107: Breaking Through
Chu Mu, deep within the stone book space, frowned deeply. Chu Jingyu had only recently advanced to the Uncommon Rank Upper Tier.
His Foundation was not yet sufficient, and rashly attempting to Break Through to the Spirit Rank would not be easy. Even if he succeeded, he might face a difficult and frustrating path to further advancement due to his shallow Foundation.
However, in the current situation, there seemed to be no other choice. The Uncommon Rank Upper Tier Realm was no longer enough to handle the upcoming circumstances.
Chu Mu looked at the remaining few hundred Source Spirits, sighed, and poured all of them into empowering Chu Jingyu.
His personal Cultivation efficiency immediately soared to 150%. The most noticeable feeling Chu Jingyu experienced from this Cultivation boost was a clear mind and the ability to absorb the free-floating energy between heaven and earth more quickly.
He could also guide the excess energy to expand the limits of his physical Realm within his body.
During this process, a thin layer of sweat appeared on Chu Jingyu's forehead, indicating that it was not so simple.
The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast lay quietly beside Chu Jingyu, its mung bean-sized eyes now tightly shut, and a faint golden aura floated above its carapace.
This advancement was still primarily focused on the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast. The energy around it and Chu Jingyu intertwined, supplementing both the man and the beast.
Chu Jingyu's other Source Beast, the White-Browed Mountain Eagle, circled quietly above them, constantly vigilant for any potential dangers.
Time passed, slowly, until Qin Hui returned with the five individuals who had just undergone Spirit Opening.
It was so long that thecrack in the back mountain slowly closed, and the multi-colored Colorful Cloud Jellyfish drifted gracefully through the forest, with some even reaching the skies above the Chu family manor.
A thin mist enveloped the forest and mountains, making the presence of the Colorful Cloud Jellyfish seem even clearer.
Chu Qinhui looked at Chu Jingyu, who was meditating in front of the offering table, and then looked at Jiang Nian and the others with a puzzled expression.
Jiang Nian pulled him aside and quietly explained the situation.
A blue Colorful Cloud Jellyfish, nearly seven or eight meters in diameter, floated over the Chu family manor. It seemed that the never-before-seen architecture of the Chu family manor had piqued its curiosity.
Its body descended slightly. Several thick, somewhat transparent tentacles wrapped around the edge of the eaves, and with a gentle lift, the roof beams inside the perfectly fine house were pulled out.
The sound of falling tiles, ‘crackle, crackle,’ was incessant.
The Colorful Cloud Jellyfish continued its actions, pushing aside the entire eaves. It curiously wrapped its tentacles around various pieces of furniture in the room, seemingly examining them with curiosity.
Chu Qinhui and Jiang Nian stood under the eaves of the ancestral hall, while their Source Beasts either crawled or lay coiled in the courtyard, vigilantly watching the Colorful Cloud Jellyfish not far away.
Although they were a major Realm lower, they had a greater variety and number of Source Beasts, which was more than enough to hold it off for a while.
Just then, a chaotic energy storm erupted from Chu Jingyu, radiating outwards.
The hair of Chu Qinhui and the others fluttered outwards from the ancestral hall. The younger Chu Shengyuan and Chu Shenghan were impacted by the energy storm and struggled to stand steady.
This chaotic energy storm also alerted the Colorful Cloud Jellyfish, which had been playing with the furniture. Its movements clearly paused.
A moment later, with a piece of furniture wrapped around each tentacle, including chairs, tables, platforms, and mirrors, it drifted away in the direction opposite the Chu family ancestral hall.
Seeing it leave, Chu Qinhui silently breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this type of Source Beast was gentle and disliked conflict, just as described in the records.
Otherwise, if a fight broke out, they could indeed hold it off for a while, but he feared that the commotion would disturb his father's advancement.
Chu Qinhui's gaze turned to Chu Jingyu inside the ancestral hall, noticing his white hair fluttering upwards without wind, and the golden light on the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast becoming increasingly dazzling.
This golden light gradually formed a giant golden cocoon, enveloping the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast.
Beside Chu Jingyu, colorful threads appeared in the Void Realm around him, then wove around him, and a giant cocoon, somewhat similar to the one on the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, also slowly formed.
The others inside and outside the ancestral hall could no longer see the figures of the man and the beast, only hearing the steady, powerful 'thump, thump, thump' drum-like sounds, similar to heartbeats, echoing throughout the ancestral hall.
Will it succeed?
Chu Qinhui and all the Chu family members under the eaves thought with anticipation.
Another quarter of an hour or so passed.
A pincer much larger than an adult's head broke through the golden giant cocoon. It sliced up and down, splitting the entire cocoon open, and the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, now five or six times larger, crawled out.
The golden giant cocoon transformed into a golden glow that slowly dissipated into the air.
The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast's transformation was not just in its size; its head also increased by five or six times. Its original mung bean-sized eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by three prismatic jade pupils.
When it gazed at a target, there was a startling and awe-inspiring sensation, as if everything could be seen through by it.
The two prismatic jade pupils on its body had completely vanished, and its carapace had become entirely smooth, with only faint, jade-like patterns etched upon it.
Just by standing there, it exuded an unparalleled power, a suppression stemming from its higher life rank.
After the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast 'hatched', it first uncomfortably familiarized itself with its greatly enlarged body.
It blinked its three jade pupils, then obediently lay down beside the colorful giant cocoon where Chu Jingyu was, silently waiting for Chu Jingyu to 'hatch'.
However, ever since the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast completed its metamorphosis, the 'thump, thump, thump' drumming sound echoing throughout the ancestral hall became slower and weaker.
The aura surrounding the colorful giant cocoon also gradually dimmed and weakened. These two changes seemed to indicate that Chu Jingyu's Breakthrough process to the Spirit Rank was turning towards an unfavorable situation.
Seeing this situation, the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, which had been lying down, stood up again, moving uneasily. Its pincers carefully touched the colorful giant cocoon a few times.
It seemed to be hesitating whether to interrupt Chu Jingyu's Breakthrough process.
"Cough, cough."
A light cough came from within the colorful cocoon, and then the 'thump, thump, thump' drumming sound became slow yet powerful. At this moment, the colorful threads forming the giant cocoon slowly turned into a glow and dissipated into the air.
Revealing Chu Jingyu, who had been enveloped within.
Chu Jingyu's appearance had also changed. His originally grizzled hair had now become somewhat grayish-white, and most of the wrinkles, carved by the marks of time on his face, had disappeared.
It was as if, in that brief moment, he had grown decades younger.
However, if one successfully advances to the Spirit Rank, such a change is normal, as a Spirit Rank Contract Master has fully entered another level of life.
Spirit Rank Contract Masters have a lifespan of three hundred years. If this is true, then Chu Jingyu, who is only fifty or sixty years old now, would be equivalent to being one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty years old in that scale, still having over a hundred years of life left, making him a 'young person' in another sense.
(Lifespan after advancement is not simply added, but rather a proportional conversion.
If an ordinary person's maximum lifespan is one hundred years, and they Break Through at twenty years old, it's equivalent to having lived sixty years, leaving them with two hundred and forty years of life.
If they Break Through at sixty years old, it's equivalent to being one hundred and eighty years old after the Breakthrough, leaving them with one hundred and twenty years of life.)
Chu Jingyu curved his lips, but before he could say anything, a mouthful of fresh blood suddenly gushed from his mouth.