Liu Chengming took the spiritual liquid and, under the watchful eyes of countless people around him, did not hesitate at all. He sat down cross-legged on the spot, uncorked the bottle, and swallowed the spiritual liquid that was emitting a strange luster in one gulp!
The medicine's effects erupted almost instantly!
"Aaaaaah—!"
Liu Chengming's skin instantly turned blood red, and veins bulged and swelled under his skin like twisted earthworms. He let out a heart-wrenching scream, his whole body trembled violently uncontrollably, and his bones made a series of teeth-grinding "crackling" sounds.
An extremely violent energy surged through his body, as if it wanted to completely tear apart his meridians, flesh, bones, and even his soul!
Blood began to spill from his seven orifices, and his body swelled up like a ball about to explode, on the verge of bursting and dying on the spot.
Even Ning Qingtian frowned slightly, feeling that Ning Chen's actions seemed a bit reckless. This young man simply couldn't withstand such a domineering medicinal effect.
Just as Liu Chengming's consciousness was about to completely dissipate, and the flame of his life was about to flicker and be extinguished in his last moments.
"Clatter".
A palm-sized, jet-black iron piece covered in ancient rust suddenly slipped out of his open arms, which he had opened during his violent struggle.
The moment the black iron piece touched the ground, it suddenly emitted an extremely faint yet incredibly profound dark light without any warning!
The dark light rippled out like waves, instantly enveloping Liu Chengming's entire body.
...
A strange thing happened.
Liu Chengming's heart-wrenching screams gradually weakened under the shadow of the dark light, eventually turning into a suppressed, low growl.
A wild and ferocious aura, far more violent and primal than before, like an ancient beast awakening, suddenly emanated from him, causing the surrounding air to freeze!
"Um?"
Within Ning Chen's eyes, the illusory images of the sun and moon rapidly shifted, as the power of the Ancient Double Pupils to dispel illusions was pushed to its limit.
He could clearly see that within the dense dark light, a blurry, yet terrifyingly powerful, ancient beast was roaring and struggling, seemingly trying to force its way into Liu Chengming's frail body!
"This is... a fusion of beast souls?!"
Among the Ning family members, some knowledgeable elders exclaimed in surprise, their faces showing vigilance, their spiritual energy surging, ready to make a move at any moment.
Ning Qingtian's eyes also gleamed with a strange light, a hint of surprise flashing in them.
With his keen eyesight, he immediately recognized that the unassuming black iron piece was actually an extremely rare treasure, containing the incomplete but high-ranking soul of an ancient ferocious beast!
During this life-or-death tempering process, Liu Chengming, by sheer chance, triggered the beast soul and seemed to be about to merge with it!
This is equivalent to using one's own body as a cauldron to forcibly contain the power of the beast's soul. Once successful, one will be reborn and have unlimited potential!
But if you fail, you will be annihilated, and your soul will be devoured by the beast's soul!
Its danger level is more than ten times higher than simply taking the body-tempering elixir!
"This is getting interesting."
Ning Chen's heart stirred, and a strange smile appeared on his lips.
He not only had no intention of stopping him, but also felt that if Liu Chengming could successfully fuse with the beast soul, his future "value" would undoubtedly be much greater than that of an ordinary good-for-nothing.
An "enemy" with an ancient beast soul as its trump card will become a "higher quality" once it grows up, whether as a whetstone or a stable source of "editing value".
Thinking of this, Ning Chen's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the golden sun phantom in his left eye, which represented the power of the sun, silently accelerated its rotation within his ancient double pupils.
A wisp of extremely pure, yet so subtle as to be almost imperceptible, solar fire power was skillfully and silently injected into Liu Chengming's body through the power of his double pupils.
This wisp of true solar fire power was not meant to help him fuse, but rather acted as a catalyst, subtly stabilizing the raging beast soul's origin to prevent it from completely losing control due to excessive ferocity in the early stages of fusion.
Ning Chen's actions were not out of any good intentions; he simply felt that if the fusion of the beast soul failed, his "investment" would be wasted.
This subtle "secret assistance," coupled with Liu Chengming's own strong will to survive—a will that refused to be a useless nobody—was crucial to his success.
"roar--!"
A sound that was not like a human voice, but rather more like the roar of an ancient ferocious beast awakening, suddenly came from the dark light!
The blurry phantom of the ferocious beast gradually overlapped and merged with Liu Chengming's figure!
The dark light suddenly receded and disappeared entirely into Liu Chengming's body.
Not only did he survive, but the terrible injuries caused by the medicine were also rapidly healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Even more astonishingly, the meridians in his body that were originally blocked were completely opened up under the forceful flushing of the beast soul power!
A powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted from his body!
Peak Body Tempering Realm... Broken!
First level of the Spirit Guiding Realm... Peak of the ninth level of the Spirit Guiding Realm... Breaking through again!
First level of the Spirit Transformation Realm!
In a short while, Liu Chengming, relying on the opportunity of the fusion of the beast soul and the residual medicinal power of the body-tempering liquid, saw his cultivation level soar like a rocket, directly rising from a useless person who could not cultivate to the first level of the Spirit Transformation Realm!
He slowly opened his eyes, and his entire demeanor had changed drastically.
His former cowardice and resentment had vanished, replaced by an arrogance and wildness like a lone wolf in the wilderness, with a hint of menacing glint in his eyes.
His gaze toward Ning Chen was filled with extreme complexity, a mixture of shock, disbelief, and even a hint of gratitude from the depths of his soul, despite the fact that this gratitude was entirely based on a misunderstanding.
[Ding! Strong shock and gratitude (misunderstanding) detected from Liu Chengming. Host gains +500 editing points!]
Liu Chengming was naturally unaware of Ning Chen's subtle actions. He only believed that he was destined to survive because he had triggered the mysterious power within the ancestral iron piece in his possession, and thus had been fortunate enough to receive such a great fortune.
Therefore, he attached even more importance to the ten-year agreement Ning Chen had previously made, and that glimmer of hope.
"It seems you're quite lucky."
Ning Chen's face remained calm, and he spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if everything that was happening before his eyes was within his expectations.
"Remember your promise, and remember who gave you this opportunity today."
He flicked his finger, and a barely perceptible ray of light entered Liu Chengming's body.
"This is a tracking restriction, and it also has a slight punitive effect."
"For the next ten years, you'd better behave yourself and focus on your cultivation. If you dare to harbor any disloyalty or do anything detrimental to the Ning family, you will suffer a pain worse than death."