Time to shed

Su Changsheng lingered no longer and prepared to head back.

Perhaps his smokescreen of being a half-demon at the peak of the second level had worked, or perhaps the blood food he carried was not enough to make the yao go to such lengths.

Either way, with him proceeding cautiously, nothing happened apart from a few prying eyes.

After winding through turn after turn and repeatedly confirming that no yao was following him, Su Changsheng found a secluded spot, removed his hood, and transformed into another appearance.

Then he repeated the process.

Only after changing three or four times in succession did he return to his Green Snake Half-Demon form and head home to the Half-Demon Grounds.

Before going home, he still felt uneasy. Ever cautious, he deliberately watched from the shadows for a while longer. Only after confirming that there really were no pursuers did he dig up the assorted things buried in his yard and hurry inside.

"Whew!"

Su Changsheng let out a long breath.

Only then did he realize that his palms were already covered in cold sweat. His heart, which had been hanging in his throat all along, finally settled.

Once he relaxed, mental exhaustion washed over him, and even his powerful yao body felt weary.

He could hardly be blamed!

After all, this had been his first visit to the Yao Market. Faced with yao of every stripe, he was bound to feel nervous. Without sufficient strength, confidence naturally fell short.

"Now I've obtained fresh blood food and four kinds of Demon Art Rune. Together with the Shedding Talisman I already had, hopefully these will earn me enough survival points."

"Cultivate, cultivate!"

Not daring to waste any time, Su Changsheng seized every minute and second to begin cultivating.

Now that he had plenty of blood food, he could also put his plan to practice breathing during the day into action.

He set himself a modest goal: advance to a Level Three Half-Demon this month.

Over the next few days, Su Changsheng returned to his old homebound life.

He stepped through neither the outer gate nor the inner door.

Cultivation, cultivation, and more cultivation!

Of the twenty-four hours in each day,

he spent part of the daylight hours practicing Green Snake Breathing and the rest studying various Demon Art Runes.

At night, he devoted a fixed six hours to the Breathing Technique, using what little time remained to rest.

During this period, whenever his food ran out, he disguised himself, transforming into a different kind of snake half-demon each time, and went to the Yao Market to trade for blood food.

He went twice in total.

Apart from being followed by yao each time and subsequently shaking them off, he encountered no other mishaps.

The price of Concealment Runes, however, rose again, reaching the outrageous rate of eighteen jin of blood food apiece.

Although this price allowed Su Changsheng to earn a little more, it left him deeply worried.

The reason was simple: the Yao Stronghold was growing increasingly unsettled! And there was not the slightest sign of improvement, or the price of Concealment Runes would never have risen so sharply.

Apparently, the price of a Purification Talisman had now soared to an even more outrageous fifty jin of flesh and blood.

Under such circumstances, who could rest easy?

Su Changsheng was a yao who craved a stable environment above all else. With the help of his cheat, he could take his time growing stronger at a leisurely pace. An environment with danger spilling out on every side did him no favors.

But some things were beyond his control.

Lately, he had also been keeping an eye on the Black Tiger Yao's movements.

A few days earlier, he could still hear tiger roars and wolf howls every night, and occasionally glimpse a black shadow flashing past during the day.

Over the last two days, however, something seemed to have changed. Su Changsheng had not seen any sign of the Black Tiger Yao, who had not even come to collect the snake saliva ice prepared long beforehand.

Perhaps the Black Tiger Yao was waiting until the end of the month to collect it all at once. Or perhaps... something really had happened to the Black Tiger Yao.

All sorts of rumors had already surfaced in the Half-Demon Grounds. Some said the Black Tiger Yao had suffered grievous injuries and was recovering in a secret location. Others said the Black Tiger Yao was already dead, killed by the wild yao still wreaking havoc in the Half-Demon Grounds.

Some yao gloated.

Some pondered in secret.

There were all manner of reactions, too many to list.

As for the Black Tiger Yao's actual condition, no one knew. Not a single yao in the Half-Demon Grounds dared investigate at such a critical juncture.

Su Changsheng's feelings were complicated. Truthfully, being constantly exploited by the Black Tiger Yao had made him yearn for the day when he could personally chop the tyrant into pieces and eat them.

But under the present circumstances, having the Black Tiger Yao remain at the forefront of the Half-Demon Grounds was still the safest option. Only then could Su Changsheng hide behind the scenes, secretly accumulating strength and slowly growing stronger.

Without the Black Tiger Yao, a White Tiger Yao would simply come along. While his strength remained inadequate, why not choose the former?

"The Black Tiger Yao is useless too! Claims to be descended from pure-blooded tiger yao, but looks more like Hello Kitty to me!"

"Can't even deal with a mere uncanny creature that a Male Fox turned into!"

"Forget it. Back to cultivating!"

Thinking any more would do him no good. Su Changsheng sighed and chose to remain at home, cultivating diligently as before.

Time flew by, until only seven or eight days remained before the end of the month.

He replenished his food once more during that time.

By now, with Su Changsheng devoting most of his energy to cultivation, he had gradually reached the beginner stage in all five rune types: the Hard Skin Talisman, Flame Talisman, Ice Talisman, Hair-Shedding Talisman, and Shedding Talisman.

Together with the Concealment Rune he already knew, he now possessed six low-level rune-making methods. For most half-demons, this was an unimaginable achievement.

Of those six methods, his Concealment Rune had already reached the Skilled Level. Essentially, three out of every ten attempts were guaranteed to succeed.

A success rate close to one-third.

Not only had this earned him a fairly plentiful supply of blood food, but it had even allowed him to stockpile some Concealment Runes.

He had also raked in survival points until his hands grew weak.

Among the remaining rune-making methods, the three most compatible with him—the Shedding Talisman, Hair-Shedding Talisman, and Ice Talisman—were gradually approaching the Skilled Level as well. Presumably, it would not be long before advancing them to proficiency allowed him to reap another round of survival points.

Besides that, perhaps because regularly consuming blood food for cultivation had replenished the deficiency of vital blood in his yao body,

not only had his Green Snake Breathing Method gained some experience, but his cultivation level had also begun rising a little faster.

Beneath the scales covering his body, within his skin, a faint discomfort had emerged, like countless tiny insects biting him. It was unbearably unpleasant.

At first, Su Changsheng thought he was sick, or that parasites had infested him because he had gone too long without bathing. Only after scrubbing himself with snow for ages did he belatedly realize that this was a sign his yao body was about to undergo some incredible transformation.

Shedding!

That was right-shedding his skin like a snake.

Although Su Changsheng was only a half-snake yao, he had still inherited the snake yao's instinct to grow through shedding.

For a snake yao, every shedding meant growth from inside to outside, from top to bottom, from its instincts to the depths of its bloodline.

It was renewal, and also advancement.

It was undoubtedly the greatest of opportunities, but it was also a life-and-death crisis.

If he made it through, boundless seas and skies awaited. If he failed, his body would perish and his soul be extinguished.

"Shedding!"

"To think that even a Half-Demon Green Snake like me would have the chance to shed a second time. But the process seems extremely dangerous. Looks like I'll need to prepare some Shedding Talismans and Hair-Shedding Talismans."

Su Changsheng spoke silently to himself.

This yao body had shed once before-the only time in its life, and the direct reason it had advanced to a first-level half-demon.

By rights, with this yao body's pitiful aptitude, a second shedding should have been exceedingly difficult. Yet now it was about to happen.

Su Changsheng pondered whether this might be the combined result of abundant blood food, a breathing method at the Skilled Level, the nourishment provided by his second-level half-demon cultivation, and the greater knowledge he had acquired nurturing his bloodline and instincts.

Whatever the explanation, it looked like a good thing for now.

The only thing Su Changsheng needed to do was prepare an even greater supply of blood food in advance, along with various Demon Art Runes that could help him shed.

Shedding was no simple matter. It would be a fierce battle of attrition, and a tug-of-war between life and death!