Chapter 522 - 440: 9-Tailed Fox Ancestor, Pioneering the Path of Transformation

In other words, it was already incredibly difficult for Jiang Qiu to circulate Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm within her body. The process was often rough, and at the moment, even developing a single tail was proving to be a challenge.

Indeed, the logic behind the Nine-tailed Form that Jiang Qiu taught her was to use the nine tails as a core from which to manifest clones. The crucial step was for a tail to transform into a clone. As long as she could successfully conquer the first tail, she would possess her first clone.

But this was extremely difficult. Jiang Qiu couldn’t guide her through conquering the first tail; he could only tell her how to do it.

The more she cultivated, the more tails she could conquer, which meant she could create more clones. However, since Jiang Qiu himself had no way to conquer her tails, it was uncertain what the subsequent clones would be like.

In theory, Jiang Qiu was only using her tails as a core hub. This was to prevent other members of the Demon Race from stealing and learning the Secret Technique tailored specifically for her. He hadn’t actually expected the nine tails to provide any unique enhancements.

However, the nine tails unexpectedly matched the Cultivation Technique. It seemed that as long as it was linked to them, her future Cultivation path would be incredibly smooth. ’Perhaps her bloodline just possesses such a Talent,’ Jiang Qiu mused, not delving deeper. For now, he continued to teach the Nine-tailed Fox the Cultivation route, again and again.

HUFF... HAA...

In the quiet cave, the sound of panting rose and fell like waves. Jiang Qiu withdrew his hands, his cheeks slick with sweat. He showed signs of exhaustion, but the Nine-tailed Fox didn’t notice.

The Nine-tailed Fox also looked drained. Fine white down fluttered on her cheeks, a charming contrast to her pale pink skin. Her delicate lips parted as she exhaled, the sight and sound of it alluring.

Her eyes were clearer than ever before, like beads of polished red jade with a certain Spirit Charm flowing within. During the brief respite, she tried to circulate the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm on her own.

However, the vast reserves of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm within her had been completely exhausted assisting Jiang Qiu in the recent Cultivation session. She had to start absorbing it anew.

HUFF... She parted her delicate lips, revealing a deep, flesh-pink throat and a small tongue. Her two pairs of canine teeth gleamed with a cool light as wisps of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm drifted in from all directions.

Gradually, innumerable threads of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm converged. Soon, the sound of wind piercing the air filled the already drafty cave, howling from all directions!

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—

The sound was like a baby’s cry, or perhaps an oriole’s charming call. Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm surged in from countless tunnels like a river, swirling into a vortex before being absorbed into the Nine-tailed Fox’s mouth. Her previously listless aura was instantly replenished.

This was perfectly normal. After all, she was one of the Eight Great Dominators who served under the True Dominator. This place wasn’t far from the core region where the True Dominator resided, so the concentration of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm was naturally very high.

The residence of every Great Dominator was a place of terrifyingly dense Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm. It was just that they themselves didn’t know how to utilize it, so it went to waste. That didn’t mean the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm itself was lacking.

Honestly, when Jiang Qiu first arrived, he had been astounded. He felt that the purity of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm here was high enough to make a mob of Cultivators at or above the Peeping Dao Realm in the Primordial world-cluster fight to the death for it.

In other words, its utilization rate was extremely low.

Even if the Nine-tailed Fox had been cultivating here for a thousand years, she still hadn’t absorbed as much as the area naturally produced. It was constantly overflowing—a tragic waste.

But things were different now. The Nine-tailed Fox had learned from Jiang Qiu how to use Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm from the inside out and was starting to attempt independent Cultivation. In a single breath, she absorbed all the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm within a hundred-meter radius!

As an existence at the Transformation Realm, and currently the number one demon in this region beneath the Golden Eagle, her capacity was naturally not to be underestimated. And what’s more...

’Her Talent is this high?’ Jiang Qiu’s eyes widened. He watched silently as the Nine-tailed Fox’s delicate mouth pulsed, drawing in a massive amount of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm. It surged violently within her tender body, undergoing rapid Refinement. ’The Nine-tailed Form is running!’

That’s right. He had only guided her through a few cycles just now. Yet on her very first attempt, the Nine-tailed Fox had already cleared her meridians and effortlessly begun a complete cycle of Cultivation.

And all that massive Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm, after a single pass of Refinement, gathered in her body and began condensing continuously inside one of the large white tails at her backside.

’One tail can actually contain such a turbulent amount of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm? Won’t it just burst?’

’How bizarre. It must be the Nine-tailed Fox’s unique Bloodline Talent that allows her transformed body to hold so much Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm. This capacity... it’s completely unlike someone at the Transformation Realm.’

The more he watched, the more stunned Jiang Qiu became. He felt a thrill of discovery, as if he were suddenly lifting the veil on this world.

Yes, seeing the Nine-tailed Fox, he realized that the Demon Race of this world were all geniuses. Take Xiong Batian, for example. Though he had only just entered the Spirit Control Realm, he had only been cultivating for two months! That was a feat that would take other members of the Demon Race a lifetime of searching—decades, even centuries—to accomplish!

Actually, even if other members of the Demon Race spent all those years searching, they still wouldn’t reach the Spirit Control Realm. They would likely never find a Cultivation path suited for them.

But Xiong Batian had done it. With just a little guidance from Jiang Qiu, he had quickly begun his Cultivation. To say he didn’t have a Talent of his own was impossible.

And Xiong Batian was just a weak Bear Demon he had happened to find, with nothing particularly special about him. But the Nine-tailed Fox had ascended to the ranks of the Eight Great Dominators through her own power. Her Talent was, without a doubt, heaven-defying!

’And by the looks of it, she has the aptitude to reach at least the Peeping Dao Realm, even in the Primordial world-cluster. One shouldn’t underestimate that kind of aptitude; the difficulty of creating something from nothing is absurdly high.’

Moreover, while exploring the structure of her body earlier, Jiang Qiu had discovered something else: in just a few more years, the Nine-tailed Fox might have even completed her own path of Cultivation and reached the Transformation Realm independently, without relying on the methods he provided.

Yes, the Nine-tailed Fox’s innate talent was enough for her to reach the Transformation Realm on her own, but Jiang Qiu had simply handed her part of the solution.

’Speaking of which, is it even realistic in this world for a Great Dominator to reach the level of a True Dominator through their own efforts?’

’The Nine-tailed Fox mentioned that all the True Dominators are connected by bloodline. Their ancestors must have been True Dominators who monopolized the best resources long ago.’

’Take the Golden Eagle, for instance. He divided control over the Eight Great Spirit Fruits among eight Great Demons, thereby creating the Eight Great Dominators. It wasn’t the other way around, where they became Dominators and thus gained control of the Spirit Fruits.’

The gap in power between a True Dominator and someone like the Nine-tailed Fox was a chasm. It was a completely different level of existence. Everything was tied to bloodline, and the implications were complex and immense.

A member of the Red-devoted Demon Clan with no connections could never become a True Dominator, not in one lifetime, not even in ten. Perhaps this was the true meaning behind the title ’True Dominator.’

The Transformation Realm is difficult to attain. The necessary legacy for it can only be inherited by those of the Demon Race with powerful ancestors. A ’grassroots’ demon like the Nine-tailed Fox would have basically no chance of figuring it out on her own.

’If she did figure it out, she would become the matriarch of her own clan...’

’Wait... with my guidance, the Nine-tailed Fox has created the unique Nine-tailed Transformation Technique. She has set the precedent for the transformation of her entire kind. How is she not a clan matriarch?’

The sudden realization stunned Jiang Qiu for a moment. He looked again at the innocent girl tirelessly cultivating the Nine-tailed Form and couldn’t help but marvel, "Have I just brought about the birth of a new lineage? If she were to have offspring, or pass her Cultivation Technique on to other Fox Demons..."

A complete Cultivation path from Spiritual Awakening to Transformation had now manifested in the Nine-tailed Fox. She possessed the qualifications to become a progenitor, just like the first ancestor of the Golden Eagle’s bloodline.

’But... she calls me master. She probably won’t be staying here to become a progenitor...’