41: Chapter 41 Evolution, Shadowwood Serpent!

The next day, in the dead of night, the moonlight was like water.

Lin Fan sat cross-legged on the bed with two jade boxes placed before him.

One box contained a moonlight herb; its pale silver leaves shimmered under the moonlight as if coated in a layer of frost.

The other box held a Shadow Snake Gallbladder, the size of a fist and pitch-black all over, with faint dark patterns flowing across its surface.

Xiao Zhuang crawled down from his wrist and coiled up on the pillow, its vertical pupils fixed intently on the two boxes, flicking its tongue much faster than usual.

"What's the rush? No one's going to take them from you."

Lin Fan took a deep breath and picked up the moonlight herb.

His left eye grew slightly warm, and lines of information emerged.

[moonlight herb]: Low-grade Spiritual Plant, containing pure moonlight power, suitable for Armor Spirits that evolve at night. For best efficacy, it should be fed directly under moonlight.

Lin Fan looked up out the window.

The moonlight was perfect tonight, with silvery-white light spilling through the window.

He held the moonlight herb to Xiao Zhuang's mouth.

"Eat this first."

Xiao Zhuang opened its mouth, bit into the moonlight herb, and slowly swallowed it.

A pale silver glow radiated from within its body, and faint moonlight flowed between the gaps of its scales.

Xiao Zhuang's body began to glow.

Lin Fan didn't stop and picked up the Shadow Snake Gallbladder.

[Shadow Snake Gallbladder]: Core material of the Mystic Spirit Superior Armor Beast, the Shadow Snake. It contains dense shadow power and can stimulate an Armor Spirit's stealth and speed talents.

Must be fed after the moonlight herb's effects are fully absorbed; otherwise, the two powers will conflict.

Lin Fan stared at Xiao Zhuang, his left eye warming slightly.

[Current Status]: Absorbing moonlight power, progress 40%... 60%... 80%...

He waited patiently.

Moonlight bathed Xiao Zhuang, its entire body shimmering with a faint silver light. Its originally green scales now looked as if they were coated in frost, possessing an ethereal beauty.

[Absorption Complete: 100%]

Lin Fan immediately picked up the Shadow Snake Gallbladder and offered it to Xiao Zhuang.

"Quick!"

Xiao Zhuang swallowed it in one gulp.

Instantly, silver and black light erupted simultaneously!

Xiao Zhuang's body trembled violently as the silver moonlight power and black shadow power clashed wildly inside it. Its scales alternated between silver-white and pitch-black, flashing repeatedly.

Lin Fan gritted his teeth, pressed his left hand onto Xiao Zhuang, and poured in source energy frantically.

"Steady!"

He closed his eyes as the information in his left eye flickered rapidly in his mind.

[Dual-attribute energy conflict detected, guiding Fusion...]

[Guiding Route: Use moonlight power as the foundation and shadow power as the edge, circulating them alternately along the Meridians...]

[Note: source energy supply must remain stable during the Fusion process; do not interrupt!]

Lin Fan took a deep breath and, following the guidance, funneled his source energy bit by bit.

He could feel the two forces within Xiao Zhuang shifting from violent clashing to mutual testing, and then to slow Fusion under the guidance of his source energy.

The silver and black lights began to intertwine.

Xiao Zhuang's body began to change.

Its scales became finer and denser, their color gradually shifting from green to a peculiar greenish-black that glinted coldly in the moonlight.

Its size was increasing; originally only as thick as a pinky finger, it was now as thick as a thumb, noticeably larger as it coiled on the pillow.

The most obvious change was its head.

Two small bumps protruded from the top of its head as if something were about to grow out. Its eyes changed from ordinary vertical pupils to a deep, ghostly green that glowed faintly in the dark.

The light lasted for a full five minutes.

Then it gradually dissipated.

Lin Fan withdrew his hand, gasping for air.

He looked down at the back of his hand as lines of information appeared.

[Contracted Armor Beast evolved successfully!]

[Species]: Shadow Wood Spirit Snake

[Aptitude]: Mystic Spirit Superior (Limit: high-tier god spirit)

[Rank]: Rank 18 (Rank remains unchanged after evolution)

[Attributes]: Wood/Dark

[Armorizable]: Left Hand

[Post-Evolution Armor Skills]:

Shadow Wood Thorn (Shoots wood thorns containing shadow power from the left hand; can penetrate defenses and cause continuous corrosion upon hitting)

Wood Shadow Stealth (Melds into trees or shadows to hide; movement speed increased by 50%)

Spiked Poison Fang (Toxin potency greatly increased, while adding a shadow erosion effect that can weaken target defenses)

Shadow Wood Clone (Consumes a portion of source energy to create a Clone with 30% of the original's strength, lasting 30 seconds)

[Current Evolution Path]:

Can evolve into Shadow Wood Python (Earth Spirit Lower) at Rank 28. Requires devouring Shadow Fruit ×3, Thousand-Year Wood Core ×1, and Shadow Snake King Gallbladder ×1.

Hidden Path: Rank 28 requirement. If Moonlight Essence ×1 and shadow flood dragon scale ×1 are devoured on a night of the full moon, it can evolve into Moon Shadow Wood Flood Dragon (earth spirit superior), gaining a thin Dragon Clan Bloodline.

[Evaluation]: A rare dual-attribute evolution path. The Wood element provides vitality and control, while the Dark element provides stealth and burst potential.

The Shadow Wood Spirit Snake's combat power doubles at night or in forest terrain. It is a powerful Armor Spirit capable of both assassination and control.

Lin Fan stared at the text, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up.

As expected of a hidden evolution path, it truly is extraordinary.

Its Aptitude is now Mystic Spirit Superior.

And it has gained the Dark attribute.

Regarding skills, the original skills have not only been significantly enhanced,

But two new skills, Wood Shadow Stealth and Shadow Wood Clone, have also been added.

One must know that usually, only Earth Spirit Rank Armor Spirits have four skills.

Yet Xiao Zhuang, despite being only at the Mystic Spirit Rank, now has four skills as well.

Lin Fan looked at Xiao Zhuang with a grin.

Xiao Zhuang was also looking up at him with its vertical pupils, flicking its tongue.

Its body had grown larger, coiling on the pillow like a loop of greenish-black rope.

Lin Fan reached out and stroked its head.

"How do you feel?"

Xiao Ying moved and crawled up his arm, wrapping itself around his wrist again.

But this time, it was no longer a thin string; it was a full circle thicker and significantly heavier, feeling substantial as it coiled around his wrist.

Lin Fan looked down at Xiao Zhuang on his wrist, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

He suddenly remembered something and, with a thought, looked at the back of his hand.

[Detected that the host successfully guided a contracted Armor Spirit's evolution, completing a specific task.]

[Obtained source energy points: 160 points.]

[Current source energy: 320 points.]

Lin Fan was stunned.

160 points?

When he helped Lin Yuwei and Tang Tang evolve, he had worked himself to exhaustion just to get 80 points.

This time, evolving Xiao Ying himself directly gave him 160 points?

He stared at the text for several seconds, then laughed.

"So this broken record actually plays favorites? When my own Armor Spirit evolves, the reward doubles, huh?"

The words on the back of his hand flashed as if responding: "What else did you expect?"

In a great mood, Lin Fan leaned against the headboard and watched the moonlight outside.

During this time, he had also helped others evolve some Armor Spirits while running the shop.

However, since they were all mortal spirit rank evolutions, the source energy points given were pitifully few.

But adding today's 100 source energy points, he was now only 680 points away from the 1000 points needed to open the fourth armor aperture.

He had finally accumulated one-third.

Opening the next armor aperture wasn't far off.