And this newly appeared Pet Beast was one Li Qian was extremely familiar with—it was none other than the Tidal Sea Spirit!
A Tidal Sea Spirit identical to Jinfeng!
No, Li Qian even felt that this Tidal Sea Spirit was more imposing and majestic than Jinfeng had been after its evolution.
"Did... did the evolution succeed?" Without a doubt, this new Tidal Sea Spirit was Golden Rain. Li Qian stared at the scene, unable to stop himself from muttering aloud.
He even pinched his own cheek, wanting to see if this was all real.
This all-or-nothing gamble had actually succeeded!
He had actually managed to help Golden Rain evolve into a Tidal Sea Spirit through such a bizarre method.
"Brother Qian, I..." Just as Li Qian was beginning to doubt himself, Sun Ruirui cried out in alarm from the side.
Li Qian immediately focused his gaze on her and saw that the milky-white light enveloping Sun Ruirui was also growing more and more intense.
And, perhaps because the special-grade Life Potion could no longer sustain her, it was obvious that the girl’s condition was progressively worsening.
A few wrinkles had already appeared on her face.
This was a sign of severe Life Energy loss.
"Golden Rain!" Seeing this, Li Qian didn’t dare hesitate and roared her name.
"Wooo..." Upon hearing him, Golden Rain acted without the slightest hesitation.
Then, in the next moment, the scene that unfolded before him left Li Qian stunned.
In fact, it wasn’t just Li Qian who was stunned; Ah Hai, who was watching from the side, was as well.
After understanding Li Qian’s intent, Golden Rain opened its mouth without delay and spat out two Golden Pearls.
That’s right—not one, but two Golden Pearls.
The two Golden Pearls flew off in separate directions.
One flew toward Jinfeng.
The other flew toward Sun Ruirui, who was still enveloped in milky-white light.
’The true Apocalypse has awakened!’ As the Golden Pearl entered Sun Ruirui’s body, the milky-white light surrounding the girl began to transform into a deep azure blue.
The azure grew deeper and richer until it, too, seemed to form a cocoon of light!
Seeing this, Li Qian was completely dumbfounded, unsure of what to say.
Everything happening before him was utterly beyond his comprehension.
At this point, even Ah Hai at his side was at a loss for words.
It glanced at Li Qian, its eyes filled with disbelief.
His gamble had actually paid off.
Li Qian had made a huge bet, and he had won.
While overjoyed, his heart was also filled with immense emotion.
He was truly fortunate.
If it weren’t for the desperate circumstances, he never would have taken such a risky path.
If this attempt had failed, he wouldn’t have known how to face Comrade Lao Sun.
Even if there were extenuating circumstances and Comrade Lao Sun didn’t blame him, he himself would have been wracked with guilt for a long time.
As the Golden Pearl entered Sun Ruirui’s body, the azure cocoon of light began to form.
In a daze, he saw the light diffusing from the azure cocoon spread out like a hazy field of stars, instantly blanketing an area of about ten meters.
Li Qian was naturally enveloped within it as well.
Enveloped in this hazy curtain of light, Li Qian even felt as if a vast, blue ocean with monstrous waves was rushing toward him, like the Milky Way pouring down from an overturned celestial river.
The scene looked rather terrifying.
However, after shaking his head and focusing his gaze again, Li Qian found that the azure curtain of light had already returned to calm.
But faintly, he seemed to hear the flowing sound of ocean waves.
Faced with such a magical sight, Li Qian couldn’t help but stare for a few moments longer.
The curtain of light continuously shrank, growing dimmer and dimmer...
Li Qian knew that the most critical moment had arrived.
Ah Hai, on the other hand, watched their surroundings vigilantly.
It also knew that this was a time when they could not be disturbed by anyone.
Otherwise, all their efforts could be for naught.
Of course, its vigilance was merely a precaution.
With Li Sukuai and his Phantom Deep Space Butterfly nearby, it was impossible for any enemies to appear.
After all, the Phantom Deep Space Butterfly was a Saint Spirit Level Pet Beast.
Li Qian was also staring intently at the scene before him, not daring to relax in the slightest.
’The last leg of the journey is always the hardest.’
He absolutely could not allow any mishaps in these final moments before success.
The azure cocoon of light flickered continuously. After about five minutes, it had shrunk to the size of a large beach ball, covering an area of less than a meter around Sun Ruirui.
Finally, the cocoon became like a thin film, covering her body.
The film burrowed into her body, and all the strange phenomena vanished completely.
The wrinkles on Sun Ruirui’s face also disappeared.
Her skin even became more translucent and flawless, as if carved from the finest pink jade.
Most peculiar of all, a seashell-like azure mark had appeared on her forehead, between her brows.
This azure seashell mark made the girl look even more holy and magnificent.
Yes, holy and magnificent!
Li Qian could only forgive himself for using such words to describe her.
Because at this moment, the girl was truly like a work of art, indescribably beautiful, without a single flaw from head to toe.
If the previous Sun Ruirui was just a cute and charming little beauty, then the her of this moment could be called a fairy descended to the mortal realm, and it would be no exaggeration.
’Is this the charm of a newly awakened Apocalypse?!’
Even just her visible appearance had undergone such an earth-shattering transformation.
Looking at her facial features, there seemed to be no change, but a closer look revealed that every pore, every inch of skin, seemed to have been meticulously sculpted.
Tearing his gaze away from the girl, Li Qian looked at Golden Rain, who was standing nearby.
He didn’t hesitate, immediately using his Beast Taming Talent—Eye of True Sight.
Under the observation of the Eye of True Sight, Golden Rain’s information appeared without omission.
Of course, the prerequisite was that Golden Rain held nothing back from Li Qian.
And Golden Rain, just like Jinfeng, naturally had no defenses against him.
After looking it over once, Li Qian discovered that all of its other information was identical to Jinfeng’s, except for one thing... Racial Potential!
It was in this most crucial aspect, Racial Potential, that he saw Golden Rain’s potential had actually reached Emperor Fourth Rank, two minor realms higher than Jinfeng’s.
In other words, Li Qian’s earlier feeling that Golden Rain was more imposing and majestic than Jinfeng... that feeling was actually correct!
’So it’s mutual sacrifice, mutual achievement!’
"This is the true meaning of evolution!"
Li Qian couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
Before, he had always felt that this method of evolution was a bit strange.
How could it possibly require sacrificing oneself to complete a companion’s evolution?!
Even a willing sacrifice seemed a little unnatural.
That was why Li Qian had always been skeptical about it.
This time, having witnessed it firsthand—that it was mutual dedication and mutual achievement—he finally understood completely.
This kind of evolution was the proper, upright way.
The only pity was that he hadn’t realized this before submitting the quest. Otherwise, the quest progress might have exceeded one hundred percent, maybe even reaching one hundred and ten percent—it wasn’t impossible.
In that case, the Achievement Points he could have earned would have been even more terrifying.
Still, Li Qian was already very satisfied with the current result.
"Ruirui, my Ruirui! You can’t let anything happen to you!" Just as Li Qian was using his Beast Taming Talent True Sight Eye to view Golden Rain’s information, a wailing voice suddenly cried out from a distance.
The voice was very familiar. From just that one cry, Li Qian recognized that its owner was none other than Comrade Lao Sun!
’What a coincidence, this guy showing up now. He only comes back after everything is over, as if he picked this exact moment on purpose.’
It was no wonder Li Qian felt such resentment.
After all, this guy had really put him through hell!
If he hadn’t been away from home, if he hadn’t been such a poor judge of character and mistakenly trusted a snake like Elder Liao, there wouldn’t have been all these Little Butterflies today!
"Ruirui, she... what’s wrong with her?" Comrade Lao Sun rushed over like a bolt of lightning. Seeing Sun Ruirui standing motionless with her eyes tightly shut, and then glancing at the devastated surroundings, he hurriedly and anxiously asked.
Li Qian shot him an irritated glance, then said in a lukewarm tone, "It’s nothing. I just thought the evening was nice and decided to go for a stroll. But unexpectedly, some old guy came along and ruined the mood!"
His words were vague and unclear, leaving Comrade Lao Sun completely bewildered.
’What on earth is he talking about?’