Just after cursing, Ge Xian twisted around and flipped the Jade Pig Dragon, which was about the size of a water buffalo, onto the ground.
He didn't care how filthy the antique-turned-monster was. He raised his fists and began pounding it mercilessly.
The force of his blows made the entire burial ground tremble.
The stupid and vicious Jade Pig Dragon had planned to spew poisonous Corpse Qi to drive Ge Xian away, or coil him up with its Jade Flesh Dragon Tail.
But before it could use either trick, the repeated heavy punches left it dazed.
Though they were both Dragon Kin, Ge Xian had cultivated the Dragon Transformation Chapter and successfully endured the Nine Heavens. He was a true cultivator.
As long as Dragon Kin Monsters and demons were still in the Dao Entry Realm and had yet to reach perfection, they couldn't get the better of him.
So, aside from its initial sneak attack, which gave the Jade Pig Dragon a slight advantage, it couldn't even struggle afterward. Amid the dull thuds, it gradually lost the ability to roar. Corpse Qi surged around it, and it even began to reveal its true form.
Thud!
After the final dull thud, a gray-white corpse-light flashed, and a palm-sized Jade Pig Dragon—greasy and foul-smelling—fell into Ge Xian's hand.
Looking it over carefully, Ge Xian had to admit that for all its stench, it was indeed a fine piece.
If it hadn't been soaked in Corpse Fluid, with a Dragon Kin Monster still lurking inside, it would have fetched at least a thousand taels of silver. A genuine treasure.
Of course, what truly interested Ge Xian was the Dragon Kin Monster.
He had temporarily beaten it apart, but after a few hours, it could still take form again. As long as the Jade Pig Dragon remained intact, it wouldn't die.
Ge Xian didn't immediately activate Cai Bu to seize its power. Instead, he considered the matter:
"From my previous experience, when I use Cai Bu on a peculiar object that has gained essence, what I obtain is the object's own unusual power."
"If I use it on a demon itself, I should directly obtain its bloodline's demonic Qi."
"This [Jade Pig Dragon] is actually a peculiar object. It should possess powers like Corpse Devouring and Demon Transformation."
"If I use Cai Bu on it, can I choose what to take as I go, keeping only Dragon Transformation Power and discarding the power of Corpse Devouring?"
The moment the question arose, he soon found the answer through his own inner perception.
Yes!
Question and answer, all on his own. It was a strange feeling.
But this was, after all, his own innate talent—a rare one held in high regard by the Ghoul Spirit generals and all the Evil Cultivators. Ge Xian felt he could trust it.
And even if he did seize other powers like Corpse Devouring and Corpse Nurturing, it wouldn't be a serious problem. They would surely dissipate within a dozen or twenty hours. He could simply refrain from using whatever tiny bit remained later. It wouldn't disgust him.
Once his thoughts settled, Ge Xian got to work.
He first activated his Charm Talent. As expected, the slippery Jade Pig Dragon, which looked ready to slide right out of his hand, suddenly clung tightly to his palm, a pulling force rising within it.
Before it could succeed, Devouring Power surged forth—more than a hundred times as fierce.
The peculiar object, which had shone with jade light, visibly dimmed and began turning gray and mottled... As this happened, Ge Xian focused his senses and indeed detected two streams of Qi, almost entwined together, surging toward him: one gray, one red. The former stirred Corpse Fluid; the latter shimmered with the image of a dragon.
Ge Xian seized the moment and directly shut the gray stream of Qi out.
The next instant!
A wondrous change took place on the spot.
Ge Xian first sensed a mass of Fiery Demonic Qi appear inside him. Before he could feel it out—or even before the Qi could dissipate in the slightest—the Dragon Transformation Chapter, circulating on its own within him, immediately swallowed it.
"Just as I thought!"
"Once I've gathered the conditions for cultivation, any same-source Dao Qi I seize afterward counts as a supplement, like a pill. It won't dissipate anymore. I'll simply refine it."
"A shortcut! This is the true shortcut to the Great Dao!"
As Ge Xian cried out in delight within his heart,
Dragon Scales appeared across his body. They were still black and gold, but now clearly glimmered with the sheen of jade. Not only did they add an air of mystery, they also gave birth to a highly practical supernatural power. As the jade light flickered, his Half-Dragon Half-Human body began to fade from sight, only faintly visible when he made a large movement.
"My strength has surged by ten percent!"
"My Dragon Scales have transformed. They're even harder, and I've gained a supernatural power much like [Invisibility]."
Sensing these changes, Ge Xian was thrilled.
Just imagine: with his current power after transforming into a dragon, if he could quietly approach a target and then launch a surprise attack, how much would his chances of success improve?
In the hands of the Jade Pig Dragon, this kind of demonic art had been a terrible waste. In the hands of Ge Huolang, it was a superb skill for traveling, killing, and robbing.
After his excitement subsided, Ge Xian seemed to notice something and looked toward the antique treasure that should have been smashed to pieces on the ground.
"Hm?"
As he exclaimed in surprise, Ge Huolang tore off a scrap of cloth and wrapped up the Jade Pig Dragon, which had changed once again. It was now a rancid yellow, stinking, sticky, and bloody, as though it had just been pulled from a pool of Corpse Fluid.
Even through the cloth, Ge Xian could sense what had changed about it and what powers it now possessed.
"Since I seized and devoured its power of Demon Transformation, the essence inside the jade has died."
"But I drove its Corpse Devouring and Corpse Nurturing Qi back into the jade. So the peculiar object itself wasn't destroyed. Instead, it became a treasure that can be used to nurture corpses? It could also be called a Demonic Beast."
After realizing this, by all rights, Ge Xian should have destroyed the Jade Pig Dragon in his hand, given his original intentions.
But for some inexplicable reason, he didn't. He wanted to keep it.
The moment the thought arose,
Ge Xian immediately sensed what was happening and gave a wry smile. His vague suspicion from before had finally been confirmed.
This is bad!
I really have developed a Vicious Habit. And it's exactly [Compulsive Collecting], directed at peculiar objects.
Ordinary rare antiques hold no interest for me, even if they're worth a fortune.
But when it comes to peculiar objects, I find it hard to let them go.
As he muttered to himself,
Ge Xian's expression turned solemn as he recalled everything he currently knew about Vicious Habits.
If it was just a Vicious Habit like collecting or hoarding treasures,
it would be strange, but something Ge Xian could tolerate.
But if even his innate talent couldn't exempt him, and he had to undergo Worldly Transformation like the inhuman cultivators of this world, enduring one terrifying Vicious Habit after another, then he would have to rethink his Cultivation Path.
Fortunately, it took only a few breaths.
After Ge Xian cross-checked everything he knew from Hong Buyi, the many Evil Cultivators, the Two Ghoul Spirits, and Anle Zishen's Logbook,
his heart eased somewhat, and understanding appeared in his expression and eyes.
Ge Xian felt he had glimpsed another secret of cultivation, and speculated:
"Cultivation in this world—Dao Qi entering the body, transcending the ordinary... The whole process is just like [Race Modification]."
"When people turn into all sorts of inhuman beings, all kinds of uncontrollable Vicious Habits arise too."
"The deeper one enters the Dao and the more complete the transformation, the more Vicious Habits one develops, and the more terrifying and horrifying they become."
"Almost no cultivator develops only one Vicious Habit, not even a first-time Dao entrant. Even weaklings like Hong Buyi have several, while Lu Hualong has at least four."
"The reason I have only one, and such a mild one at that..."
"Is probably because I keep this Dao Qi suppressed. It's not a permanent transformation, and it can't even be said that they're transforming me. Rather, I've seized their power and made them serve me."
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Ge Xian grew more reassured.
He had even thought of a way to test his theory: keep seizing more Dragon Transformation Dao Qi, get infinitely close to Foundation Establishment, and perhaps even attain the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Then he could see how much his Vicious Habits increased. If the increase was only slight, his theory would be right... But if they surged and new Vicious Habits appeared, Ge Xian would have to handle the matter with caution.
This concerned his life, so Ge Xian didn't intend to delay any longer.
He hid the Jade Pig Dragon and the Peddler's Pole together deep inside an ancient tomb in the burial ground.
Then he used his divine ability and sped off toward the next place.
Not long afterward, deep in Phoenix Mountain, on the north bank of the Qiantang River.
As the mountain wind blew, a cold, rank stench spread through the air. Its source was a monster more than ten feet long, pitch-black from head to tail. Its front half had transformed into a dragon, while its rear half was still that of a centipede. In its pair of ghastly green eyes was an almost human expression.
It seemed to hold a childlike innocence, mingled with the innate bloodlust and coldness of a monster.
At that moment, it had a baby still wrapped in swaddling cloth clenched in its mouth. It crawled with a faint rustle and, in the blink of an eye, crossed half the mountain and entered a hidden cave in the cliffs.
Corpses littered every corner of the cave.
Hair spread across the ground, and withered teeth lay like pebbles.
In the deepest part, on a warm nest heaped from straw and human clothes, lay a bizarre old man who had already transformed into a demon.
Apart from his old, ugly head, covered in age spots, everything below his neck was a centipede's body.
The old man stared at the approaching "Centipede Dragon," a complex mix of affection, resentment, and unwillingness in his eyes.
In a slurred human voice, he murmured:
"Dear Child, my Dear Child."
"Why didn't I meet you sooner? I entered the Dao with the help of your Centipede Pearl, but I'm old. Too old. It's too late for me."
"No, I was too kind. If I'd captured enough humans to feed you from the start, couldn't you have nurtured your Centipede Pearl sooner...? I hate this! I can't accept it!"
At first, the old man had only murmured.
Later, he was roaring.
The Centipede Dragon, which was clearly still young, was startled by its suddenly frenzied father.
But it soon got used to it, then affectionately crawled over and offered up the swaddled baby it had been carrying in its mouth.
The next moment, the monster spoke human words too, though they were slurred and halting:
"Fa... Father... don't be angry."
"Your favorite... child... I stole it from down the mountain... Hurry, eat."
At the sight of this,
jade light suddenly flickered in the shadows of the cave. Ge Xian could no longer bear it.
No one needed to explain. He could already guess what had happened here.
"You wretched beasts!"
"This Old Widower had been feeding humans to the Centipede Dragon. Even after his crimes were exposed and he fled to Phoenix Mountain, he kept feeding it. Once he grew old and weak and couldn't do it himself, he taught the Centipede Dragon to hunt."
"He even used the Centipede Pearl inside it to transform into a demon and enter the Dao, extending his life by who knew how long. And after entering the Dao, the old beast's favorite food turned out to be human babies."
"What does it mean to lose all humanity? This is it."
As Ge Xian revealed his dragon form, both the Centipede Dragon and the Old Widower sensed him and looked over.
At first, the Old Widower was frightened. But when he realized the unexpected visitor was a Half-Dragon Half-Human, whether from confusion or a muddled mind, he suddenly looked delighted and called out to Ge Xian:
"Dragon Clan? Are you a true master who cultivated the Dragon Clan Secret Technique?"
"This old man... this old man is willing to offer up my Dear Child. I only ask that senior teach me the true art, so I too may live forever."
"Please, senior!"
"Dear Child, hurry, hurry and bow to senior."
As he shouted, the Old Widower actually forced the Centipede Dragon's head down, making it bow along with him.
The sight made even Ge Xian's body falter for a moment. A chill of terror filled his heart.
Before you continue