The medical center of the Hells Angels Mercenary Corps was heavily guarded, with every fighter currently on Earth—be they true Xiantian masters who broke through the Ren and Du meridians on their own, or pseudo-Xiantian masters who used equipment to force the breakthrough—gathered outside the facility. (For the full novel, visit .1⑥κ.(1κ.O.Literature.net)

Crystallite beings naturally incubate within their bodies a crystal sphere that concentrates all their energy, possessing magical spatial attributes and incredible various abilities. When the Crystallites residing on Pluto were discovered by Earth humans and the Romans, they became prey for the powerful figures among both races. Capturing Crystallites through violence to forcibly extract the crystal sphere within their bodies and fuse it with the human host to stimulate potential was the tragedy of the Crystallites, yet a thrilling diversion for Earthlings and Romans alike.

The mechanism behind the Crystallite Fusion Ritual remains unknown. Historically, 87.3% of Earthlings and Romans who underwent the crystal sphere fusion ritual either exploded and died on the spot, 2.5% lost all their memories, and 3.7% had their bodies possessed by the Crystallite, resulting in immediate execution. Another 4.9% failed to stimulate any potential and experienced no change, while a grim 1.3% unlucky ones lost all cultivation and the ability to cultivate further. Only a minuscule 0.3% of the total number were fortunate enough to stimulate their potential and acquire immense power.

Out of a thousand people, only three truly lucky individuals managed to unlock their potential and gain various miraculous powers! Furthermore, the deeper the Crystallite's body color and the stronger its inherent power, the more potent the awakened abilities would be, but consequently, the greater the risk!

The Scruffy-Bearded Commander stood before the medical pod in the medical center, his face grim. He snarled fiercely at the high-ranking members of the Corps surrounding him.

"If he gets possessed by the Crystallite, I'll execute him myself!"

"If he loses all his cultivation and can never recover it, I'll execute him myself!"

"If he shows no change at all, having wasted a rare black Crystallite, I'll make him understand how terrifying it is to waste the Corps' assets!"

Banyue opportunely asked, "Uncle Beard, what if Evil Dragon merges successfully?"

The Scruffy-Bearded Commander grinned broadly and nodded at Banyue, shrugging his shoulders with a smug air while clasping his hands behind his back. Then, he threw his head back and laughed wildly toward the sky: "If he successfully develops some immensely powerful abilities! Hahahaha, I'll take a concubine, and bear a sweet, delicate beauty to offer him in marriage! Oh ho ho, as my son-in-law, he'll serve my mercenary corps for life!"

Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of everyone present, and only the Commander's intoxicated wild laughter, or perhaps foolish cackling, continued unabated.

"What a wonderful thing! Oh ho ho, currently, the entire known Earth Federation has only twenty-odd 'Jie Shi' who have undergone successful Crystallite fusion! Only twenty-odd! Oh ho ho, if our Mercenary Corps could have even one, overshadowing the Sacred Unicorn would be effortlessly achieved!"

A cold glint flashed in the Scruffy-Bearded Commander's eyes as he stated calmly, "With just one Jie Shi, our mercenary corps will no longer be a mere chamber pot to be manipulated by others. We too have the right to take a slice of this great cake called the Federation! And a very substantial slice at that!"

"Evil Dragon, the moment I saw you, I knew you weren't ordinary! You must not disappoint me!"

Gu Xichen would disappoint no one!

The body containing the black Crystallite was already severely wounded. Near death, the black Crystallite was forced to make a desperate move: forcibly seizing Gu Xichen's body!

However, the black Crystallite failed to devour Gu Xichen’s soul; instead, all of its mental energy was swallowed whole by Gu Xichen.

No, it wasn't Gu Xichen, but rather the Primordial Dao Embryo latent in his heart that consumed every bit of the black Crystallite's spiritual energy. The main body of the Primordial Dao Embryo was the core heart of a mysterious and eerie Blood Race Prince, consolidating the entire energy of that Prince. The most terrifying power of a Blood Race Prince was his colossal mental strength. Although the black Crystallite possessed immense combat power, its spiritual energy was nothing compared to the spiritual energy contained within the Dao Embryo—being devoured was only logical.

With the interference from the black Crystallite's mental energy gone, Gu Xichen began the smooth fusion of the crystal core possessing miraculous power. The massive energy of the black Crystallite churned within Gu Xichen’s body, washing over his physical form again and again. Gu Xichen's body instinctively ran the Primordial True Canon, and wisps of pure Xiantian Gang Qi, wrapped around the black energy, rapidly circulated through his meridians. The Gang Qi vortexes in the one hundred and eight major acupoints reformed, and this time, Gu Xichen showed no intention of stopping. The one hundred and eight Gang Qi vortexes continuously rotated along an esoteric trajectory.

The boundless vitality from the Dao Embryo constantly overflowed. The surrounding major acupoints were torn by streaks of fissures from the violent energy, but the energy within the Dao Embryo dutifully repaired all these damages as good as new.

Shattering repeatedly, repairing constantly. Gradually, the temperature of Gu Xichen's one hundred and eight major acupoints grew hotter and hotter, until white flames began to spew out from them. The previously sesame-seed-sized Xue Dao began to expand and strengthen continuously. If one observed inwardly with divine sense, it could be seen that Gu Xichen's Xue Dao had become vast and wide, its capacity for True Qi nearly rivaling that of the Dantian. Moreover, the Xue Dao had become firm and flexible, its ability to withstand the impact of True Qi increasing by more than a hundredfold!

The Primordial True Canon continued to operate. The energy left by the black Crystallite was astonishingly potent; Gu Xichen only consumed less than one-tenth of this massive supply after completing the expansion and stabilization of the Xue Dao.

The remaining ninety percent of the energy surged into Gu Xichen's Dantian. Under the Dantian's transformation, the black energy gradually converted into Xiantian Gang Qi. Streams of immense Gang Qi filled the Dantian under Gu Xichen's instinctive drive, until the Dantian could no longer hold the nearly mercury-like Xiantian Gang Qi. The excess Gang Qi followed the meridians throughout the body, gradually establishing garrisons in the various Xue Dao.

Stable small vortexes formed in Gu Xichen’s one hundred and eight major acupoints. With the great vortex in the Dantian as the core, the small vortexes in the Xue Dao mutually echoed each other. The Xiantian Gang Qi traveled back and forth between the Xue Dao, circulating smoothly and dynamically without the slightest obstruction.

From then on, Gu Xichen's entire network of Qi channels was brimming. With every gesture, the Gang Qi in the nearest Xue Dao responded to his will, not only making his reaction speed several times faster in combat but also providing constant Gang Qi protection to all surrounding acupoints, enhancing his defense several times over.

The second stage of the Primordial True Canon, the Nourishing Acupoint Chapter, was complete. It only awaited Gu Xichen's future cultivation of stronger Gang Qi until all the Gang Qi in the Xue Dao was as abundant as that in the Dantian, before he could formally begin the next step: the Marrow Transformation Chapter.

At the exact moment the one hundred and eight vortexes formed, the Crystallite sphere, having had all its spiritual energy absorbed by the Dao Embryo, smoothly ascended to Gu Xichen's cranium. Gu Xichen's soul fused with the crystal sphere; the sphere's structure shattered and merged with Gu Xichen's Sea of Consciousness—commonly known as the Purple Mansion Sea of Awareness—evolving into a wondrous space.

The vortexes in the surrounding acupoints suddenly paused. One hundred and eight wisps of Xiantian Gang Qi traced the meridians directly into the Purple Mansion, slowly evolving into a barely perceptible trace of purple mist. Then, the one hundred and eight vortexes resumed their operation. In this cycle of stillness and movement, Gu Xichen's surrounding Gang Qi erupted like thunder, causing significant disruption externally.

The Scruffy-Bearded Commander, who had stood foolishly before the medical pod for seven days and seven nights, frantically tugged at the beard on his face. He roared at the beautiful female physician whom Gu Xichen had previously 'flirted' with: "Maria, what is Evil Dragon's condition?!"

Maria stared at the monitoring screen of the medical pod without raising her head and said coldly, "His Gang Qi is shielding all instrument scans! That's how Xiantian masters are, you know that as well as I do!"

The Scruffy-Bearded Commander glared, about to find an excuse to severely reprimand Maria, when a red light on the medical pod suddenly began to flash rapidly, and a piercing alarm startled everyone.

With a thunderous boom, the thick medical pod was blasted into fragments by an immense surge of force. Maria, having hidden behind the control console, was spared. The Scruffy-Bearded Commander and the others were caught off guard and sent flying a great distance by the shockwave. Fortunately, everyone inside the medical center were experts, otherwise more lives would have been lost.

Gu Xichen, completely naked, staggered out of the wreckage of the medical pod, shaking his neck. Perhaps due to the stimulation from the Crystallite's energy, while his height remained the same, the muscles on his body had become considerably more robust. His previously lean physique was now balanced and flowing, with layers of smoothly contoured muscle blocks reflecting a soft luster under the white lights of the medical center—it was the physique of an absolutely perfect male specimen.

Maria got a close-up view of Gu Xichen’s body, instinctively swallowed, then pouted her lips in annoyance.

The Scruffy-Bearded Commander scrambled up from the ground, and he and the host of Xiantian-level fighters nervously surrounded Gu Xichen.

"Who are you? What is your codename? What is your mercenary ID number?"

According to worldly experience, if the soul was devoured and the body possessed during Crystallite fusion, absolutely no memory of the former self would remain in the body!

Gu Xichen instinctively replied, "Me? Evil Dragon! My ID number is... uh, does our Mercenary Corps even have a concept of mercenary ID numbers?"

"Yes!" The Scruffy-Bearded Commander cheered and waved a fist toward the sky; the kid hadn't been taken over by the Crystal Man! This kid was truly amazing; enduring a forcible Crystallite fusion initiated by a black Crystal Man without any issue!

"So, did you succeed in the fusion?" Banyue asked Gu Xichen with a hint of jealousy.

"Well!" Gu Xichen knew exactly what Banyue was asking.

Should he let outsiders know that he had successfully fused with the Crystallite sphere?

Blinking his eyes without changing his expression, Gu Xichen looked blankly at Banyue and asked, "Fuse with what? Uh, tell me, brothers, what happened here? Why am I in the medical center? Uh, what about that black Crystal Man from that day? I remember taking a heavy punch from him and then passing out!"

The Scruffy-Bearded Commander's face immediately fell, and he muttered with a grim expression, "It's over. A black Crystallite is worth at least twenty Class One warships. It’s ruined, you wasted twenty Class One warships!"

He turned and walked dejectedly out of the medical center, shaking his head.

"Alas! Why did it turn out this way? Since you didn't die, why couldn't you fuse successfully? A black Crystallite, do you know how much that thing is worth!"

A chilling cold wind swirled around the Scruffy-Bearded Commander as he walked away, immensely heartbroken.

If this black Crystallite were put up for auction, half of the proceeds—ten Class One warships—would belong to the Mercenary Corps! The Hells Angels Mercenary Corps only possessed a few dilapidated space prospectors and transport ships, and not a single low-grade Class Three warship!

Gu Xichen looked at the heartbroken Scruffy-Bearded Commander and felt somewhat guilty. Just as Gu Xichen was about to chase after him to offer some comfort, Maria swiftly walked up to him, grabbed a high-pressure injector gun, and pressed it against his shoulder.

"Don't resist. This is a highly concentrated nutrient solution injection!" Maria said seriously. "You haven't eaten or drunk in seven days and seven nights."

"Oh!" Gu Xichen, who had been preparing to dodge, stiffened his body, allowing Maria to inject a dose of medicine into his arm.

Hiss~ A full twenty milliliters of solution were administered.

Maria suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no! I grabbed the wrong injection! I administered a powerful aphrodisiac!"

Gu Xichen's face froze stiff.

Banyue and the others standing nearby were also stunned into place.

A cunning gleam flickered in Maria's eyes. This was revenge, retribution for Gu Xichen squeezing her chest last time!

"You wretched woman! Just you wait!"

Gu Xichen's body trembled slightly, and he suddenly roared and bolted out of the medical center!

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My wife's maternal grandfather has a birthday tonight, and Pig Head has errands to run this morning, so the second chapter is updated early. Hope everyone enjoys the read...

And, make sure you enjoy smashing those recommendation votes... Uh, the more the merrier, smash those votes...

Aren't recommendation tickets perhaps even more thrilling than the injection Maria gave?