CHAPTER 263: CHAPTER 69: PLANT MICE

The Dragon Carp’s guess still has some merit.

Through Lin Jing’s research, he discovered that it was indeed because the Cultivation Golden Core’s potency was too strong, causing the elixir mouse to shed its fur in its inability to adapt.

This hair loss is completely reversible. The Dragon Carp crafted another Life Continuation Pill, and applied it to the little white mouse, causing it to immediately grow a coat of shiny black fur.

"Black fur doesn’t get dirty easily, consider it a new skin, no need to thank me," Lin Jing said to the little white mouse that previously had a coat of white fur.

"Squeak..." The elixir mouse looked at its black fur, feeling hopeless.

"This means that taking a Cultivation Golden Core requires a strong physique and resilient meridians, or else one might become disordered by the strong potency, leading to hair loss. As this shedding is reversible, it indeed seems to be a minor issue. When used in conjunction with the Gluttonous Pill to aid digestion, this problem can be reduced significantly."

After further researching the Cultivation Golden Core, Lin Jing breathed a sigh of relief. Others might not know, but both he and his pet beasts have extraordinarily strong foundations, so it’s impossible for them to be unable to withstand the potency.

Of course, if they were to overstep and consume pills crafted by a Nascent Soul Demon King, it’s uncertain what might happen.

"The elixir mouse is also very capable of enduring potent effects, yet even it shed hair, so it seems most people will likely experience some degree of hair loss when their cultivation grows from taking a Golden Core, unless they have the extremely solid foundation of a Qi Cultivation master..."

Lin Jing stroked his chin, deciding it was not a concern. Compared to the improvements in cultivation, this small "loss" was worthwhile.

"Go rest on the side, next we’ll try the Tree Man Pill."

He sent the little black mouse that had just consumed the Cultivation Golden Core to a corner and had the other four little white mice line up neatly.

After awarding them the "Blood-sucking Demon Vine·Tree Man Pill," "Rebound Golden Steel Wood·Tree Man Pill," "Flame Self-Detonation Fruit·Tree Man Pill," and "Earth Vein Spirit Tree·Tree Man Pill," the four little white mice nervously, yet cooperatively, consumed each of the Tree Man Pills with the aid of a Gluttonous Pill.

Subsequently, the effects became apparent.

The first little white mouse let out a "squeak," and with its surprised expression, its long tail transformed into a red vine.

The second little white mouse, its plump skin solidified instantly, taking on the texture of tree bark.

The third little white mouse showed no external change, but upon Lin Jing and the Dragon Carp sweeping with their Divine Sense, its heart had turned into a red fruit.

The fourth little white mouse was the most conspicuous, a tender sapling sprouting from its head, with all four elixir mice experiencing no adverse reactions from the Tree Man Pills.

"Let’s test the abilities," Lin Jing called out, extracting a drop of mosquito beast blood. Indeed, the little white mouse that had acquired the Blood-sucking Demon Vine organ mastered the Blood Path Summoning Magic, successfully conjuring a blood mosquito.

"This should be the first time apart from the pine needle mouse that another creature has mastered plant synthesis abilities, right?" Lin Jing remarked in surprise.

The second little white mouse significantly increased its defense, gaining the ability to rebound a portion of the damage it received.

The third little white mouse was the most pitiful; for the sake of testing the Flame Self-Detonation Fruit’s power, it self-destructed one of its ears. Fortunately, the force was impressive, enough to threaten the Foundation Establishment Stage. Feeling sympathetic, Lin Jing named it "One Ear" and gave it a Healing Elixir.

And the fourth little white mouse was even more remarkable, obtaining the ability to absorb Earth Vein power and expel Spiritual Qi from the sapling on its head.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..." The little black mouse that consumed the Cultivation Golden Core breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at its four now unrecognizable companions, and concluded that its change was the most normal, being just a change of fur color.

Moreover, its cultivation had become the highest among the mice, reaching the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation, just one step away from Foundation Establishment!

However.

The next second, it felt a chill down its spine.

Lin Jing’s devilish whisper echoed.

"It seems the Tree Man Pills succeeded, but this is solely with individual consumption. It’s uncertain if consuming all four at once would cause any rejection reaction. Generally, one should only consume one Tree Man Pill per life, but during deducing, I made improvements, so eating multiple should be fine, though further experimentation is necessary... Just in case the pine needle mouse has issues."

Lin Jing glanced at the little black mouse, beckoning it: "Little one, your cultivation is the highest, want to become as strong as them? Come here, eat these four pills one by one."

Black elixir mouse: ...

"Sque-eeeeeak—"

Amidst a mouse’s wail, a harrowing session of brutal transformation commenced in Lin Jing’s abode.

The little black mouse had no issues consuming the first Tree Man Pill, but starting from the second, it became difficult to rapidly transform into a new organ. The elixir mouse sat cross-legged with effort, channeling the second pill’s power, but it didn’t seem like a task that could be completed quickly.

"It’s up to you now." Lin Jing entrusted the task of supervising the little white mice consuming multiple Tree Man Pills to the Dragon Carp, while he retrieved a Third-grade Ascension Pill and second, third, and fourth-grade Cultivation Golden Cores, beginning his cultivation nearby.

He first took a second-grade Cultivation Golden Core, and as he anticipated, this Golden Core, crafted by a Foundation Establishment Stage toxic frog, had no side effects on him; of course, it didn’t improve his cultivation either.

Lin Jing then took a Third-grade Ascension Pill, discovering that its effect was not much different from the second-grade Cultivation Golden Core. Upon consumption, his cultivation only experienced a slight ripple.

Relying on such grade pills to leap from Late-Stage Foundation Establishment to Great Perfection would require an indefinite quantity.

"Let’s try a third-grade Cultivation Golden Core crafted by a toxic flood dragon..." Lin Jing then consumed one, and with the violent Spiritual Power rampaging inside, he finally felt a definite increase in cultivation, though the effect was still not particularly impressive.

"It seems it is accurate; Cultivation Golden Cores refined by the Dragon Carp have a cultivation enhancement effect comparable to a higher grade of cultivation growth pills. Second-grade Cultivation Golden Cores are on par with Third-grade Ascension Pills, while this third-grade Cultivation Golden Core is roughly on par with the Fourth-grade Ascension Pill!!!"

"With faster refinement, and better consumption effects, once the Dragon Carp reaches the Nascent Soul Stage, this Demon Pill Divine Technique will be of significant use!" Lin Jing took a deep breath, picking up a fourth-grade Cultivation Golden Core refined by the Fiery Sun Tiger King, and without hesitation, consumed it with the Gluttonous Pill...

Under the assault of the violent potency, Lin Jing steadied his mind. Although he inevitably lost a few strands of hair, his cultivation, akin to a breakthrough feedback from his pet beasts, began to grow rapidly.

Days later.

As Lin Jing’s aura stabilized at the brink of Great Perfection at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from achieving it, the Dragon Carp, satisfied, looked at its own result.

A "plant mouse" was born, with a heart made of fruit, skin of tree bark, a vine for a tail, and a sapling growing from its head.

"Pop———"

It glanced at Lin Jing, who opened his eyes, indicating that the pills were safe—eating all of them didn’t kill the mouse, thus readying them for the pine needle mouse.

"Is that so..."

Lin Jing responded in satisfaction: "Just in time to leverage the pine needle mouse’s Core Formation to break through to the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage..."