Chapter 41: Mission Accomplished

As Lin Feng’s projection dissipated, Xiao stood frozen, as if turned to stone.

A long while later, Xiao finally rose in silence, carefully picking up the purple book from the ground. He stood motionless where Lin Feng had vanished until the moon reached its zenith, before his figure flickered and disappeared.

...

Sumeru, Gandharva Ville.

"90?!"

"Did something go wrong?"

Having modified someone else for the first time, Lin Feng did not fall into a deep sleep as he usually did. However, seeing Xiao’s favorability suddenly skyrocket to 90, Lin Feng began to suspect that the system might have malfunctioned.

Because he was unclear about the exact process, combined with the inexplicable dissipation of the ley line projection, Lin Feng did not know what Xiao had experienced afterward. Although the changes in the status panel indicated that the modification was a massive success—even reducing the level penalty for Xiao from 10 to 5—seeing the favorability jump from 50 to 90 still left Lin Feng deeply shocked.

He suddenly realized that he had underestimated the impact of the curse on Xiao.

*The Yaksha race are truly sincere people. Because the Geo Archon saved them, they fought bitterly for Liyue for a millennium. Now that I’ve removed a bit of their curse, the favorability has reached a level where they would risk life and limb for me.*

Familiar with Zhongli’s personality, and having done such a significant favor for Xiao, Lin Feng was filled with anticipation for his future journey to Liyue.

*As is well known, if you are good to Zhongli himself, he might not necessarily reward you, but if you help those close to him, Zhongli is very likely to give you a massive payoff.*

The Authority of Geo seemed secure. Understanding Zhongli’s character, Lin Feng looked forward to the day they would eventually meet.

Three days later.

Having finally filled his energy reserves, Lin Feng sighed at the hard-won power and opened his panel:

[Individual Information: @￥%&—Lin Feng]

Level: 75 → 76 + 24 (Insufficient conditions) (Possessing the great authority of lush grass, even among the ancient Archons, you are by no means weak.)

Attribute: Dendro

Traits: [#%*&], True Form of a God, Elemental Mastery·Dendro (Energy level met, currently being unlocked), Blessing of Dreams 7 (Insufficient conditions), Elemental Resistance 7 (Insufficient conditions), Elemental Affinity 7 (Insufficient conditions), Robust Physique 7 (Insufficient conditions), Agility 7 (Insufficient conditions).

*It wasn’t easy!!!*

After hiding in the ley lines for over half a month, he had finally filled his energy bar.

As for the extra level on the panel, it was the result of Lin Feng’s persistent conversion of ley line energy over the past few days. Although ley line energy is difficult to utilize, it is not impossible. Aside from being used directly for attacks, elemental creatures like the Azhdaha, Geovishaps, and Cryo Regisvines can all absorb ley line energy to grow. If they can do it, there is no reason why he cannot.

Through his persistent conversion, he finally obtained enough energy from the ley lines to level up—not through the system, but through his own growth.

*If I treat myself like a Geovishap and stay holed up in here for a few hundred years, I could become a god through my own efforts.*

Although it was highly unlikely that the system would suddenly go haywire and trigger some kind of upgrade or temporary shutdown, knowing that he possessed traits similar to higher elemental beings and could ascend to godhood through his own power gave Lin Feng a great deal of peace of mind.

As for the new trait, its detailed explanation read:

*True Form of a God: The human body is by no means the true appearance of a deity. Reveal the divine form to further liberate the power of your authority.*

Simply put, Lin Feng could activate a second phase. He could temporarily abandon his human appearance, reveal his true form like other elemental creatures, resonate with the world, and exert his power to the maximum extent. As for what it looked like, Lin Feng only knew it would be the form he subconsciously yearned for most; he knew nothing else.

Not wanting to dwell on that for now, and feeling like he was about to grow mold after staying underground for so long, Lin Feng just wanted to get out quickly, take a comfortable hot bath, and enjoy a delicious stew of mixed mushrooms.

Come to think of it, what day was it today?

Thinking of Tighnari because of the mushroom stew, Lin Feng had no real sense of how long he had actually been underground. Curious about the specific time, he focused his attention on the surface for the first time in a long while.

"What the—is this even Gandharva Ville anymore?" Lin Feng was shocked.

The once peaceful rainforest area of Gandharva Ville was now covered in towering giant trees. The weeds on the ground had vanished, replaced by sturdy little trees. Upon closer inspection, these weren't little trees at all, but Sweet Flowers and Mint that had grown to many times their normal size!

Lin Feng, who had intended to head out immediately, felt beads of cold sweat break out on his forehead.

*Will Tighnari tear me apart?*

Even though, in terms of combat power, Lin Feng could easily defeat hundreds of Tighnaris in an instant, he was now somewhat afraid to face this overly reliable friend of his. But regardless, staying holed up underground wasn't an option.

With a thought, Lin Feng dispersed some pollen that would make ordinary people feel uneasy around him, performed some simple psychological suggestions combined with his dream abilities to ensure no one would approach this area, and then used the short-range ley line teleportation he had just mastered to reach the surface.

As soon as he stepped out, Lin Feng understood why Tighnari hadn't come to wake him despite such a massive transformation.

Someone had built a fence around the Statue of the Seven, and those fences had come alive, growing incredibly lush and thick, becoming a seamless, sturdy wall of wood. On one of the wooden walls, the words "Danger Ahead" were faintly visible.

Lin Feng: "..." *The more I look, the worse it gets. Should I just run away?*

Just as Lin Feng was seriously considering the possibility of fleeing, a discovery made him heave a sigh of relief and abandon the idea.

Although there was some impact on other areas, the absurd scenes he had seen underground—the giant Sweet Flowers and Mint—were only distributed in a small circle around him. This radius was only about five hundred meters, which was negligible compared to the entire rainforest. Furthermore, because this area was quite remote, there seemed to be no traces of anyone having been here.

*No, it’s as if absolutely no one has been here, as if everyone has subconsciously forgotten about it.*

But no matter how remote it was, how could no one have noticed such an anomaly? Lin Feng was puzzled. He looked around his surroundings, hoping to find some clues.

Finally, Lin Feng’s gaze rested on the statue behind him. Feeling the faint, lingering power of dreams nearby, he understood what had happened and decided to bow to the Lesser Lord Kusanali the next time they met.