A gray glow surged, drilling into his mind.
The ink-wash light and shadow before his eyes flowed, undergoing a transformation.
Name: Liu Sheng
Dao Fruit: Seventy-Two Transformations
Talent: None
Cultivation: None
Incarnation: Sparrow (Can invest Spirit Essence for evolution)
Spirit Essence: 0
At the same time, numerous fragmented images surfaced in his mind, making him suddenly realize—
Through the Dao Fruit, Seventy-Two Transformations, he could refine the essence of living beings into a transformed body, inheriting its root bones and talents, and fully applying them to himself.
All living beings in the Three Realms and Five Elements, regardless of plants, trees, bamboo, stones, birds, beasts, fish, insects, or crabs, and all forms of birth (egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, transformation-born), were within its scope.
Moreover, for each additional transformed body, he gained an extra life.
As long as Incarnations persisted, his life would be secure.
In other words, after activating the Sparrow transformation, he effectively had two lives.
Additionally, transformed bodies were categorized into nine grades based on their talent and root bones, from lowest to highest:
Mortal Beast (Gray), Exotic Beast (White), Spirit Monster (Green), Demon (Blue), Great Demon (Purple), Elder Demon (Orange), Ancestral Demon (Red), Ancient Demon (Jade), Heavenly Demon (Azure).
However, each transformed body could use Spirit Essence as fuel to evolve and upgrade, awaken its Bloodline, and acquire new talents.
As for Spirit Essence points, they were a miraculous power condensed from the spiritual will, mental obsessions, and insights of all sentient beings in the world, often residing in ancient objects.
“So that’s how it is!”
Liu Sheng understood, half excited and half frustrated.
If he had known this cheat was played like this, he would have definitely gotten a more powerful transformed body.
Even if it wasn't a tiger, wolf, bear, or grizzly, it should at least be an eagle, vulture, or raptor; at worst, a venomous snake or centipede would have been acceptable.
But this Sparrow, which could be pinched to death with two fingers, what could it do?
He pursed his lips, and with a thought, he tapped on 【Sparrow】, and the ink-wash characters before his eyes changed again—
【Sparrow (Gray)】
Description: A common mountain bird with a wide field of vision and excellent eyesight, capable of locking onto fast-moving targets within ten steps.
【You have gained the Sparrow talent “Magpie Eyes” blessing.】
…
“This talent… enhances dynamic vision, allowing me to capture and analyze the trajectory and every movement detail of fast-moving targets?”
Liu Sheng blinked, indeed feeling his vision was somewhat different; not only was his field of view wider, almost three hundred and sixty degrees, allowing him to clearly see behind him.
Moreover, all colors in his eyes became more vivid and vibrant.
Within ten steps, even an ant crawling in a crack in the mud was clearly visible.
“Buzz buzz buzz~”
Several flies, smelling the blood, flew over, buzzing up and down.
But in Liu Sheng's eyes, these flies moved as if in slow motion; he not only captured their movement trajectories but could even clearly see the vibrations of their wings.
He raised his hand and pushed the small knife forward, letting it fall into empty space.
The next moment, two flies actually flew right into it, colliding with the blade and splitting into two halves.
He tried two more times, hitting every time; the few flies that flew over all split into two halves, as if measured, perfectly symmetrical.
This was just a gray-tier Sparrow transformation, yet it granted him such terrifying visual abilities…
If he got a Tiger transformation, a Black Bear transformation, or even a Demon Marquis transformation, wouldn't he be able to slaughter everything?
Tong Bapi's son, a mere second-realm Martial Artist, wouldn't he be easily dealt with?
For a moment, Liu Sheng's imagination ran wild, his fighting spirit soaring.
“My dear grandson, what’s wrong?”
At this moment, Liu Apo beside him let out a soft cry, startling Liu Sheng awake.
He turned his head to look, and saw Liu Apo looking at him with a worried expression, her eyes filled with panic.
Clearly, his previous behavior, like being possessed, had given Liu Apo a great fright.
“I’m fine, I just figured some things out.”
Liu Sheng felt guilty and quickly comforted her, finally stating solemnly:
“Our days… will get better and better.”
“Grandma here doesn’t care for good days, I just hope you are safe and sound…”
Liu Apo recovered, snatching the small knife back with a mix of annoyance and amusement, finishing off the remaining Sparrows:
“If I could see you marry and have a few chubby boys, I would die content…”
He was speechless, he had Transmigrated, and he was still being pressured to marry!
Liu Sheng's face flushed with embarrassment, and using the excuse of “going out for some fresh air,” he fled his home as if escaping.
Baishui Village had about a hundred households, nearly five hundred people; after the spring plowing, everyone was preparing for the summer tax half a month later.
Hunters hunted, herb gatherers gathered herbs, woodcutters chopped wood, weavers wove, and so on, all too busy to see many idle people.
Liu Sheng left the village and arrived at a secluded open space.
“I feel like my injuries are a bit better, not as painful?”
He stopped under a large tree as thick as two people’s embrace, then realized this and lowered his head to inspect himself carefully, finding that his injuries had indeed improved somewhat.
Could it be due to refining the “Sparrow Incarnation”?
Could the transformed body also share the main body's injuries, which is why there's the saying, “As long as Incarnations persist, life is secure”?
It was almost certainly the case.
Then, let me see, what exactly is this Sparrow transformation about?
“Transform!”
In an instant, a white mist rose from his feet, engulfing him.
When the mist cleared, his figure was no longer there; in its place was a fist-sized Sparrow.
It had a black head, a yellow belly, a mottled white nape, a blue-black beak, and greenish-gray talons.
It was identical to the Sparrow Liu Sheng had dealt with earlier.
“Chirp chirp~”
He opened his mouth to speak, but only emitted crisp, pleasant chirping sounds; with a flap of his wings, he shot up to a branch several feet high.
“Chirp chirp~”
Several Sparrows on the tree stared blankly at the new companion, feeling something was off, yet unable to articulate it.
“Chirp chirp~”
Liu Sheng understood the bird calls, and with a thought, he let out crisp chirps, happily singing along with a few genuine Sparrows.
“…Who are you?”
“I am your father.”
“Oh, father…”
These Sparrows were not very intelligent and quite foolish; Liu Sheng quickly became familiar with them.
He and the few Sparrows nimbly darted through the branches and leaves, chasing and playing, with various small insects easily found everywhere, experiencing a freedom he had never known in his previous life.
Moments later, he left the flock of birds, and with a “whoosh,” he zipped through the air, landing on his own courtyard wall, watching Liu Apo diligently working inside the house.
Then, with another “whoosh,” he flew to the roof of another household, and through a gap in the tiles, he saw two large white worms grunting and fighting on the bed…
In broad daylight, under a clear sky, the world was truly degenerating; he had to seriously criticize it.
A moment later, he left, still wanting more, and set his sights on the luxurious three-courtyard house at the head of the village, the Tong Family's home.
The Tong Family Courtyard was expansive, with house guards and protectors residing in the front courtyard, even having a small training ground.
At this time, on the training ground, a group of protectors were practicing their skills; some were lifting stone locks, some were practicing stances, some were sparring with fists and weapons, chatting lively.
“Have you heard, Master picked a batch of house guards… to teach them martial arts…”
“…Starting tomorrow at the hour of Mao, taught by the new Master Wu…”
“What is the background of that Master Wu? I saw Steward Cheng treating him with utmost respect…”
…
“Tomorrow at the hour of Mao, teaching martial arts? What a coincidence…”
Liu Sheng hopped around on the nearby eaves, deciding to come back tomorrow morning.
He openly spied for a moment, and feeling a sense of weakness and fatigue in his body, he left the Tong Family Courtyard.
Because once his stamina was exhausted, he would revert from his transformed state, and then he wouldn't even be able to run away.
…
A moment later, Liu Sheng returned home and began rummaging through boxes and cabinets, touching various ancient objects, hoping to gain Spirit Essence points.
After the previous test, he could currently maintain the transformed body for about a quarter of an hour.
If he practiced martial arts in the future and improved his stamina, the duration of the transformation could be significantly extended.
Therefore, he needed to practice martial arts as soon as possible.
But before that…
【Spirit Essence Point +1】
A faint, clear stream of Qi seeped in from his fingertips.
Immediately after, a line of ink-wash characters appeared before his eyes.
Liu Sheng's body stiffened; he looked down and saw an old book in his hand.
The blue cover of this book had several worn spots, and the inner pages were yellowed, clearly indicating its age.
He raised an eyebrow, remembering the book's origin: it was given to him by the private tutor when he left.
“Indeed, Spirit Essence is attached to old objects…”
Liu Sheng's spirits lifted, and he immediately sped up, touching all the books and writing materials, but found nothing else.
Not believing it, he wandered around the house, touching and rubbing everything old, covering every ancient item.
Finally, he gained another 1 Spirit Essence point from a small, peeling wooden box.
This was Grandma's dowry box, made by her father's own hands back then.
“Two Spirit Essence points, I can try it out and see what this evolution is all about.”
He returned to the house and lay down, and with a thought, the ink-wash characters before his eyes immediately cascaded down—
“First year, you…”