Chapter 488: The Little Cat-Girl Transforms Completely!

The winter month has arrived.

"Hoo..."

Chen Shu held a plastic bag in his left hand and a handheld scale in his right.

Inside the plastic bag was a long-haired white cat; it was firmly trapped by the bag, its four little pink paw pads protruding against the transparent plastic, and it could only watch helplessly as Chen Shu lifted it up and hung the bag onto the handheld scale.

That Xiaoxiao was also standing nearby, having just been blowing white mist for fun, and now she stretched her neck, looking toward the handheld scale.

Taozi blinked its eyes.

This scene inexplicably reminded it of before, when the weather had just turned a little bit cool, and they went to catch crayfish; they had weighed them just like this.

The crayfish that day were truly delicious.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Taozi couldn't help but struggle.

Cats have dignity too.

"Don't move."

Taozi immediately stopped moving, looking up at him helplessly.

It had dignity, but not very much.

"Four jin and eight liang!"

Chen Shu shouted aloud.

It was even more like weighing crayfish.

Taozi did not know how heavy four jin and eight liang was, but it still committed it to memory.

Only then was it put down.

"Wuwu~"

Is cat life always this devoid of dignity? Or is it only like this before Transformation?

Taozi couldn't help but look toward the other side; at the doorway a few meters away, the master stood silently, observing them, as if possessing a pair of eyes that could perceive the world, yet remaining unmoved by its plight.

"Xiaoxiao, it's your turn."

"Okay."

The little girl stood with her back against the wall, straightened her body, puffed out her chest and raised her head, as if stretching her lumbar and cervical spine to the limit.

Taozi sat crouched nearby, looking up and staring at her.

Chen Shu held a ruler, measuring from bottom to top.

What was worth being happy about was that although the little girl often sat for long periods and loved to sit with her legs crossed or folded, she did not have an unhealthy posture. Both legs were very straight, and there was only a tiny gap between her lower back and the wall, just enough to accommodate a palm, so there was no anterior pelvic tilt. For low-to-intermediate-stage Cultivators, it is relatively difficult to develop an unhealthy posture, but once one has it, it is also harder to correct than for a normal person.

"How tall?"

The little girl pressed her head against the wall, her eyeballs turning to the far left; she didn't even dare to turn her head, fearing it would affect the height data.

"One meter?"

"Yes."

"You've grown 4.43 centimeters, a joyous and congratulatory occasion."

"Yes."

For some reason, the little girl couldn't quite feel happy.

Chen Shu reached out and tapped the door frame, drawing a mark, just like before in Yuanzhou, recording her growth—which would not last much longer—as well as the increased height of her shoe soles.

"Hoo..."

Chen Shu also exhaled a puff of white mist.

Recently, a cold wave has moved south, and it is getting colder; the mountains around Yujing are always covered in a layer of white, like snow and like frost.

As his cultivation increased, Chen Shu had gradually grown to like winter—High-level Practitioners can still feel cold and heat, and the cold has its own charm; in cold weather, the warmth of being touched becomes particularly prominent, and since the cold perceived by a Cultivator is very limited, it is just right and not uncomfortable, so in the eyes of a Cultivator, winter only has its beautiful side, without the trouble of frozen hands and feet.

The flowers in the courtyard have also begun to hibernate.

Since Qingqing started practicing Jingxin Dao, to avoid disturbing her practice, Chen Shu hasn't dared to move around her casually, and he has been sleeping on a floor mat at night; the warmth and beauty of this winter have been reduced by more than half in the past half-month.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door—

"Knock, knock."

Chen Shu went over to open the door.

A courier wearing a winter uniform stood outside, holding a box, looking down at the delivery slip: "Is this... Fellow Daoist Chen?"

"It is."

"There is a package, please sign for it."

"Thank you."

Chen Shu quickly signed his name.

This was a package sent from Dongzhou, containing an Auxiliary Potion to assist the Demon Race with Transformation; this type of potion can only be produced and manufactured in Dongzhou, and Dongzhou strictly prohibits its export, making it a controlled item in all major continents outside of Dongzhou as well; Chen Shu had only managed to obtain it through Fellow Daoist Huang's channels.

In Dongzhou, the Tiger God Clan mostly deals in businesses like freight, construction, entertainment venues, and mineral extraction.

They also engage in plenty of gray-market and underworld activities.

When it comes to smuggling, they are experts.

And this Transformation Auxiliary Potion is similar to the Promotion Auxiliary Potion that helps human Cultivators break through to the Fourth Stage; when used just as a demon is about to undergo Transformation, it has a decent auxiliary effect.

The Spirit Power in Taozi's body had already reached the quality of the Third Tier two or three years ago, and Chen Shu had taken it to the hospital to test it again a couple of days ago; it was already equivalent to the Spirit Power Quality of a normal Third-tier Peak Cultivator, meaning it had touched the threshold of Transformation.

However, this does not mean it is as powerful as a Third-tier Peak Cultivator.

For one, it has a low level of education, has not received schooling, and does not know how to use this Spirit Power. For another, it has not undergone Transformation and does not have anything like a Spirit Sea; its Spirit Power Quality is equal to the Third-tier Peak, but the actual quantity is very small, and it is not convenient to control, so it is still a total novice.

But once it undergoes Transformation, it will be an Intermediate Stage being.

Chen Shu opened the package, took out the potion, first looked at the instructions, and then opened his Mobile Phone to thank Fellow Daoist Huang.

Chen Shu: Received.

Chen Shu: Many thanks, Daoist friend.

Huang Chu: No need for such courtesy, Daoist friend Chen; you and I have a bond forged in life and death.

Huang Chu: Later, if your cat succeeds in its Transformation and you want to get it a legal identity, you can also look for me; I have connections.

Chen Shu: How does one go about that?

Huang Chu: It's just bringing it to Dongzhou, getting a Dongzhou household registration, and then handling the exit procedures; it's just that our Dongzhou exit procedures are a bit complicated, and ordinary people don't have the ability to do it, but if I handle it, there's no need to come in person, as there are specialized channels.

Chen Shu: Daoist friend Huang, you're impressive.

Huang Chu: /cute/cute/cute

Chen Shu: Have you found a Transformation Instructor?

Huang Chu: Found one.

Huang Chu: I'll push their contact to you.

Chen Shu: Many thanks.

Chen Shu quickly received the Flying Letter from the Transformation Instructor, who was a female rabbit demon; he chatted with her for a moment, and they were polite and agreed on a time for the lessons.

"Taozi."

"Woof?"

"Come drink your medicine."

"Woof woof?"

"Don't look at her; she's a mute right now and can't speak, so you just need to listen to me."

"Baa?"

"The Transformation medicine—after you drink it, you can become a human. Then, I've hired a teacher for you; you'll attend Net Classes on time every day, and by following the methods the teacher describes, you'll become a soft, cute, fair-skinned little cat-girl."

"Woof!"

Taozi immediately ran over.

To no longer be helpless, to gain dignity, it had to undergo Transformation! It had to become a higher-order biological being in appearance as well!

Taozi stretched its neck, staring at Chen Shu without blinking, and as soon as Chen Shu opened the medicine, it drank it down immediately.

Chen Shu stared at it: "What does it taste like?"

"Awoo~"

"Is it good?"

"Aow~"

Taozi only felt the world spinning; standing on the ground, its body began to sway involuntarily, and after swaying a few times, it flopped onto the ground, rolling its eyes back, its small, pink tongue lolling out from the side of its mouth, tilted to one side as if it had been given anesthesia.

The surrounding Spirit Power gathered toward it.

"These are all normal reactions." Chen Shu held the instruction manual, looking down at it, "A quiet environment undisturbed by others... ensure abundant Spirit Power... the time will be about three to five hours..."

Isn't that easy?

Chen Shu picked it up, greeted Qingqing, and walked toward the Quiet Room.

The little girl followed behind, skipping along to watch the excitement.

Ning Qing still stood in place, watching their backs until she was the only one left in the courtyard; she still had no expression, merely turning her gaze toward the plants and trees in the yard.

The Chinese roses had already gone dormant.

The leaves of the persimmon tree had also fallen off, leaving only fiery red little lanterns hanging on it, and the nests of the two sparrows looked very conspicuous.

Strings of dried persimmons hung under the eaves; those were made by Chen Shu and Xiaoxiao last month, and in previous years she would have participated too, but this year she only stood to the side and watched.

What was interesting was that five years ago, when she was practicing the Heart Dao, Chen Shu had also made dried persimmons.

At that time, that person even tricked her into eating the persimmon peel.

It was the same courtyard, the same Chen Shu, the same making of dried persimmons, and that person had also provoked her the same way; yet, what one sees when practicing the Heart Dao at the High-Tier is naturally somewhat different from when practicing it at the Intermediate Stage—the growth in cultivation was secondary, the main thing was the change in state of mind and experience.

In a trance, Ning Qing remembered the last time again.

When practicing the Heart Dao, that "her" had already completely left, and the "library" composed of her memories had also opened all permissions to her—that "her" had also practiced the Heart Dao and had also failed; that memory was so profound in her heart that even after more than a hundred years, it remained clear and concrete when she read it.

Ning Qing had learned of her failure, learned in what way she would fail, and although she still could not experience the emotions she felt at the time, she was already prepared.

But when she arrived at that moment and saw the Chen Shu who belonged to her tugging at her heartstrings, she still could not help but feel moved.

This is the beauty of love and memory, isn't it?

Knowing this would happen, one still remains intoxicated.

Ning Qing felt for a moment that even if this mechanism were not like this, even if she could fully experience the feelings she had at that time, or even fully merge with her memories, and thus re-experience the events of that time, she would likely be willing to accept it gladly.

Even now, as she recalled and savored it, she still almost felt moved.

Thinking of this, she suddenly understood—

The Heart Dao of that time was focused on observing the world, while the Heart Dao of today is focused on observing the self.

Time passed bit by bit.

About four hours later.

The two of them brought Taozi down.

At this time, Taozi's footsteps were still cheerful and lively, but its expression was a bit strange; even without looking at the changes in its Spirit Power, just by looking at its demeanor and posture, Ning Qing could tell it had succeeded.

It was just that in this world, the Transformation of the Demon Race was not something that happened naturally, but a process that tended more toward being manual.

In the ancient era, the Transformation of demons would refer to the first person they saw; later, as the Demon Race interacted more with humans, they would refer to the people they interacted with often; and later still, when the Demon Race had its own civilization and kingdom, they also had culture and heritage regarding Transformation—the current Demon Race is more similar to the people of Yiguo, which was caused by the cultural influence of the Xia Dynasty on them back then.

And so, for the next period of time, Chen Shu propped up a tablet, while Taozi lay on the sofa, earnestly listening to the Transformation Instructor from Dongzhou give a lecture.

Ning Qing observed their expressions one by one.

This was the daily life she wanted to protect.