Online Game: Evil Dragon Against The Heaven - 253

“Are you surprised by how weak it is compared to what you expected? Heh, I’m not surprised. The strength of the Sacred Mark Beast isn’t in its innate power, but in its ability to transform. In order to help you defeat that dark fiend, I had no choice but to guide it into pouring all its power into you…That’s why, right now, its strength is as feeble as that of a newborn. However, as long as it exists within the Sacred Mark, it should recover quickly. And the fastest way for it to regain its strength… is through devouring.” The voice of the Illusory Beast Clan elder echoed weakly in his ears.

“Devouring?” That skill, Sacred Mark Devour, had already left Ye Tian Xie stunned.

“That’s right—devouring. After you defeat an enemy, especially a powerful one, remember to have the Sacred Mark Beast consume its corpse. Every time it devours a spirit, it gains the ability to transform into it and acquires all of its skills… I mean, all of them.”

The elder’s voice was barely above a whisper now. It seemed that after existing for so long, his final remnant of consciousness was finally reaching its end.

“I understand.”

With Sacred Mark Devour, this tiny, fragile-looking Sacred Mark Beast had suddenly become something terrifying. It was hard to imagine—what if he had this ability himself…?

“Then… farewell… You must…”

“…”

The voice suddenly cut off. Ye Tian Xie looked forward, but he could no longer sense the presence of any lingering spirit. The last surviving member of the Illusory Beast Clan, who had perished ten thousand years ago yet left behind a sliver of his will within the Sacred Mark Beast, had finally fulfilled his last wish and faded into nothingness.

Silence fell.

Ye Tian Xie stretched out his left hand and softly called, 『Kaka』.

A flash of white light—

The short, stubby, round-bodied Mashimaro appeared before him. It had just lifted its head to greet him when it nearly lost its balance and fell backward. It barely managed to stabilize itself.

…A rabbit that couldn’t even stand properly was supposed to be his mount?

@#￥%……

Since its growth depended on devouring, then…

With a thought, a small cluster of dark purple light appeared in front of him, materializing into the corpse of a beast. Its body was relatively small, with a lion-like head, but what stood out the most were the three pairs of wings sprouting from its back, spread upward. Its body was neither golden nor brown, but an unusual shade of dark purple—this was the first, and only, Celestial Spirit Beast Ye Tian Xie had slain in Destiny World—the juvenile Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion. The only difference now was that the horn on its head was missing—Ye Tian Xie had harvested it for himself.

The duration that a beast’s corpse remained after death varied by its rank. Normal monsters disappeared in one minute, One-Star Elites lasted two minutes, Two-Star Elites three minutes, Three-Star Elites five minutes, Lord-tier bosses ten minutes, but Celestial Spirit and above never disappeared unless external forces interfered. That’s why Ye Tian Xie had been able to store it in his inventory for so long.

Even without Ye Tian Xie’s guidance, the moment the corpse appeared, Kaka, who had been groggy and sluggish, suddenly became full of energy. It stepped forward with determination, stopping in front of the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion. Its mouth—shaped no different from an ordinary rabbit’s—suddenly opened wide…

Its devouring was not a simple act of consumption—it was…

As its mouth stretched open, a flawless white glow emerged from within, enveloping the corpse of the Celestial Spirit Beast. Then, an astonishing sight unfolded before Ye Tian Xie’s eyes—

The corpse of the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion was encased in the white glow. The light grew more intense, shining so brightly that the body itself began to blur. Then, within this haze, the body suddenly seemed to turn to mist, breaking down into tiny orbs of white energy. Pulled by an invisible force, the orbs flowed into Kaka’s open mouth.

Two seconds… Three seconds… Five seconds…

Under Ye Tian Xie’s watchful gaze, Kaka devoured the entire Celestial Spirit Beast in just five seconds. When its mouth closed and the white glow vanished, the spot where the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion once lay was now completely empty—not a single trace of fur, not even the faintest residue, remained.

Then, another system notification echoed in Ye Tian Xie’s ears.

【Ding… Your mount has used 『Sacred Mark Devour』to consume the corpse of the juvenile Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion. Lightning Resistance +5%. Innate skill ‘Phantom Spirit Transformation (Huàn Líng Biàn)’ has been unlocked. It can now transform into the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion. After transformation, Lightning Resistance increases by 30%, physical attacks inflict an additional 30-50 points of lightning damage, and it can sustain low-altitude flight (within two meters) for approximately 10 seconds. New skills acquired: 《Lightning Charge》, 《Lightning Summon》, 《Electromagnetic Field》, 《Lightning Flash》, 《True? Electromagnetic Storm》】

Kaka (Kǎ Kǎ), having finished devouring, happily patted its belly. Ye Tian Xie (Yè Tiān Xié) wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he could swear that Kaka looked slightly taller than before. Although he had prepared himself, the system notification still startled him—after devouring the lightning-attribute Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion, not only had Kaka’s corresponding attributes improved, but it had actually inherited all of its skills. Even its limited flight ability had been replicated.

Did that mean… if it devoured a creature capable of flying or living underwater, Kaka would also be able to move freely in the air or underwater?

However, it was worth noting that while Kaka had acquired all of the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion’s skills, its base stats were still far too low. These lightning-based skills were incredibly powerful when used by the original beast, but in Kaka’s current state… their effectiveness was practically negligible. It didn’t even have enough mana to cast them. Even if Kaka transformed into the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion, its basic stats would still be identical to its true form.

“Ka… Ka..”

Kaka patted its belly again, seemingly letting out a satisfied burp. Then, a delayed reaction caused rings of white light to start glowing around its body.

【Ding… Your mount 『Kaka』has leveled up to Level 1…】

【Ding… Your mount 『Kaka』has leveled up to Level 2… It has evolved into a Level 2 Mount.】

【Ding… Your mount『Kaka』has leveled up to Level 3…】

…………

…………

【Ding… Your mount 『Kaka』has leveled up to Level 10… It has evolved into a Level 4 Mount.】

A Celestial Spirit Beast was, after all, a Celestial Spirit Beast. The power it had bestowed allowed Kaka, who had been at the lowest possible threshold of strength, to grow at an astronomically rapid pace. With its level soaring, it had jumped ten levels in one go, and even its mount rank had evolved from Level 1 to Level 4.

Kaka, Level 4 Mount

Level: 10

Attributes:

HP: 400

MP: 400

Attack: 40

Magic Attack: 40

Defense: 40

Accuracy: 10

Evasion: 10

Movement Speed: 40

Attack Speed: 50

Innate Ability: Phantom Spirit Transformation

Available Transformations: Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion 

Skills: Sacred Mark Devour , Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion Transformation (includes Lightning Charge, Lightning Summon, Electromagnetic Field, Lightning Flash, True? Electromagnetic Storm).

Kaka’s attributes had undergone a significant transformation. However, even more shocking than its stat growth was its unique innate ability—Phantom Spirit Transformation.

Through Sacred Mark Devour, Kaka could devour creatures and transform into them, inheriting all of their abilities… with the caveat that its base stats remained the same.

“Kaka, Phantom Spirit Transformation” Ye Tian Xie commanded, watching expectantly.

“Ka…!”

Kaka let out a cheerful response, raising its tiny front paws. A flash of white light flickered across its body, and in the blink of an eye, Kaka had disappeared.

Standing in its place was the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion, the very same creature Ye Tian Xie had slain—one that had left an unforgettable impression on him.

Kaka’s transformation had taken only an instant.

The appearance and size of the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion before him were identical to the one in his memories. Even the crystal horn Ye Tian Xie had previously harvested had reappeared atop its head.

Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion (Kaka’s Phantom Spirit Transformation)

Attributes:

HP: 400

MP: 400

Attack: 40

Magic Attack: 40

Defense: 40

Accuracy: 10

Evasion: 10

Movement Speed: 90

Attack Speed: 100

Innate Ability: Inherits all original talents of the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion.

Skills: Inherits all of the Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion’s skills.

After Phantom Spirit Transformation, the only attributes that changed to match the original Six-Winged Purple Scaled Sky-Treading Lion were its movement speed and attack speed. All other base stats remained Kaka’s own.

At the same time, this meant that aside from its basic stats, Kaka would fully inherit the talents, skills, and characteristics of the creature it transformed into.

Looking at Kaka in its current form, a rather sinister thought flashed through Ye Tian Xie’s mind… What if Kaka devoured Yao Yao and Xiao Bei as well…?

Hmm… It was just a sinister thought.

But now, Ye Tian Xie had fully grasped the true power of Kaka. Even though its base stats weren’t particularly strong, and even among mounts of the same rank, it didn’t stand out too much… as long as it had enough creatures to devour, its power would continue to grow exponentially—acquiring more and more abilities, whether offensive, supportive, restraining, mobility-based… or even healing.

This was a seemingly unimpressive, yet potentially unstoppable monstrosity. No wonder the Illusory Beast Clan had revered it as their legendary guardian beast. Limitless transformation… an ability that most would desperately covet, one that even the Illusory Beast Clan had to expend significant energy to use—even for them, transformation was a limited ability. And yet, for Kaka, it was as simple as breathing, requiring no effort at all.

Yao Yao, Xiao Bei… and now Kaka. Ye Tian Xie suddenly realized—every companion by his side was extraordinary in their own way. Each possessed astonishing abilities that could leave people in utter shock. Each was an exception among exceptions, carrying either an air of mystery or an unparalleled lineage of power.

They, like him, did not belong to this world.

After recalling Kaka, Ye Tian Xie turned his attention back to searching this half-destroyed space. This was once the Illusory Beast Clan’s home and the Dark Nether Ghost King had been hiding here for years—there might just be something unbelievable left behind…