Chapter Twenty Six: Sword Qi

After a long wait, the Crystal Butterfly is finally starting to change, bringing a little joy to Xian Yu.

The following day, Xian Yu woke up from meditation and noticed an intriguing transformation in the Cryo Crystal Butterfly.

First, its appearance has altered. In comparison to its previous unstable state, it now boasts an additional layer of ice armor on its surface, and its size has doubled. Its shape is now stable and won't dissipate easily.

It resembles a delicate work of art.

Furthermore, its strength has improved, albeit not by much. At best, it's now equivalent to a newly born slime, which isn't much to brag about.

Of course, this is just Xian Yu's perspective.

Cryo Crystal Butterflies of this newfound strength could pose a threat to ordinary folks since elemental damage can be challenging to deal with.

Additionally, the enhanced strength of the Cryo Crystal Butterfly has increased Xian Yu's absorption and transformation efficiency, although the improvement is modest but noticeable.

"I never expected Star Fire Grass to have such an effect. It can stimulate the evolution of Crystal Butterflie. Truly surprising."

Contemplating this, he picked a large handful of Star Fire Grass from a distance and placed it in front of the Cryo Crystal Butterfly.

However, to his surprise, the Cryo Crystal Butterfly simply ignored it.

Observing this, Xian Yu reluctantly discarded the grass from his hand.

"It's unrealistic to expect this to work every time. If it can promote one evolution, that's already good enough. I shouldn't ask for too much."

Afterward, he took out the core. He wanted to see if the current Cryo Crystal Butterfly could speed up the absorption process.

While the process was indeed faster than before, based on this absorption and transformation speed, achieving another evolution would require nearly ten times more effort!

Considering this estimate, Xian Yu was in a tight spot. Eliminating it wasn't difficult, but locating it was the real challenge.

Troubles always seemed to linger, and for a moment, Xian Yu wondered if they had temporarily subsided.

Yet, no matter what, there was no way to change his strength, and a bit of fantasy about the Cryo Crystal Butterfly remained.

What if, one day, this butterfly could transform into a "dragon"?

Now that the Cryo Crystal Butterfly had evolved, it was time to prepare for what came next.

Realizing that he would have to invest a significant amount of time searching for the Extremely Cold Core, Xian Yu decided to explore the vicinity of Dragonspine Mountain.

Within the cave, the Hilichurl folks continued with their activities. They had grown accustomed to Xian Yu's presence, barely paying him any mind.

However, upon descending, Xian Yu noticed the absence of the Abyss Mage, which left him somewhat surprised.

Without dwelling on it too much, Xian Yu made his way to the location where The Cryo Hypostasis had appeared previously.

After such a significant time lapse, new elemental entities should have emerged.

In action, a thought struck him: "I might have overlooked something... If powerful elemental creatures can reappear in that location, does this mean I don't need to seek out other Cryo elemental monsters at all? Could it be that by allowing the Cryo Crystal Butterfly to stay there, it could potentially become an elemental lord?"

As this idea crossed his mind, Xian Yu found it quite plausible, but the outcome would still depend on specific circumstances.

The journey back and forth was much smoother than the initial trip since they knew the way, resulting in a shorter travel time.

Upon returning to the basin, Xian Yu indeed discovered an additional creature there, but it wasn't the Cryo Hypostasis. Instead, it was a unique beast, somewhat resembling a fox but larger than the average fox. Its four imposing fangs gave it a rather intimidating appearance.

Cloaked in snowy white fur, it rested where the Cryo Hypostasis used to be, indicating it as an elemental node.

If it weren't for its massive body and the noticeable rhythm of its breathing, one might easily overlook its presence.

However, the appearance of this guy also instilled a sense of certainty in Xian Yu.

Even though no new elemental creatures had been born here, the arrival of the white fox confirmed his suspicions.

"Sniff sniff..."

With its nose constantly twitching, the "Fox" opened its eyes and gazed in Xian Yu's direction.

Targeting Xian Yu wasn't much of a challenge. He was no longer the feeble figure he once was.

While he couldn't be certain about the strength of other formidable creatures, the one before him gave no indication of impending danger.

This suggested that the opponent's strength hadn't yet reached a level where it posed a threat to him.

Without a warning in his heart, Xian Yu, on the contrary, expected the other party to react differently.

As expected, the white fox shifted and leaped, its front end lowered and a fierce expression on its face, as if poised to strike at any moment.

When their gazes locked, Xian Yu felt something peculiar stir within him.

Once upon a time, a creature of this caliber would never have regarded him warily.

Since there was no imminent danger, Xian Yu saw no reason to retreat, proceeding forward calmly.

Conversely, the white fox observed Xian Yu's approach but refrained from lunging at him.

This indicated that the fox possessed a level of intelligence that wasn't negligible, certainly superior to the Cryo Hypostasis lacking any discernible cognitive functions.

One knew how to discern friend from foe, while the other simply played without thought. The outcome was clear.

When the gap between them closed to about ten meters, the white fox showed no signs of hesitation, perhaps because it was unwilling to relinquish its territory.

The speed was impressive, but in Xian Yu's eyes, he saw nothing more than a swift white blur heading his way.

However, he had already anticipated this attack and remained composed.

It was too late to dodge, so Xian Yu thrust his fist forward.

"Bang."

A muffled sound reverberated.

Xian Yu was sent flying, turning upside down in mid-air. He somersaulted several times before coming to a halt after covering a certain distance.

"While I had some estimations about the physical strength of this peculiar beast, I didn't expect it to pack such a punch."

In truth, Xian Yu could have dodged an attack of this magnitude. He didn't even need to get this close, but this was all part of a test to gauge his own physical endurance. Now, it appeared he could withstand attacks of this level. After all, the human body was relatively fragile in this world, and in time, he would need to match or even surpass it.

This part of the test had concluded.

Xian Yu brushed off the snowflakes from his body and summoned his weapon.

The moment the weapon appeared, Xian Yu's aura underwent a transformation, radiating a sense of sharpness that escalated further as he prepared to swing his sword.

This heightened intensity was evident from the bristling fur of the white fox across from him.

The longsword itself was unremarkable, but the person wielding it embodied the essence of a sharp blade.

In the eyes of the fox, its opponent resembled a "sword," a living weapon!

A seemingly ordinary slash, yet it concealed an invisible energy attack.

The white fox reacted sluggishly and managed to leap to the side. However, due to its substantial size, it still received a minor wound on its hind leg.

"Quack..."

The pain evoked a shriek, but it also fueled its ferocity.

"A beast remains a beast. Despite its intelligence, it fails to grasp the distinction between the two sides."

Xian Yu's previous attack was nothing more than sword energy, not his ultimate technique of "One Sword to Divide the World." Had he used that, it wouldn't have been a mere wound but a shattered leg.

"Sword Qi... it worked..."