Pre-Made Demonic Beasts, Shadow Kin

The tiger demon paced to the edge of the small pond in Vajra Temple's front courtyard. Beyond the exquisite stone arch bridge lay the steps leading to the first main hall.

This pond was no small construction. Rectangular and dug deep, its walls were adorned with exquisite marble carvings, ringed by railings and all manner of abstract stone beasts Yuan Zhu could not recognize.

What should have been a wishing pool stocked with ornamental koi and turtles now billowed with Yellow Springs Death Qi. It was clearly Vajra Temple's "death qi hub," spreading throughout the temple, twisting and corroding this ancient monastery as it bred a ghost domain.

There were no longer any lotuses, turtles, or koi in the pond. In their place lay a reclining Buddha statue that had been deliberately thrown inside.

The dark-gold Buddha statue's material and style were obviously out of place with the pond. One glance told him it had been moved from a Buddha hall and tossed into the water to suppress or nurture something.

By now, three-quarters of the statue had been submerged. Even the part above the water had been corroded into mottled, flaking patches by Yellow Springs Death Qi. The reclining Buddha also lacked a head. After it had been deliberately smashed off, a bloody Corpse Hand Plant had been inserted into its neck, like the "Buddha Tomato" he had been fortunate enough to see before.

Staring at the "Corpse Hand Plant" growing from and fed by the reclining Buddha's neck, Yuan Zhu said in astonishment, "Huh? Could there really be some heavenly treasure here!?"

Unlike every "Buddha Palm" he had seen before, the "corpse hand" on the reclining Buddha's neck had now completely shed the form of an arm and looked more like a special plant made of flesh and blood.

Its main trunk—measured by arm circumference—was already over twenty centimeters thick and two to three meters long, curving upward along the water's surface. Its overall outline resembled a gigantic hand, palm-up, grasping at something.

From both sides of the palm extended two smaller arms, each about 1.5 meters long. One twisted skyward, while the other reached beneath the water.

From the surface of every thick, long finger sprouted densely packed "tiny arm branches," "palm leaves," or individual "finger Mao Mao Worms" that dangled downward, half-submerged in the pond.

At the tips of some fingers hanging in midair, tiny little palms grew upside down, wriggling like worms as they scooped up murky Yellow Springs water from the pond to nourish themselves.

At first glance, it looked like an unnerving mass of countless arms, large and small, all bending and writhing. But if he narrowed his eyes, blurred his vision, and switched on nearsighted mode, the artistic style improved dramatically—it looked like a flesh coral swaying in the wind.

This fleshy plant crazily absorbed the death aura of the "Yellow Springs Pond," extending countless roots of blood vessels and meridians downward. They bored into the reclining Buddha statue, twisting and animating it bit by bit, then spread along the statue beneath the pond toward the entire temple.

Yuan Zhu observed closely and indeed found many bean-sprout-sized "tiny little palms" poking from the cracks in the stone paving. In wall crevices, flower beds, and on the surfaces of withered trees, nearly imperceptible slender little palms breathed in the Yellow Springs Aura in the air—the blue mist—and exhaled polluted "Yellow Springs Buddha Rhythm."

Then he recalled the sight from the Shadow World, when he had looked up at Vajra Temple's foundation and seen countless root-like palms protruding from between the stones, remaking the Shadow World through their breathing and shaping a little Yellow Springs hell.

The "pale-blue Yellow Springs mist" that he needed and could absorb was being crazily seized and absorbed by this thing, transformed into corpse-stinking Yellow Springs Buddha Rhythm, then exhaled to pollute the environment! Could this really be some Netherworld spiritual root? But its pollution purity is far too high. I can't touch it, much less take it away.

The tiger demon studied the Corpse Hand Plant for a long while and confirmed it was not fated for him. The pollution level was so high that the Immortal Scripture frantically issued warnings, urging him to stay away. Instinctively, he did not want to get too close, a sinister feeling rising in him that he was about to be polluted into conversion.

Little Elf said, "Boss, this thing is so evil and filthy! Its resentment pierces the heavens and blankets the entire temple. Worse still, it has occupied the Yellow Springs' springhead and polluted all the death qi. It really deserves to be cleansed in a single blaze!"

The tiger head and snake tail stared pitifully at the pool of filthy Yellow Springs water. They loathed its dense Buddhist corpse stench, yet also felt a measure of greed and longing. It was an instinct born from the tiger demon's bloodline—it liked all energy related to the Netherworld and the underworld, energy that could accelerate a tiger demon's growth and development.

"Ah, if the real world had a Secluded Spring like this, your Mountain Lord Ghost Domain innate divine power could finally come in handy."

Yuan Zhu's heart stirred. "What about now? It's not too late now, is it? Can I activate that divine power?"

The snake tail shook violently. "Can't do it. Absolutely can't. Never mind that your Tiger Demon True Body is still underdeveloped and only in its juvenile stage. In game terms, you're roughly only Lv1–4. To activate the Mountain Lord God (Ghost) Domain, you need to be at least Lv25–30. Besides, Mountain Lord God Domain requires 'driving living stakes and laying a grand formation.' Do you have Human Pillars? Do you have Tiger Chang?"

New and unknown knowledge again caught Yuan Zhu's interest. "What are living stakes? What does laying a formation mean? Why don't I have these memories?"

"How could one awaken advanced bloodline memories during the juvenile stage? Besides, we've changed universes. That formation knowledge might not even work here. As for living stakes, they are the foundation of a formation. For you, that means 'Tiger Chang plus Human Pillars.' Select people with spiritual roots and magical cultivation, arrange them according to the Five Elements, choose cultivators who have reached Foundation Establishment, refine them into Human Pillar artifacts, bury them in the earth, implant Tiger Chang to link them to the netherworld, then gradually expand the formation, strengthen its effects and range... until you finally establish a Divine Domain. When one divine art succeeds, ten thousand bones wither—those ten thousand bones are 'Human Pillar Power.'" The Little Elf let its imagination run wild, describing for Yuan Zhu the cultivation blueprint of a "Netherworld Ghost Tiger" from the neighboring Cultivation Universe.

"What a diligent... no, evil ghost tiger demon!"

The tiger demon licked his lips. He could not accept using humans as stakes, but if he used Duling's native mutated demons, monsters, and ghosts to refine "Human Pillar artifacts," he did not feel much resistance inside. Instead, he felt a moral duty to champion justice and act on Heaven's behalf.

That's right! This was the path he should take! Standing in the shadows and looking up at the light, he would become a multiversal warrior who transcended the limits of species and contributed to society and humanity.

I came from Earth for no other reason than to slay demons and exterminate monsters, to save this world born steeped in filth.

"Ah, looks like there's no chance after all."

Yuan Zhu looked regretfully at the Secluded Spring Pond, yet was unwilling to leave so easily. If he could mobilize the Mountain Lord Ghost Domain to mess around a little, then even if he could not claim the pond, simply causing trouble and wrecking things would make him happy in the wonderfully spiteful way of harming others without benefiting himself.

Whether it was harming others or benefiting himself, either one brought him amusement.

Little Elf: That's right! We multiversal warriors are all like this! Full support for the boss.

The Little Elf, ever concerned for its boss's mental health, sensed Yuan Zhu's conflicted mood in sync and immediately followed up to ease it. "Boss, if you don't stir up some trouble, you won't feel comfortable deep down, right? And once you feel uncomfortable, your thoughts won't flow freely, which will affect your future cultivation?"

"Uh... it's not that exaggerated. But I really am a little unwilling. I fought so hard to get in here, only to leave empty-handed? Wouldn't that mean I came for nothing?"

The skeletal snake nodded fiercely and began whispering poison into his ear. "Right! You should make some serious trouble, or you really came for nothing. I have a plan, boss. Lend me your ear."

"Speak!"

The snake tail furtively looked left and right. After confirming no one was nearby, a gleam of wisdom flashed through its ruby eyes. Looking immensely sneaky, it leaned close to the tiger demon's ear and whispered, "Boss, you can spit into the pond. Pollute this pool of Buddhist sewage hard, secretly mark your territory, and leave your own trace behind."

"???" The cat tilted his head. Yuan Zhu failed to understand for a moment. "Why don't you make that clearer?"

"A fierce tiger pees, a kitty spits up a hairball—mark territory, claim the mountain as king!" the Little Elf explained. "Universe Within the Belly has more than forty mutated demonic beasts piled up inside. You can't digest them right now, and they're consuming an abnormal amount of polluted spiritual energy. In my opinion, you might as well give up on them all and spit them into this pond. Let those half-digested 'mutated demonic beasts, Tiger Chang reserves' fight that Corpse Hand Plant for nutrients and death qi... Even if they're converted in the end, they can still cause one hell of a mess! At the very least, harm others without benefiting yourself!"

The poisonous Little Elf proposed a bold and vicious plan: Shadow vomit defiles the Buddha Rhythm Secluded Spring.

"Would that work? I swallowed those prey with great effort, digested them for over thirty hours, and now I just let them go that easily? What about my Tiger Chang?"

"Letting them go like this gives you the best value for your money!" The Little Elf controlled the "Mao Mao King Bowknot" around its neck to automatically disassemble, then reassemble into a feather fan and silk headscarf. It put them on, used a little black thread arm woven from silk strands to wave the feather fan, and entered strategist mode. "Please, allow me to persuade you."

"First, the demonic beasts sealed and suppressed in our belly come from complicated sources—pollution products from more than a dozen trash evil gods. These demonic beasts were all transformed from ordinary mortals. They are weak and have poor potential, but their Pollution Sources are particularly complicated. Breaking them down and wearing them away takes far too much effort, so it would be better to spit them out! More than a dozen different pollutions falling into this Buddha Rhythm Secluded Spring—even without discussing intensity—would be enough to disgust the other side to death. Like a pot of pure soup with more than a dozen seasonings randomly tossed into it. Hehehe..."

"Second, although these demonic beasts have not been completely digested by Universe Within the Belly, over the past thirty-plus hours, they have already been thoroughly contaminated and processed by Shadow Power. They have begun transforming into Tiger Chang ghosts and gained some Tiger Chang attributes. Now that the Tiger Chang Divine Power has been completed, if these demonic beasts return to freedom, they won't be able to contact their respective evil gods or receive replenishment of Pollution Power. They can only be corroded by Yellow Springs in this environment. Therefore, they are bound to die and transform into ghosts. At that point, they will count as having spontaneously transformed into wild Yellow Springs Tiger Chang, processing and cooking themselves."

In the Little Elf's eyes, the basic functions of Universe Within the Belly were digestion, absorption, and transformation... processing prey—ingredients—into Tiger Chang.

Tiger demon Yuan Zhu was still too young, and his digestive abilities were average. He had swallowed forty portions of ingredients yet could not absorb them. But over the past thirty hours, his "stomach acid" had successfully transformed—polluted—this batch of ingredients, granting them basic Shadow Pollution and turning them into half-finished ingredients: Tiger Chang.

Now, if he released them, they would simultaneously bear "evil god pollution" and "Shadow Pollution," while suffering "Yellow Springs Buddha Rhythm pollution." They were bound to die. After death, they would absorb death qi and spontaneously transform into "mutated wild Tiger Chang." This was self-processing and self-digestion outside the digestive system.

They would turn themselves into pre-made dishes, better suited to a tiger demon's digestive system, and wait for Yuan Zhu's return. They could also pollute and disrupt this pond, compete with the Corpse Hand Plant for Yellow Springs Power, and spread more than a dozen kinds of evil god pollution to harass and destroy.

If he could return next time, the tiger demon would surely be stronger, with a more mature digestive system. At the same time, dozens of unique "Yellow Springs Tiger Chang—wild finished dishes" would be waiting for it to hunt and taste once more.

Yuan Zhu was stunned after hearing this. "You can do that? Then from now on, I simply won't digest Chang Ghosts. I'll make semi-finished products directly, then spit, spit, spit... let them ferment on their own, mutate in the wild, grow more nutritious and mature, and then eat them?"

Little Elf said, "Great King, what do you think Buddha Tomato was doing when it demonically corrupted those Ye Country citizens? And what is this Yellow Springs Buddha Rhythm circulating through Vajra Temple right now, transforming countless people into corpse-ghosts with Dharma palms? You absolutely must not belittle yourself. Though the Tiger Demon is young and immature, you possess the traits of a Demon God. These 'semi-finished Chang Ghost ingredients' are your very own method of Shadow Pollution! Unfortunately, your purity is still insufficient. You can't spread pollution automatically on a massive scale; you can only actively transform semi-finished products before releasing them to be raised..."

Think about how Buddha Tomato scattered its "filthy blood," instantly polluting countless commoners and allowing them to spread and multiply on their own, absorb starlight, grow stronger, and then be converted into believers through Buddhist Dharma. Vajra Temple likewise possessed a fully automated pollution process capable of turning ordinary people into corpse-ghosts.

Looking at himself again, he had to actively swallow his prey, use Universe Within the Belly to turn them into semi-finished pre-made meals, then return them to nature and let them transform and mature on their own... It seemed pretty much the same, differing only in efficiency.

Yuan Zhu suddenly came to a realization and asked, "Put another way, from the perspective of a Pollution Source or an Anti-Law Demon God. After these 'semi-finished ingredients' are released, they aren't under my control and may even become hostile toward me. But I've already branded them with shadows. They bear the pollution mark of Chang Ghosts and have the same attribute. Letting them grow savagely is equivalent to increasing the value of my menu? Once I become stronger and they've fermented into more nutritious, delicious prey, not only will I be able to digest and absorb them easily, but I'll also obtain extraordinary elemental information beyond Shadow and Chang Ghosts—their original pollution attributes?"

Even if he digested and absorbed the pollution attributes of more than a dozen trash evil gods, they would still be trash-tier, devoid of reference value. They would only make his own purity more muddled and cause him to lose his potential.

But if he allowed this pack of Demonic Beasts to transform in the Yellow Springs, then after elimination and selection, those that ultimately survived would inevitably be stronger and more outstanding.

At that point, they would possess both "Chang Ghost attributes" and their own refined, optimized "other pollution traits." Once Universe Within the Belly reclaimed them a second time, they would become his.

Yuan Zhu said, "Tell me, could the captain's generous gift of Uniforms—while not forcing us to sign Anti-Laws with Mao Mao King, and even supporting our continued contact with other extraordinary elements to cultivate 'Seeds of Power'—follow a similar principle? Uniforms are like the means we use to prepare these pre-made Demonic Beast meals. Once they become tainted by shadows, it doesn't affect their original extraordinary powers. It might even merge with them deeply and mutate, giving me an opening."

"When I return to this Foam World in the future, they'll surely have absorbed enough Yellow Springs Qi to prepare themselves into an alternative kind of 'specialized Shadow Chang Ghost,' ready for me to refine and absorb, granting me a batch of mutated Shadow traits that I could never cultivate proactively myself. And as the members of Happy Home evolve personalized 'exclusive Uniforms' according to their own habits, Mao Mao King gathers all sorts of unique 'new Seeds.' If they continue their studies by signing Anti-Laws, those Seeds will take root, sprout, and grow into even stronger 'pollution traits,' awaiting harvest?"

"Eh...? Could this be Mao Mao King's true goal? And if we widen our perspective further, could it be that the Pale Great Law's ability to tolerate—or even indulge—the rampant growth of Anti-Law Demon Gods works through a similar mechanism? If I were the Shadow Great Law, painstakingly vomiting out a batch of Anti-Law dregs and letting them feed on Yellow Springs Qi to develop and grow anew... only to return in the end and eat from the buffet, further strengthening the foundation of the Shadow Great Law..."

Yuan Zhu said, "Oh-ho, we've discovered the truth of the world!"

Little Elf said, "Congratulations, Boss! Congratulations, Boss! You have seen through falsehood and pierced the world's true essence. Peerless brilliance, unmatched wisdom!"

The Tiger Demon arrogantly swished his tail, then said with restraint, "Be humble, calm, low-key. I noticed mist leaking from the Yellow Springs within the Shadow World. This pond may have some hidden connection to the Shadow Dimension. After tossing this batch of pre-made meals in, letting them develop and grow, perhaps my Shadow Pollution can help them break through the pond and the Shadow Dimension, adding a batch of 'pre-made meal species' to that lifeless Shadow World and escaping the Buddhist Sect's pollution?"

The Shadow World he had entered before was a desolate, deathly silent place without any Shadow creatures. But Vajra Temple was clearly eroding and transforming the Shadow World, seeking to add Yellow Springs attributes and turn it into a subsidiary "hell" of the Foam World.

Then his "wild pre-made Chang Ghosts" might very well take root in the Shadow Dimension, reproduce, and spread... This Foam World had a promising future indeed!

Thinking this, the Tiger Demon hurriedly braced his forepaws against the pond railing, stretched out his large head, endured the discomfort as he drew near the water, and activated Universe Within the Belly in reverse.

The Tiger Demon's stomach felt nothing, and he did not open his mouth to vomit. Instead, Little Tail suddenly convulsed, slammed headfirst into the shadow beneath it, then a gigantic shadow python burrowed out of the ground, opened its jaws wide, and began to ruminate. "Waaah, bleegh, waaah-bleegh..."

Little Elf spat out one flesh ball after another, each wrapped in a black fetal membrane, pulsing rhythmically and radiating a dense aura of Shadow Pollution. Beneath those membranous flesh balls lay the curled silhouettes of bizarre Demonic Beasts.

Splash! Splash! Splash! Large and small black, sinister fetal-membrane flesh balls fell into the pond one after another. Dense Yellow Springs Death Qi swiftly eroded and polluted them, their vitality visibly dissipating as they emitted "corpse-ghost Buddha Rhythm" and "Chang Ghost aura," transforming toward death.

This refining speed was far faster than his digestion speed!

Yuan Zhu did not care, because the "Shadow marks" he had planted had not disappeared, nor had the Demonic Beasts' original "pollution attributes." On the contrary, squeezed by the pond water, they were forced to merge in self-preservation. At the same time, the way the black fetal-membrane flesh balls absorbed the power of the Yellow Springs also displayed some traits of "Chang Ghosts." That was enough.

He did not care whether it succeeded. If it worked, it would be a pleasant surprise. Even if it failed, he could still screw over the other side and thoroughly pollute that corpse-hand plant.

This batch of pre-made meals was clearly not made up of proper Buddhist Sect corpse-ghosts, but alternative wild corpse-ghosts with mixed and chaotic foundations... and they were gradually displaying the potential to become shadowed. Perhaps they might even slip directly into the Shadow Dimension from the depths of the pond? "Congratulations, Great King, you've created wild dependents beyond your control! Let's run! If they hatch, perhaps the first thing they'll do is attack us."

Having done something wicked, the Tiger Demon was in excellent spirits. "No rush! Let's take another look inside the main hall and loot the place before we leave. I hear monks love gold, silver, colored glaze, coral, agate... My life has been so hard, and now I've quit my job at the steam factory. This king must make a huge fortune to support the household!"

After Little Tail finished vomiting out the pre-made Demonic Beasts from Universe Within the Belly, the Tiger Demon leaped over the stone arch bridge and raced toward the main hall. At the very least, he had to scrape off a layer of Golden Body. He had suffered far too much!

The backend changed the release date again today, pushing it back to the 28th—New Year's Eve... Such heaven-defying good fortune, he probably wouldn't encounter it a second time in this lifetime.