A bright light flashed through his mind.
The process of "Transformation" was extremely brief, occurring in a mere flash.
Chen Ku regained his sanity.
PHEW.
He stood in the dilapidated cave, subconsciously looking down at himself, but his expression slightly changed. Why hasn't there been any change?
His hands and feet still had a normal human appearance, without a single change.
What's going on? Chen Ku was puzzled.
Suddenly, it seemed as though he felt that some part of his body was somewhat different. Moreover, the frequency of his breathing and panting was greatly different from normal.
In another instant, all sorts of scents, a veritable cornucopia, rushed from the air straight towards his nose.
No way... Chen Ku had already guessed what was happening.
He subconsciously touched his nose. His nose was still in its original form, but his sense of smell seemed to have increased dozens of times!
The nose's ability changed? But its appearance didn't!
Before he could ponder why only the nose had transformed, the various scents in the air—the earthy scent, wild grass, cow dung from the village, feces, all sorts of odors—had already been so overwhelming that they made his head spin, mingling together, clearer than ever before. It made him feel that he could recognize the things of the Heaven and Earth World with just his nose, without using his eyes at all.
At this moment, he could even distinctly smell the scent of his little nephew at home. This shocked Chen Ku.
For safety, I specifically avoided people from the village and ran about ten Li away before coming to this broken cave, and now I can clearly smell my family members ten Li away...
It is said that a dog's sense of smell is more than forty times that of a human. In his previous life, strictly trained police dogs could smell objects up to two or three Li away, and detect contraband buried as deep as ten meters underground.
As a result, this white Skinny Dog form he had taken on could smell as far as ten Li away! Its sense of smell was several times more exceptional than the best police dogs of his previous life!
This was obviously related to this special world. It was said that not only were there Martial Artists but also Demons. Many animals and beasts had special Demon Bloodlines, so their abilities were much stronger than ordinary animals.
In an instant, Chen Ku realized what this sense of smell, dozens of times stronger than an ordinary person's, could help him do: he could easily find anything he wanted. Turning to look at the many mountains behind the village, it was as if he could see numerous exposed Treasure Herbs and Spirit Roots, completely unguarded against him.
The Skinny Dog's nose, capable of smelling from ten Li away, meant he now had a scent radar with a ten-Li radius. As long as there were Herbal Medicines with the same scent, or even Treasure Herbs, within ten Li, he would definitely find them!
THUMP!
THUMP THUMP!
His heartbeat was accelerating, drumming intensely like a war drum, stirring the blood and Qi throughout his body.
What did this mean! He was going to get rich soon!
And just having an extra "Dog Nose" brought him such a direct Special Ability... Chen Ku began to feel anxious.
Why has only the ability of the Dog Nose changed? Isn't it the Skinny Dog Transformation? The abilities of this white Skinny Dog aren't limited to just this!
The white Skinny Dog is the prototype of the barks-at-heaven dog of Erlang God. Not only is its sense of smell more sensitive than that of its kind, but it also has great endurance and incredible speed. It could run sixty kilometers in an hour. That might not provide a clear picture, so to put it another way, it could pounce a distance of over ten meters in an instant.
Chen Ku had already personally felt this when facing it. In but a blink of an eye, a white shadow with a huge, blood-red maw had moved from seven or eight meters away right before his eyes. If he hadn't instinctively swung his sickle, his neck would have been severed.
Imagine if someone else also possessed such speed. With a quick dodge and a leap, one could cover a distance of more than ten meters in a single breath. Combined with a weapon in hand, even without any martial training, the sudden burst of lethal force would be terrifying to the extreme, right?
Also, if the nose could transform, why not the eyes? You see, all canines possess "Night Vision"... which is yet another Special Ability.
With such doubts, Chen Ku looked at the Transformation Diagram in his mind. Upon looking, the question was answered.
[First Transformation: Skinny Dog Transformation]
[Body Parts Altered by Shape Shifting: Nose (Insufficient Evil Qi in other parts)]
[Skinny Dog Nose: Smells over ten Li]
(Note: To master each Transformation to its great achievement, there are three stages: Shape Shifting, Shape-Shifted, and Transform.)
[Current Status: Shape Shifting]
[Nine similar-Level Evil Qi needed to achieve 'Shape-Shifted State']
[Thirty-six similar-Level Evil Qi needed to achieve 'Transformed State']
Chen Ku read the explanation on the panel.
So, Shape Shifting only grants the ability of a specific part? It's not a complete transformation into the Shape-Shifted form?
Insufficient Evil Qi? Does that mean not enough energy, not enough Cultivation?
This made him think of Zhu Bajie from Journey to the West. Zhu Bajie also learned a Transformation Skill but ended up as a child still showing his pig nose and pig ears; he needed the Great Saint to breathe on him to complete the transformation.
So, this Evil Qi is the resource that advances the Transformation Diagram. Just one Skinny Dog, although it allows me to use the Skinny Dog Transformation, isn't enough for a complete change. I will need more Evil Qi to be sufficient.
Looking again at the explanation on the panel.
Same Level Evil Qi, but it didn't say the same type. If it's really nine Skinny Dogs, that'd be hard to find...
Chen Ku pondered. Does this mean anything of a Level equal to the Skinny Dog's Power can count? It doesn't have to be the lives of nine Skinny Dogs, then? Would nine instances of Skinny Dog-Level Evil Qi really allow me to truly become a Skinny Dog? And would thirty-six instances of Skinny Dog-Level Evil Qi let me, like Sun Wukong, create a Skinny Dog duplicate?
Meanwhile, he faintly understood the trigger condition of his golden finger. If someone intended to harm him, it would create Chong Sha. Killing and subduing such a person would yield Evil Qi. In other words, indiscriminately killing things wouldn't work. He had to feel the malevolent intent from a target, then kill it, for it to be effective.
Pondering this, he couldn't immediately think of how to kill nine beasts of the Skinny Dog Level. It was best to go home first.
Before entering the village, the village air was thick with a mixture of smells. Maintaining the transformed state overloaded his brain with too much information, becoming unbearable. He was forced to revert from his transformed state.
But as soon as he did, RUMBLE RUMBLE.
Suddenly, his insides felt as if they were a hollowed-out mountain, his stomach growling, an emptiness like a black hole!
HUNGRY!!!
Chen Ku's vision darkened. An unprecedented sensation of hunger overwhelmed him, nearly causing him to collapse where he stood. He had never felt this famished before.
It dawned on him that though the Transformation Skill was enhanced by Evil Qi, maintaining it also consumed his own physical energy.
My physical strength can probably only sustain this state for about half an hour... Any longer, and I would completely collapse.
Weak and famished, he finally leaned against the wall to enter his home. Reaching the kitchen, he directly gulped down half a pot of boiled water and ate six corn cakes to finally feel somewhat sated. But he knew in his heart that this food was only filling, not nutritious. Still, it couldn't be helped.
To avoid worrying his mother and sister-in-law, he hid the fact that he had been scratched by the white dog. After exchanging a few words with his family, he went back to his room to sleep.
「The next morning.」
Chen Ku visited Old Head Li's home early.
"Be careful! This Old Mountain Ginseng is just One Tael short of becoming a Treasure Herb. You're so clumsy, don't touch it carelessly..."
As he entered, he saw Old Master Li using a smoking pipe to knock Li Jiyang's plump hand away. Old Master Li himself then carefully picked up the red cloth, ready to wrap the ginseng. Upon seeing Chen Ku arrive, he said, "Don't rush, child. You came just in time. You are meticulous; come help this old man tie the red thread."
"Hmm, okay." Chen Ku replied and immediately stepped forward. He picked up a few red threads and helped lift the "King of Herbal Medicine," weighing a good bit over half a jin.
During the binding process, the distinctive medicinal smell of the Old Mountain Ginseng naturally seeped into his nostrils and was etched in his mind.
Li Jiyang, seeing Chen Ku had helped his grandfather finish, urged impatiently, "Alright, alright, Grandfather, Chen Ku, let's head out now! I specifically skipped breakfast this morning just to eat something delicious in town."
The trio left the house and quickly made their way to town.