Being able to unleash the third change is already Evan's absolute limit, and even then, there are restrictions. With his current strength, Ninefold Divine-Dragon Metamorphosis can only be used once per month, and every use leaves him extremely weakened.
Evan knows well that every advantage comes with a drawback. Unless absolutely necessary, he won't use Ninefold Divine-Dragon Metamorphosis. Even with only three changes accessible, his power has at least doubled compared to before. He believes that before ascending to the God Realm, he probably won't need to use it at all.
After finishing his cultivation, Evan flew back to where Yvonne Xuan and the Ice Fairy were training. Both women were still in seclusion, but the energy radiating from them showed they had reached late Immortal Emperor realm, though there was still some time before their ascension.
Evan didn’t disturb the two women, but instead went to check on the others, inspecting their cultivation realms as he went. Faye Knox and Lillian Zhang had already reached late Da Luo Golden Immortal, while Lynn Chu and Lena Chu had broken through to early Immortal Lord. The rest had all made significant progress as well.
Seeing these results, Evan felt deeply gratified. What made him happiest was the progress of Cole Chu and Liam Chu—both had grown into a handsome young man and a beautiful girl. Cole especially had become strikingly tall, her figure almost mismatched to her body, and her looks were truly stunning—a complete beauty.
Both of them had reached mid Immortal Emperor realm, and given time, breaking through to late Immortal Emperor was very likely. Such rapid progress owed much to the artifact spirit within the Immortal Crystal world-core—without this powerful Immortal Essence, their breakthroughs wouldn't have been nearly so fast.
One day, Evan came alone to the riverside, only to witness a scene that left him stunned. There, by the water, stood an unfamiliar young woman, quietly gazing at the river as the breeze gently lifted her hair. She looked so beautiful—like an ethereal fairy untouched by the mortal world.
Seeing this girl, something clicked in Evan’s mind, and his face lit up with joy as he called out, “Princess Serena Hua, is that you?”
The girl slowly turned to glance at Evan, then gave a faint, mesmerizing smile. Her beauty was so breathtaking that Evan found himself momentarily dazed.
Noticing Evan’s reaction, a hint of annoyance flashed across the girl’s face, but Evan quickly recovered and said, “I didn’t expect you to be so beautiful. I was just stunned for a moment and lost my composure—please forgive my rudeness, Princess.”
“I’ll forgive you this time, but if you ever act like that again, I won’t let it slide. I absolutely hate men staring at me with that fiery look in their eyes. By the way, your cultivation has improved fast—you’ve already reached late Immortal Emperor, haven’t you?” Princess Serena Hua said.
“When did you reconstruct your body? You must have suffered a lot in the process. But now, how come I can’t sense your cultivation at all? What’s going on?” Evan asked, puzzled.
“I rebuilt my body a hundred years ago. It was painful, but regaining a physical form was worth it. Right now, my cultivation is extremely low. For the past century, I haven’t known what kind of power to absorb, and it’s left me really confused,” Princess Serena Hua replied.
“How could that be? If you can absorb Immortal Spirit Force, then just do it—there’s so much Immortal Essence here. I’m sure you could improve your strength easily,” Evan said.
“That’s what I thought too, but no matter what energy I absorb, it’s like a stone sinking into the sea—there’s no effect at all. Even when I absorb power from Netherstones, it’s the same. My dantian feels like a bottomless pit; no matter how much I take in, nothing seems to change.
Sometimes I’ll see a little Nether power or Immortal Spirit Force in my dantian, but by the next day it’s gone again. I just can’t figure it out. I’ve tried countless times and it’s always the same, so now I’ve given up. Just being able to reconstruct my body is already the greatest blessing heaven could give me. There’s no need to force anything else.”
Princess Serena Hua spoke lightly, but Evan could tell she was deeply pained inside. Who doesn’t want to be strong—especially someone who was once a top-tier powerhouse? To be reduced to a 'waste' now, others might not understand that feeling, but Evan knew it all too well.
Back then, it was because Yvonne Xuan absorbed my Stellar Power that I couldn’t break through for three years and was treated as trash by my clan. That kind of bitterness and humiliation—only I truly understand it.
Evan frowned, glanced at Princess Serena Hua, and asked, “Princess, when you absorb Immortal Essence or Nether power, have you ever checked where it goes? Does it change your physique, or is there something special inside you that’s consuming all the energy you absorb?”
“There shouldn’t be anything special inside my body. Even though my strength hasn’t recovered, my realm and divine sense are still very powerful—I can see everything inside me clearly, and there’s nothing unusual there. The energy just disappears into my dantian for no reason, and I have no idea why,” Princess Serena Hua said in frustration.
“There’s always a solution to every problem, so don’t overthink it. What are your plans now? I don’t know how to fix your situation, but I can ask others—maybe someone will recognize what’s going on with you,” Evan said.
“I just want to quickly regain my strength, then find a way back to the Netherworld and master its strongest arts—then I’ll seek out Lord Frostbane’s reincarnation to take revenge. Of course, if I’m going to get stronger, I’ll have to rely on your help. You will help me, right?” Princess Serena Hua asked.
Evan was dumbfounded. Was she serious? This crazy girl actually wanted to kill him—and wanted his help to get strong enough to do it! Talk about inviting a wolf into the house. But there was no way he could just kill her, so this misunderstanding would have to be slowly resolved in the future.
“Of course I’ll help! But if you want to return to the Netherworld, you’ll have to ascend to the God Realm—and you’re still a long way from that. I’m worried that by the time we all ascend, you’ll still be stuck here in the Immortal Realm. That would be a real problem,” Evan said.
“Don’t worry about that. As soon as I figure out why I can’t absorb Immortal Spirit Force or Nether power, I’ll be able to break through and ascend quickly. For now, just help me think of a solution!” Princess Serena Hua said.
Evan couldn’t help but laugh. At first she acted like she didn’t care, but now she clearly does. Women’s thoughts really are impossible to predict. “Just wait here for me—I’ll go ask around.” With that, he vanished from Princess Serena Hua’s sight…