Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Chapter 102: Qualitative Evolution

As soon as he drank the elixir, Liam felt changes in his body.

First, he felt a warm sensation spreading through his body as his stomach began digesting the food.

With each passing moment, the mana in his environment coursed through his body, his pores widening to accommodate its increasing flow.

As his pores opened, he witnessed the expulsion of impurities from his body - it was like a thousand blackheads dissolving before his eyes.

Liam had an unusual experience—he had never felt blackheads or pimples on his body. His skin appeared immaculate in his eyes, without a blemish in sight. As the elixir took hold, he quickly realized that things were not as they seemed.

As the yellowish, viscous substance coated his entire body, he could feel mana seeping into his pores, triggering internal changes.

As his muscles burned, he could feel an intense itching sensation deep within his bones. Amid this, his heart quickened its pace, and he found himself taking deeper breaths, trying to fill his lungs with more air.

With each breath, the mana infused his lungs, amplifying his breathing capacity and fueling his Arcane Crystal.

The essence of the elixir flowed through Liam's bloodstream, reaching the base of his neck where it infused his special organ with mana and compatible elements.

Within his soul space, the mana vortices above the cultivation sites of the incubus and Thal'Korr grew in intensity, expanding in size, density, and speed.

Thal'Korr's cocoon emitted a radiant glow, displaying a spectrum of six vibrant colors, before abruptly hardening and developing cracks.

The incubus, sitting in the lotus position, took advantage of the moment and displayed peculiar behavior four minutes later.

His body emitted a soft glow, and with each passing moment, his horns grew a little longer. As time passed, the creature's appearance subtly evolved, its bat wings taking on an even more awe-inspiring beauty.

Liam was clueless about the incubus' cultivation, but at that precise moment, the creature had attained the early beginning of the 8-Star level. But that wasn't his most important improvement.

'I'm finally at Ancestor-grade, High-level!' The creature opened his eyes as the corners of his lips lifted with his qualitative growth.

Unlike Thal'Korr, who was a subordinate Spirit, the incubus was an independent Spirit of Liam. He didn't need to follow conventional rules, nor did he need crystals to increase the quality of his essence. As long as his human came into contact with special substances, or even grew stronger, he would evolve without the need for crystals.

That was the way magical creatures evolved, not Spirits, something the incubus could do because of the special beginning of his relationship with Liam—the demonic ritual, months ago.

But even though he wasn't Liam's subordinate, his essence was connected to Liam's, and at that moment, the seduction powers of his master rose!

Liam's appearance improved even more than the elixir promised. Small blemishes on his face disappeared, his muscles became rounder and more massive, and his overall physical endurance improved.

He didn't feel the extent of these improvements yet, but his speed, strength, elasticity, reaction, and everything related to all of his senses had improved because of the incubus.

His cultivation itself didn't increase, but his abilities as a cultivator improved.

Meanwhile, his vitality improved enough to increase his life expectancy by about 20%. The wound on his abdomen healed and the scar even disappeared.

Thal'Korr's cocoon finally exploded, revealing the reformed Spirit, now with some new features, a less hostile appearance, and even more solid power.

His mental state reached an optimal state, and his body filled with mana to the point where it surpassed his previous level.

Thal'Korr had reached the last half of the 6-Star level, close to becoming a 7-Star Spirit Lord!

About 16 minutes after drinking the elixir, Liam felt the positive effects and changes in his body diminish.

By 19 minutes, there was almost no residue of the Refulgent Life Elixir left in his body, while he was feeling the change in his senses better.

As he opened his eyes again in the cave, his gaze became filled with curiosity, unable to comprehend how he had made such remarkable progress.

A wave of awareness washed over him as he realized that the number of creatures surrounding him had multiplied, and the faint crunching sounds of small animals feasting on foliage resonated from afar. His vision improved to the point where he could spot even the tiniest details from a great distance.

Surrounded by these transformative sensations, he couldn't help but sense a gaze upon him, even though he couldn't pinpoint its origin.

'Ester?' He wondered.

While thinking of the dark-haired woman, he shifted his attention to his Mana Mask, ensuring that his opponent had detected nothing.

'The Mana Mask works perfectly in passive mode. I must still look like a 6-Star Spirit Lord, but this woman must not believe it.' He thought as he stood up.

Now that he was recovered, stronger and with Thal'Korr at his disposal, it was time to complete his hunting mission and, if necessary, deal with his next enemies.

'I just have to be careful not to be vulnerable around this woman again. She'll probably only move when I'm weak and defeat any interesting enemies or creatures. Since she must know about my approximate actual strength, she won't take any risks.'

Liam was sure that Ester knew about his genuine level because of Levi. He had killed a 9-Star Spirit Lord, so his real cultivation couldn't be only 6-Star as he had shown through the Mana Mask.

If she knew his level, she would certainly be careful!

However, when he thought of her while walking back to the hunt with a sword in his hands, he couldn't help but smile subtly.

'I feel my powers of seduction are stronger now... Did the elixir do that? Anyway, if Ester takes a chance on me again, she'll pay dearly, hehe.'

...

While Liam was plotting against Ester, he couldn't imagine that the one who was watching him right now wasn't the woman.

She was near the cave where he had woken up the previous afternoon and stayed until early this morning. However, she wasn't watching him right now, as she was in the middle of her meditation.

Next to Ester, one of her two Spirits was finishing absorbing an Arcane Crystal she had gotten from the space storage items Liam had 'given' her.

Upon completion, a wave of transformation washed over her, causing profound changes in her physical and spiritual being. Her most powerful Spirit soared to the zenith of 7-Star cultivation, while she ascended to 8-Star!

Her Spirit had just qualitatively advanced to the Middle-level of the Ancestor-grade!

As she opened her eyes, she could feel her features becoming more pronounced, causing her to bite her lips in extreme satisfaction.

'Liam, you really are a valuable resource... Time for me to follow you again!'

She stood up as she used her senses to check where she had left him.

Not surprisingly, he was no longer there, just as Ester had anticipated. But since one of her Spirits was a born sniffer, finding his trail would be easier than it seemed.

As soon as she left her place, she found one of his tracks, indicating where he had gone after his recovery. But five minutes after she started following him, something else came up that made her stop.

'That feeling...' She noticed another aura following Liam, but this one was different, solid, unfathomable, cold.

'This isn't these women... In fact, it can't be an outer disciple!' She concluded as she felt a chill, her Spirits practically begging her to back off.

'This is an inner member! There's an inner member following Liam! But why? Who could it be?' She realized the danger to herself.

She didn't know if this person following Liam had intentions beyond observation. Not wanting to get involved in more complicated problems, she turned and headed in the opposite direction.

'I'd better not risk it. I've already made one breakthrough on this journey. That's enough for now.' She preferred caution to uncertainty.

As she looked back, she said, "I hope you won't return to the city. It will be better for me. But it's a pity… You were really interesting..."

She disappeared into the woods with her thin, deep voice. Meanwhile, Liam moved forward, being watched by a powerful Spirit Sky Spirit Master!