Chapter 56: The Ninth Transformation

Before Xu Cheng could think further, the girl who had been quietly weeping wiped away her tears and declared, “Xia Hong, from this day forward, you walk your own path, and I cross my own bridge. Our bond is severed—we are strangers from now on!”

“At least you’re somewhat self-aware!”

The man who looked like a prince was named Xia Hong. Joy and relief lit up his face, as if he had finally escaped a troublesome entanglement.

“Darling, let’s go! Standing among so many ugly creatures will only make them feel inferior!”

Chu Yanyan clung to Xia Hong’s arm, her tone coquettish.

“Very well, very well!”

Xia Hong wrapped his arm around Chu Yanyan’s shoulder to comfort her and prepared to leave.

“Don’t be in such a hurry! Today is Senior Sister Gu Li’s ninth transformation—the grand occasion!”

One disciple of Jade Toad Palace pointed to the woman who had just separated from Xia Hong.

“Oh? The ninth transformation? Hahaha! In my opinion, you’ll only get uglier. Fine! I’d like to see just how hideous you can become!”

Xia Hong clearly did not believe the final transformation of Jade Toad’s Nine Molts could truly turn someone into the likeness of a fairy.

Had he never seen the true face of Master Yulan? Xu Cheng could not help but ask, “Master Yulan, has he never beheld your peerless beauty?”

“No, I have always concealed my appearance from the people of the Great Xia Dynasty. Their martial cultivators do not sit in meditation atop immortal mountains; most are self-centered, competing for everything. It does not accord with the immortal path of serenity and non-contention, striving by not striving.”

Master Yulan spoke solemnly.

“What does it mean to strive by not striving?”

Xu Cheng had never understood this teaching during his time at Xuantian Dao Sect. The question of striving versus not striving had always tangled in his mind.

“As the name implies, striving by not striving means perfecting oneself, focusing on cultivation and knowledge. Once your cultivation is sufficient, fortunes and immortal opportunities will unexpectedly appear before you. Those who constantly compete wear themselves out with schemes and calculations; under the heavenly principle, it all ends in emptiness.”

Master Yulan’s words made much clear to Xu Cheng. In short, those who charge forward, striving for everything, may have broad vision but are exhausted by scheming, causing their cultivation to stagnate. In the end, human plans cannot match heaven’s will.

Those who do not compete focus on themselves, refining their cultivation until they are unshakable. Heavenly treasures and immortal opportunities fall like pies from the sky.

Ultimately, strength comes from within.

At that moment, not far ahead of Xia Hong, Gu Li began her own transformation.

The disciples of Jade Toad Palace had endured arduous cultivation, suffered the strangeness of their appearances and others’ ridicule, all for this moment—a metamorphosis akin to ascending in feathers.

Gu Li, as enormous as a monster, sat cross-legged on the ground, a layer of emerald light swirling around her.

They watched the unfolding scene intently.

Chu Yanyan felt a faint unease and wanted to intervene, but the other Jade Toad Palace disciples, though unattractive, were all formidable cultivators.

She could only watch in silence. Xia Hong cursed in his heart, fearful that Gu Li might suddenly become stunningly beautiful.

Layers of skin peeled off Gu Li, the unsightly flesh burning into ash in midair.

The scene was reminiscent of a phoenix’s rebirth.

At the most critical moment, Gu Li’s former obese, grotesque form vanished, leaving only a green aura. The radiance intensified until it seemed to ignite.

Within the green flames stood a graceful silhouette, unclear at first. Xu Cheng could not tell what her face would become.

This lasted for a long time. Then, a pillar of jade-green light soared skyward and dispersed, covering the entire Jade Toad Palace in a verdant glow.

Finally, the light receded.

The ninth transformation was complete.

Gu Li stood in a daze, clothed in two layers of gauze, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, with an oval face, arched brows, a slight smile, and eyes shaped like crescent moons. Her skin was as pale as snow, with faint blue veins visible beneath.

She glided forward barefoot, and wherever her jade feet touched, grass and white flowers instantly blossomed.

The ninth transformation of the Jade Toad Nine Molts was truly astonishing! Xu Cheng glanced at Yan Mengdie, who also intended to cultivate this strange yet marvelous immortal technique. He wondered what she would become.

“Gu Li! I was wrong! Truly wrong! Let’s make up!”

Xia Hong suddenly knelt before Gu Li. Xu Cheng wanted to use a phrase popular in his previous life to describe Xia Hong: “Never have I seen someone so shameless!”

“Xia Hong, I told you—our bond is severed. Leave.”

With a wave of her sleeve, Gu Li sent even Xia Hong, who had reached the Nascent Soul stage, flying backward. Such was the power of immortal arts.

Chu Yanyan, humiliated and enraged, never expected Xia Hong to be so unreliable. She brandished a sword and lunged—not at Xia Hong, but at Gu Li.

With a croak, a massive toad phantom appeared over Gu Li, jade-green energy swirling. Not only did it dissolve Chu Yanyan’s attack, it also sent her flying out of Jade Toad Palace.

Xia Hong, lightly injured, tried to speak, but Gu Li uttered two words: “Leave now.”

“Senior Sister has told you to go. Why linger? Truly a toad coveting a swan!”

A Jade Toad Palace disciple who had previously supported Gu Li returned Xia Hong’s own words to him.

Abruptly, Xia Hong spat blood, his temperament not far different from Martial Emperor Xia Hao—stubborn and self-serving. If Gu Li, now a fairy, had scolded him, he could bear it. But being insulted by those who had not transformed, whom he considered ugly, struck him harder; his vision darkened, and he nearly fainted.

“Aaah!”

Xia Hong roared and turned away.

Once he was gone, Master Yulan removed the curtain, revealing herself, and addressed the disciples, “Jade Toad Palace has another who has mastered the Jade Toad Nine Molts Immortal Art—a cause for celebration!”

“Welcome, Palace Master!”

All the disciples greeted Master Yulan with a formal bow.

Gu Li, transformed, stood like a delicate flower, fluttering in the breeze.

“This is the mask I use to conceal my appearance. I believe you will need it.”

Master Yulan produced a mask resembling the Sichuan opera masks from Xu Cheng’s previous life. The mask floated through the air and landed in Gu Li’s hand.

“Thank you, Palace Master!”

Gu Li donned the mask, and her extraordinary beauty instantly became ordinary.

Master Yulan then led everyone in a grand feast. All manner of fruits, cultivated by Jade Toad Palace’s special methods, were served; these fruits enhanced magical power.

After eating and drinking, Xu Cheng and Yan Mengdie sought a quiet place to cultivate.

Fifteen days passed in cultivation. Xu Cheng sensed the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage, yet could not cross it.

When he saw Yan Mengdie again, she resembled the Jade Toad Palace disciples—strange in appearance, her figure grotesquely obese. She held her skin, marked with magical patterns, in her hand, but was exceptionally joyful, untroubled by her change in looks.

“Most of them seem a little self-conscious. Why are you so happy?”

Xu Cheng glanced at the Jade Toad Palace disciples. They each focused on their own cultivation, spoke little except to close friends, and minded their own business.

He was puzzled by Yan Mengdie’s attitude.

“The most important thing in life is to be happy!”

Yan Mengdie rolled her eyes. The skin in her hand, marked with black lines, shimmered faintly with golden threads.