Proving Immortality Starting with Hextech Runes

An hour later, the cave was covered with countless carcasses of red-blooded rats.

At this moment, the Rat Boss had already been retrieved into Chen Xu's Beast Taming Ring.

His gaze was fixed on the two palm-sized phantom treasure chests floating in front of him, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

On average, one loot is dropped for every thousand Crimson Blood Rats.

The Rat Boss can summon ten rats every day, and it takes about three months to produce a loot!

The Rat Boss's summoning ability and the [Pirate Style] Hextech rune are a match made in heaven.

With the addition of Rat Boss, [Pirate Style] has received an epic upgrade...

Without further hesitation, Chen Xu stirred his thoughts and pointed his finger at the two illusory treasure chests.

With two soft sounds, the phantom image of the treasure chest slowly dissipated, and two real items appeared in Chen Xu's hands.

On the left is a blue sphere of light, inside which is a feather-shaped object.

On the right is a mini scarecrow that is only 18 centimeters tall.

Chen Xu's gaze swept quickly over the two items, and he blurted out:

"This is……"

"【Masterpiece Upgrader】and 【Training Dummy】?!"

【Masterpiece Upgrader】: Upgrades any target.

(Cannot be applied to special abilities such as Hextech Runes; each target can only be upgraded once.)

[Disposable Training Dummy]: Summons a customizable clone whose character's appearance is the same as the original and shares the same storage space.

(Some of the original's special abilities, such as Hextech runes, will not be inherited by the clone, and the clone will disappear after thirty days.)

Looking at the two items in his hands, Chen Xu murmured to himself, "Truly worthy of being the spoils of the [Pirate Style]!"

"Thank goodness I didn't choose [War Treasure III]..."

After a brief moment of surprise, Chen Xu looked at the [Masterpiece Upgrader] and was momentarily at a loss.

"Who should we give it to?"

His first thought was to upgrade the mysterious jade slip. The jade slip space was already very powerful, so what kind of effect would it have if it were upgraded?

But soon, Chen Xu's brows furrowed slightly.

Although the jade slip is powerful, it won't significantly improve my abilities in the short term.

Or perhaps the *Qingyuan Jue*? This technique is tied to a growth mindset; applying the *Masterpiece Upgrader* to this technique should maximize its benefits...

With this in mind, Chen Xu had made up his mind.

But at that moment, an even bolder idea suddenly arose:

"What if... I could directly use this [Masterpiece Upgrader] to upgrade myself?"

"What will happen?!"

Once the thought appeared, it wouldn't leave me.

Can the rules of this "Masterpiece Upgrader" be applied to flesh and blood?

With that in mind, Chen Xu no longer hesitated and directly used the [Masterpiece Upgrader] on himself.

Instantly, the ball of light entered his body.

Chen Xu subconsciously held his breath, focused his mind inward, and quietly circulated his spiritual energy, preparing to welcome any possible changes.

However... nothing happened, not even a slight energy fluctuation appeared.

"Huh?" Chen Xu was somewhat taken aback.

"Is that all?"

"Could it really not work?"

Chen Xu then immediately began the verification process, using all the moves he knew, but still found no change.

"That's enough." After a moment, Chen Xu let out a long breath and regained his composure.

"Perhaps the effects of this [Masterpiece Upgrader] aren't immediate, or it might be hiding some special ability. We'll experience it for ourselves later..."

His gaze fell on another trophy: a disposable training dummy.

"Having a clone would make things much easier..."

Chen Xu looked at the disposable training dummy in his hand and pondered to himself.

Although there are only thirty days, a lot can be accomplished.

Whether used to explore the ancient sect ruins located in the heart of Moyun Valley mentioned by Li Yuan, or to test certain potential dangers, it provides a great deal of operational flexibility.

However, Chen Xu hadn't decided what to use it for yet, so he put it back into his storage bag, intending to make a plan later.

Good things should be used wisely...

Then, Chen Xu calmed his mind, waved a fireball talisman, and the blazing flames instantly illuminated the entire bottom of the cave.

In a short while, the corpses of the crimson rats on the ground turned to ashes.

He carefully checked everything and, after confirming that nothing was missing, left the cave.

It was already late at night, and the bright moon hung high in the sky. The cold moonlight shone on Black Stone Valley, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Now is the best time for the Hidden Cave Fruit to reveal itself. Chen Xu spread his divine sense and carefully scanned every corner of the valley.

Indeed, there was no trace of the Hidden Cave Fruit. Chen Xu withdrew his divine sense and turned to leave.

……

A few days later, Chen Xu returned to Qingzhuxuan to report back.

Chen Xu bowed and clasped his hands, his voice steady: "Reporting to Master, this disciple has carefully searched Black Stone Valley for several days, but has not found any trace of the Crimson Blood Rat swarm. The disciples of Cave Hidden Fruit have also searched repeatedly, but still found nothing."

Upon hearing this, Qing Yi had no doubts.

He remained silent for a moment, then finally sighed softly, his tone tinged with helplessness and weariness:

"Never mind..."

"The rat infestation has disappeared; perhaps they have migrated."

Qingyi waved his hand, looking dejected: "You should go back now."

"This disciple takes his leave." Chen Xu bowed again and then left Qingzhu Pavilion.

Back in his cave, the array of light closed behind him, blocking any outside prying eyes.

With a slight thought, he first released Little Gold from the Beast Taming Ring.

After falling into the water, Xiao Jin swam around happily for a few laps, clearly bored out of her mind.

Then it poked its head out and looked at Chen Xu expectantly.

"Are you starving?" Seeing this, Chen Xu took out a bunch of good ingredients and placed them on the edge of the pool.

"Go and make three dishes and a soup. I'll be back in a bit."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin immediately perked up and began to gather the sailors to prepare the ingredients.

As for the Rat Boss, Chen Xu is not ready to release him yet.

Although the Boss Rat's size is just like that of an ordinary Crimson Rat, it still needs some cover.

Afterwards, he prepared to go to the inner market to buy some ingredients and a Crimson Blood Rat to cover up the Rat Boss's origins.

As soon as he stepped out of the cave, he saw Qingling running towards him: "Senior Brother Chen!"

When Qingling saw Chen Xu come out, a smile immediately bloomed on her face.

Her gaze passed over Chen Xu's shoulder and landed on Xiao Jin, who was preparing ingredients. Her eyes lit up immediately.

Since Chen Xu went to Black Stone Valley alone, she hadn't tasted Xiao Jin's cooking for almost a week, and naturally she was craving it.

"Senior Brother Chen, where are you going?" Qingling turned her gaze to Chen Xu.

Chen Xu took in her reaction; this junior sister's thoughts were truly impossible to hide.

He smiled slightly and said softly, "I'm going to the market to buy some things."

"Want to come along? We can do some sightseeing on the way, and then have dinner together when we get back."