Chapter 80: Chapter 80 Photosynthesis, Old Sha’s Transformation!
The sun rose in the east.
The dazzling, fiery orb eternally burst forth with everlasting light and heat. Beyond being a star of flame, it was also the source of Life for countless beings.
All things revived, everything awakening with new vitality as the sun arose. The morning dew quickly dried, and the people living in the city began their busy day.
Su Ping was no exception, although he had risen comparatively late, well past sunrise.
Still with sleep in his eyes, Su Ping yawned. Without hurrying to wash his face, he had already reached Old Sha’s training ground on the outskirts of the forest, a place he checked first every day. Only after looking there would he feel reassured enough to check on the Forest Wolf’s training situation.
However, this morning, the moment Su Ping took a look, any lingering sleepiness instantly vanished. His eyes widened in astonishment; disregarding his pajamas and slippers, he ran straight into the reinforced glass enclosure to Old Sha’s side.
This was because Old Sha was exhibiting new changes, differences never seen before. These changes had never been recorded in Sun Chaoju’s notes on the Wanmu Wolves.
Old Sha himself appeared unchanged. He even shifted his gaze when he noticed Su Ping’s arrival, a glint of excitement in his eyes. However, he seemed to be maintaining that unique breathing rhythm and made no sound. Clearly, Old Sha faced no risk of mental rigidity or petrification.
Indeed, Su Ping could tell that with Old Sha’s unique breathing rhythm, every hair on his body seemed to respire, engaging in an exceptionally distinct form of ’breathing’. Each strand of fur was continuously unfurling.
This phenomenon shouldn’t occur in an animal-type Pet Beast; it was mostly associated with plants. This was because the ability was known as Photosynthesis. Through sunlight, it absorbed light Energy, synthesized organic compounds from carbon dioxide and water, and converted them into oxygen... This was one of nature’s most fundamental Energy conversion processes.
Su Ping could accept all this. In this wondrous Controlling Beasts world, while he didn’t understand how animal-type Pet Beasts could master such an Ability, he could accept the premise.
However, while Old Sha himself seemed fine, the surroundings were a major issue. On the lawn, everything around Old Sha had withered and yellowed.
Was it the Heart of Woods forcibly absorbing the Life Energy of the surrounding plants?Had Old Sha forcibly activated the effects of the Heart of Woods?!Impossible! Su Ping had absolute trust in Old Sha’s obedience to his commands! This was a trust forged over many years of companionship, akin to that between family members. So what was the real reason?Could the Heart of Woods truly cause the Wanmu Wolf’s Evolution to undergo such changes?
Su Ping’s brows furrowed deeply; he didn’t know if this change was good or bad. Ultimately, it was because his knowledge base in Cultivation was too shallow.
Nevertheless, Su Ping hastily used the Eye of Truth to examine Old Sha:
[Forest Wolf (wild)]
[Current Level: Leader Second Rank]
[Racial Potential: Elite Tenth Stage]
[Skills: Sunlight Absorption (Perfection), Vine Strangling (Proficient), Self-Healing (Proficient), Accelerated Growth (Proficient), Wolf King (Beginner), Heart of Woods (Proficient), Photosynthesis (Beginner)]
As expected, Old Sha had mastered Photosynthesis, a Skill typically found only in plant-based organisms.
However, Su Ping’s attention wasn’t solely on Photosynthesis. He looked at another Skill that, as he anticipated, had also changed:
Heart of Woods (Proficient)!
Yes, Old Sha’s Heart of Woods had leveled up again? It had reached the Proficient Level.
Perhaps this breakthrough wasn’t a huge deal in itself. The reason was simple: Old Sha was the first to acquire the Heart of Woods Skill. Moreover, if they possessed the Connection and Sharing ability, a rapid increase in Skill Level was to be expected—that was its inherent effect!
After all, it wasn’t just Old Sha. Even Woodhead, after only half a month here, had its Heart of Woods level up. Xiao Qing’s Heart of the Poison Wood had also reached the Proficient Level. In fact, within the past few days, a few other Pet Beasts with good aptitude had also achieved a similar advancement in their Heart of Woods.
But that wasn’t the crucial part! The reason was simple: Old Sha hadn’t been part of any Connection and Sharing for a long time. In other words, his Heart of Woods had advanced purely on its own! How could that be possible?!
Su Ping knew all too well how difficult it was to advance the Heart of Woods. If such a passive Ability, especially one acquired later through Cultivation, could level up so easily, Old Sha wouldn’t have struggled for over forty years just to barely break his race limit, failing even to achieve Evolution.
Then, this advancement must have occurred during the current evolutionary stage.
Without a second thought, Su Ping didn’t even greet Old Sha. He rushed to the video recorder and played back the night’s footage at eight times speed to see what had transpired.
The recording began from when he left the previous evening.
During the night, Old Sha seemed to have acclimated to this lifestyle. The discomfort from the first two days was gone. Instead, he had thoroughly immersed himself in what could be described as a plant-like state, resembling a lethargic, cold-blooded animal that moved only when necessary. Therefore, there were no unusual changes that night.
And just as expected, when the sun gradually rose on the horizon and sunlight poured down, Old Sha began performing Sunlight Absorption as usual. However, over the past few days, Old Sha had reached a critical threshold in the Wanmu Wolf’s second stage.
As he continuously absorbed sunlight, Old Sha’s luminescence intensified. Under the radiant light, a distinctive breathing rhythm emerged from him. With each inhale and exhale, the sunlight bathing his body seemed to fuse completely with Old Sha.
Then, Su Ping’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
He focused on the high-definition video footage. Under the concentrated sunlight, as that unique breathing rhythm began, the grass and flowers in the surrounding meadow also seemed to be affected. Wisps of faint green light, like motes following the dazzling sunlight, slowly merged into Old Sha’s body as Su Ping watched intently.
Subsequently, a touch of vibrant green essence emanated outwards, and Old Sha’s body appeared as if suddenly draped in a green blanket. Together with the sunlight, he entered an extremely peculiar state.
This state persisted for about three minutes before gradually fading, resulting in the scene Su Ping had just witnessed.