"He really did end up with a hand…" Lin Mu spoke in surprise.
He had a hunch that Little Shrubby was intending for a claw or hand shaped Dao Embryo and had even made his Dao Shell to be like that. But seeing it really came out like that was surprising to him.
It wasn't always that one's Dao Embryo would come out the same as they had intended it to be. Many Cultivators had experienced this and sometimes it was good for them and sometimes wit as bad as their Dao Shell's might not be the right shape for it.
Still, considered that the bloodlines themselves were guiding the formation of the Dao embryo, it was even more confusing for Lin Mu. After all, these were beast bloodlines, and they were a hand rather than a claw.
Lin Mu continued to watch as the hand gained more details and even started to change a bit.
From its unassuming and vague hand shape, it gained contours and finer lines. The nails also formed on it and then started to grow.
It was here that the hand took a different turn.
"Oh? That is certainly not a human hand…" Lin Mu muttered as he saw the nails growing to over an inch in length.
Not only that, but they were sharp too!
The fingers also turned a lot more rugged and the palm became thicker, as of a hundred years of callouses had formed all at once.
The skin of the palm was orange in color while the back of the hand was red in color instead. Then some unique patterns formed on it, starting from the base of the hand. These patterns were black in color and stared off as a plain black spot.
From this black spot, a thick line extended, which then split off into five smaller lines that went all the way to the nails of the hand. The nails turned black due to this and looked rather ferocious.
"No… that's not all… are those runes?" Lin Mu looked closer and saw that all the patterns and details weren't just plain old features.
Rather each contour, each crease, each ridge on the hand was made out of runes!
The runes were fine and seemed to be swimming constantly, making it hard to tell that they were even there as they blended very well. Even the black pattern on the back of the hand was made out of runes that constantly wiggled and changed.
Lin Mu marveled at the runes and found there to be a different meaning to each rune. This time he felt the meaning of runes rising directly within his mind. As if he intrinsically knew them.
"How…?" Lin Mu was confused.
He focused on all the runes and found himself to be sucked into them.
He could tell that the runes were telling different things. But the most common thing in all of them was 'fire'. Lin Mu could make out the runes that all meant fire.
And as soon as he understood this, he felt his mind shake!
A burning heat rose from his dantian and rushed out into his meridians!
Lin Mu was washed away with this wave and couldn't control his body at all.
"STOP!" Suddenly, a loud voice was heard in his head, rocking him out of his state.
Lin Mu shook his head and took deep breaths.
"W-what was that?!" Lin Mu was alarmed.
"You almost got lost to a Qi deviation." Xukong said, only scaring Lin Mu even more.
"What? H-how did that happen? How's that even possible?" Lin Mu was stunned.
"You tried to comprehend Dao from a Dao Embryo that was not your own. This is a side effect of that." Xukong replied.
"Huh?" Lin Mu only felt more confused upon hearing this.
But then he recalled Senior Xukong's earlier words.
"Wait, didn't you tell me to observe everything I could and learn from it, Senior?" Lin Mu questioned in doubt.
"I know… but I never expected you to be able to comprehend Dao traces from it. I… don't even know how that is possible. At least not automatically, you shouldn't have been able to sense them like this." Xukong answered.
"Is it not something that can be done?" Lin Mu asked further.
"No… not normally. People do try to comprehend Dao Traces from other's Dao Embryo's from time to time. But this is very rare. Senior cultivators would sometimes guide juniors with this.
But that is something that should only be done with great caution, as the compatibility of one's body and talent is greatly different and even unique in many cases.
Thus even if a person has the same type of Dao Embryo as another person, they will still have a fine difference in Dao Traces that can damage others." Xukong replied.
Lin Mu had not thought that there would be such a complication to a factor like this. It was a new thing for him and he knew learning would only make him better at it.
Lin Mu already knew that there were an infinite types of Dao Embryo's in the universe. But there were also some that were more 'common' among them. Many people would end up having the same Dao Embryo as they followed the common path.
For example, a person cultivating a fire elemental cultivation technique might form a Dao Embryo that looked like a simple flame, or perhaps a lamp.
These were very common forms and many might have the same form. Such Dao embryos would become well known and get their own names.
Such Dao Embryo's were called as Named Dao Embryos.
Over time, most Dao Embryos in existence were already discovered and named. Even legendary Dao embryos were well known and had names of their own.
Thus, it was extremely rare for there to be new Dao Embryo's without a name.
This was what made Lin Mu ask his next question.
"Senior, is this Dao Embryo a new one? Or is it something already recorded?"
"No… it is certainly a new and unique one." Xukong answered, just as Lin Mu had expected.
