Chong Heihu had the divine lights protecting him and was not afraid of anyone harming him. He decided to go hunting to relieve his feelings and did not enjoy any company. Thus, he took his horse, bow, and arrow, and headed to the northern hillock beyond the city.
In recent years, the Yang Qi had fallen sharply while the Yin Qi had increased significantly in the Netherworld. Although winter had yet to arrive, it was drastically cold. Chong Heihu may be fit and strong but as his perspiration cooled him down, he could not help but shiver when the cold wind breezed past.
The leaves in the forest ahead of him started to rustle as an overcast created shadows on the branches. Chong Heihu felt chills down his spine as the thought of encountering a nasty demon beast flashed across his mind.
He took his bow and arrow and aimed towards the woods. Time went by slowly and the shadow was vaguely present as the trees shook more and more vigorously.
Chong Heihu may be protected by the divine lights but he was still fearful for his life. He could not help but broke out in cold sweat.
As he was feeling anxious, a big worm swooped out from the woods. The worm was dark, hairy and had extremely bright eyes. Shortly, a vicious wind gusted and the well-trained warhorse had an outburst of displeasure. Chong Heihu was focused on the arrow and had no time to react to the horse. His became overwhelmed as the arrow pierced through the black tiger as if the black tiger was not an entity.
In a split second, the black tiger pounced on him. He felt dizzy as information was injected into his consciousness.
He fell from the warhorse and the frightened horse abandoned its owner and galloped furiously towards the city.
When Chong Heihu opened his eyes, he felt sharp pain all over his body. Apparently the protective barriers divine light had disappeared. It was not strange he was in pain as his mortal body was slammed on to the hard ground.
A hand appeared in front of his eyes. He knew that it was a blessing and held on to the hand. Instantly, his body warmed up and he felt physically relaxed. He looked up to see a young Daoist standing in front of him. The Daoist looked dreamy as if he was free from the secular mortal world.
Chong Heihu bolted up, released his hand and then kneeled down again. He clung to young man’s leg and cried, “Master, you finally remembered the little me.”
Although he incarnated as a human, he became tiger-like the moment his memories from the past life restored.
A delicate female voice could be heard laughing, “Celestial Teacher, why is this person behaving like a dog?”
Shen Lian said, “Come, get up.”
Chong Heihu got up and looked at the smiling girl. She was dressed in red like a blazing fire and her beauty was unparalleled, and she looked somewhat familiar.
He mindfully asked Shen Lian, “Master, who is the girl?”
Shen Lian laughed, “Can’t you recognize her? She is Ah Lian’s daughter.”
Chong Heihu thought that the girl came from a great deal of background but once he heard that she was Ah Lian’s daughter, he responded in disdain, “You were still feeding when I met your mother. Come come, call me uncle.”
Shen Lian added, “She is a disciple of Daoist Luya and her cultivation was higher than Wuding in the past.”
Chong Heihu changed his attitude as he figured that Daoist Luya must be someone powerful and this young girl was actually stronger than Wuding. He knew that he should not mess with her and it seemed that his master would not side him. He immediately laughed and changed his tone, “How are you, little missy?”
The girl in red laughed at Chong Heihu’s change in attitude. She thought that he was really interesting.
Shen Lian lets out a cough and said, “Heihu, you reincarnated because of me and that is why I came to you and restored your memories from the past life. What are your plans now? Do you want to stay by my side or do you want to be the monarch of the country?”
Chong Heihu responded, “Of course I want to follow you. But I am now a human and I cannot be your ride anymore.”
Chong Heihu was delighted by the news and said, “Yes, I want to learn this martial exercise. Dao methods like ‘meditate to attain spiritual calmness, cultivate the heart for spiritual cultivation’ is not my cup of tea. You can cane me every day and I would still fail at it.”
Different people have different temperaments and would make different choices. The methods of Dao may be good but not just anyone could master it. The mountains of bones of the dead reaching out to the door of immortality was the best testament.
Shen Lian expected Chong Heihu’s temperament and thus created such an alternative martial exercise. This method would not attain Dao but had supernatural powers. Moreover, once a person had a firm mind and enough resources, his future would be bright too. The only setback was that the future path ahead would be limited and it would not be a good choice for someone who was overly ambitious.
She was uncertain why would Shen Lian teach so openly without considering the taboo. Did he really not care at all or does he have other objectives?
The sunset and twilight shone across the land. With his past life experience as a demon, Chong Heihu was able to pick it up very swiftly. The Yin Qi and the Qi of vitality of the Netherworld gathered around him and gradually hovered over him. It was smokey and he could not stop swallowing and spitting. He started to feel a sense of Qi in his limbs, bones, and flesh as the demonic power grew and spread throughout his flesh and blood.
Shen Lian could sense the changes in Chong Heihu and was aware that the human blood was being replaced by the extremely pure demonic Qi and blood.
Heihu’s spine fluttered like a dragon. Two hours later, there were no signs of twilight as the stars took over the sky. The White Tiger constellation towards the Western Paradise was the brightest of all. The star power blended in with the murderous intent and descended downwards. Heihu grew as he breathed, sharp claws emerged from his limbs, the fur on his skin became longer and his bone structure started to change.
With the help of Shen Lian and the stars to speed up the process, Heihu then stepped into the most crucial point of transforming from the human form to the demon form.