Encountering the Fox Woman Again

Though time was tight, he could not afford to rush things.

After all, he had only just broken through to the level of a level three half-demon, and everything was still adapting and changing. To be safe, Su Changsheng waited another two days, only setting out once his yao body had fully adjusted to the sudden surge in strength.

At noon on the third day.

After hiding his belongings, packing his bags, and blocking the entrance again with a huge rock, Su Changsheng slithered toward the Yao Market.

As before, he found a secluded spot along the way and transformed into a white snake half-demon, using the Turtle-Breathing Method to suppress his cultivation to the second level.

Although he tried to take secluded paths throughout the journey, his body, considerably larger than an ordinary snake yao's, still inevitably attracted the attention of many low-ranking yao.

They instinctively kept their distance, fear and panic showing in their eyes. Even some ordinary second-level half-demons hesitated before choosing to move out of his way.

In the yao worldview, size was justice. The larger the body, the greater the strength tended to be.

Rumor had it that upon reaching the rank of Great Yao, their bodies became so enormous that the slightest movement could topple mountains and split the earth. It truly defied belief.

Fortune turns like a wheel, and now the emperor has come to my door. Compared with the human world, the yao world is even more ruthlessly practical. But being merely a level three half-demon is still far from enough.

Su Changsheng did not grow complacent.

Of course, he was happy to intimidate some low-ranking yao through size alone without exposing his true strength, reducing the prying attention directed his way.

At that moment, he wished his yao body were thicker and larger still.

Over the past few days, as his yao body continued adapting to his surging strength, it had kept growing and developing, gaining a little more size.

By now, his body was nearly five meters long, and he stood over three meters tall when upright. His tail was even thicker and sturdier, with the largest scales on it as wide as the mouth of a bowl.

From a distance, this made him look more threatening than an ordinary second-level half-demon.

Even the reverse scales near his neck had more than doubled in number, and the demon power stored within them was increasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The level three half-demon realm had far exceeded Su Changsheng's expectations. It brought an ongoing, subtle transformation that surprised him in all sorts of ways each day.

Today, for instance, he discovered that his innate power had also improved slightly. The icy demon power flowing through his body surged more fiercely, almost gathering into a single stream. Occasionally, it even seeped through his scales, covering them in a thin layer of frost.

That added a little more defense.

Although his innate snake saliva ice was still at the skilled level, after Su Changsheng spent a long time nurturing it and spat it out, it could now freeze everything within a meter almost instantly. Its power exceeded that of an Ice Talisman by dozens of times.

Unfortunately, his innate skill took far too long to prepare. It could also only be used once within a short period, so for now, it was only suitable for a surprise attack from hiding.

A decent trump card.

There were plenty of other pleasant surprises as well. He needed time to adjust to the improvements brought by becoming a level three half-demon. At present, they were still far from being fully integrated with his yao body.

Advance step by step, and cultivate slowly.

Giving himself time to adapt was the true principle of cultivation.

Su Changsheng roughly calculated that the process would take a little over a month, fitting neatly into the period before his second shedding.

In truth, that made more sense. Perhaps there were geniuses who could immediately adapt to everything after a breakthrough, but he clearly was not one of them.

Of course, he had not been idle during these days of adjustment. Aside from his unshakable cultivation routine, he had worked hard at crafting runes, practically exhausting all the rune-making materials at home.

The gains were considerable.

He now had thirty each of the Ice-Fire Runes, ten Hair-Shedding Runes, fifteen Shedding Runes, twenty Concealment Runes, ten Hard Skin Talismans, and one Purification Talisman Rune.

He had made more Ice-Fire Runes because they were essential for digging tunnels and were consumed in large quantities. They could also be used against enemies, so he had crafted a few extra.

As for the Hair-Shedding Runes, Shedding Runes, and Hard Skin Talismans, all three were crucial to his second shedding, and he still felt his current stock was insufficient. Once he had exchanged his wares for blood food this time, he planned to buy another batch of rune-making materials and stock up further on those three types.

Whether he would survive his second shedding was uncertain. He needed more preparations.

Along the way, many yao hurried toward the Yao Market. Quite a few even brought their families, every member turning out together.

He even saw several third-level yao, both half-demons and lesser yao. Regardless of their kind, each was overbearing and unreasonable, barging about without the slightest regard for the other low-ranking yao on the road.

Even these rarely seen third-level yao have been stirred into action!

Has the news spread?

Su Changsheng drew a deep breath.

The Half-Demon Grounds and Lesser Yao Grounds, those areas on the outskirts of the Yao Stronghold, seemed to have learned about the situation beyond the stronghold. Their already chaotic circumstances had become even worse.

Upon reaching the Yao Market, he discovered there were even more yao there. The entire market bustled with activity, utterly unlike its previous deserted state.

Buying flesh, exchanging materials, trading runes, dealing in cultivation methods-it was like a great fair, with so many different stalls that Su Changsheng felt dazzled.

He had assumed there would be very few stalls trading blood food, but that was not the case at all. A full third of the stalls in the entire Yao Market were selling or trading it.

Unbelievable!

Had they emptied a Great Yao's entire storehouse, down to the last scrap?

Su Changsheng was completely baffled.

Even Concealment Runes had not fallen in price. Instead, they had risen to the absurd price of thirty jin apiece. Purification Talisman Runes, on the other hand, had dropped somewhat, falling to fifty jin of blood food each.

This was completely different from what he had expected.

Could there be nothing wrong in the Wilderness after all? Did the Bird Yao deceive me?

Su Changsheng grew increasingly puzzled, but he did not rush to any conclusions. He quietly observed and gathered information for a while, finally figuring out what had happened.

Something had indeed gone wrong in the Wilderness, where extremely dangerous wraith beasts were roaming. The Bird Yao had not lied about that.

But many wild yao and mutants had also died. Now, anyone venturing into the Wilderness could occasionally pick up remains left behind after the beasts had fed.

Their sheer number was suffocating.

Some bold yet careful yao used Concealment Runes to sneak into the Wilderness and collect those remains. There was still some danger, but it was much better than hunting, and the gains were decent.

Thus, Concealment Runes had risen in price again, while blood food had become slightly cheaper.

Hearing this, even Su Changsheng felt tempted to give it a try. Picking up remains in the Wilderness was a business requiring no capital at all, and the returns were so plentiful.

But then he shook his head.

Be cautious. More cautious still.

The dangers of the Wilderness were plain for all to see. It was best not to gamble with his life.

Besides, the current situation could not last long. The supply of remains was limited, and the Wilderness was growing more dangerous. Once too many scavengers died, the whole thing would come crashing down.

At that point, the difficulty of obtaining blood food would rise exponentially, while the price of Concealment Runes would plummet.

Therefore, he had to trade away all his Concealment Runes today, no matter what.

Su Changsheng continued browsing. He wanted to exchange them for blood food with the Eagle Yao, who had seemed reasonably reliable and had not tried any tricks. But after looking around, he found no sign of him.

Could he have died in the Wilderness?

Does that mean I don't have to repay what I owe?

Su Changsheng muttered inwardly, preparing to pick a few stalls at random for the exchange. Before he could act, however, a rich fragrance suddenly wafted into his nose.

Looking down, he saw a petite half-demon standing prettily before him, studying him closely with a pair of narrow, upturned fox eyes that could steal a soul.

Well, well. A familiar yao!

The Level Three Half-Demon Fox Woman who had tried to scam him before!

What now? Still faithful to her original ambition, determined not to rest until she scams me to death?

She had actually come looking for him!