Sizzle...
As a pungent, scorched odor arose, the unformed Yin Road immediately shattered.
The ghost bodies of the five green-skinned little ghosts also became much more illusory at once.
The loyal "Mr. One-Eyed" originally intended to forcefully open the Yin Road again at the cost of soul scattering.
Wang Yuan, however, had already plucked out three tiger hairs from the back of his head and blew on them gently, then he shouted,
"Shed the old and take on the new, turn calamity into auspice, follow me in entanglement, by my side you shall be, fierce when released, hidden when retracted. Hurry, as the decree commands!"
"Transform!"
Aoooow—!
The sound of a tiger's roar that shook the mountains and forests exploded next to one's ear.
The three tiger hairs grew upon contact with the wind, and in the blink of an eye, transformed into three ferocious tigers with black and yellow stripes attacking the Five Ghosts fiercely.
Although they possessed tiger might and not tiger power, "Mr. One-Eyed" was unable, for the moment, to distinguish between the real and the fake.
Already severely shaken and injured in their soul bodies, they were so terrified that they scattered like rats, unable to muster the power of the Five Ghosts to reopen the Yin Road again.
Realizing that he had been outsmarted, White Mountain Lord immediately followed the hunting instincts in his bloodline and pounced towards Wang Yuan with all his might, carrying a pungent scent.
His momentum was ferociously tragic, as if he were determined to drag this cunning "kindred" down with him in mutual destruction!
Wang Yuan, facing the tiger's maw, however, stood his ground without even attempting to dodge.
It wasn't until White Mountain Lord was just three feet away that he suddenly grabbed a large bag of white powder from the sack over his shoulder and threw it with a swing of his hand.
White Mountain Lord's tiger eyes were hit squarely, and he instantly let out an extremely piercing scream from his tiger mouth.
A sound so sorrowful it could make one's heart ache and bring tears to the listener's eyes.
Seeing that the powder generated large amounts of white smoke upon contact with moisture, it turned out to be...quicklime, which hooligans used in fights!
And it didn't end there.
Seizing the opportunity, Wang Yuan pulled out a thick brick that he had apparently pried off some gravestone and charged forward in a sprint.
The power of the first realm "Bone and Flesh Outer Appearance," having reached great success, flowed through him, rising from his feet and coursing into his right hand via his spine; then, he heavily slapped that brick onto the back of White Mountain Lord's head.
Crack!
The brick shattered.
This massive creature fell to the ground like a great column in the golden palace, stirring up a mess of bone fragments and dust.
"In the jianghu, three essential items: bricks, quicklime, and knockout drugs; I seem to be gradually grasping the true essence of martial arts," Wang Yuan said.
He then took out the Sealing Talisman that Wild Dog Taoist had drawn and finally said to White Mountain Lord, who was lying on the ground,
"Jianghu has always been full of treacherous waves; these waters are too cold for you to handle.
Better to warm up inside my stomach."
He stretched out his hand and pressed the Sealing Talisman onto White Mountain Lord's forehead.
The Five Ghosts that had failed to escape instantly let out a wail and were drawn back into their lord's body without any resistance.
From start to finish, it was just a few breaths of time.
A tiger spirit that, on its own, could easily crush a common Daoist Soldier and might even elude capture by an entire army encircling the mountain was effortlessly subdued by Wang Yuan with a fierce barrage of tactics.
The real test of force was only that final brick.
The dust settled.
Within the mirror hanging from the tree branch above, Huang Wu appeared in her deep red bridal gown, casting a pitying glance at the big tiger who had just been dreaming of being a Mountain God.
His face full of quicklime was painful to look at even with just a glance.
Soon after, the girl inside the mirror waved her little hand.
The sound of suonas intensified, and two processions of papermen carrying a palanquin emerged from the mirror; with the lifting of the palanquin curtain, Wang Yuan and White Mountain Lord both vanished from sight.
When they reappeared, they were already back in the mansion at Wangren Town.
Once inside the beast cage, there were paper servants to secure the still-unconscious White Mountain Lord with iron chains, ensuring no accidents would occur.
"Xiao Yuan, will you start practicing with this big cat right away?" asked Huang Wu, tilting her head, extremely curious about the Transformation into Tiger Technique that allowed one to become a tiger.
Because she was unaware of the taboos, she even had a faint hope that after Wang Yuan managed to command the Chang Ghost, he might be able to bring her out of the mirror as well.
"In order to obtain the excellent raw material that White Mountain Lord is, the best timing for practicing on the Yin Day and at the Yin Hour has already passed; I could only use Grandma's tiger skin rug to achieve the first layer 'Fake Tiger.'
I must hurry back to Daling Village by tomorrow night.
Today, let him eat his fill. He won't starve if he sleeps for ten or more days. It's only after twelve days, on the next Yin Day and at the Yin Hour, that I can begin practicing in earnest.
During this time, I'll frequently come back to pre-process this tiger body with Daoist Skills."
Of the three Daoist Skills Wang Yuan had acquired, even though this Transformation into Tiger Technique was the most powerful one, it had very little potential for advancement.
The combat effectiveness of the "Transformation into Tiger Technique" was entirely determined by the "raw material" used.
The higher the cultivation a tiger had in life, the stronger the power a magician would possess after skinning it and practicing the technique.
Unless one found a way to skin another tiger and re-cultivate this Daoist Skill, the starting point was the endpoint.
Therefore, adhering to the principle of preferring scarcity over mediocrity, Wang Yuan decided to patiently wait another twelve days to hunt the powerful Tiger Spirit, the White Mountain Lord.
As for whether using the skin of a Tiger Spirit with potential followers would cause trouble, that was not even within Wang Yuan's consideration.
According to his understanding, those "demons" who read the books of saints and scholars, understood morality and pursued transformation into humans, might really have a sense of family.
But for those Spirit Monsters that always maintain their original form and bestial nature, feelings like kinship, ethics, and even wisdom might not be their pursuit.
Applying the "blood revenge" revered by Yan Han to Spirit Monsters was highly unlikely to be appropriate.
"Besides, if I can't resolve the problem within a month, I might just settle it directly. Why would I care about those things?
However, just because I can't practice the technique right away doesn't mean I can't do something else."
With that thought, Wang Yuan pulled out the dagger from his waist and walked over to the White Mountain Lord.
A big black dog pranced over, constantly wagging its tail at Wang Yuan.
Its greenish dog eyes looked down on the White Mountain Lord, and a smug look of schadenfreude spread across its canine face.
Of course, it also made sure to tuck its bandaged leg under its body, hiding it from the sight of its new master to prevent him from getting any ideas about cutting it as well.
"Get out of the way, don't be a nuisance."
It was recorded in the Wild Dog Taoist's book that this black dog was showing signs of intelligence and might transform into a demon, which is why he had used some tricks to lure it away.
Now it was as smart as an eight or nine-year-old child without a doubt.
Wang Yuan naturally wouldn't allow it to become a disposable consumable.
The Black Dog Blood was indeed let out quite a bit, but not completely. The insufficient amount was supplemented by dissolved "Ghost Repelling Pills."
Once it transformed into a Black Dog Spirit, it would not only be useful for exorcising evil but also provide material for drawing talismans. Even selling its blood in the Ghost Market would fetch a higher price than others—its uses were far too broad.
When he saw this foolish-looking creature, still oblivious and overbearing in front of the White Mountain Lord, Wang Yuan couldn't help but feel pity for it for three seconds.
After shooing it away, he drew a large bowl of steaming Tiger Blood from the body of the White Mountain Lord.
And then he drank it in one gulp.
Assuming the tiger stance, a thunderous humming sound once again emitted from his body.
Unlike the usual cultivation, the essence-filled blood of the Tiger Spirit seemed to induce much more subtle and profound changes within him.
What the military books did not record was:
Without the aid of "Tiger Yang Medicine Wine," it was also possible to use Male Tiger's Tiger Marrow, Tiger Blood, Tiger Penis, along with replenishing items like Ginseng and Yellow Essence. The speed of cultivation would then surpass that provided by the secret medicine wine of the "White Tiger Military Art."
Only because it was too extravagant, for every Daoist Soldier that was created, numerous fierce tigers had to be hunted, which was completely impractical.
In order to form the "White Tiger Elite Soldiers" on a large scale, Tiger Marrow, Tiger Blood... were gradually replaced with secret medicine.
By coincidence, Wang Yuan had stumbled upon the right method.
Moreover, the flesh and blood of a Tiger Spirit was far incomparable to the tonic medicine prepared from a normal tiger, greatly shortening the time needed for transformation.
After two bouts of the watch, Wang Yuan exhaled a long breath tinged with a hint of blood, and a small tree not far in front of him rustled as if the breath was as sharp as a sword.
Slowly opening his eyes:
"The transformation of non-humans is gradual, the 'White Tiger Military Art' focuses on metal, killing, and death, and the first step is to strengthen the lungs.
With this rate of progress, I am completely confident of breaking through to the second realm, 'Refining Marrow and Changing Blood,' achieving non-human form before the next Yin Day arrives.
Tigers gain divine powers by eating humans, and humans greatly increase their cultivation by eating tigers.
Could this mutual consumption of humans and tigers also be an avenue of cultivation?!"
The line from the Wild Dog Taoist's book:
"Most Divine Power Skills that require a price can be substituted with 'killing,' which is an inexpensive approach to cultivating the great path," once again surfaced in Wang Yuan's mind.
Although the "Taoist Military Skill" is not a Divine Power Skill, it is inherited from the same lineage.
The underlying laws are naturally interconnected.
—Chaos, blood, evil, strangeness...
Perhaps similar methods can indeed mutually enhance each other without side effects...
Perhaps the reason why sects passed down from master to disciple recruit a broad range of disciples is also for... hiss, I can't think more about it.
After eating Deceit Bone and Deceit Skin, Wang Yuan felt he had no right to be a moral exemplar, he only had the choice to live a stable life as an ordinary person or to fully integrate into this world.
With this realization,
Wang Yuan returned to his room and quietly took out the "Deceit Object·Mask" that was a combination of the half-finished "Dao Foundation" and "Human Face Painting" from the Wild Dog Taoist.
This night, there were twenty-nine days left until Yili King's great sacrificial ceremony every two hundred years.
Wang Yuan felt that, in the next period, whether he could get through safely or even snatch benefits from the jaws of danger, a great part would depend on it, aside from the Magic he controlled.