Within Zhao Ze’s heartworld was a vast marsh, where the reeds shook like spears in the wind and buzzing flies hung in great clouds above still waters. At the heartworld’s center was a great lake, with a single emerald stone hidden in the lakebed, glinting when the light touched it. This lake had been split in two. One half of the waters were dark and jade-colored, the other half alive with light, a pale golden mist drifting above their surface.

This lake was the manifestation of Qi within Zhao Ze’s dantian, and when Zhao Ze closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation base, a taiji formed as the two waters turned together.

At the center of the lake, tiny sparks of energy shot up. They spun in the air and slowly condensed to form a single strand of Silken Qi. Simply looking at it was enough to see the immense strength and softness of this strand. Within it were hidden countless transformations born of consuming and transforming the natural energy of the world. Through the focus to weave natural energy into a thread as thin as silk, the power to create a thousand transformations was born.

When a single strand the length of a man’s arm was refined, one could weave illusions around themselves and change their appearance. When three strands had been created, even changing from a beast to a man was not impossible. With seven, however, one could create true transformations of the flesh, and not even great experts would be able to discern at a glance it was a disguise.

Actually, the Silkworm Transformations Scripture was only a fragment of a greater technique. With seven hundred threads the world could be bound in illusions and fate could be transformed.

But right now, even one thread was straining all of Zhao Ze’s concentration. As it took form countless specks of Qi had to be condensed into a single whole. Sweat ran from his brow. Seizing the strand of Silken Qi with his will, he brought the ends together and commanded them to fuse, giving birth to an eternal circle without end.

“Ha!” Now that the thread had become a circle, it no longer required his concentration to keep from breaking apart. Zhao Ze could finally breathe a sigh of relief and allow his cultivation base to settle. The first step was complete.

It had taken him three days to take the first step of the Silkworm Transformations Scripture. For three days he had been utterly focused on cultivation and ignored the world outside.

Allowing his senses to expand, the first thing Zhao Ze saw was the two Fiendhunters. They were tied to a rotten tree by rattan vines, and because they had been drawn into his heartworld, they had only the tiny trickle of energy Zhao Ze allowed them to rebuild their cultivation bases. This meant they were exceptionally skinny and frail as if they’d been starved.

“Ahh, if you lot don’t start looking more appetizing, you won’t even attract flies for me.” The toad shook his head sadly. Even he wouldn’t devour such sorry specimens. “I’ll see about finding you some human food, whatever you humans eat. Only because you’re ruining the aesthetics of my swamp!”

Cultivators could draw their focus inward into their heartworld, leaving their body empty. In the same way, Bu Bian’s soul manifestation hung upside down from the branches above Feng Yu and Xiu Tian’s heads, his attention utterly focused on the outside world.

And when Zhao Ze’s perception flowed into the outside world, he saw why.

Half-eaten Spiritdew Ambrosia Fruits littered the earth around him and the toad’s head ached furiously as he lay in a bed of soft grass. Nearby, a wolf and a dove slumbered, surrounded by the remains of even more intoxicating fruits.

Three days ago a fearsome shadow had descended on Yellowflower Mountain and even the bravest hearts were forced to tremble. Over three days, Bu Bian had paid a visit to every beast that lived on the mountain, and although they might grind their teeth at having to treat this upstart as an honored senior, he was the Fiend’s servant and now the martial brother to their Mountain Ruler the Ape-Faced Elk. They had no choice but to treat him as guest and bring out choice morsels from their hoards of spirit fruits and herbs.

None of this was unusual. In the world of cultivation, the weak paid tribute to the strong. In truth, even though they’d complain among each other, every beast secretly knew they’d do the same in Zhao Ze’s position, and nobody begrudged the toad a few spirit fruits to celebrate his good fortune in becoming the Fiend’s servant.

But the appetites of Zhao Ze didn’t stop at ‘a few’! To their outrage, the beasts found him waiting outside their lairs again the next day, licking his greedy lips. Sacred fruits that took a century to grow were gobbled down in seconds as they watched with bitter tears in their eyes. Rare and powerful herbs were eaten like so much cabbage!

In no time, the whole mountain was weeping bitter tears over the toad’s gluttony. Whenever Zhao Ze arrived, introducing himself with a cheerful call of, “Greetings, fellow Daoists!” eyes went bloodshot with rage.

It was simple to say there was no beast more hated on Yellowflower Mountain.

“Eee? But…” Of course, it was Bu Bian who had really done all this, and Bu Bian who enjoyed the spoils. Zhao Ze had been framed! “You bastard, you made a villain of me! You’ve ruined my reputation!”

“Over a few spirit fruits? They’ll soon forget all about such a trifling matter. Ah, but I still haven’t managed to find even a drop of wine. I know they’re hiding it from me!” Bu Bian’s voice was afire with determination, determination that could set whole mountains ablaze. “I’ve learned a little about how things work around here. Everyone deals with the renegade traders, isn’t that so?”

Renegade traders! Countless roads passed through the hills and forests at the foot of the mountains, and an endless flow of traders braved through for the sake of gold at any risk to their lives. But even so, only a few had the greed to turn away from those paths and delve into the territories of the monsters, contradicting Divine Law by dealing with beasts.

Actually, although the beasts of Waveroad Mountains enjoyed styling themselves as bandit kings, living off what they plundered from the humans, almost all of their spoils were returned to human hands through these renegade traders, all for wine and other cheap human trinkets.

“Ai, just thinking about all that tribute going to waste for three days would have driven me insane. I’ve only kept my mind whole by scheming!” While spirit fruits and beast corpses wouldn’t rot in just three days, they would slowly lose their medicinal potency. Every day that passed with the beasts’ tribute sitting outside his cave was a tragedy that haunted Bu Bian’s dreams. “As far as this plan goes, I can promise that this one will shake the very heavens, and leave you in fear of the mighty Bu Bian!”

By now the wolf and the dove had begun to wake up, and blinked their weary eyes at the sight of Zhao Ze arguing with himself. This toad was a glutton, a proud fool, and now a complete maniac? This Zhao Ze was too amusing.

“And will it solve the problem of our two guests? If you’re going to let them starve to death, you may as well let me eat them now while they’re fresh.”

Bu Bian grinned. “You mean our accomplices?”

The Crimson-Stripe Deer ruled over the Rainbridge Valley, and her pride was the Ashleaf Flameflower Tree. While its fruit were merely delicious and without any medicinal powers, the bark tasted like fragrant spices and was imbued with life energy, granting the Deer everlasting vitality. Naturally it was her most prized possession.

Daily, she nibbled the weeds away from its roots, and not a single bird in the Waveroad Mountains would have dared land in the branches.

Zhao Ze moved smoothly through the river in silence, lifting his head up now and then to check that the way was clear. Opening his mouth, he spat the two Fiendhunter brothers Feng Yu and Xiu Tian onto the riverbank, the both of them wild-eyed, covered in slime, emaciated from lack of food and spiritual energy.

It was a clouded night with no moon, and the valley was a rolling landscape of blue and black. When the wind rustled through the tree’s leaves the valley was filled with the smell of cinnamon. To the two brothers it was a scent unmatched by the sweetest ambrosia. Drool ran furiously from their mouths and their stomachs shook with thunderous rumbles.

No sooner did they set eyes on the tree then they started to shake with hunger. Turning to Xiu Tian with a strange look in his eye, Feng Yu began, “Brother, obviously I would die for you…”

Xiu Tian, who had the same thought, also began to speak by saying, “Yes, obviously we are brothers until death but…”

“If you get between that me and that tree and I'll be the one to send you to your grave!"

“That tree is mine! Touch it and die!”

And with that, the two brothers shot off, their eyes alive with hunger, pushing and shoving each other as they both raced for the tree! Xiu Tian stumbled and fell in the dirt, and seized Feng Yu’s robes to drag him down too! As they both struggled to regain their footing, Feng Yu hurled dust into Xiu Tian’s eyes and took off, laughing in triumph!

They were like ravenous, merciless locusts given human form! They seized fruit from the branches and shoved it whole into their mouths, juices bursting down their chins; they tore leaves and bark away to chew when there was no fruit left; they even pulled up the roots and bit into them, stuffing every edible part of the tree into their faces!

Deeper inside the valley, in her cave, the Deer lifted up her head, sniffing the wind. A dreadful premonition had caused her to wake from a deep and peaceful dream, and now, she smelled catastrophe on the winds. The stink of humans was unmistakable! “My tree…”

Transforming into a flash of light, the beast leapt from her cave and raced across the valley!

Too late! The tree had been stripped down until it resembled an apple core, even the bark eaten away to nothing! The Deer let out a pitiful shriek of rage, and the divine sense that swept through the valley was full of hatred that could shatter stone and wither trees, seeking out the two humans who waddled with full bellies away from the destruction they had caused.

“You… you…” Speechless with fury, the Deer conjured seven long spears carved from bone and shot forward, intent on avenging her prized tree!

It was that moment that Zhao Ze leapt directly into her path, crying out, “Humans! Humans in the valley!”

With an earthshaking collision, the Deer smashed into the toad and both beasts were sent flying back, striking the ground and kicking up huge clods of dirt as their falling bodies dug deep rifts in the earth. In the space of two heartbeats the Crimson-Stripe Deer regained her breath shot back into the air to chase her prey, but the humans had vanished!

“You… you…” Baring her fangs, the Deer turned her wrath towards Zhao Ze. Seven spears of bone turned towards the overgrown frog!

“Humans! Humans in the valley! I’ve got to warn everyone! Humans!” Zhao Ze cried again, and, pretending to only now notice the furious expression on the Deer’s face, immediately turned bashful, “Ah, sister, could it be that… you’ve already seen the humans in this valley?”

Letting out a disgusted snarl, the Deer turned and leapt forward to find the human filth who’d eaten her precious tree.

“Wait, wait! Let me help you hunt for them!” And Zhao Ze followed after!