Even without cheats, we must survive the apocalypse

"The elder sister of this family should be the one we saw in the Tongshi Palace last night..."

Gu Yunxi recalled what he saw last night.

The unwillingness and despair of the woman before her death were left on her pale face, but Gu Yunxi knew that even if it was that expression, it would be impossible for it to remain. The evil cultivator must have eaten her until only bones were left...

The more she thought about it, the more the fire in her heart burned.

"Well, it's her."

Gu Yunxi was stunned: "How do you know?"

"The waiter at the store told me about this family. Thinking about it, she would never disappear like this on a normal day. Maybe she didn't go home on time last night, so this happened today."

Lu Mu said lightly.

"But there is nothing we can do about it. You and I don't care about the Tongshi Palace, but these ordinary people are different. To them, the officials of the Tongshi Palace are no different from the Immortal Phoenix Emperor. They can easily decide their life and death. Can she refuse to be summoned by the Tongshi Palace to serve the evil cultivator?"

Gu Yunxi didn't like to hear such words, but Lu Mu was absolutely right.

Indeed, the lives of ordinary people are as insignificant as those of ants. How can they have the right to choose their own destiny?

The Xianhuang Empire had a vast territory of millions of miles and ruled over hundreds of millions of people. There were too many common people, so they could be killed wherever they wanted. No matter how strict the laws of the empire were, they never included these common people, and they were left to struggle for survival in this world.

She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes hiding the thoughts in her eyes.

Lu Mu stood in front of her, looking at her plain and beautiful profile.

There was no struggle, only determination.

Some people have to pay with their lives before Gu Yunxi's anger will subside.

"We should go now. What happens to these children in the future is none of our business."

Lu Mu put a bag of spirit stones on the table.

Gu Yunxi turned to look at him, her eyes filled with resentment that she couldn't express, but Lu Mu's calmness didn't waver at all.

"……I know."

Gu Yunxi withdrew her gaze and looked at the children at her feet.

The children snuggled together to keep each other warm, and the older ones comforted the younger ones. Even though the days ahead were shrouded in gloom, no one backed down, but instead cherished this brief warmth even more.

But an invisible barrier has completely separated them from her and Lu Mu.

Gu Yunxi actually understood that she had no control over these children and no way to take care of them. She had people she cared about more. She helped today only because she saw them.

If we don’t see them, what will be the fate of these children?

Of course she doesn't care.

Gu Yunxi brushed Lu Mu's shoulder aside and walked out without saying a word.

Only Lu Mu stood there, his eyes beneath the mask carefully scanning the oldest boy.

The young man seemed to have noticed something, raised his head and met his gaze. At that moment, their eyes met, one was full of grief and anger, the other was deep and dark. Lu Mu unilaterally wanted to find out everything in his heart.

"Master Immortal?"

The boy's eyes were a little confused.

"You have a pretty good foundation and some talent."

Lu Mu squatted down, the spiritual ring in his hand flashed, and an ancient scroll appeared in his palm.

"Tell me, do you want to become stronger?"

Chapter 12: Hatred

The young man wiped the blood off his face and glanced at the ancient scroll in his hand, with hesitation and doubt in his eyes.

In fact, he knew what Lu Mu was talking about, but this sudden favor made him feel uneasy. However, everyone wants to become stronger. When he was beaten by those villains who had only a little bit of cultivation, what he thought in his heart must be that if he had the strength, he would not have fallen to this point.

He looked at the mysterious monk in front of him who was wearing a mask and looked very friendly.

Even when he was squatting, there seemed to be a huge shadow behind Lu Mu, exuding overwhelming power. The boy could see that he was definitely very strong.

A person like this shouldn't lie to him, right?

"Master Immortal?"

Lu Mu curled his lips slightly, and ran his fingertips across the cover of the ancient scroll, and wrote lightly: "If you are willing, this technique is yours. Although you may not be able to go very far, it is enough to give you the strength to protect your family members."

"Your sister is dead, and you are the head of the family now."

Lu Mu's voice was gentle, as if encouraging him.

But the last sentence made the boy fall into the abyss.

He looked up in a daze and saw the compassion and helplessness in Lu Mu's eyes.

"You...what did you say?"

"My sister has already...?"

The young man in front of him was like a wounded little animal. Even though the injuries on his body would hurt a lot if he was moved, he still wanted to pounce on him, grab Lu Mu's collar and ask for clarification.

But Lu Mu asked him to sit on the ground honestly, "You are very smart, I can see that."

"Your sister looks okay, but she has no strength. Even if she is pretty, it's a crime to possess a treasure. You understand, right?"

Lu Mu hasn’t seen many good-looking commoner girls, but what is the final outcome?

Being able to have a loved one to accompany you until death is an unimaginable luxury.

It is foreseeable that even if the life of this family will not be disrupted by the arrival of the evil cultivators, when great strife breaks out in the future, they will be swept into the torrent and will either be torn apart or lucky enough to survive.

Ordinary people who can't even practice cultivation have no choice.

Just like Murong Xue at the beginning, when she escaped from the Murong clan, her Taoist body had not awakened and she was powerless. For her, escaping from the Murong clan was just like escaping from a tiger's mouth and falling into a wolf's pack. If Lu Mu hadn't bought her, it would be hard to say whether Murong Xue could live to see the time when her Taoist body awakened.

"Master Immortal... have you seen her?"

The young man seemed to be unwilling to give up. The masked man in front of him became his only life-saving straw. He probably felt that even such a powerful monk could be wrong sometimes.

But Lu Mu didn't answer.

Then he understood too.

In fact, it was not the first time that his sister had been in trouble. The young man often saw it. Those arrogant young masters and men who relied on their own cultivation never concealed the greed and desire on their faces.

Perhaps even my sister herself feels that one day she might lose her original heart because of her slightly pretty appearance.

Only now it looked even more miserable, as he had even lost his life.

Lu Mu's compassionate look penetrated into the boy's mind like a spell. He touched his chest with trembling hands. The jade pendant there was still warm, but he felt cold.

It was something his sister left him, a family heirloom.

It's not valuable, but you can't throw it away.

“…Damn it… wuwu…”

The young man gritted his teeth, hugged his knees tightly, and cried inconsolably. The nails of his hands were almost digging into his flesh, but he still couldn't suppress the grief that surged in his heart.

Lu Mu just watched him cry quietly.

At the same time, I felt the hatred in the boy's heart growing little by little until it turned into a raging fire.

"Master Immortal..."

The boy sobbed and raised his tearful eyes to look at him. He wiped away his tears fiercely, opened his red and swollen eyes, and looked at Lu Mu: "I want to become stronger!"

His eyes were firm and stubborn, as if something was burning in them.

Lu Mu reached out and patted his shoulder, then placed the ancient scroll containing the martial arts techniques in front of the young man.

"You're lucky. I have someone who doesn't like to meddle in other people's business, but always wants to get involved when he sees me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here today."

"If there is a chance to see you again in the future, I would also like to see how far you can go."

The young man clenched his hand slightly around the ancient scroll.

This is the most precious thing in his hand.

"Thank you, thank you, Master Immortal!"

He knelt down and kowtowed three times, using all his strength to hold the ancient scroll tightly against his chest, as if holding all his hopes and dignity.

Lu Mu smiled, stood up and left.

He would not make any promises to the young man, but would just give him a helping hand. However, the young man would still have to walk the future path on his own. As for whether he could continue on his journey or not, Lu Mu did not care.

There are actually quite a few ordinary people who can practice, but they don't have the right techniques, nor do they have the guidance of seniors. Even if they have awakened their roots in Taoism, they don't know how to absorb spiritual energy. They just follow whatever unconventional ways they can figure out and learn a few of the most basic techniques, and that's all.

This is what happened to the mistress who died on the evil cultivator's bed.

Moreover, the talent of this young man is too mediocre, so mediocre that even the lower-class sects would not bother to accept him.

But Lu Mu still planned to help him.

Isn't this good? If there is really no hope, I'm afraid the real darkness will come.

"Take care of yourself."

Lu Mu put down three jade bottles on the table and walked out.

The young man looked up at him. His back was tall and slender, with fluttering clothes, but he exuded a sense of arrogance, making people inexplicably feel distant and out of reach.

……

Lu Mu walked out of the deep alley where not even sunlight could penetrate. Gu Yunxi leaned against the wall with her arms folded. When she saw him coming out, she turned her head, looked at him for a few seconds, and snorted.

"What's wrong?" Lu Mu glanced at her.

Gu Yunxi sneered, "How should I put it? I don't think you are such a cold-hearted person."

"That's not what I am."

"That child now knows that his sister was murdered. His life was already difficult, and now his only support has fallen. He will feel pressure and hatred... Do you know how far this kind of hatred for the murder of his sister can take a person?"

Lu Mu smiled mysteriously.

It’s a pity that Gu Yun didn’t answer.

She has not forgotten that when Murong Xue was determined to kill Murong Zun at all costs, the fire of hatred burned so hard that even she had to avoid it.

"Is this really a good idea? If the child lives with hatred, he might go astray in the future."

Gu Yunxi frowned and looked at him worriedly.

Lu Mu shrugged: "No."

"You believe that?"

"Because he still has a family who can go on with him."

Gu Yunxi turned around and looked at the dilapidated courtyard at the innermost part of the alley. The mist that had not yet dissipated gradually dissipated, and the morning breeze blew, blowing up the dead leaves on the ground and making them fly, bringing a sense of desolation.

She sighed.

Chapter 13: Bone Burial Mountain

The Bone Burial Mountain is located in the southwest of Zhaotian City, on the administrative boundary. The area beyond the Bone Burial Mountain is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Zhaotian City General Affairs Palace.

The jurisdiction of the Zhaotian City Tongshi Palace is actually quite far.

With this city as the starting point, the area within a thousand miles is all within the reach of the laws of Zhaotian City.

In this thousand-mile territory, there are dozens of slightly smaller cities or even smaller towns controlled by local aristocratic families. They depend on Zhaotian City and coexist and prosper together. Although the Tongshi Palace does not care about the life and death of these cities and towns, it only stations soldiers and inspectors in them, and requires these people to pay tribute on time.

Therefore, when more than a dozen children had been lost in Liufeng City, 27 miles away from the Bone Burial Mountain, and nearly a hundred women, children, the elderly and the weak were missing within a few months, this incident caused an uproar in the city and people were in panic, but the Zhaotian City General Affairs Palace did not pay any attention to it.

Because they know who did it.

Those who wanted to find out what happened died without any news and eventually became one of the missing persons.

Whether they are ordinary people or independent cultivators, as long as they can help King Nanling go further, no one cares how many they sacrifice.

At the foot of the Bone Burial Mountain, Lu Mu and Gu Yunxi stood side by side. Their eyes penetrated the mist and locked onto the towering mountains in front of them.