Evan Lin brought Jill Jing to the park, found a deserted spot, and casually tossed Gavin Duan onto the ground.
Gavin Duan lay on the ground, writhing in agony, his face twisted with pain and his mouth letting out wave after wave of tortured groans.
Blood oozed from his mouth and nose, his muscles convulsing uncontrollably.
He looked absolutely miserable.
Jill Jing watched him with deep concern written all over her face.
"He'll be fine. He just needs some time."
Evan Lin glanced at Gavin Duan. Gavin had been completely drained of his essence by the spirit locust—normally a death sentence—but luckily, Evan still had the Evil Zombie Gu.
That Evil Zombie Gu, which Evan had extracted from Damon Wang's body, had always existed in a parasitic relationship with him—growing stronger by constantly siphoning off Damon Wang's power.
As a type of Gu insect, the Evil Zombie Gu itself survived by absorbing the blood-essence of countless other Gu, making it a toxic monstrosity.
Previously, Evan Lin had subdued that Evil Zombie Gu using the Binding Spirit Art.
Now, the Evil Zombie Gu inside Gavin Duan wasn’t draining his blood anymore—instead, it was forcefully pumping its own toxic blood-essence back into him.
The process was pure agony, but the benefits for Gavin were obvious.
Jill Jing just nodded, squatted down, hugged her knees, and stared blankly at Gavin as he rolled and writhed on the ground in pain.
The little kid didn’t seem scared by any of this. Her face was pale, but she stayed calm.
Evan Lin stood silently beside her, saying nothing.
Just now, Evan had checked Jill Jing’s body again and found her spirit spring still immature.
To Evan, the spirit spring planting method looked childish and laughable, but on Earth, it was rare and valuable.
Gavin’s face twisted in agony, weird guttural noises spilling from his mouth as his bones cracked and popped inside his body.
He writhed on the ground like some bizarre snake, curling up and then stretching out again and again.
Black blood oozed from every inch of his skin.
The blood sizzled on the grass, sending up clouds of black smoke. In no time, the whole patch of grass turned pitch black and lifeless, revealing the yellow-brown dirt underneath.
"Ugh!"
Gavin’s neck twisted, his body jerking uncontrollably. His left shoulder snapped back with a crisp sound, and his elbow spun all the way around, folding up like a sheet of paper.
Gavin squeezed his eyes shut, gritted his teeth, stretched his neck, and tensed every muscle in his body.
Beneath his skin, you could see a shadow darting around inside him, each movement making a crackling sound, like smashing through brambles or snapping dead branches.
His hands twisted, joints snapping and reattaching over and over.
Gavin’s eyes bulged, his whole body shaking violently as his shriveled skin swelled, deflated, then ballooned up again.
At the peak of swelling, Gavin looked like a giant balloon.
"Aaaah!"
Gavin roared, spraying a fountain of blood and chunks of flesh from his mouth.
Cracks started spreading all over Gavin’s skin, and from a distance, it looked like a net breaking apart.
"It’s about to get bloody. You scared?" Evan Lin asked.
He glanced over at Jill Jing, who was still squatting there—small, but her eyes never looked away.
Jill Jing shook her head. "I'm not afraid."
The next moment—
ROAR!
Gavin Duan rose from the ground and howled at the sky.
His voice was packed with pain, rage, and raw power.
His skin split open, and from that old shell, Gavin stepped out—soaked in blood.
He was taller, way more muscular, his eyes gloomy and cold—a monster that sent chills down your spine.
Gavin was now two whole heads taller, standing at a massive 1.9 meters.
He stood there, panting hard, the ground sinking under his feet.
All the hair on Gavin’s head was gone—he was totally bald.
Gavin stared at his own hands in disbelief—no skin, just blood and muscle, thick veins crisscrossing through his body. It looked chilling and insane.
"I..."
He opened his mouth, feeling a wild surge of power all over—but his voice came out hoarse and low, sounding almost metallic.
"You didn’t die. From now on, you still have one job—protect her." Evan Lin said coldly.
"If anything happens to her, or you get any funny ideas, I’ll kill you myself."
Evan’s tone was flat.
The Evil Zombie Gu was still lurking inside Gavin. All the power he had now came straight from it.
But the Evil Zombie Gu was already bound by Evan Lin’s Binding Spirit Art. If Evan wanted, he could wipe Gavin out with a single thought.
Gavin’s body, completely rebuilt by the Evil Zombie Gu, was now even stronger than Damon Wang, who’d nurtured the Gu for years.
You might not reach true Vajra-level, but most so-called masters couldn’t even break your flesh now.
Evan Lin stared at Gavin with a calm look.
Right now, Gavin’s strength far surpassed the peak inner-strength fighters. Even against a real Vajra-level expert, Evan was confident Gavin could fight.
Without a word, Gavin dropped to his knees in front of Evan Lin. "As long as I can stay by Little Jill’s side, I’ll do anything!"
"I swear I won’t ever betray you!"
Gavin’s voice trembled. After coming back from the dead, he finally understood how terrifying Evan Lin truly was—the power that had just rampaged through his body was way beyond anything he’d imagined.
And at the core, that power came from this young man standing right in front of him.
"That’s better. If you behave, I’ll help you get your looks back someday." Evan Lin promised.
Evan Lin nodded, satisfied.
To Evan, compared to Gavin, Jill Jing’s spirit spring was the real treasure.
Once Evan reached Foundation Building, he could absorb the water from her spirit spring to boost his cultivation.
Spirit water from the spring was way more potent than ordinary spiritual qi.
Jill Jing looked at the skinless Gavin, then stood up and walked over to him.
Gavin eyed Jill Jing nervously, scared his new look would freak her out. He couldn’t help but shuffle back a bit.
But Jill didn’t hesitate at all. She stepped forward, opened her arms, and looked at him seriously. "I want a hug."
A flood of sadness and joy crashed over Gavin. His eyes went red and tears streamed down his face.
Jill stepped up and gently hugged him, her face tinged with sorrow. "Sorry," she whispered.
Evan Lin watched the scene, silent for a long time.