My skills have mutated again!

Chapter 361 The Ashes End, Lingbao Forest King, Three-Pronged Plan!

Xia Lin felt that this ability was significant because he saw in it the possibility of completing the overpowered farming combo!
"The efficiency of the overpowered brush combo is very high, but it can obviously be improved further."

"The key is that for the Life and Death Decree (Inferior) to take effect, the negative status must be eliminated within ten days."

"Right now, this ability called Ultimate Digestion can digest anything I want to digest at the cost of Hunger Points, so can I use this ability to digest the negative statuses on my body?"

This hypothesis can be proven with a simple test!
There's no need to use a life-or-death battle (inferior) for testing.

Xia Lin tried a simpler and more convenient method.

First, there are the Hunger Points.

He took out a piece of immortal jade from his personal space, opened his mouth, and put it in his mouth.

Rock hard...

Xia Lin could bite, but she felt something was off and had a slight psychological burden.

He simply summoned the Spirit World Book, opened the book, and turned to the second page.

As the Spirit Book absorbed the power of primordial hunger, the second page also changed—a lifelike, ferocious mouth appeared on the page.

He spat out the immortal jade from his mouth and fed it to Big Mouth.

Big Mouth crunched and chewed the immortal jade into pieces, swallowed it, and then let out a burp.

The attributes of the Spirit World Book changed accordingly, and the Hunger Power points changed from 0 to 3.

One Immortal Jade provides 3 points of Hunger Power.

While continuing to feed the Spirit Realm Book with Immortal Jade to increase the number of Hunger Points, Xia Lin took out a small gadget from his personal space.

It was an item called the "Vessel of Misfortune"—when used, it would randomly inflict a debuff on the user.

Crush the item to apply a debuff.

It is a D-level debuff called Weakness.

The unstable mutation takes effect, and Xia Lin chooses not to mutate.

After completing all of this, Xia Lin had a sudden thought and activated Ultimate Digestion.

A hazy yellow light flashed slowly.

Under Xia Lin's watchful gaze, the weakness debuff quickly disappeared and vanished.

……

Subsequently, Xia Lin conducted many more experiments.

Several hours later, he also fully understood the working principle of ultimate digestion.

"This ability can indeed be a component of an overpowered farming combo, and the effect is extremely well-matched!"

"The only problem is consumption."

"The number of hunger points required to digest different types and intensities of debuffs also varies."

"Experiments have shown that to digest the debuff of being resurrected from the dead, the number of hunger points consumed would probably be in the thousands."

This is very costly because the conversion rate of hunger points is not high.

Don't be fooled by the fact that one Immortal Jade can be converted into 3 Hunger Points. Immortal Jade is actually very precious and can be considered a high-level resource in the main universe.

"Besides, the ability of ultimate digestion only works on myself; it doesn't allow me to forcibly digest enemies using hunger points."

Therefore, the current extreme digestion can probably only be regarded as one of the components of the incredible brush combo, and there is no possibility of its application in other directions for the time being.

"But even so, it's not bad."

Putting away the Spirit Realm Book, Xia Lin took a deep breath. Just this one ability alone made Xia Lin feel that this trip to the Ashes Region was worthwhile!
He had been lamenting that Luo Zhidao had disrupted his growth plan.

Unexpectedly, they turned misfortune into blessing in this scorched earth.

Even disregarding other gains, this exceptional digestive ability alone has greatly made up for the time Xia Lin wasted in this ash-filled area.

After all, this increases the efficiency of the incredible brush combo!
When Xia Lin thought of Luo Zhi Dao, he also thought of Luo Tian Amber, which guarded Luo Zhi Dao.

"Unfortunately, there really isn't a better way to handle this."

Using a bug to make a wish, cracking the Luo Tian Amber, or even directly killing Luo Zhidao—it's just a thought, but if Xia Lin actually did that, he himself felt it wasn't worth it.

The benefits that bugs can bring are obviously far more valuable than Luo Zhidao's life... Improving oneself is bound to be the highest reward.

As for putting Luo Zhidao into the hidden soldier cave and then finding an opportunity to deal with Luo Tian Amber...

This idea is utter nonsense.

Their master is at level twelve.

Xia Lin couldn't guarantee that if he took Luo Zhidao away, Lingbao Immortal Venerable wouldn't come after him.

Xia Lin wasn't afraid of being hunted down, but he was afraid of people coming to his door.

The location of Shining Blue Star is protected by the Ash Zone system, but this protection is not absolute. If Xia Lin accidentally exposes the coordinates of Shining Blue Star, the trouble he will face will be hundreds or thousands of times greater than that of Luo Zhidao alone.

He shook his head, deciding to drop the matter.

Xia Lin took out the Stability Chapter and began to open the box.

……

Ten Stability Chapters were used, and ten personal spaces were opened.

A large amount of treasure rolled out and piled up on the ground, several times more than what Kark possessed at first glance.

Kak is wealthy, but these level eleven powerhouses who can become the main skull of the error are clearly not poor either.

Classified by type.

Resources, equipment and items, mysterious treasures, skills, and consumables.

The resource category needs no further explanation.

Previously, Xia Lin had to go through the Crossing Sea Hall to cash out these spirit stones and immortal jades, but now he doesn't have to go through that trouble anymore.

These things can serve as nourishment for hunger, turning into hunger points that will permanently accompany Xia Lin.

"When you calculate it this way, the resource gap seems to be even bigger."

Xia Lin muttered something, but didn't take it seriously.

Any extraordinary path is actually bound to fall into this vicious cycle.

—The later the stage, the greater the demand for both the quality and quantity of resources.

The solution boils down to two words: make money.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the equipment, props, and mysterious treasures.

The remnants of level 11 are bound to be high-quality items and treasures. However, some equipment and items have class restrictions, and the descriptions of some mysterious treasures are obscure and difficult to understand. Xia Lin has no idea what these things are.

They can only be stored in their personal space for later use.

The skill-related gains were considerable, and Xia Lin even had his eyes on some of the advanced skills.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough skill slots, so we can only look on. Solving the problem of limited skill slots is urgent.

Finally, the category worth discussing is consumables.

Because within it, Xia Lin discovered another treasure that perfectly matched his power system.

Its name is: The Hourglass of Time!

……

[Hourglass of Time (Racial Heritage Level Item): Consumable.]

[Contains 1L of Sands of Time! Reversing it can either reverse or accelerate time in the current dimension! The amount of Sands of Time consumed depends on the size and strength of the current dimension!]

One of the uses of this thing for Xia Lin is to accelerate the time it takes for him to jump out of the prison space outside the Three Realms, so that Xia Lin can get rid of his misfortune as soon as possible, or end the period of weakness after his rebirth.

However, upon seeing this item, Xia Lin's first reaction was not to use it to complement his incredible brush combo.

With Ultimate Digestion and the Fountain of Youth in hand, the function of the Hourglass of Time, a consumable item, has become somewhat redundant.

The first thing Xia Lin thought of was the Beyond the Boundary Project that Nelson was pushing forward!
The project is more than halfway complete, but it will take another 4-5 months to be fully finished.

It seems that Xia Lin can wait this long.

But Xia Lin didn't like to wait; he wanted things to be fast, the faster the better!
Once the outer realm is formed, the Black Source Overlord form can evolve into a permanent form. The improvement this brings to Xia Lin goes without saying, and Xia Lin, being impatient, has long been eager to achieve it.

The newly formed outer realm, with its small scale and low intensity, is just right for the Hourglass of Time to shine!

So, I'm busy, very busy, very busy!

After the Ashes ended, Xia Lin was busy overseeing the Beyond the Boundary Project, busy using overpowered combos to boost stats, and busy using bugs to wish for more skill slots from the Ashes.

All three of these points can greatly increase Xia Lin's strength!

Right now, his raw strength is enough to rival that of Luo Zhidao, a human sequence four... If any one of the above three methods is achieved, Xia Lin's strength will reach new heights!
Compared to this, the entanglements and errors in this burnt-out area are somewhat beneath Xia Lin's notice.

……

For the rest of the time, Xia Lin paid no attention to anything else.

No matter what happened outside, Xia Lin remained motionless inside the white cage...

Until the timer for the end of the Ash Zone arrives.

This time, Xia Lin has also verified the interference that transcending the Three Realms can cause to the Ash Zone system.

The answer is that it interfered, but not completely.

The Ashes Zone did not directly unleash the Light of Return within the White Cage.

Instead, this prompt was given first.

[The time limit for the Ash Zone has ended!]

Please leave this space as soon as possible and summon the Light of Return!

[You have three minutes. After three minutes, you will be stripped of your status as a Crimson Walker and permanently residing in this Crimson Zone.]

They even gave us three minutes to prepare...

You're really being strangely humane...

However, this also shows that the strength of the ability to transcend the Three Realms is quite good.

To some extent, it can counteract the recruitment system of the Ember Zone.

It simply cannot be used to exploit a bug in the Ember Zone system to circumvent forced conscription or extend the stay time.

Xia Lin thought for a moment and decided to end his journey beyond the Three Realms.

In a flash of light, Xia Lin reappeared where he had disappeared.

But what came into view was the ongoing battle!

Error, not dead yet!

……

The error did not die; instead, it grew stronger!
The half of his body that Xia Lin had refined has been restored. Upon closer inspection, it is surrounded by eerie green flames, seemingly taken from his opponent: the ghost that merged with the Dao of the Spirit Gathering Immortal!
On the other hand, Hui Ling Zhenren and Ming Gui, who originally had the upper hand, are now struggling to survive, losing their advantage and falling into a disadvantage!

The Fate Ghost is not a true level twelve, but merely a magical artifact in the hands of a level twelve—that's one point.

Secondly, after receiving investment from the original starvation, this mistake inherently possessed the quality of becoming stronger the more it was attacked!

However, after a quick glance, Xia Lin decided not to pay any more attention to it.

Xia Lin released various protective magical artifacts, and at the same time, he quickly fled, intending to leave the battlefield and summon the Light of Return once he reached a safe location!
The purpose of ending the journey beyond the Three Realms ahead of time is precisely this.

The regression process can start, but it can still be interrupted by external forces, causing the regression process to stop.

Even though the end of the Ember Zone is approaching, the aftershocks of the nearly level 12 battles may still interrupt the return process.

Xia Lin must leave the battlefield before he can initiate the return process—and the Ember Zone system only gives Xia Lin a maximum of three minutes.

With time running out and the task heavy, Xia Lin naturally had to seize the time.

However, before Xia Lin could run a sufficient distance, a sound like shattering glass was heard from the shadows.

Xia Lin suddenly turned her head to look at the horizon.

On the horizon, strange patterns appeared and disappeared in an instant.

This means one thing.

The Ash Zone system's blockade of this area has disappeared.

……

Since the King of Kings reinforced the rules of the Ember Zone, the lockdown of the Ember Zone has been strengthened to the point of preventing any extraterrestrial visitors. However, as the real Ember Zone is part of the main universe, its selection and lockdown by the Ember Zone is only temporary.

They will eventually return to the embrace of the main universe!

The Ember Zone system has strict time limits for this.

—The moment the time limit for the Ember Zone ends, the Ember Zone lockdown will disappear.

Xia Lin, however, did not leave the Ash Zone immediately because he had transcended the Three Realms, which led him to witness the collapse of the Ash Zone's blockade.

We also glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of something even higher up!
The first to arrive was the twelfth-level Immortal Venerable of the Ghost Control Sect, who was closest to this place.

Binding Spirit Immortal Venerable!

He had already arrived, but was unable to take action due to the lockdown of the Ash Zone.

However, there are no restrictions now.

The form and appearance of the Bound Spirit Immortal could not be discerned...

In the darkness, only a cold snort could be heard.

"You wretched creature, how dare you be so insolent!"

An invisible force fluctuated for a moment, merging into the life ghost's body, causing the life ghost's aura to rise infinitely. Its aura, which was already much weaker than the error's, suddenly expanded to several times that of the error's in an instant!
The Fate Demon opened its huge mouth and swallowed the error whole in one gulp. No matter how the error struggled inside the Fate Demon's body, it could not escape the Fate Demon's control!
This error, which had been raging for more than half a month, was reduced to the strength of an infant under the personal intervention of a level twelve expert!

Before the error could cease its struggle, another streak of light appeared in the distance.

Along with this, there was also a cough that sounded like that of someone suffering from tuberculosis.

"Ahem, fellow Daoist, don't worry, my disciple is still inside this Fiend's body."

Thus, one can know the identity of the visitor.

The master of Luo Zhidao, the Immortal Venerable Lingbao!
Without the sealing off of the Ash Zone, this Immortal Venerable Lingbao was able to locate Luo Zhidao's position instantly and arrive at the scene within seconds!

Amidst the surging, colorful spiritual light, Luo Zhidao, enveloped in Luo Tian Amber, flew out from the body of the Error and Fate Ghost and fell into the void.

With a flash of light and shadow, an old man with white hair appeared out of thin air beside Luo Zhidao. With a wave of his hand, the Luo Tian Amber disintegrated and disappeared, and Luo Zhidao inside slowly opened his eyes.

At this very moment, Xia Lin's return process was not yet complete; the light of return had only been hanging down for less than three seconds!

This is what Xia Lin is most worried about.

The system in the Ash Zone is unusually punctual.

However, stepping outside the Three Realms would disrupt the timeline of the Ashes Zone.

The consequences of this are unpredictable and completely uncontrollable!

Just like right now!
Before Luo Zhidao could speak, the Lingbao Immortal Venerable had already looked at Xia Lin.

He smiled slightly at Xia Lin: "Young friend, you must be Xia Lin, right?"

Lingbao genuinely didn't know who Xia Lin was before.

But after Luo Zhidao mentioned the name, Lingbao also kept Xia Lin's name in his heart.

In this round, his disciple failed to defeat this person...

Lingbao didn't have any principle of not bullying the weak, or any idea of ​​keeping this person around as a stepping stone for Luo Zhidao.

He greeted her with a smile and then immediately took action.

A mysterious and precious light arrived in an instant.

The Falling Treasure Mystic Light delivers a double blow to both body and soul!

This single strike was enough to obliterate Xia Lin's body and soul.

However, just as the precious light was about to arrive, another surge of sword light appeared and instantly appeared before Xia Lin.

The falling treasure light struck the sword light, causing space to collapse and time to reverse.

Xia Lin felt dizzy and disoriented. When she regained consciousness, it was already the last second before she returned to normal.

A burly man in a yellow robe stood in front of Xia Lin, and with a single gesture, boundless sword energy burst forth.

Lingbao's cheerful cough echoed from afar.

"Cough cough cough... I wondered who it was, it turns out to be Prince Lin himself."

As soon as the voice faded, Xia Lin had already disappeared.

……

Standing in the star-studded settlement space, Xia Lin remained silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.

"In the end, it was the path I chose myself."

Life without powerful connections is not easy.

This statement has been proven countless times.

What just happened was nothing more than a microcosm and reenactment of this statement.

We also have to thank the King of Kings and the Ash Zone system for the protection they provided.

Being in the Ash Zone provided Xia Lin with a relatively comfortable space to grow.

Now that they've escaped the ash zone, what just happened is what Xia Lin will have to face.

This is why Xia Lin must never reveal the coordinates of Flash Blue Star—his identity as a Walker of the Ashes is Xia Lin's greatest protection.

Recalling the last words of the Immortal Venerable Lingbao.

"King Lin..." Xia Lin muttered these two words, but he did not recognize the so-called King Lin.

But Xia Lin remembered this favor.

He gathered his thoughts and looked up at the settlement space.

Meanwhile, a grand notification sound rang out in the settlement area.

Settlement begins.

[Main Quest: The Forest King's Birthday Banquet - Quest Completed!]

You have earned 10 ranked match points.

Xia Lin converted most of his ranking battle points into Heavenly Source Essence, but then spent 10000 points to buy a qualifier certificate.

This is the fourth test for the Ash Zone, and the preliminary rounds of the Sequence Battle are already one-third complete. Xia Lin's purchase of the preliminary qualification certificate at this point in time is neither too early nor too late.

The main reason was that there was too much Heavenly Source Material in reserve, and there was nothing on the exchange form that could catch Xia Lin's eye.

The system notification sound in the Ash Zone has stopped.

Because of the Ash Zone, Xia Lin did not trigger any completion missions or side quests.

Looking back now, the key to success lies largely in the mistakes made.

However, using the "Leap Out of the Three Realms" technique several times saved Xia Lin from directly confronting the problem of the error, and it seems that he also missed the time node to trigger the completion mission.

Then he thought of how the Ash Zone had just been unsealed, but he was still unable to escape it.

"It's best to use this transcendence of the three realms only when the time is right..."

This thing shouldn't be considered a perfect talisman.

Because within the professional system, there are no absolutely unsolvable abilities, and naturally, there is no such thing as perfection.

The settlement of the Ashes zone is nearing its end.

Xia Lin, however, remained stubbornly refusing to leave.

With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved all the bugs he had previously extracted from his personal space and the hidden soldier cave.

Black crystals piled up into a small mountain.

Xia Lin stood beside the hill, took a deep breath, and spoke directly.

"I want to use these things to make a request, or rather, a wish."

Lingbao's sudden attack put pressure on Xia Lin and reminded him once again that his situation had always been precarious.

This intensified Xia Lin's thirst for strength.

The settlement wasn't finished yet, but Xia Lin immediately started making a wish—the sooner this matter was done, the better!

A faint light flashed suddenly, and the bug next to Xia Lin disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The system notification sound in the Ash Zone suddenly rang out.

Tell us your wish.

Unlike before, this time the notification sound in the Ashes area was somewhat deep, as if it possessed emotion.

Xia Lin ignored these trivial details and spoke directly.

"I want to use these bug crystals to maximize my skill slots! You tell me how!"

After a brief silence, the Ember Zone system responded.

【Can. 】

The sound reverted to the mechanical tone it had before.

The bug information you provided can be used to expand your skill bar in three ways! Please choose one.

[Part One: Talent Upgrade!]

[Your talent has been detected: Indeterminate Constant! This talent provides you with an additional skill slot.]

[Given that this talent has already been elevated to the racial foundation level, its level cannot be increased further through conventional methods.]

[However, the Ash Zone may offer you the following opportunity: a meeting with the Creator of Heaven, who may bestow upon you the Six Pillars of Treasures, helping you upgrade this talent to the Six Pillars level and enhancing its effects!]

Xia Lin: "..."

From this experience in the Ash Zone, Xia Lin could see that the Ash Zone system didn't care about the grudges between individuals at all.

This is nothing more than a repetition of the past... Your Ash Zone system really has no brains.

Part Two: The Path to a Dual Career!

[Detected that you are aware of the dual-class concept in this Ash area. This method can effectively provide you with an additional skill slot!]

However, the path of having two careers is not easy and carries significant risks; attempting to do so independently can easily lead to uncontrollable consequences.

[However, the Ash Zone can offer you the following opportunity: a meeting with the Soul-Controlling Demon Emperor, who may tailor a second class for you, minimizing the risks associated with dual classes!]

Xia Lin was a little confused.

No, why do both of these options have to be related to the Six Pillars of Destiny?

What I'm saying is, do you have a way to fulfill my wish without needing to find the Six Pillars of Destiny?
Ash Zone System: Some brothers, some.

[Three: Randomly select relevant talents and skills.]

[The Ember Zone contains many talents and skills that expand your skill bar. However, 99.9% of these talents and skills are either unsuitable for your class or their value does not match the bug you submitted.]

If you are willing to accept losses, you can choose three career talents or skills to fulfill your wishes.

Xia Lin suddenly realized.

The problem isn't that I haven't collected enough bugs; the problem is that I've collected too many bugs.

The rewards available to the Ember Zone itself do not match the value of these bugs, so the Ember Zone has no choice but to report this to its superiors and ask the Six Pillars for help.

A golden scroll suddenly unfurled, revealing a wealth of text before Xia Lin's eyes.

However, Xia Lin soon frowned.

I wouldn't say I'm dissatisfied, but it's definitely worse than I expected.

None of the professional talents satisfied Xia Lin – either they were ineffective, or they required other skills or talents to be used in combination.

To unlock more skill slots, you need to pay for extra skill slots first, so the profit margin isn't very high.

Among the skills, Xia Lin took a liking to several quite powerful ones.

All of them can expand three to five skill slots—but there are negative effects, and they cannot be infinitely nested.

After a moment's thought, Xia Lin closed the exchange form in front of him and sighed softly.

"Choose two."

In the evaluation of the Ashes area, only the first and second options are equivalent to the bug submitted by Xia Lin.

One option is that it's 100% impossible to choose, but the Demon Emperor's side seems worth a try.

(End of this chapter)