Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Tales of Demons, Chu Liang Takes Action

The Martial Alliance was very large inside.

Song Zhong took Chu Liang on a tour.

The Merit Hall, Guardian Hall, Law Enforcement Hall, Pill Hall, Library, and so on, each section had its own separate courtyard.

“You can accept missions at the Merit Hall, mostly demon slaying missions. Completing them earns you merit points.”

Song Zhong was very patient, explaining as they walked. Occasionally, other martial artists would greet Song Zhong along the way.

Within the Martial Alliance, there were many things unavailable outside.

For example, Blood Nourishing Pills. These pills weren’t sold in the county town at all; you could only buy them in the prefectural city.

But the county town was very far from the prefectural city. The journey was fraught with peril, treacherous mountains and rivers, great demons lurking in the forests, and mountain bandits occupying the hills. Even martial artists weren’t guaranteed to reach the prefectural city alive.

Besides pills, there were also various martial skills.

The number of martial skills collected within the Martial Alliance was greater than the combined total of all the martial arts halls in the entire county town.

In Chu Liang’s previous fight with Wu Qian, the 《Iron Fist》 Wu Qian used was unique to the Martial Alliance and couldn’t be learned elsewhere.

“Martial skills can be exchanged for at the library.”

“The library?”

“Yes.” Song Zhong explained to Chu Liang, “The first floor of the library houses various martial skills, while the second floor contains archival materials and records, such as historical events and tales of demons.”

As they talked, they arrived at the library.

As soon as they stepped inside, the scent of sandalwood wafted over them.

Sandalwood smoke curled inside, refreshing and calming. Smelling this scent could relax a person considerably.

Chu Liang glanced around and saw many famous martial skills.

“《Iron Sand Palm》, 《Stone Breaking Hand》, 《Throat Piercing Finger》, 《Mad Eagle Claw》…”

These martial skills were arranged on the wooden shelves on the first floor, each with only a cover and two pages of introduction, but no detailed content.

To see the detailed content, one had to exchange merit points.

The two went up to the second floor.

The various records on the second floor could be browsed freely without spending merit points.

Chu Liang casually picked up a book and flipped through it. The book described the growth experiences of many first-rate experts.

He picked up another one and skimmed through it.

This book described some anecdotes and interesting stories that had happened in the Great Liang Dynasty since its founding.

“I occasionally come here to read about the life experiences of many experts, using them as goals, motivating myself, and reminding myself not to slack off,” Song Zhong said.

“Using past sages and experts as goals…”

Chu Liang nodded silently. This was a good method.

The county town was, after all, a small place.

Staying in such a place for a long time could easily make one short-sighted, limiting their perspective and losing the motivation to move forward.

Chu Liang put down the book of anecdotes and picked up another one.

The cover had the four characters 《A Century of Jianghu》 written on it.

He thought it was also a collection of anecdotes, but when he opened it, it turned out to be serious historical records.

It recorded some events that happened a hundred years ago in the Great Liang Dynasty, both in the imperial court and the martial world.

“I’ve read this book too,” Song Zhong said. “A hundred years ago, the Great Liang Dynasty experienced a very chaotic period. At that time, there were demons causing trouble, coinciding with natural disasters and severe droughts. The people were struggling, corpses were everywhere, and countless people died. The entire Great Liang Dynasty was almost overthrown, so the imperial court is now very focused on these matters.”

“I see.”

History seemed to be a cycle, constantly repeating itself.

A hundred years ago, natural disasters occurred year after year, and demons rose together. At its worst, the entire sky was dyed blood red.

And now, while the south where Chu Liang was located was still alright, the north was experiencing consecutive years of natural disasters again.

Evil demons in various places were also becoming increasingly active.

An era of chaos was imminent.

That was why the Martial Alliance was so concerned about the recent strangeness in the deep mountains.

“I’ve already seen demons. What are the legendary ‘devils’ like?”

Chu Liang’s curiosity was piqued, and he carefully read the book.

Demons were mountain spirits and monsters; they existed everywhere.

But devils were different…

It was said that devils were extraterrestrial beings, not belonging to this world at all.

Some also said that devils were hidden in the depths of every living being’s heart. Once one fell, they might descend into the demonic path.

A hundred years ago, a devil calamity erupted.

“A hundred years ago, the Blood Demon emerged, slaughtering everywhere it went, leaving no blade of grass behind. In just half a year, it killed millions of mortals…”

This beginning startled Chu Liang. A million people killed in half a year?

By just one devil?

“Nineteen first-rate experts from the Sichuan Sword Sect emerged to intercept the Blood Demon, and all died tragically.”

“The Sect Leader of the Hundred Beasts Valley led seven elders out of the mountains to stop the Blood Demon, and they also perished.”

“The Bai Clan, a millennial family, was slaughtered by the Blood Demon. Their Grandmaster Ancestor and all their guest elders died, leaving only a few survivors…”

Chu Liang’s eyelids twitched as he read. The Blood Demon described in the book was a walking massacre.

Even Grandmasters died!

Martial Arts Grandmasters were existences even stronger than first-rate experts, on the same level as Demon Kings of the demon race.

“Finally, nine top Grandmasters joined forces to intercept the Blood Demon at the peak of Heavenly Mountain… This battle caused the heavens to collapse and the earth to crack, with gods weeping and ghosts wailing…”

The book recorded that the battle lasted for a day and a night, and the Blood Demon was finally destroyed.

Of the nine Grandmasters, three died on the spot, and another three died from their severe injuries after returning home to settle their affairs.

Of the remaining three, one disappeared from the martial world, never to be seen again, and the other two weren’t in good condition either.

“Grandmaster is already the pinnacle of the martial arts path, but that Blood Demon was even stronger than a Grandmaster. What realm was that?”

Chu Liang was fascinated, his thoughts drifting far away.

Song Zhong shook his head. “I don’t know either. The book doesn’t mention it.”

“That’s a pity.”

“Let’s focus on breaking through to the Skin Tempering Realm and becoming third-rate experts first. Don’t think too far ahead.”

“That’s true…”

After finishing “A Century of Jianghu,” Chu Liang let out a long breath.

Chaotic times were coming.

◈◈◈

He felt an inexplicable pressure.

In true chaotic times, even Grandmasters were in danger of death. He, a small Blood Coagulation Realm martial artist, was like an ant.

“It’s getting late. I should return to the martial arts hall.”

Chu Liang bid farewell to Song Zhong and left the Martial Alliance.

He had an urgent desire to become stronger.

In the following days, Chu Liang stayed in the martial arts hall.

He didn’t dare to slack off, tempering his Qi and blood and practicing saber techniques every day, his strength constantly growing.

Unknowingly, more than a month passed.

It was already late autumn.

The county town was tinged with withered yellow.

With a gust of wind, withered leaves danced and flew everywhere, filling the city with a sense of desolation.

“My fourth strand of Qi and blood is eighty percent condensed. I’m just a little bit away from fully condensing it. No rush, I’m still young; time is on my side.”

Chu Liang had been practicing his saber all night, his saber techniques becoming increasingly proficient, already no weaker than Saber Master.

His Three Autumn Blades were inherently stronger than the Autumn Blade.

Although Saber Master was at the Four Strands of Qi and Blood level, if they were to fight head-on, Chu Liang was confident he wouldn’t lose.

Over the past month, he had only gone to Saber Master a few times to listen to his public lectures, but hadn’t sought individual instruction.

This surprised many apprentices.

They all knew that Chu Liang had sold the Tiger Demon’s corpse and must have a considerable amount of silver.

“I asked Saber Master, and he said Senior Disciple Qi Bai has made the most progress recently, but he didn’t know Chu Liang’s specific progress, meaning Chu Liang hasn’t asked Saber Master for guidance at all.”

“Chu Liang is so rich, yet he’s unwilling to spend money on individual instruction?”

“He’s too stingy!”

“The path of martial arts is arduous; one shouldn’t be stingy with money. Hasn’t anyone told him that?”

“Perhaps he knows, but he’s truly unwilling. You know his greedy nature…”

Over the past month, the rumors about Chu Liang hadn’t diminished but had instead intensified.

Because of these rumors, many martial arts hall disciples’ first impression of Chu Liang was “greedy,” followed by “selfish,” “despicable,” and other negative attributes. In short, they weren’t good impressions.

A few people had been speaking up for Chu Liang, such as Qi Xiuliang and Qi Lin from the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall.

But their voices were too small, quickly drowned out by the others.

“Qi Xiuliang, that Chu Liang is notorious and despised by everyone. If you speak up for him again, don’t blame me for expelling you from the martial arts hall!”

In the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall, Young Miss Qi Yue issued an ultimatum to Qi Xiuliang and the others with a cold attitude.

Although she had been reprimanded by her father last time, she hadn’t changed at all.

The rumors outside were getting worse.

Qi Yue became even more arrogant, believing she was absolutely right. She said to Qi Xiuliang, “I told you long ago, that Chu Liang’s abilities are average. He couldn’t have killed the Tiger Demon on his own.”

Qi Xiuliang’s face darkened. He wanted to retort, but his friends pulled him away.

They all advised him not to speak up for Chu Liang anymore.

“You guys, sigh…”

He sighed, filled with disappointment.

Among those who advised him, several were those who had been surrounded by the wolf pack in the forest with him.

If Chu Liang hadn’t intervened, they would have been devoured by the wolves. How could they still be standing here talking?

“Such is the human heart…”

Qi Xiuliang was very distressed.

He would sometimes go to Chu Liang, hoping Chu Liang would publicly refute the rumors.

But Chu Liang’s attitude was like that of an old man about to die, completely ignoring the outside voices.

Over time, even the two little rats by Chu Liang’s side had become indifferent.

“Master, today is Saber Master’s lecture day. Do you want to go and see?”

“Yes, let’s go one more time.”

Chu Liang nodded slightly, packed his things, left his courtyard, and headed towards the place where Saber Master gave his lectures.

On the way, he passed by the courtyard where the new apprentices tempered their Qi and blood, as usual.

It was still early today, and Tie Niu and the other new apprentices hadn’t started cultivating yet; they were all waiting in the courtyard.

“Tie Niu!”

Chu Liang greeted Tie Niu with a smile.

But he suddenly frowned and stopped, noticing bruises around Tie Niu’s left eye, the corner of his mouth, and other places. Tie Niu’s overall demeanor seemed weak.

“What happened?” Chu Liang asked.

“Big Brother Chu, I…fought with someone, and I was less skilled…”

Tie Niu stammered, trying to explain.

Chu Liang looked closely and saw that Tie Niu was even missing a front tooth, clearly knocked out.

He knew Tie Niu was always honest and wouldn’t cause trouble proactively.

“Who did this? Tell me everything!”

“Big Brother Chu, it was just a fight; it’s no big deal…”

Tie Niu’s voice was weak, his breathing unsteady.

Another new apprentice beside him couldn’t help but speak up, “Big Brother Chu, it was Xu Hua, the young master of the cloth shop, who joined the martial arts hall with us.”

“Him? Why did you argue?” Chu Liang asked again.

“Yesterday evening, Xu Hua and his friends went to the noodle shop to eat. While there, they talked about you, Big Brother Chu, saying you were a despicable and selfish villain… Tie Niu couldn’t help but argue with them, and as a result, he was beaten, and even his family’s noodle shop was smashed by Xu Hua and his men…”

“Oh? He beat you and smashed the noodle shop?”

Chu Liang’s face darkened, his gaze suddenly turning cold.

He waved his hand and immediately said, “Let’s go find him!”