Was Xiang Shaoyun dying? No, he wasn't. Rather, he was shedding his skin. Among humans, there was a saying that one could shed one's body and exchange one's bones. But that was only achievable by those who had reached a terrifyingly high level of cultivation. That was a stage where one shed one's old skin and replaced one's organs to bring about a new source of life and form a new living body, recovering one's youthful vigor.
That was a stage only existing in legends.
But this was happening to Xiang Shaoyun right this moment. It was as if his body was tearing apart, but in truth, he was currently shedding his skin and regrowing a new layer of skin. He had merely started on his path of cultivation, yet he was already shedding his skin. This was unimaginable.
Apart from his skin, his organs were also regrowing, his vitality turning vigorous. The newly gained vitality should never be underestimated as it was the very thing that would grant Xiang Shaoyun a lifespan nobody could compare to.
In other words, after this process, even if his cultivation level was to stay the same, he would have a much longer lifespan than any other Astral Realm cultivators. In fact, not even Transformation Realm cultivators would have a lifespan longer than him.
The shedding process did not last long. Soon, the charred skin dropped off his body, revealing a new skin that was as tender as a baby's skin, a skin so fair and beautiful that all women would be envious.
How did a man get a skin so exquisite and tender?
Xiang Shaoyun did not immediately wake up after the shedding process, as numerous transformations were going on inside his body as well. At this moment, half his spine had already turned purple. Odd engravings looking like dragon scales could be seen on his lightning bone.
If someone saw this, that person would recognize this process as a draconic transformation process. This was truly an astonishing transformation. Apart from that, the Overlord Skyslaying Saber within his astral cosmos sea had completely fused with the black gold. Its original badly damaged body was now slightly repaired, and it no longer looked as shabby.
The entire saber was emitting a faint lightning energy, making the saber look even more powerful and impressive. The current grade of this weapon was unknown. Perhaps it was now a king weapon, or perhaps it was not even a tier-3 weapon. But with its lightning energy, it was definitely comparable to a king weapon in might.
Apart from that, the connection between the Overlord Skyslaying Saber and Xiang Shaoyun seemed to have grown stronger as well. He now felt that the saber was related by blood, and the reason for that was unknown. Perhaps it was because of the recovery of the saber, or perhaps it was because he was truly related to it.
Additionally, the first star that had been stuffed full with an enormous amount of lightning energy was now much bigger than the other stars. It was also emitting a purple radiance, and at one glance, the star looked much more dazzling than the other stars.
It was obvious that that was an aftereffect of having absorbed a large amount of lightning energy. The meridians in his body had also grown wider, his organs had been completely cleansed, his bones had turned harder, and so on. He had undergone a massive transformation.
After studying his body with his gift of visualization, Xiang Shaoyun finally understood his current condition clearly. He had no idea why he was suddenly able to use the inner gaze, but he did not spend much time thinking about it. In any case, gaining the ability was something good.
After seeing clearly the changes he had undergone, he darted up from the ground and roared with laughter, "Hahaha, blessings are indeed hidden behind calamities!"
After a close brush with death, he survived. Not only had he survived, his cultivation level had also reached mid seventh-stage Astral Realm. He had advanced three stages at once. This was definitely an astonishing speed of growth. If it wasn't for the fact that he had diverted a large amount of the lightning energy away, he would have grown even more. Of course, if he had done that, there was a possibility that he would have simply died by bodily implosion.
Xiang Shaoyun had never felt as full with energy before this, and he had a feeling he could now kill an Intermediate Demon with a casual punch.
"Looks like I need to find some demonic beasts and try out my new strength," Xiang Shaoyun muttered as he stretched his arms. But right after he said that, he sensed a pair of eyes looking at him. For some reason, he had a hair-raising sensation from being stared at by this pair of eyes.
He looked over in the direction he sensed the gaze was coming from. There, a large purple condor was staring at him with an odd light in its eyes. This lightning condor was much larger than an ordinary lightning condor, and a row of purple feathers stood upright on its head, looking like a crown of feathers, making it look incomparably noble.
Utilizing his presence of a king, which had also increased in level with him, Xiang Shaoyun was able to see that this lightning condor was different than others with one look. His pupils shrunk as he cried out in alarm, "Lightning condor king!"
Earlier when Xiang Shaoyun was gathering the power of lightning, he did not have the chance to get a clear look at this lightning condor. And toward the end when the lightning condor was undergoing the tribulation next to him, all his sensations were already completely numb.
It was clear this lightning condor king had successfully undergone the tribulation and had become a Demon King. Xiang Shaoyun had grown much stronger, but even so, he still felt his hair rising on end when this condor king stared at him. He started thinking of a way out, but he found that nothing he could do would help him.
Before absolute strength, all tricks were rendered useless.
"Oh, hello there, revered lightning condor king. I-I'm only passing by. Alright, I'll leave now. Don't bother sending me off." Xiang Shaoyun feigned calmness and saluted the lightning condor before taking his leave.
"You don't need to fear me. I won't eat you," the lightning condor king said before Xiang Shaoyun could start running.
Xiang Shaoyun stopped moving and turned around. "Oh, for real?"
"Us condors never lie!" the lightning condor king said with a firm tone. He then continued, "If you are really scared of me, I can take you out of this place."
"Haha, lightning condor king, since you are not going to eat me, there is nothing for me to fear," Xiang Shaoyun laughed heartily.
Although he was confused as to why the lightning condor king wasn't going to eat him, he was no longer as alarmed. After all, the promises of demonic beasts were much more believable than the promises of humans.
Suddenly, the lightning condor king transformed into a human form. His human form was a middle-aged man, and his purple feathers had turned into a purple outfit. He had a head of purple spiky hair that swayed lightly in the air. His entire person radiated strength and power. It was clear this was not a perfect transformation as part of him still retained the characteristic of a demonic beast. This would only change when his cultivation level grew even higher.
"Please come and visit my cave dwelling," invited the lightning condor king. After saying that, he started heading toward a certain direction.
Xiang Shaoyun followed unhesitatingly. But the moment he started moving, he had a chilly sensation. He looked down and immediately cried out in alarm, "Holy shit, where are my clothes?"
He was completely naked. More importantly, the lightning condor king had seen him butt naked. This won't do! The lightning condor king was a burly man, not a seductive fox lady!
Xiang Shaoyun felt like dying.