"Guixie, it can actually evolve?"
"Or did this red-robed guixie swallow some treasure, gaining the trend of evolution?"
Fang You pondered.
After An Jianyou threw out the injured molten furnace golem as bait, Fang You felt much more at ease. He simultaneously dealt damage to the red-robed guixie with the 'Quenching Thunder Pills' and activated the 'Scout' skill, continuously observing the red silhouette in front of him.
The 'Scout' skill could usually only observe targets weaker than oneself. Facing this anomalous guixie, the information he could glean was limited.
However, he did obtain some intelligence, different from what was in the illustration.
He could confirm that the red-robed guixie was evolving towards the Seven-Star World-Ending level. But this evolution was not an overnight process; it was more like a state that required a considerable period of evolutionary status.
Once the red-robed guixie completed this period and accumulated enough, it might then break through to the Mythical… World-Ending level.
But not yet.
It was still: Six-Star (Evolving…)
There was an even more fitting description.
The red-robed guixie, Half-Step Mythical!
This was a Half-Step Mythical, a guixie with the potential to become Mythical, a legendary SSR. This was especially true for An Jianyou, who was only at the Sixth Awakening.
"It's an opportunity."
"Mm!!"
An Jianyou had already taken out a Tier 3 energy recovery potion, which she couldn't refine yet, and gulped it down. She then swallowed three drops of Water of Life.
Seeing this, Fang You felt a pang of heartache.
He knew very well that for An Jianyou to capture a Half-Step Seven-Star red-robed guixie in her current state, consuming precious medicines and supplements was necessary. But why wasn't this girl feeling the pinch!
With the effects of these supplements, An Jianyou's condition quickly recovered. Although far from perfect, the red-robed entity before them wasn't a Seven-Star guixie either, but a Six-Star Cataclysm-level entity, far weaker than Seven-Star.
Half-Step Seven-Star was still Six-Star.
When Fang You went all out, activating his Grand Domain and burning some faith kindling, the Half-Step Mythical red-robed entity indeed began to falter.
The dazzling large red dress was torn to shreds by the handprint of lightning. It soon returned to its normal human-sized form, appearing as if it was about to escape into the gray mist and flee into the distance.
If it were allowed to escape and knew how to conceal itself, it might not be found again.
The handprint of lightning couldn't stop it, nor could the lightning net woven across the sky. The red silhouette adeptly weaved through them.
"Guixie Control, Seal!"
It wasn't An Jianyou who made the move.
She needed to prepare to control the brand and capture this red-robed entity.
It was Fang You himself who borrowed An Jianyou's max-level 'Guixie Control' skill. This skill, besides controlling guixie, also had the ability to suppress and strongly control them. Although he didn't have talents like 'Eye of Profound Insight' or 'Nether Eye' to amplify the effects of Guixie Control, under his powerful mental strength, the red silhouette in the distance still trembled, its body becoming somewhat limp.
The next moment,
Three Quenching Thunder Pills pierced its body.
Under Fang You's precise control, they didn't hit the red-robed entity's head, but rather its lower half, blasting the 'fragile guixie's' legs. The lightning net then closed in under his manipulation.
Sizzle—
Sizzle—
Sizzle—
A strange smell seemed to emanate. The tattered red robe was scorched black all over.
It could barely even maintain flight.
At this moment, An Jianyou's eyes widened, and she brought her palms together.
"Control!"
An invisible force descended.
The dark Nether Domain spread out.
Within her eyes, which emanated a faint, eerie glow, a terrifying world seemed to be contained.
After a long while,
It felt like a long time, yet also like an instant.
The struggling red-robed guixie stopped trembling and stood very calmly in the air, though its form was still somewhat unstable. After suffering several blows, its strength was likely depleted just from hovering. At this point, even a Three-Star guixie might be able to devour it.
An Jianyou waved her hand, and the red-robed guixie slowly flew towards her. However, halfway there, it seemed to lose support and fell.
At this moment, the Nether Domain extended, and endless black mist surged out from within, continuously pouring into the red-robed guixie. Its injuries visibly healed, and its tattered large red robe also mended quickly.
It stopped abruptly.
Not because it couldn't continue healing, but because… An Jianyou was out of energy.
She had very little life energy left.
She usually didn't consume much life energy in combat, but once she contracted a guixie, it required a large amount. Often, contracting a Six-Star guixie would drain her completely. Moreover, she had contracted a Seven-Star and a Half-Step Seven-Star consecutively.
The Angel Tear pendant hanging on her chest had already dimmed.
An Jianyou was also panting, sweat sticking to her hair, but her face was full of smiles, her eyes curved into crescent moons.
"I've contracted a Half-Step Mythical~!"
The battle ended. The two of them, along with a flying fish, quickly relocated to avoid being surrounded by guixie.
Yes, they soon returned to the real world.
Riding on the Hundred-Eyed Flying Fish, Fang You stared at the red-robed entity, which was standing not far away, waving its hand to eliminate the guixie blocking their path.
From a distance, this guixie resembled a human wearing a large red robe. However, upon closer inspection… it was just a red robe. Instructor Fang was certain that there was nothing inside the large red robe; it was hollow.
The guixie's true form was the red robe.
The clothes had gained sentience.
"Is it evolving towards the Mythical level?"
Fang You asked with some unease.
Even if it wasn't, it was still a powerful Half-Step Mythical. With An Jianyou's support and amplification, it might even be able to contend with a Mythical.
However, without a doubt, Fang You hoped it was. The current clues also indicated that it was at least 90% likely.
The remaining part awaited actual confirmation.
Hearing the instructor's question, An Jianyou closed her eyes and, through the contractual connection with the red-robed guixie, carefully sensed and explored its state and changes.
After a long while, she opened her eyes with joy.
"Mm-hmm!"
"It really is evolving~!"
According to An Jianyou's careful examination, the red-robed guixie was in a peculiar state, much like the physical transformation humans undergo during awakening. However, human awakening was rapid, while the red-robed guixie's evolution was quite slow but stable.
An Jianyou said,
"Little Red needs a few months to complete its evolution. And this injury will delay its evolution by another two to three months, but…"
"That's under normal circumstances. My life energy seems to… not only heal Little Red but also promote its evolution."
This was what she discovered while treating the red-robed guixie just now.
Great news!
This meant that in the near future, she would possess a true Seven-Star guixie. Facing those terrifying enemies, she would also be able to share some of the pressure with her instructor.
So great, An Jianyou~!
Her mouth couldn't stop curling upwards as she hummed a little tune.
Fang You was also happy for her; his star employee had taken another step forward.
However, there was still a question that concerned Instructor Fang.
"Can you ask clearly why the red-robed guixie can evolve?"
Hearing the instructor's question, An Jianyou also realized its importance.
She closed her eyes again. After a long while, she opened them, but this time she shook her head with some disappointment, "Little Red's rationality is very chaotic. It can only utter a few simple sounds and cannot answer why it can evolve."
"However, Little Red's intelligence seems to be slightly stronger than Xiao Xiao, Xiao Wu, Xiao Gou, Xiao Yu, and Xiao Lan. Perhaps in the future, it can gradually understand why it can evolve?"
As she spoke, her confidence wavered.
Even if the reason for evolution couldn't be figured out, today was still a joyous day.
Therefore,
After returning to the secret realm, An Jianyou immediately took a bath and changed her clothes. Once done, she collapsed onto the large bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Fang You's consumption was not as great. After returning to the base, he first inspected the situation of the secret realm.
Before this, the Kindling Secret Realm had just barely upgraded to 'Lv4'. He had used the secret realm's power this time, and not a little, but it did not cause the 'secret realm to de-level'. This was certainly not because the secret realm had level protection, but rather…
"Idola's Life Tree provided energy."
"It not only continuously expands the secret realm but also merges with the secret realm, able to bear some of the 'costs' on behalf of the secret realm."
"Mm, however, if I were to increase the stakes and continue to consume the secret realm's power beyond the limit, it would still cause the secret realm to de-level."
The limit was approximately the amount he had used today.
So, could he exploit a bug?
Fang You touched his chin and fell into thought.
…
…
An Jianyou had contracted a Half-Step Mythical guixie and was currently feeding it. Aside from this, nothing major had happened on Blue Star recently.
The fourth base city had been established.
The Dawn Project had progressed further.
"Aside from the siege waves at Shuize Base City, the other three base cities encountered progressively larger waves after lighting up their dawn."
The scale of the waves at Huangdu Base City was around six to seven hundred thousand. By Jiangnan Base City, it had risen to seven to eight hundred, eight to nine hundred thousand. And the fourth giant base city established today, the scale of the waves had confirmedly broken one million.
This was not the work of evil god's pawns.
Rather, as more and more guixie infiltrated Blue Star, the increased number in the same area stimulated more guixie, thus naturally increasing the scale of the resulting waves.
For Instructor Fang, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
However,
"Under normal circumstances, the scale of the waves is already in the millions. Once that high-level existence pushes, the scale of the waves will likely be unprecedented."
Even though Citina was rushing towards Blue Star,
Even though An Jianyou's red-robed entity was evolving towards Mythical,
Even though Black Blade Old Brother had also… become stronger.
Fang You still dared not let his guard down. A single misstep could lead to the demise of hundreds of millions of lives. He could not be careless.
After spending half a day handling the accumulated Kindling affairs, Fang You went to the Level 4 training ground to improve his strength.
The battle today had verified that 'Quenching Thunder Pills' were indeed more practical than the imposing 'Handprint of Lightning' when dealing with high-level formidable enemies.
Of course, he wouldn't abandon the 'Handprint of Lightning'.
One was for power, the other was for show.
He had to grasp both firmly.
As for the skill 'Furnace Tempering', it was also suitable for everyone to use. He had to quickly reach the expert level and cultivate the Seed of Skill.
[Furnace Tempering (Proficient: 99.6%)]
In just a short period, he had cultivated this skill to the high stages of proficiency, all thanks to his unremitting efforts.
Fang You steadied his mind, exhaled, and his eyes widened.
"Break for me!"