A snake shedding its skin!
It was a heaven-sent opportunity, but also a race between life and death.
The memories left by his former self still held an exceptionally vivid impression of his first shedding.
Terror, fear, and helpless confusion.
Back then, he had little blood food, his Yao Body had been extremely weak, and he had lacked supporting demonic arts such as the Shedding Rune and Hair-Shedding Rune.
In short, it had been an extraordinarily long, painful, despair-inducing, and unbearable process.
"A Snake Yao generally needs three to five days to shed his skin. Even with demonic arts assisting, it takes at least two days or so. And that's based on the first shedding. The second will be more difficult and might take even longer."
"I need to prepare at least three Shedding Runes and three Hair-Shedding Runes. If possible, I'd better find some demonic arts or cultivation methods that boost bloodline activity to help with the second shedding."
"As for blood food, I should stockpile as much as possible. After all, shedding results come in different grades. The more plentiful the blood food supply, the better the results. If only I could get some Wraith Beast blood food. Eating it during the shedding might bring unexpected benefits."
Su Changsheng silently made his plans.
Blood food made from Wraith Beast flesh was beyond comparison with blood food made from ordinary wild yao, Mutated Demonic Beasts, and similar creatures. It contained transcendent substances resembling rules and information, which could help the demon race evolve toward greater strength.
It was said that those who ate Wraith Beast blood food over a long period might even comprehend new demonic arts, develop new talents, and so on.
It was truly miraculous.
Unfortunately, Wraith Beast blood food was far too rare. Whenever it appeared in the Yao Market, it would be snapped up immediately, and its price was frighteningly high. Ordinary demons simply could not afford it.
"Right, I also need to choose somewhere safe."
Su Changsheng could not help frowning.
Danger lurked everywhere in the Yao Stronghold. Where could he possibly find somewhere safe? His former self had completed his first shedding inside his home through sheer blind luck, without ever looking for a safe place.
But he could not do that!
Leaving his life and death entirely to fate was absolutely not how Su Changsheng conducted himself. Without somewhere relatively safe, he would rather suppress his instinct to shed and put it off for now.
Even if doing so would diminish the benefits of shedding.
"Going elsewhere definitely won't work. Ultimately, home is still relatively safer. But I can't just openly stay home and shed my skin. I'll need to conceal it somehow..."
Su Changsheng surveyed his home, his gaze finally settling on the ground and the rock face behind the stone house.
Most stone houses in the Half-Demon Grounds were built against the mountain. Some demons even chose caves, fissures, or depressions as their homes.
Su Changsheng's stone house had also been built outward from a hollow in the mountainside. It was extremely crude and rough, with drafts blowing in from every direction.
One could say that, aside from being quite sturdy, it had nothing going for it.
"Perhaps I could keep digging inward. As long as it's deep enough, with some Attack Runes, traps, and the like placed along the passage, it could barely qualify as a safe place."
"No... that won't do. One safe spot isn't enough. Even a crafty rabbit has three burrows. I need to dig another hole down into the ground..."
Su Changsheng had long intended to dig a burrow at home. As long as it was deep enough without obstructing his breathing, its temperature would definitely be better than that of the drafty stone house.
And if danger struck, he would not end up trapped inside his own home.
But previously, danger had surrounded him on all sides. He had either been exploited and watched by the Black Tiger Yao or faced a food crisis. Under all those constraints, his plan to build a safe refuge had been forced onto the back burner.
Now, however, with the Wraith Beast running rampant, the Black Tiger Yao too occupied to attend to anything else, and panic gripping the Half-Demon Grounds, it was the perfect opportunity to establish his refuges in one go.
"I can't dig with my bare hands. In this world of ice and snow, never mind whether I could dig at all-even if I could, who knows how many moons it would take."
"There should be pangolin demons and the like in the Yao Stronghold, right? I wonder whether there are corresponding Demon Art Runes. Using those kinds of runes to dig would be best. If that really won't work, I'll alternate Ice Runes and Flame Runes. The principle of expansion with heat and contraction with cold should still work."
"And the rock I dig out... that's a problem."
Su Changsheng stroked his tail as he pondered.
Given his current size, any refuge he built, whether an underground burrow or a mountain cave, would have to be quite large. The resulting rubble and debris would certainly be substantial.
"I can carry small amounts of rubble out and dispose of them during my usual outings. The rest can be buried temporarily in the snow on the mountain behind the house. As long as I'm careful, one or two snowfalls will cover every trace. That thick blanket of snow can hide a great deal of rubble."
"As long as I change my appearance when dumping it, avoid attracting other demons' attention, and throw it as far away as possible, there shouldn't be much of a problem. At a critical time like this, who would have the inclination to pay attention to such things?"
Had Su Changsheng not been cautious by nature, unwilling to let other demons know he was digging burrows and invite unwanted prying eyes, there would have been no need for all this trouble.
The half-demons in the Half-Demon Grounds were no fools. Plenty dug burrows to survive winter and shelter from danger. Few, however, dug on such a large scale as he intended.
After all, that required astonishing amounts of physical effort and blood food. Without sufficient reserves, ordinary half-demons simply could not manage it.
Only after repeatedly running through his upcoming plans and contingencies in his mind did Su Changsheng begin preparing.
The signs of shedding had only just appeared. He estimated that it would take more than a month to reach the critical point, so there was no rush.
He therefore had ample time to prepare all the necessary supplies.
Runes and blood food!
And survival points, or even the realm of a level three half-demon. The stronger he was, the better the results of shedding would be, and the more assured his safety.
Time flew. Three days passed.
By then, Su Changsheng's crafting methods for several runes had improved one after another. Even the Flame Talisman, whose nature clashed with his own, had reached the Skilled Level, attaining a thirty-percent success rate that would shock any demon.
He had also harvested another batch of survival points.
He opened his attribute list.
Player: Su Changsheng Race: Half-Demon Green Snake Lifespan: 11/30 Realm: second-level half-demon 60/500 Cultivation method: Green Snake Breathing Method, practiced 27/500 Demonic arts: Turtle Breath Art, practiced 10/500; Concealment Rune, practiced 235/500; Hard Skin Talisman, practiced 10/500; Shedding Rune... Talent: snake saliva ice, practiced 34/500 Survival points: 520
Over more than twenty days, his survival points had surged from 270 to 520.
Aside from the guaranteed one or two points each day, most of his survival points had come from rewards for studying six kinds of runes and successively reaching the beginner and practiced stages.
Another portion had come from the settlement after he visited the Yao Market to exchange for blood food, resolving his food shortage.
Clothing, food, shelter, travel, knowledge, and skills-all were part of survival.
As for the other attribute fields, such as his realm, cultivation method, and talent, he could no longer be bothered to look at them.
As always, they were abysmal.
For more than twenty days, he had worked diligently without complaint, resting only four hours a day. He had either been cultivating or on his way to cultivate.
Despite cultivating day and night without the slightest laziness, he still had only sixty points of realm experience.
An average of fewer than four points a day-who could he possibly appeal to for justice?
"It's not that I'm too lousy. The Green Snake Breathing Method is just trash. It's no longer worthy of this snake's diligence."
"Deep Blue-pah!"
"Survival points, put everything into the Breathing Technique!"
From practiced to proficient!
The Green Snake Breathing Method, proficient level!
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