Do not engage in underworld operations in the human world!

"You just give up?"

Jin Yao was shocked by Jiang Lu's poor performance.

Scythe also advised: "This is a matter of vital importance to whether we can successfully reach Kunlun Mountain next time. You can't just give up like this."

"That's right, didn't you just say that your life is all about winning? Why did you admit defeat just after turning to the first page?" The performer couldn't help himself.

"What can I do?" Jiang Lu opened one eye and said tiredly and helplessly, "I don't understand. And who said that I gave up after I started the fight? I just didn't participate. How can we talk about winning or losing if we didn't participate?"

Several people were speechless for a moment, because what Jiang Lu said did make some sense.

It's like he didn't even read all the rules before he started the game, so it's hard to declare him the loser.

But even though Jiang Lu started to act like a spoiled brat, the sickle still advised earnestly: "This magic is indeed obscure and difficult to understand, but we are also working hard, right? We must unite and overcome difficulties together. Besides, the road ahead is unknown, and there will always be times when we can't take care of you. If you don't have the ability to protect yourself, what will you do when you encounter danger?"

"Alas." Jiang Lu sighed and said with some sadness: "You don't understand now, but when you reach my age, you will understand my difficulties."

"."

What Jiang Lu called difficulty was actually a sense of gap.

This Lingbao Five Victory Secret is indeed a superior immortal art for cultivators below the level of immortals. It is indeed obscure and difficult to understand, but in the past, Jiang Lu knew what the author was going to say just by taking a look at the first sentence of the whole scripture.

But now, let alone knowing the whole picture from a single glimpse, he couldn't even understand what those words meant.

I don't recognize the characters at all, and I can't read them even more when they are put together.

Since Jiang Lu's reincarnation, this was the first time he relied solely on his own understanding to come into contact with traditional cultivation methods. He thought it would be easy to master, but who knew that his brain had already atrophied and his limbs had degenerated.

How could he, who was so proud and arrogant, accept such a reality?

There is a Chinese idiom that perfectly summarizes his fragility at this moment.

This is just like when Xiao Yan first arrived in the universe - Emperor Yan is just a passing foe!
He was about to break.

Jin Yao, who had been silent for a long time, looked at the depressed Jiang Lu, and finally couldn't help but comfort him carefully: "The Lingbao Five Victory Art is indeed the most difficult, how about you look at the others?"

"It's all the same, all the same, ah." Jiang Lu wiped the little pearl aggrievedly: "I'm broken."

"Oh, it's not that serious."

The performers expressed their incomprehension:

“Isn’t it that I can’t fully understand these ancient texts right away?

How fresh is that? You said it as if I understood it.

Hey, just thinking about it."

Jiang Lu: "That's so funny, so funny, so funny!"

"." The performer said expressionlessly: "Are you sick?"

"Haha." Jiang Lu laughed for no reason.

"Well you are really sick."

After the funny part, Jiang Lu sighed again and continued to be emo.

Seeing that they couldn't persuade him, the sickle and the performer could only smile at each other helplessly, acquiescing to the fact that they needed to bear Jiang Lu's pressure on their shoulders, and then began to concentrate on studying the magic at hand.

What can I do? Let's not talk about the fact that we are a team. When I asked Jin Yao for help, it was all thanks to him that I turned the tide. I owe him one, and now I'll just pay it back.

Only Jin Yao, looking at the devastated Jiang Lu, felt inexplicably angry.

This is very different from the ideal personality she imagined.

Even if the other party had experienced a serious blow in the past, in her opinion, he should have the courage to face his fear in order to have a chance to regroup. But how could he be so disgraceful as he is now?
Feeling disappointed, she shook her head and said no more. She suddenly lost interest in talking to Jiang Lu and, like the other two, began to study the immortal technique she had planned to revise.

Jiang Lu was just looking at the scenery along the way, feeling sad. Looking back suddenly, he suddenly realized that not only did everyone not continue to comfort him, but he even seemed to be isolated.

"Huh? What's going on? Are you really ignoring me?"

Seeing that the three people did not respond at all and were concentrating on doing their own things, Jiang Lu pursed his lips.

"that."

He lost his patience and tapped the sickle lightly.

But the response he got was: "If you really can't find anything to do, you can take a nap. We are very busy, don't disturb us."

"Uh"

Jiang Lu was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed.

Deceiving too much!

Such a disdainful tone. Am I some kind of dirty thing?
hateful!

He got angry for a moment, then opened the "Lingbao Five Victory Secrets" in his hand again.

Fine, fine, since you all don't care about my mental health, then let me drown in the ocean of knowledge! (Sad)
No snowflake is innocent during an avalanche.

You will regret it!

Soon, Jiang Lu forced himself into the state, but his expression looked a little ferocious.

"Ah, is he really watching this seriously?" the performer muttered.

Scythe shook his head: "I don't think so. How can one's eyes become bloodshot from reading so much?"

Jin Yao, who had been reciting the secret technique with her eyes closed, opened her eyes, glanced at the angry Jiang Lu, and finally softened her heart.

"If you have any questions, you can always ask me."

She suddenly said to the three of them.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see that she was actually speaking specifically to Jiang Lu. After all, when Jiang Lu had just made it clear that he wanted to give up, she had no intention of giving guidance to the other two people. Instead, she was more of a laissez-faire strategy.

Jiang Lu glanced at her secretly out of the corner of his eye, without saying anything.

Maybe they are just too embarrassed to come, the sickle and the performer thought.

So in order to make him more confident, the two began to ask Jin Yao questions one after another.

"Excuse me, what does 'Taiyi in front, Tianyi in the back' mean?"

"The scriptures say that the carving of talismans needs to be done in one go. Is there any technique for this?"

Jin Yao was also very considerate and answered all the questions one by one.

Seeing this, Jiang Lu finally put down the burden in his heart, picked up the scriptures and humbly asked for advice: "How do you read this word?"

"." All three of them were silent.

Hey, this isn't a matter of not being able to understand, is it? You can't even recognize all the characters.
Even though it's traditional Chinese, don't be so exaggerated, right?
Finally, it was the good old serious brother sickle who stood up and said: "Let me take you through it first. You should at least be able to read it through before you can figure out its meaning."

"That's a good feeling."

Jiang Lu nodded: "Then let's start from this page."

"No. Isn't this a catalogue?"

"Ah, what? This is a catalog. I thought it was a combo. I saw it was numbered. I studied it for a long time and found out it's a trap." Jiang Lu showed a hint of embarrassment.

"."

The days passed like this.

Along the way, the group slept in the open air, and when they were hungry they caught some game in the nearby mountains and forests. When they were thirsty they looked for mountain springs. After leaving Gaishi Mountain, there were many more living things, so they no longer had to worry about food and drink.

Only a few days had passed, but they still hadn't reached the nearest human activity area marked on the map.

After confirming that they were heading in the right direction, they could only sigh that this continent was larger than they had imagined, and that the road to Kunlun Mountain was long and arduous. By the fifth day, the sickle and the performer had completely understood the principles contained in their respective magic. Although they could not say that they had fully understood them, they could say that they had mastered most of the changes.

Next comes practice, the stage where you really begin to cultivate.

Needless to say, Jin Yao had a very clear understanding of herself. From the very beginning, she had already decided what she wanted to study first and was not confused at all.

Moreover, her memory was intact. After being freed from the seal, she only had to pick up again the things she had studied before. It was not difficult for her at all.

So when the sickle and the performer were still comprehending the so-called spiritual energy of heaven and earth, she had already successfully reached the ninth level of Qi training and was only one step away from building a foundation.

As for Jiang Lu, he was able to read all the scriptures, but he was still at the stage of translating word by word and was far from fully understanding them.

During these few days, he became even sadder because he found that his cultural level seemed to be insufficient, and he had been screened and purified before he even reached the stage that required comprehension and talent.

Not only is he a loser, he is also an idiot.

Noticing Jiang Lu's low mood, the performer asked with concern: "What's wrong, are you feeling unwell?"

Ever since Sickle patiently taught Jiang Lu to read the entire scripture, Sickle has become a little taciturn and doesn't like to talk, so the responsibility of acting as a glue to ease the atmosphere naturally fell on the performer.

"It's okay, I just suddenly thought of something sad." Jiang Lu forced a smile: "I thought of my first college entrance examination. Classical Chinese is my eternal pain."

"You shouldn't have taken the college entrance examination at your age. Shouldn't the college entrance examination have been cancelled in the first year of the Spirit Realm's advent?"

"The orphanage college entrance examination. Poor people like us who have no one to adopt us have to rely on the college entrance examination to determine our future development direction."

"Is that so? Then what were your college entrance examination results?"

“I successfully stayed in school after graduation.”

"That sounds good."

"That's not the case. The main reason is that the dean judged that we had low education and no special skills. He was afraid that we would starve to death after leaving the orphanage, so he stayed in school. Those who did well in the exams went out to find other ways to make a living."

"Yes?"

The performer found himself unable to continue.

What should I say?
Condolences?

congratulations?

Or how the hell did you graduate?
"But I am already very grateful for this result. After all, I failed to graduate after taking the exam five times. The dean said that I had to work to pay off my debts. He couldn't support me anymore."

You are quite proud. The performer laughed awkwardly.

"But I feel really bad about it. After all, this situation is like someone who has repeated a grade for several years or failed the postgraduate entrance exam several times but still chose to repeat a grade regardless of the burden on his parents and then just stayed at home doing nothing and eating and drinking for free, just like a giant baby who is a complete parasite."

Apologize to those who fight for their dreams, you bastard! .The performer twitched his face.

"Why do not you speak?"

The performer took a deep breath and said, "It's nothing. Let's not talk about this and focus on doing what we are doing now."

"If the college entrance examination is still taking place, we should be able to check our scores in the next two days, right?"

"It's not over, is it?"

It was a rare opportunity to slack off, so Jiang Lu couldn't help but say a few more words.

But he didn't expect the performer's reaction to be so big, so he just shut up and stopped talking about the topic.

For the next period of time, there was silence except for the sound of Huang Xiu'e's running footsteps and the whistling of the wind in her ears, without any other noise.

I don't know how long it took.
"Do you think my move from the orphanage to the Exorcist Guild counts as a college degree?"

"Shut up, you!"

It was not until the seventh day that Jin Yao successfully entered the ninth level of Qi training. Scythe and the performer also realized the wonderful uses of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and began to practice Qi one after another. Only Jiang Lu remained an acquired strongman.

On the same day, Huang Xiu'e finally brought a few people into the territory of Nanjiang City.

From here on, it is no longer like before when you would occasionally see some human habitation or even traces of human existence after a long time, but from time to time you can see settlements such as villages and towns.

Although this world was said to have many wild monsters, they had not actually encountered any along the way, and they did not know the tolerance of humans in this world towards such monsters and beasts. So, under Jiang Lu's instructions, Huang Xiu'e no longer acted as arrogantly as before, but restrained herself a lot and deliberately avoided contact with humans.

In short, everything is done to avoid unnecessary trouble.

But what surprised them was that this world was not a world with an ancient era background as they had imagined, but a world very close to the modern world.

The reason why it is said to be very close is that although the level of technology is almost the same as that of the real world before the advent of the spiritual realm, it has many elements that the real world does not have.

For example, although the hunters we met on the way had all modern daily necessities, such as flashlights, thermos cups, and kettles.

But they don't use guns or tools when hunting. They can just cast spells without any pre-swinging by just raising their hands.

In general, this is a somewhat discordant world where technology and cultivation coexist.

Some people may wonder, compared with cultivating immortals, what is technology?
Poke! Poke hard and hard!

At least after Jiang Lu saw a cultivator in the Qi training stage pat the back of his tram, the tram was immediately fully charged, and Jiang Lu suddenly understood everything.

After all, those who fly in the air are Dou Zong masters, so terrifying that they are equivalent to Yuanying masters when rounded off. They are all outstanding people. Does that mean that if you don't reach Yuanying, you can only ride a horse or walk with a load? It doesn't make sense.

This is called technology changing life, and cultivation changing technology.

All I can say is that the era in fantasy novels where big figures sit together to plot big things and light candles to create an atmosphere of conspiracy has long since passed.

Do you know what atmosphere lighting is?

After confirming that they were not far from Nanjiang City, Jin Yao said, "Let's rest in Nanjiang City. It's a good opportunity to prepare some materials for our foundation building. Foundation building is the most basic and most critical step, and we can't be careless."

"Yeah, that makes sense." The performer had no objection.

Scythe hesitated for a moment and said, "But if we rely on purchasing, we don't have the money. If we rely on exchanging, we don't have anything of equal value to offer."

Hearing this, Jin Yao frowned.

The performer thought about it and nodded: "The sickle is right."

At this time, a handsome guy gently closed the scripture in his hand and smiled: "Oh? I heard that we are short of money? Speaking of making money, I do have some good ideas."

"Do you have any idea?"

"Haha, I can only say that your life experience is still a little far behind. Have you heard of the three best places to make a fortune and pick up bargains - auction houses, gambling stone fields, and antique stalls."

Jiang Lu stood with his hands behind his back:

"We don't have the capital, so we can forget about auction houses and antique stalls. However, gambling on stones is a good place to make a small profit with a big investment. What a coincidence, I happen to have some research on gambling on stones."

The research he was talking about was naturally the eye of foresight. As long as he could see what was inside each stone in advance, he would not be afraid of not getting anything good out of it.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be so reliable in a place like this. I'll trust you this time."

The sickle and the performers were overjoyed, and they even began to look forward to the classic scene in the gambling stone field where some blind second-generation people would show off and then pretend to be pigs and eat tigers.

After a while
"We received a report that there are people gambling here. Is that you?"

Law enforcement officers in official uniforms surrounded Jiang Lu and his companions in an alley. The leader had a look of deep sorrow on his face:

"You are so young, why do you have to do anything else? Why do you have to go down the path of gambling?"

There were many onlookers around who were pointing and talking about Jiang Lu and his companions.

"Why are there only street stalls selling gambling stones? No one told me that this is illegal."

Jiang Lu pursed his lips, looking at the mess left by the vendor who fled in panic, and felt like crying but had no tears:
"Sir, we are outsiders. We are new here and don't know the rules. This is our first time. Can you please be flexible?"

"You don't know the rules! It's the same all over the country! Come back to the police station with me and tell the truth!" (End of this chapter)