When that ray of golden sunlight and the wisp of purple light entered the crow's body, Qi Ping, who had been in a state of cultivation, opened his eyes.
In his sight, the black, shell-like substance that had formed on the outside of the crow suddenly shattered, revealing the true appearance of the creature after its mutation.
In terms of size, the change wasn't huge; it was only about twenty percent larger than before. However, the feeling Yaya gave off was entirely different. Its feathers were as pitch-black as ever, but they held a completely different quality. Every single feather now looked as though it had been meticulously forged by intense fire, possessing a powerful metallic texture. With just one glance, one could sense the formidable defensive power those feathers carried.
The most obvious change was the flame mark on its brow. The golden light that had been faint before the mutation had now transformed into a golden divine seal branded upon the flame mark. Golden, mysterious lines also appeared on its beak.
The aura of a peak first-rank spirit beast swept outward!
'A Sun-Fire Crow!'
'Yaya has mutated into a Sun-Fire Crow?'
Seeing the crow's state, Qi Ping was instantly shocked!
The Sun-Fire Crow was one of the strongest forms a Li-Fire Crow could mutate into. Li-Fire Crows were not rare in the cultivation world, and spirit beasts with the Golden Crow bloodline were among the most sought-after by beast-taming cultivators. Among second-rank Golden Crow-type bloodlines, the Li-Fire Crow was the most common and affordable, hence its popularity.
Its combat power was indeed extraordinary. Under a beast-tamer's nurturing, a first-rank Li-Fire Crow could explode with combat power exceeding many Qi Refinement cultivators of the same level. Consequently, even an ordinary hatchling cost over three thousand spirit stones. Because so many people raised them, there were well-defined cultivation paths for them in the world.
The most common mutations were the Crimson-Fire Crow, the Candle-Fire Crow, and the Starlight-Fire Crow. These three forms were achieved by using three types of special resources and pills to help the crow undergo a bloodline mutation. With these aids, the bloodline would change according to the resource used. These three paths had the highest success rates, and once successful, the bloodline would jump from low-tier second-rank to high-tier second-rank.
Though still in the second rank, they could almost always be nurtured to the peak of that rank, becoming existence comparable to Foundation Establishment peak cultivators. There would even be further chances for mutation and rank advancement in the future.
Originally, after buying Yaya, Qi Ping had intended to eventually mutate it into a Crimson-Fire Crow. That path was a pure fire-attribute mutation with further forms to guide its growth.
However, beyond those three common forms, there were several rare mutation forms. The Sun-Fire Crow was one of them! It was the form that was most pure and closest to the Golden Crow bloodline!
But the difficulty of mutating into a Sun-Fire Crow ranked in the top three of all paths. Not only did it require spending tens of thousands of spirit stones on precious sun-attribute spirit items and pills, but it also placed extremely high demands on the crow's own latent talent. It was very likely that one could spend all their stones and fail to produce a Sun-Fire Crow, essentially throwing a fortune into the water. This was why the form was so rare.
Yet, if one did manage to produce a Sun-Fire Crow, even within a beast-taming sect, they would be considered an elite genius. Although the Sun-Fire Crow's bloodline was also high-tier second-rank, its combat power could completely crush the Crimson, Candle, and Starlight forms. In fact, even if it never mutated again, it had a significant chance of advancing to the third rank, becoming a creature comparable to a Golden Core cultivator!
This was why Qi Ping was so shocked; he hadn't expected Yaya to mutate directly into a Sun-Fire Crow! Now, as a peak first-rank Sun-Fire Crow, its combat power was not something a normal peak Qi Refinement cultivator could even hope to touch. With the advantage of a high-grade bloodline, the Sun-Fire Crow's power in the early stages was enough to trounce a multitude of human genius cultivators!
'This time, I've truly made a massive profit!'
This was a Sun-Fire Crow that other cultivators might not even get after spending tens of thousands of spirit stones!
[Species: Sun-Fire Crow]
[Bloodline: Second-Rank High-Tier]
[Talents: Sun-Fire Physique, Sun-Fire Flame, Solar Affinity]
Sun-Fire Physique: Carries a trace of the ancient Golden Crow bloodline. Possesses high fire-attribute cultivation talent. Consuming fire-attribute spirit items can rapidly increase strength.
Sun-Fire Flame: Due to the trace of ancient Golden Crow bloodline, a flame with extremely high burning capability has been born, named "Sun-Fire Flame."
Solar Affinity: The bloodline has a high affinity for the sun. It can absorb solar power under the sun to strengthen itself, with a certain chance of mutating into a Solar Physique. After developing a Solar Physique, it can borrow solar power during combat and absorb even more solar power to strengthen the bloodline.
Compared to the Li-Fire Crow, the Sun-Fire Crow's talents had clearly improved. As a highly difficult but pure mutation form, the basic types of talent hadn't changed much, but there were two distinct differences. First, the trace of ancient Golden Crow bloodline was many times stronger than before; this was the most fundamental change. Second, the "Solar Perception" talent had mutated into "Solar Affinity," which not only allowed for more absorption but also offered a chance to develop a Solar Physique.
Once it developed a Solar Physique, the crow could borrow solar power for battle anywhere the sun shone. It could also absorb more power to increase its strength and temper the Golden Crow bloodline in its body.
Moreover, even more delightful to Qi Ping than Yaya's mutation was that his own shared Li-Fire Physique had successfully evolved into a Sun-Fire Physique!
[Shared Talents: Grand Brewer, Sun-Fire Physique]
Qi Ping could now clearly feel the heat in his blood, which was surely caused by the strengthening of that trace of Solar True Fire within it.
'Excellent. I don't need to worry about my cultivation talent before the Golden Core stage. As long as I am cautious and develop steadily, reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment is no longer a matter of suspense.'
This wave could be described in two words: massive profit!
"Caw! (Boss! I succeeded!)"
"Caw! (My bloodline power has increased so much!)"
After completing its mutation, Yaya immediately flew excitedly to Qi Ping to report the good news.
"Very good! Your mutation into a Sun-Fire Crow today was truly beyond my expectations!" Qi Ping looked at the excited bird, his own joy not a bit less than Yaya's.
"Caw! (It's all thanks to the Boss's Century Fire Spirit Honey. The effect was just too good. If not for it, recovering my bloodline would have been a distant dream!)"
"It was mostly your own skill. Any other Li-Fire Crow would be lucky just to recover their bloodline, let alone mutate into a Sun-Fire Crow."
Qi Ping knew that Yaya's success likely owed something to the "Beast King's Grace" talent, but the root cause was still the crow's own exceptional aptitude and fierce will.
"Yaya, how long will it take you to familiarize yourself with your current power?" After a brief chat about the changes, Qi Ping immediately shifted the topic.
"Caw! (Just half an hour will be enough, Boss!)"
"Good. Then familiarize yourself as quickly as possible and prepare for battle."
"Caw! (No problem, Boss!)"
With that, Qi Ping went to make battle deployments. Regarding the secret beneath the Blood Ginseng patch, earlier was better than later; it had to be handled as soon as possible.