Chapter 5: Transformation

Lin Xue felt his body brimming with endless strength at this moment.

He even thought that with a mere flick of his tail, he could sweep down an entire tree.

However, it seemed that the Serpent Core had only increased his physical power.

He didn’t know any spells and couldn’t, like the Grand Demons in movies, summon wind and rain with a wave of his hand.

But Lin Xue was already very satisfied with this.

After all, this cultivation level was gained effortlessly.

Having these gains was already quite good.

Who needs a bicycle?

Lin Xue ended his inner vision and opened his eyes.

It was already late at night, and the Ancestral Hall was pitch black without any lights lit.

Perhaps because of the Transformation, Lin Xue’s eyesight had been greatly enhanced; he could clearly see everything around him even in the darkness.

The first thing he saw was the Daoist Nun sitting cross-legged opposite him.

Her eyes were closed, her face weary—it was obvious that helping him dissolve the Serpent Core had cost her a lot of effort.

What surprised him even more was that the female demon’s entire body had shrunk significantly, looking like a tiny doll.

Lin Xue glanced around again and realized it wasn’t that the female demon’s body had shrunk, but that his own body had grown.

During the process of absorbing the Serpent Core, his size had unknowingly increased tenfold.

His original three to four feet frame had now expanded to over thirty feet long, as thick as a barrel, coiled like a gigantic white python, occupying nearly half of the Ancestral Hall.

This was the power of a demonic beast!

Now, if he returned to the forest, he no longer needed to fear any creature.

Even the Tiger, the king of beasts, would have to take a detour upon seeing him.

If that Mother Bird came to peck at him again, it wouldn’t even count as a tickle.

Lin Xue’s heart surged with excitement.

Being stronger felt really good.

But he wasn’t out of danger yet.

The female demon was still sitting opposite him, and he needed to find a way to escape her grasp.

Lin Xue glanced once more at the Daoist Nun, who still had her eyes closed, and suddenly a thought flashed through his mind:

Now that I’m this strong, what if I use my body to entangle her—could I strangle this female demon to death?

If she realizes something’s wrong and discovers that this body isn’t her Father, I’d surely die.

Better to strike first while she’s off guard and kill her before she acts!

Lin Xue stared at the Daoist Nun’s tightly shut eyes, his barrel-thick body slowly rippling as he began to stretch out, intending to coil around her.

Suddenly, the Daoist Nun opened her eyes.

Startled, Lin Xue stopped moving.

The Daoist Nun stared at him intently.

Under the gaze of her triangular eyes, Lin Xue’s whole body tensed up, and his heart pounded wildly.

Had she discovered his intention?

Was she about to flick out the Flesh-Draining Knife hidden in her sleeve and suck him dry into a withered corpse?

Just as he was anxious and uneasy, the Daoist Nun spoke calmly, “Father, the Serpent Core in your Essence Core has transformed from gas into liquid. Your cultivation has reached the Mid Body Refining Stage—you can begin Transformation.”

Lin Xue let out a huge breath of relief.

Damn, you scared the hell out of me.

He nodded faintly.

The Daoist Nun stood up and snapped her fingers, sending two balls of yellow flame flying out and accurately lighting two candles on the altar table in the Ancestral Hall.

Then she formed a Spirit Technique hand sign and summoned a sphere of water, which floated in the air before Lin Xue.

Lin Xue felt the temperature drop sharply.

The water quickly stretched into a thin layer, forming an ice mirror over a person’s height standing before him.

The Daoist Nun pointed at the ice mirror and said, “Father, begin your Transformation. I will stand guard at the door to protect you.”

She pushed open the Ancestral Hall’s main door and stepped outside, then closed it behind her.

The hall returned to silence.

In the candlelight, shadows flickered dimly on the walls.

Lin Xue exhaled and collapsed onto the ground.

The pressure from the female demon was overwhelming.

That Flesh-Draining Knife, combined with those two Spirit Techniques just now, made him deeply aware of the vast gap between him and her.

Even now, as a snake demon, he didn’t dare confront her head-on.

He looked up around the Ancestral Hall, searching for an escape route to sneak away.

But he was disappointed to find the only exit was the closed main door.

And the Daoist Nun was standing guard outside; there was no way to get past her.

Lin Xue was troubled.

What to do now?

He couldn’t run, and the female demon was still waiting outside for his Transformation.

Yu Changfeng had studied the Heavenly Demon Transformation Art for many years.

If he couldn’t complete his human form in half a day, the female demon would definitely become suspicious.

He didn’t know if it was possible to learn it now.

Lin Xue turned his head to the book Yu Changfeng had left on the table earlier.

Suddenly, the system panel lit up, and a line of text appeared before his eyes:

“New Technique Manual detected: Heavenly Demon Transformation Art. Please review to record into the system. After recording, Experience Points can be used for learning.”

Lin Xue was momentarily stunned, then overwhelmed with joy.

So that was the purpose of Experience Points—to learn Techniques!

My system actually has this function!

This really saved my life.

This Golden Finger is so considerate!

Having a cheat is great!

Lin Xue eagerly moved his body beside the altar table and lowered his head to look at the Heavenly Demon Transformation Art.

He was stunned.

He couldn’t recognize a single character on the cover.

The writing in this world was not the simplified Chinese he was familiar with.

Lin Xue felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, his excitement instantly chilled.

Damn, I can’t read this. Can the system still record the Technique?

He extended his tail and tried to flip open the first page of the Heavenly Demon Transformation Art with its tip.

It was still filled with unfamiliar characters.

On the system panel, the status beside Heavenly Demon Transformation Art changed from “Not Recorded” to “Recording,” progress at 1%.

Lin Xue exhaled, feeling reassured.

Thank goodness, it can be recorded.

It’s okay if I don’t know the characters; the system can read them.

He flipped page after page with his tail; the recording progress rose steadily: 2%, 3%, 4%…

But when he reached the last page, the progress had reached 100%.

The panel updated to:

Name: Lin Xue

Race: Snake

Experience: 50 points

Technique: Heavenly Demon Transformation Art (Not Practiced) +

Lin Xue took a deep breath and tried investing a little Experience into the “+” beside Heavenly Demon Transformation Art.

Its status changed from “Not Practiced” to “Practicing.”

Suddenly, a wave of knowledge flowed into Lin Xue’s mind.

Those previously indecipherable characters on the pages instantly became clear to him, and he understood the meaning of every word.

He had now comprehended the writing system of this world.

The entire Heavenly Demon Transformation Art was now fully imprinted in his mind, and he had gained a preliminary understanding.

This Heavenly Demon Transformation Art was authored by a snake demon.

This snake demon was exceptionally talented and skilled in Transformation techniques.

He lamented how arduous cultivation was for demonic beasts—every time they crossed a major realm, they had to endure a Lightning Tribulation.

Only by surviving the Tribulation could they advance.

Failure meant death and extinction.

Countless demonic beasts died during their Lightning Tribulations.

Even worse, many who barely survived were badly injured and weakened, only to be ambushed and killed by others attracted by the signs of Tribulation.

In contrast, human cultivators only needed to break through their bottlenecks to cross realms steadily, with no Tribulation.

Even if they failed, they would merely lose some cultivation and try again, with almost no risk to life.

This snake demon suddenly had an idea: what if demonic beasts cultivated using human methods to avoid the Tribulation when crossing realms?

He diligently studied and improved the Transformation method.

After decades of effort, he finally achieved a form indistinguishable from humans—not just externally, but with identical internal meridians and 365 acupuncture points.

He then infiltrated a Human Sect and began practicing human cultivation methods.

Following the human path to breakthrough, he indeed avoided triggering Lightning Tribulations.

He advanced all the way to the Golden Core Stage.

Before dying, the snake demon passed down this Technique to his snake descendants.

But his descendants lacked his talent, becoming increasingly incompetent until finally killed by Yu Changfeng.

This exquisite Transformation Technique thus fell into Yu Changfeng’s hands.

Now it was Lin Xue’s spoils.

While contemplating the hardships of demonic beasts, Lin Xue continued investing Experience Points into the Heavenly Demon Transformation Art.

With every point invested, his understanding deepened.

After investing twenty points, the “+” beside the Technique disappeared.

Lin Xue felt as if he had studied this Transformation Technique for years.

He had now completely mastered it and deeply understood every critical detail.

His use of this Transformation Technique had reached a state of perfection.

At this moment, his system panel displayed:

Name: Lin Xue

Race: Snake

Experience: 30 points

Technique: Heavenly Demon Transformation Art (Perfected)

Lin Xue was eager to try it out.

He was curious if his human form would still resemble his previous world’s appearance.

Focusing his mind and calming his breath, Lin Xue closed his eyes and began activating the Heavenly Demon Transformation Art.

Demonic power surged from the Serpent Core in his Essence Core, flowing through his meridians.

He felt his enormous body, over thirty feet long, instantly shrink significantly as his bones and flesh churned—his entire body undergoing a drastic change.

Hands and feet grew out!

Within just over ten seconds, the Transformation was complete.

Feeling his feet touch the ground again, Lin Xue opened his eyes.

He was stunned.

Opposite him, in the ice mirror formed by the female demon’s Spirit Technique, a girl of extraordinary beauty stared back at him.

Her brows and eyes were like paintings, her cheeks flushed with a delicate rosy hue.

Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked at him, radiant and pure.

Her cherry-like lips were slightly parted, her face full of surprise.

Her skin was pale, shining brighter than snow, smooth and delicate like cream.

Her long, flowing hair cascaded down, half concealing her bare, tender body.

A subtle swell at her chest was faintly visible beneath the black strands, tantalizingly obscured.

Her slender waist and full, graceful legs outlined perfect, alluring curves that stirred the blood.

Shao Chunan—who had been single since birth and had never seen a girl’s naked form up close—was utterly dumbfounded, mouth dry and tongue tied.

He felt a warmth rise at his nose, and two warm streams burst forth.

Covering his nose, Lin Xue let out a miserable scream to the mirror:

“What the hell? Why am I a female snake???”