Chapter 88: Chapter 71: We True Demon Cultivators Are Born Unrestrained

The owner of the roadside stall worked with swift, nimble hands, and in no time at all, he served up a bowl of simple, plain noodles.

Xuan Chanzi picked up his chopsticks, his voice booming like a great bell:

“Young friend, do not be alarmed. I simply feel we are fated to meet, and before leaving Beimang Ridge, I wanted to see you one last time.”

Had anyone else said this, Jiang Yi would have scoffed internally.

’We’ve only met once and exchanged a few words. Why try to force a friendship?’

But the man before him was a remnant of the Zhongyi Sect—not a very pleasant title, to be sure.

Put another way, however, he was the sole living inheritor of a Grand Sect’s Dharma Lineage!

The weight of that title was enough to crush half of Beimang Ridge!

“I am unworthy of forming a connection with an Upper Cultivator.”

Jiang Yi lowered his gaze, suddenly feeling the Cat Master in his robes curl into a soft ball, as if it didn’t want to be seen.

Without drawing attention to himself, he shifted forward slightly, using the tabletop to hide True Master Xuanmiao’s plump figure.

“I am rarely mistaken when I judge a person’s character.”

Xuan Chanzi’s eyes shone brightly as he seemed to recall a memory.

“Years ago, on Moyun Peak in the Mingcang Marsh, the first time I saw Lou Zhenxiao, I knew he was one of the Innate Dao Materials, destined to one day attain his rightful place.

And just as I predicted, he has now gathered three of the Five Elements. With his Life Essence Integration, he has become a candidate for True Monarch.”

After saying this, Xuan Chanzi buried his face in his bowl. His table manners were far from elegant; in a few loud slurps, he downed the entire bowl, soup and all.

As they’d say back in Jiang Yi’s hometown, he ate like a reincarnated hungry ghost.

It even made him want to call the owner over and order another bowl.

“A straightforward one, aren’t you, young friend!”

Xuan Chanzi wiped his mouth, the smile in his eyes growing wider:

“On account of this bowl of noodles alone, we are destined to have a connection.”

The corner of Jiang Yi’s eye twitched with regret. ’Your Zhongyi Sect’s Dharma Lineage was annihilated. Everyone wants a piece of you. Please don’t drag me into this.’

Xuan Chanzi seemed to see right through him, but instead of getting angry, he simply boomed with laughter.

“Young friend, don’t mind that I’ve become a pariah everyone wants to hunt down and kill. Just wait! The day I gather all Five Elements and my Life Essence reaches Perfection, heh! All Cultivators will still have to bow before me and hail me as a True Monarch!”

Jiang Yi did not know what crime the Zhongyi Sect had committed, nor did he understand why Xuan Chanzi was so self-assured.

Based on his composed and confident bearing alone, the man was clearly a heroic figure.

Jiang Yi said solemnly,

“Then, with this bowl of noodles, I offer my early congratulations to you, Upper Cultivator, for attaining your position and succeeding in your pursuit of the Dao.”

“You certainly have a way with words, young friend.”

Xuan Chanzi smiled. When the second bowl of noodles arrived, he devoured it in an instant, like a whirlwind scattering the clouds.

Seeing Xuan Chanzi’s gaze fall upon him once more, Jiang Yi stated with a straight face:

“My apologies, Upper Cultivator, but my purse is rather light. I could only afford the one extra bowl.”

He really didn’t want Xuan Chanzi to linger. If his Grandpa, Yang Xun, and He the Venerable returned from buying the horses, this chance encounter could turn into them traveling together, which would be a complete disaster.

“It seems you are unwilling to get too involved with me, young friend.”

Xuan Chanzi sighed, a hint of melancholy in his voice.

“I once heard it said: ’Those of meager fate and depleted luck cannot walk the Dao; they are merely fuel for heaven and earth’s Copper Furnace.’

You, Upper Cultivator, are a Jiao whose destiny soars to the heavens, a dragon that stirs the winds and clouds. I, however, am but a mere fish, one of meager fate and depleted luck.

The fish may envy the Jiao’s power to ride the clouds, but it also knows the Jiao is wreathed in lightning. To draw even half a step closer is to be turned to ash.”

Jiang Yi’s Brain God was clearer and working faster than ever before. He enunciated each word with deliberate slowness, letting them fall with the weight of iron.

This was the posture a Lower Cultivator had to take before an Upper Cultivator!

And it was the justification a Lower Cultivator had to offer when daring to refuse an Upper Cultivator!

Even if Xuan Chanzi seemed heroic, magnanimous, and open-hearted…

…Jiang Yi dared not bet his life on the moral character of a Demonic Cultivator.

“You’re right. I’ve grown so accustomed to surviving in dire straits, to a life of wandering, that I naturally assumed others could handle it as well.”

Xuan Chanzi’s smile faded. He shook his head and said,

“I was being presumptuous.”

With that, he put down his bamboo chopsticks.

“However, I ate a bowl of your noodles, so I consider myself in your debt. If, one day, among the peaks of Beimang, you see golden qi surge to the heavens, feel bronze and iron begin to hum, witness a white rainbow pierce the sun, and watch the clouds themselves part… you may call my name.

I will personally come to initiate you, and you will inherit my Dharma Lineage!”

Huh?

’Jiang Yi’s heart skipped a beat. He truly couldn’t understand what this successor to the Zhongyi Sect saw in him.’

’A mere Qi Cultivation Fifth-Layer cultivator like me… how could I be on the mind of a Foundation Establishment Upper Cultivator?’

“Haha, young friend, there’s no need to sell yourself short.”

Xuan Chanzi rose to his feet, and his words fell like the sharp edge of a sword:

“As I said just now, I have met countless people, so I am rarely mistaken.

In my century or so of cultivation, I have seen those of the Demon Dao Dharma Lineage who fawn on their superiors while bullying their subordinates, who fear the strong and prey on the weak.

And I have seen those of the Immortal Dao Dharma Lineage who are self-righteous, conceited, and arrogant!

A person is not defined by their Daoist Lineage, but they are often stained by their Dharma Lineage.”

His gaze, like a torch, fell upon Jiang Yi:

“When I first met you, young friend, I saw that you have an excellent disposition. You Cultivate Ding Fire, yet your fire is bright, neither gloomy nor dim. It is just like you: despite your humble origins, you refuse to sink into the mire. That is exceedingly rare.”

’Is this what they call a ’fortuitous encounter’ in the storybooks?’ Jiang Yi wondered.

’A poor, unknown boy gains the admiration of a master?’

“I hope that as you walk the path of the Demon Dao, you will hold fast to your principles! In my eyes, there are but four classes of people in this world.

Those within the Demon Dao who indulge their every whim, believing themselves to be unrestrained and free, are at best ’practitioners of Spells, but not the Dao.’

With no convictions in their hearts, they can never truly walk their path. No matter how great their power, the most they can ever have is ’the Spell.’

Throughout history, across the Yanfu Vast Land, all who have attained their station must have sought to be ’complete in both Spell and Dao’…”

Xuan Chanzi’s words trailed off as he stopped abruptly. As if sensing something, he turned and strode away without another word.

Before he disappeared down the long street, a thought inexplicably crossed his mind:

’I have this strange feeling… as if I just lost an Opportunity to take on a disciple.’

’He was unwilling to come with me. What a pity.’

…

…

「Two days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Jiang Yi’s group was now hundreds of miles from Sanhe District.

They were in no hurry to rush back to the Qianji Sect.

With the mountains sealed by heavy snow, they rode slowly. Unbothered by the bitter cold, they found a certain pleasure in appreciating the scenery.

Yang Xun’s voice drifted on the cold wind:

“Ah Yi, how goes the Sacrificial Refining of your three Magical Artifacts?”

Normally, the Sacrificial Refining of a Magical Artifact is a time-consuming and arduous task.

It requires constant nurturing, day and night, a blending of one’s True Qi to form script-like “Talismans.”

These Talismans are profound. When linked together, they can form multiple layers of restrictions, like the Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends, granting the artifact even more incredible powers.

Once that stage is reached, it becomes a “Magical Treasure.”

“The Five Yin Pouch is progressing quickly—it’s about seventy percent refined, so I can wield it with ease. The Blood Soul Mirror is a bit behind at only thirty percent, so I can barely control it.”

Jiang Yi answered truthfully.

Thanks to the Sacrificial Refining of his Magical Artifacts, his Brain God had gradually strengthened, and his spiritual sense had grown clearer. Where it could once only extend twenty or thirty feet from his body, it could now reach seventy or eighty.

“You’re even faster than I am. I’ve only managed to refine that Black Slaughter Lock to sixty percent. It’s usable, just not capable of its full range of transformations.”

Yang Xun sighed. ’Ah Yi truly is a Refining Talent,’ he thought. ’For someone at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer to nurture two Magical Artifacts at once is simply unbelievable.’

’An ordinary Fifth-Layer Cultivator wouldn’t have nearly enough True Qi Essence to spare for something like this.’

The two of them rode ahead on horseback with He the Venerable following behind, crossing whatever mountains and rivers lay in their path.

That evening, with the Qianji Sect nearly in sight, Jiang Yi spotted a tavern amidst the Fierce Evil Forest Ridge.

It was old-fashioned in style, clearly not a new establishment. Before he and his Grandpa, Yang Xun, even crossed the threshold, the enticing aroma of wine and meat drifted out to greet them.

A row of wine jars, each half a man’s height, lined the wall by the door. In front, a cloth banner hung from a bamboo pole.

It wasn’t a tavern sign, but rather eight large, crookedly written words—

We True Demon Cultivators are born to be unrestrained!

Yang Xun reined in his horse, his gaze sharpening. A look of delight spread across his long, sparsely-browed face.

“Who would have thought! Right on our own doorstep, another windfall! When good fortune arrives, there’s no stopping it!”

Jiang Yi didn’t understand why his Grandpa was grinning from ear to ear. A tavern in the middle of the Fierce Evil Forest Ridge was obviously a shady establishment.

Yang Xun gestured with his chin.

“Take a look behind you. See that rascal, He the Venerable?”

Jiang Yi turned and saw that Brother He had already dismounted. He looked completely drunk—dazed, swaying, and stumbling toward the tavern.

From inside came a clamorous din, as if a lively banquet was in full swing.

“To be traveling through here on such a dark and windy night, they must be skilled but foolhardy!”

“Perfect timing! Let’s test his mettle! Hei the Fifth, hit him with a blast and let’s see what happens!”

Jiang Yi frowned. ’In a world ruled by the Demon Dao, with all its established Dharma Lineages, are there really still bandits running a Black Shop and practicing Highway Robbery?’

’And how would such filthy lowlifes with paltry Cultivation dare to call themselves ’True Demon Cultivators’?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep