Chapter 39: Hundred-Change Mask, Advancement
The light inside the Earth Fire Chamber was dim and hazy. The surrounding sounds of smithing had gradually subsided, making it exceptionally quiet. The other workers had likely drifted off to sleep, and even the fiery heat in the air had weakened.
Zhao Zuo’s muscles suddenly quivered, and the sweat on his skin flew from his body onto the dark ground. He had finished his Body Refining Cultivation. His physique had grown stronger by another sliver.
Aided by a daily diet of ten catties of Demon Beast meat and five catties of Spirit Rice, his Body Refining Cultivation was advancing at a rapid pace. His strength increased by several dozen catties’ worth of force each day, bringing him ever closer to the bottleneck of the Second-Layer of the Golden Body Technique.
The cost of this improvement was 1.5 Spirit Stones per day. To maintain this rate of cultivation, he had to spend a whopping forty-five Spirit Stones a month, equivalent to an entire month’s income from smithing.
Forging eight pieces of Spirit Iron a day to earn Spirit Stones was already Zhao Zuo’s limit. He had other cultivation plans for the rest of his time, such as upgrading his Sky-Breaking Saber and Golden Light Mirror, and repairing Magical Artifacts.
Although his days were hectic, the feeling of growing stronger step by step was far from tedious. In fact, he relished it. Unfortunately, these peaceful days... wouldn’t last long.
Zhao Zuo could feel the flames of the Earth Fire Furnace weakening, like the ebbing of a tide. In winter, the Underground Fire Vein would wane. When that happened, the Earth Fire Hall would concentrate the fire for the Artifact Refiners to use, and apprentices like him would be sent back to the four major districts to fend for themselves.
’The world is a hard place; we must strive tirelessly to better ourselves.’
In the darkness, Zhao Zuo’s gaze grew resolute. He carefully took out four taels of Spiritual Silkworm Silk from his bundle. It was a mass of silver threads, tangled in an extremely chaotic manner but tightly compressed into a fist-sized ball.
If placed in water, the ball would dissolve, breaking down into strands of Spiritual Silkworm Silk as fine as human hair. These could then be drawn out with tools to craft all sorts of Magical Artifacts.
Tonight, Zhao Zuo planned to perform a High Level Advancement on his Hundred-Change Mask. Doing so would grant him the ability to change his body shape, which would make it much more convenient for him to sell the Magical Artifacts he possessed and quickly accumulate wealth.
Zhao Zuo removed the Hundred-Change Mask, which was as thin as a cicada’s wing, from his face. He had been wearing it around the clock, causing its experience value to reach a staggering one hundred thousand before it seemed to hit some kind of limit and stopped increasing.
’High Level Advancement.’
A gray light spread out silently, forming a sphere that isolated the space within.
When the gray light touched the Spiritual Silkworm Silk, it seemed to be affected by some unknown energy and disintegrated out of thin air. Innumerable silver threads filled the entire sphere, writhing like living worms. They undulated according to a specific pattern, staying close to one another without ever colliding. Finally, the silver threads wove themselves into a cocoon within the gray light.
Zhao Zuo gazed at the silver threads, and it was as if he was seeing moonlight. No, it was flowing moonlight.
He had looked up at the moon many times before, but this was the first time he felt so close to it, as if he could reach out and touch that flowing moonlight.
This light obscured Zhao Zuo’s vision, but he could still vaguely perceive the Hundred-Change Mask’s location. He could sense its presence, and its aura was steadily growing stronger. As time passed, the silver threads gradually lost their Spiritual Light and color, as if they were undergoing a process of decay.
Finally, at the bottom of the cocoon, fine gray particles broke away from it and dissipated into the air.
Seeing this, Zhao Zuo was finally certain: this advancement was still a process of consumption. Even though the initial changes were different from what happened with the Clear Heart Jade, their fundamental nature was identical.
The cocoon in the gray light grew smaller and smaller until only the Hundred-Change Mask was left floating in mid-air. Its color had changed from its original, almost skin-like hue to silver. Its surface was now perfectly smooth, like a mirror shimmering with a silver glow.
Suddenly, a golden light shot out from between Zhao Zuo’s eyebrows and merged into the Hundred-Change Mask in mid-air.
Mysterious golden patterns gradually grew across the silver mask, but they seemed to lack momentum, barely managing to cover its left half. With the embellishment of these golden markings, the Hundred-Change Mask took on an air of nobility.
Zhao Zuo made no move, but the Hundred-Change Mask flew into his hand on its own. A transparent interface automatically popped up.
[Upgrade Description: The Hundred-Change Mask can now record seven faces. Infusing it with Mana allows for minor adjustments to height, weight, and aura.]
The transparent panel remained for about three seconds before automatically disappearing.
Immediately after, a new transparent panel appeared.
[Level: Middle Grade Magical Artifact · Hundred-Change Mask]
[Experience: 100000/2000]
[Status: Upgradeable]
[Creation Points: 14.5]
’Upgrade.’
Zhao Zuo was eager to test out the Hundred-Change Mask’s marvelous new abilities after its advancement, but after a moment’s thought, he decided to max out its level first before trying it.
The familiar gray light spread out. Half an hour later, the Hundred-Change Mask reached a point where it could be upgraded no further.
By now, the golden patterns on the silver mask covered the entire left side of its face. The patterns looked as if they were branded onto the surface, like golden vines twisting into complex, esoteric markings. They were somewhat similar to a Spirit Pattern Path, only far more intricate.
Set against the golden patterns, the Hundred-Change Mask appeared even more exquisite and luxurious. The curve of the lips and the height of their protrusion were perfect, displaying an ultimate, demonic beauty that gave the mask an overall air of nobility.
The changes from this advancement weren’t just to the mask’s appearance. Most importantly, its thickness had also changed. The mask was now about three millimeters thick, with a texture approaching that of metal, making it sturdier. Its weight had also changed.
A metallic chill emanated from the mask. As Zhao Zuo ran his fingertip across its surface, he had the strange illusion that the object in his hand had its own temperature and breath, as if it were a living creature.
Zhao Zuo shook his head, casting aside the frightening thought. He placed the Hundred-Change Mask on his face. Though it had no discernible structure on the inside, it fit perfectly against his skin.
The metallic material seemed to melt, transforming into a cool, formless gas that spread throughout his body. An understanding bloomed in Zhao Zuo’s mind. By infusing Mana into the parts of his body where the cool gas was stored, he seemed to gain the ability to change his height.
His bones rearranged, compressing and shifting. His height began to slowly decrease, and his muscles rapidly contracted inward. With a series of crisp cracks from his skeleton, Zhao Zuo went from about 1.8 meters to around 1.67 meters tall, with short legs, broad shoulders, and thick limbs.
Zhao Zuo could only compress about forty catties of his body mass into other parts of his body. The muscle didn’t vanish into thin air but rather transformed and was stored elsewhere. This meant he hadn’t gotten lighter; he had only changed his body shape.
With a flow of Mana, Zhao Zuo’s appearance also changed rapidly. A few freckles appeared on his face, the muscles in his cheeks drew in, and his eyes became sunken and dull... His complexion turned quite dark.
The facial transformation took about ten seconds, while the bodily change required half a minute. Moreover, while maintaining this bone-shrinking state, it was impossible to fight. The transformation made him look like a completely different person. In the future, he wouldn’t have to worry about security when selling Magical Artifacts.
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