Chapter 130: Transformation
The other aberrants were drooling over the small red shard, and naturally, the Little Aberrant wasn’t immune to that either. However, compared to hunger and desire, it was more concerned about Xu Zhi. So it remained rational and didn’t fight with the others for it.
This alone showed that the Little Aberrant had indeed grown smarter after reaching level 30. If this had happened before, it would’ve been like a wild horse off its reins by now.
Hearing Xu Zhi tell it to eat the shard it had long been craving, the Little Aberrant was so excited its emotions nearly overflowed. The moment the words left her mouth, it opened its mouth wide without hesitation, just waiting for Xu Zhi to feed it.
Even though the situation was dire, Xu Zhi couldn’t help the slight twitch of her mouth.
This little guy…
Xu Zhi had considered the possibility of something going wrong if the Little Aberrant ate the shard—but she didn’t have time to overthink. Whatever. Let it eat first.
And the shard, which no one else could even touch, floated easily into the Little Aberrant’s pitch-black “mouth” after passing through Xu Zhi’s hand. Once she confirmed her Familiar had swallowed it successfully, the last bit of rationality she had left was finally drawn back in. She could no longer focus on what was happening outside.
The fragment inside her had only just settled down after she sacrificed the [Cup], but now it stirred again.
Xu Zhi couldn’t figure out what this fragment was doing. It felt like it was blindly crashing around inside her, trying to find a way out—or perhaps looking for something. Whatever it was doing, it wasn’t behaving.
And it was making her miserable.
The shard radiated scorching heat, as if it were burning her internal organs to ashes. Beyond the pain, there was an eerie feeling of being watched, scrutinized.
Letting this continue didn’t seem like a good idea. Her body wouldn’t hold out under this kind of burning. Her meridians and organs were on the verge of collapse. Xu Zhi felt frustrated—she had already sacrificed the [Cup], so why wouldn’t this thing settle down?
In her mind, a familiar voice said:
“Don’t rush.”
A faint light began to emerge inside her, and the shard instantly darted toward it like it had caught a scent. The moment the light and shard touched, a strange ripple burst from the meeting point of the two energies, washing through her entire body. Xu Zhi’s consciousness briefly blurred. She seemed to glimpse some brilliant scene—but forgot it entirely the next second.
Coming back to her senses, she had a vague feeling that she had gained something.
Inside her, the light shard no longer rampaged, but grew gentle and docile, slowly merging with her body.
Xu Zhi stared in surprise at the sight, and because of that, she missed the massive change happening outside.
—
After the Little Aberrant ate the red shard fragment, its dry, withered body rapidly grew and expanded, like a seed being catalyzed. In just a few dozen seconds, it had grown into a towering black tree nearly twenty meters tall, with a thick trunk and lush leaves, golden patterns etched across its body.
It no longer looked like an aberrant, but more like an ancient tree full of mystery and strangeness.
But it was still growing. This wasn’t its limit. Its roots floated slightly in the air, unclear where they were anchored.
“Seal the rift.”
Xu Zhi’s voice echoed in the aberrant’s mind. In the next moment, now fully tree-like, the aberrant drove its floating roots straight into the rift.
“—No!”
“Stop it now!”
In a daze, Xu Zhi heard something shouting.
As if realizing something had gone terribly wrong, the shadowy figures lurking in the rift began slamming frantically against its “membrane,” desperately trying to break through.
“How could she—?!”
“She’s almost succeeded. We’ve failed.”
“No! How could she know—?”
“This was an unforeseen accident? Who is she? Remember her face!”
“Break through!”
“Break through!”
“…Wait for the next opportunity.”
“You all deserve to die!”
“Die?”
“Staying here—we’re not even alive!”
“Don’t worry. Soon.”
Chaotic, overlapping voices flooded Xu Zhi’s mind. The beings inside the rift seemed to have fallen into internal conflict. Xu Zhi didn’t understand why this was happening or what exactly she had done.
But—
To make these beings, who had claimed “there’s nothing to worry about,” now scream in impotent fury—That felt amazing.
Just as she was basking in that “small victory” high, her consciousness slipped again. Xu Zhi repeatedly drifted in and out, each time waking for only a moment. With every awakening, her body seemed to have changed slightly—but before she could process it, she fell asleep again.
—
Outside, the Little Aberrant had grown to nearly thirty meters tall. Its trunk and roots completely sealed the rift. And the moment the rift was shut, a soul-piercing scream seemed to be trapped deep inside it.
Black mist, carried by a howling wind, surged toward the still-growing aberrant. It drank in the black mist like nutrients, inhaling it all. At a glance, it looked like black rivers flowing into its body.
It grew until it blocked out the sun.
Yet in front of it, suspended in midair, floated a girl shrouded in a gentle light.
The light had once been moon-colored but was slowly tinged with pale gray. Over time, it subtly changed form. The girl floated, enveloped in this soft gray glow like moth wings.
Her long black hair shimmered like waves under the light. From afar, the entire scene looked equal parts enchanting and divine.
In the center of the city, all the aberrants fell silent. They bowed their heads toward the towering aberrant tree in quiet submission.
At this point, “Little Aberrant” was no longer an appropriate term. Over time, it had grown into a towering hundred-meter-tall black-gold tree, its branches wrapped in dark and golden hues. Several small black fruits had begun to form among the branches, though they were still immature and would need time to ripen.
—
No one knew how long had passed before Xu Zhi finally stirred from her stupor again. She tried to open her eyes but found her eyelids heavy. She tried to move her limbs but felt as though she were wrapped inside a cocoon.
The cocoon was bright, warm, and incredibly comfortable—so much so that she almost didn’t want to “break out.”
But she had to get out eventually.
So Xu Zhi flailed clumsily, using her limbs to tear at the cocoon around her. But it was no use. This wasn’t a material that could simply be torn open.
At this moment, she felt like she had returned to her infancy—but with a difference. When the “primitive” approach didn’t work and she was too tired to keep struggling, Xu Zhi began to consider other solutions.
