Super Gene Ⅱ: Evolution

The corpse of the Soul Collector was too massive, and even in its giant state after turning into Death Powder, it still couldn't be completely swallowed whole.

Using its mouthparts, it ground down the Soul Collector's corpse little by little, ingesting it, a process that was exceedingly slow.

Lin Shen stood by, drinking the Mutated Base Mutation Fluid he had just obtained, as his watch continually displayed the message: "Ingesting Base Mutation Fluid, Base Mutation Rate +0".

It wasn't until the effects of Evolution Theory kicked in that he finally started to see the message: "Base Mutation Rate +1".

As Lin Shen drank the Base Mutation Fluid, he pondered the Rod Skill he had learned from the angler.

With Yi Jingren's guidance, Lin Shen had gained a deeper understanding; the Rod Skill was a blend of firmness and flexibility, but the focus was not on the firmness or the flexibility, but rather on one word: burst.

Yes, the most crucial point of the mystifying skill was the word "burst", which referred to explosive strength.

The most important aspect of the Rod Skill, the casting technique, ultimately aimed to concentrate the strongest force into one point and unleash the most powerful burst of strength.

No matter how many setups there were beforehand, they were all to add momentum, constantly stacking up to prepare for the final burst.

The setup was for the burst, and the burst was the inevitable result of layers upon layers of buildup.

As long as one learned how to properly set up and burst, they could cast out a strength that surpassed their own limits.

Of course, there were also individual techniques like casting, wrapping, suspending, and releasing, which were more complex and could only be practiced slowly over time.

The setup and burst were the core; the other techniques were secondary. Once the core was mastered, the rest could be gradually integrated.

The reason Yi Jingren felt that Lin Shen was getting worse with more practice was because Lin Shen realized this principle, setting aside the secondary techniques to focus on the core.

Since he had not yet mastered the core but had abandoned the secondary techniques, naturally, it appeared he was getting worse with practice.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Death Powder finally managed to consume the entirety of the Soul Collector's corpse.

The next second, Lin Shen saw countless red filaments burrow out from within Death Powder's body, enveloping its massive form.

The red filaments interwove and continuously constricted, making its body smaller and smaller, until it eventually transformed into a tiny, dark-red Pet Capsule.

"Finally, it's evolving. This time, it should be turning into a Crystal Base," Lin Shen thought joyfully, picking up the Pet Capsule that Death Powder had become.

Although Death Powder's abilities could rival those of a Crystal-based Creature, the distinct disadvantage of its Alloy Attribute was evident. In the face of many powerful Crystal-based Creatures, the Alloy Level Death Powder's effectiveness was not particularly pronounced due to its lower attribute.

This evolution into a Crystal Base should solve that problem for Death Powder.

Picking up Death Powder, Lin Shen then took stock of the items he had scavenged from Tian Xin.

Seven Mutated Crystal Mutation Eggs, five Pet Launchers with firing speeds between 38 and 40, likely the same kind used by sub-legion commanders.

Three Mutated Crystal Base pets and seventeen Crystal Base pets, along with dozens of various other creatures, and even some Base Mutation Fluid, which turned out to be Mutated Base Mutation Fluid.

Among the three Mutated Crystal Base pets, one was a Red Crystal God Bull, with Attributes and skills almost identical to Lin Shen's.

The other two mutants were the Blood Jade Mountain God and Azure Moon Blade Hand.

Blood Jade Mountain God: Mutated Crystal Base Creature (evolvable).

Strength: 40.2.

Speed: 41.

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Hardness: 40.6.

Toughness: 32.

Base Mutation Talent: Mutated Blood Sacrifice, Mutated Blessing.

The Blood Jade Mountain God caught Lin Shen's attention; although this mutated pet only had two innate skills, they were nevertheless quite strange.

Mutated Blood Sacrifice: Absorbs blood offerings to enhance the blessing capabilities of the Blood Jade Mountain God.

Mutated Blessing: Blesses a target with a Mountain God Aura, whose strength is determined by the potency of the Blood Sacrifice.

The attributes of the Blood Jade Mountain God were not particularly strong among Mutated Crystal Bases, but these two skills were very interesting.

Lin Shen roughly tested it and found that it was not only human blood that could activate Mutated Blood Sacrifice—Base Mutation Fluid from Base Variant Creatures could also do the trick.

The Blood Jade Mountain God was only palm-sized, resembling a mountain god sculpted from blood jade, looking quite bizarre and even somewhat frightening.

As long as Base Mutation Fluid or blood was poured over it, it would absorb it into its body. The higher the level and quality of the Base Mutation Fluid it absorbed, the stronger the blessing of the Mountain God Aura would be.

To say it's Mountain God Aura is actually to apply a layer of blood-colored film to the Base Variant Carapace, enhancing its ability to withstand hits.

This film does not directly raise hardness and toughness; it's akin to applying a protective film on glass, preventing the glass underneath from shattering as easily.

The strength of this protective film is determined by the level and quantity of the Base Mutation Fluid used for the Blood Sacrifice.

"If that's the case, then if I use Ascension Liquid for the Blood Sacrifice, could I obtain an Ascension Level membrane?" Lin Shen wondered, taking out the Ascension Liquid he carried and dripping some onto the Blood Jade Mountain God.

The moment the Ascension Liquid touched the Blood Jade Mountain God, Lin Shen immediately saw its eyes bulge, the bloodline on its forehead split open, and its body trembled violently.

Lin Shen had assumed it was just a bloodline, only now realizing it was actually a blood-colored eye without a pupil.

As the Ascension Liquid merged, a bloody light gradually shone from the vertical eye on the Blood Jade Mountain God's forehead, the light growing brighter and brighter.

Once the Blood Jade Mountain God stopped trembling, Lin Shen had it activate the Mutated Blessing skill.

A red light shot out from the vertical eye of the Blood Jade Mountain God, falling on Lin Shen and immediately coating his carapace with a layer of blood-colored film.

This film turned Lin Shen's carapace blood-red, which looked quite chilling, as if dyed with fresh blood.

Summoning a Mutated Black Armored Centipede, he had it bite his arm's carapace. With a crack, only some marks appeared on the Alloy Level carapace—it had not been penetrated.

Lin Shen was overjoyed. Since the Mutated Black Armored Centipede could bite into it, it meant the Blood Sacrifice didn't have enough Ascension Liquid. With a sufficient amount of Ascension Liquid for the Blood Sacrifice, the Mountain God Aura would only be stronger.

Lin Shen immediately took out more Ascension Liquid and dripped it onto the Blood Jade Mountain God, trying to let it absorb as much as possible.

However, after only a few drops, a cracking sound was heard, and cracks appeared around the vertical eye of the Blood Jade Mountain God, which startled Lin Shen into stopping immediately.

It turned out the Blood Jade Mountain God had a limit to the energy it could absorb; it couldn't handle too much of something high-grade like Ascension Liquid.

Fortunately, Lin Shen had dripped it slowly; otherwise, he might have caused the Blood Jade Mountain God to burst.

"Five drops of Ascension Liquid is the limit for the Blood Jade Mountain God." Lin Shen could only collect the Blood Jade Mountain God and let it slowly recover from its injuries.

After further study, he found that Mountain God Aura also had a duration, but this was not fixed. The Mountain God Aura created from a Blood Sacrifice with Ascension Liquid lasted exceptionally long and, as long as it wasn't shattered, could easily maintain for over ten hours.

Base Mutation Fluid from steel creatures could only sustain the Mountain God Aura for a few minutes. Regardless of how much was fed, it would at most last for twenty minutes and the defensive abilities were also much weaker.

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