Dual Cultivation System: My Cultivation Was Crippled, So I Rely on Intimacy to Level Up

Chapter 264: Pet Demons Transforming into Beauties?

The unique, sweet scent of Chen Ziqing lingered around Zhou Kai’s nose as he left the courtyard.

“Alright. Time to check on those three little ones.”

With a thought, the five-colored insect cloud hovering in mid-air trembled in unison, their buzzing merging into a single harmonic note. Zhou Kai guided them with his Divine Sense, and the massive cloud swirled and contracted, transforming into a multicolored torrent that vanished into the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist.

The courtyard returned to tranquility, save for the traumatized Quenching Spirit Bees still fluttering chaotically in the air.

Zhou Kai walked past the main house. Inside, he sensed a Fire-attribute spiritual power belonging to Chen Ziyi—calm, intense, yet contained.

He paused, his gaze passing through the window lattice to rest on her serene profile. Deciding not to disturb her, he circled the building and headed toward a secluded stone chamber deep in the backyard.

This chamber had been specially prepared by Chen Ziyi for the three Jade Arm Mantises.

Inside, three giant cocoons, each half the height of a man, stood silently in the center of the room.

One was crimson red, one was crystal white, and one was azure green.

“Cocooning to advance… this mirrors the records of several ancient exotic insects,” Zhou Kai mused, reaching out to touch the warm crimson surface.

Before his Secluded Cultivation, these three were merely palm-sized, agile predators. According to Ziyi, a year after he entered seclusion, they had begun to eat voraciously before finally sealing themselves away.

Even before the metamorphosis, they could stammer out a few indistinct syllables. Their spiritual intelligence had already awakened.

Zhou Kai extended his Divine Sense.

“Third Rank. Half a man tall… they should emerge within a day or two.”

“Has their Heavenly Demon Return to Origin Art finally borne fruit? Since they’ve awakened spiritual intelligence, they deserve proper names.”

He nodded to himself. “The red one will be Hongyu. The white one, Baiyu. And the green one, Qingyu. Simple and easy to remember.”

As the words left his lips, Zhou Kai forced three drops of Essence Blood from his fingertip. They shot out like liquid rubies, silently imprinting themselves onto the three giant cocoons.

The blood seeped into the shells instantly, vanishing without a trace.

As if in response, the three cocoons trembled.

Crack…

A crisp sound echoed from the crimson cocoon.

Immediately, a chain reaction followed. The crystal white and azure green cocoons cracked in sympathy, spiderweb fissures spreading rapidly across their surfaces.

A surge of Demonic Essence—far exceeding the Second Rank—erupted from the breaches. The aura was violent and fierce, mingling the joy of rebirth with the raw, bloodthirsty nature of an apex predator.

“They’re coming out!”

Zhou Kai’s eyes narrowed. Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, observing with keen interest.

This aura had firmly stepped into the threshold of a Third Rank Spirit Beast—equivalent to a human Golden Core cultivator!

The first to shatter was the crimson cocoon.

Hongyu emerged. Her body was a deep, vibrant crimson, slender and agile. Four wings were folded tight against her back, and her compound eyes flickered with intelligence. Most striking were her two massive arm blades—they looked like giant, heated war sabers, their edges gleaming with a bloody light.

Following closely, the crystal white cocoon disintegrated silently. A white shadow flashed out like a ghost.

Baiyu’s physique was similar to Hongyu’s, but her body seemed coated in a layer of solidified moonlight. Her aura was terrifyingly restrained, giving the illusion that she might vanish into thin air at any moment. Her arm blades were slender, like rapiers, their sharpness hidden. Her compound eyes were frighteningly calm.

The azure green cocoon simply exploded. The fragments turned into specks of fluorescent light, and Qingyu materialized within the glow.

Her body was entirely jade green, but her arm blades were the most peculiar. The ends were not fixed blades but two crescent-shaped plates that could open and close. Currently, they were slightly ajar, a swirling mass of green wind gathering at their center. Her aura was the most ethereal of the three.

Three mantises, three distinct paths of evolution.

“The Chen family’s beast-rearing methods indeed have merit,” Zhou Kai muttered. “Mental communication, directional cultivation, and Potential stimulation.”

He activated the True Explanation of Spirit Controlling to bridge his mind with theirs.

A stream of thought entered Zhou Kai’s mind. The “voice” was strange and dry, but the meaning was exceptionally clear.

“Mas… ter…”

Zhou Kai was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

“Good! Good! Good!”

The compound eyes of the three Jade Arm Mantises focused on him, reflecting his smiling figure. Their innate ferocity melted away, replaced by pure affection.

Baiyu flashed forward, appearing instantly before Zhou Kai. Her massive head gently nudged his arm—an intimate gesture. Waves of jagged, joyful thoughts transmitted through the mental link.

Seeing this, the other two crowded around, vying for attention. Hongyu rubbed the flat of her blade against him, while Qingyu flew rapidly around his head, stirring up gusts of playful wind.

Suddenly, as if sharing a single mind, the three mantises retreated. Their four wings spread in unison.

Buzz—

Zhou Kai chuckled helplessly. He knew this move. When they were palm-sized, they would adopt this stance right before jumping onto his shoulders.

“You three, don’t mess around.” He wagged a finger at them. “You’re half a man tall now. My shoulders can’t hold three big lugs like you.”

He felt their thoughts immediately—simple, direct, and filled with childish stubbornness.

“Can… stand…”

“Master… can…”

“Change… big…”

Change big?

Zhou Kai paused, then threw his head back and laughed. These three little rascals wanted him to reveal his Five Emperors True Body.

“Alright, alright! As you wish!”

Feeling playful, Zhou Kai activated his Vitality, expanding into a two-zhang-tall giant.

“Come on.”

The three mantises chirped happily. Their wings blurred as they transformed into three afterimages, landing on his now-broad shoulders.

Hongyu took the left. Qingyu took the right. Baiyu landed silently behind his head, perfectly blending into his shadow.

Three massive, deadly predators perched on him like sparrows. Their compound eyes scanned the now-“tiny” world with novelty and satisfaction.

Zhou Kai played with them for a while before dispersing his technique and returning to his original size.

The three mantises reluctantly flew down, circling him, unwilling to leave.

“You Demon races are truly favored by Heaven,” he said, stroking Qingyu’s triangular head as she hovered by his arm. “Sleep for a while, skip the Tribulation Transcendence, and wake up as a Third Rank beast.”

“Unlike us humans. For the sake of the Golden Core, we expend countless resources, prepare Dharma Treasures and Pills… and even then, the Tribulation is ‘Nine deaths, one life.’ One misstep, and everything is lost.”

As his words fell, the three mantises froze.

“…Tribulation… Transformation… Human…”

Within those alien, compound eyes, the cold instinct of the beast faded, replaced by a yearning light. A longing for “humanity.”

Ancient records flashed through Zhou Kai’s mind: When Demon Beasts cultivate, the Fourth Rank is the hurdle of Transformation. Transcending the Heavenly Tribulation allows them to shed their beast bodies and assume human form, unlocking the ability to cultivate human techniques and divine powers.

Hongyu, passionate as fire. Baiyu, calm and reserved. Qingyu, lively and agile…

If they transformed into humans, what would they look like?

The thought took root and grew wild like weeds. Far from finding it absurd, Zhou Kai felt a surge of warmth in his chest. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Raising three spirit pets is one thing… raising three future beauties is completely different.

“Hiss… In the future, walking out with three Fourth Rank Great Demon beauties by my side?” The more he thought about it, the more plausible—and appealing—it seemed.

“Interesting. Truly interesting…” He murmured, his gaze sweeping over the deadly creatures. “Transformed Demon Cultivators possess combat power far surpassing humans of the same rank, and they are utterly loyal to me.”

“If I truly had three exotic Demon Dao Companions accompanying me, wouldn’t this path of Cultivation be much more interesting?”

Although the mantises didn’t understand his words, they sensed the anticipation in their master’s heart. It made them vibrate with excitement.

They flew around him in a frenzy, creating wind pressure that rustled his robes, lightly touching him with their smooth carapaces to convey their joy.

Zhou Kai laughed, overwhelmed but accepting. He reached out, letting them play. After a moment, however, his expression turned serious. He unhooked the Spirit Beast Bag from his waist.

“Alright. Playtime is over.”

The three mantises froze in mid-air. Their wingbeats slowed, and their compound eyes filled with confusion.

Intermittent protests echoed in Zhou Kai’s mind, thick with grievance.

That dark, boring bag… only good for sleeping… boring…

The three Jade Arm Mantises struggled against the command for a moment, but ultimately, they could not defy their master. Reluctantly, they flew into the bag.