It is time to reap my prize: the pink and violet flower.

  I accosted the herb and I sniffed it, a powerful qi-infused odor invested me. I understood why the python didn’t eat the flower: it probably didn’t have the assurance to be able to withstand its powerful qi. So it simply passively absorbed the qi emitted from it while eating every animal that came near it.

  I didn’t have this problem: my body was sturdy and my meridians and dantian clear.

  I ate the flower.

  Immediately a potent energy entered my dantian, but, with the power of my will, I redirected it circulating it inside my meridians following the way of the Bear’s Sutra. By doing so the energy was refined inside my body and was then deposited inside my dantian.

  [2nd layer Qi refining → 4th layer Qi refining]

  “Hooray. Two whole layers in one go. It means months of arduous cultivation saved in this qi depraved land”

  Now it's time to breakthrough through my physical cultivation.

  I sat down and used my newly upgraded qi reserve to capture and guide raw qi from outside to inside my skin, following the method of the demonic beast body cultivation. With every circle, my qi washed and purified my skin and the raw qi was infused into it, the result was a purer and stronger skin.

  At the 15th circle, I sensed some resistance, but I persisted and at the 30th I broke through.

  I didn’t have time to celebrate when I heard a familiar voice and found myself in a white space.

  [User has broken through the body limitation. Initiating assisted evolution. Displaying options]

  In the white room compared five images depicting different types of bears.

  ‘Well if my heart demons taught me that I desire a family, that to defend it I need power, and that I am not to give away my future for short-term power. So…’

  [Big Panda selected. Commencing evolution]

  When I woke up I was notably smaller and my paws were black. My spirit sense detected that I was indeed a panda.

  I analyzed the differences in my body. My skin is now less durable as if I still was at the 5th stage of skin refining. But now I have 3 more skills: Stealth, regeneration, and YinYang mind koi fishes.

  Just as I started focusing on the last one the skill disappeared and a surge of information flowed inside my head. Two koi fish appeared inside my mind lake, one white and one black.

  They were the result of the synergy of my evolution with my Crystal Mind Lake palace technique. The two koi fish would keep the lake clean, avoid the formation of other heart demons, and boost my affinity for yin and yang techniques.

  The regeneration skill allowed me to use my qi to heal my wounds. I will probably need to experience various battles to level it up.

  And lastly, the stealth skill allowed me to blend myself with shadows and darkness and allowed me to avoid being detected. For now, because of his low level, it only worked on people below the qi gathering stage, any higher and they could easily see through my skill.