The cold wind howled beneath a sparse scattering of stars.
Tonight, the snow that had fallen without pause for over four months finally stopped, and the demon moon revealed its crimson glow for the first time in ages.
Crimson light spilled over the stone houses of the Yao Stronghold, mingling with the white snow in a scene both beautiful and eerie.
Inside his stone house, Su Changsheng coiled his long snake tail around himself, shivering as he tried to keep himself warm.
It was too cold. His Yao Body felt as though it would freeze solid. Without the snow, the weather seemed colder still.
He wanted to build a fire for warmth, but after turning it over in his mind, he still could not do it.
Fires were rarely lit for warmth in the Yao Stronghold-not because warmth was unnecessary, but because the heat they gave off could easily attract heat-loving Wraith Beasts, Wild Yao, and other creatures.
Especially in the bitter winter, even a trace of warmth was a horn calling death, and no yao dared sound it alone in the dead of night.
The Black Tiger Yao must have been badly wounded. The Wailing Ghosts around him might all have been lost. Otherwise, with his arrogant nature, he wouldn't have taken that piece of snake saliva ice himself.
The uncanny thing the Male Fox brought here must be utterly evil and powerful. Luckily, I acted decisively and combined hibernation with the Concealment Rune. Otherwise... Still, although this thing will bring considerable danger to the Half-Demon Grounds, it's also keeping lesser yao like the Black Tiger Yao and Old Wolf occupied. They have no time to spare for anything else.
This is a rare opportunity to grow.
Su Changsheng silently weighed his plans.
Now that he had obtained the Turtle Breath Art, his cheat would let him reach the beginner stage in an extremely short time, then advance to the Skilled Level.
After that, he could seize the opportunity to break through to a Second-Level Half-Demon. A Turtle Breath Art at the Skilled Level should be enough to conceal his demon power cultivation and keep the Black Tiger Yao from seeing through him.
After all, the latter would never imagine that Su Changsheng could cultivate the Turtle Breath Art, so easy to learn yet so difficult to master, to such a high stage in so little time.
After the breakthrough, I can go to the Yao Market to trade for blood food. The Turtle Breath Art will also help me disguise myself to some extent. And as a Second-Level Half-Demon, I won't have any yao prying too deeply into my identity.
Only enough blood food can sustain the demands of cultivating the All-Day Breathing Method. I must seize this month, while the Black Tiger Yao has no attention to spare, and break through to a Level Three Half-Demon. Then, even if he notices something wrong with me, I'll be able to handle it calmly.
Su Changsheng considered his plans for the month as a whole, then stopped hesitating. He began reproducing the Turtle Breath Art Diagram in his mind over and over, controlling his breathing and the circulation of his demon power according to its instructions.
The Turtle-Breathing Method was not particularly valuable, and the turtle yao could not risk offending the Black Tiger Yao by giving him a fake. At worst, the cultivation instructions were incomplete, making further advancement more difficult.
But was that a problem for him?
Just cultivate it!
Attune above to the dawn heavens, descend below to the strength of yang, travel the path of water and fire, and spiral through the heart meridians...
Gradually, Su Changsheng's breathing grew fainter, while his aura rose and fell. At one point, his entire Yao Body trembled slightly, as though entering an indescribably profound state.
His aura visibly faded, until he seemed to merge with the massive stones around him.
It worked!
With a stirring of his thoughts, Su Changsheng looked at his status panel.
Player: Su Changsheng Race: Green Snake Half-Demon Lifespan: 10/22 Cultivation: First-Level Half-Demon 99/100 Cultivation method: Green Snake Breathing Method - Proficient 25/500 Demonic arts: Concealment Rune - Beginner 99/100, Turtle Breath Art - Beginner 0/100 Innate talent: Snake Saliva Ice - Proficient 10/500 Talent points: 205
The Turtle Breath Art truly was easy to learn and difficult to master. Su Changsheng had successfully reached the beginner stage after only his first attempt!
Looking at the other fields, he could advance his cultivation at any time. He had simply been holding it back, waiting for an opportunity.
There was little to say about the rest. His aptitude for cultivation methods and innate talents remained suffocatingly poor. Only rune crafting showed some promise; he was already close to reaching the Skilled Level.
I've gained almost a hundred survival points over the past few days, going from 110 to 205.
Su Changsheng's spirits lifted.
The survival points this time had primarily come from cleverly avoiding the uncanny danger brought by the Male Fox. Next came successfully deceiving the Black Tiger Yao, ensuring his own safety, and obtaining a lead on the Turtle Breath Art, among other things.
He had only received an ordinary rating, but he did not particularly mind. Today's survival settlement would be the real prize.
There were two reasons for that as well.
First: he had successfully obtained the Turtle Breath Art and begun cultivating it, gaining a new demonic skill.
Second: his strength would soon break through to the Second-Level Half-Demon stage, giving him some ability to protect himself. All his earlier scheming, all his bowing and scraping, had been preparation for this moment.
Judging by his cheat's usual behavior, this would surely yield a huge windfall.
"Let's begin!"
Su Changsheng took a deep breath and poured 100 survival points straight into the Turtle Breath Art.
Turtle Breath Art: Beginner → Turtle Breath Art: Proficient!
Immediately, a rhythm stronger than before emerged from within his Yao Body. At the same time, an image of a turtle vast enough to blot out the sky and sun appeared in his mind. It lay motionless amid the sea, revealing not the slightest trace of its aura, no different from an island.
Streams of information poured into his mind: how to conceal his breathing efficiently, how to coordinate his demon power, how to diminish his presence, and even how to deliberately slow his blood flow and lower his heart rate.
Like nutrients, this information was steadily digested and absorbed by Su Changsheng. Finally, it sank deep into his bloodline instincts, taking root in his subconscious and drawing strength from his Yao Body to flourish.
"Phew!"
At one point, Su Changsheng abruptly opened his eyes. With a thought, his aura vanished completely, an effect every bit as good as using a Concealment Rune.
And it was more stable and lasted longer.
With another thought, his aura suddenly reappeared. But just three seconds later, the icy chill of a green snake turned into a faint warmth. Not only that, even his snake tail and scales became pure white in an instant.
Good grief! Su Changsheng could only marvel. Concealing his aura, changing his aura, changing his color, and more!
Had a turtle been unfaithful, or had a chameleon cheated on its mate?
The Turtle Breath Art at the Skilled Level was even stronger than he had expected. Calling it a concealment art alone could no longer do it justice.
No wonder the book said this thing was easy to learn and difficult to master. Even at the Skilled Level, the Turtle Breath Art can already imitate the aura and appearance of other similar yao to a slight degree. If it keeps developing, won't it turn into a legendary illusion divine ability?
Is this really the Turtle Breath Art?
Still, that's good. Trading for blood food at the Yao Market will be even safer now. No one will be able to trace it back to me. After all, what could a Second-Level Half-Demon white snake possibly have to do with a First-Level Half-Demon green snake like me?
Next came the breakthrough to a Second-Level Half-Demon.
Unable to wait until midnight for his breathing cultivation, Su Changsheng swallowed the last bit of blood food in his home and began practicing the Breathing Technique.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles...
Two hours later, the aura of Su Changsheng's Yao Body surged. Vast demonic energy was about to shoot into the sky, only to be tightly restrained by the Turtle Breath Art's concealment effect.
Demon power began tempering his Yao Body. His bloodline emerged from instinct, his strength grew, his blood energy increased, and he gained more demon power and a stronger mind...
The power of creation gathered in the void, and spiritual energy poured into him. All these changes whipped up a biting demonic wind inside the tiny stone house.
At that moment, every cell in Su Changsheng's body drank greedily, replenishing his utterly depleted Yao Body. Even the scales covering him shone, countless mysterious bloodline patterns flickering in and out of sight. His snake tail grew thicker, longer, and harder!
A paragon of truth!
The wounds where his reverse scales had been removed from his neck also began healing slowly. Before long, those gouged-out scales would surely regrow and be able to store even more demon power.
Amid swirling snow, in a Wilds Yao Stronghold with danger lurking on every side, Su Changsheng—who had arrived here and struggled to survive for over a month—finally became a Second-Level Half-Demon.
At that moment, even the cold winds ravaging the Half-Demon Grounds seemed to ease a little.
The demon moon grew redder.
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