Wang Xuan rushed into the mist! Everything was different. The mist seemed to be a dividing line between life and death.
Outside, the sun blazed like fire, the forests stretched vast, lakes dotted the landscape, and monsters roamed freely, brimming with the breath of life. Yet inside the mist, a bright moon hung high in the sky, the night was deep, and silence reigned.
Wang Xuan wondered if he had stepped into a new world. Had something gone wrong? Had he stumbled into an unknown realm? He had read about people traveling to other worlds, but he wasn't hit by a car, nor had he jumped off a building. How did he end up crossing over? He had a strong will to survive and was still fighting against extraordinary creatures!
It was as though he had gone deaf. He couldn't even hear his own footsteps in this soundless world. At the same time, he felt a severe discomfort, his body aching terribly, and he saw blood seeping from several places on his body.
A deep sense of unease gripped him. The atmosphere in this place was extremely strange.
Wang Xuan turned around and was stunned. Where was the mist? It had vanished entirely, replaced only by the night sky.
Had he truly arrived in a completely new world?
Unbelieving, he looked down at the ground. It was barren, with only faint traces of his footprints. He retraced his steps, hoping to pass through the barrier and return to the sunlit world.
However, as he walked, he suddenly felt suffocated, as if he were drowning. The most terrifying thing was that his mind was becoming hazy, and his consciousness was starting to unravel.
Wang Xuan quickly retreated and gasped for air. He stood there, staring blankly at the night.
There was no way back. He was now standing in a strange, unfamiliar world.
The most frightening thing was that his body was in agony, with red blotches all over him, and blood was seeping out. The aftereffects of eating the blood grapes were kicking in.
Was he really about to turn into a demon?
Wang Xuan's eyelids started to itch, and then they began to hurt. Blood trickled down from the corners of his eyes, like tears of blood.
Neither the ancient techniques of the Pre-Qin era nor the body techniques from the Five-Leaf Golden Book could stop the changes in his body.
This silent, new world seemed to be accelerating his transformation into a demon. The red blotches on his skin began to swell, as if something was trying to burst out from within.
Wang Xuan's whole body was in pain. Blood and cold sweat streamed down, and not even the Golden Body Technique could block the violent transformation!
This was an internal force, tearing him apart from the inside, as if something unknown was trying to grow from within him.
At the same time, something deep in the new world seemed to be calling to him, attracting him—or perhaps stirring the instincts of the demon he was becoming.
As he moved forward, the pain in his body lessened slightly.
He took a step, and in an instant, his long hair turned a vivid blood-red. His shoes tore apart with a pop, and sharp, claw-like toenails emerged from his feet.
As he continued forward, his shoulders swelled painfully. Two tiny heads began to push out from his flesh!
Though the pain was easing, the horrific changes to his body were terrifying. His very soul trembled with fear.
He was a man of flesh and blood, living in the modern world. The last thing he wanted was to become a monster.
Wang Xuan had seen many shocking things before, like when he had spent time with a female sword immortal or faced off with a red-robed demoness, but none of it compared to the horror he was experiencing now.
In just a short time, his body had mutated violently. How could a human's life form transform so quickly?
He retreated rapidly. Was there some substance deep within this misty region that could accelerate a person's transformation into a demon?
Earlier, when he had overheard the alien experts mention a secret path here, he had been filled with anticipation. But now, the reality he faced made his heart sink.
Wang Xuan's demonic features became more pronounced as he sprinted back to the edge of the mist.
"Is there no way to reverse this?" he muttered, spreading his hands to examine his claws. His nails had unknowingly grown long and sharp, curling like hooks.
It wasn't just his body trembling now—his very spirit seemed to resonate with the transformation, as though it too was craving the dark depths of this new world.
Fighting against the urge, Wang Xuan skirted the edges of the darkness, unwilling to let this demonic impulse take over. He knew this was the demon within him yearning for power, not his true self.
"Ah!" Wang Xuan cried out in agony after just a few breaths. Though he had a will forged in countless battles, the pain was too much.
The red blotches on his skin tore open, as though his flesh was being peeled away. Worse, he could feel his bones shifting painfully inside him.
Was the process of becoming a demon also an excruciating peeling and reformation of bones?
Having walked the path of the Old Technique, Wang Xuan had endured many trials, but this was different. This wasn't an enemy torturing him—it was his own body.
Suddenly, his spine began to burn, and then his back split open. When he looked over his shoulder, his heart sank.
What was that growing from his back? Bright red bone spines, over two feet long, jutted out from his spine, pointing towards the moon.
A normal human would never grow such things. He was becoming a demon!
Next, his clothes were ripped apart as crimson feathers sprouted from his arms and legs, each over a foot long.
"What kind of monster am I becoming?" Wang Xuan could not accept this transformation.
He kept stretching his body, practicing the ancient techniques, and utilizing Old Zhang's martial arts, hoping to suppress the demonic transformation.
"This isn't real; it's energy!" he realized, touching the bone spines on his back and the red feathers on his body.
Could he still stop this increasingly intense transformation?
As the changes in his body grew more severe, his urge to venture into the depths of this new world intensified. Like an insect drawn to light, he found it harder and harder to control this instinct.
Wang Xuan sprinted around the edges of the darkness, and soon discovered that this so-called otherworld wasn't very large. It was only about ten miles across, no different in size from the Misty Region he had been running through earlier.
His shoulders were blood-soaked, and two fist-sized, energy-based heads had grown from them. Their shapes were still unclear, and he didn't know what kind of creature they would become.
Suddenly, his head throbbed with pain, and he felt a pair of horns growing from his skull!
"To hell with it!" Wang Xuan cursed.
Finally, he decided to head straight for the center of this strange region.
Even if he tried to control his instincts and stayed at the edge, he was still transforming into a demon. There was no stopping it.
If that was the case, he might as well charge straight ahead and face whatever was waiting for him. Anything was better than this slow, torturous transformation.
In the center of this place were several low, barren hills, blocking his view.
The world was still silent, lifeless.
Sure enough, as Wang Xuan approached the center, he felt more and more like a demon. Scales began to appear on his body, and a snake-like energy tail grew from his back.
Crossing over the low mountain, Wang Xuan was momentarily entranced.
The entire barren land was devoid of life, not a blade of grass in sight, yet this place was different.
A small lake shimmered with a blue glow, rippling with dense, mysterious energy. Several lotus plants flourished within, their vibrant leaves adorned with dewdrops that sparkled.
Above, a bright moon hung high in the sky, its gentle light cascading down like water, shrouding the entire lake in a thin mist.
It was a serene scene of "lotus pond under the moonlight," completely at odds with the terrifying and ominous landscape Wang Xuan had imagined. This place was so peaceful, so ethereal.
Moreover, sound had returned—he was no longer deaf.
Boom!
His body roared with power. His red hair surged, instantly growing down to his feet. His scales opened and closed with a metallic clanging, as if his energy was transitioning from an ethereal form to something real.
Even the feathers on his body were becoming increasingly tangible.
On his shoulders, two heads suddenly expanded, their eyes snapping open. Slowly, they turned to look at him, their cold gazes chilling.
Wang Xuan's hair stood on end. The two heads on his shoulders still appeared human, yet they were so unfamiliar. One resembled an ancient figure with a bamboo hairpin.
The other had long, loose hair, and though it was male, it seemed less human, more like the handsome face of a demon.
Wang Xuan's heart raced. Two strange heads had appeared, and they were staring at him with such icy coldness—it was deeply unsettling.
He looked down and saw his shadow beneath the moonlight. In that instant, his scalp went numb. The shadow was a hundred times more terrifying than what he could feel himself becoming!
The shadow was moving slowly, revealing hundreds of hands reaching towards the sky, like a horde of malevolent spirits trying to grasp the moon.
Shimmering faintly, the shadow behind him was immense, with dozens of enormous heads!
They swayed—beast heads, bird heads, demon heads with horns...
Wang Xuan was horrified. He wasn't moving, yet his shadow was frantically dancing, manifesting all sorts of demonic forms.
He was certain this wasn't merely the effect of consuming the blood grapes; it had something to do with this sinister land.
What kind of secret path was this? A demon's path, surely!
Wang Xuan felt that this place was far too unfriendly to humans. It wasn't some blessed land—it was pushing him toward demonic transformation.
"I don't want to become a demon! I can't fall here!" Wang Xuan shouted, shocked to find that even his voice was terrifying—loud, piercing, like the roar of a great demon.
He realized he was losing control of himself. Though his true body hadn't moved, the terrifying shadow behind him, like a swarm of demons, was pushing him forward.
His feet dragged deep tracks in the ground as he tried to root himself in place, but the shadow pushed him, forcing his body to slide toward the blue lake.
Behind him, roars and screeches from beasts and birds echoed, as though a group of great demons were struggling and howling. Hundreds of shadows loomed behind him, all writhing.
"What kind of cursed transformation is this?!" Wang Xuan was horrified, unable to comprehend what was happening.
As he neared the blue lake, the scenery suddenly changed dramatically!
Boom!
Waves crashed against the sky.
What he saw was... an ocean, with massive waves pounding the shore.
On the shoreline stood one altar after another, and beneath each altar were crowds of living creatures, densely packed.
"I want to become the Golden-Winged Roc!"
Under one altar, a humanoid creature roared. Surrounding it were both humans and monsters, all shouting in unison, their emotions running high.
Atop the altar, a ball of golden light floated, within which a Roc, eyes closed, lay in silent repose.
Beneath another altar, another group of fervent creatures shouted, yelling and waving their arms.
"I want to become the Thousand-Handed True God!"
They cried out as they knelt in worship.
Atop this altar, a hazy figure sat in the sacred glow—a man with a thousand arms.
As he reached the shoreline, Wang Xuan felt like he was being torn apart. Behind him, the shadows writhed, pulling him toward different altars.
There were hundreds of altars, each one hosting a legendary, powerful creature, radiating a misty brilliance, while countless worshippers gathered below.
"This isn't real, it's all an illusion. I don't want any of this!" Wang Xuan roared.
Yet his body was bleeding, and the shadows behind him were pulling at him, nearly tearing him apart, his entire body in agony.
"If you want to become demons, go yourselves! Wings, horns, tails, demon wings, three heads, a thousand arms—get away from me! Don't cling to my body!"
Wang Xuan's voice was hoarse as he struggled, desperate not to be dragged away, and even more desperate not to become one of those monstrous creatures.
As he resisted, the ocean waves crashed against the moon in the sky.
In the depths of the sea, he saw a small boat, shimmering with golden light. It was tossed high by the waves, occasionally appearing to touch the moon above.
It was... a boat made from hollowed-out Divine Ascension Bamboo.
He had seen such a thing before, in the underground experimental lab in the Greater Khingan Range, where the female alchemist's body had rested in a bamboo boat, alive and flourishing for three thousand years.
And now, he was seeing this strange bamboo boat again!
But this one was much larger.
The main body of the Divine Ascension Bamboo was three meters in diameter, floating in the vast ocean, never being submerged by the waves.