CHAPTER 100: YE NING’S STRANGE TRANSFORMATION

Chapter 100: Ye Ning’s Strange Transformation

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In the underground cultivation area of the inn, a certain elf was quietly cultivating, a greenish aura wrapping around her whole body, making her hair float behind her in a ponytail.

About twenty meters away from her, a certain black feline was curled up on a high ledge, peacefully dozing off.

They were Ye Ning and little Coco, who, ever since settling here, had rarely been apart, following her almost everywhere, except when she went to the pavilion.

He didn’t know why, but his master’s master had told him that following them in public would only cause unnecessary trouble.

The black cat didn’t understand, but he didn’t care much either.

He preferred staying away from people’s eyes anyway, since he disliked when others invaded his personal space.

He also knew that his divine beauty attracted the opposite sex, and not just among his own race, but among other races as well.

In his mind, he could only shake his head and think that in this world, even being beautiful was a crime and a constant source of trouble.

That said, he had fallen asleep and was resting peacefully when he suddenly sensed something. He couldn’t help but open one eye and glance at the spot where his master was cultivating.

Although her inner state seemed calm, the same could not be said for her expression, slightly furrowed at the moment, while a strange symbol, made up of several intertwined lines, had appeared on her forehead.

From the aura surrounding her, it was clear she was at the peak of the first stage, and from the small but steadily growing surges of power that occasionally burst out, one could tell she was just about to advance.

It was obvious she was trying to break through to the next stage, and judging by her expression, she seemed to be facing a rather problematic bottleneck.

Inside her sea of consciousness, a certain golden haired elf girl was half reclining on a throne made of wood and intertwined green vines, giving it a surreal elegance, as she watched Ye Ning’s attempts to break through.

Her expression was calm and a little bored, but if one looked closer, a faint gleam of anticipation could be seen in her eyes as she continued to watch.

Although in the dark space of consciousness there was only her, her gaze wasn’t directed at nothing.

Instead, an enormous strange symbol had appeared in the air before her, very similar to the one on Ye Ning’s forehead.

She stared at it in silence, while one specific section of the symbol showed a line segment slowly eroding away.

It was one of the three most prominent central segments in the symbol, and like the other two, this one also seemed to have numerous branches endlessly intertwining with those of the others.

It was already mostly eroded, with only a small part left before disappearing completely.

At first glance, it might seem like a trivial thing, but for those who knew its true value, even that small segment was extremely important in the symbol’s overall design.

And indeed, this became clear soon enough, for after almost another thirty minutes of cultivation, the segment was finally eroded away completely.

The moment it vanished, as if a knot had been undone, several lines in the symbol loosened, followed by a strong radiance emitted from the symbol itself.

While this happened, outside Ye Ning’s sea of consciousness, she suddenly opened her eyes, an overwhelming intensity bursting forth from them before spreading outward at an imperceptible speed.

In an instant, an invisible pressure wrapped around the entire interior of the inn, and everyone inside immediately felt a strange sensation.

It was as if a ferocious beast had set its eyes on them, sending chills down their spines. The pressure lasted less than a second, but its effects did not fade so quickly.

And so, while chaos broke out upstairs in the inn, below, in the cultivation area where Ye Ning was, a fierce green aura was released, like a wild flame exploding in all directions.

This flame, forming almost a green cocoon, enveloped Ye Ning’s entire figure and continued to expand until it reached a diameter of nearly three meters, before slowing and stopping.

It seemed to solidify, and like a lamp struggling to stay lit, it flickered rhythmically in intensity.

The entire process lasted almost ten full minutes before the flickering stopped, and the cocoon like flame began to calm down, shrinking in size until its almost oval shape started to match the figure of the elf girl inside, before finally being absorbed into her.

The elf girl, as if in a trance, didn’t seem to notice any of this while her eyes remained completely open, this time, their intensity even greater.

But soon, a change began to occur around her. The greenish aura reappeared, but instead of remaining as an outer layer, it began to tremble and distort.

At the same time, her eyes, which were already glowing a strong green light, began to change, the circular pupil started to tremble, cracks forming along its edges, before it began to shrink, while the upper and lower edges stretched more and more, as if pulled by an invisible force.

As this happened, strange cracks began forming at the corners of Ye Ning’s face, as well as at the ends of her four limbs. But it didn’t stop there, on her head, the flame began to rise into two protrusions that stretched upward until they formed two tall, slender peaks made of fire, trembling slightly, no taller than fifteen centimeters.

Seeing all this, the black cat, now fully awake and watching the scene with a mix of concern and caution, felt a cold shiver run down his back, as if a powerful predator had locked its gaze on him.

He didn’t think twice before turning on his heels and darting away, vanishing into nothingness as if he had never been there. But no one had time to worry about that.

The strange transformation that had suddenly occurred finally seemed to be calming down, as if reaching a point of stability.

She let out a sigh as she began to notice the changes within herself, and as soon as she did, her mind filled with shock and confusion as she murmured:

"This... what happened to me?"

The question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular, just her voicing her surprise at the situation.

She felt a powerful force flowing through her being, one she had never felt before, and instead of feeling afraid or wary of it, it felt... comfortable?

It felt like it had always been there, not something foreign, but something hers, merely hidden away.

The sudden flood of sensations left her confused and unsure of what to do.

Her master had once told her that when she reached the peak of the first stage, she should not cultivate outside the inn and should make sure she was completely alone.

She had thought the request was a little strange and hadn’t thought much more about it. But now, she couldn’t help but wonder if her master had already known something like this would happen.

Her mind was a mess as she tried to make sense of this sudden overwhelming flow of power that had appeared in her body.

But just then, as if the heavens had decided to give her an answer, she felt a strange sensation wrap around her for a moment, and just as her head began to spin, her vision shifted, going from the underground training hall of the inn to a place of complete darkness.

"This... where am I? Could it be that I’ve been kidnapped?" she thought, suddenly struck by the fear brought on by the change of surroundings.

She quickly stood up, looking around, but could see almost nothing in this desolate, dark place.

She looked around several times until she turned, and only then did her eyes notice something. Or rather, someone.

A person, no, an elf, with a relatively young appearance, perhaps even younger than her, sitting on what could only be described as a kind of wooden throne, looking at her with what seemed to be...a smile?

A gaze directed straight at her, carrying a smile, warm, sincere, yet holding something else she couldn’t quite understand.

She didn’t recognize the other person, and no matter how hard she tried to remember, she was sure that no one among the resident elves at the inn looked like this elf.

Although very young, she was beautiful, not an ordinary beauty, but a particular, strange, indescribable beauty. She didn’t know what words could describe it best, but none of that really mattered.

If someone like that had been in the group or had ever appeared before her, she would surely have remembered them. Yet she was certain she had never seen her before.

But then, why was she feeling that strange sensation?

A sensation of familiarity coming from her.