Chapter 179: Give Me a Little More Time

The room was shrouded in darkness.

As Chen Luo entered, his eyes fell upon an enormous pig monster. This creature sat cross-legged, its body draped in a green Daoist robe. Steel-like bristles pierced through the fabric from its back, while a pair of cold, glowing green eyes and two massive fangs exuded a fierce, menacing aura.

“Greetings, Shizun.”

Upon entering, Chen Luo and Hong Rui promptly bowed to the seated pig monster within the room.

This so-called ‘Pig Immortal’ was none other than a cultivated pig monster!

“How have you progressed with the divine abilities I bestowed upon you?” The pig monster’s gaze swept over them as he asked indifferently.

At this question, Chen Luo lowered his head in silence. He had no idea what divine ability the pig monster had imparted. Beside him, Hong Rui and Chi An wore expressions of nervousness; it seemed they too hadn’t mastered the ability.

“You fools! Truly as stupid as donkeys!” The pig monster spat out in dissatisfaction, though his earlier demeanor suggested he’d long suspected their progress.

After cursing them, he began interrogating each disciple about their cultivation details, starting with Hong Rui. In the pig monster’s eyes, she held a high status - indeed, he considered her his most prized pupil.

Hong Rui promptly articulated her misunderstandings in cultivation.

While Chen Luo hadn’t grasped the essence of the divine ability, he could mimic it convincingly.

After jotting down Hong Rui’s two questions, he effortlessly fielded the pig monster’s inquiries. Chi An fared even worse; his mind was solely preoccupied with earning ‘Foundation Establishment spirit artifacts’ outside, leaving no focus for serious practice. When questioned by the pig monster, anxiety drenched his forehead with sweat, irritating the monster so much that it slapped him across the face.

Having “educated” the three disciples, the pig monster then presented further aspects of the divine ability before dismissing them to continue their cultivation.

Once back inside his room, Chen Luo allowed his expression to relax.

The collective wisdom of these rogue cultivators’ ‘Skin-Shifting Transformation Technique’ proved remarkably effective, even fooling a late Foundation Establishment stage pig monster.

With this successful metamorphosis confirmed, Chen Luo settled into life as Chang Kun in this new locale. Lying on his bed, he placed the bone slip bestowed by the pig monster at his brow, channeling its information directly into his mind.

This technique has taken eight hundred years to develop. Though not yet proven, this master dares to assert that it will one day shake the entire cultivation world.

The Demon Bone Array Sigil Art? When Chen Luo saw this divine ability, he bolted upright. The dried brain had rarely offered an opinion, but when it did, it was like this:

This technique is… acceptable.

Any skill acknowledged by the dried brain was bound to have incredible potential. This made Chen Luo take a fresh look at the divine ability the pig monster had taught him.

“Lower volume?”

After reading through the technique, Chen Luo began searching his room again. He soon found what he wanted in a black storage pouch on a shelf: the upper volume.

As a monster cultivator, the pig monster’s lifespan differed from humans’. Just like Master Chengfeng, the immortal crane they’d met on Wu Dao Peak, who had lived for over five hundred years and held second-in-command position there, outranking all others save for the peak lord, Void Sage. Other monsters were similar; as a monster cultivator, the pig monster had already practiced cultivation for eight hundred years!

Over eight hundred years, through repeated failures, the pig monster had painstakingly discerned this divine ability framework. Though it still harbored significant flaws, it was now ripe for cultivation.

Chen Luo found it inconceivable that a monster cultivator could possess such tenacity and foresight.

Seated cross-legged on his bed, Chen Luo meticulously pored over the Pig Monster’s “Demon Bone Array Sigil Art” from start to finish. The treatise was remarkably detailed, dividing the human cultivator’s skeletal structure into thirty-seven distinct sections, each with a primary bone at its core.

The crux of the pig monster’s technique lay in inscribing array sigils onto these primary bones. This way, even an ordinary individual could harness the power of these sigils, exponentially amplifying their physical prowess. If all thirty-six bones were successfully engraved, one would attain strength far surpassing that of Foundation Establishment.

This concept sent Chen Luo’s imagination soaring.

His mind, bolstered by the external brain within him, began to buzz with activity. Some highly intuitive brains swiftly set about analyzing potential weaknesses in the method.

Pooling their collective wisdom, they soon identified several critical flaws.

“I need more foundational knowledge of monster cultivation techniques,” he murmured to himself.

Chen Luo’s mindset had completely changed. Initially, he only planned to recover here briefly before moving on. Now, however, he was determined to unearth all the secrets of the ‘Pig Monster’.

Five days later.

Chen Luo, wearing Chang Kun’s face, wandered aimlessly through the streets.

The Pig Monster had gone into seclusion again.

After his retreat began, the Pig Immortal Manor returned to its previous state. Hong Rui spent most of her time with Chi An; their recent behavior suggested a significant change in their attitudes.

The two of them started frequenting the Pig Immortal Manor, searching for clues about the ‘Demon Seed’.

Chen Luo paid no heed to these people. The allure of Foundation Establishment artifacts was simply too great—such temptation not easily resisted by ordinary individuals.

Navigating around the crowd, Chen Luo arrived at Five Creek Mountain’s market.

This marketplace operated under the auspices of the Five Creeks Immortal. A tax was levied on every transaction within, serving as the primary source of income for said immortal.

“Have my spirit medicines arrived yet?” Chen Luo asked upon entering the market. He skillfully made his way to the innermost apothecary and tapped lightly on the counter.

“They have, Lord Chang. Please wait just a moment.”

Hearing the sound of his voice, the assistant inside swiftly brought out the medicinal herbs Chen Luo needed. He opened them up and scanned them with divine sense briefly before tossing down a bag of spirit stones without even looking back as he headed back to his room.

As soon as Chen Luo returned to the Pig Immortal Manor, he spotted Hong Rui and Chi An engaged in an argument.

“You’re leaving? That’s not what you said initially!” Hong Rui pointed at Chi An, her face brimming with anger.

“I was just joking. Why did you take it so seriously?” Chi An wore an expression of nonchalance.

“You!”

“All right, I’m leaving this afternoon. Sticking around here with that pig won’t get us anywhere. My dad has already smoothed things out for me; I’ll set off for Blackstone City in three days.”

Chi An cut off Hong Rui’s retort and then tossed a storage pouch towards her.

“These spirit stones are compensation for your hard work.”

“Who wants your spirit stones! Let me tell you, we’re not done with this matter yet.” Hong Rui snatched the storage pouch and flung it aside, clearly incensed.

“Tch!”

Chi An scoffed dismissively and strode out of the courtyard without sparing another glance.

As he reached the gate, he collided with Chen Luo approaching from the opposite direction. His eyes swept over Chen Luo briefly before he turned on his heel, departing without so much as a word of greeting.

“What happened?” Chen Luo asked.

He hadn’t forgotten that he was still wearing Chang Kun’s face. As ‘Da-shixiong’, he felt he should inquire about such matters.

“It’s none of your business!” Hong Rui glared at him before rushing out without another word.

Chen Luo stood in the doorway for a long time, watching her go. In the end, he decided not to worry about it and went back inside to rest. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Old Zhu—out of three disciples, two had run off, leaving only Chen Luo, the one “loyal” disciple who wasn’t even real.

Two more days passed.

The pig monster emerged from seclusion once again.

Just like last time, as soon as the pig monster woke up, he summoned his three disciples. Unfortunately, this time they waited for quite a while, with only Chen Luo showing up.

“Hong Rui-shimei chased after Chi An-shidi and left,” Chen Luo explained succinctly. “I tried to stop them, but I couldn’t.”

After listening, the pig monster sat silently for a long moment.

Chen Luo could sense the pig monster’s emotions—they were overwhelmingly focused on Hong Rui. All that investment, and now she was gone, just because of some trivial nonsense. How could that not be frustrating?

“Do you want me to bring them back?” Chen Luo ventured to ask.

Chen Luo ventured to ask.

Given a late-stage Foundation Establishment pig monster’s power, capturing them would be child’s play. Two Qi Refining cultivators couldn’t hope to escape from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even with a three-day head start.

“Never mind,” the pig monster sighed.

Eight hundred years had brought countless failures. Hong Rui and her two companions were geniuses meticulously selected from the crowd, humans most suited for cultivating the ‘Demon Bone Array Sigil Art’. Yet after over thirty years, not one of them had made any progress, leaving even the pig monster wondering if he’d been researching in the wrong direction.

“If you wish to leave, you may do so.”

This time, the pig monster didn’t inquire about Chen Luo’s cultivation. After a few brief words, he prepared to let him go.

However, Chen Luo’s interest in the ‘Demon Bone Array Sigil Art’ had now been piqued. How could he simply depart? Seeing that the pig monster wouldn’t ask, he took the initiative to seek guidance.

At first, the pig monster’s responses were perfunctory, but as their discussion delved deeper into the art, his attitude shifted. The sense of resignation that had taken hold began to dissipate, and when he looked at Chen Luo again, his eyes held a newfound appreciation.

The night passed.

A glint of excitement appeared on the Pig Monster’s face as he looked at Chen Luo, his gaze now that of someone who had found a fellow “Daoist.”

“You know too little about monster cultivation techniques,” the Pig Monster said. “I’ve placed some monster cultivation manuals in the side room behind. You can go take a look.”

With that, the Pig Monster tossed his token to Chen Luo.

“Excellent.”

Chen Luo caught the token and headed straight for the side room without a word. Wasn’t this what he’d been trying to achieve by talking with the Pig Monster all along?

After leaving the Pig Monster’s cultivation chamber, Chen Luo quickly arrived at the rear courtyard side room.

Upon opening the doors, he was stunned by the sight inside.

Bookshelves lined the walls, densely packed with various volumes. These contained not only monster cultivation techniques but also records of ghost and evil cultivation methods, along with annotations on mundane martial arts. The eight-hundred-year-old Pig Monster was truly a living compendium of secrets.

This is incredible! Chen Luo thought immediately.

He rushed over and began flipping through the books from the very first one.

Regardless of the Pig Monster’s motives, Chen Luo knew he stood to gain immensely from this opportunity.

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

As soon as the Pig Monster bid farewell to Chen Luo, three dark shadows materialized within its chamber. They wasted no time before interrogating their host.

“Third Brother! What are you doing? Don’t you know time is running out?”

“I know,” replied the Pig Monster, his voice heavy as he gazed upon the three dark shadows before him.

“I’ve barely caught a glimpse of dawn. No matter what, we must wait a little longer.”

“Don’t forget our pledge from years ago!” chimed in the remaining two shadows. “Remember why the five of us came here.”

“Just give me more time, just a little,” the Pig Monster pleaded, as if possessed by some demonic force, repeating these words incessantly.

Witnessing this, one of the three black figures suddenly dissipated its dark mist, revealing its true form – none other than the Goat Immortal, one of the Five Immortals of the Five Creeks.

“Third Brother, Fifth Brother doesn’t have much time left. I don’t want to see him die at their hands.”

“I understand, I understand,” echoed the Pig Monster, yet he remained resolute, unwilling to yield.

Seeing this, the trio could only sigh and slowly dissipate their presence, leaving the cultivation room once again shrouded in tranquility.