Chapter 48: The Phoenix Reborn in Fire.

The moon rose, looking a bit dim. Outside the window, stars shone brightly. Gazing at the sparkling Nanhai City under the starlight, Jiang Xincheng showed a bright smile on his lips. He sat cross-legged and took out a black-red Mutated Yuan Crystal.

He activated Devouring the Cosmos and absorbed a strand of strange mutated power from the Mutated Yuan Crystal. As this strand of mutated power flowed into his body, Jiang Xincheng was shocked to find that as soon as it entered the meridians in his hands, it exploded like gunpowder. To his horror, it directly blasted the meridians in his hands and his entire hands into fragments.

The pain, the feeling of watching his own hands explode—even Jiang Xincheng found it hard to bear. Seeing his hands turned to dust, Jiang Xincheng was terrified. Had he made a mistake? Was this Mutated Yuan Crystal not the one recorded in the Tales of the Unusual?

If that were the case, then it would be disastrous. Losing his hands would greatly affect Jiang Xincheng’s cultivation and progress. Even with decades of experience and various miraculous techniques like Combat Techniques, it would be very hard for him to achieve much in this lifetime.

At that moment, to Jiang Xincheng’s overwhelming joy, even though his hands had shattered, the fragments did not fall to the ground. Instead, under the influence of a strange force, they were refined back together, perfectly merging with his arms.

During the merging process, that strange power re-forged Jiang Xincheng’s hands. Like being reborn in fire, after breaking, they were restored. Jiang Xincheng’s hands became as white and smooth as jade, much stronger than before, especially the meridians inside.

So that’s how it was!

A light flashed in Jiang Xincheng’s eyes, and his worries vanished. He continued to absorb the vast mutated power from the Mutated Yuan Crystal.

As Jiang Xincheng absorbed it, strands of mutated power surged into his body, spreading from his hands throughout his entire body.

Wherever the mutated power passed, Jiang Xincheng’s muscles, bones, meridians… all shattered bit by bit, and then were reunited by the mutated power. This miraculous power left even Jiang Xincheng in awe.

Mutated Yuan Crystals were a strange kind of crystal on Earth, very similar to Yuan Crystals. Their Primordial Force content was at least 99%, and many even reached 100%. However, this Primordial Force was not true Primordial Force but a special power that was very similar to Primordial Force, possessing various magical effects.

But most Mutated Yuan Crystals contained harmful, unhelpful special powers. After consuming them, not only would they not benefit the Practitioner, but they could also cause the Practitioner’s Primordial Force to become impure, affect their foundation, or even cause the Practitioner to explode and die, or be directly poisoned by the Mutated Yuan Crystal.

Out of 100 Mutated Yuan Crystals, at least 99 were harmful. Therefore, many Practitioners on Earth called Mutated Yuan Crystals the evil Pandora’s Box, filled with disasters. Most Primordial Warriors who encountered Mutated Yuan Crystals would not use them, unless they were like Zhao Gen, who sought death on purpose.

Mutated Yuan Crystals existed naturally on Earth, were extremely rare, and most contained deadly poison. They were a special item in the cultivation world.

Only extremely rare Mutated Yuan Crystals were beneficial to Practitioners—one in ten thousand, extremely hard to find. Most importantly, no Primordial Warrior on Earth could be sure which Mutated Yuan Crystal was beneficial and harmless.

So even though they knew some Mutated Yuan Crystals had heaven-defying power, Primordial Warriors on Earth still would not try to use them. If not for his memories from his past life, Jiang Xincheng would not have dared to use this Mutated Yuan Crystal, and he would not have obtained this incredible opportunity.

His body collapsed bit by bit, was reborn in the collapse, and awakened in the destruction, like a phoenix reborn in fire, allowing Jiang Xincheng to be reborn in fire.

His arms shattered. This shattering was not just simple breaking of muscles and bones; it started from the tiniest cells, breaking into countless, countless particles. Then, under the magical power of this Mutated Yuan Crystal, they gathered back together.

During this process, these particles underwent the most severe tempering and forging, achieving a leap-like transformation.

His arms were transforming… his chest was transforming… his neck was transforming… his abdomen was transforming… his internal organs were transforming… his meridians and Dantian were transforming… even his head and Spiritual Sense were transforming.

A transformation from the very roots, from the smallest details. Jiang Xincheng was crushed by the mutated power into endless fragments, then reborn on the spot, gaining an unprecedented great opportunity.

Pain accompanied him all along. If he had not absorbed the power slowly, and if the part transforming each time was very, very small, so the pain was not too severe, Jiang Xincheng might have already passed out.

If he had passed out, the effect of this Mutated Yuan Crystal would have greatly diminished. Without Jiang Xincheng’s control, much of this mutated power would have been wasted, and he might not have achieved a complete transformation.

Fortunately, with the strong will forged in his past life, Jiang Xincheng persevered. He had endured the pain of his parents, friends, and brothers all being killed, let alone this physical pain.

Compared to the pain in his heart, this physical pain was something Jiang Xincheng could withstand.

In his past life, he had spent countless days and nights longing for Sister Anan, longing for Yun’er, longing for his parents, longing for his brothers… That pain seeped into his bones, hurt deep in his heart. Every day felt like a year, every minute and second was pain, much worse than this pain.

When he thought that by doing this he could gain even more terrifying talent and potential, even more fearsome power, and never have to suffer the pains of his past life again, Jiang Xincheng felt this pain was nothing.

Being crushed to pieces, having his meridians severed, his internal organs burned… these were nothing.

As time passed, Jiang Xincheng remained conscious, maximizing the power of this Mutated Yuan Crystal.

The Mutated Yuan Crystal in front of him grew smaller and smaller, while Jiang Xincheng’s body grew stronger and stronger.

His skin became fairer, his facial features more refined, his meridians and Dantian became tougher and more flexible, especially since this toughness and flexibility came from a fundamental transformation.

Most importantly, even Jiang Xincheng’s Spiritual Sense and the soul hidden within his Spiritual Sense underwent a great transformation. His perception became sharper, his Spiritual Sense Power became purer and vaster, and he moved a step closer to the late stage of the Soldier Realm.

The Mutated Yuan Crystal in front of him grew smaller and smaller. Jiang Xincheng’s entire body had been burned away and then reforged. As the Mutated Yuan Crystal shrank to the size of a palm, Jiang Xincheng completed his transformation. At that moment, the palm-sized Mutated Yuan Crystal suddenly turned into a strange, eerie blood-red flame. It erupted suddenly and, catching Jiang Xincheng off guard, enveloped his entire body, burning fiercely…