Chapter Four: The Strange Beast Hide

Gasping for breath, Ji Xun looked at the still twitching corpse of the serpent and rejoiced at his narrow victory. In the next instant, the serpent's body vanished, sucked into the Demon Refining Jug. Feeling the serpent demon's form within the jug, Ji Xun instinctively began the process of refining it.

Unlike the myriad beast bug he had encountered before, the serpent demon's stomach gave him a peculiar sensation, as if all its essence was concentrated there. The ruined serpent body started to be decomposed by the Demon Refining Jug, but the process was agonizingly slow. The wound on the snake's belly was the first to be refined, revealing several talisman papers and a strange piece of beast hide.

Perhaps due to the serpent demon's inability to control its stomach acid after death, the talisman papers had been corroded beyond use. Yet the beast hide remained perfectly intact.

"It seems this beast hide is no ordinary thing. The treasure the serpent demon spoke of must be this," Ji Xun mused, feeling the hide. He sensed that with a mere thought, he could unravel its origins—a power granted by the Demon Refining Jug, which allowed him to trace the life of an object imbued with a demon beast’s spirit.

"I need to find a safe place to examine it further," he thought. Withdrawing his consciousness from the jug, Ji Xun tidied up the battleground, used the jug to absorb the dispersed demon energy in the air, then turned toward the mountain.

Within a secluded cave in Great Forest Mountain, Ji Xun sat cross-legged, focusing on the beast hide inside the Demon Refining Jug. Once all was prepared, he began refining the hide. Upon initial refinement, he discovered it contained a cultivation method, named "Heavenly Demon Transmutation Technique."

["Heavenly Demon Transmutation Technique": Unknown grade cultivation method. A heart-bound relic of the human clan's great demon Yi Xuan. By means of this relic, one may dream through Yi Xuan's entire life.]

As the refinement deepened, Ji Xun’s consciousness grew hazy and he glimpsed a small, frail figure digging in a dim mine tunnel. Ji Xun’s spirit gradually merged into this vision, experiencing Yi Xuan’s joys and sorrows as his own, and unless danger threatened from outside, he would not awaken.

...

"Yi Xuan, take your time digging. You're too weak—don't exhaust yourself."

"Father, we slave away in this mine. How could we not wear ourselves out? I've grown up. I won't let you bear all the hardship alone."

"Ah, it's my fault. My bones are poor, I have no supernatural powers, and it's made your life so hard..."

"Don't worry, Father. Once I’m able to cultivate, I’ll take you away from here."

The two figures, one large and one small, supported each other in the gloomy mine shaft, lending a touch of warmth to the darkness. The frail figure was Yi Xuan, and the man beside him was his father.

At this moment, Ji Xun’s consciousness was attached to Yi Xuan, feeling every emotion as his own.

The scene shifted, revealing towering runes of the Dao, profound and unfathomable. Yi Xuan, once scrawny, had grown taller.

---

Unfortunately, he had lost his youthful hope. He had failed the test, unable to awaken divine powers or prove his spiritual roots.

"So be it. I was born to dig in the mines my whole life. After all, the demon clans are meant to be enslaved by the Witch clan—I'm hardly the only one," Yi Xuan thought, returning to the mine in dejection. Ji Xun, inhabiting his thoughts, now understood Yi Xuan's plight.

This world, countless years ago, was dominated by the Witch clan. All others were collectively called demon clans, and humans were counted among them. In the eyes of the Witch clan, demon clans were mere livestock, freely enslaved or slaughtered. The Witch clan possessed innate supernatural powers and lifespans of up to eight centuries—they were favored by the heavens.

For many days, Yi Xuan’s life consisted only of digging, ceaselessly toiling. Until one day, his father rushed into the mine, face ashen. "Xuan, run! Go to the place from before—don’t come out, no matter what!"

Yi Xuan nodded and fled deep into the mine, to a peculiar spot just large enough for one person. Hidden there, he remained undetected—even low-ranked Witch clan patrols could not find him.

Thus, Yi Xuan hid for five days, surviving on snakes, insects, and rats, but his father never returned.

"I need to go out and look," Yi Xuan decided, stepping out of the mine. The moment he emerged, he was stunned: destruction everywhere. The tall towers and rune-adorned halls of the Witch clan had vanished. The once-thriving city was razed to the ground.

Years passed. Yi Xuan hid in the mountains, gradually understanding what had happened. The Dao is fickle. The Witch clan, once ascendant, suddenly met their nemesis. One day, the earth split open, spawning countless demonic abysses; from the depths emerged terrifying beings known as the Demon clan.

Thus began the long, brutal struggle between Witch and Demon clans. Yi Xuan’s father had been drained of blood and essence by the Witch clan, along with countless other demon clans, to forge a great Demon-Slaying Sword.

Yi Xuan awoke from nightmares countless times, tears streaming down his face, swearing to one day take revenge on the Witch clan.

Unfortunately, Yi Xuan had only learned rudimentary techniques and was barely considered a cultivator. He survived by hunting with a homemade spear.

But this day, everything changed.

A giant python devoured a white ape. The white ape, trapped in the python’s belly, struggled fiercely, and at night called upon the power of the stars. The Star-Plucking Ape broke through the python’s stomach. Both died together, and for hundreds of meters around, no creature dared approach.

Yi Xuan, suppressing his fear, dragged the two demon beasts to a hidden place. Over the following years, he finally embarked on the path of cultivation, dissecting and studying the python and ape.

---

His goal was to uncover the cultivation methods and innate supernatural powers of the two beasts.

He drank python blood, refined ape pills, imitated their divine powers with his human body, then transformed those powers into techniques.

Seeing this, Ji Xun could not help but marvel—Yi Xuan was a born prodigy, his understanding unmatched. In later times, he would have been the ideal researcher.

Ji Xun grew curious what fate awaited such a genius.

In the following days, Yi Xuan hunted a hundred demon beasts in the woods, using their blood and demon cores to strengthen himself, simulating the divine powers of many demons with his own energy.

The Star-Plucking Hand of the white ape, the blood-shifting arts of the giant python, the divine sight of the blue-sky eagle, the brute force patterns of the mountain ox—seventeen kinds of supernatural abilities in all.

He could not perfectly replicate them, but managed to wield at least thirty percent of their power.

Despite cultivating many demon arts, Yi Xuan’s body showed no trace of demonization.

But such good fortune never lasts; to wield so many demon powers without backlash is impossible.

To minimize the harm, he simulated even more powers, balancing them against each other.

At last, the day he most dreaded arrived. The twenty-odd demon powers within him clashed, tearing him apart. He lost all supernatural abilities, and even his physical strength waned.

He racked his brains, but found no solution.

Helpless, Yi Xuan descended the mountain to seek answers, wandering for months before finding a settlement of humans.

Even heroes stumble before beauty; Yi Xuan met the love of his life there. He took root, married, and had children, living peacefully and securely—no longer needing to be constantly on guard as in the wilderness.

Now, even if offered the position of an immortal, Yi Xuan would not trade his life here.

In this place, everyone supported each other. At dawn, they farmed and hunted; at midday, they cooked; at sunset, they danced and sang.

Gradually, Yi Xuan forgot his twenty-odd supernatural abilities. Without them, he lived more peacefully—his body weaker than before, but he could easily live a hundred years.

But Ji Xun sensed trouble brewing.

In such chaotic times, to abandon one's inner strength and the possibility of further advancement—how would one face future crises?

Adversity breeds survival, comfort breeds demise. Did Yi Xuan truly not understand this?

No, it was not ignorance. Perhaps he had simply lost his drive, unwilling to confront the pain of his past.