changes the ’Dragon Body’ trait would bring him after full development!