Cultivation through Skin Making

The Great Elder glanced around.

Among the Crimson Palace realm cultivators gathered here, his Southern Wu Sword Sect had only one person, but the Puppet Sect had a full three...

In this great battle, his Sword Sect suffered heavy losses.

The Great Elder's expression suddenly turned gloomy, and he spoke, "The Great Fox Mother has not yet been found, and Song Yan is also missing, his fate uncertain. Do you really want to turn against my Sword Sect at this time?"

The atmosphere immediately became tense...

Gu Huangzi chuckled eerily, then said, "That cunning boy might have fled to your Wu Kingdom. If he ends up in your hands and you privately take the secret, wouldn't I suffer a great loss?

Turn against each other?

Even if we must, haha... you're the ones forcing it!"

The Great Elder's expression was uncertain, his fist clenched tightly in his sleeve. He then took a deep breath and said, "Then let's search together, find the Great Fox Mother and Song Yan first, and then we'll discuss the rest."

"Fine," Gu Huangzi responded, then seemed to recall something, saying, "I remember Song Yan used to have a furnace companion named Cao Yuzhuang, but after the great battle at Cold Pool Valley, many were killed or wounded, and it's unknown if she's still alive... If you have information about this woman, remember to tell me."

The Great Elder said, "The Great Fox Mother still has remnants in the Imperial Capital, so let's join forces and conquer the Imperial Capital first."

Gu Huangzi said, "Great Jin is about to attack anyway, that's mundane affairs, we shouldn't bother."

The Great Elder said angrily, "Gu Huangzi! You want to take everything for yourself?!"

Gu Huangzi asked in surprise, "Take everything for myself?"

The Great Elder snorted coldly, "The Great Fox Mother went out to battle and never thought not to return; how much can her storage bag hold?"

Gu Huangzi, seeing his bluff called, said impatiently, "If there are benefits then, I'll let you have some, why rush?"

"You old demon!"

"Alright, alright, together then, stop being so anxious, haha..."

Gu Huangzi was at ease, and the Great Elder was furious.

The balance between both sides was also broken after the Great Fox Mother's battle...

...

...

Three months later...

Within the Wu Kingdom, in a desolate mountain cave devoid of Profound Qi and devoid of human presence.

Song Yan exhaled deeply and slowly opened his eyes.

In his sight, a waterfall cascaded down.

With the thaw of spring and the gradual abundance of water, it was now early summer, so the waterfall's flow grew stronger, crashing down upon the green rocks below and splashing countless water drops, shimmering vividly in the daylight.

This place is near snake nests and poisonous insect nests, but Song Yan hadn't dealt with it because those snakes and insects did not dare to provoke him; even this cave he occupied was originally a huge python's lair.

But by merely releasing his aura and standing in front of the lair, the python obediently relocated.

Wild beasts are more sensitive to Qi Blood than humans, so seeing Song Yan, they knew he was the top predator of the food chain to be avoided.

Song Yan had holed up in this cave for three full months without going anywhere, and on seeing the sunshine and feeling the heat, he suddenly got interested.

He stood at the cave entrance, took off his outer garment, revealing his muscular physique.

And on his back, there were vaguely mysterious and colorful patterns.

Each black line forming the pattern seemed to writhe, like a ghost creeping slowly, and in the center of all these patterns, a more terrifying image emerged, a bizarre fox head.

The fox head looked like a mad artist had sketched it randomly, with craftsmanship that seemed created by a master painter, though the lines were wildly crazy and eerie. Even a mere glance would make ordinary people's legs weak and their hearts tremble with unspeakable fear.

The man leaped down from the height along with the waterfall, into the deep pool below.

The water pythons were startled, scrambling to escape.

The man swam comfortably in the water, stretching out, after swimming a circle, he went to the shore naked, picked some unknown fruits, washed them briefly in the water, and sat cross-legged to eat.

With a slight thought, a transparent white fox spirit floated down beside him, and the "fox head" on his back naturally disappeared.

'Master.'

The Great Fox Mother respectfully addressed him in his Divine Sense with a voice only Song Yan could hear.

Song Yan looked at the white fox spirit, and with a smile in his Divine Sense, replied: 'Feeling unwilling?'

After speaking, he didn't wait for a response, continued on his own: 'Although Crimson Palace cultivators are powerful, as you have demonstrated being able to dominate forces at the same realm level, there are no others. Especially in the Puppet Sect's Evil Land, there exists someone so formidable that even Gu Huangzi is wary.

That place, you could also dominate, it's incredibly unbelievable.

Therefore, your Dragon Vein Blood is likely to have a flaw.

If the flaw isn't exposed, you are unbeatable.

If it's exposed, like a balloon pricked by a needle.'

'I initially thought your Demon Shadow was an Illusion Technique, as in Cold Pool Valley Market, Phantom-Devouring Flying Ants once left a trace in your Demon Shadow, and you responded quickly by eliminating the cultivator who uncovered it, while deliberately using the Demon Shadow to consume him.

It was as if declaring that your Demon Shadow was an Illusion Technique.

Thus, it was a classic case of covering things up.'

'Later on, I started to find something amiss, because wherever you went, everyone exhibited a fear far exceeding expectations.

Including me...

Understand that at Cold Pool Valley, I had digested the Essence Blood of the Changwang Tiger Race, so I'd be sensitive to changes in my Divine Soul.

If no external factors affected me, fear would be impossible.

Thus, I began suspecting you could cast large-scale Fear Secret Technique.'

'Then later, when we met and battled, such a scenario, I was even less likely to feel fear... Yet when you transformed, I was afraid.

Subsequently, when I sensed fear, you grew from elusive stature to monstrous size.

I decided to take a gamble and applied all the Slaughter Talismans purchased onto my body.

The surge from numerous talismans instantly dispelled all my inner fear.

You, indeed… returned to normal.'

Song Yan finished eating the wild fruit in his hand, tossed it away, watching the current carry it away as he comfortably lay back, bathing in the sun.

The Great Fox Mother had already become his Changwang Tiger Spirit, and her secret was naturally no longer a secret.

The Crimson Palace realm consists of Early Stage, Middle Stage, and Late Stage.

The Early Stage encompasses the Middle Three Palaces.

The Middle Stage encompasses the Lower Three Palaces.

The Late Stage encompasses the Upper Three Palaces.

This is called the "Nine Palaces."

Within the Nine Palaces, the "Left and Right Two Palaces" also require external blood, but the power exerted by these external blood is only a portion of the strength of the blood itself. As little as thirty to forty percent, as much as sixty to seventy percent.

Only Central Palace Essence Blood can fully exert its power and possesses potential for growth.

The Great Fox Mother was of the Middle Stage of the Crimson Palace with six palaces of blood.

The Central Central Palace consists of "Multi-tailed Fox Blood," and the more pure it is, the more tails can be grown, each tail like an "Instant Mana Potion," able to fill its own Profound Qi instantly.

However, the Great Fox Mother's Lower Central Palace does not contain "Dragon Vein Blood."

Dragon Vein Blood comes from a secret location of the Multi-tailed Fox Race — "Dragon Vein Blood Seed Ancient Pool."

In the ancient pool there are "Normal Dragon Vein Blood" and "Dragon Vein Essence Blood."

The majority of the Multi-tailed Fox Race can only absorb normal Dragon Vein Blood.

The Great Fox Mother was the same.

The Great Fox Mother's Lower Central Palace Essence Blood comes from a rare Demon Beast at the Crimson Palace level — "Six-winged Horror Bat."

The biggest feature of the Six-winged Horror Bat is the "Fear Secret Technique."

The more Profound Qi, the more terrifying the "Fear Secret Technique," and fear has a contagious property.

This makes it a perfect match for the Great Fox Mother.

The Great Fox Mother with three tails can provide a massive amount of Profound Qi instantly, naturally making "Fear Secret Technique" rise with the tide.

The characteristic of "Dragon Vein Blood" is: the more the target fears, the larger you'll become, displaying more dreadful power.

Thus, "Multi-tailed Fox Race Blood," "Six-winged Horror Bat Blood," "Dragon Vein Blood," and the innate "Illusion Technique Proficiency" of the Multi-tailed Fox Race constitute a perfect cycle.

The Great Fox Mother utilized multiple tails to activate the Fear Secret Technique, absorbs fear with Dragon Vein Blood, and misguides and disguises through Illusion Technique, making others believe that the enormous Demon Shadow naturally results from Illusion Technique...

Even if someone suspected it might be "Fear," the "Fear Secret Technique" could forcibly implant fear into one's heart, making fear compulsory.

Without certain power, preparation, coincidence, even if the flaw is discovered, death is inevitable.

'This time, it truly was fortunate…'

Song Yan breathed a long sigh of relief.

Beside him, the white fox spirit trembled, saying, "Slave... fearful."