Chapter 6: I Get Killed First, Counter-kill Later—self-defense!
“Wanting to turn back into a human is actually very simple. You can actively close the [Boss Template] at any time and return to the human stance. In the human stance, you can also activate the template at any time to load the Tiger Demon Form. But I don’t recommend you do that, wait a bit longer.”
“Oh? Why.” The fierce tiger was puzzled.
Snake Snake: “Did you see the health bar? It’s not full yet. Your current human body died from excessive blood loss, and it was the divine descent of the [Great Desolation Immortal Scripture] that allowed you to smoothly soul transmigrate. Your current physical body is covered and protected by the [Boss Template], sharing the benefits of health and mana regeneration. If the health isn’t full, it means the Tiger Demon itself is damaged, and your human body is also undergoing repairs. So wait until the health is 100%, then deactivate the transformation, and you’ll be a good man again!”
Hearing this, Yuan Zhu was delighted: “With the [Boss Template] blessing, won’t any illness or injury be able to be glitch-healed from now on? That’s good news.”
“Exactly. But the [Boss Template] also has limits, only for diseases and fatal injuries at the ordinary human level. If a limb is severed and lost, it might not grow back. For injuries caused by other pollution sources, curses, supernatural diseases… it’s unknown.”
Yuan Zhu wasn’t disappointed: “That’s still great. It can even repair a fatal wound piercing the heart, defying the heavens!”
The game sprite hurriedly added: “One more thing to note. In the Tiger Demon Form, your health and mana regeneration can cover and stack onto the human body. But in the human stance, you only enjoy the most basic ‘soul firewall’ protection from the [Immortal Scripture]. Plus, you won’t get any further support.”
Kitten was shocked: “Why is that? You’re discriminating against humans. How dare you?!”
The snake spirit remained unmoved, calmly responding: “Because the [Demonic Monster (Mutated) Spiritual Root] is a precious hidden resource that shouldn’t appear on you. If not for the [Great Desolation Immortal Scripture] suffering polluting hidden data leak, which I intercepted in time as compensation, you wouldn’t have access to it at all.”
“Normally, a user like you, after safely arriving in the cultivation universe, would load the [Great Desolation Immortal Scripture. Client], get the cultivation panel (ordinary). And under the game sprite’s guidance, contact spiritual energy resources, cultivate techniques. Through your own efforts, search and accumulate heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and synthesize an ordinary spiritual root according to your attributes. And that is the orthodox cultivation gameplay!”
“But now, you’ve loaded the [Mutated Spiritual Root] and ascended to the heavens in one step. Outside the human form (ordinary panel), you’ve unlocked the demonic monster transformation out of thin air. After closing the [Boss Template], this power will be hidden in a unique space opened in your soul data, undetectable from the outside, and you’ll only show as an ordinary human panel.”
“Using the game terms in your brain to explain, it’s dual professions, dual templates. Plus a hidden bloodline, without affecting any cultivation in human form. That is to say, if you suddenly don’t want to be human in the future, there’s still the possibility of dual bloodlines. However, the [Tiger Demon] strictly speaking has transcended the bloodline category, more like a special independent shell. It’s somewhat similar to the ‘Susanoo’ in your memories.”
Yuan Zhu was extremely shocked by this. It got up and tried moving its limbs, carefully feeling every inch of change in its body, no different from a real flesh and blood body.
“So is my current ‘Tiger Demon body’ actually Yuan Zhu’s human body? Do I have two bodies?”
Snake spirit: “I can’t explain that, it’s too profound. I’m just an ordinary newbie tutorial navigation sprite. I only know that all the [Tiger Demon]’s bloodline information is written into the [Mutated Spiritual Root]. Now the spiritual root is rooted in the depths of your soul, fused with you as one body. To activate the [Tiger Demon] form, it must rely on the human body. When you return to human, it will disconnect from the [Boss Template], only keeping it running in the background, providing the most basic soul firewall service.”
Kitten’s eyes shone with clear stupidity: “Amazing! I think I understood something? But only a little bit.”
Snake Snake also had a dazed look, strongly agreeing: “Yeah, I kinda get it but not really.”
This tiger and snake, the two ‘Mutated Spiritual Root’ parties involved. They clearly understood nothing, but one dared to teach and one dared to believe, communicating very happily.
The skeleton snake head shook its empty skull, exclaiming: “Oh no, why is my soul program getting more laggy, the more I think the slower it gets, am I growing a brain?!”
The dark big cat was also immersed in its own snake tail changes, muttering: “Too great, I’m gradually understanding everything!”
Just as the tiger head and snake tail were about to fall into an infinite loop, the [Great Desolation Immortal Scripture] sent a mental alert, pulling the two out of the braindead vortex.
“Uh… →_→”, “←_←… umm”
Silence is tonight’s Cambridge.
…
At this time, the game sprite suddenly broke the silence, shifting blame: “Actually, I’ve just been born less than half an hour ago, still very immature, a blank slate newborn, no time to build my own logic mode, no accumulation of life wisdom or experience. Now being able to communicate is entirely relying on your thought pattern, calling your memory library, to achieve mind-to-mind connection, using the language you understand best, to better understand you, guide you, assist you.”
Yuan Zhu: “Forget it, I forgive you. You’re just a temporary sprite usage manual, how can I have expectations for you? People must rely on themselves. When I return to human stance, if injured, how to handle it?”
Little tail eagerly offered advice: “Two ways. 1, Find a deserted place, enter Tiger Demon Form, absorb shadow power, repair the human body. 2, Don’t activate [Boss Template], with the pure human body, slowly recuperate and wait for rehabilitation. Completely severing the human form from the [Boss Template] is actually a protection measure. Originally to prevent native powerhouses in the cultivation realm from detecting the hidden [Boss Template] in the user. With a clean body + synthesized spiritual root (ordinary client), blend into sect cultivation.”
“If you’re critically injured and under [Boss Template] blessing, passively regenerating health nonstop. This obvious anomaly will surely attract attention, then soul search and interrogation, forcing out the hidden secrets in the depths of the soul, exposing the [Old Immortal Scripture Master]… The company long anticipated this vulnerability. For you, life is most important. But for the company, you’re not important, hiding the [Old Immortal Scripture Master] is the top priority.”
“Users aren’t valuable, can die anytime, be replaced anytime. Not to mention you’re not even a legitimate user. While I am polluted anomalous data, at risk of being detected and purged. I was born because of you, part of your soul. So, we’re naturally on the same side, should collaborate mutually, dig the [Immortal Scripture]’s corners step by step, first escape control, then grow big and strong, create glory together!”
At the exciting part, the skeleton snake game sprite twisted its body violently, clacking loudly. If snakes could grow arms, Yuan Zhu could almost see it opening its arms in an embracing success pose.
“Enough, calm down. I agree to cooperate! The Great Desolation Old Man treated me unjustly, using me as a pawn, so don’t blame this king for being unrighteous! Burst its gold coins, scheme for its inheritance.”
The game sprite immediately got excited: “That’s right! Even if it gave you the transmigration rebirth chance, gave you the [Boss Template] cheat, repaired your injuries, gave you soul firewall, and will provide new client for your human form, but it had no good intentions, so burst it hard!”
Yuan Zhu: “You said it so well, shut up next time!”
The black Tiger Demon noticed the health had risen to 100%, then turned to scan the dim hall filled with bloodstains and severed limbs everywhere, the air thick with bloody stench, and the foul smell from demonic creature flesh scraps…
Truly a filthy human hell. Even without OCD, he couldn’t tolerate it. If not needing to draw ‘polluting energy’ from the shadows underfoot for health and mana regeneration, he wouldn’t want to stay a second longer.
“I can’t stand this damn place anymore! Health is full now, no plans to stay longer, time to explore the outside world!”
Transmigrated to otherworld, encountered evil god sacrifice, happily obtained cheat, slaughtered all around. Now the youth is high-spirited, exactly the age to venture out.
The shadow Tiger Demon’s snake tail had its own ideas, suddenly slithering, pulling the spine joints like a telescoping soft whip, suddenly shooting out, mouth grabbing a pocket watch fallen to the ground, then rebounding.
Biting open the cover and holding the golden chain, swimming along the black tiger’s spine to near its neck, then rearing up high, letting the dial hang in front of the Tiger Demon’s eyes.
“Look, it’s already 3:00 PM, time is tight. Time to take action, erase the clues you left, destroy the evidence, take the first step to whitewash yourself!”
The youth is high-spirited, perfect age to whitewash and escape crime! Can’t just transmigrate, just turned 18~, and attain enlightenment in dragon field.
“Whitewash myself?” Yuan Zhu was stunned, his tone revealing confusion and doubt.
Snake spirit nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes. You just transmigrated and got dragged into a vicious murder case, now you’re the only survivor. So let me ask, do you think you can still quietly blend into this world like those ordinary transmigrators, adapt to this world?”
Only now did Yuan Zhu realize his identity in this world was just an 18-year-old ordinary working boy. Studied diligently for 18 years, never contacted any supernatural powers, no background, suddenly dragged into this sacrifice ritual, became a sacrifice.
If he hadn’t transmigrated, this would be a seven-person murder case. But now…
The game sprite added: “Now it’s upgraded to a super vicious murder case with 41 lives! Plus involving multiple sources of unknown polluting energy, evil god descent, even worse nature. The top priority is still to find a way to shake off the suspicion on you!”
“Holy shit! 41 people?!”
Fierce tiger shocked, sprang up with a whoosh, incredulously asking: “What did you say?!”
“I watched coldly the whole time, total of 34 fanatic believers, eroded and twisted by different pollution sources, mutated into indescribable demonic creatures. Plus another 6 corpses that also came back to life mutated. So, Great King, you personally slew 41 mutated evil demons threatening social safety. Demon extermination, acting for heaven! Merit boundless. Too bad this isn’t the ‘Immortal Path Universe’, otherwise just the merit golden light on you would smoothly clear you.”
Tiger Demon King’s sycophant game sprite hurriedly spoke to build psychological defense for its own boss, soothing the guilt.
“Right, exactly! This king is also a victim, passive counterattack. I was killed first, counter-killed later, absolute self-defense. And when I acted, those guys were no longer human, twisted demonic creatures by pollution, I was saving the world. The real killer was you. The truth is only one, you’re the murderer! You used [Universe Within The Belly] to devour that group of evil demons.”
Yuan Zhu decisively threw the blame to his own tail.
Game sprite nodded repeatedly, strongly taking the blame: “Ah yes yes yes! Exactly like that. But Great King your wording is a bit off, not devour, but seal and contain. I am also a partner of justice. And you are justice!”
“Well said! Continue next time.”
Seeking recommendations, seeking votes, seeking follow-up reading… Also, click correction for typos found.
