Chapter 31: Embrace Your Fate

If Xinzi could see the current Xia Hu, would his jaw drop or his eyes pop out of their sockets? Both, most likely. Wide hips, narrow waist, full lips and a round derrière to top it all off. From a slender and fair-skinned youth of androgynous beauty, Xia Hu ascended—or fell, depending on standpoints—to a quasi bombshell.

There was still some work to do. The chest was as flat as a plank board, the clothes too manly, and the extra appendage in his pants didn't help. Nevertheless, the current Xia Hu could make a great many deal of men rethink their sexual stances—even those who swore on Heaven, Earth and their mother's names that they'd never tap those controversial butts.

Seeing his reflection in the four crystal pillars surrounding the stone stele, Xia Hu's eyes shrank, and he bit his lower lip. From the moment he followed Chun Xu's goading and intercepted Xinzi, his life went from good to bad and from bad to catastrophic. The Blood Yang Gorilla's kidnapping put the nail in the coffin. Thankfully for him, Xia Hu's good fortune knew no rival, enabling him to turn that disastrous encounter into an uncanny blessing.

Now, not only had his cultivation base soared, but thanks to the Copulative Madness Mantra granted to him by his master, Xia Hu could now count on a rank four beast slave. Still, he wasn't satisfied. And how could he be? As a heretical yang-harvesting method, the Copulative Madness Mantra was only suitable for women, enabling them to supplement their yin with their victim's yang and enslave them simultaneously. Once cultivated by a man—the balance of Yin and Yang collapsed, forcing irreversible changes. In body or spirit, that cultivation method gutted Xia Hu's manhood. Add to that hours of atrocious bliss with a massive beast, and Xia Hu's psyche suffered permanent scars.

If he didn't ruin Xinzi's existence and trap his soul in eternal hell, Xia Hu couldn't vent the hatred in his heart! That said, as he read the stele's mnemonics and glanced at the three artifacts, no joy flashed on Xia Hu's face. "That cultivation method is too...disgraceful! What kind of man was that Green Hat Immortal that he invented such a perverse technique?"

Following his old master's advice, Xia Hu sought the immortal's burial ground. But little did he expect the inheritance to be yet another heinous skill. How low did he have to fall to bring Xinzi down his pedestal?

"I, Xue Yuanshao, have seen countless geniuses in my millennia-long existence. But those who could reach the peak all had one thing in common: a relentless thirst for ascension!" The old man in Xia Hu's soul at last revealed his name.

"This is a mortal world. The qi density, bloodlines and resources available shouldn't allow the birth of immortals—much less their growth. If you're not surnamed Taiyang or Hengye, no matter how gifted you might be, Immortal Ascension will elude you for a lifetime. To my knowledge, only three people have escaped this rule: the Venerable Tongtian—founder of the Celestial Hall, Qiu Meng, and the Green Hat Immortal. The first two left no legacy, so this is your only shot at seizing an immortal destiny! Back then, if I hadn't been as stubborn as you are now and cultivated the inheritance, my sister and clan would still be alive and well!" Xue Yuanshao's voice boomed throughout Xia Hu's soul, making his mind reel and his knees buckle. In that instant, Xia Hu recalled what kind of horrifying existence occupied his soul.

"Till now, we still can't tell what kind of monster you've provoked. Your brotherhood is gone—irreconcilable enmity remains, but you're still weighing your options? Child, since you've offended that Xinzi, offend to the very end and exterminate his nine generations! Only then can you guarantee your safety. And to achieve that, you need this inheritance." Xue Yuanshao played Xia Hu's insecurities. Alas, the old man wasn't being entirely truthful.

In contemporary cultivators' minds, the Green Hat Immortal's name would produce nothing besides odd looks and the occasional burst of laughter. But to ancient experts, this name represented slaughter incarnate. The Green Hat Immortal appeared following Qiu Meng's breakthrough into the True Immortal realm and caused as many disasters as Qiu Meng solved. Before the August Divinity sentenced the Celestial Hall to destruction, many saw the Green Hat Immortal as Qiu Meng's eternal foe.

But as Xue Lin's little brother and Qiu Meng's brother-in-law, how could Xue Yuanshao not know that the Green Hat Immortal and Qiu Meng...were one and the same—or well, sort of. Not that this matters at the moment.

By relying on his three artifacts, that deviant cultivator created the Green Immortal Sword Art—a heinous technique that enabled him to increase his cultivation speed, cultivation base and battle-power with each cucking humiliation he suffered.

The more he cared for his partner, the more hellish the humiliation, the greater the benefits he received. The technique had no cap, enabling the Green Hat Immortal's strength to improve at an inexhaustible pace. If not for the August Divinity destroying him during the Great Desolation War, perhaps the world's strongest expert would no longer be surnamed Taiyang.

Only that technique could ensure that Xia Hu's rise would know no limit. As for the unfortunate side effects...well, men of high aspirations shouldn't care for trifles!

"There has to be another way! Don't tell me that I have to watch Xinzi plow Dong Ling and Chun Xu before I can have my revenge! It's wrong, immoral, and a loss all the same!" Now high-pitched, Xia Hu's voice echoed like a shrill cry. Had he known that things would reach this point, he would have sampled the ladies first. Now he could only settle for the regrets and indignation swelling his chest.

"Nonsense! Have you seen your reflection in those crystal pillars? From now on, men and queer women aside, who can you attract? Let's not even mention that once your transformation peaks, your tastes will change as well. Do you honestly think that if they saw the current you, those girls would still be interested?" Xue Yuanshao's scorn-laced words hit Xia Hu hard. Losing balance, the youth would have fallen hard on his skull if not for the Gorilla General stopping him mid-way.

"Beauty!" The Blood Yang Gorilla whispered the word that now made Xia Hu shiver uncontrollably.

"Don't call me that!" Xia Hu snapped, pulled a chained whip out of his storage ring and flogged the gorilla's open wounds. The beast's screams soon filled the burial ground. The more it screamed, the more gleeful Xia Hu became. Yet at the same time, an inexplicable sensation pricked his heart, making his hands tremble even as he flogged.

"Beauty...beauty!" In-between screams, the Blood Yang Gorilla repeated this same word. In that instant, Xia Hu firmly believed that regardless of how absolute his control over the beast became, he could never stop him from referring to him as...beauty! His hand stopped mid-way and, as his grip loosened, the chain whip fell. Sensing Xia Hu's chaotic state of mind, Xue Yuanshao pressed on.

"Do you remember how your village head abused his Qi Refinement cultivation base to corrupt your village and turn the ladies into his private dual cauldrons? Do you remember how your mother and other village women took turns serving him at night? What about the looks of adoration on their faces?

Perhaps wearing the green hat is your fate. Perhaps only then can you sublimate yourself and become the preeminent expert of this era. You couldn't tear the village head to shreds personally, but you can butcher Xinzi!

Xinzi ruined you and must pay for it. Do you want to return the favor during the Yin-Yang contest? Fine! Develop an emotional connection with your beast slave, then use him to cultivate the first level of the Green Immortal Sword Art. I guarantee that in one month, you will crush Xinzi under the gaze of the entire White Immortal sect!" Xue Yuanshao said, removing the last vestiges of Xia Hu's inhibition. The fallen daoist's gaze hardened, and he kneeled before the stele.

"Green Hat Immortal, I, Xia Hu, am willing to receive your inheritance and carry out your legacy!" Xia Hu said and kowtowed at the stele. Green light flashed across the stele's surface, lighting up its mysterious mnemonics. Like floating characters, they split from the stele and rose into the air—hovering for a second before plunging into Xia Hu's forehead!

"Henceforth, you are the successor to my legacy and contemporary master of the Green Leaf village. If it still exists, bring the three artifacts to the village, and its experts will support you—regardless of the cost. If it didn't survive me, it behooves you to rebuild and return it to its former glory. Embrace your fate," an ancient voice echoed in Xia Hu's mind, bringing alongside it the mnemonics of the Green Immortal Sword Art and other related spells.

"Thank you, senior, for choosing me! This junior pledges to make your Green Immortal Sword shake the earth and overturn the sky!" Xia Hu said in a not-so-humble and solemn tone, then thrice kowtowed at the stele.