Chapter 49: Heavenly Demon Body (Part 2)

Its body is not entirely covered by the exoskeleton; in the places without shell—such as the neck, the inner joints of the arms, and parts of the abdomen—there is red flesh resembling bundles of muscle fibers.

Behind it, twelve bone segments extend outward to both sides, and between those segments an orange‑red membrane begins to grow; when all the segments are filled, Zhao Xingyue realizes that it is actually a pair of wings.

A tail‑like thing hangs behind it, but Zhao Xingyue is not sure it is a tail, because it seems to be just a single bone.

No flesh is visible on it, only a gelatinous substance linking each bone segment.

Behind Wang Wu, Wu Er Niang, who is staring blankly at Wang Wu's form, sees clearly that it truly cannot be called a 'tail'; after all, no animal in nature has a tail growing from behind the head.

But now, after Wang Wu's wings have fully grown, that bone slides back into place—a long groove in the middle of his back.

If Wu Er Niang remembers correctly, that seems to be the spine, right?

"Wu, Wu Lang…?"

Still in her centipede form, Wu Er Niang looks at the completely transformed, over ten‑foot‑tall Wang Wu and tentatively calls out.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Having completed his transformation, Wang Wu turns his head again and looks at Wu Er Niang. He suddenly feels that Wu Er Niang seems a bit smaller, and that the woman on the ground earlier also seems a bit smaller.

Seeing that Wang Wu's mind is quite clear and he can communicate, Wu Er Niang's tense body gradually relaxes; she tentatively crawls forward a few steps and asks:

"Is this… is this your true form, Wu Lang?"

"True form?" Wang Wu is startled by the words, then immediately realizes, and hurriedly lowers his head to look at his own body.

Thus, he sees a strange arm covered with exoskeleton, the red muscle‑fiber bundles in his abdomen, and exoskeleton covering other parts of his body.

Finally, Wang Wu lifts his head and runs his hands over his entire body, from the corners to the torso, from upper to lower half, from wings to the 'tail'.

And finally… um, an organ hidden beneath the exoskeleton on his hips.

"Good, good…" Wang Wu exhales, because that thing is still there and quite impressive, managing to hide beneath the hard armor.

"This is my true form, what's up," Wang Wu says, nodding and openly admitting it. After all, he's already transformed into a Heavenly Demon Body; denying it wouldn't change anything.

"Wu Lang!!!" Hearing Wang Wu's words, Wu Er Niang finally relaxes, then launches a barbarian‑king charge; her twenty‑plus‑meter body nearly crushes Wang Wu.

Wang Wu isn't knocked down because he flies straight up into the sky.

At this moment Wang Wu is not familiar with this form, yet somehow some movements seem instinctive, requiring no practice and can be used immediately.

Take flight, for example.

"Er Niang, don't crush me with that huge bulk!" Wang Wu shouts from the sky down to Wu Er Niang. After speaking, he slowly descends.

"Oh! Is that so!" Wu Er Niang reacts, then shrinks her body dramatically, becoming a half‑centipede about a dozen meters long, whose head is replaced by the upper body of a human female.

Just like Zhu San Niang that day.

"Huh, Wu Lang, you're also one of our insect race?"

After Wang Wu lands, Wu Er Niang immediately coils around him—literally coils—like a snake winding around Wang Wu, her two arms tightly hugging his chest, and says happily.

"Um…" Hearing Wu Er Niang's words, Wang Wu scratches his head and doesn't retort, "I guess so; I don't even know what I am, so I basically can't become this form."

"Wu Lang, this look is quite handsome…" she says, while Wu Er Niang's gaze becomes flickering, and a pair of human hands and feet begin to act mischievously on Wang Wu's body.

"Er Niang, you're also beautiful in this form," Wang Wu pats Wu Er Niang's hand, then starts pulling the part of her that's wrapped around him outward, "Come down first, there are matters left unresolved."

"Oh…"

Wu Er Niang, feeling a bit disappointed, releases Wang Wu and steps back.

Now Wang Wu finally has time to scan the battlefield. His gaze sweeps around; apart from the sheep demon whose flesh has turned to ash, leaving only a huge black skeletal frame, there are also a dozen or so human cultivator corpses.

Some corpses are still relatively intact, while others are already torn to pieces.

And a living person, whom Wang Wu had not noticed before. This fellow seems to have employed some concealment technique that even he couldn't detect.

Perhaps, after seeing Wang Wu and thinking he was human, she lifted the concealment, allowing Wang Wu to see her.

A female cultivator, heavily wounded, is basically on the brink of death.

Wang Wu walks up to her, but she has already closed her eyes; only when Wang Wu leans down to look at her does she slowly open her eyes.

"If you intend to take my human pill, do it swiftly."

Zhao Xingyue says, then closes her eyes again, no longer looking at Wang Wu.

"Who are you?" Wang Wu asks, looking at the face smeared with blood.

This is Wang Wu's first time seeing such a beautiful human woman, almost rivaling the beauty of his own kind. But beauty aside, it holds no significance for the current Wang Wu.

"Why aren't you speaking?" After waiting a while and seeing her ignore him, Wang Wu squats down and pokes her with his massive finger.

"Are you about to die?"

"I am human," she finally speaks, still with eyes closed, though her impatience is evident. "I'm about to die? If you want my human pill, hurry up, don't waste time… cough, cough…"

"I'm asking what your name is," Wang Wu says.

At that moment, she opens her eyes.

"What's the point of asking such a thing?" she asks, looking at Wang Wu.

"My name is Wang Wu," Wang Wu scratches his nose, even though he currently has no nose, only a protrusion that looks like one on his face.

"Zhao Xingyue, cough cough…"

The woman coughs up a few clumps of fresh blood and replies.

"You're about to die, Zhao Xingyue," Wang Wu stands up, looking at her.

"I know."

Afterward, the scene falls silent. After watching the woman on the ground for a while, Wang Wu turns and leaves.

Wang Wu doesn't intend to save her, because she saw his human form and knows his monster identity. Letting her live might affect his future activities in the human world.

"Wu Lang! There are many human cultivator corpses here! And many are true cores!!" At this point, Wu Er Niang has already rummaged through many corpses on the ground, acquiring a lot of human pills.

For monsters, these items are the best supplements for boosting strength.

(End of Chapter)