Chapter 077: The Bat’s Lair (Third Update—Seeking Recommendations)

In the pitch-black, damp cavern, a dense swarm of bats and demonized bats surged toward the group of nine. For an instant, they froze, locked in a rigid stillness. Nie Han and Le Feng’s hearts trembled, sensing an intangible spiritual pressure far beyond the realm of ordinary beings.

That pressure felt as though it emanated from a primordial dragon, exuding a draconic might that could awe all creatures under heaven. At the source of that aura hovered a slender, balanced figure, his posture arching in midair like a dragon—serpentine, yet not a snake; draconic, yet not a dragon.

For a fleeting moment, he became the very center of the world, elevating the power of flesh, bone, and life force to its zenith, transforming it into a formless, intangible spiritual intimidation. In that instant, Xu Xuan profoundly sensed his own strength: the human body, with flesh and blood, could unleash such astonishing power.

He felt himself crossing a critical threshold, on the verge of breaking through a certain barrier. Under this unprecedented pressure, Xu Xuan was forced to employ the technique of the Ninth Transformation, the “Awe” formula. His spirit ascended to an unprecedented height, and he was on the cusp of a breakthrough.

Was this to be the moment to seize, to shatter the final shackle of the Dragon-Serpent Transformation?

Yet, Xu Xuan was keenly aware that sustaining such a state of mind consumed an unfathomable amount of energy and blood with every passing instant. If he pushed for a breakthrough now, he might reach the final stage utterly spent—an extremely perilous condition in this unknown environment.

The immediate priority was to resolve the crisis.

With this thought, his perceptions shifted; that overwhelming spiritual force, which had frozen countless creatures, abruptly vanished. The power of his vital energy and blood returned to his body, swiftly gathering and reverting from the Ninth Transformation to the Eighth.

He crouched slightly, arms spread wide, chest swelling, eyes blazing like torches. He opened his mouth and roared.

A thunderous, tempestuous howl erupted from him, reverberating even beyond the cavern’s entrance. Centered on Xu Xuan, a fierce gale swept outward in all directions, and from his mouth surged an invisible wave of sound, crashing into the swarming bats above.

In that instant, he resembled a barbaric king standing amidst an ancient storm, the winds howling around him, faint flashes of lightning flickering above his head. In sheer momentum and majesty, it even surpassed the “Awe” technique of the Ninth Transformation.

A moment later, countless bats overhead bled from every orifice, and several nearby demonized bats were shattered outright by the force.

One after another, the bodies of bats fell like rain from the air, and in an instant, rivers of blood flowed across the ground.

At the entrance of the mine, only Xu Xuan remained, standing alone amid a sea of corpses and blood. The others—save for Nie Han and Le Feng—had all been knocked unconscious by the storming wave, not even realizing what had occurred.

Despite his precise control of the “Howl” technique, with most of the sound wave aimed skyward, had he directed it lower, few would have survived in their exhausted state.

Having unleashed these mighty techniques, Xu Xuan was left pale and unsteady. Fortunately, only a few terrified bats remained, fleeing toward the cave mouth, posing no further threat.

Le Feng and Nie Han rose slowly, immediately swallowing restorative pills. Their gazes toward Xu Xuan were complicated—they had never imagined that, in the end, the one to save them all would be the weakest “body-refining commoner” among them.

Body-refining commoner?

The two already harbored suspicions. Possessing such abilities, and clearly not a sword or immortal cultivator, he must be a martial practitioner.

“Who would have thought that Junior Brother Xu would enter the Immortal Sect by following the path of martial cultivation!” Le Feng sighed with a hint of self-mockery. “But in truth, we must thank you for saving our lives.”

“You have my deepest gratitude. I, Nie Han, owe you a great debt,” Nie Han said, his face as cold and stern as ever, before closing his eyes in meditation.

In truth, even Xu Xuan was surprised by the power unleashed in the final move of the “Howl” technique—it had nearly annihilated hundreds of bats in one strike. He wondered if perhaps the “Howl” formula was a natural counter to these sound-wave-wielding bats.

He swallowed a restorative pill and sat cross-legged to recover, as a voice from the remnant of his past life echoed in his mind: "What a pity, you were only one step away from completing the Ninth Transformation."

In that life-or-death moment, Xu Xuan’s spirit had indeed reached the threshold of the final breakthrough—a rare opportunity. Yet he chose safety, and to protect Junior Sister Yu Qin, he unleashed the final move of the “Howl” technique, wiping out hundreds of bats.

“Awake again, are you?” The remnant soul’s tone was tinged with regret, but Xu Xuan himself did not regret his choice. With this breakthrough, completing the Ninth Transformation was now only a matter of time; there would be no further bottleneck.

“Very well, with the Ninth Transformation so close, your success is all but certain,” the remnant soul sighed.

“Why do they take me for a martial cultivator?” Xu Xuan suddenly asked.

“The ‘Nine Transformations of Dragon and Serpent’ is an ancient body-cultivation foundation technique, quite similar to the martial path. The former emphasizes the self, perfecting the physical body to its utmost; doubting neither heaven nor earth, relying on strength alone to seek the Dao. The latter also takes the body as its root, ascending the martial way with the ideal of unity with heaven and earth, shattering the void, ultimately relying on external cosmic forces. I’ll explain the difference in detail another time.”

Xu Xuan’s mind trembled at this—ancient body cultivation?

“Does this mean I’ve stepped onto the path of body-cultivation?” he asked anxiously. The power of the later transformations in the “Nine Transformations of Dragon and Serpent” already rivaled that of true cultivators.

“Hmph, you haven’t even opened the door to true body-cultivation. At best, you’re still a mere body-refining commoner,” the remnant soul sneered.

This response left Xu Xuan rather vexed. His current strength could nearly match an ordinary immortal, yet he had not even entered the true body-cultivation path.

“Don’t lose heart. Body-cultivation in later generations has strayed far from its true essence. Since the end of the primordial age, there have been no real body-cultivators in this world…” The remnant soul heaved a long sigh and fell silent.

No true body-cultivators since the end of the primordial age? Xu Xuan pondered these words, faint suspicions forming in his mind.

After a brief rest, Le Feng and Nie Han roused themselves and awakened the unconscious companions.

All nine had sustained some measure of injury. Upon waking, the others were confused and uneasy. At the peak of crisis, as hundreds of bats had surged into view, Xu Xuan’s “Awe” technique had lasted but an instant. When he unleashed the “Howl,” everyone else had been knocked out and seen nothing clearly.

“What happened before we blacked out?” Wan Fushan surveyed the ground, still wet with blood from the bat corpses, his face pale with terror.

“I think I heard Senior Brother Xu let out a great roar, and then I lost consciousness…” Yu Qin, still shaken, looked at Xu Xuan with new admiration.

The others—Yang Xiaoqian, Wan Fushan, Senior Brother Lin, and more—regarded Xu Xuan with a mix of confusion and awe.

Xu Xuan remained silent, and so did Le Feng and Nie Han. Before awakening the rest, Xu Xuan had reached an agreement with the two: what happened next was to remain as secret as possible.

“Hurry, everyone! Senior Brother Yun is still holding off the Bat King outside. We must at least excavate the purple rock crystals from this mine,” Le Feng urged.

Everyone rushed into the mine, taking out magical tools and implements to begin their work. The young bats above were left alone.

Soon, under their concerted efforts, the purple rock crystals were extracted.

Only Nie Han remained unmoved, sitting cross-legged to recover. The other two disciples from the Sword Sect only took a few token pieces before returning to Nie Han’s side.

Seeing this, Le Feng relaxed—now, with Xu Xuan, a powerful martial practitioner, even Nie Han would have to reconsider any plans, especially since Xu Xuan had just saved them all.

After the main vein was mined, all was handed to Le Feng for safekeeping and later division. Each person then set to mining additional purple rock ore for themselves; with such abundance, the more effort, the greater the reward.

While the others toiled, Xu Xuan examined the mine, his eyes glinting as he slipped into the interwoven bat nests above.

Inside, with no adult bats remaining, he moved unimpeded. Deeper within, he found more veins of the purple rock crystal growing from the stone walls.

“No wonder these bats were so much stronger than normal, and so many were demonized—they lived amid these spirit minerals,” Xu Xuan thought. But, lacking a suitable magical tool, and knowing the crystals would be divided anyway, he did not attempt to mine them himself.

As he scanned the darkness, his gaze soon rested on an enormous concave stone platform, entirely composed of purple rock crystal.

The hollowed section was several meters across—could this be the Bat King’s resting place?

Suddenly, a strange sound issued from the hollow. Xu Xuan looked closer and saw a tiny demonized bat baring its fangs at him, full of wariness.

So young, and already demonized—this was likely the Bat King’s offspring.

“Heh, such a demonized cub would be perfect for taming and raising. It might even fetch a handsome price in spirit coins,” Xu Xuan mused, smiling as he darted forward and easily captured the tiny, sparrow-sized bat.

The little creature struggled fiercely, but to no avail.

Then, Xu Xuan’s eyes narrowed. Where the young bat had lain, there was a thumb-sized purple crystal bead, gleaming like a precious gem, radiating a unique aura of spiritual energy…