Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Unwelcome Guests Arrive

As night fell, a cool breeze gently blew.

In the Hu Family Mansion, the fragrance of wine and food lingered in the air.

During the banquet, Song Zhong spoke of the classifications of martial artists.

The ranking of martial artists was similar to that of martial skills, with four levels: “Unranked”, “Third-Rate”, “Second-Rate”, and “First-Rate”.

Martial artists in the Blood Coagulation Realm, like themselves, were all considered Unranked.

In the martial world, only those who reached the Skin Tempering Realm could be considered Third-Rate experts.

“The martial world is vast, but true martial artists are few. To be deemed a ‘Third-Rate expert’ is enough to swagger in many places,” Song Zhong said.

When the topic of the Skin Tempering Realm came up, everyone present couldn’t help but sigh.

There were only four martial artists in the entire county who had reached the Skin Tempering Realm, highlighting the difficulty of achieving this level.

Luck, talent, resources ━ none could be lacking.

“As a martial artist, one must never lose their drive. Fight for what you need, and do everything in your power to obtain resources,” Song Zhong said earnestly to Chu Liang. “Why do you think Wu Neng was so shameless, trying to snatch your tiger demon corpse? It’s all for resources!”

The corpse of a tiger demon could be exchanged for a considerable amount of Merit Points in the Martial Alliance.

Even if not exchanged for Merit Points, it could be sold for at least one thousand five hundred taels of silver.

Martial artists were always in need of money!

This was not an isolated case.

Acquiring superior cultivation techniques and martial skills required money. Training also required payment for guidance, and the “food supplements” and “medicine supplements” needed to temper Qi and Blood were even more expensive.

The higher one climbed, the more resources and silver were needed.

Take Master Hu, for instance. He had spent countless taels of silver to reach the Blood Coagulation Realm, and now he was utterly broke, with only a few dozen taels left to his name.

Wu Neng and the others had been martial artists for many years, but they didn’t have much silver on hand either, at most two or three hundred taels.

“They’ve earned a lot of silver over the years, but they’ve all invested it into their martial arts,” Song Zhong explained.

Song Zhong stated that he was the same.

Once you had money, you had to spend it on yourself as quickly as possible to improve your strength.

If your strength was insufficient, no amount of money could protect you.

The path of martial arts was a bottomless pit. Some people planned to stop after condensing one strand of Qi and Blood and enjoy the privileges of being a martial artist.

But they soon found that they were still at the bottom of the martial arts hierarchy, still having to defer to those with two strands of Qi and Blood. So, many of them strived to climb higher, to reach the level of two strands of Qi and Blood…

And once they reached two strands of Qi and Blood, they would then aim for three strands…

“Chu Liang, you’re the same. Don’t hoard your money. Spend it on improving yourself immediately,” Song Zhong urged.

“I understand,” Chu Liang replied.

He wasn’t worried about this, as he didn’t need to worry about money.

Martial artists had many ways to earn money, such as joining escort agencies for temporary work, serving as guards for wealthy families, or becoming instructors at martial arts halls.

The fastest way was to venture into the deep mountains to hunt demon beasts.

With luck, a demon hunting team could earn several thousand taels in a month.

Of course, with bad luck… forget about the money, even staying alive was a challenge.

In recent years, many demon hunting teams from the Martial Alliance had entered the deep mountains. Some returned with bountiful harvests, while others never came back.

“Things have been unsettling in the deep mountains lately, as you’ve probably noticed,” Song Zhong said suddenly.

The mountains were indeed restless.

Even before the appearance of the tiger demon, various villages, including Qing Shi Village, had been attacked by wild beasts multiple times.

Qing Shi Village was attacked by two wild bears, while other nearby villages were attacked by wild wolves, leopards, and other creatures.

It was after the bear attack that Chu Liang awakened the memories of his past life.

“It’s not just the tiger demon,” Song Zhong continued. “In other directions from the county town, several other demon beasts have appeared, likely emerging from the deep mountains.”

“Master Song, do you know what’s happening in the deep mountains?” Master Hu asked.

“I don’t know,” Song Zhong shook his head. “The Martial Alliance has sent people to investigate, but there’s no news yet. They’ve only warned us not to enter the deep mountains to hunt demons for the time being.”

Hearing this, Master Hu’s face clouded with worry.

If something major was happening in the deep mountains, even a small ripple could affect his small village.

Not to mention, if more demon beasts were to emerge…

Master Hu was deeply concerned and didn’t dare to think about it.

Chu Liang was planning to go to the county town to learn martial arts, so he wasn’t worried about encountering such events. After all, the county town had many martial artists, and demon beasts rarely caused trouble there.

But Master Hu intended to stay in the village and live as a wealthy man. He couldn’t help but worry about the future.

◈◈◈

“Sigh, these are troubled times,” Master Hu sighed.

Soon, the banquet ended.

Song Zhong and the others took their leave, declining Master Hu’s offer to stay the night. They mounted their horses and rode off into the moonlight.

Horseshoes clattered, raising dust.

“Chu Liang, come to the Martial Alliance soon!”

Song Zhong and the others gradually disappeared into the distance, his last words carried by the wind.

Gazing at their receding figures, Master Hu was filled with worry. Suddenly, his face turned pale, and he couldn’t help but cough a few times: “Cough… cough, cough…”

These coughs brought up traces of blood.

Chu Liang glanced at him and asked, “Didn’t you take the pills I gave you?”

“They’re too precious. I can’t bear to use them,” Master Hu said.

He carefully took out the small porcelain bottle, treating it as a treasure, and held it tightly in his hand.

Each pill was worth ten taels of silver. He really couldn’t bear to take them.

“My injuries will heal in a few months. I can’t waste them,” he said with an awkward smile.

“I advise you to heal your injuries as soon as possible,” Chu Liang said casually.

He turned and walked towards his own courtyard, saying as he went, “The mountains are restless. More demon beasts might come. Think about it.”

“You’re right…”

Master Hu stood there, looking at the small porcelain bottle, feeling conflicted.

After a while, he gritted his teeth and, with great reluctance, poured out a pill and swallowed it.

“Whew… a miracle medicine, truly a miracle medicine…” Master Hu’s complexion immediately turned rosy, and his body felt much lighter. He sighed in amazement as he walked towards the Hu Family Mansion.

He understood that this was Chu Liang’s reward to him, and that Chu Liang needed him to protect his Second Uncle’s family. That’s why he had urged him to heal his injuries quickly.

If he performed well in the future, he might receive more rewards.

The night was deep, and the moonlight was like water.

The corpse of the tiger demon lay quietly in Chu Liang’s courtyard.

The three small dog demons were not playing around but were gathered around the tiger demon’s corpse, standing guard, diligently fulfilling their duty.

Chu Liang returned to the courtyard but did not rest or practice his martial arts. Instead, he sat quietly at the stone table.

Two small rats were perched on Chu Liang’s left and right shoulders, respectively.

One of them asked, “Master, it’s getting late. Aren’t you going to rest?”

“Wait a little longer,” Chu Liang replied.

“Wait for what?” the other rat asked.

“Perhaps we’ll have guests,” Chu Liang said calmly as he poured himself a cup of Blood Ginseng Tea and waited patiently while sipping it.

Today’s battle with the tiger demon had yielded him many benefits.

The power of Qi and Blood flowed through his body like a great river, endless and surging.

He was only one step away from condensing his third strand of Qi and Blood, and perhaps it would happen tonight.

Chu Liang closed his eyes slightly, quietly sensing the power of Qi and Blood within his body.

About fifteen minutes later, he suddenly opened his eyes.

“The guests have arrived, and they are unwelcome guests,” Chu Liang said calmly, looking towards one side of the courtyard.

The next moment, a dark figure leaped onto the courtyard wall.

“Chu Liang!” the figure called out sharply, his icy gaze fixed on Chu Liang, like a hawk eyeing its prey.

He was the vice-captain of Wu Neng’s demon hunting team and Wu Neng’s cousin, named Wu Qian, possessing the strength of two strands of Qi and Blood.

Chu Liang smiled faintly and asked, “Master Wu, what brings you here so late at night?”

“To kill you!” Wu Qian declared coldly.