Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Chu Liang Comes to Visit

“Achoo-━”

Chu Liang suddenly sneezed.

“Someone is thinking about me?”

Chu Liang rubbed his nose, stopped practicing his martial arts, and sat down on a stone stool to rest.

In the courtyard, three small dog demons frolicked and played, running back and forth as if they had endless energy.

The two treasure-seeking rats had gone into the mountains, diligently searching for various mountain delicacies and treasures for Chu Liang.

The donkey drooped its ears and squatted in the corner of the courtyard, quietly eating grass.

“This kind of life is quite comfortable.”

Chu Liang drank a few mouthfuls of warm water, got up after a moment, and continued to practice his martial arts.

With the Blood Nourishing Pills as medicinal supplements and the demon beast meat as food supplements, his strength increased at a rate far exceeding before.

By this evening, his second strand of Qi and Blood was almost ten percent condensed!

At this rate…

In less than half a month, he would be able to completely condense the second strand of Qi and Blood!

As night fell, Chu Liang picked up a piece of demon beast meat and took a big bite.

“Why is this demon elephant meat so tough? It’s even harder to eat than bear paw.” Chu Liang shook his head, feeling like he was chewing on wood shavings.

After dinner, he rested for a while and then continued to practice his martial arts, tempering his Qi and Blood.

The days passed by like this.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

By this evening, Chu Liang’s second strand of Qi and Blood had condensed to fifty percent, and his strength had become even more powerful.

During this time, rumors about him in the village increased.

Many people said that he had signed that slave contract and had become a house slave of the Hu family, which was why he was able to live peacefully until now.

“If he hadn’t signed it, Master Hu would have made a move on him long ago.”

“But if A-Liang is already a house slave of the Hu family, why is he still living in his own courtyard? Logically, he should have moved to the Hu Family Mansion.”

This was something that many villagers couldn’t understand.

After thinking about it, they could only assume that Master Hu was kind-hearted and allowed Chu Liang to live in his own home.

Although they themselves found this idea ridiculous.

“Is Master Hu really that kind-hearted?”

“Maybe he really wants to cultivate A-Liang? Then A-Liang will be prosperous in the future!”

“That’s right…”

For a time, many villagers actually began to envy Chu Liang.

Of course, Chu Liang didn’t care about the various rumors outside at all and focused on practicing his martial arts.

When it was market day, he drove his donkey cart to the county town again to buy demon beast meat.

This time he didn’t buy much, only two hundred catties.

During this time, the stall owner, Wu Dafu, talked about the Green Robe Gang.

“I don’t know who is so bold as to make a move on the Green Robe Gang’s Nineteenth Wife.” He said to Chu Liang, “You have to be careful. The Green Robe Gang is acting like they’ve gone crazy recently. You must not be suspected by those mad dogs.”

“I know.” Chu Liang nodded.

“Those mad dogs even wanted to enter the black market to inspect, but the market’s gatekeepers wouldn’t let them. The two sides clashed, and in the end, they provoked the Black Market Master.”

“The Green Robe Gang is so bold?”

“Yes, the Green Robe Gang Leader is a Five Strands of Qi and Blood expert after all, and he has the county government behind him. There is a Skin Tempering Realm expert in the county government…”

Stall owner Wu Dafu said a lot, giving Chu Liang a further understanding of the situation in the county town.

There were only four Skin Tempering Realm experts in the entire county town.

One in the black market, one in the Martial Alliance, one in the county government, and one was the leader of the largest merchant guild in the county town, the “Qin Clan Merchant Guild.”

These four were like four pillars, stabilizing the chaos of the entire county.

“Sigh, Skin Tempering Realm, I really don’t know if I can break through to this realm in my lifetime.” Wu Dafu sighed with a look of melancholy.

“Take it slow. You don’t lack silver. Martial arts cultivation is a slow process, you can’t rush it.”

Chu Liang chatted with him for a while, then wandered around the black market. Not finding anything he wanted to buy, he drove his donkey cart away.

Today, he didn’t linger in the county town.

It was only two o’clock in the afternoon, a time when many people were leaving the county town.

This time, the road back to the village was very peaceful, without any obstacles, and he proceeded smoothly.

“Hee-haw…”

The donkey brayed at the sky, its four hooves kicking up dust as it ran swiftly.

It had already been evolved into a half-demon by Chu Liang, and its stamina far exceeded that of other donkeys. It didn’t stop much along the way.

Before evening, the village appeared before Chu Liang’s eyes.

As the donkey cart entered the village entrance, Chu Liang saw a familiar figure.

Zhao Hu.

He was leading a group of his followers down the mountain.

They were all empty-handed, so it seemed they hadn’t caught any prey today either.

“A-Liang?”

Zhao Hu’s gaze lingered on the donkey cart for a moment, then moved to Chu Liang, and asked, “A-Liang, did you really sign that slave contract?”

“What do you think?” Chu Liang asked back.

“You didn’t sign it?”

“Yes.”

Chu Liang nodded slightly, without stopping, and drove the donkey cart towards his own small courtyard.

Zhao Hu and the others stopped at the village entrance, all looking at his retreating figure.

“Brother Hu, A-Liang is lying to you. He must have signed it!” one of the followers said, “If he didn’t sign it, how could he still be alive and well?”

“A-Liang probably feels embarrassed, so he said he didn’t sign it.”

“From a free man to a slave, tsk… If it were me, I would also feel ashamed, let alone A-Liang…”

Several followers spoke up, all believing that Chu Liang had signed it.

◈◈◈

Only Chu Qiang remained silent. He silently stared at Chu Liang’s departing figure, his feelings complex.

Zhao Hu pondered for a moment, then said, “A-Liang said he didn’t sign it, then he really didn’t sign it!”

“But if he didn’t sign it, Master Hu…”

“Don’t worry about it, don’t try to guess Master Hu’s thoughts!”

Zhao Hu shook his head slightly, made a silencing gesture, and signaled his followers to keep their mouths shut.

Wait patiently, and the truth will eventually reveal itself.

In fact, it wasn’t just them who didn’t understand. Even the Hu family themselves didn’t understand.

“Why hasn’t Master made a move yet?”

Steward Hu had been feeling a bit frustrated these past few days.

He had gone to see Second Uncle and learned that Chu Liang had already torn up that slave contract.

After learning the news, he immediately ran back to the Hu family and reported the news to Master Hu.

He thought Master Hu would be furious, but Master Hu just said indifferently, “Oh, then let’s wait a few more days. Let that kid think about it carefully.”

Think about what?

Could it be that the kid would come begging on his own initiative?

These days, Steward Hu’s doubts grew.

Another seven days passed, and a shocking piece of news suddenly reached Qing Shi Village, causing a wave of panic among the villagers.

“What, the demon beasts have come down the mountain again?”

“Yes, it’s that tiger demon again. This time it attacked Huang Shi Village!”

Demon beasts!

Upon hearing this word, the villagers couldn’t help but feel a chill from the depths of their souls.

It represented slaughter and death, almost becoming a taboo. The villagers usually didn’t dare to discuss it at all.

More than ten days ago, a demon beast attacked Mo Shi Village, killing more than twenty people. Even the martial artist of Mo Shi Village was no match and fled.

At that time, the villagers of the surrounding villages were terrified.

But the next day, people were sent from the county town to each village to reassure them, saying that the tiger demon had been found by the martial artists and would soon be killed. This reassured the villagers.

“Why is it here again?”

“Didn’t they say that many martial artists from the county town went to catch that demon beast? It’s been so many days, why haven’t they caught it yet?”

“I heard that those martial artists couldn’t find that tiger demon at all, they didn’t even see its shadow!”

More news came, making the villagers even more anxious.

This time, even more people died than last time.

More than thirty people died in Huang Shi Village, and even the carpenter who made coffins was killed!

The village’s martial artist was also no match, seriously injured and fled. He fainted as soon as he reached the county town and hasn’t woken up yet.

“A martial artist is no match, what are we going to do?”

In the hearts of the villagers, martial artists were invincible existences.

That tiger demon was even stronger than invincible!

At this time, a piece of gossip suddenly spread in Qing Shi Village.

“I heard that our village’s Master Hu is even more powerful than the masters of the other surrounding villages.”

“Really?”

“Really, our Master Hu has been recognized by the Martial Alliance in the county town. The other masters haven’t been recognized…”

The villagers had a vague concept of the Martial Alliance, only knowing that there were many martial artists in it.

This was the first time they had heard that only those recognized by the Martial Alliance were considered true martial artists, and the rest were fakes.

This new information reassured the villagers of Qing Shi Village a lot.

Fortunately, there was Master Hu!

“Master Hu must be more powerful than that tiger demon!”

“Yes, with Master Hu here, maybe that tiger demon won’t dare to come to our village at all!”

The villagers all said this.

Although they were not sure in their hearts, they still used affirmative tones to boost their confidence.

◈◈◈

As night fell, the bright moon hung high.

A gentle night breeze blew.

Silvery moonlight spilled into the backyard of the Hu Family Mansion.

At this moment, the invincible Master Hu in the villagers’ mouths was facing the greatest crisis of his life.

He looked nervous, his body tense, staring intently at a figure in front of him.

The figure had his back to him, looking up at the moon, seemingly admiring the moonlight, and showing no hostility towards him.

But Master Hu felt a chill down his spine, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, feeling immense pressure.

He clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and uttered two words: “Chu Liang?”

“It’s me.”

The man turned around, his expression calm. It was indeed Chu Liang.

Tonight, he had successfully condensed his second strand of Qi and Blood. His internal Qi and Blood surged, his strength greatly increased, and he wanted to find someone to spar with.

In Qing Shi Village, only Master Hu was suitable for him to spar with.

“Chu Liang, what do you want?” Master Hu asked in a low voice.

“Weren’t you dissatisfied with me?” Chu Liang asked back, “So I came to find you, to have a talk.”

“I’m satisfied with you now, you can go.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“You…”