Li Xuan forced himself to calm down, focusing his gaze on his body, trying his best to outline its entire form in his mind.
A panel appeared in his mind:
【Mortal Physical Body (Upgradeable - Host only): The most common Mortal Physique.】
【Available upgrade paths: Gluttonous Saint Body, Primordial Saint Body, Chaos Saint Body, Furnace Saint Body, Reincarnation Saint Body, Ancient Desolate Saint Body, Indestructible Battle Body, Sun Saint Body, Lunar Saint Body.】
Note: Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three. The Host can only choose three paths to Cultivate simultaneously.
【Saint Body Descriptions】
【Gluttonous Saint Body: Devours all things, possesses extremely strong digestion and absorption abilities.
Upon reaching Perfection, there is nothing it cannot devour, but its consciousness is easily contaminated by distracting thoughts.
】
【Primordial Saint Body: The first Physique to emerge when Chaos first opened.
It contains the power of the Primordial within.
Upon Perfection, the Physical Body itself becomes the Dao, and its breathing can stir the long river of time and space.
】
【Chaos Saint Body: Evolves all methods, immune to Five Elements techniques.
Upon reaching Perfection, it can transform into Chaos, reopen heaven and earth, and give birth to the Primordial Saint Body form.
】
【Indestructible Battle Body: Grows stronger with each battle, increasing the possibility of a Breakthrough when near death.】
【Reincarnation Saint Body: Retains memories and Cultivation from previous lives.
After death, it undergoes random Rebirth.
After nine Reincarnations, it will reach Perfection, stacking with the Indestructible Battle Body form.
】
【Ancient Desolate Saint Body: Golden Qi and blood surge to the heavens, the Physical Body is immortal, invincible among those of the same Realm, but requires vast resources for Breakthroughs.】
【Furnace Saint Body: Uses the body as a Furnace to refine everything.
Upon Minor Achievement, it is immune to all poisons.
Upon Major Achievement, it activates the Ancient Desolate Saint Body path.
Upon Perfection, it is immune to curses and harmonizes all things.
It is the only Saint Body among the major Saint Bodies that evolves from an Acquired state, and it is also a mandatory choice.
Without the Furnace Saint Body to harmonize, other Saint Bodies cannot coexist within one body.
】
(Lunar and Sun omitted.)
......
“Nine choices, and only three Saint Bodies can coexist in one body.
So, the first one to be excluded is the Gluttonous Saint Body.
Although its growth is fast in the early stages, if my consciousness is contaminated, will I still be me?”
“As for the Lunar and Sun Saint Bodies, they are natural rivals.
Either don't choose them at all, or choose both, which takes up two slots.
It's not worth it.”
“The mandatory choice is the Furnace Saint Body.
For the remaining two, I'll choose the Reincarnation Saint Body and the Chaos Saint Body.
These two Saint Bodies, when evolved to their extreme, will give birth to two other powerful Saint Bodies, making them the most cost-effective.
And in this way, I can get the Ancient Desolate Saint Body for free, have unparalleled Dao methods, and more importantly, gain nine extra lives.”
In just a moment, Li Xuan had decided on the three paths he would choose, and the System panel began to change:
【Furnace Saint Body (Unlocked), Reincarnation Saint Body (Locked), Chaos Saint Body (Locked)】
【Furnace Saint Body Upgrade Path: Guiding Fire into the Body (Initiation) - Tempering the Entire Body (Minor Achievement) - Body as a Furnace (Major Achievement) - Furnace World (Perfection)】
Note: The Reincarnation Saint Body awakens upon Initiation, and the Chaos Saint Body unlocks upon Perfection.
【Conditions for Guiding Fire into the Body: Third-rank Artifact Refiner Realm, Third-rank Alchemist Realm, a flame seed no lower than the Spiritual Fire level, and required to be within a 3rd-rank Immortal Cave.】
At the same time, countless insights about Guiding Fire into the Body flooded his mind.
Upon careful discernment, there were actually 80 people's experiences with guiding fire.
Some of them failed at this step, while others succeeded, but the process was all incredibly painful.
“No lower than Spiritual Fire...”
In this world, the flames used by Artifact Refiners are generally Mortal Fire at the first rank, which are open flames produced by charcoal or coal.
However, at the second rank, some Artifact Refining Materials cannot be melted by Mortal Fire, so stronger Earth Fire is used.
Above Earth Fire is Heavenly Fire, which are powerful, spiritless flames born between heaven and earth.
And when Heavenly Fire gains sentience, it transforms into Spiritual Fire.
It is said that above Spiritual Fire, there are also Exotic Fires, powerful flames that have evolved from ancient times.
But such existences, at least in this North Sea, he had never heard of.
As for Spiritual Fire, to his knowledge, the Sect's chief Artifact Refiner possessed one.
Though precious, there was still a chance to acquire it.
“It seems this path won't work in the short term.
The Legacy of this Furnace Saint Body has too high a starting point.
I'll be more cautious and just hide and develop for now.”
Li Xuan was a little disappointed.
He had originally thought he could quickly use this System to upgrade his Physique, but he didn't expect the upgrade requirements to be so high.
Next, he again let his Divine Sense enter his body to see if he could upgrade his Spiritual Root, but he couldn't even find a trace of a Spiritual Root.
“I heard the Sect's Law-Imparting Elder mention before that only after reaching Foundation Establishment and producing Divine Sense can one inwardly perceive their Spiritual Root.
I wonder if it's true or false...”
Li Xuan murmured to himself softly.
After Cultivating for a night, on the second day, he continued his patrol along the old path.
Since the outer perimeter had already been explored, he flew over the entire way in his spirit boat.
Suddenly, he landed his spirit boat.
On a branch of a tree, he saw a small, fluffy, pure white creature, about two palms long.
She was clutching the branch with her four paws, trying hard not to fall, and a small bundle was strapped to her neck.
From her appearance, she was a miniature Snow Sable.
“A new type of self-hanging from the southeast branch, perhaps?”
Seeing such a cute Little White Ferret, Li Xuan was in a good mood, a smile playing on his lips as he slowly approached.
He hadn't dared to pet the big one yesterday, but today he could finally pet this little one properly.
“Hey, little thief, don't you dare come near me, big sister.”
“Hmm?”
A sweet, soft girl's voice came, and Li Xuan was startled, the smile on his lips growing wider.
“It can even speak human language.”
It was evident that the Little White Ferret was very weak at this moment; even hanging there was difficult for her.
He no longer hesitated, going forward and scooping her into his arms, though he still held her firmly to prevent her from biting.
She felt very soft and fluffy to the touch.
“Grandpa Bai Ze said that men and women should not touch each other.
Little thief, aren't you ashamed?”
The Little White Ferret babbled on, struggling weakly, but Li Xuan could hear the exhaustion in her voice.
Her eyelids gradually drooped.
A Qi Recovery Pill fell from her small bundle.
“The one from yesterday?
Did it advance in rank?”
“No, Divine Beast Bai Ze?
Is there such a thing in this forest?”
Li Xuan, only realizing it later, flew out of the forest in his spirit boat.
He planned to figure out the situation first.
Along the way, he gently pulled the tail of the Little White Ferret, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, confirming that she was indeed female.
“Diao Niang?
That's quite interesting.”
Returning to his simple dwelling, he found a soft blanket, placed the Little White Ferret on it, and covered her with a corner, then continued his Cultivation.
The Little White Ferret squirmed a bit, seemingly not as comfortable as before, but soon, exhausted, she fell back into a deep sleep.
It wasn't until three days later that she was enticed by the aroma of spiritual rice and woke up.
“Oh mama, I’ve been captured by bandits!”
Peeking out from under the blanket, she observed the surroundings of the dwelling.
A moment later, like a flash of lightning, she shot out from under the covers, intending to dart into the forest up the mountain.
But halfway, she stopped, her nose twitching, and she stood up, turning her head to look at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan smiled and waved the small bundle in his hand at her.
The Little White Ferret rubbed her belly and muttered, “Mama said I have no backbone if I get hungry, and Grandpa Bai Ze also said that if I ever leave the forest, the first person I see should feed me.”
Her eyes were full of internal conflict, but she turned and walked step by step towards Li Xuan.
When she was three meters away from Li Xuan, she squatted down, as gracefully as a cat.
“Want to eat?”
Li Xuan scooped rice for her into a small bamboo bowl and asked with a smile.
“Grandpa Bai Ze said not to eat food given with disdain.”
Although she said this, her little head was nodding repeatedly.
“Then let's agree: if you eat my food, you'll have to find mountain ginseng and catch fish for me in the future.”
Li Xuan took two steps closer, placed the bowl and the small bundle on the ground, then took his own meal and walked away.
“I can only dig two mountain ginsengs each year, but I'm very good at catching fish.”
She transformed into a flash of lightning, hugging the bamboo bowl in her front paws.
It was so hot that she repeatedly shook her paws, quickly placing the bamboo bowl on the stone table beside her.
She took out a pair of jade chopsticks from her small bundle and stood upright on the stone stool, then realized she couldn't reach the table.
After a moment of stunned, she found several stones, propped them underneath, and began to eat with great relish.
“Her eating posture is truly elegant... just like a primary school student doing homework in my previous life.”
In the distance, Li Xuan squatted on the ground, holding a pot, secretly evaluating.
“This little creature is quite interesting.
If I can coax her to stay, I'll have some company.”
For some reason, his first reaction was to deceive the Little White Ferret, perhaps because she seemed so cute and naive.