Transformation Diagram: Starting as a Skinny Dog

There was an old man who looked over sixty years old, with his hair and beard partially gray. His head had been neatly severed at the neck, falling askew onto the golden mountain, his eyes seemingly yet to close.

What shocked Chen Ku the most was the man's appearance: his forehead towering like a mountain, resembling Chen Ku's transformed Golden Dragon, his jawline angular as if containing a Dragon Ball, beneath the texture of his neck, there was faintly an appearance of scales.

"Whose head is this?"

A wave of incredulous emotions surged in Chen Ku's heart, leading to various speculations, instinctively conjuring a chain of law to touch the elder's head.

This was his Fusang Fire Principle.

Unexpectedly, at the instant the chain's tip touched the elder's head, a purple Gang Qi emerged within three zhang of the elder's head, preventing the chain from advancing.

Moreover…

The elder's head began to tremble slightly, and even his beard started to quiver.

[Zhu Huangji's head wishes harm to the master; kill it to obtain the Dragon Qi of the Nation's Fortune of the Fourteen Realms]

In the blink of an eye, Chen Ku reacted to the warning from the Transformation Diagram.

He swiftly retreated like a shooting star, heart racing:

"What? Fourteen Realms?"

Most importantly, the origin of this person…

Zhu Huangji!

Isn't this the head of the last Emperor Hong of the Great Hong Dynasty?

The head was indeed Zhu Huangji's!

Swish!

Upon the warning from the Transformation Diagram, Chen Ku's body unhesitatingly retreated over a thousand zhang outside Sheyue Hall.

Following that, he calmly observed Sheyue Hall.

The Fourteenth Realm's Emperor Hong's head.

It hadn't fully perished,

and harbored malice towards him.

Sensed by the Transformation Diagram, forming Evil Qi.

The existence of the Fourteenth Realm demanded his caution.

Yet,

With Chen Ku's spirit reflecting, using the stele hub of the Hero King Realm to observe Sheyue Hall, he noticed the deceased head hadn't shown any anomaly or movement.

This made him speculate involuntarily:

"Could it be that the deceased head only poses a threat upon being triggered or approached, without actively pursuing other entities?"

Upon further contemplation, it seemed plausible.

After all, the Emperor of the Great Hong Dynasty was entirely and utterly dead, the deceased head possibly being severed by Pei Dongliu himself, placed in the Treasure Hall evidently for boasting, having beheaded the then most esteemed man, showcasing Pei Dongliu's boldness.

Whew!

Given it won't actively pursue, Chen Ku cautiously decided to approach once more.

After all.

He hadn't yet achieved the Fourteen to Twenty-four Transformation Maps.

Re-entering Sheyue Hall.

[Sensing near the Diagram Master high compatibility with the Fourteenth Transformation Diagram…]

A stream of text flowed down from the series of Transformation Diagrams.

This time,

Chen Ku didn't hesitate, for all else was false, only the augmentation brought by his Transformation Diagrams was true.

"Sacrifice everything!"

He uttered decisively in his heart.

Even prepared, yet Chen Ku's heart felt a pang, as the golden mountain within Sheyue Hall, towering like a hundred-meter mountain, visibly collapsed, dissipating…

[Fourteenth Transformation Diagram completed!]

(Evil Qi sensing range extended to a radius of two thousand li)

[Fifteenth Transformation Diagram completed!]

[Sixteenth Transformation Diagram completed!]

[Seventeenth Transformation Diagram completed!]

(Seventeenth Transformation Diagram completed, Diagram Master awakened the fourth innate divine ability 'Shape-shifting by Heart')

[Eighteenth Transformation Diagram completed!]

(Evil Qi sensing range extended to a radius of five thousand li)

[Nineteenth Transformation Diagram completed!]

[Twentieth Transformation Diagram completed!]

...

[Twenty-third Transformation Diagram completed!]

(Diagram Master awakened the fifth innate divine ability 'Innate Furnace')

[Twenty-fourth Transformation Diagram completed]

(Evil Qi sensing range extended to a radius of ten thousand li)

...

[Twenty-fifth… Twenty-seventh… Twenty-eighth… Thirty-third… Thirty-sixth… partial conditions completed…]

In an instant.

Thirty-six diagrams appeared in Chen Ku's mind.

A total of twenty-four diagrams illuminated.

The remaining twelve Transformation Diagrams were partially illuminated, with other parts dimmed.

Chen Ku's spirit pulsated vigorously.

Too… exhilarating!

Considering in two or three years, through painstaking efforts amassing wealth, trading for precious metals, tirelessly laboring, merely thirteen diagrams were completed.

Now, after inheriting a portion of the Great Hong Dynasty's capital legacy, amazingly, within mere breaths, he achieved transformation diagrams equivalent to those earned over two or three years.

"Is this the feeling of being a rich second generation, inheriting immense wealth?"

Chen Ku felt a tingling sensation throughout his body.

Yet, noting Sheyue Hall within had shrunk by seventy to eighty percent, from a hundred meters high, reducing to a dozen meters high of golden mountain, Chen Ku felt faint.

Money!!

An entire palace's treasure, directly shrunk by eighty percent.

The abrupt height drop made Emperor Hong's deceased head roll around within the pile of gold.

Unbearable to witness such a harsh scene.

Half a cup of tea ago, he might have been among Ji Country's most affluent, now, suddenly not.

To calm his emotions.

He could only choose to observe what his 'wealth rivaling a nation' like golden sea resources brought him.

Especially the two innate divine abilities appearing upon reaching the 'Seventeen' and 'Twenty-three' Transformation Diagram counts.

Under Chen Ku's scrutiny.

Symbols of these two innate divine abilities appeared on the respective transformation diagrams.

Shape-shifting by Heart, resembling a Ruyi, manifested on the Seventeenth Transformation Diagram.

[Shape-shifting by Heart: Upon Diagram Master's awakening of this divine ability, at each Evil Qi shape-shifting, the Diagram Master can freely choose the ability of the 'initial shape-shifting part'.]

After exploring the content.

Chen Ku slightly pondered:

"This means, upon the first shape-shifting, I can gain the desired ability without awaiting consumption of nine same-level Evil Qi to fully cultivate, obtaining that ability."

Previously, shape-shifting during transformation depended solely on luck.

Now, it became "designated."

"No wonder called Shape-shifting by Heart, albeit… this divine ability seems somewhat downgraded compared to previous 'Fetus Transformation Refining Shape', 'Evil Summoning Banner', 'Heart Transformation', is it?"

Nonetheless, this innate divine ability was indeed useful.

Chen Ku exhaled.

Looking at the second innate divine ability, an imprint like a 'Pill Furnace' appeared on the Twenty-third Transformation Diagram.

Below was the divine ability's description:

[Innate Furnace: Consuming forty-nine same-realm Evil Qi, can reforge the object within the furnace, integrating it into origin, turning postnatal into innate]

Examining the introduction of the fifth innate divine ability.

Chen Ku was overjoyed.

"Postnatal into Innate?"

Instantly recalling his cultivation of Huntian Overlord Body, even if achieved, it remained postnatal cultivation body physique, yet undergoing the Innate Furnace, wouldn't it transform into innate foundation?

Indeed, this divine ability matched his hypothesis, requiring further experimentation to verify.

"Twenty-four transformations, five divine abilities now!"

Chen Ku akin to a farmer, gazing at the twenty-four Transformation Diagrams on Heart Sea, felt joy akin to viewing twenty-four plots of land.

Twenty-four Transformation Diagrams, imagine if each diagram bore a twelve-realm transformation, Chen Ku would possess "twenty-four times" combat strength in the twelve-realm power domain.

Who could challenge him?

Nonetheless, while cherishing the twenty-four Transformation Diagrams, his gaze naturally shifted to the latter twelve with unmet conditions.

Suddenly noticing a distinction.

At Heart Sea's edge of the thirty-sixth Transformation Diagram, an apparent crack emerged, akin to a torn silk fabric.

"Hmm? What's that mark?"

Chen Ku's expression altered.

Since previously, such a crack hadn't appeared in the preceding few transformation diagrams, yet upon activating partial cultivation conditions of the thirty-six transformation maps, a crack emerged on the thirty-sixth map.

"Could the thirty-six transformation maps be flawed?"

If the thirty-six transformation maps were flawed, would the thirty-seventh transformation map still exist?