Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 138 Discussion on Taoism at Monkey Mountain (Part 1)

Deep in the Monkey Mountain.

There are three cultivators' cave dwellings here, each fully equipped. In front of the cave dwellings is a flat woodland.

Stone tables and chairs are placed in the woods, as well as a high platform for meditation, several rattan chairs, and a swing.

The bright moonlight illuminated the place as if it were daytime.

The morning presents one scene, and the night presents another.

At this moment, a little old man with a long beard was practicing calligraphy on a stone table, holding a brush.

The old man was very small, only 1.2 meters tall, but his calligraphy brush was huge, almost half his height.

He was fully absorbed in writing, immersed in the artistic conception of calligraphy, his solemn expression carrying a hint of leisure.

A young man sat on a swing, swaying gently, as if he felt that time was passing too slowly, and that each day was like a year.

This person was Zhao Kun, whose body was possessed by a wisp of the remnant soul of the Nascent Soul Ancestor.

"There are still two years left, Old Fox. How are we going to get through these two years?"

Zhao Kun, holding the swing ropes, looked at the old man and couldn't help but yawn.

The bone he obtained from Da Huang's body was specially passed down by Zhao Chen, the reincarnated one, to a wisp of his former soul. The message left on it stated that if the original body could not enter Wuzhen, and the wisp of his soul could not bring the Nascent Soul Immortal Treasure out of Wuzhen, then the wisp of his soul would open the Immortal Treasure Secret Realm three years later.

At that time, the main body will enter the Immortal Treasure Realm as a disciple of the sect, along with others.

Of course, this secret realm was set up by Zhao Chen, so he naturally had a huge advantage over others, and the immortal treasure would still be obtained by him.

About a year has passed since the remnant soul awoke inside Zhao Kun's body.

The secret of the Nascent Soul Immortal Treasure was eventually exposed. Now, Zhao Kun has no choice but to take the worst possible option: hide in Monkey Mountain and wait for the appointed time to open the Immortal Treasure Secret Realm. At that time, his mission will be completed, and he can return the body to Zhao Kun.

"I think you should cherish this time. Two years will pass in the blink of an eye. By then, your wisp of soul will dissipate and you will no longer exist in this world."

The old man kept his eyes straight ahead, continuing to practice calligraphy, his aged voice responding to Zhao Kun.

Zhao Kun laughed and said, "I am but a remnant soul, old fox, don't be reluctant to part with me."

"Are you so sure that you, in your next life, will still be you?"

The old man looked at Zhao Kun, his deep eyes gleaming with a faint, ethereal light—the wisdom accumulated over nearly a thousand years.

Zhao Kun's smile gradually faded, and he asked, "Old Fox, what do you mean?"

To be honest, he wasn't sure about this either, because he hadn't seen his reincarnated self since he woke up.

"I just feel that the Nine Revolutions Nascent Soul you are cultivating may be a bit strange. Since ancient times, unconventional paths to immortality have never been so simple. Perhaps it is a trap set by some old monsters."

The old man had seen many similar incidents.

Zhao Kun was about to speak when he noticed a commotion down the mountain, so he immediately shut up.

Soon, Ji Cheng followed the monkey demon up the mountain—he did not choose to run away. If that fifth-level demon wanted to see him, he would not be able to escape anyway, and it would only make him look particularly foolish.

"Greetings, senior; greetings, fellow Daoist."

Ji Cheng did not laugh or joke; instead, he bowed to the two men with a respectful yet humble attitude.

The scene before him was completely new to him. He was unsure whether the old man was a human cultivator or a fifth-order great demon in human form.

He caught a glimpse of the old man's calligraphy from afar; the strokes were straight and even, full of the essence of swordsmanship.

Ji Cheng no longer doubted that the old man was responsible for killing the Golden Core cultivator five hundred miles away the night before.

The old man put down his brush, turned around and nodded to Ji Cheng, asking, "I heard you're leaving Wuzhen?"

Upon seeing the man's face, Ji Cheng was certain that this little old man was a fifth-order flower-faced fox in human form. Although he no longer possessed any characteristics of a demon beast, his face bore a striking resemblance to Little Flower, so calling him Old Flower might be appropriate.

"Yes, senior, too many human cultivators have come to Wuzhen now, and my situation is precarious. I have no choice but to leave this place."

"Well, you don't need to be afraid. I've noticed that you're one of the few intelligent people in the demon race, so I invited you up for a chat. Please sit down."

The old man invited Ji Cheng to sit on the stone bench.

Ji Cheng landed on a stone bench, laughing as he called himself a chicken who didn't know how to sit. Lying down would be disrespectful, so he would just stand there.

"Hey, this chicken demon is really bold. It can remain so calm even in front of you, Master. Isn't it afraid that you will eat it up in one bite?"

The red-haired monkey demon cried out in surprise, having never seen such a bold beast.

Other demonic beasts would have been trembling with fear and lying on the ground, defecating and urinating, in front of a fifth-tier great demon.

Little Flower was whimpering beside the crowd, begging the old man not to eat Chicken Bro.

"Brother Monkey, you are mistaken. We are all demon beings. A demon giant like you, senior, is too busy helping the younger generation. How could you eat a little demon like me for no reason?"

To be honest, Ji Cheng wasn't worried at all. If this great demon wanted to eat him, why bother with all this talk?

The old man glanced at the monkey demon, who immediately shut up obediently, not daring to interrupt. He asked, "Where do you plan to go after leaving Wuzhen?"

"Reporting to Senior, I am going to the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons. I have heard that the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons is a pure land for the demon race, where the demons are as friendly as brothers and sisters, helping each other and not afraid of being hunted and besieged by human cultivators."

Ji Cheng fully embodied the spirit of being honest and not talkative.

"Hahaha, do you believe it when you describe the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons as so wonderful?" The old man laughed.

Ji Cheng blinked and asked, "Senior, what do you mean by that?"

"Alright, since you're going to the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, I'll tell you about it."

"Thank you for your guidance, senior!" Ji Cheng said happily.

Even though he has read many books, he still doesn't know much about the world.

Currently, all he knows is that the Ji Kingdom is a country with weak royal rule, numerous sects, and the order in various places is mainly maintained by a few major sects.

Life in the mortal world was peaceful and stable. There were few wars between the Ji Kingdom and the surrounding countries. Taxes were not high and there was no corvée labor. The country was peaceful and prosperous. Therefore, the presence of the royal family and royal power was not very strong.

The Ji Kingdom has a total of twenty-seven states. A state like Qiongzhou would probably rank around twentieth.

Bazhou, where the main branch of the Zhao family is located, ranks among the top five in the Ji Kingdom.

Furthermore, Wan Yao Valley is located at the triangular intersection of Ji Kingdom and two other countries, and it is said to have existed for ten thousand years.

In addition, he also knew that Nascent Soul cultivators, if their origins were not damaged, had a lifespan of a thousand years.

That's all he knows about this world; the rest he'll have to gradually explore and discover in the future.

"Indeed, the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons has existed for ten thousand years. Therefore, we must start from the first Demon King ten thousand years ago."

"For tens of thousands of years, or even hundreds of thousands of years, or even longer, our demon race has been hunted by human cultivators. To human cultivators, the demon race is a treasure trove. In addition to their blood essence and demon cores, their skin, horns, and bones are all useful."

"Ancient records state that over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, no matter how the demon race resisted and fought against human cultivators, they all ended up suffering a crushing defeat. Those who submitted to the human race could live, while those who did not submit were killed on the spot."

"Ten thousand years ago, a powerful figure emerged from the demon race. He led the demon race to counterattack the human race and launched an unprecedented war. Unfortunately, after a brief period of glory, the demon race still ended in defeat. That powerful demon was chased down to a valley by several powerful human beings."

"Seeing that he could not escape death today, that powerful demon decided to leave a spark for the demon race. In the end, he used a secret technique to merge his physical body and soul with this valley, so that the demonic energy here would not dissipate for ten thousand years. Even if many powerful humans joined forces, they would not be able to purify this valley."

"Since then, this valley has been filled with demonic energy, making it an ominous place for human cultivators, but a sacred place for demons to cultivate. Countless demons gathered here, and it became the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons. That powerful demon was known as the first Demon King."

"This Valley of Ten Thousand Demons has been modified by many demon kings in later generations, and now it has several powerful protective arrays. If a large number of demon beasts are sacrificed, the spirit of the first demon king can even be briefly awakened. The demon race used this as a stronghold and fought many offensive and defensive battles with human cultivators over the past ten thousand years."

"The human race has wiped out the demons of the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons several times, but due to the presence of demonic energy, they have been unable to occupy the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons. The seals have been broken several times, and as time goes by, many demons will gather here again. And as if by fate, a demon king will always be born in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons."

Do you know why?

The old man was asking why a demon king always seems to emerge from the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons to protect the demon race.

Ji Cheng pondered for a moment and asked, "Could it be the will of the first Demon King's spirit?"

The old man smiled and nodded: "When the first Demon King fell, he merged his physical body and soul with the valley to create a natural formation. The function of this formation is that every day, the demon beasts in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons will draw a wisp of demonic energy from their bodies and gather it into the demon beast with the highest cultivation level."

The first Demon King had a far-reaching plan for the future demon race, using this formation to forcibly create a Demon King in order to protect the many demons.

Without the Demon King to lead the way, the demon race would be a disorganized mess. However, with the Demon King in charge, it wouldn't be so easy for human cultivators to attack the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons.

"I never imagined that the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons had such a background..."

Ji Cheng sighed, thinking that perhaps even Lao Bai didn't know that the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons was like this.

Living under the protection of the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, yet having to contribute a wisp of demonic energy every day, it seems that powerful demonic beasts would not want to stay in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, as it is not worth it at all.

However, this method of harvesting the demons' resources can indeed quickly create a demon king, and with the demon king's protection, it is a good thing for the demons.

Of course, that was the original intention. The question is, will the demon kings created in later generations really risk their lives to protect the weaker demon beasts like the first demon king did?
Ji Cheng remained skeptical.

The Demon King and the lesser demons have completely different positions. They enjoy harvesting the韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting others), so who would be willing to foolishly risk their lives for the韭菜?

"I see that you are exceptionally intelligent, unlike other demonic beasts, so I would like to ask for your opinion—"

"He's not different from other demonic beasts. I think he's probably like Zhao Yang, a human soul fused with a demonic beast body!"

Zhao Kun, who was sitting on the swing and swaying gently, suddenly spoke up. He seemed to have seen through Ji Cheng's true nature long ago. Otherwise, how could a chicken demon be as smart as a human?
However, he didn't care much. Although this situation was rare, it wasn't an isolated case. It wasn't unusual for a Nascent Soul cultivator who had lived for nearly a thousand years.

Upon hearing Zhao Kun's words, Ji Cheng was shocked. Holy crap, Brother Kun, you...

He never expected that his true identity would be exposed so easily.

But thinking about it, it's normal to make such a guess, since he is far less intelligent than other demonic beasts.

Fortunately, Zhao Kun didn't make a big deal out of this topic, seemingly thinking that the fusion of a human soul and a demon beast's body was nothing special.

The old man chuckled and said, "Unlike Zhao Yang, I didn't detect any human soul aura on you, young friend. What, Brother Zhao, do you think our demon race wouldn't have such a clever person?"

He even seemed to be somewhat protective of Ji Cheng.

(End of this chapter)