Anti-fraud manual for the cultivation world

"Junior Sister Meng, come with me." Honglin called out, "Come to my side, I'll teach you some introductory incantations on behalf of our master, so you can build a foundation first. The three of them still have some things to discuss about the [Common Path Demonic Codex], so don't get involved."

She took two steps, then suddenly turned back to Li Gu and the other two and said, "You three skipped work today to commit murder and cover up the crime! As the local official of Jiangzhou, I don't like to see this kind of situation."

Li Gu quickly raised his hand: "We were acting in self-defense!"

Zhang Yi quickly added, "I swear in the name of my father, Zhang Kuaidao, that the other party ambushed the officials, which is tantamount to treason. Our killing of them was reasonable, legal, and without any impropriety."

Hong Lin nodded: "Hmm! Let's leave today's matter alone, but... if you ambush and kill the Jiangzhou branch of the Demonic Sect one by one, that won't be considered reasonable or legal. Think about why the [Common Path Demonic Scripture] came into being, and don't turn yourselves into true demons. That's all I have to say. You'd better think carefully."

After saying that, he took Meng Ting's hand and drifted away.

Li Gu frowned. It seemed that Hong Lin's last words were directed at him. She realized that he had already decided to turn the Jiangzhou branch of the Demonic Sect into a "pig farm."

That's why she told herself at length the story of the birth of the "Common Way Codex," so that she could understand the true meaning of the two words "Common Way."

This thing isn't the Northern Darkness Divine Art!

It's not true that the more cultivation power you absorb, the stronger you become.

The cultivation method emphasizes "state of mind". When the level of cultivation is low, the influence of "state of mind" is not obvious. The higher the level of cultivation, the greater the influence of "state of mind" on cultivation.

Once one's mindset deviates from the original intent of the practice, one will go astray and stagnate in progress.

So, does this mean all the disciples of the Demonic Sect are now too eager for quick success and have gone astray? Therefore, is it possible that this generation of Demonic Sect disciples will all fail to attain the Great Dao? No wonder the imperial court isn't afraid at all.

Just then, Zheng Xiaodong's voice suddenly rang in her ears: "Ahem! Junior Sister Zhang... how much longer are you going to sit on my lap? Junior Brother Li is still here."

Li Gu suddenly woke up and turned her head to look. She saw that Zhang Yi and Zheng Xiaodong were still in the same position. Zhang Yi was sitting calmly, but Zheng Xiaodong's face was flushed and he still didn't know where to put his hands. Logically speaking, she had been sitting in Zheng Xiaodong's lap for so long. Even if Zheng Xiaodong was stupid, he should have adjusted his mood and could have put his arms around her waist, right? But this guy didn't dare to put his arms around her and his hands were still hanging down by his sides.

Li Gu smiled and shook his head: "Perhaps Senior Brother Zheng is more suited to cultivating the Lovesick Mortal World Technique, while Senior Sister Zhang is more suited to conquering the world."

"Huh? Is that so?" Zheng Xiaodong said, "Then why don't I pass on all my cultivation to Junior Sister Zhang, and then I'll go and become a disciple of Ru Ru Hongchen?"

Li Gu: "..."

Zhang Yi: "..."

Only Zheng Xiaodong could say something so bluntly.

Zhang Yi slapped Zheng Xiaodong on the head: "Are you an idiot? Didn't you hear what Lady Hong said? Once you enter her household, you can only love one person for life. If you cheat on her in the future, you're all finished."

Zheng Xiaodong grinned: "How could that be? No way!"

This guy actually made a solemn vow in such a strange setting and in such a calm tone.

Zhang Yi covered his face in exasperation: "What an idiot! Couldn't you have said that in a different setting?"

Li Gu also laughed: "If you said these words when I wasn't there, you'd get a pretty good reward."

Zheng Xiaodong: "???"

Zhang Yi moved away from Zheng Xiaodong's lap and sat back down on the stone bench: "Alright, let's get back to the important matter. Zhou Shijie is done for, but there are still the Ouyang brothers. That demonic sect disciple said that one of them is in the upper half of the city and the other in the lower half."

Jiangzhou has a unique topography, with the confluence of two rivers and a mountain ridge running east to west through the city, called Daliangzi.

The area north of the ridge is called the upper half of the city.

South of the ridge is a place called Lower City.

It's hard to find another city in the world that's bizarrely divided in two by a mountain ridge. This gives a glimpse into the strangeness of Jiangzhou's terrain. It's precisely because of this harsh environment that unruly people are prone to emerge, leading to Jiangzhou's current peculiar power structure.

Li Gu said, "Let's find the lower city first. It's densely populated and bustling with commerce, making it easier for us to hide among the crowd. The corpse puppets smell bad, so they're not as easy to hide as we are. Once we find it, I'll lure those two demonic sect disciples to Erpo, and you two will follow behind and shoot down the paper cranes. Since absorbing those two demonic sect disciples, I feel my cultivation has reached the point where I can break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Now I don't need the Sorrowful Breeze anymore; I can win."

Zhang Yi nodded: "Even if you successfully establish your foundation, without external martial arts assistance, your footwork skills will be mediocre, and you won't know any swordsmanship or saber techniques. You won't have any magic weapons, magical artifacts, spirit beast talismans, or anything like that. Don't be too arrogant. You should pretend to be weak and lure those two demonic sect disciples over to attack. Then, defeat them by comparing your cultivation levels at close range."

Li Gu nodded: "I understand."

He suddenly changed the subject: "Let's absorb the demonic sect disciples we captured this time. You all need to increase your power too."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi and Zheng Xiaodong exchanged a glance.

Several seconds later, Zheng Xiaodong said in a deep voice, "I don't want to! I won't absorb other people's cultivation. That's like being a demon. I don't want to be a demon; I want to be a hero. Lord Hong also said that the spirit of the [Shared Path Demon Scripture] is dedication, not plunder. If you go astray, you'll go astray and become possessed by demons when your cultivation level is high.

Li Gu sighed inwardly: It seems I'm a demon after all. The flexible moral bottom line of modern people is indeed quite different from that of ancient heroes. However, going against the mindset of the "Common Path" might lead to "going astray in cultivation," a problem I must pay attention to once my cultivation level is higher.

Zhang Yi replied, "I will! If Xiao Dong won't be the devil, I will."

"Huh?" Zheng Xiaodong was startled. "Junior Sister Zhang, you..."

Zhang Yi snorted and said, "You've only just broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, while I completely gave up cultivating during the years I took care of you in Flower Valley, and I'm still only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. If we two were thrown into the vast world of martial arts, would we even be qualified to be great heroes? We wouldn't even be qualified to be minor constables."

Zheng Xiaodong: "..."

Zhang Yi said, "Xiao Dong, I know you are a kind person, which is why I like you. But among us, someone has to be the demon lord to protect the others. It seems that Junior Brother Li has made up his mind to be the demon lord. How can I let him go astray alone? As his senior sister, I also have to shoulder some responsibility."

Zheng Xiaodong opened his mouth and couldn't close it for a long time. When he came to his senses, he quickly said, "That won't do. I'll be the demon. Junior Sister Zhang, why don't you be the heroine?"