Transformation Diagram: Starting as a Skinny Dog

Chen Ku saw the newly hatched Strange Beast surrounded by four Transformation Diagrams in his mind.

[???? (Unnamed Transformation)]

[Cultivation Realm: Three Realm Demon]

[Transformation Level: Transforming Shape Level]

[This beast was formed by the refining shape process of the Year Beast Transformation, Swallow-Treading Horse Transformation, Tail Hammer Crocodile Transformation, and Spinning Turtle Transformation… Lion's head, horse's body, clad in scales and armor, a single horn on its head, and a clubbed tail…]

[Slaughter Aura Quality: Ordinary]

[Abilities: Third Realm Demonic Power, Spitting Ice, Water Avoidance, Swallowing Water, Traveling Two Thousand in a Day, Carrying a Thousand Jun, Impervious to Swords and Spears, Ears Clear Eyes Bright, Tail Hammer Thousand Jun…]

Chen Ku looked at this newly formed Refined Shape Transformation, overjoyed.

As expected, he thought. After the refining shape process, following the logic of natural selection and survival of the fittest, the obvious weaknesses of the Year Beast—such as fear of fire, light, noise, red, and other disadvantages—have been squeezed out and eliminated during the fusion with the other three Transformations. Even if not replaced by something better, a disadvantaged part wouldn't be chosen to occupy its original place in the body.

Chen Ku regarded the new Strange Beast Transformation among the four diagrams as if beholding a new treasure, mentally rotating it so he could clearly see all its parts. The new Strange Beast had retained 60% of the Year Beast's main form. The remaining 40% was composed of the Swallow-Treading Horse (20%), and the Spinning Turtle and Tail Hammer Crocodile (10% each).

Chen Ku took note of the new Strange Beast's abilities. The abilities of the Year Beast and Swallow-Treading Horse were self-explanatory.

The rock-shattering force, known as 'Thousand-Jun,' I wonder if it can be applied to fists or feet? One Jun was 30 catties, so a Thousand Jun would be 30,000 catties. He then looked at the ability "[Carrying a Thousand Jun]." Altogether, this new Transformation, purely in terms of Root Bone, has the strength of 30,000 catties. Including the Incarnation produced by Transformation, that would be 60,000 catties. Not to mention the Power of Ten Elephants from the Flower Fox Mink! Adding it all up, with these two main Transformations, my Root Bone Divine Power can stack up to a might of 160,000 catties!

Chen Ku couldn't help but think of a character from the storytelling books of his past life, one who was exaggerated to be the strongest, surpassing even Li Yuanba: Cao Kerang from Master Chen Qingyuan's treasured book, *Cao Family General*. Cao Kerang, the leading champion in *Cao Family General*, was also known as Li Zhongxiao when he won the martial competition. It was said that he gained the strength of 'Three Dragons, Nine Oxen, and Two Tigers' after eating a basket of buns from the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady. He supposedly had more power than Xue Rengui, who possessed the strength of 'Two Dragons, Nine Oxen, and Two Tigers.' In the storytelling, one Dragon was worth ten Elephants, and the Power of Two Elephants equaled the strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers. Thus, Cao Kerang would have the equivalent strength of 32 Elephants.

Li Yuanba had the Irresistible Power of Four Elephants. Now, with my two main Transformations at their peak, I am as strong as four Li Yuanbas, but I can only match up to half of Cao Kerang…

Even so, the smile on Chen Ku's lips could not be hidden. With the Power of Sixteen Elephants, it seems I could even wield Master's Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff! I wonder how much Qi Power Master can exert? But no matter what, to use the Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff weighing 12,500 catties as a weapon, he must definitely have several hundred thousand catties of Qi Power.

Chen Ku pondered further, After all, it's easy to swing a staff that weighs over 10,000 catties with a few hundred thousand catties of Qi Power. But to use such a heavy staff to perform the Furious Ape Mighty Staff Ultimate Skill, perfecting nine of the ten Stick Techniques to the realm of Perfection... TSK, TSK... It's unimaginable how much Qi Power Master really has.

He slowly withdrew his thoughts from the growth of his Root Bone Divine Power and then quickly reviewed the other abilities of the new Transformation.

Impervious to Swords and Spears. This must be derived from the Mysterious Turtle's Tortoise Shell, which has now become the Scale Armor of the new Transformation. It's like wearing a layer of Armor that prevents harm from ordinary swords and blades. If I had faced that confrontation at the docks today, I would definitely choose to Climb the Knife Mountain first.

Finally, Chen Ku let out a light gasp. How come this Transformation doesn't have any new abilities produced during the refining shape process? After all, in the previous refining shape processes of the Flower Fox Mink, new abilities had emerged, somewhat like Bloodline fusion, igniting certain characteristics within the Demon Transformations. For instance, the Flower Fox Mink's [Size Change] allowed its body to grow larger or smaller.

Chen Ku frowned and stared at the Transformation Diagram for a long time. He had a speculation. Could it be that to produce a 'new ability' during the refining shape process, the outcome is related to the Transformation Quality? After all, the previous Transformations of the Flower Fox Mink had all been of [Excellent] quality. But this time, the new Transformation resulting from the four Fused Transformations was only of [Ordinary] quality.

Chen Ku had long guessed that this quality was probably related to the 'Bloodline purity and concentration' of the Transformations. The four Demons he had used for the Transformations were not those with strong ancient Bloodlines. The Year Beast might have been rare in his previous life, but it was quite common in this world, which was why both Jiang Shaoyou and Peace Path had thought of hunting it.

Alas, I have killed too few Demons with the Bloodlines of ancient Great Demons in them, Chen Ku shook his head. He understood that such ancient Great Demons, having cultivated to the level of reaching the heavens and penetrating the earth, would surely pass down many abilities in their Bloodline. Even a small trace present in the Bloodline could trigger an ability during the refining shape process. But if there wasn't even a trace, then there was no chance of producing a new ability at all.

Letting out a long breath, Chen Ku looked at the new Transformation, still marked with '????' for its unassigned name. He, too, fell into deep thought. Logically speaking, with the Year Beast and the Water Avoidance ability, this creature formed by refining shape is more akin to the Water Repelling Golden Crystal Beast, the mount of the Bull Demon King. However, judging by its current physical capabilities, it only lives up to the 'Water-Avoiding Beast' part of such a name.

The Water Repelling Golden Crystal Beast, also known as the Water-Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast, not only had the ability to avoid water but also possessed characteristics implied by 'Golden Crystal' or 'Golden Eyes.' Let's not discuss whether it's 'golden crystal' or 'Golden Eyes' for now.

Before transmigrating, when Chen Ku would focus his attention on Immortal Master Erlang (whom he revered as 'Grandfather Immortal Master Erlang'), he had made sure to research many of his legends in advance. There was one story called *Erlang God's Drunken Shooting of the Demon-Locking Mirror*. It told of how Erlang God accidentally shattered the Demon-Locking Treasure Mirror, allowing the 'Golden-Eyed Hundred-Eyed Ghost' and the 'Nine-Headed Bull Demon King' to escape. This Golden-Eyed Monster and the King of the Bull Demons often appeared together, described as a Demon with a hundred eyes that could emit golden light, shrouding an entire area of heaven and earth. This golden light was also known as the 'Golden Eye Fixing Light' technique. Therefore, the Golden Eyes of the Water-Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast probably require a similar ability to be worthy of the name. Since it doesn't have the Golden Eye Fixing Light Divine Skills yet, I'll just call you 'Water-Avoiding Beast' for now.

Chen Ku muttered to himself, but then another thought arose: This name does remind me of another Strange Beast. The Water-Avoiding Beast is also referred to as the Centipede Viper. Legend says the Centipede Viper is one of the Dragon's offspring. After offending heavenly laws, it was banished to the mortal realm and forced to guard a canal, pinned beneath a heavy tortoise shell. After a thousand years, it earned its freedom through meritorious deeds and escaped the shell. Its purpose was to control water and prevent floods, which is why many buildings in my previous life featured sculptures of Centipede Vipers at their drainage outlets.

This new Transformation, derived from the Year Beast, indeed spent all its time at the bottom of rivers, rarely coming ashore. Considering it had, in a sense, shed a 'tortoise shell' from the Spinning Turtle component, it somewhat resembles a Centipede Viper. Looking at its form, it could barely pass for a Dragon's offspring. The new Transformation will be called 'Centipede Snake Change.'

Then, he assigned the Centipede Snake Change to the second Transformation Diagram, making it his second primary Transformation. The third and fourth diagrams were replaced with the Second Realm Volcanic Crow and Fire Beak Pot. He began anew to refine the 50 strands of Fire Poison Qi within his body.

To tell the truth, he hadn't slept well the previous night. After deactivating the Fire Resistance from the Volcanic Crow and Fire Beak Pot Transformations, the 50 strands of Fire Evil Qi, while not life-threatening, had subjected him to a night of intense heat, as if being scorched, causing him to run a high fever all night long.

Now that he had reactivated the two Fire Resistance Transformations, suddenly, the world seemed to clear, and his spirit found peace. The high fever receded, and his mind became as still as water.

PHEW! I only endured the Fire Poison Qi for one night, and it was so tough. The Flower Fox Mink has been bearing it for half a month. It truly suffered. It looks like in a few days, I should also enhance its Fire Resistance—add at least the Fire Resistance equivalent to a First Realm Volcanic Crow Transformation. Otherwise... it won't be able to go any deeper.

Chen Ku empathized with the Flower Fox Mink's agony, felt compassion for it, and thought of a solution. Then he made an estimate. At the current refining rate of one strand of Second Realm Fire Evil Qi per two hours, it will take at least two and a half days to completely refine all 50 strands of Second Realm Evil Qi. Then I'll obtain a Second Realm Magical Treasure Level Fire Beak Pot.

Chen Ku let the First Realm Fire Beak Pot continue refining Pills. He, on the other hand, left his home and went to the banks of the Dragon River outside the city.

[Centipede Snake Change! Transform! Appear!]

With a single thought from Chen Ku, a house-sized vortex of icy blue Evil Qi materialized in mid-air, transforming into the Incarnation of a Centipede Viper with a lion's head and a single horn.

SPLASH!

The water-dwelling Demon Incarnation, larger than an elephant, crashed into the water with a thunderous sound, diving towards the depths of the Dragon River. Chen Ku watched from the riverside as the massive shadow of his Incarnation gradually disappeared beneath the water. He couldn't help but look forward to the Centipede Viper's underwater experiences.

It has always been said that those near mountains live off the mountains, and those near water live off the water. The mountains and rivers of Baojiao County support 100,000 households. Medicine King Hall and Firewood Iron Shop had become the county's titans by utilizing the minerals and medicinal herbs from the forests and mountains. The Fish and Dragon Association, however, monopolized Baojiao County's water resources, controlling about 70 to 80 percent of the resources beneath the Dragon River.

Chen Ku anticipated that his Third Realm Centipede Viper Incarnation could snatch a good portion of these resources from the clutches of the Fish and Dragon Association. As a Third Realm Centipede Viper, the water is its domain. It's not only capable of Water Avoidance and Spitting Ice, but also Impervious to Swords and Spears, possesses the Tail Hammer, and has the speed of a Swallow-Treading Horse. I can say I've practically maxed out its defense, speed, and attack. Even if it encounters a human Martial Practitioner, a peak expert of the Third Realm, it wouldn't be at a disadvantage underwater.

After all, the Third Realm Great Year Beast, even when it left the water for the unfamiliar environment of the shore, had been able to fight 15 experts single-handedly. Now that the Centipede Viper was back in the water, it would be even more in its element, like a fish returned to water.

In this Dragon River, for my Centipede Viper to encounter danger or feel threatened, it would have to be by a water-dwelling Demon or a Martial Practitioner above the Fourth Realm.

However, experts at the Fourth Realm and above in Baojiao County were so few they could be counted on one hand. This made the probability of encountering one negligible, practically ensuring the Centipede Viper's absolute safety.

With that, Chen Ku sent the Centipede Viper into the Dragon River and returned to the city.

But just as he entered the Inner City, words suddenly flickered across the Transformation Diagram in his mind.

[Zhao Yuyan harbors suspicion towards the Diagram Master, intends to investigate, and poses a threat... Hostile intent has generated Evil Qi. Eliminating this person can yield Evil Qi.]

Chen Ku's brow twitched. He instinctively activated his keen sense of smell, surveying his surroundings. However, this search proved fruitless; he detected no trace of anyone following him. After all, he had carefully scouted the area before heading to the riverbank, wary of being followed and someone witnessing him unleash the Centipede Viper Transformation.

But then, Chen Ku understood. He immediately looked at the annotation in the bottom-left corner of the fourth Transformation Diagram:

[Upon completion of this diagram, the Diagram Master's Evil Qi sensing range will increase to a radius of Ten Li.]

A radius of Ten Li... Does that mean it sensed Evil Qi from as far away as Ten Li? That suggested the person wasn't nearby but was, somewhere within the city, harboring thoughts about him.