43: The Nine Transformations of Demons (asking for monthly tickets and follow-up reading)

“You… did you kill this?”

Qin Hu was so shocked he stammered.

As he spoke, his gaze fell back on Chen Yuan, who was pouring wine.

“That’s right, this Mountain Lord had grown powerful in the deep mountains, gathering demons and becoming incredibly difficult to deal with. If not for a stroke of Luck, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to handle him.”

What Chen Yuan said was indeed true.

The Mountain Lord’s wedding allowed him to seize the opportune moment.

The demons that were originally hiding throughout the deep mountains gathered together, giving him the chance to harvest a large amount of Luck points and feed them back into himself.

Others entering the fray caused the Mountain Lord to lose his composure, creating an opportunity for Chen Yuan to finally hammer him to death, thus seizing the human element.

Especially at the end, the Mountain Lord’s final burst of energy, trying to forcefully break through the Heavenly Gate, was restrained by that golden Sanskrit text.

Otherwise, it’s hard to say what other variables might have appeared.

He guessed that the golden Buddhist light Restriction was likely related to that Demon Monk.

He had found this Mountain Lord precisely by searching for clues about that Demon Monk.

It seemed that the Demon Monk had set up that tiger, and by chance, helped him.

A twist of fate!

As Chen Yuan’s thoughts wandered, a cheer interrupted him.

“Good!”

“Good!”

Qin Hu’s eyes lit up, staring intently at Chen Yuan.

“Haha, from now on, you are my brother, Old Qin’s brother.”

“Strong!”

With that, he gave a thumbs up.

Old Qin did not stint on his admiration, and beneath his boisterous laughter, there were ripples in his heart.

He could sense a demonic aura from that tiger skin that was even stronger than his own.

Chen Yuan had actually slain this beast, so how strong was this guy’s true power?

His heart surged with emotion.

But he didn’t ask anything.

He just needed to know that he was on their side, and that was enough.

“Drink!”

He shouted, no longer mentioning the previous topic.

Everything was just right, stopping at the appropriate point.

All of this was observed by Chen Yuan, and his impression of this Patrolling Mountain Commandant Qin Hu grew increasingly positive.

For a time, they clinked cups and conversed rapidly.

During their conversation, Chen Yuan learned a lot about the current situation in Shu Land and some of its factions from Qin Hu.

One word: chaos!

Shu Land, being located in the remote Southwest, surrounded by mountains, was far from the Central Plains.

Naturally, it was a place where demons ran rampant and chaos frequently occurred.

It had become a rotten mess.

An hour later, the wine in their cups was empty.

Qin Hu moistened his throat with the last cup of wine, then set the cup down with a “thud.”

“Old Qin hasn’t had such a satisfying drink in a long time.”

“Can’t drink too much!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

With that, he stood up.

Chen Yuan, rarely having someone to chat with, wanted to persuade him to stay a bit longer, “Brother, why are you in such a hurry? You’ve traveled over a thousand li to Qingshan County, you should rest here for a while.”

Qin Hu smiled, “You should know, people in our position cannot be away for too long. Oh, right.”

After speaking, he stroked his beard, cupped his fists, and said straightforwardly:

“Chen brother, our mission is also complete. Our meeting today was well worth the trip.”

“No more pleasantries,”

“If you ever go to Baidi City, I’ll treat you. You must come.”

“Take care!”

“You too, Brother!”

Chen Yuan stood up and returned the bow with cupped fists.

And Qin Hu let out a hearty laugh.

His body swayed, and he vanished from his original spot.

Only the door frame in the room creaked and swayed.

This bearded Hunter, his comings and goings were always so forthright.

Chen Yuan stood outside the door, looking around for a while.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

These people, they all seemed to have this style, coming and going in a hurry!

“Old Wu, tell me, what are these people seeking?”

He turned his head to look at the old man who had been serving silently by his side.

Old Wu just smiled:

“Your question is profound, sir. This old man doesn’t understand.”

“Perhaps, to live!”

Chen Yuan laughed upon hearing this.

“Me too.”

…

A few minutes later, the banquet was cleared, and Old Wu left.

Chen Yuan then realized that the two little fellows seemed to have disappeared from sight since earlier.

He looked around and found them hiding far away.

They had even run up onto the roof.

Chen Yuan grabbed them.

He brought Little Flower and Little White down.

Little Flower the Squirrel, after two days of not being seen, had mostly recovered from her injuries and was lively again, but her fur was bristling, and she “squeaked,” pointing inside the house with her furry paws.

Only then did Chen Yuan realize.

It must have been the Mountain Lord’s tiger skin that scared these two little fellows.

“What are you afraid of? How can you be so timid as my Contracted Demons? In the future, I, your master, will make a nest for you out of tiger skin and pillows out of Dragon bones, how about that?”

The two little fellows shook their heads desperately.

Chen Yuan couldn’t help but laugh.

“You have to, even if you don’t want to. In the future, who knows, I, your master, might need you two little fellows to help me keep up appearances.”

Chen Yuan joked.

He remembered the Mountain Lord’s wedding, where those minor demons reported their names, like Lord of some cave.

If he were to transform into a demon himself in the future, and bring two or three small demons to become a Mountain King, the scene would be somewhat comical to imagine.

Thinking of this, his eyes flickered. Perhaps, he might really need it in the future.

With that thought, Chen Yuan continued to tease the two little fellows for a few more sentences.

Afterward, he returned to the inner room.

He sat down cross-legged.

First, he pulled out the black Banshan Tiger Talisman.

The previous one had become his temporary one.

Now, this one was equivalent to removing the “temporary” from the previous one.

He now possessed a true identity!

The meaning was completely different.

He pricked his finger and dripped blood into the Tiger Talisman.

The blood drop instantly seeped in.

Then, he put it away.

Subsequently, he took out the white jade pendant.

He poured True Qi into it.

A milky white light emanated from the jade pendant, then small white characters flowed upward along the True Qi, entering his Niwan Palace and manifesting.

After a while,

Chen Yuan finished receiving the Divine Ability method, and the white jade in his hand shattered into powder.

This was a Divine Ability Body Tempering method called “Demon Nine Transformations.”

At first hearing, the name sounded a bit sinister, but Chen Yuan, understanding its profound mysteries, his eyes lit up slightly.

He had the “Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends” Divine Ability method, so his horizons were quite high. He hadn’t held much expectation for this tempering method sent by the Prefectural Office, but he ended up underestimating the depth of this place’s foundation.

Perhaps because Patrolling Mountain Commandants usually dealt with demons frequently, this Divine Ability method cleverly proposed a way to enhance combat power: using Devilish Qi for Body Tempering to strengthen the Physical Body, refining nine demon spirits, and implanting them into nine profound orifices of the Physical Body, thereby achieving a transformation method.

One who mastered it could add at least ten percent of a demon’s combat power to themselves.

The stronger the demon soul refined, the greater the combat power bonus.

Moreover, there were no subsequent side effects!

A method to transform into a demon?

Heh, just when he had this thought, a corresponding solution appeared, like a pillow delivered when one is sleepy.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan’s eyes flashed. He flicked his sleeve and pinched with two fingers.

He pulled out something the size of a black bean.

It was as dark as ink, yet had a certain mysterious tactile sensation.

This was what was left after he finally extinguished the Mountain Lord’s soul.

It was exceptionally hard!

It contained the Mountain Lord’s aura.

It was imbued with a strong, mysterious Qi mechanism.

He guessed that this Mountain Lord, having touched the threshold of the Fourth Heavenly Gate, had undergone a qualitative change in his spirit.

He decided to try it!

(PS: Happy Dragon Boat Festival, everyone!)

Still asking for continued reading and monthly votes!