This group had a complex composition, including law enforcement officers in police uniforms, volunteers in red vests, and many local villagers.
Nan Zhi even spotted a few familiar faces among the crowd.
They were villagers from Mulian Village.
Thinking of what Shi Hongjiang had told her over the phone about the blooming orange tree at the old house drawing countless eyes, Nan Zhi couldn't help but frown.
What she had given the Shi family was just the most ordinary Qi-Augmenting Pill. When ordinary people consumed it, it would at most cleanse some toxins from their bodies, and any excess spiritual energy they couldn't digest would naturally be expelled.
Just as it had with Shi Hongjiang.
So why were the authorities evacuating the villagers under the pretense of a local toxic gas leak?
She didn't believe the government would harm the interests of ordinary citizens over a single tree displaying unusual phenomena.
Could it be...
Something had happened in the village?
And it likely involved casualties.
Otherwise, even back when there was a forest fire, there hadn't been this many people going into the mountain.
Only this explanation made sense.
The spiritual energy in Mulian Village had changed drastically, and she didn't want to bring trouble upon herself just yet, so she certainly couldn't go around probing for information using her own face.
As for the identity of “Ma Guniang,” that was naturally off-limits too.
Although it was very unlikely anyone would connect “Nan Zhi” with “Ma Guniang,” Nan Zhi was unwilling to take the risk.
Why not...
Watching the search party head deeper into the mountain, Nan Zhi had an idea. Waves of white mist immediately rose in the mountain, floating like smoke and fantasy as they spread along the ridge, adding a touch of mystery to the lush Qingmeng Mountain.
Seeing this sudden mountain mist, the search team indeed halted their exploration.
Nan Zhi returned to the bear cave, pulled out the tanned white tiger pelt, and took up a writing brush to meticulously draw on it.
With her cultivation level upgraded, her Painted Skin Art had naturally improved significantly. Before long, the likeness of a woman came to life on the white tiger pelt.
Once the ink dried completely, Nan Zhi stood up, lifted the pelt to inspect it closely, and turned around to drape the tiger skin over her body.
In the blink of an eye, the skin seemed to adhere seamlessly to her, and the fluffy white tiger fur appeared to grow naturally, sticking firmly to her body.
Nan Zhi shook her head, and the ferocious, half-meter-tall tiger head settled securely upon her. Suddenly, the figure of the woman standing inside the cave began to transform:
The narrow corners of her eyes suddenly shortened into round, bright eyes, the outer corners swept with a faint gold that carried an untamed wildness.
Her ears slowly receded, and among the hair atop her head, a pair of charmingly round beast ears sprouted, twitching with her movements.
Her chin rounded out, and on both cheeks grew a set of majestic whiskers, with subtle tiger stripes emerging at her temples. A pair of playful tiger fangs stood proudly, adding a unique feline aesthetic.
Her limbs remained human, but her palms were replaced by massive tiger paws. Hidden within the solid pads were ten sharp, lethal claws capable of tearing open a prey's throat at any moment.
Most unique of all, a snow-white tiger tail sprouted from her tailbone, swaying with her every motion.
Snow-white skin and white fur, black hair and beast ears.
Although her body was bare, key areas were covered by white pelt, adding a touch of wild elegance.
Suddenly seeing her owner undergo a shapeshifting transformation—turning into a super big cat that exerted a bloodline suppression over it—Corn screamed in utter disbelief:
“Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak!! Squeak squeak squeak squeak!”
It had never uttered such a long string of squeaks in a single breath, showing just how furious it was.
“I'll take it as you complimenting my improved painting skills and finding no flaws in this disguise.”
Nan Zhi touched her face with a thick paw pad, unable to resist feeling a little proud of herself.
Standing over two meters tall, the tiger-eared woman summoned a water mirror and looked at herself with great curiosity.
The demon tiger was naturally dead.
Yet under Nan Zhi's skillful hands, its left-behind hide shone with new brilliance through the Painted Skin Art.
【Tiger Skin Painted Garment (Blue Quality): A demon tiger devoured humans, yet after its death, its pelt became a garment for another. A tiger skin dress rendered with the Painted Skin Art; wearing it allows one to change physical appearance.
(Combat Power +50, Constitution +60, Human Faction Reputation -20, Demon Faction Reputation +20)】
What kind of Paper Skin Art was this?
This was clearly a divine technique for putting on disguise covers!
It was far too useful!
In principle, as long as she had suitable raw materials, regardless of race or gender, Nan Zhi could put on a cover identity!
Of course, ordinary animal hides wouldn't work. Before its death, this white tiger had devoured living humans and nurtured chang ghosts, enriching itself with vital energy and blood—only for it all to benefit her in the end.
In the past, Nan Zhi had tried painting on tiger pelts, but due to insufficient cultivation, all her attempts had ended in failure.
Now that Foundation Establishment was complete, she had a new cover disguise.
It seemed that in the future, after winning a duel, her first step should be skinning her enemy.
Nan Zhi felt as if a door to a whole new world had been opened to her.
She looked at herself in the water mirror again and again, unable to hold back exclamations of amazement:
The face of the white tiger woman was drawn based on Xu Zi, bearing a fifty percent resemblance to her.
Unlike the skin of Ma Guniang, however, this character possessed pronounced beastly traits, making her appear far more wild beast than human at first glance.
Her appearance was naturally flawless, to say nothing of the stats bonus to Constitution.
Nan Zhi leaped lightly, springing straight up several zhang onto the cliff face as if springs were attached to her feet. The razor-sharp claws beneath her paws naturally extended, locking firmly into the rock wall as nimbly as a real tiger.
In her excitement, she unconsciously wagged her tail. The thick, white long tail swung and accidentally slammed into the cliff wall, instantly leaving a bowl-sized crater.
Nan Zhi: “...”
After Foundation Establishment, her Constitution had doubled, and combined with all her stat boosts, her physical body was as tough as a Vajra.
Should she consider practicing force control after returning?
Otherwise, her small office space really wouldn't survive her tearing it apart.
...
The evacuation of Mulian Village was not going smoothly.
Zhuang Sinan and his team's progress had also slowed down.
News of the miraculous orange tree at the Shi family's old house had spread across the internet, and people from all over Great Xia wanted to see this wondrous tree with their own eyes.
However, the yellow miasma was approaching fiercely. Although it only appeared at night, considering the safety of the villagers and the general public, the person in charge still braved the pressure to organize an emergency evacuation for all residents of Mulian Village.
After all, it was not a forced evacuation and relied on persuasion; some headstrong people in the village even believed this was a trick by the authorities to seize the treasure.
Some even agreed to evacuate on the surface while secretly sneaking back to the village at night, causing the number of missing persons to fluctuate over the past three days.
Fortunately, the detection equipment arrived in time.
A bitter smile appeared on Zhuang Sinan's face.
This was already the fourth day of the search and rescue operation.
Night fell once more, and Mulian Village lay dead silent, with only researchers clad in hazmat suits and gas masks walking about.
Beside Mulian Lake, lights still shone inside a row of operational tents.
At some point, large swathes of yellow mist silently rose over the lake's surface. These mists seemed to emerge from the lake bottom, carrying a strong fishy odor of water. The air became visibly turbid, seemingly filled with some unknown substance.
High in the sky, the moon looked distinctly yellow through the miasma—a repulsive, bloody yellow that made one uncomfortable.
Drones circled in the night sky, and detector readings showed that the area with the highest concentration of miasma was concentrated around Mulian Lake.
This meant the lake water might be the source of the miasma.
Inside the operational tent, not a single person spoke.
As time passed, the yellow mist grew thicker and thicker, gradually spreading until it enveloped the entire lake.
“As expected, our guess was correct—the source of the miasma is right here in Mulian Lake.”
Finally, Zhuang Sinan spoke. He looked toward a middle-aged woman with a simple face and an aura as ordinary as an everyday auntie, saying solemnly:
“Auntie Ma, we'll have to trouble you next.”
“That's easy enough. Isn't it just reading spiritual matters? Though the immortals didn't come along on this trip, two Qingfeng spirits from my shrine came with me.”
The woman chuckled, pulled out a dry tobacco pipe from somewhere, put the mouthpiece in her mouth, took a heavy drag, and exhaled two plumes of white smoke:
“Phew...”
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