Moreover, upgrading skills like his Water Control Technique, talismans, and Qi Cultivation require points. Even though he has plenty of points, he cannot afford to waste them.
"What to do? Should I continue upgrading?" Zhang Chen hesitated in his heart but eventually decided to hold off for now. Once he leaves, he’ll check out the skill’s effects first.
However, if he could transform into mist or water, it would be much more convenient for future tomb raiding. He could seep through the soil directly, without the need to dig for a month.
"Stop soaking, hurry up and get out!"
As Zhang Chen was contemplating which skill to upgrade in the future, the urgent voice of Fox Fairy Nannan rang in his ears.
"What’s wrong?" Zhang Chen snapped back to reality and asked.
Without answering Zhang Chen, Fox Fairy Nannan climbed out of the water pool. Her soul had shrunk by thirty percent, and she frantically waved to Zhang Chen in the pool.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen was shocked and quickly climbed out of the pool, only to find that his own soul had also shrunk by twenty percent, becoming much smaller.
The most crucial part was that Zhang Chen didn’t feel anything wrong with his soul; in fact, it felt quite comfortable, almost floating like an immortal.
"What’s going on?" Zhang Chen looked at Fox Fairy Nannan’s transparent soul and its shrunken stature, and couldn’t help but ask.
"According to ancient books unearthed by my Fox Race in an ancient tomb, there’s a mysterious stream in the world, said to flow through a place called the Underworld. This stream can cleanse a person’s soul, washing away all breath and imprints, transforming it into the purest soul essence before being reincarnated. We just soaked in the Yellow Spring Water, which indeed purifies the soul, washing away its impurities. However, if it continues, it’ll dissolve our entire soul, turning it into a blank state without consciousness or information, and then we’ll reincarnate."
"We can use the Yellow Spring Water for cultivation, refining ourselves, but we can’t soak for too long." Fox Fairy Nannan spoke with lingering fear.
Hearing Fox Fairy Nannan’s words, Zhang Chen’s eyes revealed a hint of caution. He extracted two key pieces of information: Underworld and reincarnation.
"What kind of place is the Underworld?" Zhang Chen asked, feeling excited, wondering if this world’s Underworld was like the one he knew in his previous life.
"The texts only mention it briefly, so I’m not sure. It’s said to be a very mysterious place," Fox Fairy Nannan replied, looking down at her transparent soul without any disappointment, but rather joy: "Soaking in Yellow Spring Water just once is equivalent to a year of hard cultivation for me."
"But isn’t your soul shrunk? The power of the soul has diminished; shouldn’t that be a bad thing? Why are you so happy?" Zhang Chen was puzzled.
"Our souls are like iron, and the Yellow Spring Water like a furnace, refining our souls into steel. Although the quantity shrinks, the quality improves. Increasing quantity isn’t hard; with daily visualization, it can be achieved. But quality improvement can’t be done by simply increasing quantity."
Fox Fairy Nannan looked at Zhang Chen and said, "For instance, after being refined by Yellow Spring Water three to five times, your soul might be able to attempt Soul Emergence, saving about ten years of hard work. Would you say that is good or bad?"
Fox Fairy Nannan’s voice was full of excitement.
Hearing her words, Zhang Chen appeared thoughtful. So, it was a good thing?
"It’s a pity that the Yellow Spring Water can’t be soaked in for too long; otherwise, our souls would dissolve away." Fox Fairy Nannan’s eyes showed a hint of regret.
Zhang Chen looked at the pool and the spring continuously flowing with Yellow Spring Water: "If that pool is Yellow Spring Water, doesn’t that make the spring the legendary Yellow Springs?"
"Yellow Springs? Doesn’t that mean the spring connects to the legendary Underworld?" Fox Fairy Nannan commented.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen fell silent, his eyes fixed on the Yellow Springs Water, contemplating.
It was truly beyond his expectation to have unearthed the legendary Yellow Springs Water.
"Running out of magical power."
At this moment, Zhang Chen looked up, his eyes resting on the Cyan Lotus above. In the next instant, Zhang Chen’s soul returned to his body. He opened his eyes and glanced outside the window, noting the westward rising moon and the incense burned to ashes in front of him.
A peculiar sensation washed over him; usually, he felt exhausted after entering the Spiritual World, but now, upon his soul’s return to the body, he felt not tired, but rather full of Spiritual Power, very energized.
Zhang Chen slowly stood up, stretching his arms and legs, finding a bit of discomfort: his body seemed very heavy.
"The body’s movements rely on the soul’s control, and with the soul shrunken, controlling the body’s actions naturally feels lacking. It’s like a child’s soul controlling an adult’s body, the heaviness enough to lose balance." Zhang Chen worked hard to stand upright, and in the next moment, his body turned into a puddle of water, silently appearing on the floor.
"Damn, this transformation into water isn’t what I expected at all. Transforming into water truly means becoming water, completely unable to move! This skill is so trashy!"
Next moment, the water twisted, transforming back into Zhang Chen’s form, and he couldn’t help but curse.
Turning into water meant literally becoming water, utterly losing mobility.
"Once I transform into water, I inherit all weaknesses and drawbacks of water — like fear of drought, possibly being drunk by thirsty animals? Too high heat causing evaporation? Any accident could kill me?" Zhang Chen was bewildered; what’s the difference between having or not having this skill?
Too trashy!
Then Zhang Chen looked at the second form of the skill: Mist Transformation.
Zhang Chen’s form flickered, transforming into a mist as thick as an arm, quietly hovering in the room.
The mist didn’t disperse, just hovered in the air. As a gust of wind blew through, the mist that Zhang Chen transformed into flew away with it.
Next moment, Zhang Chen manifested again, deeply taking a breath: "Damn, this tenth skill is such a trap. Becoming mist is literally just like ordinary mist, without any advantage. How is this even considered a skill? It’s completely useless!"
Worthless skill!
"Upgrade!"
Without thinking, Zhang Chen upgraded the skill. Why keep such a useless skill?
[10th Skill (Level 2): Water Mist Transformation (0/10000)] ----> [10th Skill (Level 3): Divine Mist Transformation (0/100000)]
[Note 1: You can acquire the properties of all Divine Waters you’ve touched and possess the ’divine’ activity.]
[Note 2: Hit with maximum power will revert to human form]
The Golden Finger Interface flickered, evolving the tenth skill to the third level, turning Water Mist Transformation into Divine Mist Transformation.
Simultaneously, the upgrade experience increased tenfold, becoming one hundred thousand.
The words "Divine Mist Transformation" immediately intrigued Zhang Chen: "I can replicate characteristics of any water I’ve touched."
Though Zhang Chen hasn’t encountered much Divine Water, he has two kinds: Weak Water and Yellow Spring Water.
"If I transform into water again, I can gain the properties of these two types. But what does the ’divine’ activity mean?" Zhang Chen felt puzzled.
He didn’t understand what ’activity’ meant.
However, having contact with Yellow Spring Water and Weak Water, he could experiment to know what this activity entails.
"Divine Mist Transformation." Zhang Chen’s form flashed, transforming into water again, but this time, the water was entirely different.
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