It’s just hunger, hardly a major issue for him, nothing unbearable.
Zhang Chen began to visualize the "Heaven and Earth" picture in his mind, as it was the perfect opportunity to visualize the scroll and hope to unlock its secrets soon, then allocate the gained points accordingly.
In the blink of an eye, it was the night of the full moon. Though the underground river water was cold and gloomy, Zhang Chen controlled the flow of his Qi blood, speeding it up so that the consumption was slightly fast, yet he didn’t feel the chill.
As the full moon rose, the crystal core within Zhang Chen’s body suddenly twisted and transformed, emitting a shimmering glow, that glow was bright white, reminiscent of the bright moon in the sky, similar to moonlight.
Then, with a thought, Zhang Chen’s body twisted, transforming into a swarm of bats.
A total of thirty-six!
The bats then flapped their wings, passing through a crack ahead, fluttering continuously in the darkness.
"It’s a pity for that Luminous Pearl; it can’t pass through the crack." Zhang Chen, transformed into thirty-six bats, flew in the dark, looking at the Luminous Pearl fallen in the water with a hint of regret in his eyes, fearing poverty now.
However, escaping was crucial for now. Once back, he would manipulate the Fox Spirit to make more explosives, and sooner or later, have a chance to bring out the treasures from the tomb.
Although there was no light underground, it didn’t affect the bats’ flight. Zhang Chen flapped his wings in the dark, like an elf of the night, skillfully dodging protruding cliff rocks and traversing smoothly in the void.
It’s uncertain how many meters he flew, approximately two hours later, Zhang Chen’s flight halted because the passage ahead was entirely filled with underground river water.
The underground river water was still rushing, clearly indicating a passage beneath the water.
Zhang Chen, in bat form, clung to the cliffside, wanting to activate the Water Control Technique to part the river, but found that he seemed to have lost the ability to control water.
"While in bat form, I can’t activate other skills. I truly seem to have turned into a Vampire Bat, not the mortal Zhang Chen. The only skill I can use now is Blood Control Skill."
Zhang Chen realized that he couldn’t even use Light of the True God and other skills.
But it wasn’t impossible to change back, so he wasn’t worried.
The underground space was narrow here, so Zhang Chen didn’t choose to resume human form, which would have gotten stuck in the crevices, unable to move, so he simply controlled the thirty-six Vampire Bats to cluster together, leaping into the water, floating, and moving with the current. With the bats flapping their wings, they plunged into the deep water, disappearing without a trace.
Outside
Under the night
Within the cave where Zhang Chen usually made gunpowder, the sudden sound of flapping wings emerged. In the depths of the cave, thirty-six palm-sized Vampire Bats flew out from the abyss.
The bats were incredibly fast, not stopping in the cave, directly shooting out, and the bright moonlight in the sky fell onto the bats.
Mysterious silver-white symbols suddenly appeared on the wings of all thirty-six bats, the symbols flickering with mystical waves, and the moonlight in the sky seemed tangible, being drawn and absorbed by the Vampire Bats.
Centered on the bats, all the moonlight within a radius of about a meter twisted and got absorbed into the bats’ wings.
The thirty-six Vampire Bats dispersed, soaring high and continuously devouring the moonlight in the sky.
Zhang Chen felt strange, as if each of the thirty-six Vampire Bats was his body, each controlled by his own conscious will.
With a thought, the Vampire Bats sliced through the air, attacking the Sika Deer under the night.
The thirty-six Vampire Bats flew silently in the night, without alarming a Sika Deer resting under a tree, apparently asleep, unaware of the imminent danger. The Vampire Bats landed silently, and within a few dozen breaths, the Sika Deer’s blood had been entirely drained.
The Sika Deer was bloodlessly drained in its sleep, dying silently.
The Vampire Bats then gathered into one place, reforming into Zhang Chen’s form. At this moment, the moonlight in the sky was drawn to him, pouring into Zhang Chen’s pores and absorbed by the Crystal Core within him.
"For now, it’s unclear what moonlight brings, just a soul-soothing comfort after being absorbed into the body," Zhang Chen thought aloud, summoning the Fox Fairy Nannan by his side.
"Go, skin that Sika Deer." Zhang Chen ordered the Fox Fairy Nannan with a commanding tone.
He felt this suited his aura; if tasks could be done by summoning a skill instead of personally, it fit his expert persona.
"You... you actually absorbed moonlight physically!!!" The Fox Spirit exclaimed, shocked, looking at Zhang Chen draped in moonlight, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Centered on Zhang Chen, the radius of about a meter dimmed entirely, all the moonlight smoothly absorbed into his body.
"What’s wrong with physically absorbing moonlight? Don’t you Demon Race folk practice by absorbing moonlight?" Zhang Chen asked puzzled, seeing the Fox Spirit’s incredulous expression.