The soft fur slowly pressed together, gathering close, the gaps between the hairs silently closing until it seemed to become black leather with jade's luster. At the same time, crescent-shaped seams appeared across this black leather, gradually growing clear and distinct.
Along these seams, countless half-moon shapes rose from the black leather.
Soon, the texture of these black crescents changed from supple leather to tough jade, becoming hard, cool, lustrous, and smooth.
Scales.
Meanwhile, the body grew, the bones changed, and sleek, sharp claws emerged.
Within two or three breaths, an extraordinary creature had transformed into being before Pei Ye. Its head was handsome, its whiskers long, its body sinuous, rising without wind.
Pei Ye watched it with shining eyes.
However many times he saw it, Pei Ye would never cease marveling at this unearthly, wondrous beauty. It transcended the world, a form of life unique upon it, as though everything else were veiled in yellow dust, and it alone was a piece of bright jade.
But it was only an arm's length long.
Pei Ye slowly reached out to support it from beneath. Black Chi settled down and coiled up, entrusting all its weight to him.
Pei Ye hefted it-about twenty jin.
"Are you stronger in this form?"
"No. Right now, the cat's body is enough to exert all my strength," Black Chi said. "Once my true body exceeds two hundred jin, it won't be. I'll only be able to use the strength of the excess portion by taking my true form."
"Two hundred jin..."
A puzzling question suddenly occurred to Pei Ye. "Wait, I didn't see you swallow anything just now. Is this true body normally hidden inside your body?"
"Yes."
"How exactly is it hidden, then? Is the extra bone and flesh compressed?"
"More or less."
"Then