Who am I...
Tan Shen felt like it had just had a dream.
The dream began with it awakening in utter darkness, surrounded by faces that now seemed filled with fear and awe.
Driven by the most primal beastly desire—hunger—it opened its mouth and forcefully seized the delicious life force from those nearby faces.
But just as it was about to feast, a leg—a human leg reeking of alcohol—kicked out.
Tan Shen went flying!
The dream then entered a long "cycle phase."
During this cycle, there were spiritual plants, gems, elixirs... everything imaginable.
With a single call, someone would bring food.
Even so, Tan Shen endured a persistent "hunger."
It had always believed this hunger was an inevitable part of being alive.
Until it was taken from the place called Xū Yuè Huī Gōng to a strange yet vibrant new world.
This marked the end of the dream's cycle phase.
Out of hunger, Tan Shen secretly devoured the "life force" of this new world, drawing from various plant essences.
The two guardians didn't seem strong enough to notice.
Tan Shen finally realized it was different from other life forms; its only sustenance was "life" itself.
Absorbing life force could suppress that innate hunger a little.
The guardians eventually caught on and loosened some restrictions, often bringing high-nourishing spiritual medicines full of vitality.
The dream entered a "recovery phase."
But it wasn't enough—the hunger persisted, just slightly eased.
If it only consumed life-rich elixirs, the amount needed was far too great...
The guardians were always on guard against one thing.
They never let it touch the true food it craved most, the essence of all life that it had wanted to devour since birth—life itself!
Over time...
Tan Shen came to understand that this was a bad thing.
Devouring blood and flesh, consuming life, would lead to terrible consequences.
Tan Shen knew it was a Sheng Shou, the supreme life form in their eyes.
As such a powerful being, learning to endure and suppress itself was only natural.
This line of thought shifted when the dream changed, entering the "adventure phase."
Tan Shen encountered that special human.
He was so enticing!
He exuded a more lethal allure than any other life form, constantly tempting Tan Shen to pounce on him!
Whatever it asked for, it received.
Just being near him eased the hunger.
His life energy, though not the highest level Tan Shen had seen, was rare in its endless abundance!
He fulfilled Tan Shen's idea of "perfection."
The adventure phase of the dream was the most wonderful, transitioning smoothly into the "beautiful dream phase"—that human chose to stay with it.
He had a small world.
He placed Tan Shen in that world rich with life energy, letting it play and freely devour spiritual medicines.
He went out hunting and was often gone for a long time, but each return made his life energy even stronger and more delicious.
He never refused Tan Shen's demands, though sometimes he playfully pushed it away, but if Tan Shen pounced again, he didn't mind.
He changed Tan Shen's thinking—as long as it avoided that "forbidden" act, a Sheng Shou should indulge freely and devour life force at will.
Tan Shen once thought it had the best pet in the world!
His self-discipline made him even more delicious.
His devotion kept the world full of vitality.
His sincerity offered ways to condense life force into pills through fire and cauldrons, making it tastier.
For "Lian Dan," Tan Shen delighted in it.
With just a little time and effort, it gained the king of delicious foods.
That sense of accomplishment and happiness surpassed the effortless gains from Xū Yuè Huī Gōng, providing a higher level of spiritual satisfaction for a Sheng Shou!
Life quietly continued.
The beautiful dream reached its end, ushering in the "nightmare phase."
At some point, Tan Shen noticed its pet didn't always return from hunts in high spirits.
Sometimes he came back injured, badly so!
He needed time in the Yuan Fu World to recover and become lively again.
Tan Shen suddenly realized maybe he wasn't its pet—he was its master.
And Tan Shen, the one with everything handed to it, was the real pet.
It didn't matter!
The shift in master-pet dynamics meant nothing to Tan Shen, as long as he kept improving.
But the nightmare phase grew more terrifying...
Each hunt left him more severely wounded than the last.
Tan Shen watched anxiously, yet couldn't offer any help—its master never sought assistance.
Visitors often came to the Yuan Fu World.
Through their conversations or the twin-tailed girl's frequent confessions while holding it,
Tan Shen gained more awareness of the world beyond its comfort.
It began wanting more!
It craved conversation, companionship, fighting side by side, leaving this world to stand by its master's side, not hidden behind him.
A nightmare is a nightmare because nothing goes as wished.
Tan Shen watched helplessly as its master spent more time recovering in the small world, still unable to help.
It started cultivating, evolving!
It used every method—devouring massive amounts of life energy, consuming Hun Dun mist, stealing more high-quality spiritual medicines and sacred herbs to refine pills...
Each time its master returned, Tan Shen acted as if nothing had changed.
But its master was sharp and eventually noticed it had gained weight, calling it "Little Fatty Cat" for eating too much.
The nightmare hit its peak!
Tan Shen learned it was seen by humans as the highest-level Gui Shou.
Some were powerful enough to breach the world's boundaries, reaching into the evolved Xing Jie to capture it.
Without a doubt, its master protected it again.
But upon his next return, after giving many instructions, he fell into an unprecedented deep coma.
Tan Shen refined pills desperately!
It used its strongest Lian Dan techniques to turn the life force leaking from its master's body into large pills... then ate them itself!
Its master didn't need many pills.
He just needed to sleep it off, and Tan Shen was certain of that.
But Tan Shen needed this golden opportunity to fill its belly and break through, surpassing its master.
It no longer liked being held gently, treated like something fragile.
It wanted to take on that Sheng Di Qi Lin, that Sheng Di Bei Huai...
Nightmare!
This was truly a nightmare!
Xing Jie was breached again, forcing its master to use himself as bait and leave first—a near impossibility in normal times.
Tan Shen knew its master well; how could he abandon it?
Desperate situation!
He was trapped in a deadly peril!
Tan Shen felt its combat strength was strong now, yet its master never factored it in, as they could only vaguely sense each other intuitively, without true deep communication.
Even if it spoke up, its master wouldn't believe it...
So Tan Shen played dumb as usual, cutely agreeing—perhaps that's how a pet or mascot should act.
Tan Shen knew staying in Xing Jie would bring the most fearsome enemy its master had ever faced.
It wasn't afraid.
It wanted to see what dangers its master encountered on hunts.
He arrived!
He was a seemingly normal human, though undoubtedly evil.
But unlike its master or the usual visitors to Xing Jie, he was the only one who truly acknowledged Tan Shen as a "Sheng Shou."
"Little one, ever eaten dragon meat?"
When that human pulled out the blood food...
Tan Shen knew its test had come.
From the palace master of Xū Yuè Huī Gōng to Xu Xiao Shou, they had all strictly forbidden it from devouring blood food.
So even those two eyeballs—they called them "Lei Jia Tong"—Tan Shen could have tasted but held back its primal urge, merely using devouring power to digest them.
Even that entire dragon corpse—its master's defenses were negligible, and Tan Shen could easily break through the spatial seals, yet it resisted, no matter how much it drooled.
No one could force it!
Tan Shen refused to do anything that might displease its master!
But from the dream's beginning to its end, it had never met anyone who "respected" it like this.
It could easily hear the temptation in that human Dao Qiong Cang's words, and undeniably...
He clearly explained the concepts of "swallowing" and "eating," defined "fullness" and "hunger," and offered answers on "life and death" versus "companionship," along with a choice.
Blood food—Tan Shen didn't want to touch it.
Even if Dao Qiong Cang forced it into its mouth, Tan Shen would use devouring power to digest it away.
But after his temptations failed, he spoke seriously:
"Eat this, and there's a fifty percent chance you'll die quickly—you'll be freed, you'll destroy, you'll go mad, maybe you'll die at Red Clothes' hands, or the Sheng Shan great array's, or finally, mine."
"But there's also a fifty percent chance you'll merge with him completely, never to part—you won't seem as weak as you do now, you won't be forever trapped in this world, you'll stand by his side, but face even greater risks... Yes, that would be your shared burden, not mine."
"Life, in my view, has only one choice, but that's result-oriented."
"In your eyes, you still have a choice right now."
The dream reached its end.
Tan Shen understood right from wrong, black from white.
It no longer wanted to be bound by this haze and restraint; it had to break free from this cocoon, this invisible prison!
It made its choice—to eat, not just swallow!
The thrill of tasting the forbidden fruit far exceeded expectations; Tan Shen watched itself go mad, even attacking its master.
It easily shattered the world's barriers.
It bit through a half-saint human's body in one gulp.
It sensed vast amounts of blood food around, the surging hunger unstoppable, driving it toward the city for a feast.
When restrained...
When repeatedly repelled...
As life neared its end, Tan Shen didn't regret its choice; in its final moments of losing control, it chose to devour its master.
In Tan Shen's understanding, that was another form of "companionship."
The dream shattered.
It began with hunger and ended with hunger.
Perhaps returning to darkness was the inescapable fate of every Gui Shou.
The dream shattered, but it awakened in reality!
When rationality returned and Tan Shen discovered a new mental bridge with its master, it could hardly describe the surging emotions within!
Was it all worth it?
"Meow."
She called out softly, a mix of familiar and strangely timid feelings.
Sensing something off, at this moment, she should take on a human form—the most perfect human shape in its master's spiritual world...
Using the human language it had learned but struggled with, in the same tone and emotion, she timidly called out:
"Master?"
Xu Xiao Shou's hairs stood on end.
As the life pattern faded from his sight, he saw the figure pouncing toward him...
A woman?!
She hugged him tightly in an instant!
Her long, smooth legs curled up to her chest, tucking her whole body into his arms like a little kitten.
From behind, her fluffy white tail rose high, coiling around his waist like a snake, holding him fast.
It was a unfamiliar face, yet somehow familiar...
Her pupils were slit-shaped, suddenly rounding with joy, faintly showing the three colors of gray and red swirling within, though the power didn't leak out.
Three faint blood lines marked her forehead; as her pert nose nudged closer, her wet tongue licked affectionately!
Xu Xiao Shou was stunned by the licking.
This wasn't human—this was a cat!
The traces of blood lines, the white tail...
The marks of San Yan Tong Mu, San Jie Nan Yan...
This familiar closeness, the odd way of addressing him, this most primal form of cuddling...
"Little Fatty Cat?"
Xu Xiao Shou called out in disbelief, raising his hands high but hesitating to touch her smooth back.
Why like this...
Wait!
Something's wrong!
No, maybe it is right—Little Fatty Cat is female... Ah? She transformed?
Gui Shou transformation...
Yes! That makes sense!
Jiao Tang Tang, Xin Gu Gu, Xuan Wu Ji, Feng Yu Jin—they can all transform, even Wang Zuo can.
But...
But still...
You're not right!
Xu Xiao Shou yanked this "person" off him; she was still dreamily licking—life force, this thing was still sucking his life energy!
That fluffy, soft white tail snaked around from behind, curling at her waist like a cat's, as if with a mind of its own.
"Speak!" Xu Xiao Shou shouted.
"Master..."
"Ah! Shut up!"
"Meow."
"You... you're Tan Shen?"
"Shou... Xu, Xiao Shou..."
When this "person" in his hands earnestly and haltingly said his name, Xu Xiao Shou realized something was terribly wrong.
He took a deep breath, hesitated, but had to confirm; he gently parted the only beast-like feature on this human-form Tan Shen...
"Ah!!!"
A piercing scream echoed over Yu Jing Cheng.
Everyone looked up, seeing the nine-tailed giant vanish abruptly from the ghost energy vortex.
The surging ghost energy receded like a tide, rapidly converging to a single point and solidifying into a hazy human figure.
"Is it over?"
No one could stop the fusion of the nine-tailed giant.
As the life mysteries fully formed and the heavenly phenomena faded, the ghost energy vortex dissipated completely, everyone realized...
Xu Xiao Shou and Tan Shen might have successfully formed their contract?
"Huh..."
A breeze stirred.
The life Dao disk vanished, and the ghost energy followed.
The blurry figure gradually solidified, and from its direction came a self-muttering, irritated voice:
"Get out!"
"Meow."
"Maybe I was wrong, Mo Mo misled me, damn it!"
"Meow meow."
"Aren't you supposed to speak human language now?"
"Meow..."
"Can you really go out? Wait! Not yet, I need to find some clothes..."
As the figure solidified, the muttering stopped.
Everyone gazed up to see a proud, imposing figure in black, but with differences...
His shoes were torn, revealing sharp claws.
His pupils turned slit-shaped, occasionally flashing with three colors of gray and red, hints of Jie intent lurking.
Three blood lines appeared on his forehead, as if containing all forces not his own.
His hair had turned Tan Shen's white, and a white tail rose from his waist—unconventional, the tail twisted and changed shapes on its own, sometimes straight, sometimes heart-shaped.
"Gui Shou transformation..."
Fang Wen Xin's gaze sharpened.
The outcome he least wanted to see had come to pass.
Tan Shen the Gui Shou had successfully contracted with Xu Xiao Shou!
"Fang old senior..."
Xu Xiao Shou suppressed the jubilant voice in his mind—now "their" voice—and looked back at the various saints above Yu Jing Cheng.
He tried to stay calm, making the situation seem under control, and said casually:
"Perhaps you don't want to see this."
"But in my current state, no one can stop me. The Jie numbers that should come, I will also... meow!"
Xu Xiao Shou's lips twitched, shock flashing in his eyes, cutting off his words.
"What was that sound?"
The saints on the city wall were still immersed in Xu Xiao Shou's defiant posture, as if they had heard something out of place, but weren't sure.
"Heh."
Xu Xiao Shou laughed lightly, brushing it off.
Who could imagine that meow-like sound had come from his own mouth?
He continued from where he left off:
"You should rest. Tian Shang First Tower welcomes you."
"The Jie numbers from the Gui Shou transformation, I will also... meow!"
The world fell silent.
Yu Jing Cheng erupted in chaos, with alchemists in the city looking puzzled.
The saints on the wall wore strange expressions, as if... it wasn't their imagination?
Yu Zhi Wen stared blankly at the Gui Shou-transformed Xu Xiao Shou, his eyes landing on the heart-shaped tail at the young man's waist, his lips quirked as he nearly burst out laughing.
"Heh, the Jie numbers, I will also... meow!" Xu Xiao Shou's face stiffened.
The voice in his mind emerged—wrong, it was "us"!
"The Jie numbers, we will also... meow!" Xu Xiao Shou's face paled, wiping sweat from his brow.
Wrong, the wording was off!
"The... meow meow meow!"
Ahh, meow meow, master understands, so happy and joyful!
"Surprised, passive value, 9999."
"Adored, passive value, 9999."
"Speculated, passive value, 9999."
Xu Xiao Shou was furious, raising his hands suddenly as ghost energy surged to the sky, facing the distant Sheng Shan and roaring:
"Dao Xuan Meow, come out and... meow!"
"Ahhh, shut up, you!"
[12 minutes ago] Chapter 159: Righteous Path Undercover
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