Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 106

Chapter 106: The Disappearance of Wu Neng

Time passed day by day, and Wu Neng and his team never appeared.

The suspicions and discussions surrounding him gradually shifted towards the possibility of death.

“Could they all have been killed?”

Someone raised this point.

Immediately, someone retorted, “Wu Neng was a master with Three Strands of Qi and Blood. There were also several Two Strands of Qi and Blood experts in his team. They had been working together for years and had great teamwork. Who could kill them?”

“Demon beasts could!”

“What about Chu Liang?”

“Chu Liang?”

“Forget it. Chu Liang is just one person. Even if he has condensed Three Strands of Qi and Blood, he wouldn’t be able to defeat Wu Neng’s entire team.”

People acknowledged Chu Liang’s talent, but talent needed time to grow.

After all, Chu Liang was still too young.

Moreover, he had always been peaceful and reserved, gentle and kind, with an excellent temperament. He didn’t seem like a butcher who would draw his saber and kill at the slightest disagreement.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the beginning of winter.

The cold wind howled, and the leaves withered.

Winter was always hard to bear. The sun overhead was grayish-white, without a trace of warmth, and even people’s moods turned sour.

South of the county town, in the gambling den.

Qian Gui walked out of the gambling den, cursing.

“Damn it, they dared to cheat in front of me. Do they think I’m blind?”

Qian Gui had been in a very bad mood lately.

Although he had become an official member of the Green Robe Gang, he wasn’t happy at all.

Chu Liang was always like a huge mountain, pressing down on his heart, making him terrified all day long and unable to breathe.

When he sold those two problematic Treasure Seeking Rats to Chu Liang, he never imagined that Chu Liang would become a Martial Artist, and even the most talented among the younger generation in the county town.

“It’s been so long, Chu Liang should have forgotten about it, right?”

Qian Gui prayed secretly in his heart.

At first, when he became a member of the Green Robe Gang, he was secretly pleased for a long time, thinking that Chu Liang wouldn’t dare to touch him anymore.

But now, Chu Liang was a genius valued by both the Black Market and the Martial Alliance.

Even if such a genius really killed a small fry like Qian Gui, the Green Robe Gang wouldn’t say anything, at most they would protest a few words.

“Sigh, how did he grow so fast?” Qian Gui was very upset, “It’s only been a few months? Could it be that he was already a martial artist when I first met him? But if he was a martial artist, how could he not have seen that there was something wrong with my Treasure Seeking Rats? Could it be…”

Thinking of this, Qian Gui suddenly shivered.

He suddenly widened his eyes and thought of a possibility ━ could it be that the pair of Treasure Seeking Rats were not problematic?

If that was the case, Chu Liang’s growth rate might be explained.

The path of martial arts was paved with resources, and martial artists were always short of money. This was a common understanding.

But if there were Treasure Seeking Rats to help, money would no longer be a problem. With enough money, one could buy a large number of resources and pave the way to the pinnacle of martial arts!

“That’s impossible. I asked a specialist to check them. Those Treasure Seeking Rats were all born with defects and were no different from ordinary rats. Could it be that they missed two?”

The more Qian Gui thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

He couldn’t help but feel even more upset, even wanting to slap himself twice.

If he had known this earlier, he should have kept all those rats and raised them himself.

Perhaps, the martial arts genius renowned throughout the county town now wouldn’t be Chu Liang, but him, Qian Gui!

“Sigh, the opportunity was right in front of me, and I actually missed it! This is a huge fortuitous encounter!”

Thinking of this, Qian Gui immediately beat his chest and stomped his feet, filled with regret.

A fortuitous encounter!

Ordinary people might not even encounter one in their entire lifetime.

He was also lucky that time. When he went to the mountains to dig for medicinal herbs, he happened to find a nest of defective young Treasure Seeking Rats.

Next to the nest of defective young Treasure Seeking Rats, there were also two larger Treasure Seeking Rats.

The two adult rats were already dead. Their bodies were covered with wounds, and their fur was full of blood scabs. They had clearly experienced an extremely cruel battle before they died.

Even though they were dead, the residual demonic aura and ferocity on their bodies still made Qian Gui’s heart tremble with fear. He was so scared that he didn’t dare to approach the nest of young Treasure Seeking Rats for several days.

“According to the martial artists, the deep mountains have been dangerous lately. Those two adult Treasure Seeking Rats were probably seriously injured in the deep mountains and then ran out.”

Qian Gui recalled the situation at that time, feeling a little upset, but also a little scared.

If those two adult Treasure Seeking Rats hadn’t died, he would have been the one to die.

Now, the mountains outside the county town had become even more dangerous.

He didn’t dare to risk going into the mountains again.

Demon beast cubs were not so easy to find. To be able to find them once was already the greatest opportunity of his life!

“Sigh, forget it… forget it. What’s gained is my luck, what’s lost is my fate.”

Although Qian Gui was unwilling, what could he do?

Everything was just his own speculation. Perhaps the pair of Treasure Seeking Rats he sold to Chu Liang were also problematic. Perhaps Chu Liang really was an extraordinary genius.

“No matter what, Chu Liang hasn’t come looking for me yet.” Qian Gui thought to himself, “I heard that he is kind and gentle, not a vicious person. Even if there was something wrong with that pair of Treasure Seeking Rats, he wouldn’t kill me.”

Qian Gui made up his mind that he must keep a low profile in the future.

He had to avoid Chu Liang in everything he did and not attract Chu Liang’s attention.

The facts were similar to what he thought.

Chu Liang was now focused on studying movement techniques and had no time to bother with external affairs.

He didn’t go directly to the mountains outside the county town to practice. Instead, he stayed in the library for a few days, browsing the life stories of senior experts who were famous for their movement techniques.

The library was a very quiet place, with the faint scent of sandalwood, peaceful and pleasant.

Chu Liang sat by the wooden window, holding a book titled 《Strange People and Events ━ Volume Three》, his expression focused as he carefully browsed.

“This book describes that a hundred years ago, there was an expert named ‘Azure Peng Child’. He was outstanding in movement techniques, and his speed was swift. When he used his movement technique to the extreme, he was like the mythical Peng bird, swift as the wind and lightning, soaring to the nine heavens.”

“There is also the demonic sect of the martial world, ‘Heavenly Immortal Sect’. This sect has a technique called 《Flying Immortal Technique》. Once mastered, the user moves like an ethereal flying immortal, illusory like clouds in the sky, both real and unreal, like a dream.”

◈◈◈

“Heavenly Immortal Sect, this name sounds nice, but it’s actually a demonic sect.”

Chu Liang continued to flip through the pages and read on.

Before he knew it, it was already evening.

He planned to read until night before returning, but plans always changed.

Just as he was engrossed in his reading, a cold voice suddenly sounded, “Chu Liang, let me ask you, is Wu Neng’s disappearance related to you?”

The person who spoke was none other than Law Enforcement Hall Master Liang Han.

Chu Liang calmly turned his head and asked him, “Wu Neng is missing?”

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Liang Han shouted coldly.

“Oh, is Hall Master Liang planning to take me down again? Do you have any evidence this time?”

“I will find evidence!”

“So you’re saying you don’t have any evidence.”

Chu Liang shrugged and continued, “Please don’t disturb me, Hall Master Liang. I’m cultivating and need quiet.”

With that, he turned back and continued browsing.

His indifferent attitude really angered Liang Han.

He wanted to ask more, but the Librarian downstairs suddenly spoke, “Old Liang, the Alliance Leader instructed that no one is to interfere with Chu Liang’s cultivation, and that includes you.”

“I know, no need for you to tell me!”

Liang Han, with a cold expression on his face, flung his sleeves and turned to walk down to the first floor.

He returned to the Law Enforcement Hall and issued an order that night to thoroughly investigate the disappearance of Wu Neng and the others.

As soon as this order was issued, Wu Neng’s name once again became the focus of everyone’s discussion.

Only then did people finally confirm:

“Wu Neng really is missing!”

The last record of them was on the night when Law Enforcement Hall Master Liang Han and Merit Hall Master Luo Hong confronted each other outside the martial arts hall.

That night, someone saw Wu Neng and the others leaving their residence on horseback, in a hurry, looking like they were going out of town.

After that, there was no more news about them.

Many people mentioned the name “Chu Liang” again.

“Could it really have been Chu Liang?”

“Wu Neng and the others spread so many rumors. If I were Chu Liang, I definitely wouldn’t be able to let it go!”

“I heard that someone saw Chu Liang riding out of town that night, going in the same direction as Wu Neng and the others…”

Secretly, someone seemed to be adding fuel to the fire, spreading various rumors, deliberately making people think in this direction.

Chu Liang didn’t care, anyway, there was no evidence.

The person behind the scenes was probably Liang Han.

“Liang Han plans to blow this matter up and use it as an excuse to deal with me?”

Chu Liang roughly guessed his thoughts.

He shook his head and didn’t bother to pay attention, letting Liang Han do whatever he wanted.

Now he just wanted to focus on cultivating his movement technique.

“I have basically mastered this 《Blood Soaring Technique》, but I haven’t found a suitable place to practice it. It’s time to go to the mountains outside the county town and try it out.”

Early the next morning, Chu Liang packed his things and left the county town with the two little rats.

The mountains in winter were particularly desolate.

The vegetation was sparse, the fallen leaves were withered and yellow, and all that could be seen were bare branches and fallen leaves.

“Crunch… crunch…”

Chu Liang entered the mountains and stepped on layers of fallen leaves, the soles of his shoes making a very soft sound.

He had already condensed Four Strands of Qi and Blood, making him a top predator in this mountain range. With the two little rats on alert around him, there was basically nothing to worry about.

Of course, years of hunting experience told Chu Liang that he could never be careless.

In this world, the mountains represented the unknown.

And the unknown symbolized danger.

Some demon beasts were good at camouflage.

They could disguise themselves to be exactly like the surrounding trees, making them invisible even when close by.

Others were good at lurking, quietly hiding in the dead branches and fallen leaves underfoot, waiting for their prey to approach before launching a sudden attack.

“Master, there is a wild boar three hundred meters ahead of you. Do you want to test your archery?” Rat One’s voice sounded.

“No, let’s leave it for the ordinary hunters around the county town.”

Chu Liang shook his head. In the past, he would have been excited to see a wild boar, but now he had no interest at all.

He continued deeper into the mountains, moving very quickly without much delay.

In the blink of an eye, it was already afternoon.

Chu Liang had already crossed more than ten small hills and entered a deeper area of the mountains, arriving at a valley with flowing water.

“This place is good, it’s relatively flat. Let’s try out my movement technique here.”

Chu Liang’s thoughts moved, and he activated the Blood Soaring Technique.

Whoosh!

His whole body turned into a phantom, incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, he was already a hundred meters away!