The Third Metamorphosis

The halo drifted onto Qin Sang. After a flicker of light, it transformed into a resplendent, rainbow-hued suit of armor that hugged his body snugly. The fat silkworm had successfully completed its third metamorphosis. However, its appearance remained identical to before: plump and roly-poly, covered in rainbow skin, with scarcely any change. When spirit insects underwent metamorphosis time and again, they usually changed more or less in appearance. For instance, after its third metamorphosis, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's heavenly eyes upon its wings would open, granting divine abilities. Only this fat silkworm was truly bizarre. Having devoured so many toxic cores and demon cores, it felt as though all that food had gone to waste. After its second metamorphosis, the spirit insect could spit rainbow halos that warded off poison, raising Qin Sang's expectations considerably. Yet after its third metamorphosis, it seemed to have gained no new abilities at all. The only difference was that the rainbow halo had grown more condensed, even able to transform into threads of light and coalesce into a genuine poison-warding armor, fulfilling Qin Sang's wish. Although the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's innate divine ability was not particularly strong, it could control lightning and already possessed considerable combat power; after metamorphosing, it would become a great asset. The fat silkworm, however, remained as sluggishly obese as ever, and fragile. The fat silkworm had slept for a long time and had only recently completed its metamorphosis. Qin Sang could not tell whether its abilities were too obscure for him to discover, or if there was some other reason. Unfortunately, the fat silkworm was not his natal insect gu, but had voluntarily acknowledged Yagu as its master. He could not communicate directly with it, and no matter how clever it was, it could not convey much of its meaning accurately. It was worth noting, however, that the fat silkworm's metamorphosis was not entirely without effect—it could even be called a pleasant surprise. Qin Sang clearly sensed that the connection between Yagu and the silkworm had grown clearer. If their bond before could be likened to a strand of spider silk, it was now as thick as a rope. Yagu remained a sleeping beauty, but her origin soul had become far more stable than before. After its metamorphosis, the fat silkworm sometimes liked to sleep in his palm. That heartfelt intimacy and reliance, completely free of any ulterior motive, gave Qin Sang the illusion that he was facing Yagu herself. Qin Sang did not know how long Yagu's state could be maintained, but the fact that the fat silkworm could buy him so much time to resolve the problem of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman was already a massive surprise. The difficulty of a spirit insect's third metamorphosis compared to its fourth was like night and day, comparable to a cultivator going from Core Formation to Nascent Soul formation. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly did not metamorphose as easily as the fat silkworm. By the time it finished consuming the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold for its third metamorphosis, there would likely be little left, and how much effect it could have during a fourth metamorphosis remained an unknown. What gave Qin Sang an even greater headache was that after the fat silkworm completed its third metamorphosis, demon cores from venomous beasts suddenly became almost ineffective, just as the toxic cores had before. At a trade fair, Qin Sang had exchanged for a demon core from a mid-Core Formation venomous fish, yet it had been the same. He did not know whether the core's grade was too low or if the fat silkworm's taste had changed. Great demons in the late Demon Core stage might still be huntable in the future, but as for the demon core of a Transformation stage great demon, Qin Sang did not even dare to imagine it. In short, raising the fat silkworm would remain a troublesome task in the future, let alone helping it achieve a fourth metamorphosis. He could not place all his hopes upon it. Naturally, the fat silkworm had certainly improved after its metamorphosis. Prior to the metamorphosis, the poison-warding armor likely would have struggled to resist the corrosive toxic mist here. Now, when Qin Sang withdrew his true essence, the toxic mist met the poison-warding armor and was easily repelled. Qin Sang felt not the slightest prickling sensation on his skin. The fat silkworm scuttled into his sleeve with nimble ease, showing no signs of strain whatsoever. With the poison-warding armor guarding his body, Qin Sang withdrew his protective true essence and instantly felt much lighter. Next, he commanded the fat silkworm to adhere the poison-warding armor tightly to his skin and conceal it. Unless an outsider examined him closely, it would be entirely undetectable. Being besieged by the Purple Star Eagles was not the most terrifying part; the astonishing drain caused by resisting the corrosive toxic mist was what truly struck dread into every cultivator's heart. With the toxic mist no longer a threat, Qin Sang breathed a quiet sigh of relief and considered how to escape. His position was extremely disadvantageous. Bearing the brunt of the beasts' onslaught, he was already trapped deep within the flock of Purple Star Eagles. Ahead, there might be an endless stream of more eagles; charging straight forward was clearly unwise. Moreover, he had no idea how the situation had unfolded—the surroundings were simply too chaotic. To set up the formation, their positions had been scattered in the first place, and they had subsequently been thrown into utter disarray. Now, he could not hear any sounds from other areas at all, and presumably the others were in the same boat. He did not know where that subterranean ferocious beast had gone; running headlong into it would be disastrous. Qin Sang suspected that the sudden appearance of these ferocious beasts was very likely triggered by their breaching the stone hall's restriction. If so, these would certainly not be the only ones—who knew how many ferocious beasts in the Purple Mist Deathland were converging on this spot right now? Just picturing being swallowed by a sea of beasts sent a chill down Qin Sang's spine. The wisest choice was still to regroup with the others and leave the Purple Mist Deathland as quickly as possible. Surrounded and assaulted by Purple Star Eagles, the few purple weasel carcasses he had collected were practically useless. Time was of the essence. Qin Sang made his decision: pointing his blade at an angle, he carved out a bloody path. In his hand, the ebony sword moved now like a swimming dragon, now like a streak of lightning, its blade singing. Without the burden of resisting the toxic mist, Qin Sang could unleash his full power and push forward rapidly. He chose not to deploy the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner yet. This was evidently going to be an arduous battle, and the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner consumed far more energy than the ebony sword. For now, he could still hold his ground. Eagle corpses littered the ground, piling up beneath Qin Sang's feet. Blood flowed across the earth, gathering into streams, leaving a bloody footprint with every step he took. Qin Sang's eyes grew bloodshot from slaughter. Remembering the direction of the stone hall, he charged toward it. Earlier, when the subterranean beast emerged, he had actively retreated a great distance to avoid the shockwave; he had not expected that returning would be so difficult. *Buzz...* Sensing its master's ferocity, the ebony sword hummed with delight, drinking its fill of blood. Filthy blood could not stain the pure blade, yet after slaying so many Purple Star Eagles, the ebony sword grew even more radiant, thirsting ever more fiercely for slaughter. Inside, Qin Sang remained calm, unaffected by his cultivation method or life spirit sword. With his eyes fixed ahead, he advanced, leaving bloody footprints in his wake. After pressing forward some distance, Qin Sang noticed the encirclement ahead thinning slightly. Then, he caught sight of a pale glow. "It's the barrier projected by the bone lotus!" Qin Sang's heart stirred. *Has Xiang Yi come out?* He immediately drove his spirit sword with all his might. The ebony sword's radiance swelled dramatically as he swung it in sweeping, lethal arcs, cutting down Purple Star Eagles. The other side also noticed the commotion and actively moved toward Qin Sang to aid him. *Boom!* Two more Purple Star Eagles were decapitated by the spirit sword. The path between them was cleared, and Qin Sang finally saw the person sheltered beneath the bone lotus. "Cui Ji?" Qin Sang froze in surprise. To his astonishment, the person under the white light was not Xiang Yi, but Cui Ji! That bone lotus had somehow ended up in Cui Ji's hands, while Xiang Yi was nowhere to be seen. Cui Ji held the bone lotus in one hand and gripped the Purple Nether Bead in the other. The strange light radiating from the pearl was as thick as a solid substance, clearly having gathered power for a long time. Catching sight of Qin Sang, a sinister grin spread across Cui Ji's face. "Daoist fiend, I've been waiting for you for a long time! This time, let's see where you can run!"