New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 46 Evolution! Yellow Springs Tiger Demon (Please Read)
In the darkness of the night, Yuan Zhu ran through the deserted streets. His uniform brimming with energy, he ran recklessly without feeling tired at all.

"Why did you suddenly ask me to leave the team? It would be so much fun to go to the temple to raid the house together, and there are beautiful women to accompany us. If we encounter danger, there are investigators to cover our retreat. As long as I run faster than the other girls, danger will never catch up with me!"

Yuan Zhu's calculations were swift. If he traveled with three girls, any danger would be shared by the four of them, a mere 25% of the pressure. Setting aside the [Immortal Scripture] trump card, all he had to do was run fast enough to be safe. If he couldn't outrun Meng Xiyue, how could he outrun Mai Lili?

The elf explained, "I let you go alone for a reason. As a cat, it's time for you to learn how to spit out hairballs."

"???!"

Yuan Zhu stumbled and nearly fell: "What nonsense are you talking about? I don't lick my fur, so why would I spit out a hairball?"

"Okay, just kidding. I'm letting you go alone for two reasons. First, the shadow energy reserves of the [Boss Template] have dropped significantly, falling below the warning value. So you must find a deserted place, activate the [Tiger Demon] form, and replenish a round of shadow power."

As a game elf, it is also an essential responsibility to remind users that [battery power is low, please replenish magic in time].

Yuan Zhu was puzzled. "Isn't that right? I remember I closed the [Boss Template] only after I filled up the mana bar. This template has been in standby mode and has not been used much. How could it be low on energy?"

Suddenly, he thought of something and said in alarm, "Damn it! Is it the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture stealing my electricity? Is it reviving? How did it wake up so quickly? I have to find a way to kill it once and for all! Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep or eat."

The elf quickly tried to comfort him, "Boss, don't panic! Lao Deng is lying there soundly, he's no threat to us. Running out of energy is your own fault."

"Impossible! After self-recovering from the human form, I can't control even a single bit of shadow power. How could it be exhausted?"

The elf said, "It's the [Abnormal Universe]. The Abnormal Universe contains dozens of deformed monsters with different polluting attributes. Just suppressing them is a huge expense. Moreover, the [Abnormal Universe] is gradually contaminating, erasing, assimilating, and transforming them, trying to create new minions. This is what you understand as an 'abnormal power-consuming program'!"

"So that's how it is. How's the progress? Are these monsters completely dead? Have they been refined?" Yuan Zhu felt a little expectant. Am I going to herd my own minions?

The elf said, "It's only been over 30 hours, far from enough. You're too greedy, swallowing over 40 in one go. Each of them carries unique contamination properties. Shadow Power has no attribute restraint, nor can it analyze their contaminated nature. Finding weaknesses to overcome them, you can only brute-force and hard-wield them, which is very inefficient. You're now running out of demonic power, just like having food in your stomach. Either continue to replenish demonic power and continue to consume it inefficiently, or I suggest you just vomit it all out and free up your stomach for new food!"

Yuan Zhu suddenly realized: "Is this what you call vomiting hairballs?"

"Don't they look alike? We're all cats. We all eat indigestible dirt and choose to spit it out. This is the natural law of nature. You're the king of cats!"

To activate the Tiger Demon stance, one does need to act alone, find a shady place, and slowly replenish the power of shadow.

"Then what's the other reason? Why do you have to choose this direction?"

He looked toward the path the elf pointed. The more he ran in that direction, the more his senses became oppressed. It was a sense of rejection and hostility directed toward all living things. It was the aura of the Yellow Springs, the location of the Vajra Temple.

Elf: "This is related to the [BOSS Template] and the indigestible [Ghost]. Through the data feedback from the [Immortal Scripture], I determined that the 'Yellow Spring Death Qi' has a replenishing effect on the Tiger Demon's spiritual roots."

Yuan Zhu quickly grasped the mystery: "Ghost, Huangquan?"

"That's right. To be precise, it's the dead energy emanating from the Yellow Springs that's nutritious and valuable to the distorted spiritual roots. The Tiger Demon's innate magical power, the Tiger's Minions, is inherently closely connected to the underworld. Even your final, ultimate magical power, the Mountain King's Ghostly Den, is designed to dominate the mountains in the human world, commanding your minions to bridge the yin and yang realms and forge your own ghostly den in the mortal realm. By then, you'll be not only a mountain god in the mortal realm, but also a ghost god in the underworld, possessing power in both the yin and yang realms. If you privately establish a City God Temple, you can enjoy incense offerings from both the yin and yang realms, enfeoff your subordinates as gods, and forge a small, independent group of underworld gods."

"It sounds a lot like the Black Mountain Demon." Yuan Zhu was attracted by the scene described by the elf. Should he force a few stunning female ghosts to be his concubines to highlight the mountain king's cool personality?
The elf said, "But here comes the problem. We haven't traveled to the Immortal Cultivation Universe. The bloodline data recorded by the [Deformed Spiritual Roots] is not compatible with the rules of the spiritual world. Even though the [Tiger Demon Template] has been initially cleansed by the [Power of Shadow], even if it has been contaminated and gradually adapted to the current universe, it's still not enough!"

"Bloodline abilities powered by the Power of Shadows are subject to numerous unknown variations and omissions. For example, even with the most complete Ghost, you can only sever the soul of your prey and preserve it within the shadows. But how can you connect it to concepts like 'death, the underworld,' absorbing death energy to grow, gaining access to the netherworld... these are all incomplete, and your Ghost Abilities are unable to achieve this. Therefore, you need to absorb more 'pollution power' to complete your abilities and bloodline."

Yuan Zhu nodded in understanding.

Got it. His [BOSS Template] currently retains the functions of killing prey, refining tiger minions, and creating 'Shadow Minions' that use shadows as carriers.

However, this shadowy ghost is vastly different from the original. It lacks the "ghost" element and is merely a different kind of soul, completely unconnected to the netherworld. Meanwhile, the Tiger Demon's ultimate power is closely tied to the Xiandao universe's concept of the underworld, clearly a classic villain.

Therefore, the current [Polluted Distorted Version. Tiger Demon] also needs to explore and complete in this direction to meet the desire deep in his bloodline, and it is also his correct way of evolution.

Originally, the elf planned to collect more different types of "polluted energy", investigate their background stories, analyze their characteristics and attributes, and then choose a type that is more inclined to the "hell" to complete it.

But now there is no need for that, the [Yellow Spring Death Qi] emerging from this bubble world perfectly matches her conception and pursuit of the underworld attributes.

The elf sighed, "I didn't expect this world to also have [Yellow Spring]. How lucky, how chivalrous! Perhaps this world's cultivation system can share the same underlying rules with the [Immortal Scripture]. Great, we're saved!"

Yuan Zhu: "As far as I know, every system in the Duling World corresponds to a source of pollution. Once chosen, it's difficult to change. The Tiger Demon is now deeply integrated with the [Shadow] pollution. If you rashly provoke [Yellow Spring] again, will it suffer from schizophrenia? What if another 'Little Elf No. 2', centered around [Yellow Spring] pollution, emerges to compete with you for your father's love?"

“???!” The elf froze for a moment.

I treat you as a brother, and you want to be my father?

"Don't worry, this level is far from being considered as absorbing the second type of pollution. We are just rubbing the death energy on the periphery of [Yellow Spring]. Using this polluting power, we can render [Ghost Magical Power] with 5%, 10%, and 15% controllable pollution to achieve completion. Just like the uniform you wear, it is clearly a power bestowed by [Mao Mao Wang], but doesn't it also need to absorb other polluting energy to condense a unique seed? Has [Mao Mao Wang] ever been afraid of her uniform being covered by other small pollution? No, she is not afraid. She wants to control other pollution!"

Yuan Zhu exclaimed in admiration: "I never thought that I could digest and absorb other polluted energies like [Mao Mao Wang]."

The elf quickly praised and encouraged: "Yes, you are the best!"

...

After making sure that the distance he ran was far enough, Yuan Zhu's pace gradually slowed down, from sprinting to walking... His figure gradually disappeared in the shadow cast by the house, and the darkness under his feet was like boiling water, rolling irregularly.

His figure was stretched out little by little... becoming taller and bigger... from initially walking upright to gradually crawling on all fours... At some point, a huge black tiger with drooping eyes walked lazily and leisurely towards the Vajra Temple.

Click, click, click!

The white skeleton snake's tail shook its body, making strange sounds of bones colliding with each other. It twisted its body and stood on the back of the tiger demon. Its ruby eyes looked around curiously and shared its vision with the original body.

The original 'Mao Mao Wang Uniform' did not rip or break. Instead, it shed itself from the tiger demon's body as it transformed. It shrank into a ball, weaving itself into a bow, and hung around the neck of the white jade skull snake tail.

In Tiger Demon form, the uniform's effect on Yuan Zhu was negligible. The restraints only hindered him, and he was repelled by the shadowy force. The uniform, shunned, threw itself decisively into the arms of the skinny elf.

Elvis the Cat is dressed in a gorgeous fur coat, but the snake's tail is left naked. How unfair is that? So the elf inherits the uniform, ties himself in a bow tie, and also puts a bow on the tiger demon's tail. Become an exquisite Elvis the Cat.

All of this was the subconscious thought of Host No. 2, so the uniform chose to follow.

After switching to Tiger Demon form, Yuan Zhu's sensory system was completely transformed. Not only did he gain night vision and thermal vision, but he also possessed a unique shadow vision, capable of seeing the cracks hidden in the shadows on the ground. These were the unique pores connecting this bubble world's 'shadow layer (dimension)'. With just a glance, he observed that this bubble world, seemingly independent, closed, and stable, was actually riddled with holes.

Not only did starlight penetrate the barriers above the sky and penetrate into the world; the earth's fetal membrane below was also eroded and hollowed out by the [Yellow Springs], and endless deathly energy seeped in.

At this moment, he walked in the darkness, and the shadow world separated from the real world by a thin membrane was also full of holes and exposed before his eyes. With just a little effort, he could poke open the pores in the shadows, escape into them, and jump and shuttle among the shadows.

Yuan Zhu subtly activated his [Shadow Manipulation], fiddling with the seemingly pitch-black mass before him, a shadow intricately constructed from multiple layers. Then, its tiger-demon form began to transform, becoming entangled and twisted by the shadows, eventually transforming into a pool of black liquid that spread across the ground before blending in and disappearing.

As we all know, cats are made of water. Now, he turned into liquid shadow and merged into another world.

Entering a world of shadows, I saw no vibrant colors, only varying shades of black, white, and gray. It felt like an abstract, twisted comic book world. Everything in the real world had strange projections, woven together without any logic.

Although the outside is the neatly built Naye Buddhist Kingdom, the shadow layer looks like a jungle of sharp shadows growing on the ruins of the buildings.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past, and a hazy, pale blue mist suddenly appeared in the air. Because of its color, it was particularly eye-catching and unique.

This slightly twisting mass of blue mist, sometimes gathering and sometimes dispersing, conveys messages of coldness, deathly silence, tranquility, and soul... This feels familiar. Where have I seen it before?

"Yellow Spring! This is the water vapor escaping from the Yellow Spring! I recognize this smell, breathe it in quickly! Don't let it drift away!"

The snake's tail suddenly screamed and wanted to pounce on it impatiently, but was firmly controlled by the tiger demon's body, preventing the tail from running out of control.

Yuan Zhu stepped back slightly, not wanting to come into contact with the seemingly beautiful and harmless mist, and asked, "How can you be sure it's Huangquan water vapor? How come I didn't know you knew it? This water mist does bear some resemblance to the pollution emitted by those corpse ghosts."

Yuan Zhu thought of the blood-robed ghost face that he caught a glimpse of, and the Buddha corpse ghost that passed by him. The Buddhist deathly aura on them was less than 20% similar to this blue mist.

It is hard to imagine that this blue mist is the source of their underworld power.

The elf said, "That's because your human body is too weak, its perception lacking the ability to withstand the [Immortal Scripture] firewall. Both the blood-robed ghost and the five-armed Buddha corpse ghost exude a rich aura of Yellow Springs death, yet they are distinct. They use [Yellow Springs] as their foundation, integrating it with their own distinct Buddhist systems to evolve unique new forms of Yellow Springs death energy, all of which I have recorded. A simple comparison confirms that this is a purer, more primordial [Yellow Springs aura], and surprisingly, it's not even yellow! Why is it called [Yellow Springs]? Is this another ancient time traveler's fault?"

"Are you sure it's okay for me to just suck this?"

The tiger demon stared at the hazy blue mist, then manipulated a shadow to weave into a hollow hand, gently stroking it. The mist kept changing, posing no threat to him, but instead arousing greedy desire.

Just as the elf had said, his tiger demon body was eager to devour and absorb the mist. His intuition told him that it was very nutritious and healthy. Eating it would aid digestion (gui).

"Don't worry, this level of Hellish Aura isn't contaminating you, it's you, the [Shadow Tiger Demon], that's contaminating it! Talking about contamination without considering the dosage is just bullshit. By absorbing it, you'll add a new micro-attribute of death to your [Shadow Transformation Power]."

The more he looked at the mist, the more he couldn't suppress his desire: "Let's do it!"

breathe……!
The tiger demon exhaled a breath of foul air, raised his head, aimed his nostrils at the blue mist, and took a deep breath, an epic breath that passed through his lungs.

As soon as the Yellow Springs mist entered his body, it was instantly captured and absorbed by the threads of the distorted spiritual root. This slight contamination was completely incapable of shaking the firewall. Neither purified nor expelled, it was instead digested and absorbed by the [Ghostly Divine Ability] as food.

A data prompt "Completion progress 1.3%" also popped up in Yuan Zhu's mind.

"I need more!"

As the first breath of Yellow Spring mist was absorbed, he was sure that his [pollution level] had not increased by even 0.001%, and only then did he relax.

At the same time, the Tiger Demon's perception of the Yellow Springs became clearer and more acute. The Yellow Springs Death Qi also became the second extraordinary energy, after Shadow, to be recognized and accepted by the Immortal Scripture, rather than a contaminant.

The Tiger Demon's intuition told him that when the concentration of [Yellow Spring Pollution] did not exceed a certain limit, it would not be eroded by the pollution, but would be able to absorb a small amount of this thin Yellow Spring aura and transform it into improving the quality of its own demonic power.

But once the Yellow Springs contamination exceeds a critical point, he will, like the 'Kasaya Ghost' and the 'Buddha Corpse Ghost', gradually transform from a tiger demon into a Yellow Springs ghost. With another kind of contamination as the foundation, he will die completely.

"Roar!"

Deep in the shadow world, there was no threat around. He controlled his shadow to spread in all directions, scanning like a radar for the pure and thin Yellow Spring mist, and soon captured the second and third groups...

The tiger pounced, the shadows leaped, his body vanishing from one end of the shadow world and emerging from the other. The little snake attacked violently, swallowing the mist in one gulp. The tiger demon's completion progress increased again to 3.4%.

As it continued to collect and absorb the [Yellow Spring Breath], the shadow power that had originally fallen below the warning line was also rapidly increasing and recovering.

Yuan Zhu discovered that when he (in tiger demon form) was in the dark, within the range of shadows, without having to take any initiative to do anything, his deformed spiritual roots could passively draw "shadow power" from the shadows to replenish his blue bar.

If one escapes into the shadow world, the recovery speed will increase dramatically, and shadows from all directions will actively flow back into the tiger demon's body, providing it with the power of shadows.

And if he stays here for a long time, his [Boss Template] value limit will slowly increase. This means...

The elf said: "This is your potential. The distorted spiritual root is like a compressed package that has been drained of water and only carries the core bloodline data. You need to continuously absorb external nutrients (shadow power, Huangquan aura) to grow and develop again, and constantly break through the upper limit. We don't need to actively practice, just sleep, and we can easily and comfortably become stronger! Because you are recovering and returning to your peak."

"It sounds like this bubble world is a treasure trove. In this shattered shadow world, there are no creatures competing with me for resources, and shadows are pouring back endlessly... At this rate, how long will it take for me to return to my peak?"

The elf said, "According to the [Immortal Scripture Database], at the current rate of shadow absorption, you'll need to remain here in Tiger Demon form for another 15-6 years. But there's a problem. Tiger Demons only control and manipulate shadows, not shadow creatures themselves, which correspond to a mana bar. So you'll need to eat, hunting prey to absorb nutrients, which corresponds to your health bar. This bubble world is overrun with mad beasts and tomato monks... can you stomach them? Also, if the Yellow Springs Qi can drift into the shadow world, does that mean Yellow Springs ghosts can't enter? Perhaps they find it barren and don't enter."

"15 years? That's too long!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhu completely abandoned his thoughts of seclusion in the bubble layer. If the bubble world had a shadow layer, then there was no reason why the real world couldn't also have one. Perhaps the power of shadows was even stronger? After returning to the real world, he could find an opportunity to try it out.

"Forget it, continue to collect the Yellow Springs aura and perfect the Tiger Demon Spirit Root."

Snake Tail: "Go this way. This side corresponds to the Diamond Temple. The Yellow Spring Death Qi is even denser over there. We are now 0.01 Yellow Spring Life. With the triple protection of Firewall + Shadow Shell + Yellow Spring Affinity, we can reach the high-concentration area and extract a more concentrated aura."

"go!"

The tiger demon's body twisted abstractly again, and was stretched into shadow lines in a flying posture, blending into the mottled shadows and moving quickly.

　Monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, comments...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)