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Translator: Tamon
“When did I get out?”
Xu Hei grimaced, crawling with haste to return to his cave.
The wilds were a dangerous place, with all the wolves and even a demon bear roaming around.
It only then occurred to him that he was as big as a house from overeating, but what?
Xu Hei strained to get back a couple of meters and observe his surroundings.
The heavy snowfall covered the ground in white, showing no signs of any wolves or the bear coming near this place.
Xu Hei felt a splitting headache like someone kept hammering behind his ears.
“What just happened?”
Through the agonizing pain, bits and pieces leaked out that helped him see a rough picture.
He ended up drinking all that wine back in his lair and felt so hot that he needed to get out and cool down.
He ate plenty of rabbits and even a pig. But how could there be pigs here, so far from civilization?
Xu Hei started in realization, at the lack of wolves.
[Those were no rabbits, but wolves!]
As for the juicy pig…
Xu Hei gulped hard, noticing the black bear’s head with empty eyes staring back.
“I-I didn’t mean it.” Xu Hei wailed.
Never in a million years would he ever come anywhere near a mid Awareness Stage demon bear that flattened demon catchers with a swipe.
He got so drunk that he burst out and killed the demon bear.
[That was too dangerous! I almost lost my poor life!]
Xu Hei shook in fear, vowing to never touch wine ever again. Liquid courage did not suit him.
“Humans are to blame for everything. They can’t get enough of killing each other and went and killed Brother. If you want revenge, take it out on them. I’m innocent.”
Xu Hei prayed with all his being, bowing and everything. Then he slithered up to the bear’s head to gulp it down.
[I can’t stay here.]
His lair was destroyed and he had to find a new place to hibernate.
Xu Hei took a deep breath and used his last strength to crawl away.
The pain made itself noticed as he did, not just from overeating but also the smack he received from the bear from that brutal fight.
Going after such a large creature was sheer madness, suicide even.
He counted his blessing, thanking his thick skin and tough flesh, only ending up with a couple of broken bones. Any other demon snake would’ve been flattened by now.
Xu Hei couldn’t even crawl right, resorting to contracting and extending like an earthworm. At least he could use the tail’s scales for a boost.
Having lived for many years in these mountains, this demon snake knew the areas well, setting up a dozen backups for hibernation.
Xu Hei reached a crevice into the mountainside, where a hidden pond lay below.
Xu Hei crawled inside and broke the ice of the pond to slip inside the freezing water.
The pond was small, but it expanded as he swam, connected to another, larger cave. It was one of Xu Hei’s hibernation spots.
He swam out of the water and entered the pitch-black cave.
Xu Hei liked it here, lying on the ground and resumed breathing in Spiritual Energy as he slowly digested the demon bear.
As the snow piled up and a gale blew, it hid all the bodies and tracks.
It was like it never happened.
…
Come night, the officials organized a search party that, upon arriving at the scene, discovered scattered and snow-covered bodies.
The news reached the village and caused shock and grief to the people.
Zhao Wenzhuo stood in the back of the crowd with red eyes, kneeling and crying.
A girl in a red Daoist robe stood at his side with a heavy frown.
“Junior Brother Zhao, you said there’s a mid Awareness Stage demon bear nearby?” The girl was skeptical.
“Yes. I never realized it was so strong! Senior Brother Ding died to save me.” Zhao Wenzhuo spoke with heavy sorrow.
They came upon Ding Hai’s body, torn to pieces along with his storage bag. All that remained were those eyes filled with regret staring at Zhao Wenzhuo.
Zhao Wenzhuo raged, “Senior Sister, the demon bear was struck by a mid-grade Fireball Talisman. It must be badly wounded. Let’s destroy it and avenge Senior Brother…”
“Absolutely not! You have no idea how dangerous a mid Awareness Stage demon is, let alone a demon bear with tenacious vitality. The fact that he’s damaged only makes it more savage. We can’t touch it!”
The girl in red cut him off.
Zhao Wenzhuo bowed. “I’ll listen to you, Senior Sister.”
Zhao Wenzhuo put on an ignorant look, hiding the calculative thoughts roaming in his mind. Like he didn’t know the demon bear was tough. At the 5th layer, there’s no way a Fireball Talisman could hurt it badly.
The girl was suspicious. [Why did Zhao Wenzhuo and Ding Hai go on a snake hunt with thirty people?]
[It can’t be the whole story.] But with no other survivor, she had no way of knowing the situation.
“Regardless, it’s fortunate that you survived. Ding Hai’s death was an accident. I’ll explain it to Master, ” the girl in red said.
“Many thanks, Senior Sister Song.” Zhao Wenzhuo bowed again.
…
A huge shadow lay in the corner of a cave, releasing white smoke with every exhale.
The Demon God Cauldron within Xu Hei was filled to the brim with Spiritual Energy, a sign of reaching the peak of 2nd layer of Awareness Stage.
Xu Hei shuddered as the Spiritual Energy haze within the Demon God Cauldron compressed into a point.
The amount of Spiritual Energy didn’t change, only its density, verging towards tangible.
An immense power burst forth, filling his body and making his bones creak as his flesh transformed.
His old skin fell off, replaced by tougher skin.
The 3rd layer of Awareness Stage!
It was a crucial junction, for the 4th layer represented mid Awareness Stage, a leap in quality from the early Awareness Stage.
With plenty of demon bear’s vitality remaining, Xu Hei never stopped cultivating, refining it at an incredible pace.
…
Outside Chen Town, in a worn-down shrine, the place was empty, except for the frozen beggars.
The old legends described it not as a mountain god shrine, but that of an evil deity. It had also seen several murders and drove the people to avoid it even more.
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