Chapter 1156: Chapter 3: Little Qi’s Mutation (2/3)

The heavier the body, the greater the damage from the fall. Although the Feathered Body is resilient, it has its limits. This is the basic version, remodeled using year-old Evergreen Wood. If it breaks accidentally, perhaps one can wait for a new body, but if the Feathered Chip is damaged, it could harm the Soul and Spirit!

To make matters worse, in moments of tension and fear, this child’s synchronization with their body is rapidly declining—he can’t control his body and can’t curl up to reduce damage.

This is one of the weaknesses of the Feathered Body of the Bright Mirror Sect; unlike the precise customization for individuals in the Tianyuan Realm, it aims to produce mass-consumed Feathered Bodies, so once anxiety occurs, an unstable Soul diminishes the control over the body.

The child fearfully closes his eyes, his mind blank, unable to even remember things he dreaded most, like being punished by the Chief.

But at this moment, an invisible force gently holds up the falling child.

Feeling enveloped by a gentle power, the child opens his eyes, feeling confused, but is quickly placed on the ground gently.

Deep within the plantation, on the road leading to the distant Chenli Center, amidst the mountains, appear two figures.

In the fragmented light of the forest, the person standing ahead is vaguely visible as a young girl. She wears a jade white robe and has uniquely long hair, like a black background with green highlights, resembling lush green vines woven in ebony waterfalls, braided and delicately draping over her slender neck, reaching her waist.

The girl’s face is beautiful, yet doesn’t give a sense of fragility; instead, she exudes vitality. With a raised hand, the surrounding air twists, faintly turning into invisible tendril-like vines, after placing the child down, she simultaneously pulls all the playing and hiding children nearby, gathering them together.

“Thank you, thank you, sister…”

The child who escaped danger barely stands firm, thanking with lingering fear, while other children instantly quiet down—for the Feathered Body enables them to sense the incredible power of the two figures before them, who indeed can manage them!

“Little rascals, you can’t play so dangerously next time!”

The girl’s voice is like a silver bell, gentle yet indisputable: “Now, all of you obediently return to the town; someone responsible must properly educate you!”

“Yes!”

The children answer in unison; if they were regular kids, they wouldn’t be so sensible, but after experiencing life and death and receiving chip education, they naturally know when to play and when to obey.

The children line up and return to the village, rather methodically; the game itself is a simulation of hunting, a simulation of social activities, their teamwork during collective activities being the foundation for the future as ‘Martial Arts Army.’

Smiling, the young girl watches the children leave the plantation, turning to Gu Yeqi behind her: “Eldest Senior, the child who climbed high just now is quite talented.”

“Indeed.”

The second figure steps out of the shadow of the leaves. An Jing watches the children’s backs, nodding slightly: “Even without Life Chart Spirit Root, just relying on the Feathered Body can absorb some Spirit Qi… though not much, it’s almost like half a Demon Spirit.”

“Yes.” Gu Yeqi sounds enthusiastic, being the core personnel responsible for Evergreen Wood planting and cultivation in the Bright Mirror Sect, so she naturally knows the details of Feathered Bodies: “That child has such good talent to absorb Spirit Qi through the Feathered Body, but hasn’t mastered the cultivation method to convert Inner Breath, causing Spirit Qi to impact the Soul and Spirit, leading to an accidental fall.”

“When in a stable state, even if falling due to a heavy body from treetops, one could grasp other branches in the air to slow down and prevent such a straight fall.”

“Playing too hard warrants some hardship, you’re overly kind.”

An Jing’s face stern, like a strict old instructor, steps forward, hands behind his back, observing the sea of woods.

The Evergreen Wood, planted through a specific Formation, constructs a complete whole using the Demon Core method of the Demon Spirit, which he greatly appreciates: “It’s thanks to this well-planted Spirit Wood Forest itself, akin to a macro Demon Core, Feathered Body equates to half an Evergreen Wood Demon Spirit, making play easier for Spirit Awakening and guiding Spirit Qi into the body.”

“In this way, our Feather Transformation Dao’s people, even without Spirit Root and Fate Pattern, could break the Inner Strength limit, reaching ‘Martial Meridian Realm.’

“And if they reach Martial Meridian, it could meet the Fate Pattern standard, allowing further cultivation in the Divine Concealment Realm… this is a new boundary, a critical point. If genuinely reachable, the number of Martial Artists in my Feather Transformation Dao will see explosive growth.”

Extending his hand, An Jing strokes the Evergreen Wood before him, thoughtful: “The Martial Arts Seed People of the Taiming Sect are similar projects, if accomplished, will have similar effects – it might also be what the Heavenly Dao is keen to witness, a thorough Martial Arts reform.”

“The only cost might be filling the world with various Divine Woods similar to Evergreen Wood. But I don’t see it as a bad thing, especially for you.”

Although not turning around, the latter part of the speech is clearly addressed to Gu Yeqi, and the girl comes behind An Jing, unknowingly holding a Leaf Crown, smiling as she places it on An Jing: “So does our Sect Master have any plans for the future?”

“Indeed, but it requires someone with a one hundred percent resonance rate—Tianyuan Realm is specialized and refined, we aim for universal popularity, needing a natural foundation point.”

An Jing calmly accepts the leaf crown, a Divine Skill shared by Gu Yeqi’s ‘Purple Qi Star Fate,’ allowing him to feel the state of the land like Gu Yeqi.

Retracting his hand, An Jing’s eyes blink, and the grove slightly sways, seeming to respond to his thoughts.

But that’s the extent of it.

An Jing shakes his head with a smile, wearing the leaf crown as he heads towards the town nearby: “Even you and I, possessing Divine Skill for closeness to Divine Wood, are essentially born of the Human Clan, unable to achieve a one hundred percent resonance with the Evergreen Wood.”

“But miracles exist in the world, and our time is extensive; we can patiently await.”

“As for now, we have more important matters to attend to.”

Thus spoken, the two head towards the small town ahead.

At the town entrance, a middle-aged man briefly arranges for the returning village children before continuing to wait.

He wears a beast-skin coat common among Iron Li, yet has a Da Chen appearance. The middle-aged man seems to have long been aware of the two’s arrival, so he immediately sees An Jing and Gu Yeqi approaching.

“Jing’er!”

The man joyfully shouts, stepping forward, and An Jing quickly steps up to embrace the middle-aged man: “Father! Long time no see.”

The man is An Jing’s father, An Qianshan. After the embrace, he releases and pats his son’s shoulder with emotion, then turns to the girl beside An Jing: “Ah, Miss Gu has also come?”

Having known Gu Yeqi through the matter of planting Evergreen Wood, yet the current matter is somewhat secret, causing An Qianshan to be unsure whether it can be disclosed to her.

“Ye Qi is my deputy, she must come.”

An Jing waves his hand: “Things that can be told to me can also be entirely shared with Ye Qi. She can substitute me in handling matters when I’m absent.”

“Even concerning ‘Little Qi,’ the same applies.”

Upon this remark, An Qianshan’s expression becomes solemn: “Is that so? Then I understand.”

His straightforward nature leads him to directly say: “This time, aside from me missing you a bit, it’s also because something happened with Little Qi.”

“He has been continually asleep lately, unable to awaken, and moreover…”

“It seems he’s turning back into an egg!”