Vampire Cultivation Notes

The former site of Taipingfang.

After being ravaged by the demonic tiger, this once-treasured place for independent cultivators has been reduced to ruins.

The archway bearing the plaque of "Peace" has collapsed, the broken spirit array remains unrepaired, only the lower half of the Wanbao Pavilion stands in the center, the neat brick road is cracked everywhere, revealing one pit after another, and dust begins to spread.

During the daytime, it's difficult to find even a single cultivator.

However, instead, a group of Moon-Gazing Eels, who had been frightened by the demonic tiger and moved away from Moon-Gazing Valley, came to live here, and the paths they burrowed were the tracks of these demonic beasts.

The Moon-Gazing Eel is pale yellow all over with black spots on its skin. It is three feet long in its juvenile stage and can reach seven feet in its adult form.

Legend has it that these Moon Gazing Eels have dragon blood. When they reach the peak of the first rank, they will grow scales, and when they reach the second rank, they will grow horns.

Unfortunately, because the blood of the Moon Gazing Eel can replenish Yang energy and the heart of the Moon Gazing Eel can replenish Yin energy, this eel is a treasure trove of benefits, making it easy to improve one's cultivation. As a result, it has been hunted extensively by cultivators in Taipingfang for the past two hundred years. Now, let alone a peak first-order Moon Gazing Eel, even a late first-order one is hard to find.

However, fortunes change.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Moon-gazing Eel occupied the sacred land of Taipingfang Market, finally getting its due.

Li Jieqing concealed his presence the whole way, and when he arrived at the ruins of Taipingfang Market, he saw several moon-gazing eels sunbathing under the collapsed archway.

Without taking any action against the moon-gazing eels, Li Jieqing turned around and took a detour towards the cave area in the city.

The world is tough, and the monstrous tiger is rampant, but life must go on.

Since the demon tiger has occupied the sacred land of Wangyue Valley, he will make do and find a place to cultivate in the ruins of Taipingfang Market.

Outside the cave dwelling of the late Venerable Baozhou.

Since entering the ruins of this market town, Li Jieqing has stopped flying and instead conceals his presence as he walks on the ground.

At the same time, the Bloodseeking Technique is activated to investigate.

Sure enough, although there was not a single cultivator to be seen in the ruins of Taipingfang, he found the blood of many old acquaintances along the way. They were hiding in various places in the neighborhood, living under the watchful eye of Wangyue Eel.

Ahead lies the place with the most familiar faces.

Li Jieqing stopped far away outside the cave of Master Baozhou, took out a bronze mirror, and shone it in front of him. A clear image appeared in the mirror, with figures moving about, quite lively.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Scorpion Lady was leading two or three female cultivators to bang on the door in front of the cave, causing the hidden magic array to flicker with spiritual light.

"Open the door! We're checking the spiritual veins!"

"If you've got the guts to occupy this cave, then open the door if you dare!"

Scorpion Lady's angry curses carried far and wide, reaching even Li Jieqing. He looked at the bronze mirror with great interest, thinking to himself that Master Baozhou was dead, and he wondered who had occupied his most spiritually powerful cave dwelling, which had aroused Scorpion Lady's envy and desire to take it over.

"You woman, keep your voice down! Is this something to be proud of? Don't provoke that monstrous tiger that's up somewhere!"

There was finally a response from inside the cave.

The cave dwelling had already been half destroyed by the demon tiger, leaving only ruins.

It was inside a door that was locked inside the wreckage.

The gate opened, and seven or eight people poured out, including Old Liu, the Yu brothers, and others, some at the late stage and some at the mid stage of Qi Refining.

This place is full of seasoned veterans among the independent cultivators. When disaster strikes, they always run faster than their fellow cultivators, so they are not so easy to kill.

"Most of the surrounding caves are empty, so why does Scorpion Lady need to fight over this one? You should know that after a few people share it, the spiritual energy here is not much stronger than those empty caves," Old Liu advised.

The Scorpion Lady ignored her and cursed, "Don't try to fool me! You all stole this cave and got who knows how much benefit the Master of Baozhou received, while I didn't even see a single spirit stone. How can you let this go?!"

"If you know what's good for you, follow the rules of independent cultivators and share half with me when we meet. Otherwise, I'll definitely stir up trouble and attract demonic beasts, making sure you never have a moment's peace!"

That's just being a scoundrel.

Scorpion Lady knew that the other side had a large and powerful force, but under the oppressive power of the demon tiger, who would dare to make a fuss in broad daylight?

"What good did it do? You saw that day that the white-haired beast ate Master Baozhou's storage bag and ransacked the cave. We arrived later and only managed to find a few spirit stones," Yu Da complained.

There were many conflicting explanations coming from the other side, so I didn't dare to raise my voice.

But Scorpion Lady wouldn't believe it. With one hand on her hip, she cursed at the seven or eight men, gaining the upper hand.

In the end, they inevitably started hurling insults at each other, and the crowd became so enraged that they almost came to blows.

But in the end, they didn't take any action.

Those present were all elderly cultivators practicing independently; why would they risk fighting if there were no real benefits to be gained?

Just as they were locked in a stalemate, a blood-red longsword flew from behind.

The sword blade arrived first, and then the spiritual light bloomed.

In an instant, the longsword circled between the two groups hurling insults, causing three people to activate their protective magical artifacts, four people to run away, and two people to kneel down and surrender.

In an instant, all sorts of people reacted, but no one was stunned; everyone reacted extremely quickly.

Just then, the longsword flew back, and Li Jieqing appeared.

His true face was revealed before the world, his hands clasped behind his back, a smile playing on his lips, the Azure Water Sword flowing around him, as he chanted from afar:

"As the saying goes, the mandate of heaven changes, and the grottoes shift, ultimately returning to those of virtue; this is the natural order!"

"Fellow Daoists, do you think this old ancestor possesses any virtue?"

Li Jieqing caught the Qingshui Sword, stepped forward, and stood still, smiling at those around him.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, you're still alive?!" Old Liu recognized him first, exclaiming in surprise, "And you've even reached the late stage of Qi Refining?"

The others looked at him with varying expressions.

The Scorpion Lady, who had initially been clamoring to attack, suddenly cried out, "Be careful! Don't think about those things, watch out for that beast!"

Li Jieqing stood in the third place, his face calm and composed, but he asked Old Liu and Yu Da and Yu Er, "Why are you all here? Where are the people who were originally supposed to be with Master Baozhou?"

"Fellow Daoist...so you're referring to those managers?"

Old Liu's face changed, and he laughed, "These cunning people have always oppressed the cultivators in the city. Now, those we can find have all been sent to see that old thief Baozhou."

"You all acted quickly... That Master Baozhou died for the sake of the people—"

Li Jieqing stopped speaking after that.

Well then, he already knows what kind of integrity the cultivators in Taiping Market have.

Furthermore, several of Master Baozhou's disciples had always acted arrogantly and domineeringly in the streets. Now that their backer was gone, their deaths were not unjust.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, don't be confused. Why worry about those arrogant managers?" Old Liu said this half as a warning and half as a test, because he knew that Li Jieqing had dealings with the upper echelons of the market.

Both Yu Da and Yu Er said so.

"You've all misunderstood."

"To be honest, I am actually very close to Steward Chengming, despite our age difference; we are as close as brothers!"

Li Jieqing put aside his thoughts, brandished his Qingshui Sword, and said quite solemnly, "Therefore, logically speaking, I should have a share of Master Baozhou's inheritance!"

When Master Baozhou died, his estate went to his eldest disciple, Daoist Chengming. When Daoist Chengming died, his estate went to his good brother, Li Jieqing.

This is true and reasonable.