Chapter 25: Non-Human
Lu Li looked at the two modules in his hand, which had been extracted from the Phantasmal Nightmare: one from the ghost slave and the other from the luminescent fruit-bearing plant. These two modules were the Rule Module: Connection, and the Special Module: Core.
The luminescent fruits were essentially the core of the spirit slaves. They were connected to the spirit saves, providing faith to the tiger and supporting the undying body of the South Mountain Tiger, so it wasn't surprising that these two modules dropped.
Additionally, Lu Li had a few spare modules: Rule Modules for Granting, Solidifying, Stabilizing, and Integrating, as well as Control Module: Language and Special Module: Space. The Granting and Solidifying modules had nearly collapsed due to Lu Li's repeated improper operations, integrating modules into the mask. The Space Module was now used by Lu Li as a small storage space, and the Language Module had been replaced from the Shadow Spear.
Before starting the instance, Lu Li had replaced the Control Module of the Shadow Spear with a Mental Module and added a Speed Module, making the skill faster in both activation and the flight speed of the Shadow Spear.
With this, Lu Li used up all his game points. His current stats were as follows:
**ID: YZ0135**
**Physical Assessment: 1.99+0.89; Life Energy Derivative: 0.2.**
**Soul Assessment: 3.34; Mental Energy Derivative: 2.98; Shadow Mana: 9.95.**
**Innate Abilities: Extreme Control; Dark Vision;**
**Factor Heart: An unknown entity has fused with your heart, allowing it to absorb legendary factors, granting special abilities. Current progress: 1/100;**
**Shadow Bloodline: Shadow mana induces gene mutation, increasing affinity with shadows.**
**Self-Learned Skills: Assassination Steps; Short Blade Mastery;**
**Healing Potion: Creates a potion containing "insects" for healing; Madness Curse: Creates a curse mark that can drive a person insane;**
**Bronze Tree Ritual: You have mastered the ritual of using the Bronze Tree.**
**Basic Ability: Aberrant Shadow (Unknown mutation in progress).**
**Skill Slots: Tranquil Meditation (7); Fear Touch (8); Shadow Spear (9); Scout Eye (7).**
**Inventory: Shadow Mask*9 (7+1); Idle Modules*8; Activated Float 2/3.**
**Game Points: 0**
**Evaluation: You are just one step away from being non-human in every sense.**
Unknowingly, Lu Li's strength had increased significantly. This growth rate was extremely fast; this instance was only his fourth, and other players would be considered exceptional if their strength was half of his after four instances.
Lu Li lay quietly on his bed, holding the Special Module: Core in his hand. Shadow mana continuously infused into it, enveloping it. He then pressed his hand to his heart, allowing the module to be integrated with his heart through the shadow mana. His already aberrant heart underwent another mutation.
The Factor Heart absorbed the Core Module, gradually transforming into a magical organ. Lu Li's shadow mana, circulating through his body, was entirely absorbed into it. With each heartbeat, as blood flowed, the shadow mana dispersed into the blood. Lu Li was now a complete magical being; his blood contained mana. Using his blood to write shadow magic runes would increase their effectiveness by about ten percent.
Lu Li's heart became his unequivocal core, and its importance continued to grow. Over time, the importance of other organs would be absorbed by this heart. At that point, as long as his heart remained intact, Lu Li would be immortal.
Some shadow mana merged into his blood, circulating throughout his body, passing through every part of him, and then returning to his heart. As dawn approached, Lu Li nicked his thumb with his fingernail, causing a few drops of blood to fall onto the wooden table. The bright red blood didn't spread but instead glowed with a dim light like pearls.
Looking at the drops of blood, Lu Li smiled. He was becoming less and less human. Recalling the characters he had recorded on the Deep Diver's altar, Lu Li pressed his finger into the blood and drew a character stroke by stroke.
The dim light shone on the character, but nothing happened. Lu Li's writing wasn't incorrect; the character was simply incomplete and might require a companion to be effective.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the table. The character glowing with dim light emitted some black smoke before turning into useless bloodstains.
Lu Li extended his hand into the sunlight. The morning light stung his pale skin like needles. After a while, black smoke rose, and his skin bore charred black marks.
Nodding, Lu Li understood that as he continued to transform, becoming more like a shadow magic being, the phenomenon of being repelled by light would intensify. One day, sunlight might become a fatal weakness, but conversely...
Lu Li's hand withdrew into the shadow. The charred black marks healed rapidly, shedding a layer of dead skin. The shadow would become his absolute support, or rather, he would become the master of the shadow.
The clothes Lu Li wore were no longer the ones he had woven with mana initially, but those provided by the Zhou family. After all, maintaining clothes formed by shadow mana and resisting sunlight was not easy. He then requested an oil-paper umbrella from the villagers, using it to shield himself from the sun.
However, Lu Li discovered that even though the oil-paper umbrella blocked direct sunlight, some harmful factors still penetrated the umbrella and reached him. As a result, Lu Li had to infuse shadow mana into the umbrella and his clothes.
When Zhou Chu saw Lu Li, the scene was like this: A young man with delicate, medium-length hair, dressed in a black-patterned hanfu, with three stacked ghost masks hanging from his waist, holding an oil-paper umbrella adorned with black patterns. The darkness seemed to envelop him, making the young man's figure eerie and indistinct. Seeing him would immediately evoke a sense of dread and terror.
The villagers didn't have Zhou Chu's keen perception, but they could still sense the ominous aura around Lu Li, so no one dared to approach him. Instead, they cautiously offered Zhou Chu some mountain goods as a token of gratitude.
Zhou Chu, being straightforward, frowned as he approached Lu Li and asked, "Yingzhi, what's with your strange appearance?"
Lu Li smiled and replied, "It's nothing serious. It's the result of my secret cultivation, which makes me dislike light and prefer darkness. Everything comes with a price, right? I have it under control."
"As long as you have it under control. If it becomes too dangerous, it might be better to follow my martial arts training," Zhou Chu suggested. He had seen Lu Li summon the Shadow Spear and knew that Lu Li had some magical abilities. In this era, magic wasn't unheard of, with the most famous example being Zhang Jiao, the General of Heaven from the Taiping Yellow Turban Rebellion a few years ago.
Afterward, Zhou Chu bid farewell to the villagers and hired two brave ones to place the corpse of the South Mountain Tiger on a cart, intending to push it back to Yangxian City to publicize Zhou Chu's deed of eliminating the threat and improve his reputation.
Meanwhile, on Lu Li's status panel, his physical attribute, which was stuck at 1.99, was constantly flickering, seemingly on the verge of a breakthrough.