Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 102 Hunting
As he lived in the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace for a long time, read more, thought more and asked more questions, Lu Cheng gradually became clear about the current situation of the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace in the entire Western Region.

Back then, Chi Shenzi, Huang Longzi and Mie Hongzi roamed the world. They became brothers and sisters because of their shared sense of righteousness. They were chivalrous and took pleasure in avenging enemies. They were famous knights in the Tang Dynasty and also swordsmen who gave the government a headache.

Later, the three of them searched for magical herbs, looked for immortals, refined magical pills, and sought immortals and Taoism. They actually found the cave dwelling of their predecessors and inherited the Taoist book.

After the three of them had practiced intensively for hundreds of years, Chi Shen Zi occupied the spiritual vein of Huoyun Mountain and founded the Huoyun Mansion Taoist school. Huang Longzi met Bao Xiang, the most outstanding female disciple of the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace, and after going through a series of hardships, they became Taoist companions.

A pair of immortal lovers went to the Western Regions together. Huang Longzi integrated the Taoist magic of the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace, absorbed the true blood of the yellow dragon into his body, and from then on he abandoned his original Taoist name and called himself Huang Longzi.

And step by step they eroded away at the power of the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace, and forcibly split the second most powerful Demon Sect among the four major Demon Sects into two sects, the North and the South.

The Southern School believes in the law of the jungle and the law of nature. Although the land they occupy is vast, the people there suffer and the output is poor. At the same time, they have to support Southern School disciples who have transformed into monsters.

The Northern Sect, on the other hand, placed more emphasis on the human part of itself. Although it also treated the common people as worthless and took whatever it wanted from them, at least they were elevated to property. Over the past hundreds of years, the land occupied by the Northern Sect had become increasingly prosperous, causing more and more sect elders to begin to lean towards the Northern Sect.

After all, the demon cultivators put profit first. As for the true meaning of demon skills? Of course, the strong are respected. The Great Elder Huang Longzi of the Northern Sect Demon Sect is at least one of the top five demon cultivators in the demon path.

Therefore, who can conclude that his ideas are wrong?

"The human body turns into an animal, and the catastrophe of being lost?"

Inside the Sutra Library of the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Palace, Lu Cheng was flipping through a Taoist book with a slightly moved expression.

Regardless of the Southern or Northern sect, disciples of the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace can easily lose themselves in their own cultivation. If the cultivators are unable to control and suppress the blood of the monsters in their bodies, at best they will suffer internal injuries, at worst they will be completely transformed into monsters and completely lose their sanity and humanity.

Three months later, Hanlin Palace.

"This is truly a rare visitor. How did Junior Brother find the time to come out of the Sutra Library and visit me today?"

Wu Lingjun had just finished practicing that day when she heard a waiter come to inform her that her ninth junior brother Lu Cheng from the Leihuo Palace was coming to visit her.

Wu Lingjun took this matter very seriously, so he changed into a Taoist robe and came to greet him in person:

He was wearing a simple and elegant Taoist robe, with a pretty face, regular and beautiful facial features, nearly seven feet tall and a muscular body, with deer antlers on his forehead and blue scales on both sides of his cheeks.

This was a sign that Wu Lingjun's power had not completely faded, otherwise Lu Cheng would not have noticed that she was over two meters tall.

"Junior brother, I came here this time to ask for a favor. I heard that Second Senior Sister is in charge of many affairs in the palace. Junior brother would like to ask for one or two headhunting jobs. I hope Senior Sister will help me."

"..."

Wu Lingjun looked Lu Cheng up and down after hearing this, and then said:

"Junior brother wants to share Master's worries and participate in the affairs of the Northern Sect. This is a good thing, but Master gave you the Yunyuan Pill, so that you can practice hard to improve your cultivation during this period, right? There is no rush for this matter."

No matter the Southern or Northern sect of the Palace of the Incarnation of Ten Thousand Beasts, because there are many disciples and the teaching of Taoism is relatively lenient, both sects have many monks who have fallen into the calamity of being lost.

The so-called headhunting mission is for the sect's monks to kill these lost monks and protect the sect's property.

This will prevent a large number of mortals from dying and lowering the value of the land.

As one of Huang Longzi's most trusted disciples, Wu Lingjun is usually quite troubled by such matters. There are a few guys who are alert and ruthless. It is impossible for high-level cultivators to waste too much training time and track them down to kill them. Most of the foundation-building cultivators are not their opponents. Moreover, since the bounty is not too high, few people are willing to fight for their life and death for this.

If other fellow disciples had agreed to this, Wu Lingjun would be so happy about it, and he would probably have to sacrifice some favors. But his new ninth fellow disciple Lu Cheng... If he were to be killed by those lost cultivators, he would be greatly implicated by both the master and his uncle Chi Shenzi.

Thinking of this, Wu Lingjun wanted to reject Lu Cheng.

"Junior brother has cultivated to this point, but has encountered some bottlenecks that are difficult to break through. I would like to ask Senior Sister to lend me a hand. Lu Cheng will definitely remember this."

"That... okay, but you must be more careful, little junior brother. You are still young, so don't underestimate the enemy and rush in recklessly, which will ruin your path."

After Wu Lingjun pondered for a while, he recalled the Red Blood Ganoderma King that Lu Cheng had presented to his master and the fourth-order talisman that Lu Cheng had given to himself and a few others. He finally decided to give the other party a favor. The other party was able to cultivate to the foundation-building stage and even complete the authentic foundation-building practice. He was not a fool who would waste his life.

If you insist on doing this, you should have something to hold on to.

A fourth-level talisman is actually a treasure of great value in the Tongxuan Realm. Third-level talismans are relatively common. The reason why Lu Cheng has no shortage of fourth-level talismans is because he robbed the years of accumulation of Ranmu Mountain through Lin Tianshu.

Also because of a fourth-level talisman, Wu Lingjun looked up to Lu Cheng a little more and decided to give him face in exchange for some friendship.

"Wusun, Qiuci, Yanqi, Yutian, Ruoqiang, I give you the temporary command of the cultivators stationed in these five places. Of course, you can only use it to kill the robber cultivators."

Wu Lingjun acted decisively and with determination in mind, he took up his pen and stamped the document to write the instruction for Lu Cheng.

"But before you leave, you still have to report to Master. If Master doesn't allow it, then naturally, don't mention it at all."

"It's natural."

However, Lu Cheng did not explain this matter to Uncle Huang Longzi after all. It was not because he did not want to, but because Uncle Huang Longzi had been in seclusion since that day.

Lu Cheng was still hesitant about whether to wait, but he learned from the servants in the palace that his uncle often went into seclusion, sometimes for several years. He could only explain to his master's wife, Madam Baoxiang, and left the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace directly. After all, it was impossible to wait for several years, and respecting the teacher was not the way to act.

……

In the far west, there is vast yellow sand.

In ancient times, this world was involved in a war with another world with a similar level of civilization, which caused damage to heaven and earth. After a long time, it has not been completely repaired.

Therefore, in the far west of the Western Regions, there are many space cracks between heaven and earth, like the wounds of heaven and earth. If they collide with them, even cultivators in the Ningsha and Liangang realms will die instantly or be swallowed up.

However, these space cracks are more common in the air but become very rare near the ground. Coupled with the demand, they have greatly promoted the prosperity of the caravans.

Wearing a cloak and standing on yellow sand, with a dog following him, the young Taoist took out a piece of dark red mottled cloth and placed it on the dog's nose. After a moment, the demon dog began to bark in one direction.

"Huh...it's been two months. It's time to catch up."

Lu Cheng waved his hand, and the dog disappeared in a flash of golden light. The reason why he didn't refine the fourth-level Yuan-Yun Dan and didn't improve his cultivation steadily was because Lu Cheng knew his own situation better than Master Huang Longzi.

He had previously practiced with Master Chi Shen Zi for a month, and Master Chi Shen Zi also had insights into the Great Five Elements Earthly Extreme True Fire:
"The Eight Scenery Sect uses the magic power and consciousness of the cultivators to gain supernatural powers. The growth of magic power is different, so the foundation-building methods in the world are divided into the human way, the earth way, and the heaven way. I heard that recently a longevity foundation-building method was subdivided, which is similar to the earth way. The Great Five Elements Earth Extreme True Fire Foundation is classified as the peak of the earth way. Because the magic power increases slowly during cultivation, its evaluation is greatly reduced. After all, the lifespan of the foundation-building cultivator is still very limited."

"However, the combination of the Heaven-stealing Spirit Transformation Method and the Earth-extreme True Fire Foundation Building Method has actually made up for this shortcoming to a great extent. People who have successfully cultivated it can completely increase their own progress by swallowing up a large amount of other people's magic power. But the interesting thing is... people who do this have already been deeply possessed by the devil and it is difficult for them to cultivate the Five Qi Foundation Building Method. People who can cultivate it and enter the Tao from the devil will no longer do this."

"After all, for a cultivator to cultivate, increasing their magical power is secondary. In the long-term practice, they should constantly temper their own essence, energy and spirit, sharpen their mind, increase their Taoism, and gain insight into their true form. These are the real purposes."

Magical power is the foundation, while character, cultivation and other intangible things are indeed more important. This is true for both Taoism and Demonism.

Lu Cheng's cultivation level was too low. Huang Longzi thought that at his level, there wouldn't be any major problems that needed his correction, so he gave him elixirs to help Lu Cheng increase his magic power.

This choice is not wrong, it is even the most stable and correct one.

However, Lu Cheng felt that hunting down robbery cultivators, eating evil with evil, and feeding demons with demons was more in line with his own temperament.

After swallowing a fourth-level elixir, it does not contain pure Qi, and the Great Five Elements Earth Extreme True Fire cannot completely dissolve the elixir poison. Instead, it hunts down the robber cultivators and seizes their magic power. The effect is the same as taking an elixir, but there is not so much elixir poison accumulated in the body, and it can also deepen one's understanding and comprehension of the exercises.

"Actually, there is another reason. I am really annoyed by reading books in the Sutra Library every day. I really want to find some powerful guys to kill with swords. A serious cultivator should abstain from killing and cherish life. But I am a demon cultivator now. If I don't love killing, indulge in lust, enjoy pleasure, and be greedy, what kind of demon cultivator can I be called?"

He transferred from Huoyun Mansion, one of the eight orthodox religions, to become a disciple of the Palace of Incarnation of Ten Thousand Beasts, and would practice the magic of transforming human into demon in the future.

Lu Cheng quickly repositioned himself in his mind, from a righteous person to a person of the devil with some bottom line. In this world, people who cannot find their own position are likely to die miserably. All he wanted in his heart was: "The unparalleled Taoism and the invincible magic power."

As for whether the process is cultivating Taoism or cultivating the devil, Lu Cheng doesn't care. Anyway, when the golden elixir is cultivated, it will be up to him to decide whether he is an immortal or a devil.

Don’t you see, your master and uncle have bet on both the righteous and the evil sides, but no matter which side, they will not easily offend the two top-grade Jindan Zhenren.

The sun was scorching, and in the desert, the heat waves distorted the vision.

The merchants and travelers walked on the fine sand with heavy steps.

Finally, at noon, when the sun was at its hottest, the leader of the caravan, Rong Lu, raised his flag and waved it:
"Rest here, we will continue our journey in an hour."

"Oh!"

"Oh oh oh!"

The young people in the caravan cheered. They found a shady spot under the sand dunes, set up a tent and sat together, drinking water and chatting happily.

The life of a traveling merchant is hard, but the rewards are also great.

The young men and women in the caravan all have visions for their future lives.

"My dear niece, I heard that you have passed the assessment and become a disciple of the Divine Weapon Pavilion?"

An old man with a gray beard and a white robe covering his head asked with a smile a young woman who was wearing a veil but still looked beautiful and gentle.

As the leader of this caravan, Rong Lujiu took root, practiced, and branched out in the extreme west. He knew very well that although the Divine Weapon Pavilion was only one of the sects in the Nine Palaces Demon Realm, and not even one of the top few, as long as one joined it, one's identity would no longer be a casual cultivator. The gap in identity and status between a sect cultivator and a casual cultivator was huge.

In daily life, it’s just a few more spirit stones, a few more opportunities, a few more tips, and a few more skills, but over time, it will become a huge difference.

Hearing this, the young woman in the veil hadn't said anything yet, and the middle-aged man beside her said excitedly:
"That's true. My family has some old acquaintances with Elder Duan of the Divine Weapon Pavilion. Originally, he saw that Wan Ning had good aptitude and was willing to work hard, so he accepted her as a registered disciple. But he didn't know that my daughter worked hard in secret and broke through to the seventh level of Qi training. Elder Duan was so happy that he accepted her as his real disciple."

Hearing this, the gray-bearded old man glanced at the young man next to him. The young man had a look of inferiority on his face, but under the pressure of his father, he still forced himself to cheer up and carefully tried to please the young woman.

His family had been doing business for generations and had accumulated some wealth, but wealth without the protection of monks was like meat in someone else's mouth.

If he could marry Sister Wan Ning, the family would be able to achieve better development and Sister Wan Ning's path would be smoother. This would be a win-win situation for both sides.

Thinking of this, the young man worked even harder, trying his best to show off his experiences from following his father around all these years.

Looking at the beautiful smiling face of sister Wan Ning, the young man felt his heart melt. In fact, even if his father had not forced him and even if his family was not taken into consideration, he would be willing to marry sister Wan Ning.

"Woooooooooooo..."

Just as everyone was talking and laughing, bursts of faint crying suddenly came. Moreover, the sound became louder and clearer.

"what happened?"

The leader of the caravan, the gray-bearded old man, suddenly grasped the scimitar at his waist and stood up. At this time, the guards in the caravan also began to gather.

Everyone knows that encountering strange things in the desert is no joke.

Except for the middle-aged man named Qin, who was placed where he was because of his low cultivation level, the people with some cultivation level in other caravans gathered together and followed the sobbing and crying. The sound was so disturbing and unpeaceful that it made people want to draw their swords and kill them.

When they turned around the sand dune, they saw a dirty and slovenly old man in a gray robe and white hair, crying while holding the skeleton of an animal.

It looked like the bones of a wolf or a dog.

"Wow, wow, wow, wow, my dear, my dear, why did you leave so early...how can I live on if you're gone?"

Seeing the old man crying so sadly, Qin Wanning couldn't help but say:
"Old man, your child has been dead for a long time, you should let him rest in peace."

Before he could finish his words, Rong Lu, the leader of the caravan, pressed his hand on his mouth. However, the old man had already raised his head with a ferocious look on his face:

"My poor children are dead, why haven't you died yet?"

The next moment, with the old man as the center, dozens of black and gray auras condensed into phantoms of ferocious beasts and pounced on the crowd. It was the secret method of controlling beasts of the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace. Sharp screams immediately resounded throughout the desert.

(End of this chapter)