Chapter 83: Demonic Transformation—The One with Toad Legs

The window was wide open, and a short, squat figure dropped into the room.

The figure lay prone on the floor, waving his hand repeatedly. “Don’t be alarmed, don’t be alarmed, I’m also a guest residing here in the Pale White Pavilion.”

Ji Ming had already clasped his hands within his sleeves, gripping the Heart-Collecting Bone Pearl, and said, “Why were you spying on my cultivation? If you don’t explain yourself, I’ll report you to the master of this place.”

“No, wait!”

The man seemed unable to rise, rolling over onto his back. “I was just passing outside your room, and heard that your cultivation was orderly and that you broke through several barriers in succession, so I lingered a bit longer.”

Ji Ming recalled hearing that after achieving the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, within a span of thirty feet, the sound of dust falling to the ground could be distinguished.

Anyone eavesdropping here, yet qualified to reside in the Pale White Pavilion, must have some foundation—perhaps one who conceals his abilities and hides his strength. He dared not take the other lightly.

“May I ask...” Ji Ming remembered his own youthful age and changed his tone, asking bluntly, “What kind of thief are you?”

“You little rascal—”

“Hmm!”

“You’re quite the insolent little immortal child. Anyone who can stay here wouldn’t be a mere thief.”

Ji Ming lit every candle in the room one by one. The bright flames made the man shrink back slightly, and only then did Ji Ming clearly see his strange body.

Beneath this man was a single toad’s leg, only one, curled up underneath him.

The man leaned against the wall, struggling to stand. That lone toad’s leg seemed barely able to support him; the muscles beneath the toad skin trembled.

“A monster transformation?” Ji Ming inquired.

He had seen such cases before. Among the pills he had ingested, both spiritual essence and demonic nature were indispensable, like the positive and negative sides of a thing.

Spiritual essence served as the driving force for circulating the Small Heavenly Cycle, the more, the better.

But the demonic nature within must be dissolved through secret arts; indeed, the secret arts required demonic nature as an ingredient to truly succeed.

Thus, the Small Heavenly Cycle, the pills, and the secret arts formed a precise system—this was the foundation of the Path of Heaven’s teachings.

The sign of monstrous transformation appeared when the secret arts were not practiced to perfection.

Ji Ming suddenly thought of the old Daoist Feihu and his pair of crane legs. With his cultivation at the third stage of Foundation Building, would he too experience a physical transformation?

“This isn’t a monstrous transformation, but the result of practicing the secret arts in reverse.”

“Reverse practice?”

Ji Ming repeated the term, sensing a mysterious and formidable implication, as though it referred to some unspeakable forbidden method.

“Come here, move closer so I can see you clearly.”

The man beckoned to Ji Ming, his presence more imposing than before, as if he had begun to treat Ji Ming as a mere child.

Ji Ming stood his ground, his hand within his sleeve caressing the jade-green pearl. He asked, “You still haven’t answered me—where are you from?”

“Impressive composure.”

The man scrutinized Ji Ming anew. “My surname is Wei, given name Wulan. I hail from Xintai Square in the northern Baoguang Continent, disciple of the True Spirit Sect, one of the three great orthodox paths.”

“Then how did you end up here?”

“Ha!” Wei Wulan’s face grew impatient. He plopped down cross-legged, annoyed. “Do you truly think yourself the master of this house, to interrogate me so thoroughly about my origins?”

Next, he craned his neck and bulged his eyes, scrutinizing Ji Ming closely, staring at him in a daze for a moment.

This immortal child in the room was exceedingly handsome, standing with hands tucked in his sleeves, exuding an unshakable aura, as if unmoved by wind and rain. There was a poem to prove it: “His face like morning clouds tinted by dawn, lips red as plum blossoms touched by frost. Hair like mist encircling a youthful visage, brows like new moons hanging in a clear sky.”

Such countenance belonged only in the Palace of Heavenly Battle Stars, never to be found among the mundane world.

Ji Ming, feeling Wei Wulan’s gaze tighten around him, resisted the urge to hurl his Heart-Collecting Pearl at the man, and said coldly, “Have you seen enough?”

“I have,” Wei Wulan nodded in approval. “You’re indeed a fine-looking child, and meeting me is a blessing from your past life.”

Ji Ming held his tongue, waiting for what would come next.

“I see you’re here alone, not quartered within the Fiery Ruins Cave, but rather housed as an outsider in the Pale White Pavilion. It’s clear your background is, like mine, not particularly grand.”

“And if so?”

“If so?” Wei Wulan’s tone of surprise made Ji Ming wonder if he’d said something improper, or if this was merely psychological pressure.

“Yes—if so?” Ji Ming repeated seriously.

Wei Wulan frowned, sensing that this child was not as easy to intimidate or manipulate as he’d imagined.

“If you lack a powerful background and have little connection with the master, within half a year the attendant boys here will begin to slight you—reducing your meals, withholding all manner of allowances.”

“Would they dare?”

The two attendants, Eyebrow and Lark, judging by their looks and behavior, did not seem the type to do such things.

He considered himself a fair judge of character.

“The younger ones, naturally, wouldn’t dare.

But the older boys, those who failed to serve the master or his disciples within the Fiery Ruins Cave, are bold enough to curry favor and do as they please. Once they’re older than fifteen, they’ll be sent down the ridge to the Violet Melting Peak of Mount Jiheng, there to enjoy mortal wealth and face the caprice of life and death.”

Ji Ming hadn’t expected to learn such realities of a celestial abode on his very first day.

“Well then—”

Ji Ming hesitated.

Wei Wulan, seeing the boy gradually lower his guard and inquire in earnest, grew smug. “As long as you follow my instructions, I guarantee you’ll have nothing to worry about here.”

“Follow your instructions?”

Ji Ming let out a cold laugh, and immediately summoned the two attendants, Eyebrow and Lark, to expel Wei Wulan from the room.

He had just arrived and was unfamiliar with everything here; he must not trust a single account—especially one from a person who had just been caught eavesdropping on his cultivation.

Wei Wulan hadn’t expected the child to be so decisive, giving him no chance to explain before calling for the attendants.

In front of the attendants, Wei Wulan was rather meek, fearing Ji Ming would expose his eavesdropping. His reputation here was already questionable.

Fortunately, Ji Ming only expelled him and did not pursue the matter further.

Afterward, Wei Wulan mulled things over. Clearly, this boy intended to first familiarize himself with the place and verify Wei’s words before discussing anything further.

“Not one to listen blindly or act rashly—could he be some old monster reincarnated for cultivation?”

For a moment, Wei Wulan regretted having approached the boy at all.

Within the quiet room, Ji Ming sat in meditation on a mat throughout the night, calming his restless thoughts and savoring the mastery he’d gained over the Crane Control Technique.

In the days that followed, he did not seek to verify Wei Wulan’s claims, but remained in seclusion, diligently cultivating.

Having just arrived at the Fiery Ruins Cave, he needed to act with caution, patience, and restraint.

If he stirred up trouble trying to verify those words—even if only disturbing the attendants—he might disrupt the tranquility of the place and incur the displeasure of the master.

“Reverse cultivation of secret arts!”

Of all he had heard, it was Wei Wulan’s monstrous transformation caused by reverse practice that truly caught his attention—and that was why he merely expelled the man and did not make a scene.

“Master, your method of concealment—surely it isn’t reverse cultivation leading to monstrous transformation, is it?

I struggled so hard to turn from beast to man; I have no wish to go from man back to beast. What would that make of me?”