Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Anomaly in the Deep Mountains

It was already late autumn, and the leaves on the mountains had turned yellow.

As the morning breeze blew, the leaves fell and danced in the air.

Chu Liang, having finished everything, mounted his little donkey and set off on the road back to the village.

He had been away for more than two months, the longest he had ever been away from the village in this life.

“Donkey, let’s go back to the village and see how the construction of the Chu Family Mansion is going!” Chu Liang said with a light laugh.

“Hee-haw…”

The donkey raised its head and responded, its drooping ears twitching.

The journey was smooth, without the urgency of the outward trip, and the donkey’s hooves moved much slower.

At ten o’clock in the morning, Qing Shi Village came into view.

The houses that had been damaged by the Tiger Demon had been repaired.

At the village entrance, stacks of high-quality timber and stone were neatly piled, presumably for the construction of the Chu Family Mansion.

Several workers were lifting a piece of timber together.

“One, two, three… heave!”

They chanted in unison, their faces flushed and foreheads covered in sweat, as they carried the timber towards the village.

Chu Liang recognized these men; they were all adult men from the village.

He continued forward on his donkey.

Just as he reached the village entrance, he suddenly saw a familiar face.

Zhao Hu!

It was quite interesting, he always seemed to run into this fellow at the village entrance.

Zhao Hu now looked different from before, less spirited and more reserved.

He was teaching a young villager archery, his gaze focused and concentrated, not noticing Chu Liang.

“Whoosh!”

The young man released an arrow, looking forward with anticipation, only to find that he had missed the straw target, his face falling in disappointment.

He said dejectedly, “Master Zhao, do I just not have the talent for archery? Maybe I should just go back to farming with my father.”

“You’ve only been practicing for a few days,” Zhao Hu said, shaking his head. “You’re not a genius, how could you master archery in just a few days? Practice makes perfect. Pay attention to the wind direction next time.”

“Master Zhao, are there really geniuses who can master archery in just a few days?”

“Yes, I’ve seen one.”

“Who?”

The young man was curious.

Zhao Hu was about to speak when a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

“Zhao Hu!”

“Hmm?”

He shuddered, immediately turning around. When he saw Chu Liang’s appearance, he subconsciously opened his mouth, “A…”

His mouth hung open, his lips moved, but he only managed to say “A,” unable to utter the word “Liang.” His expression suddenly became humble, and he carefully bowed, saying, “Chu… Master Chu.”

Chu Liang nodded slightly. “Hmm, teach them well.”

“Yes.”

Zhao Hu lowered his head and answered respectfully.

Chu Liang didn’t say anything more and rode past him on his donkey.

Zhao Hu watched his back, his expression complex, and finally let out a long sigh.

Although they hadn’t seen each other for only two months, he felt that Chu Liang’s aura had become even more powerful. Just looking at him gave him an inexplicable sense of pressure, making him unable to even think of striking up a conversation.

At the village entrance, many villagers had already recognized Chu Liang.

“It’s A-Liang, A-Liang is back.”

“What A-Liang? It’s Master Chu!”

“Right, right, Master Chu, it’s Master Chu who’s back. Go and inform Master Chu’s family!”

The villagers swarmed forward, their faces filled with humble and ingratiating smiles.

Times had changed. Apart from the Chu family, probably no one dared to call him “A-Liang” anymore.

Soon, Master Hu came running out.

As soon as he saw Chu Liang, his eyelids twitched. He felt that Chu Liang had become even stronger than two months ago.

“This guy is a monster. How does his strength grow so fast?” Master Hu muttered to himself.

He himself hadn’t made any progress in the past two months, living in constant fear and being interrogated by Wu Neng’s teammates from time to time.

Based on his understanding of Chu Liang, he was eighty percent sure that Wu Qian had been killed by Chu Liang.

But he always told Wu Neng’s teammates that he knew nothing.

For some reason, he was more afraid of Chu Liang than Wu Neng.

“Master Hu!” Chu Liang saw him and greeted him with a smile.

“Master Chu, you’re finally back!”

Master Hu smiled broadly, lifting his long robe and running towards Chu Liang.

Behind him, Second Uncle and the others also arrived.

Everyone else in the village, no matter what they were doing, put down their work and ran towards the village entrance.

Chu Liang’s return had caused a commotion throughout the entire village without him even doing anything.

“You should have sent word in advance. If I had known you were coming back, I would have had the cook prepare a feast for you!” Master Hu said as he approached.

“No need, it’s not mealtime yet.”

Chu Liang smiled and dismounted from the donkey.

He walked straight towards Second Uncle and the others.

After two months apart, Second Uncle’s complexion was much rosier than before, no longer that of a পরিশ্রমী farmer, but with a hint of prosperity.

“A-Liang, you’re finally back!” Second Uncle said with a joyful face, while Chu Shan beside him looked excited.

“I’ve troubled you during this time, Second Uncle,” Chu Liang said with a smile.

“No trouble at all, building a house is no trouble.” Second Uncle patted Chu Liang’s shoulder. “It’s you, you went to the county town to learn martial arts without a word. The county town is not like the village. I was worried that you might offend some big shot in the county town.”

“Don’t worry.”

Chu Liang smiled. In terms of status and reputation, he was now considered a big shot himself.

After all, he was someone who had been praised by the Martial Alliance Leader.

There were probably many people in the county town who wanted to befriend him.

Behind Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, and the others were also present.

They also wanted to strike up a conversation, but they didn’t know where to start. Facing Chu Liang, whom they hadn’t seen for two months, they felt a little reserved, standing behind and hoping that Second Uncle could help them put in a good word.

Chu Liang looked at Chu Shan and said with a smile, “A-Shan, come here, let me see if you’ve grown taller.”

“Big Brother Liang!”

Chu Shan looked excited and quickly walked forward.

At his age, he was in his growth spurt. With enough food, he would grow taller quickly.

“Big Brother Liang, I haven’t slacked off these past two months. I’ve been practicing the archery skills you taught me!” Chu Shan said excitedly, his voice barely contained.

“Oh? How is it going?” Chu Liang asked with a smile.

“Within ten meters, I can now hit nine out of ten shots!”

“On a stationary target?”

“Moving targets too.”

“Good! Not bad!”

Chu Liang was very satisfied and praised him with a smile.

Chu Shan added, “Big Brother Liang, those three hunting dogs you left behind are really amazing. They can catch prey on their own. We’ve had so much prey lately that we can’t even finish it all.”

Just then, three black hunting dogs with shiny fur came running down from the nearby mountain forest.

“Woof woof!”

They wagged their tails excitedly and ran towards Chu Liang.

◈◈◈

After two months, these three dog demons had fully grown, their fur changing from yellowish-brown to black.

They squeezed through the crowd and jumped around Chu Liang excitedly, making whimpering sounds.

The villagers marveled, saying that these dogs were very intelligent.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chu Liang arrived at the Chu Family Mansion.

The foundation of the house had already been laid, and it was more than ten times larger than Chu Liang’s own small courtyard. The surrounding land had also been purchased, allowing for future expansion.

“A-Liang, what do you think?” Second Uncle asked.

“It’s good, it’s enough.”

Chu Liang nodded and took out some silver notes from his pocket, handing them to Second Uncle.

He asked, “Second Uncle, have you ever thought about moving to the county town?”

“To the county town?”

Second Uncle was taken aback. This topic was a bit distant for him.

The other relatives looked at him with envy.

Chu Liang’s meaning was clear. If he was interested, he would take Second Uncle’s family to the county town in the future.

Second Uncle thought for a moment and said, “A-Liang, I’m old now. I wouldn’t be of much help to you in the county town. In the future… if you don’t find it troublesome, could you take your little brother A-Shan to the county town?”

“Of course!” Chu Liang agreed with a smile.

He had plenty of resources now and could take as many people as he wanted to the county town. He could even let Chu Shan join a martial arts hall to learn martial arts.

But Chu Shan was only fourteen years old now, still growing. He couldn’t learn martial arts yet.

When he was sixteen or seventeen, it would be about time.

He patted Chu Shan’s shoulder and found that this kid’s physique was very strong, a good candidate for martial arts training.

At this moment, Master Hu suddenly spoke, “Master Chu, it’s cold standing outside. Why don’t you come to my house and sit for a while?”

Chu Liang glanced at him and saw that he looked like he had something to say but was reluctant to say it in front of so many people.

He nodded slightly and said, “Alright.”

He and Second Uncle went to Master Hu’s house, to a side hall.

The other relatives were left in the main hall.

In the side hall, Master Hu lowered his voice and told Chu Liang about recent events, “Chu Liang, Wu Neng’s teammates have come many times recently.”

Second Uncle also said, “Yes, A-Liang, why did you suddenly come back? It’s safer in the county town. You should have stayed there.”

He was worried, fearing that Wu Neng and the others would suddenly come.

Last time, Song Zhong had stopped them, but this time, Chu Liang was alone.

What if Wu Neng and the others came?

Seeing their worried looks, Chu Liang couldn’t help but smile and said, “It’s fine, they won’t be appearing anymore.”

Hearing this, both of them were stunned.

Second Uncle subconsciously thought that Chu Liang had found connections and asked someone to help him deal with Wu Neng’s matter.

But Master Hu was different. He heard another meaning in Chu Liang’s words ━ they were all dead!

He was shocked and shivered.

So ruthless. So many experts, killed just like that, as if slaughtering chickens and dogs.

He was more informed than Second Uncle and the others, knowing about many recent events in the county town, and he had a good understanding of Chu Liang’s character.

He would either do nothing or cause a big stir.

“Chu Liang, what will the Martial Alliance say?” Master Hu asked implicitly.

“As long as I’m more valuable than them, the Martial Alliance won’t say anything,” Chu Liang said calmly.

“That’s true…”

Master Hu suddenly understood.

After all, Chu Liang was a genius, and his value was much greater than Wu Neng and the others.

They chatted for a while longer, then left the side hall.

Lunch was eaten at Master Hu’s house.

After lunch, Chu Liang bid farewell to Second Uncle and the others, saying that he still had many things to do in the county town.

“A-Liang, be careful in the county town. Don’t worry about us, just take care of yourself,” Second Uncle said earnestly before parting.

“Don’t worry, Second Uncle, I understand.”

Chu Liang smiled and waved, then mounted his donkey and rode off.

The county town was not far from Qing Shi Village.

The way back was smooth, with no one to obstruct him.

“My saber techniques are almost there, but my movement techniques are still lacking,” Chu Liang thought to himself on the way back, summarizing the problems from the previous battle.

His saber was fast, but he himself was not fast enough.

This was a very obvious weakness.

When he burst out with all his strength, his speed could keep up with his saber techniques, but Chu Liang felt that this kind of burst was too crude.

He needed a martial skill specifically for movement techniques.

“When I get back to the county town, I’ll go to the Martial Alliance’s library and see if there are any suitable movement techniques for me.”

Chu Liang thought as he walked, recalling every move from the battle in his mind.

Time passed unknowingly.

A little after four in the afternoon, the city gate came into view.

“Huh? Something happened?”

Chu Liang suddenly frowned, looking at the county town gate.

Outside the south gate, more than ten bodies covered in white cloth were neatly laid out.

Beside the bodies, some people looked sad, while others were full of worry.

Among them were disciples from the Autumn Blade Martial Arts Hall whom Chu Liang recognized.

“Donkey, let’s go take a look!”

“Hee-haw…”

The donkey responded, its four hooves quickening, carrying Chu Liang to the city gate.

Chu Liang dismounted and found a disciple from the Autumn Blade Martial Arts Hall, asking, “What’s going on here?”

“Senior Martial Brother Chu?”

The disciple was invigorated, wiping away his tears, and said, “Senior Martial Brother Chu, it’s Senior Martial Brother He… they had an accident. They encountered demon beasts while training in the mountains and unfortunately lost their lives…”

“Which Senior Martial Brother He?”

“Senior Martial Brother He Yuan from Qian Lan Village.”

“Oh…”

Chu Liang had some impression of this name. He remembered that this person had once attended a class with him taught by Saber Master, also practicing 《Autumn Blade》, and had even been called on stage to demonstrate the saber techniques.

He had even chatted with this person a few times before.

Unexpectedly, when he saw him again, this person was already lying under a white cloth.

“I remember He Yuan had the strength of Two Strands of Qi and Blood, and his Autumn Blade Technique had already reached the entry level. Ordinary demon beasts shouldn’t be able to harm him, especially with his teammates to help him. Could it be that he encountered a demon beast with Three Strands of Qi and Blood or even stronger?”

Chu Liang thought to himself.

He was about to ask more when he suddenly heard more sounds of crying coming from afar.

Chu Liang’s ears twitched, and he looked in the direction of the sound.

On the distant official road, more than ten wooden carts were slowly approaching.

The wooden wheels creaked, and the wooden planks were stained brown with blood. On each plank lay an incomplete corpse.

“More people died?”