Chapter 256: Hatch! Fifth-Stage Communion Phase (2)

Within the devil zone, approximately 6000 li from North Huang City, the landscape bore the scars of a recent brutal battle. Collapsed mountains and crushed trees hinted at the destruction that had taken place.

In the skies above, a myriad of enormous black-scaled, two-winged creatures, roared in unison. Over a hundred in number, they covered the sky like a dark storm cloud.

Suddenly, three streaks of black light sliced through the air. Three gargantuan black-scaled creatures arrived in front of the group of Communion devil soldiers. Each of the newcomers surpassed 300 meters in length, with four wings sprouting from their backs. The largest among them had particularly eye-catching wings, which were crimson in color. Its size was unlike anything seen before.

“Roar!”

"Hiss! Roar!" The crimson-winged devil soldier surveyed the swarm of Communion devil soldiers, its gaze icy cold and filled with killing intent. Then, it released strange sounds that echoed through the air, reminiscent of a deity devil’s sinister whispers.

In response, countless devil soldiers bowed their heads, emitting low growls of submission.

Then, the crimson-winged devil soldier unfurled its wings that spanned over 500 meters with a deafening roar, transforming into a blurred afterimage as it soared into the sky.

Like a tidal wave, the Communion devil soldiers followed behind, flying toward North Huang City at full speed.

...

Within a desolate mountain cave in North Huang City, Wu Yuan sat in the lotus position, sensing the changes in his soul chamber.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The raging vital ether circulated furiously, forming enormous vortices around the soul phantom. There were three vortices in total, indicating the third-stage Communion Phase.

Vital ether poured into the crystal-clear Teng Snake egg like a relentless tide. The Teng Snake egg accepted it without reservation, devouring everything fervently like a bottomless pit. The surface of the Teng Snake egg turned increasingly transparent and bright.

Life has begun, the Teng Snake is born!

Wu Yuan instantly knew that the Teng Snake fetus had finally reached its ultimate limit of growth within the egg, which began shaking violently.

Crack~ Crack~

With two crisp sounds, a visible crack formed on the eggshell, soon followed by several more. Then, the eggshell shattered into fragments.

Whoosh!

A serpentine creature, its body lacquer black, shot out and dove into the tumultuous vital ether, stirring up ripples. The creature proceeded to feast on the vital ether with an insatiable appetite. Simultaneously, it began to grow at an alarming rate.

"Master...How comfy!" A voice, childlike yet strikingly clear, reverberated within Wu Yuan's spirit.

"Teng Snake?" Wu Yuan's soul phantom, identical to himself, smiled as it observed the Teng Snake swimming below.

The creature was completely lacquer black with a sleek physique, and adorned with countless obsidian scales that resembled tough armor. Sprouting from its body was a pair of wings covered in the same black scales, while four claws extended from its abdomen. Each claw, though not particularly long, gleamed with razor sharpness.

This is the fabled Teng Snake?

Wu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, as it was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

In the mythology of his past life, the Teng Snake had not been described with wings. Meanwhile, without the wings, the Teng Snake before him would resemble a powerful black dragon without horns.

Boom~

With the voracious depletion of Wu Yuan's vital ether, the black Teng Snake grew at a staggering pace. Its scales became more distinct, and it emanated a stronger, predatory vital aura. Its claws grew sharper, curving like wicked scimitars.

Its vital aura is strengthening rapidly.

Wu Yuan observed quietly.

Lifebound eldritch beasts grew in tandem with their masters. Their masters’ cultivation level was their level of development, and they shared the same soul chamber. To a certain extent, the strength of a lifebound eldritch beast was crucially dependent on the strength of its master, not just its bloodline.

In a single breath, the Teng Snake consumed more than half of the vital ether in the soul chamber, reaching its limit of growth and causing the soul chamber to rumble.

Whoosh!

The Teng Snake flew to the center of the soul chamber, arriving beside Wu Yuan's soul phantom. Without hesitation, it coiled tightly around Wu Yuan's leg, resting its head on Wu Yuan's arm in a display of affection.

Wu Yuan had nurtured the Teng Snake throughout its incubation process, and the two were also bonded by a contract.

Hence, to the Teng Snake, Wu Yuan was its world. Even if commanded to sacrifice itself for him, it would gladly do so without hesitation.

"Master! I... I am full now!" the childlike voice declared once more.

"Excellent, henceforth, you shall be known as... Little Black," Wu Yuan responded with a smile, casually assigning it a name.

"Little Black?" The Teng Snake swished its feathered tail, taking a moment to respond, "Um, I have a name now! Little Black!"

Wu Yuan chuckled. Lifebound eldritch beasts had their advantages and disadvantages. Compared to an authentic Teng Snake spirit beast, Little Black lacked an independent soul chamber, making it somewhat weaker. Its future cultivation of ether arts would also be somewhat limited.

But there are also benefits. For example — an undying body!

Once I set foot in the Shambhala phase, my lifebound eldritch beast will revive within my soul chamber no matter how many times it’s killed. At that time, as long as I do not perish, my lifebound eldritch beast will not die either.

However, before he reached the Shambhala phase, he had to exercise caution.

Little Black’s base strength is equivalent to a third-stage Communion cultivator with a third-degree immortal root, surpassing the typical Teng Snake.

Wu Yuan keenly perceived the latent power within the Teng Snake.

At birth, members of the Teng Snake race naturally established a fourth-degree immortal root at minimum. However, in the case of Little Black, it was connected to Wu Yuan's soul chamber, hence its immortal root was more powerful than most, reaching the third degree.

Nevertheless, Little Black needs time to grow. It needs to cultivate ether arts and comprehend the profundity of heaven and earth.

One step at a step.

With a strong immortal root at birth, Little Black was already incredibly powerful. However, Wu Yuan would not permit Little Black to engage in battle unless he was in a critical situation, mindful of the potential trouble if it were to be injured or, worse, killed.

Now, let’s see how far this gift will take my cultivation progress.

Wu Yuan scanned the fragments of eggshell drifting within his soul chamber, filled with anticipation.

The incubation stage of a lifebound eldritch beast might impede the progress of its master's cultivation. But once it was born, it would usually present its master with a one-time gift. In this case, it was the Teng Snake eggshell.

Typically, a newborn Teng Snake would consume its own eggshell fragments to bolster its strength and growth. However, for a lifebound eldritch beast that shared the same soul chamber as its master, it had no need to consume its eggshell to enhance its soul chamber. Thus, Wu Yuan could absorb the fragments into his soul chamber.

Refine.

With a mere thought from Wu Yuan, the scattered eggshell fragments swiftly converged into the swirling ether vortex below.

Boom!

The ether vortex convulsed violently, causing the entire soul chamber to tremble. The eggshell began liquifying at a visible rate.

The soul chamber began to expand, as though refined and purified by the vortex of vital ether. Cultivation at the Communion phase was mainly about expanding and fortifying the soul chamber, enabling it to contain greater amounts of pure vital ether.

Soon after, the soul chamber trembled as the vital ether slowly formed a fourth vortex, and the purity of vital ether increased with each passing moment.

In just a few short hours, I’ll have reached the fourth-stage Communion phase.

Wu Yuan was elated.

And I’ve only refined less than a third of the Teng Snake eggshell. What a wondrous treasure! Continue!

Such rapid transformation would not have been possible without the integration of the blood-red mist, as well as the spiritual qi from the Luminous Immortal Soil.

Several more hours passed. The soul chamber trembled once more, and another ether vortex was created, making a total of five. At this point, barely any eggshell remained, and it was soon completely refined.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

In less than a day, I’ve gone from the third-stage Communion phase to the fifth stage, and I’m not far from the sixth stage.

Wu Yuan was completely satisfied.

With every increase in ether purity, his strength would also grow accordingly.

Turning his attention to Little Black, Wu Yuan sensed the creature's insatiable hunger as it dove into the ether vortex, eagerly devouring more vital ether and continuing to transform. The bottleneck of a lifebound eldritch beast’s development was its master's cultivation level.

Body, transform!

Wu Yuan commanded, and vital ether flowed out of the soul chamber, seamlessly merging with his physical form. In an instant, his bones, meridians, muscles, fascia, blood, and skin underwent upgrades. As a body refiner, Wu Yuan mainly relied on his physical strength in battle, which was used to soothe weariness, mend wounds, and execute ether arts!

Boom!

Wu Yuan's body went through a rapid metamorphosis, finally subsiding after an hour.

His power ascended new heights once more!

...

The birth of the Teng Snake and cultivating to the fifth-stage Communion phase had taken up a good half of the day. However, he did not emerge from seclusion, continuing to meditate and acclimate himself to the augmentation of his physical strength.

"Master, this is bad! Three Spiritual Body devil soldiers have arrived!"

"They’re right outside North Huang City, and already breached the outer array," Qiong Sea King’s agitated voice resounded in Wu Yuan's spirit.