After getting accustomed to his new body and eyes, there was one last thing to test out. His massive bulk moved quickly and in a flash he was standing beside the small lake near the center of his territory in the Universe Ring. The limbs of the Swamp Genesis Spider were unusual for a spider. They weren’t uniformly thin and spindly like a web weaver, nor were they large and thick like a hunting spider. Instead, they were a mix of both. A spider’s leg was quite unusual, and in the most simple of terms, it could be considered to have six ‘knees’. Six different joints along its length, as well as the joint that connected it to the body. There were many points of articulation.
At the tip of each leg were a set of three claws. From there, the first section of leg, the tarsus, was smaller than usual, and if thinking of the claws as fingers, then it would be his palm. After that first joint, the next section of the leg was called the metatarsus and for the Swamp Genesis Spider, it was absurdly oversized. It was many times longer and thicker than even a hunting spider as it bore large vent-like openings with comb-like filters in them. The next section, the tibia, was also quite large and bore thick armor plating as it rose upwards. The last few sections of the leg, patella, femur, trochanter, and coxa were all similar in that they were far slimmer, much more like a web weavers legs, but they weren’t covered in thick hairs or large armored protrusions like a hunting spider might have. Instead, they were only slightly larger to make room for the additional ‘pipelines’ within them.
The legs of Sage’s new body very much resembled that of the Swamp Genesis Spider, merely with a different coloring and of slightly thicker width. Once he dipped the thick metatarsus into the water, the vents were submerged and with well practiced ease he drew a huge amount of water into his body. It was quite strange to know how to do something, and feel as if he’d done it everyday just like breathing, but also know that he’d never ever done such an action before. A spider’s exoskeleton was unlike most other insects in that its abdomen was not nearly as hard as the rest of its body. That was because when it fed, the abdomen would have room to expand, just like a big stomach. If it had a solid shell, then it would have a fixed limit on how much it could consume. Sage’s new body was similar, except that the bloodline he’d enhanced had caused his abdomen to bear a layer of armored plates that hung over to either side of his body like a skirt. There was still a weak point on his abdomen from underneath his body, but it also still left room for expansion. It also gave some room for the additional limbs he’d grown, and when looking at the small flipper-like appendages underneath along with the additional plating and brick red color, it gave his spider body a very crustacean feel.
Sage turned towards a small hill near the edge of his territory in the Universe Ring and released the stored water. He shot it forth at only half power, but even that was enough for the huge stream of water to rocket through the air and blast off the top of the small hill. Upon releasing the attack, he instinctively wove his Qi into the water, and realized that this attack wasn’t simply based upon a physical structure, but was the Swamp Genesis Spider’s inherited technique. A Qi Technique on its own could create powerful elemental and energy based attacks, so by adding a physical structure of immense size, it multiplied the effect by many times.
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It’s no wonder this spider never learned any water laws. This attack is very powerful on its own and it rarely ever engages in any combat. It had no pressure to develop it.
He scolded himself for his own pun and then tried the water attack a few more times with gradually increasing power. Soon enough, the hundred foot high hill was gone and only a few large craters were left behind. Then Sage brought out a few small vials and jars, opening them and then consuming them one after the other. The different substances raged through his body, but the small quantity in comparison to his huge size made their effects easy to control. The burning or searing concoctions were absorbed and channeled into his second set of meridians. He used them as a form of energy, circulating them along a specific route until a sort of vortex formed in his Poison Dantian. With the first poison as a base, he used the next to power a separation and his Blood of the Nine Pits took root once more. The core that formed the source of his Qi had already integrated into his Nascent Soul when it formed, but the same couldn’t be said for his Poison Dantian. When his body was destroyed, his poison cultivation had been destroyed along with it. Even so it wasn’t a big deal, as he had samples of all his poisons saved and by consuming them again he could restore the Blood of the Nine Pits to its previous state.
With that process complete, Sage attempted to mix his poisons into the water cannon attack, but most of them were gaseous in nature and only two of them worked with the water blast. First, the acid-like Greenrose Venom. Using it with the water cannon diluted the effect, but rather than a weak splash it could be used as a devastating blast, which was a very useful adaptation. The other poison that still worked was ‘Killer Garden’, the pink gas that infected plants. It would make the poisoned plants become something like a super poison ivy, irritating the skin of anyone who touched them and causing increasing numbness and paralysis. Using the water blast, Killer Garden could still be delivered, and any plants that absorbed the released water became affected.
As those initial tests were complete, Sage moved onto his true goal and curled up to cultivate and train. He sent Qi through his body, opening internal Qi Pores and strengthening the channels around his new lungs. As he worked, he found his lungs had a new chamber, one which was filled with water and he found that he could use it to breathe. He didn’t spend much time examining it and focused his effort on recultivating a technique. When he was finished he gave it a try and a huge swath of the jungle was blasted away. Trees and foliage were sent flying through the air and he chuckled inwardly.
Success! The Swamp Genesis Spider used them as a snorkel as well as a water cannon. It seems my hypothesis was correct. I don’t know if it's because of the Warp Worm’s modification, but they can also handle high pressure gas!
With the successful use of the Divine Breath technique, Sage named the special tube system inside his body as ‘Fluid Power Lines’. Considering they could handle body hydraulic as well as pneumatic power, he used a name that could fit them both. With the first test successful, he moved on to another and with a directed blast, a torrent of air fired out of each of his legs and launched his body into the air.
Shame I can’t maintain the air flow for long, or I could use this method to fly.
After a few more days of experimentation, he calibrated his Human Seal and exited the Universe Ring once more. He didn’t go directly to meet his friends and instead had a servant lead him to a cultivation room where he performed one last process that he was fearful of doing within the Universe Ring.
Those in the Tiankong Clan and even in the rest of the Mount Song Sword Sect were all drawn towards a strange phenomenon. Most of them didn’t know what was going on, but all those at the upper echelon recognized the power of law concentrating around a certain mountain peak.