Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Saber Technique Still Not Mastered?

Creak, creak…

The old wooden wheels turned slowly, rolling over the official road and arriving outside the South City Gate.

On the blood-soaked wooden planks, each corpse was exceptionally mutilated and horrifying.

They were covered in terrible wounds; some were missing limbs, some were missing heads, and some were torn into several pieces, almost unrecognizable as human.

Outside the South City Gate, many onlookers expressed their concerns.

“So many people died again.”

“This is the third trip.”

“They all died so tragically. I really don’t know what kind of terrifying demon beasts they encountered. I’m glad I didn’t go into the mountains recently.”

It had been a long time since such a serious incident had occurred in the county town.

Dozens of martial artists died in one day, all killed by demon beasts!

Based on the discussions around him and the accounts of the martial arts hall disciples, Chu Liang gradually understood what had happened today.

Early this morning, when he was still on his way back to the village, the atmosphere in the county town was already tense.

The Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall discovered that several teams of martial artists patrolling the surrounding mountains had not returned.

The Martial Alliance immediately dispatched experts to lead teams to search for them.

In the mountains, they found numerous traces of fighting and killing. Those areas were in chaos, with blood everywhere, and the remains of many wild beasts scattered around.

“Later, the Martial Alliance issued a summons, calling us all over and dividing us into many teams to search. At that time, Senior Martial Brother Chu, you were not present…”

A martial arts hall disciple explained the situation to Chu Liang.

This search revealed a major problem.

Around noon, they found more than a dozen mutilated corpses in a mountain cave. They were not from the Martial Alliance patrol teams but from a demon-hunting team that had gone into the mountains to hunt demons a long time ago.

Around three o’clock in the afternoon, everyone found the bodies of He Yuan and his teammates in a mountain valley.

Judging from the scene, they had experienced an extremely fierce battle before they died.

The unranked treasure saber in He Yuan’s hand was even broken.

Just now, another team of martial artists’ corpses was brought back on a wooden cart.

“When things are abnormal, there must be demons. I’m afraid something big is about to happen.”

Someone around looked worried and couldn’t help but sigh.

The world was about to fall into chaos, and even this small county town could not escape. It was destined to be drawn into the turmoil.

Natural disasters, man-made disasters, demon disasters…

These were all manageable, but the fear was that a demon disaster like the one a hundred years ago would occur.

“Chu Liang, where were you this morning?” A voice suddenly asked. The speaker was Luo Hong, the Hall Master of the Martial Alliance Merit Hall, who was walking out of the city.

“I went back to Qing Shi Village.” Chu Liang cupped his hands and replied.

“Alone?” Luo Hong frowned.

“Yes.”

“Don’t act alone anymore.”

“The village is very close.”

“It doesn’t matter how close it is.” Luo Hong shook his head. “You have great talent, and there is a high chance that you will break through to the Skin Tempering Realm in the future. You can’t afford any accidents.”

“I understand.”

Chu Liang knew that Luo Hong was looking out for him, but he was indeed used to acting alone.

Teamwork was not his forte.

“Good that you understand!”

Luo Hong walked to a wooden cart, carefully examined the wounds on the corpses, and turned to Chu Liang, saying, “Chu Liang, can you see the problem?”

“Problem?”

Chu Liang also walked over, his gaze sweeping over the entire corpse, and after a moment of thought.

He quickly realized, “These martial artists were all killed by demon beasts. Based on the nature of demon beasts, they would definitely devour the corpses of the martial artists completely.”

“That’s right! But these corpses were not devoured. Instead, we found them.” Luo Hong nodded.

That was the problem.

Why didn’t the demon beasts eat the corpses of these martial artists?

They obviously knew that humans would find these corpses, so these corpses were deliberately left behind.

Why do it deliberately?

“Could it be to vent their anger? A show of force? Or a horn of war?” Luo Hong’s expression was solemn as he thought of several possibilities.

Recently, the Martial Alliance had dispatched too many experts into the deep mountains to investigate, too frequently. This might have angered the demon beasts in the deep mountains, causing them to do this today.

Or perhaps the demon beasts were preparing to do something big in the deep mountains and were afraid of being discovered by humans, so they did such a bloody and cruel thing.

Deliberately leaving the corpses to intimidate humans, making them afraid to set foot in the mountains for a short period.

The intelligence of demon beasts was not low.

They were cunning and brutal, not to be underestimated.

Luo Hong pondered for a long time and finally shook his head.

“We’ll discuss this matter later.”

He looked at Chu Liang and asked, “Chu Liang, are you interested in joining my Merit Hall? What I said before was true. As long as you join the Merit Hall, you will be one of the officials, holding a ninth-rank official position, with an imperial appointment.”

“Thank you, Hall Master Luo.” Chu Liang cupped his hands and said, “I am currently focused on practicing my saber techniques and am not considering becoming an official for now.”

“I understand. You are still young.” Luo Hong did not force him.

“Hall Master Luo, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Luo Hong nodded and reminded him again, “Remember, do not leave the county town alone anymore. If you need anything, you can come to me, and I will arrange people for you.”

“Thank you, Hall Master Luo!”

Chu Liang thanked him again and left with his donkey.

He entered the county town and did not return to the martial arts hall. He first went to the Yunlai Restaurant.

The restaurant was very busy today, probably having received another funeral banquet order.

Qi Shun was behind the counter, checking the accounts.

“Shopkeeper Qi.” Chu Liang walked over and called out.

“Young Brother Chu?” Qi Shun’s eyes lit up. “No, I should call you Master Chu now! Haha, I didn’t change my address in time, please forgive me!”

“With our relationship, you can call me whatever you like.” Chu Liang didn’t care. He was still young and not used to hearing the word “Master.”

He sat down directly in front of the counter and took out several bottles of pills from his bag.

“These pills nourish Qi, strengthen the spleen, and warm the body. Shopkeeper Qi, please accept them,” Chu Liang said.

“This… how can I accept this?”

Qi Shun was tempted. He knew that these were pills that only martial artists could buy.

Chu Liang smiled, “Don’t refuse. It’s just a few bottles of pills. I came here today because I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I want to buy a house in the county town. Does Shopkeeper Qi have any connections?”

“That’s easy!”

Qi Shun had a wide network of contacts and immediately promised to find a house that would satisfy Chu Liang.

Chu Liang then said, “It’s not for me to live in, but for my relatives. It doesn’t need to be too luxurious, but the location must be good, preferably in the central area north of the county town.”

“Central area north of the county town?”

◈◈◈

Qi Shun was instantly enlightened.

He was a smart man, and combined with what had happened today, he immediately understood Chu Liang’s intentions.

If demon beasts attacked, the surrounding villages would definitely suffer. The county town was relatively safe, and the central area north of the county town was the safest.

After all, the county government, the Martial Alliance, and several major martial arts halls were all located in the northern part of the county town.

Chu Liang planned to bring his second uncle’s family to the county town, so naturally, he wanted to settle them in the safest location.

“Young Brother Chu, when do you plan to buy the house?” Qi Shun asked.

“The sooner, the better. Money is not an issue!” Chu Liang replied.

“No problem!” Qi Shun readily agreed. “I’ll give you an answer before eight o’clock tonight.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Chu Liang stood up and thanked him.

He left the Yunlai Restaurant and went straight to the Martial Alliance.

The Martial Alliance Library had a large collection of martial skills that could be exchanged for merit points.

Chu Liang directly took out pills worth three thousand silver taels and exchanged them for three hundred merit points at the Merit Hall. Then he went to the library and carefully searched.

The library mostly contained offensive martial skills, with fewer of other types.

He searched the entire first floor and only found three movement techniques: 《Flying on Grass》, 《Treading on Water》, and 《Light Body Leap》, all of which were well-known unranked martial skills in the martial world.

These martial skills only had covers and a few pages of introduction, without the specific content. Therefore, in the information of the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror, they were “incomplete” and required the offering of flesh and blood to evolve into the complete version.

Chu Liang carefully examined them and found that evolving 《Light Body Leap》 required the most flesh and blood, needing fourteen catties.

The other two only required eleven catties.

“This is the one!”

Chu Liang made up his mind and immediately found the librarian to exchange for the complete version of 《Light Body Leap》.

“You are Chu Liang?” the librarian asked him.

“Yes,” Chu Liang nodded.

“After you return, this martial skill can only be viewed by you alone and cannot be given to a second person. Do you understand?”

“I know.”

“Good that you know. Sign the contract. If you violate the contract, no matter how talented you are, the Martial Alliance will have to imprison you in the dungeon!”

“Alright.”

Chu Liang signed the contract and was deducted two hundred and sixty merit points.

He obtained the movement technique.

He was about to leave when he heard a cold snort from the second floor.

“Genius? Chu Liang, I heard that you haven’t even mastered the 《Autumn Blade》 technique. Where do you get the nerve to accept the title of ‘genius’?” Law Enforcement Hall Master Liang Han walked down the stairs, his tone extremely unfriendly.

He happened to be in the library and confronted Chu Liang.

Chu Liang’s expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly, “Hall Master Liang doesn’t need to worry about this. I know what I’m doing.”

“Could it be that your saber technique is lacking, so you plan to practice movement techniques instead?” Liang Han persisted and asked again.

“Hall Master Liang, you’re overthinking. You’re worrying too much.” Chu Liang changed the subject. “This state is not good for breaking through to the Skin Tempering Realm. Hall Master Liang should be careful, lest your flesh and blood collapse and you die.”

“What a sharp-tongued brat!” Liang Han’s face turned cold.

“I can’t compare to Hall Master Liang.”

Chu Liang put away the contract and martial skill, no longer paying attention, and turned to leave the library.

Liang Han’s face was livid, and he wanted to follow him out.

But the librarian behind him called out, “Old Liang, you’re an old man now. Why bother with a junior?”

“I…”

Liang Han was filled with anger.

He could tell that the librarian was clearly taking Chu Liang’s side.

Chu Liang was a genius favored by even the Alliance Leader. Many people believed that he would definitely break through to the Skin Tempering Realm in the future.

“He’s not even in the Skin Tempering Realm yet, just a kid who has condensed two strands of Qi and Blood, and he dares to be so arrogant in front of me?” Liang Han said angrily.

“Young and impetuous, you and I have been there too. There’s no need to take it to heart,” the librarian said with a smile.

“Humph!”

Liang Han walked out of the library with a cold face.

He planned to find a way to give Chu Liang some trouble.

But as soon as he took a few steps, he found that trouble had already found Chu Liang!

“Huh, isn’t that… Li Ren’s second disciple, Li Feng?”

Liang Han narrowed his eyes and saw that Chu Liang was stopped by a martial artist.

The man was dressed in black, carrying a long saber on his back, with sharp eyes, and his whole body exuded sharpness, like an unsheathed cold saber. He looked just like a younger version of Hall Master Li Ren!

Li Feng, Li Ren’s second disciple.

He had the strength of two strands of Qi and Blood, and his saber technique was superb. He was quite famous among saber-wielding martial artists.

He had recently been working at the Martial Alliance Merit Hall and only returned to the martial arts hall every other week to receive instruction from his master, Li Ren.

“Junior Martial Brother Chu!” Li Feng clasped his hands, his voice clear.

“Senior Martial Brother Li.”

Chu Liang naturally recognized Li Feng.

Li Feng was a straightforward person and directly asked, “Junior Martial Brother Chu, did Master give you the treasure of the hall?”

“It wasn’t given, it was lent,” Chu Liang corrected.

“Can Junior Martial Brother lend it to me?”

“Senior Martial Brother, don’t joke around.”

Chu Liang chuckled and shook his head, saying, “This matter requires the Hall Master’s decision, not mine alone.”

“Junior Martial Brother, Master is biased. I also want to observe the treasure of the hall, but he won’t give me the chance.” Li Feng spoke bluntly, even saying the word “biased” in public.

There were many martial artists in and around the library, and they all heard this.

Chu Liang was stunned.

He had heard that this second disciple was straightforward, but he didn’t expect him to be this “straightforward,” practically unable to keep anything to himself.

How could he say such offensive words, especially words that offended his master, in public?

Fortunately, his master was Li Ren. If it were someone with Qi Hai’s personality, he would probably have been kicked out of the martial arts hall long ago.

“Senior Martial Brother Li, the Hall Master is not biased. He just thinks you need more tempering. When the time is right, he will naturally let you observe it,” Chu Liang said patiently.

“Junior Martial Brother, Senior Martial Brother has already been tempered enough!”

“What does Senior Martial Brother want?”

“Junior Martial Brother, how about we have a match? Just comparing saber techniques!”

Li Feng spoke his mind and proposed a competition on the spot.

The treasure of the hall was related to the Saber Dao, so naturally, it should be given to the one with the stronger saber technique to comprehend.

If he won, it meant that he was more qualified to comprehend it than Chu Liang.