Unimaginable Transformation!

At first, no one paid any attention to this disaster.

It was merely the disappearance of a songstress, a dancer, a poetry gathering, the interruption of a banquet—until this disaster became intimately tied to everyone.

"Was that just my imagination?"

"Why does it seem like there are fewer people? The embroideress is gone. Xiao Rui hurried backstage after Miss Feng said a few words to her. Why has everyone left?"

"Only a few courtesans are left."

"What kind of joke is this?"

The Vermilion Phoenix Tower, once blazing with excitement, had somehow grown somewhat deserted, causing many people to furrow their brows.

Even Qing Feng, the top courtesan onstage, revealed a look of surprise.

Some wealthy gentry and scholars who practiced martial arts keenly noticed that... the entire Vermilion Phoenix Tower was trembling ever so slightly.

The source of the tremors... seemed to be a certain room?

But when these people focused and listened carefully, all they heard were waves of coquettish moans rising and falling, leaving them unable to locate the source of the shaking.

What was happening?

Vermilion Phoenix Tower, Secret Sound Pavilion.

Wang Ping lounged lazily on the brocade couch. Clothes lay scattered across the floor—some his, some belonging to others—amid the almost floor-covering expanse of pale white flesh.

Though enemies pressed forward step by step, he remained invincible wherever he went.

Outside the door, Miss Feng's delicate brows were tightly knit.

"Still can't take him down?"

The maid beside her looked nervous upon hearing this, yet she could not help licking her lips. "They all went in, but not a single one came out. Every one of them was taken down."

"He's even fiercer than Master Liu was back then."

Miss Feng swallowed as well. "Did he just start practicing the Iron Ox Skill? Even at great completion, it should only be at this level... perhaps he's even stronger!"

One had to know that even when the Iron Ox Skill reached completion, one was still human. Fighting one against ten was already the limit. Yet the master of this private room had fought a bloody battle for two whole hours without resting once. Such ability had completely surpassed Miss Feng's understanding.

But the problem was, this could not go on.

Just then, a maid ran in from outside with a panicked expression. "Madam Feng, guests outside have already noticed something is wrong and are starting to make a fuss."

"Think of a way to pacify them. If you can't, then you go up."

"Ah? Me?" The maid pointed at herself blankly.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Miss Feng shook her head. Then, looking at the maid beside her, whose cheeks were already flushed like sunset clouds, she said irritably, "Hurry and notify Master Liu."

"At this rate, it'll probably last until tomorrow."

"Today's business is finished."

The maid beside her suggested, "How about it, Madam Feng? Use that silver tongue of yours and try persuading that young master to rest for a while?"

"You don't understand."

Miss Feng shook her head. "At this point, there's no silver tongue left. If silver tongues worked... wait here. This old lady will go herself!"

After all, she was the old steed in the Vermilion Phoenix Tower's stable. Her skills far surpassed those young girls.

With that, Miss Feng took a deep breath. Her waist swayed like a willow branch bending in the wind, and with an expression of marching to her death, she resolutely pushed open the private room's door.

Vermilion Phoenix Tower, first-floor hall.

Xie Shi, having changed clothes and disguised himself as an ordinary merchant, frowned tightly as his gaze swept across the surroundings. He no longer paid attention to Qing Feng, the top courtesan onstage.

"Where did everyone go?"

The increasingly deserted atmosphere had nearly made him think the county yamen had laid a net over heaven and earth to capture him. Yet upon closer inspection, he found that was not the case.

It seemed more like some sudden emergency.

At the same time, he had noticed the Vermilion Phoenix Tower's faint tremors. But he was heavily injured now, and his hearing was far inferior to before, making it difficult for him to identify the source.

Just then, a commotion suddenly rose from the crowd.

"What? Impossible!"

At last, someone seemed to have learned the news from the maids and servants moving about the Vermilion Phoenix Tower. But once the news spread, it triggered countless gasps.

"You mean some fierce man came to the tower?"

"All the ladies went to accompany him?"

"That fierce man has been fighting for a full two hours without resting at all. Even Miss Feng went in, and she seems to have fallen into a bitter struggle too?"

"What kind of joke is this!"

Unexpectedly, once the news spread and was confirmed, only a minority of the crowd felt anger. Most people were actually—curious.

Two hours! And judging by this trend, was he going to cut down a hundred people within a single day? He was absolutely no ordinary man; he had to practice martial arts.

What martial art was it exactly? Could I learn it?

Intense curiosity stirred the crowd into greater unrest. Yet Xie Shi, mixed among them and now aware of the full story, wore a dark expression and could barely hold himself together.

"Damn it..."

He had no interest whatsoever in the fierce man who had nearly swept through the Vermilion Phoenix Tower. What he cared about was that after this mess, the Vermilion Phoenix Tower clearly was not even doing business anymore.

Even Qing Feng, the top courtesan onstage, had quietly gone backstage.

How was he supposed to sketch beautiful women and maintain his disguise now?

His very life was at stake. For a time, Xie Shi's hatred toward that mysterious fierce man nearly burst through the heavens, yet he did not dare reveal even a trace of it.

Meanwhile, Wang Ping was having the time of his life.

"The one hundred and eighth!"

On the couch, Wang Ping casually pushed aside Miss Feng, who was completely spent and rolling her eyes. Then he sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, and held his hands level before his chest.

Exhale! Inhale!

In an instant, Wang Ping seemed to feel an indistinct current of qi enter through his mouth and nose, then flow through his entire body and into all four limbs and every bone.

This feeling was completely different from ordinary breathing. This breath seemed to possess some unimaginable wonder. Wherever it passed, his flesh, skin, sinews, and bones underwent earth-shaking transformations. The sound of his blood flow grew louder and louder, until the stream of qi merged into the marrow deep within his bones.

"This feeling... could this be spiritual energy?"

The next moment, a sudden mutation occurred.

Looking over, Wang Ping's face actually split apart from the centers of his brows, eyes, and nose toward both sides. The same face abruptly displayed two entirely different appearances.

The left side had sword-like brows and starry eyes, masculine and imposing.

The right side had vermilion lips and beautiful eyes, tender as flowing water.

Strange lumps of flesh also bulged from his chest, back, and armpits, like newly developing infant limbs—infinitely eerie and bizarre.

Though he had long prepared himself mentally, Wang Ping still felt his scalp prickle. Yet he quickly calmed his chaotic thoughts.

"Thanks to the Iron Ox Skill..."

Leveraging the relaxed state after training, Wang Ping did not panic excessively. Instead, he swiftly steadied his mind and worked to mobilize that wondrous stream of qi within his body.

"This is the final step of the Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method: revealing anomalous signs in the body. Thus, these changes in the flesh are proof of evolution and qualitative transformation."

"But this step also carries great risk. Evolution is not always good. Only by controlling this process with one's own will can it be done properly."

Otherwise, if evolution went astray, the consequences would be unimaginable.

For instance, he was currently in a stacked state between a Desire-Realm Celestial Maiden and a Desire-Realm Celestial Being. If he went crooked, he might even directly turn from male into female.

And that would count as a good outcome.

Worse would be becoming neither male nor female, or having his physical body collapse outright.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping calmed his mind even further. Strictly following the contents of the Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method, he gradually adjusted his body amid its mutation.

"What a pity, the Heavenly Tome of Self-Transformation and Command Over the Desire Realm is incomplete."

"Otherwise, if I cultivated the complete technique before evolving my body, not only would I avoid being affected by these physical mutations, I could even control them."

"But I needn't be afraid. The cooldown for the Otherworldly Celestial Demon has already ended. Even if I fail, at worst I'll start over. I have enough room for error."

Time passed bit by bit.

At last, Wang Ping opened his eyes. His face was neither sorrowful nor joyful. His originally divided features fused back together, and the extra limbs quickly returned to normal.

"Kung fu does not fail those with a willing heart... I succeeded!"

Almost at the same time, the wondrous stream of qi he had drawn into his body seemed to exhaust its mystery, turning into a breath of turbid air that he exhaled.

The Desire-Realm Celestial Body had been achieved!

At that instant, Wang Ping felt as though his entire body had been immersed in a hot spring. His qi and blood steamed, leaving him incomparably comfortable, while the world before his eyes changed drastically.

The sensation was extraordinarily mysterious. Though it was the interior of his body, somewhere his eyes could not reach, his consciousness clearly "saw" every blood vessel, every muscle, even his five viscera and six bowels. He sensed their workings and mapped the incomparably intricate network within him.

"This is... Spirit Sense?"

Understanding dawned upon Wang Ping. This was the consciousness that cultivators possessed after transcending the limitations of the flesh. Through secret-method transformation, he now possessed this wonder as well!

The next moment, Wang Ping shifted his gaze.

His Spirit Sense turned from inward observation to outward perception. Looking out, he seemed to see the colors of the wind, hear the voices of flowers and grass, and smell the flavors of emotion.

"Clang! Clang!"

The long blade left its sheath. The stifling air in the room, which had become unbearably hot after several hours of fierce battle, was swept completely away. Biting wind roared out in all directions.

Yama's Three Demon Blades!

In an instant, an incomparably intense blade intent of greed reappeared in his heart. Yet it could not shake Wang Ping's Spirit Sense in the slightest and was effortlessly suppressed.

First blade, entry level!

Immediately after, greed receded, replaced by uncontrollable rage. The blade intent of wrath emerged, scorching his heart like a blazing furnace.

Yet it was still useless!

A cultivator's Spirit Sense delivered a visibly overwhelming dimensional strike against martial artists. True gold feared no fire's refining; Wang Ping's heart remained utterly unaffected by the flames of rage.

Second blade, minor achievement!

Then rage faded, replaced by ignorance and folly, by the darkness clouding one's nature, by nescience, by the obstacle of delusion. It shrouded his heart like a shadow.

But at that very moment, Wang Ping abruptly raised his head.

"Break!"

His shout was like thunder exploding from level ground. Blade light flashed, instantly cleaving through all delusions. Qi and blood surged throughout his body, and sweat rose like vapor!

Third blade, major achievement!

The next moment, every strange phenomenon subsided. The vapor of sweat dispersed, and Wang Ping slowly stepped down from the couch, lightly holding the long blade in his hand.

"Zheng—!"

In an instant, the blade trembled violently. The great sinews across his entire body bulged in response, tightly twisting together and emitting a clear cry like a dragon's roar.

Sinews like a dragon!

At this moment, Wang Ping could clearly feel the power overflowing from every limb and bone, like a keg of gunpowder that could explode thunderously at any time.

"Did I... perfect the blade technique?"

Wang Ping could hardly believe it.

Boiling qi and blood, taut sinews, surging strength—these sensations piled together, bringing him pleasure far beyond anything else.

"The difficulty of Yama's Three Demon Blades lies not in its moves, but in its blade intent. It truly should have been harder than ordinary martial arts, but my Spirit Sense produced a miraculous effect. The blade intent can no longer shake my heart, so cultivating it became a single stroke of success. I easily advanced it to the perfected realm!"

This transformation in the essence of life was simply intoxicating!

"How strong am I now?"

Wang Ping slowly opened and closed his hand as he pondered, "There are four ranks of dragon sinews: Worm Dragon, Flood Dragon, Hornless Dragon, and True Dragon. What level am I at now?"

Could he shatter an artificial hill with one slash, like Shouchong had before?

He truly wanted to find someone and test his blade on them!

At that thought, Wang Ping suddenly felt something and looked toward the outside of the room.

"...Hm?"

Just then, his Spirit Sense had returned an incomparably intense emotion, filled with anger and resentment—and aimed directly at him.

Who was it?

"It's normal for someone to be angry at me after I turned the Vermilion Phoenix Tower into this, but such intense anger, and even hatred... that isn't right."

With that thought, Wang Ping immediately activated his Spirit Sense and "looked" along the emotion all the way toward the Vermilion Phoenix Tower's main hall, finally locking onto one person.

"Well, well. He's even disguised himself?"

A scan with Spirit Sense immediately revealed what was strange about this person. His flesh, skin, sinews, and bones were tangled like roots and knots, clearly not his original appearance but the result of disguise.

But once he used his Spirit Sense to see the man's true face clearly, his expression froze.

"Xie Shi... Senior Brother Xie?"

Rumble!

That night, the moon was dark, the wind was high, and torrential rain poured down.