Chapter 42

Chapter 042: As You Wish Body

In the cozy and comfortable wooden cabin.

Yan Cang stood before the supply box, completely unaware of what was happening in the distant desert.

Naturally, he had no idea that someone there was experiencing the silent mockery of fate.

Otherwise, he would definitely argue: This has nothing to do with me.

In fact, it seemed that way.

Here.

When the leaderboard refresh notification sounded in his mind.

Yan Cang's full anticipation was naturally for today's Golden Chest.

As usual, he effortlessly activated the "Great Fate Art," anchoring the fate line to obtain the Golden Chest.

Then he reached out and touched it.

Radiant light swirled, and the dazzling Golden Chest arrived as promised.

Without any hesitation, he opened it directly.

The moment the lid lifted, the foresight of the "Great Fate Art" was already in motion.

Countless future phantoms, each carrying information about different items and energy fluctuations, spread out like a brilliant star map in his consciousness.

Forming a "selection interface" that only he could see, uniquely his own.

"Today's goal is clear..."

Yan Cang clearly outlined his needs in his mind: "Is there any auxiliary item that can free up my hands during cultivation and improve efficiency?"

With the clarity of his intent, the vast star map began to change drastically.

Countless future branches that didn't meet the requirements vanished like bubbles, while a few item phantoms flickering with specific spiritual light were highlighted and pushed forward.

Among them, there were indeed things he had imagined.

Items like "AFK Cultivation Talisman" and "Auto-Cultivation Puppet."

Each had straightforward functions, specifically designed to solve cultivation problems.

At a glance, there were quite a few items that could meet his basic requirements.

But with so many options, Yan Cang's mind began to wander.

He thought, he needed to find something that could kill multiple birds with one stone!

Once greed took hold, the standards naturally rose.

"Preferably, something with additional, more fundamental uses and good potential."

He clarified his requirements in his mind.

With this thought clear, the "Great Fate Art" activated again, and the energy it consumed increased slightly.

The vast star map shifted violently once more, lights flickering on and off.

After a moment, the numerous chaotic future phantoms dimmed and dissipated.

Only two future timelines remained, their light growing brighter until they finally settled into clear focus.

What appeared were an ancient jade slip and a fruit that looked somewhat familiar to him.

Yan Cang looked at the former first.

[External Incarnation (Skill Book): Upon learning, you can split into two clones that share a mind with the original. One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, the Dao's essence is naturally formed.]

Able to split into two clones!

Supports instant recall, and the cultivation gains and memories from the clones will perfectly merge back into the original.

This meant that even if he only sent the two clones to cultivate while he played games, he could still gain double the power.

But he quickly noticed a detail: when recalling the clones, the tedious cultivation memories would also merge.

In an instant, Yan Cang lost the little interest he had.

Of course, even without this "flaw," he definitely wouldn't have chosen it.

Even though the idea of having two long-lasting "selves" that could help with many things sounded tempting.

But the thought of having two doppelgangers constantly hovering around him...

Watching "himself" busy with this and that, and even potentially developing slight personality differences... it just felt weird.

It was genuinely off-putting.

Quickly skipping past this option, Yan Cang looked at the other one revealed by Fate Revelation.

It was something that looked somewhat familiar to him.

A fruit with a warm, lustrous sheen all over, its patterns intricate and restrained.

This was quite similar to the [Talent Fruit] he had obtained from the Golden Chest on the very first day.

But upon closer inspection, the patterns and the implied meaning were vastly different.

[Talent Fruit (As You Wish Body): Upon consumption, you will gain the special talent of perfect self-control over your own body. As you wish, as you will! Unity of mind and body, control from the heart!]

A bit hard to understand!

Yan Cang focused his mind and paid a negligible amount of energy.

More detailed effects then flooded into his mind: granting the consumer absolute perception and fine control over every inch of muscle, bone, internal organ, nerve, and even the subtle life systems of their body.

"This is good!" Yan Cang's eyes lit up, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Although [Fate Revelation] required a considerable amount of energy, the answers it provided were indeed thoughtful.

But that made sense, after all, it was precisely matched based on his own clear requirements.

Next, without any hesitation.

His consciousness locked onto the future projection where the [Talent Fruit (As You Wish Body)] resided.

The power of the Great Fate Art quietly flowed, "pulling" that timeline into the present.

The anchor was set.

In reality, the Golden Chest burst with light, and the item condensing inside had already been swapped.

Yan Cang reached out and took the fruit from the chest.

The fruit was slightly warm to the touch, smooth and delicate like jade, and seemed to pulse gently as if it were alive.

Without examining it further, he directly placed it into his mouth.

The moment the fruit entered his mouth, it transformed into a warm, mellow current, but it did not surge into his Dantian or mind.

Instead, it instantly spread throughout his limbs, bones, and into every single, smallest cell.

There was no intense pain, no strange mutation.

Only an indescribable, unprecedented sense of connection and clarity was established.

It was as if the precise, complex, yet often self-willed biological machine inside his body had suddenly connected to an interface with the highest authority.

All the control panels, parameter adjustment knobs, real-time status monitoring screens, and the subtle feedback from every single "part"...

Were all unreservedly and clearly presented under the absolute control of his consciousness.

At that moment, he could feel the force and rhythm of every beat of his heart.

The path and speed of blood flowing through his blood vessels, the subtle rhythm of the expansion and contraction of the alveoli in his lungs, the direction and intensity of his stomach and intestines' peristalsis.

He could even vaguely perceive the faint "sound" of the metabolism of billions of cells within his body.

[Ding! You have acquired the talent 'As You Wish Body'.]

As the notification sounded, Yan Cang had already fully and thoroughly comprehended the mystery and power of this talent.

In his heart, he was very satisfied.

Perfect Self-Control!

This meant that when cultivating the Sword Nurturing Art, he no longer needed to focus on guiding every strand of Essence Qi or calibrating each Essence Orifice.

With just a single thought, setting the path and target, he could complete the Cycle of "Refining Essence into Qi."

The process would never go wrong, and it even surpassed the efficiency of his previous conscious control.

This was more than just freeing up his hands; it was like equipping a fully automatic, high-fidelity, zero-error internal training assistant!

But that wasn't all. The wonders of the As You Wish Body went far beyond this:

He could micro-manage local flesh and blood, greatly accelerating blood clotting and tissue healing when injured;

He could precisely soothe and regulate his immune system—which often vacillated between "either kill the virus or kill the host"—during illness, making recovery gentler and more efficient;

He could control his digestive system to speed up absorption and deliver nutrients precisely to the areas that needed them most;

He could even actively intervene in his own hormone secretion and neurotransmitter levels to some extent.

This allowed him to fall asleep quickly, wake up instantly, regulate his emotions, and adjust various other mental and physical states.

In theory, he could also use this to overcome addictions to certain things, like games or even gourmet food…

"Not good!"

Thinking this, Yan Cang quickly cut off this dangerous derivative thought in his mind.

Functions like rapid sleep and precise recovery were already godlike skills, not to mention the boost to his cultivation efficiency.

These effects alone were already comparable to the average item from a Golden Chest.

Being any greedier would be unfriendly, woah!

With that, he completely cleared such dangerous thoughts from his mind.

Then, he eagerly began to try cultivating the Sword Nurturing Art.

To test the effectiveness of this talent in cultivation.

With a slight mental command, he issued the relevant instructions to his body.

In an instant…

A strange feeling surged forth.

All the limbs, bones, and countless Essence Orifices in his body, like soldiers receiving the highest orders, opened up in an orderly fashion without needing deliberate guidance.

Threads of Essence Qi were efficiently gathered, refined, and began circulating along the most optimized path on their own.

And he himself was still standing leisurely, without needing to deliberately sit cross-legged and concentrate.

This feeling of "Essence Qi circulating on its own" was novel and incredibly wonderful.

He tried walking a few steps and vigorously shook his hands.

The Cycle within his body remained as steady as ever, precise and flawless.

"It worked!"

A cheerful smile spread across Yan Cang's face.

"With decades of cultivation experience, combined with the As You Wish Body talent, it's a perfect match!"

"Now, cultivating is as simple as breathing… no, it's even more effortless than breathing!"

The problem of tedious cultivation that had plagued him all day was instantly resolved.

From now on, he would achieve 24-hour uninterrupted automatic cultivation.

And in the process, it wouldn't affect his ability to do anything else.

Flawless perfection!

After settling this major concern in his heart.

Yan Cang calmed his emotions slightly, then unhurriedly turned his attention to the outside world.

He called up the Status Panel and looked at the Faction Ranking.

The drastic changes in the rankings and points on the leaderboard struck him as somewhat odd, prompting a faint look of surprise.

"Huh... such a big shift?"

His gaze swept over the traditional factions whose points had plummeted, some even plunging into negative numbers.

Then there were those bizarre factions whose rankings had inexplicably shot up, their names exuding an air of "thriving alone."

Next, he glanced at the Huaxia faction's staggering increase of 1.4 billion points.

After a brief moment of thought, he roughly understood what had happened.

It was likely that a large number of eliminations had occurred in other factions, and many of those eliminated had "chosen" Huaxia at the last moment.

As for the exact numbers? Which countries' people were involved? Why did this happen?

"Super Intelligence" suggested: Go ask the mighty "Great Fate Art" and get the answer with one click.

But regarding this, Yan Cang instinctively felt it wasn't worth expending energy on, even if the cost might be negligible.

Perhaps deep down, he no longer regarded any other faction on Earth as a rival worthy of serious consideration.

To him, the Trial Ground was essentially a place to keep opening Golden Chests, accumulate power, and perfect the Fate Net.

This was how he built up strength, preparing for the Civilization Battlefield after the Hundred-Day Trial.

Now, the rise and fall of other factions honestly didn't have much impact.

After all, nothing major could go wrong.

For such an insignificant question, he could just head to the Fate Net Forum and check out what others had to say.

Not only would it cost zero energy, but he could also watch the forum regulars argue among themselves—hilarious stuff.

As for whether those analyses were right or wrong?

That didn't matter.