"Then do as you please!"
Seeing Ye Liang had stopped moving, the slug also came to a halt.
After a long while.
It eyed him with suspicion for a while, then finally left reluctantly when it realized Ye Liang truly wasn't moving.
In the distance.
That giant eye opened underground again. It stared hard at Ye Liang's back, yet there was a trace of tenderness in its gaze.
"This little one is indeed remarkable. Strong-willed and full of spirit. No wonder Gamamaru chose him."
"Lord Katsuyu, can you really trust that old toad? I think that immortal-looking thing is clearly lying. Fate's Chosen One? Can a mere human really save the world?" The wise slug emerged again from beneath the moss, still complaining discontentedly to the big eye.
"Whether he truly is Fate's Chosen One or not will be revealed in time." After speaking, the big eye closed again.
Seeing her like this, the wise slug kept puffing out its cheeks angrily.
"What an annoying toad! With his creepy old look, how dare he earn Lord Katsuyu's respect? It's making me furious!" The wise slug got angry.
Being created by Katsuyu the Sage, every member of the slug clan shared an inherent bond with her. Therefore, seeing their mother so respectful toward an unknown old man made her angry.
"Now that Haku Katsuyu is around, let her test this young one!"
Some time passed.
After closing his eyes, Ye Liang already slightly sensed some Sage Chakra.
Actually, Sage Chakra attributes were basically similar—whether from Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, or Shikkotsu Forest, even the Sage Chakra from outside the [summoning realms (the sacred lands of ancient beings)] remained the same.
The only difference lay in outside chakra being weak and easily absorbed, while summoning-realm chakra was excessively powerful, making it difficult to absorb because of environmental factors.
Take Ryuchi Cave for example.
The environment in Ryuchi Cave tended towards darkness. While sensing his surroundings, Ye Liang constantly had to resist the cold climate, enduring the low temperatures just to absorb Sage Chakra.
Once distracted, the absorption process would fail immediately. Extreme concentration was absolutely required during the entire process.
Shikkotsu Forest was different again.
The humidity level was extremely high in Shikkotsu Forest. Besides meditating with eyes closed, Ye Liang had to constantly fight against surrounding dampness. He had to constantly endure the suffocating dampness pressing in from all sides!
He was on the verge of entering Sage Mode.
While resisting discomfort, Ye Liang gradually forgot everything else.
Just then, a slippery liquid suddenly dropped onto Ye Liang's face—a slimy, slippery slug!
Ye Liang snapped wide awake!
He gasped heavily, his previously focused concentration completely broken!
"Didn't I already say I don't want anything to do with Katsuyu the Sage anymore? Why are you interrupting me now?" This slug was still the same one who had blocked him earlier.
"This is Shikkotsu Forest. Who do you think you are? What's it got to do with you?"
"How could you be so unreasonable!"
"I'm a girl. So what if I'm unreasonable?" The slug glared at Ye Liang arrogantly, its soft body leaning against his arm, rubbing gently.
Ugh!
Ye Liang nearly gagged on the spot.
A slug had crawled up his arm and was rubbing against him mercilessly!
This was the kind of experience he probably wouldn't encounter in ten lifetimes!
"If this weren't Katsuyu's territory, I'd swat you like a fly," Ye Liang muttered under his breath. After all, this *was* Katsuyu's domain. No matter how angry he was, he still needed to show respect to Sage Katsuyu.
"Hmph, I'm gonna rub you!" The slug shot back defiantly before resuming its movement.
Ye Liang simply ignored it.
Enduring distractions was part of training in Sage Mode. If he couldn't even tolerate such a tiny nuisance as this slug, how could he ever master the advanced techniques of Shikkotsu Forest?
Calmly, he focused again.
This time, it was that same unpleasant sensory pressure—made worse by the added annoyance of the slug constantly rubbing against his arm.
"Katsuyu-sama, see? I told you he wasn't good enough! If even White Katsuyu's small interference can break his concentration, how could he possibly be the Chosen One? Gamamaru was definitely lying."
The big eyes blinked helplessly, clearly frustrated.
"You! Why don't you just let him train properly? Why send White Katsuyu to interfere with him?"
"Eh... You already knew about it, didn't you, Katsuyu-sama?"
"Of course I did. White Katsuyu would never do something so underhanded on her own. For her to approach that human, it must've been your doing."
The Sage Slug awkwardly blushed: "I just wanted to test him for you!"
As the two females chatted, an astonishing transformation occurred in Ye Liang.
Visibly, yellow chakra slowly gathered from all directions toward Ye Liang. With every breath, massive amounts of chakra were drawn into his body.
In truth, not even the Sage Slug herself had anticipated this.
By sending White Katsuyu to disturb Ye Liang, she unintentionally ended up helping him instead.
When people are faced with external disturbances, they often focus more intensely. Their instincts automatically shut down their perception system in an effort to eliminate the noise!
That's also why people often fail to notice things right in front of them when deeply concentrating on something else.
The slug clinging to Ye Liang was startled too—it hadn't even figured out what was happening when suddenly, it was slung off his arm.
"Ahh!" Ye Liang roared loudly.
He felt an unprecedented surge of power—an experience unlike any Sage Technique he'd ever learned. As he merged with the chakra of Shikkotsu Forest, the original Sage Chakra resonated with this new energy!
These three forces intertwined, subtly altering Ye Liang's outward appearance!
[Sage Transformation - Ryuchi Cave & Mount Myoboku Style] A milky-white dragon horn emerged from Ye Liang's forehead, followed by ornamental markings appearing at the corners of his eyes — characteristic of the Sage Transformations from both Ryuchi Cave and Mount Myoboku.
Then came a faint wrinkle across his forehead — the Yin Seal, an S-Rank secret technique: Creation Rebirth!
[Shikkotsu Forest Sage Transformation Mode!] This was the unique transformation style of Shikkotsu Forest!
Three distinct Sage Modes ignited across Ye Liang's body in an instant, only to shift and reshape themselves moments later.
His dragon blade gradually shrank until only a small black dot remained on his forehead, while the Yin Seal originally used for Creation Rebirth slowly faded away.
Around his eyes had formed intricate patterns—the dark circles were gone, yet a permanent golden ring encircled his pupils. It was as if he had truly become an immortal. Ye Liang's appearance had undergone an eternal change!
As he opened his eyes, a stream of mixed turbid energy expelled from his body! Then, thick, pitch-black sludge began to ooze from his pores.
It carried a foul stench and felt sticky to the touch.
[Transcendent Body Transformation!]
Ye Liang was stunned!
He never imagined that after mastering three types of Sage Mode, his body would actually undergo the legendary process of [Transcendent Body Transformation]!
In his previous life, such a state only appeared in [Cultivation Realm] tales!
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