Transformation Diagram: Starting as a Skinny Dog

In the small courtyard.

Chen Ku held the Thousand Jin Staff, thrusting it forward. The Force Power in his hands continually shifted, seemingly transforming the Refined Iron Nu Dragon Staff into a vortex that constantly sucked in the air currents from the yard.

Finally, he swung the staff!

BOOM!

A water-jar-sized airflow, like a balloon, formed tangible ripples in the air and exploded with a shockwave.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!!

In an instant, it blasted the fine dust in the air and the mud underfoot, hurtling them in all directions!

"Unity of Move and Force! My own Unity of Move and Force has finally been mastered!" Chen Ku looked at the power of this strike with satisfaction.

With the Unity of Move and Force, this move can be considered to have reached entry-level.

The Swallowing Force within the Skyward Strike had finally been unleashed by him without relying on the Huang Gun Transformation. Of course, this was inseparable from the experience gained from the Huang Gun Transformation.

Imagine, when the Huang Gun Transformation was active, it was like inviting a deity into one's body; he would fully understand what Unity of Move and Force was all about. Even the best True Seedlings from the top martial arts schools, or those from the guilds, enjoyed immensely superior environments for training in martial arts and Force Power. For example, some had masters like Ke Yansheng personally helping them temper their force, which was already a rare training aid. But none offered aid as direct as the transformational Force Power of the Huang Gun Transformation. Even when he was no longer using the Huang Gun Transformation, the experience remained etched in his heart forever.

With the Unity of Move and Force achieved, the next step is the Unity of Intent and Force. I have the Fundamental Diagram... it bears the Divine Intent of the Spirit Ape, and I myself can transform into a Spirit Ape. This step in cultivation will also be swift... But definitely not as quick as another "Unity of Intent and Force" from Huang Gun, what a pity...

The Huang Gun Transformation was already at the First Realm Demonic Being Level.

If I want to further improve and use Shape Shifting to manifest Huang Gun's other abilities and Cultivation Realms, I would need nine strands of Demonic Being Level Evil Qi, or nine strands of Inner Qi Realm Evil Qi!

When Chen Ku exerted his full strength in a surprise attack, he could indeed kill an Inner Qi expert, though his chances of success were at most sixty to seventy percent. Yet, it seemed more prudent to look for opportunities to slaughter Demonic Being-level creatures at the Butcher Court.

However, having been at the Butcher Court for so long, Chen Ku had only seen Demonic Being-level creatures brought in once every few days. From his first visit to the Butcher Court, where he witnessed Shang Yunfang slaughter that Bear demon, to now—over two, almost three months later—there had only been a little over twenty demons. And they certainly wouldn't let a mere Apprentice like him lay hands on them. Unless he could truly become a Disciple under a certain master. Then, naturally, he would receive special treatment.

I wonder how Master Shang Yunfang's injury is now? Chen Ku worried.

After all, Master Ke had tasked him to reach Minor Achievement in the Skyward Strike within a year, or to achieve the Inner Qi Realm. The implications were clear: as long as he managed that, he might have the chance to convince Master Shang Yunfang to take him as a disciple.

Now, over a month had passed. With the Force Power from the Huang Gun Transformation combined with his Root Bone Divine Power, he had already reached the entry-level with this move.

He believed reaching Minor Achievement within a year was only a matter of time. With this expectation, he hoped nothing serious would happen to Shang Yunfang.

Just as Chen Ku was pondering Shang Yunfang's injuries.

SWISH!!

A white shadow suddenly leaped into the courtyard from outside.

"Skinny Dog has returned!"

Chen Ku saw it was broad daylight and Skinny Dog had rushed back. This was completely unlike before. Could it be that he had made a catch?

He then saw that Skinny Dog, after lunging into the courtyard, did indeed have a small, marten-sized, white-furred, rabbit-headed creature—a bait mouse—in its mouth. He arrived in front of Chen Ku.

"Caught it!"

Chen Ku was thrilled. He swiftly brought over the prepared cage and received the struggling, SQUEAKING bait mouse, a Strange Beast, from Skinny Dog's mouth. He placed it into the cage, which already contained some medicinal herbs prepared earlier. This bait mouse didn't eat grains, tree leaves, or wild grass; its only food was medicinal herbs. Any type of medicinal herb, it would consume as a meal. And medicinal herbs were something Chen Ku never lacked.

Several days have passed, and the price of bait mice on the black market has risen by over ten taels. It seems I'm not the only one who has discovered this path to wealth; smugglers and bold hunters have all begun to take action, likely all because of the Peace Path and the typhoid epidemic. After all, there are many clever people who know what to hoard and when. Compared to them, however, hunting bait mice poses no danger for me. I don't have to worry about being discovered by the Two Realms Mountain Border Army. The only risky part is selling the bait mice...

But now that this bait mouse was in his possession, he still had to take the risk.

It was just a matter of changing his shape. Let's not forget, his Transformation Diagram still held the Evil Qi from Du Xiaodao, whom he had killed. With nine strands of Wild Beast Level Evil Qi, he could transform into Du Xiaodao's likeness to sell the bait mice in the black market. Such a transformation and concealment ability, which could even alter his physique, was far superior to Huang Gun's human-skin masks.

He planned to first recall Skinny Dog, then manifest the Du Xiaodao form, and at nightfall, make a trip to the black market.

However, he suddenly noticed that Skinny Dog seemed to have grown larger...

Eh? It wasn't this big when I let it out, was it?

Chen Ku was certain he hadn't remembered incorrectly, but upon a closer look now, the white-furred Skinny Dog had not only increased in size, but its eyes also emitted a hint of silver.

Intelligence flashed in Skinny Dog's eyes. It opened its mouth, wanting to communicate, but was hindered by its inability to speak.

Chen Ku gestured with his hand. "Let me see what you've experienced after crossing Two Realms Mountain this time..."

He recalled Skinny Dog, and fleeting memories from its excursion surfaced in his mind, finally settling on a strange, purple, crescent moon-shaped flower. He sensed Skinny Dog's instinctive urge at that moment: its body had compelled it to eat the flower growing in the mountains of Yuan Country. And then... Skinny Dog's body grew larger.

What kind of flower is that? Could it actually purify the bloodline of a Moon Eating Dog? Chen Ku had never seen such a flower in the records of the Medicine King Hall. But the fact was that inside Skinny Dog, a trace of the Moon Eating Heavenly Dog bloodline had transformed. Although only a trace was purified, it had indeed undergone purification.

Chen Ku even felt that Skinny Dog's physique had grown stronger. Its original explosive force of five hundred jin seemed to have reached the 'thousand jin' level of a human Apprentice at Strength Training Great Perfection.

What a treasure that flower is! It can enhance the demon blood within Skinny Dog, and it seems to be found only within the territory of Yuan Country... It seems that in the future, when I send out Skinny Dog, I'll have to add another task: to find and eat more of that type of flower... Maybe Skinny Dog will be able to condense Inner Qi within its body before I do! Chen Ku was excited.

It had to be said, the harvest Skinny Dog brought back this time, in some aspects, far surpassed the significance of a single bait mouse. It also provided a direction for Skinny Dog's further cultivation. Thus, he also subconsciously began to look forward to the gains from the crocodile that had been released into the Dragon River of Baojiao County.

The Dragon River originated from the Tianyue Mountain Range beyond the border. It flowed through seven provinces of Ji Country before emptying into the eastern sea. Its first stop upon entering Ji Country was Baojiao County. The river was wide and vast, with swift currents in some areas. After entering Baojiao County, it began to flow more gently. Beneath these waters lay various Water Treasures, such as Treasure Fish, Treasure Herbs, and even well-established underwater demons. In some sense, it was no safer than the depths of a primitive forest.

「Underneath a certain stretch of the river,」

Reeds drifted on the surface, waterfowl glided by, and all sorts of Dragon River fish created bubbles beneath as they chased each other—big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp.

A large crocodile lurked beneath the surface. Apart from occasionally surfacing for air, it often skimmed along the silt dozens of meters deep. The crocodile found quite a bit of crow sink sand, but these areas were all claimed by others; it even encountered underwater sand-panning experts. If it hadn't hidden quickly, it felt that these sand-panners, at least at the Force Transforming level, could have killed its ordinary crocodile form with a single kick. Those places usually had shelters built, with horse-drawn carriages on the riverbanks, indicating they were claimed territories—rented stretches of the river where only their owners were allowed to pan for sand.

「As time went by day by day,」

Skinny Dog kept bringing back bait mice from Yuan Country, simultaneously searching for that Crescent Moon Flower to enhance its physique...

For a month, Chen Ku periodically recalled the crocodile to restore its strength. He had been exploring upstream, little by little. Every day, the crocodile used its claws to dig through the silt at the river bottom, as if plowing, nearly turning into a loach...

Finally, he discovered a stretch of riverbed containing an unexploited deposit of crow sink sand. It lay beneath the mud at the river bottom and would have remained undiscovered if the Crocodile Transformation hadn't been digging around.

I've found an unowned crow sink sand deposit! Once I get the official mining permit, I'll be the only one allowed to exploit this stretch of the river. This is going to be a huge windfall!

But figuring out how to secure the mining permit from the government was the most difficult part.