Chapter 54: Bi Ji's Transformation

Exhausted!

Absolutely exhausted!

After a whole night of effort, Zhao Ming was completely drained.

It wasn't because of anything else; it was just that Flame Spirit Ji, being Zhao Ming's puppet, continuously consumed his soul power even when she wasn't attacking, just by existing in the air. Fortunately, the soul power consumption wasn't too high, so Zhao Ming could still manage.

However, nurturing her body required soul power to stimulate and energize her veins and blood circulation.

Last night, Zhao Ming spent hours massaging and revitalizing Flame Spirit Ji's body, leaving him gasping for breath by the end.

Each time his soul power was exhausted, he had to stop and cultivate more before continuing the process. Fortunately, it was all worth it.

After a night of effort, Flame Spirit Ji's life force skyrocketed to 65, an increase of two whole points. To put that into perspective, it would normally take a month or more for her life force to increase by just two points.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the task."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the Soul Refining Technique."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for receiving one bottle of Vitality Tonic."

"Pfft, what's going on?" Hearing the system's notifications, Zhao Ming couldn't help but have a face full of black lines. The Soul Refining Technique sounded useful, but what the heck was this Vitality Tonic? Was the system cursing him?

"You damn system, get out here!"

"Host, this is part of your compensation. This bottle of Vitality Tonic, a vintage from 1982, has been specially enhanced by me. It's highly effective, trust me," the system responded slyly.

"I'm still a kid, you beast!" Zhao Ming cursed, but he cautiously placed the bottle of Vitality Tonic into his storage ring. Although he didn't need it now, better safe than sorry—who knew if he might need it in the future?

After storing the tonic, Zhao Ming turned his attention to the Soul Refining Technique's description.

To his surprise, it was a cultivation method focused on refining soul power. According to its description, the Soul Refining Technique could expand the meridians and greatly increase the efficiency of soul power refinement.

Zhao Ming's excitement surged.

To be honest, Zhao Ming already possessed many powerful soul skills and puppets. Adding another overpowered attack skill would only be icing on the cake.

What he lacked now was soul power. His Ancient Phoenix of Undying martial spirit had two soul skills: Ice-Fire Yin Yang Eye and the Ice-Fire Dual Polar Domain, both of which consumed a large amount of soul power, especially the domain skill.

His puppets were even more terrifying in terms of soul power consumption. He still remembered vividly how quickly Tu Shan Yaya had drained his energy last time. As he acquired more puppets in the future, if he didn't have an immense reserve of soul power, they might end up sucking him dry.

No matter how many trump cards he had, without sufficient soul power, he wouldn't be able to use them. But the appearance of the Soul Refining Technique perfectly addressed this issue.

The technique had ten stages, and with each stage mastered, his meridians would expand, and his soul power would double. By reaching the highest stage, his soul power would increase tenfold.

In other words, if Zhao Ming mastered the Soul Refining Technique to its peak, even at the same 21st-level soul power, his soul power reserves would be ten times that of others at the same level. In battle, he wouldn't need to worry about running out of soul power, allowing him to unleash his soul skills freely.

Satisfied with this new discovery, Zhao Ming stored the technique in his ring and washed his face before opening the door.

Bi Ji was already waiting outside. She hadn't knocked, likely not wanting to disturb him.

Today, Bi Ji was dressed in a green, mid-length dress that just covered her knees, revealing her white calves. Her green hair, freshly washed, still had tiny droplets of water clinging to it, and a subtle fragrance of flowers drifted towards Zhao Ming.

"Have you been waiting long? Why didn't you knock?" Zhao Ming smiled at her.

"No, I only just got up myself and decided to wait here. Besides, how could I disturb your rest, my lord?" Bi Ji responded quickly.

"What's with all the 'my lord' stuff? Just call me by my name from now on. Also, am I really that scary? Why are you so afraid of me?" Zhao Ming teased, gazing gently into Bi Ji's eyes.

"But, my lord..."

"Still calling me 'my lord'?" Zhao Ming interrupted, stepping closer and gently taking her soft hand in his. Her hand was warm and tender, and it felt comfortable to hold.

Feeling his touch, Bi Ji trembled slightly and instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but then stopped herself. She knew her mission. Before coming here, she had already mentally prepared for this.

Before meeting Zhao Ming, she had worried about what the Ancient Phoenix of Undying would be like. Based on Gu Yue Na's descriptions, she had been quite concerned, imagining him to be a ruthless and terrifying figure.

But after spending time with Zhao Ming, her view changed.

Zhao Ming wasn't the tyrant she had feared. On the contrary, he was gentle most of the time. He often considered her feelings in many situations, even asking for her input on trivial matters. For instance, when they chose this inn, Zhao Ming had asked for her opinion before deciding.

These little things weren't major, but they made her feel comfortable. Her days with Zhao Ming hadn't been as dull as she had imagined.

Back in the Great Star Dou Forest, although she had many admirers, most of the male beasts were either too dominant or self-centered, caring little for her feelings. It was a refreshing change to be with someone who was thoughtful and considerate.

The only downside might be Zhao Ming's age. But Bi Ji didn't mind too much—after all, the Ancient Phoenix of Undying was a creature that had lived for millions of years, far older than her. Though Zhao Ming had reincarnated as a human, within a few years he would mature, and for someone who had lived for over half a million years like Bi Ji, a few years was nothing.

Zhao Ming noticed the changes in Bi Ji's expression and smiled to himself. Seeing no rejection from her, he happily led her downstairs.

After breakfast, Zhao Ming rented a carriage, and they continued on their journey.

The carriage was quite comfortable, with only a slight bumpiness. However, the space inside was limited, with only one row of seats.

Zhao Ming and Bi Ji sat side by side, their bodies pressed close together due to the narrow space. With each bump, their bodies would rub against each other, and with each motion, the connection between them grew stronger.

---

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

• 𝘽𝙤𝙜𝙙𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙪

• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮

• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝

• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧