182: Mantis evolves, a new system?

Although he had taken quite a hit, fortunately, the most difficult part, the grinding process, was over.

Xie Ning took out various cultivation instruments and taught Su Qin how to use them; the two began preparations for Little Mantis's evolution right there in the courtyard.

First, he carved intricate and profound patterns onto each of the 30 pieces of true martial gold, then placed them into a smelting furnace, hiring a White Wolf laborer to handle the fire.

Next, Su Qin extracted the essence from 15 stalks of Yuan-Breaking Yao Spiritual Grass, placing it in a spare glass vessel, and heated a pound of Kongming Powder until it was glowing red, causing the space to ripple with waves.

Little Mantis wasn't idle either; it squatted obediently on the ground, carefully carving the shapes of five Silver Rank inner elixirs according to the pictures Xie Ning provided.

Finally, Xie Ning took out a large stone slab five meters in diameter, placed it on the ground, and used a specialized formation-drawing machine to sketch the Formation.

Time passed minute by minute, and before they knew it, the sky had darkened.

Night fell.

Everyone—the two humans and two beasts—was busy, except for Yan Ruyu, who lay reclined in a chair, soaking in a moonlight bath, whether asleep or not.

Finally, Xie Ning straightened up, tossed the machine in his hand to the side, and let out a long breath while supporting his waist.

"It's finally a success."

This one sentence broke the silence; Su Qin's eyes lit up, and Yan Ruyu also opened her eyes.

Before the three of them stood an upright circular stone slab, carved with a profound Formation so complex it made one's head spin. It was unclear how many Formations were layered together, but in the very center, the outline of a humanoid Yao Beast was faintly visible, with seemingly chaotic lines acting as its skeleton and meridians.

Various processed spiritual Materials had already been filled into this profound Formation.

"This must be the most expensive stone slab in history," Su Qin remarked.

Hearing this, Xie Ning smiled faintly and replied, "With the powder from the Monarch-rank Demon Abyss Blood Worm King Spirit Bone as the torso, true martial gold as the base, supplemented by many equally rare spiritual Materials and over a dozen Formations, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this slab is priceless."

"I'm going to begin."

Saying this, Xie Ning looked at Little Mantis, who flew up in tacit understanding. Under his guidance, it maintained a posture nearly identical to the humanoid figure in the center of the slab. Then, Xie Ning placed a Gold Rank inner elixir into the central groove, drew a longsword to slice a wound into his palm, and pressed it against the stone slab.

In an instant, space seemed to vibrate, and the stone slab began to shake.

Yan Ruyu frowned, and the Xingshui Lynx quickly ran behind the slab, using its tail to steady it.

The patterns on the slab gradually lit up. The Spirit Bone powder and liquid true martial gold spread around the edges flowed along the lines, carrying other Materials toward the central outline as if to fill it.

Red powder, golden liquid, grey Spiritual Plant essence... various Materials combined in an extremely complex structure. The central outline emitted a light that distorted space, resonating with Little Mantis.

Before Little Mantis could react, it was sucked into the stone slab with lightning speed.

"Ah! Big Brother Xie, this..."

"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry..." Xie Ning stared intently at the slab; through the radiance, Little Mantis's body could be seen faintly changing. "It's reshaping itself. Once the reshaping is successful, the evolution will begin."

At Xie Ning's feet, White Fang also heard Xie Ning's words. His gaze flickered between Xie Ning and the slab, his eyes filled with irrepressible worry.

During the wait, they heard nothing except the sound of energy colliding.

After an unknown amount of time, the filler Materials around the slab were completely absorbed, and it slowly emitted a dazzling white light.

"Look! It's evolving!" Su Qin shouted excitedly.

Xie Ning also let out a long breath and relaxed. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head.

"Ugh—"

Xie Ning groaned, then a radiance shot out from his mind, splitting into three mid-air and sinking into Xie Ning, the stone slab, and White Fang respectively.

Bang!

In the next second, the stone slab exploded. The massive impact sent Xie Ning flying, and Little Mantis's light of evolution chased after him, sinking into his mind.

"Big Brother Xie!" Su Qin cried out.

A figure moved even faster than Su Qin, flashing past.

Xie Ning only felt a soft, warm sensation. Before he could understand what was happening, he lost consciousness. Just before blacking out, he heard the System's prompt:

【Ding! Rift Blade War Mantis is evolving. Evolution duration unknown. Upon successful evolution, the System will unlock new functions.】

【Ding! Host's Mental Energy is insufficient to control the new System. Please reach Silver Rank as soon as possible.】

...After an unknown amount of time, when the piercing sunlight shone into the room, Xie Ning's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened them.

"Big Brother Xie, you're awake," Su Qin's voice came from the side.

He turned to look, then sat up in bed, clutching his head. "What happened to me?"

"You forgot? Last night during Little Mantis's evolution, the stone slab suddenly exploded halfway through, and you fainted," Su Qin reminded him.

Xie Ning thought for a moment, nodded, looked at the familiar surroundings, and muttered, "I thought I'd be in Master's room; I didn't expect to be sent back..."

"Big Brother Xie, what are you imagining?" Su Qin rolled his eyes at him. "Instructor Yan is a girl; how could she let you stay there?"

"Haha, I was just joking. So, did you bring me back?" Xie Ning smiled sheepishly.

Su Qin shook his head and pointed to the completely shattered window by the wall, tracing a parabola with his finger. "Whoosh—bang! And then you were home."

Xie Ning: "..."

Is she really my Master?

After finishing his internal complaint, Xie Ning raised his hand to use the Beast Taming Technique, but nothing appeared.

【Ding! Rift Blade War Mantis is evolving. Summoning is temporarily disallowed. Evolution duration unknown.】

As expected, Little Mantis was currently evolving and could not be summoned.

However, as he used his Mental Energy during the summon attempt, Xie Ning realized his head felt much lighter than during previous summons.

"I actually broke through," Xie Ning spoke in surprise.

His Mental Energy had actually broken through to the Peak of Bronze Rank during his unconsciousness, becoming infinitely close to Silver Rank.

Su Qin nodded. "Yeah, I was surprised too. I asked the instructor, but she didn't know what happened either. She said it might be related to the light that flew into your head."

Hearing this, Xie Ning remembered that there were indeed three streaks of light yesterday, projected onto himself, White Fang, and Little Mantis respectively.

"Right, what about White Fang?"

"He also broke through by one level to Bronze Rank 9. He's sleeping in the courtyard right now."

Hearing this, Xie Ning finally felt relieved.

Overall, the Breakthrough in strength was a good thing. Little Mantis's evolution was incomplete, likely because the grade of the spiritual Materials was too high, requiring a longer process for Fusion.

It seemed he had to hurry and break through; once he reached Silver Rank, he should be able to use the new System, and by then, Little Mantis should be back.

Ding!

The phone by the bed suddenly rang.

Xie Ning picked it up and saw a message:

"Respected Intermediate Cultivator, there is new progress regarding the guardian you applied for at the Cultivation Association (Lingnan City Branch). Please come to confirm as soon as possible."