Half a month later.
As for Xu Yuan.
He naturally didn't know that the Crane Immortal had been to Huang Hua Guan, nor did he know the heavenly reaction caused by the battle half a month ago.
During these past half a month.
He was simply very low-key.
Apart from his daily duties.
He followed the orders of the Hundred-Eyed Demon King, and together with the other Daoists of Huang Hua Guan.
He searched the mountains for clues of the so-called monkey demon.
Of course, as expected.
No one could find any clues, everyone assumed the monkey demon must have 'escaped'.
Until the news of the Hundred-Eyed Demon King's closed-door cultivation spread.
He could only sigh in relief.
At this time, Huang Hua Guan had already entered the night.
But Xu Yuan was sitting cross-legged on the meditation cushion in his cottage, as if he was in a state of meditation.
But in fact.
His mind was in deep thought.
"It seems my choice was right."
He said to himself.
"If I had left Huang Hua Guan and run away that night."
"I would have been trapped with nowhere to go, no escape."
He thought to himself.
That's right.
That night, after he transformed into his main account, he didn't choose to leave Pansi Ridge directly.
The reason was very simple.
As mentioned before.
If he left Pansi Ridge, he might gain a moment's freedom.
But the next day, Pansi Ridge would surely discover his disappearance.
And then, they would inevitably link him to the Heaven's Chosen One.
At that time, no matter who the entities of the East and West Heavens are.
No one would let him off.
Therefore, at that time, Xu Yuan didn't choose to leave Huang Hua Guan directly.
Instead, he directly returned to the Guan and pretended that nothing had happened.
He even left behind a boastful remark, making everyone think he had run away.
And now it seems, his choice was clearly right.
Even if the Hundred-Eyed Demon King is suspicious, even if Heaven investigates.
They wouldn't think that the mysterious monkey demon, comparable to the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, was actually a little Daoist from Huang Hua Guan.
The saying "what's in plain sight is often overlooked" applies here.
In theory.
At this point, Xu Yuan was considered out of danger.
All he needed was to be careful and cautious, and he wouldn't be hunted down again.
However, Xu Yuan couldn't be happy at all.
Because
"What the hell is this mantis egg? My power as the Heaven's Chosen One can't even annihilate it!"
"It's even getting more active after absorbing the Heaven's Chosen One's power!"
That's right.
After becoming the Heaven's Chosen One with his main account.
Xu Yuan knew that this identity could not be exposed, and he couldn't stay in the open for long.
But he also naturally didn't forget the most crucial thing.
So before transforming back.
He tried to use the vast power within the Heaven's Chosen One's body to annihilate the mantis egg directly!
But the final result left him disappointed.
The mantis egg wasn't annihilated by the top-tier Demon King-level power.
Instead, it absorbed that power and grew rapidly.
Now, when Xu Yuan looked within himself, he could even see.
The insect egg in his body had begun to emit a scorching golden light, like a beating heart.
The spiritual essence and power contained within it were simply terrifying!
This naturally made Xu Yuan roughly understand his current predicament.
The insect egg in his body, let alone being annihilated.
It was clearly becoming stronger after absorbing the power of a Demon King, making it far more robust than its 'brothers'!
It looked like it was about to hatch soon!
"No, even if I'm discovered by the Hundred-Eyed Demon King and Heaven... I must transform into the Heaven's Chosen One again immediately."
"I'd rather disembowel myself than let this thing stay inside me, otherwise I'll die!"
Just as Xu Yuan had decided to fight to the death...
【Special Item 'Divine Treasure - Kunlun Immortal Beast Qinchang Mantis Egg (Mature)' obtained】
【Can absorb the spiritual essence of this item to enhance the transformation 'Insect' - Do you want to enhance?】
The system panel prompt that suddenly appeared in front of him made Xu Yuan's expression startled.
Divine Treasure?
He naturally wouldn't be unfamiliar with it.
The so-called Divine Treasure is the highest level of equipment and items in the game.
For example, his set of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, is classified as Divine Treasure-level equipment according to the game.
But it seems...
"The mantis egg inside me is a Divine Treasure-level special item!?"
Xu Yuan was a bit dazed for a moment.
But soon, he reacted.
He also vaguely remembered.
In the "Shadow God Painting" that introduced the game's story background, it was mentioned.
The Qinchang Mantis, this ugly insect demon, has an extraordinary origin.
It was originally a Kunlun Immortal Beast from Kunlun Langfeng Garden, a species born from boundless spiritual essence.
However, due to various coincidences, it eventually fell into the human world.
It's also because the human world isn't as abundant in spiritual essence as Kunlun Immortal Mountain.
This Qinchang Mantis clan couldn't evolve due to insufficient spiritual essence and power, leading to their ugly appearance!
Even to be precise.
"The existence of this Huang Hua Guan and the Hundred-Eyed Demon King."
"At least half of the reason is to cultivate a true Kunlun Immortal Beast Qinchang Mantis for a certain top-tier Immortal God from Kunlun!"
"This entire Huang Hua Guan and the Pansi Cave below, countless demon beasts and Daoists parasitized by the Qinchang Mantis egg are all experimental subjects!"
With this realization, Xu Yuan's heart had a preliminary grasp of the situation.
And then, curiosity naturally arose in his heart.
His 'Insect' transformation, originally transformed him into a head-level demon 'Insect Featherman'.
This is the kind of demon that is formed when the Qinchang Mantis egg in the body of ordinary Daoists of Huang Hua Guan hatches and the Daoists are completely parasitized by the Qinchang Mantis.
But now...
"Fengling Yueying can enhance this transformation for me... what will this transformation become after enhancement?"
And without a doubt.
Whether out of curiosity or other reasons.
Xu Yuan clearly had only one choice.
"Enhance immediately."
The moment the words left his mind.
He suddenly realized...
As soon as his thoughts fell.
The Qinchang Mantis egg inside his body suddenly shattered.
"Fengling Old Ancestor... amazing!"
Thus, Xu Yuan couldn't help but exclaim.
As expected of Fengling Old Ancestor.
This Qinchang Mantis egg, which even Demon King-level power couldn't annihilate, was silently destroyed!
But then.
Something even more unexpected happened.
As the Qinchang Mantis egg shattered.
"This spiritual essence..."
A vast and unique spiritual essence emanated from the broken egg.
The massive spiritual essence diffused through Xu Yuan's limbs and veins in an instant.
Continuously merging with his body.
At the same time...
Xu Yuan's inner power and his Dao body also began to skyrocket at this moment.
The inner power that was originally ethereal and airy within him began to solidify, and even showed a tendency to turn into liquid.
Meridians solidified, Qi condensed into liquid.
This is the characteristic of 'entering the Dao', or the 'elite' level powerhouse as Xu Yuan judged it to be.
But this was only the beginning.
While his inner power was constantly growing and liquefying.
Xu Yuan felt even more.
In his upper, middle, and lower Dantian, and the ancestral apertures.
There was a faint glow, faintly manifesting.
As that glow appeared, it seemed as if there were sounds of dragons and tigers roaring within Xu Yuan.
In an instant.
Xu Yuan felt that even with his eyes closed, he could see.
And what he saw was not an ordinary sight.
But a mystical and indescribable illusory scene.
In his eyes.
The tiles and walls of the house, the cool breeze and cold moon outside the window.
They all became incredibly pure and mysterious.
It felt as if he was directly peering into the essence of Heaven and Earth.
That's the scenery of Heaven and Earth, and also the true form of all things.
Therefore, Xu Yuan understood...
At this moment, he had obtained the true path.
That's right.
In just an instant.
He had broken through two realms, directly reaching the True Path Realm, just before the gateway to the 'Immortal Dao'.
He only needed to break through one more realm to ascend to the Immortal Dao.
And if Xu Yuan were to put it in his own words.
In the game, he would be considered a boss worthy of having a health bar!
So at this time, Xu Yuan naturally felt as if he was in a dream.
"Refining this Qinchang Mantis egg has such benefits?"
He once again clearly realized the greatness of Fengling Old Ancestor.
He thought that enhancing his transformation with the help of a special item would only be an enhanced effect.
But now it seems.
Just the benefits obtained from refining this special item alone.
Were already exaggerated enough.
【Ding! Enhancement complete, transformation 'Insect' has been enhanced to a special version!】