“No good,” two months later, Lian Yunzhi stood up from the prayer mat. “We still need to go out for some training.”
Closed-door cultivation improved his realm too slowly. In these two months, his cultivation had not advanced as much as it had during that single battle at Lian Hua Wu.
Mu Cheng, sitting on the prayer mat opposite him, reached out and pulled Lian Yunzhi into his arms. He chuckled softly, “If you don’t like seclusion, how about dual cultivation?”
“No thanks,” Lian Yunzhi refused politely. “Dual cultivation with you is worse than seclusion.”
Mu Cheng: “…”
After reshaping his body, Mu Cheng had pestered Lian Yunzhi for dual cultivation many times. He had memorized the Dual Cultivation Incantation and drawn the Furnace Cauldron Inscription, yet Lian Yunzhi’s cultivation showed no improvement at all.
Tch.
Mu Cheng gritted his teeth and argued, “That’s because my body and soul haven’t fully fused yet. It’ll be fine after some time.”
Lian Yunzhi patted his shoulder comfortingly. “Forget it. Let’s just cultivate steadily. Dual cultivation is only supplementary—it can’t be the main path.”
Mu Cheng: “…”
Lian Yunzhi pityingly ruffled Mu Cheng’s hair. “It’s fine. I don’t mind you.”
Mu Cheng: “…”
Mu Cheng let out an “Awoo!” and pounced, biting him.
.
By the time they finished fooling around, it was already evening. Lian Yunzhi straightened his clothes while criticizing Mu Cheng for wasting time. Mu Cheng, bored, fiddled with his belt and asked where he planned to go.
Lian Yunzhi thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go out and check. That evil cultivator we killed before—his name was Wu Ying, the famous Man-Eating Mad Demon on the Villain List. If we keep his head, we might be able to claim the bounty.”
Killing recklessly harmed one’s path, but slaying such heinous criminals instead accumulated good karma.
Lian Yunzhi continued, “We can take quests from that Villain List. It’ll give us training, rewards, and most importantly, those evil cultivators carry tons of good stuff. We can kill them and seize their treasures!”
Wu Ying’s Lightning Avoidance Artifact had sold for seventy million spirit stones, letting Lian Yunzhi taste the sweetness. He wished there were more such evil cultivators.
Lian Yunzhi grew more excited as he spoke, counting on his fingers. “Plus, most of those evil cultivators covet the ‘Immortal Treasure’ on me. This way, we eliminate our enemies, gain experience, and get plenty of spirit stones! With spirit stones, we can buy better magic artifacts and pills. We can even visit the Scripture Pavilion in Lin Xian Sect to read more scriptures, making ourselves stronger…”
Snap!
Mu Cheng snapped off half a strand of hair, which turned into Qi Refining Bird Feathers. He waved it in front of Lian Yunzhi. “Spirit stones?”
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Lian Yunzhi smacked Mu Cheng’s head and snatched the feather, tucking it back into his hair where it turned back into hair.
“No more such jokes. I don’t like them,” Lian Yunzhi said with a frown. “I know every part of you is precious, but I want you to be whole.”
Mu Cheng froze for a moment.
Lian Yunzhi then led Mu Cheng out of the cave. He looked up at the sky, then took out two Butterfly Shadow Disguise Pills. He handed one to Mu Cheng and smiled at him. “Let’s go.”
Let’s go—truly leave Xiao Ze Continent, measure the world with our own feet, cultivate immortality, train, and chase eternal life.
Mu Cheng took the pill and swallowed it, then took Lian Yunzhi’s hand again.
“Good.”
.
One year later.
Lian Yunzhi’s vines withdrew from the evil cultivator’s corpse, blood splattering everywhere in an instant. Mu Cheng’s black sword instantly shattered the evil cultivator’s fleeing Primordial Spirit, completely cutting off his path to survival.
“I’ve reached Late Soul Transformation!” Lian Yunzhi exclaimed excitedly as he cast the Dust Removal Technique, turning to look at Mu Cheng. “What about you? Did your cultivation improve?”
The evil cultivator they had just killed was at Peak Soul Transformation, far stronger than Wu Ying before him. They had battled him for half a day before finally slaying him. The moment the fight ended, Lian Yunzhi sensed he had broken through a minor realm.
Mu Cheng shook his head.
The smile on Lian Yunzhi’s face faded slightly, gradually turning to worry.
In this past year, they had killed countless evil cultivators. Lian Yunzhi always felt gains from the battles, but Mu Cheng gained nothing. He seemed unaware of his own spiritual root or cultivation method. His combat power matched Lian Yunzhi’s, yet he had no clear realm level.
Seeing Lian Yunzhi’s tightly furrowed brows, Mu Cheng asked, “What if I never find a way to cultivate and my power never improves?”
Lian Yunzhi glanced at him. “What else? I’ll just cultivate harder and take you to ascension with me.”
As the saying went, when one person attained the dao, even their chickens and dogs ascended to heaven. Once Lian Yunzhi ascended, Mu Cheng, as his dao companion, would naturally follow.
Mu Cheng curved his eyes in a smile.
But after smiling, his gaze involuntarily fell on the corpse.
He could see the shattered and extinguished Primordial Spirit on the corpse… it was black.
He pressed his rumbling, hungry stomach and looked away.
Lian Yunzhi walked over and looted the storage ring from the corpse, only to be greatly disappointed. “…What a poor bastard!”
Mu Cheng walked over and explained, “This guy lingered in the Middle Immortal Realm for many years. His crimes weren’t about killing for treasures—he was insanely slaughtering over a dozen cultivation villages, so he naturally had little savings.”
Lian Yunzhi pouted and cut off the man’s head to store it.
Fine, at least there was still the bounty.
Just then, a basket nearby suddenly moved. Lian Yunzhi’s divine sense and vines rushed over instantly.
Then they paused.
The vines slowly lifted the basket. Hiding inside were two trembling children, one big and one small.
.
Neither of them was the type to meddle in others’ affairs. After scanning with divine sense and finding over a dozen villagers still hiding in a nearby ruined temple, they dragged the two children to the temple side, announced “Lu Yan is dead,” and turned to leave.
Before leaving, they heard cheers shaking the temple as many kowtowed and prostrated before the statue, weeping in gratitude.
“Tch, as if the statue was the one who killed that evil cultivator,” Lian Yunzhi scoffed.
Mu Cheng turned to look. The statue depicted an immortal from ten thousand years ago who had ascended from this place to the Upper Immortal Realm, then to the Heavenly Realm. It was gilded, its eyes half-closed in a merciful gaze overlooking the masses.
.
That night, Mu Cheng dreamed of the statue.
In the dream, white mist filled the sky, and the golden statue loomed faintly in the fog. The statue lowered its gaze to him, its voice ethereal and distant.
The statue asked, Do you resent me?
Mu Cheng said nothing.
The statue sighed and asked again, What do you think sets you apart from that Lu Yan?
Mu Cheng raised his eyes, his expression unmoved.
The white mist around him suddenly dispersed and reformed, slowly turning into a clear scene.
It was still the ruined temple and the statue, but now a youth knelt before it.
The youth was covered in blood and filth, his face pale, but his crimson eyes burned with hatred. Kneeling before the statue, he made a vow dripping with blood.
“Just because my mother and I have the Supreme Yang Supreme Yin Body, we deserve to be the village’s human cauldrons?! So what if we’re born as cauldrons? One day, I’ll reach Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation! I’ll kill every one who bullied us, slaughter their descendants, and wipe out every village carrying their filthy blood!”
So this was Lu Yan in his youth—the very evil cultivator they had just killed.
The youth dissolved back into white mist, leaving no trace.
The statue asked a second time, What do you think sets you apart from him?
The statue said, Ten thousand years ago, you indeed had your grievances. But among those buried in the sea of fire were newborn infants—how innocent were they? Slaughtering the innocent is sin. You judged Lu Yan, and we judge you. Where is the wrong in that? Escaping was your mistake.
Go back.
The statue sighed.
Return to where you belong. Do not linger in this mortal world that is not yours.
…
Mu Cheng looked up. He conjured a long sword from black mist in midair and slashed down coldly—
The dream shattered.
When Mu Cheng opened his eyes, Lian Yunzhi was also rubbing his eyes awake. He glanced at the steadily flying spirit boat, then at Mu Cheng, before curling into his arms and mumbling incoherently, “I just had a weird dream about that broken stone statue. It looked just like the immortal who suppressed you ten thousand years ago… Blabbing on and on, so annoying, so gross… When I ascend to the Heavenly Realm, I’ll make him pay…”
Lian Yunzhi fell asleep again as he spoke.
Mu Cheng buried his face in the crook of Lian Yunzhi’s neck, trembling as he hugged him tightly.
He felt panic. Fear.
He was too happy now. He wanted to stay forever.
