"Junior Brother?" Wuzheng's call drifted over from the distance, his voice tinged with anxious urgency.
Zhou Wuji stowed the gourd and notes into his Five Yin Pouch, then called back loudly, "I'm over here."
Before long, Yang Shuling and Yang Tieying arrived, flanking Wuzheng.
Seeing the two corpses on the ground, looks of delight spread across all three of their faces.
The two demonic cultivators had been far too troublesome; letting them escape would have invited endless future disaster.
Especially Yang Shuling—burdened with an entire household of family members, he feared cultivators of unpredictable, insidious means most of all.
Martial artists might be formidable in head-on combat, but outside of direct clashes, cultivators possessed myriad spells and ever-shifting arts that were nigh impossible to guard against.
A martial artist could suppress spells with their vitality and blood, but Yang Shuling was not alone; this time, his own grandson had fallen directly under the control of gu arts.
Another major issue was that a martial artist could not continuously unleash their vital blood day and night.
Unless they found the proper countermeasure, martial artists would still be suppressed by cultivators.
Martial artists were strong in the tangible, while cultivators excelled in the intangible.
Ordinary people could practice the martial path; it was merely a matter of how high their achievements reached.
Yet those capable of cultivating spells and arts were one in a thousand.
Though martial artists appeared better suited for open combat, cultivators actually enjoyed far higher status.
For a martial artist was only capable of fighting, whereas a cultivator could accomplish so much more.
Curing illness, healing wounds, preserving health, reading feng shui and geomancy, divining fate and fortunes, dual cultivating for longevity, concocting alchemical elixirs for immortality, and even casting curses and bindings—they could do virtually anything.
Above all, demons, devils, and supernatural horrors ran rampant across the world, and ordinary martial artists could not deal with them.
Having roamed the jianghu for decades, Yang Shuling knew all too well how formidable cultivators truly were.
When he turned against the Five Dragons Gang and took action this time, his sole intention had been to exterminate every last one of them.
Only by doing so could he buy enough time to flee.
He could hardly voice such thoughts aloud, but fortunately, Zhou Wuji had proved thoroughly dependable, leaving not a single person alive under his blade.
Cupping his hands in respect, Yang Shuling flattered, "Daoist Zhou shattered all their wicked sorcery with a single sword. Truly admirable, truly admirable!"
This was no mere polite pleasantry, but praise straight from the heart—he had even developed a sense of awe toward Zhou Wuji.
Chen Hui and the two female demonic cultivators were all seventh-rank experts, yet Zhou Wuji had wiped them all out in one fell swoop.
Such methods were ruthless and overbearing to the extreme.
Though a seventh-rank martial artist himself, he felt immense pressure facing Zhou Wuji.
Part of it was because Zhou Wuji had just slaughtered numerous demonic cultivators and the murderous aura clinging to him had yet to disperse.
Relying on his jianghu experience, Yang Shuling immediately judged that Zhou Wuji's martial arts and swordsmanship far surpassed his own.
Zhou Wuji shook his head slightly. "It was only with the assistance of Senior Brother Wuzheng and you two that I managed it by luck."
Though he liked superficial renown, he would not monopolize the credit in a matter like this.
Claiming all the glory served little purpose; in slaughtering so many demonic cultivators, he had already reaped the greatest benefits.
Letting Senior Brother Wuzheng and the others share the reputation was better. After all, having the world know that his blade never left a single survivor was hardly a good thing.
Wuzheng paid no heed to such details. Looking at the two demonic corpses on the ground, he said, "The spells of these two demonic cultivators were ever-shifting and distinctively patterned; they must have been true inheritors of the Heavenly Ghost Sect.
"Demonic cultivators of the Heavenly Ghost Sect are exceedingly bellicose. Having slain their true disciples, we must be wary of their retaliation in the future..."
Both Zhou Wuji and Yang Shuling nodded. They both knew the might of great sects and understood that this was no trivial matter.
Only Yang Tieying remained blind to the deeper perils. Having examined the two corpses, his gut told him they had been felled by Zhou Wuji in a single sword strike. Looking back at Zhou Wuji, his face was filled with reverent worship—this Daoist, only a few years older than himself, was simply incredible!
Previously, his grandfather had spoken to him about apprenticing under Zhou Wuji, and frankly, he had been somewhat reluctant.
Zhou Wuji was only three or four years older than him at most; the age gap was far too narrow.
As for claims that Zhou Wuji's swordplay was transcendent, those had all been mere rumors.
Nobody had actually seen Zhou Wuji slay a seventh-rank expert with their own eyes!
Having mastered hidden force, Yang Tieying believed he could achieve Transforming Jin before turning thirty.
How grand a seventh-rank martial artist would be then! Why would he need to apprentice under a Daoist? With his martial talent, why on earth would he go cultivate the Dao? That would just be absurd!
Now, however, he had changed his mind. He had witnessed the true dreadfulness of spells and, even more, the terrifying prowess of Zhou Wuji.
Forget him—even his grandfather might not stand a chance against Zhou Wuji in a direct fight.
Apprenticing under Zhou Wuji was definitely not a bad deal!
None of the three adults noticed Yang Tieying's shifting thoughts; they were discussing how to deal with the aftermath.
The demonic cultivators in the courtyard had turned to ashes, which was easy to handle. However, all nine members of the family residing in the courtyard had been murdered, requiring careful settlement.
The three deceased from the Yang family also needed to be properly taken care of.
None of this was trivial.
The Heavenly Ghost Sect was a demonic sect already condemned and hunted by the government, so disposing of their cultivators posed no issue.
The Five Dragons Gang, however, was a prominent gang in Yunyang Prefecture, commanding thousands of boatmen and controlling the water transport.
Publicly displaying Five Dragons Gang members as the culprits would be slapping the gang across the face.
According to official procedure, the authorities would also have to interrogate the Five Dragons Gang to investigate the matter thoroughly.
After some discussion, the three agreed it would be best to quietly dispose of Chen Hui and the others rather than escalate the matter to the official level.
If things blew up, it would likely provoke wild retaliation from the Five Dragons Gang.
More importantly, with the Zhang family sheltering the Five Dragons Gang, it would be difficult to suppress the gang through official channels anyway.
If things got tangled up, having killed so many people would be impossible to explain cleanly.
Yang Shuling had deep roots in Siming County after so many years, so secretly disposing of a few corpses was easy enough.
Wuzheng took the corpses of the demonic cultivators to the county yamen. He was on speaking terms with the county magistrate and, as a seventh-rank ordained Daoist, held the same rank as the magistrate, making discussions straightforward.
With nothing left for him to do, Zhou Wuji went to the Yang residence to rest.
Yang Tieying originally wanted to keep his future master company, chatting to foster closer relations and inquire about details of the battle.
Zhou Wuji, however, had no interest in chatting with a kid, even if the young man was already eighteen.
When Zhou Wuji asked for a quiet room to rest, Yang Tieying hurriedly arranged accommodations for him.
The quiet room was not large, but it made up for it by being clean, tidy, and peaceful.
Zhou Wuji did not light a lamp. Activating his Six Yang Dharma Eyes directly, he brought out the retrieved notes to leaf through them.
The notes were ragged and old; many pages were damaged, and the text was fragmented and incomplete.
The written script differed slightly from contemporary script as well. Fortunately, he recognized most of the characters, and by guessing the rest from context, he could grasp the general idea.
The notebook was incomplete to begin with, amounting to just tens of thousands of words in total. Zhou Wuji finished reading it before long.
The owner of the notes called himself Tianji Shenjun. Going by his self-appellation and phrasing, he had likely been the leader of some cult.
Most of the notes recounted his lifetime combat achievements—such as traveling west to contest the Buddhist sects, scoring minor victories in clashes against several Wisdom Kings;
and remarking that Buddhist monks were rotten to the core while posing as saints, thoroughly detestable, and so forth;
and journeying east to challenge several Heavenly Masters of the Daoist sects, only to find their reputations exceeded their abilities;
and commenting that while the Heavenly Masters reeked of worldly wealth and vulgarity, fond of playing charlatans, their character was still better than that of the Buddhist monks—at least they could accept defeat gracefully;
and expressing deep regret over visiting Daoist hierarchs without managing to meet them.
Near the end of the notes, an entry recorded that Tianji Shenjun had constructed a cave abode somewhere to spend his twilight years.
Zhou Wuji felt a bit dumbfounded upon reading this. Constructing a cave abode to spend his twilight years?
Such a practice was exceedingly rare.
A cave abode would inevitably lie far from populated settlements, hidden deep within some remote mountain range.
Even with peak cultivation that eliminated worldly worries about basic survival, living in desolate, wild mountains still brought countless inconveniences.
After all, cultivators were not immortals who could feast on clouds, drink morning dew, and live forever.
Because of their cultivation, they required diverse resources more than anyone.
Only illicit demonic cults would establish cave abodes in inaccessible wilderness, primarily to evade prying eyes and avoid detection by the imperial court and orthodox sects.
Even if an ordinary cultivator sought seclusion, they would build temples, abbeys, or palatial compounds on famous scenic peaks—at least it would be comfortable to reside in.
The Tianji Shenjun in these notes boasted so grandly; why would he dig a hole to hide away?
Zhou Wuji found no answer in the notes, but he grew intensely interested in Tianji Shenjun's cave abode.
Even if only one-tenth of what was written were true, this divine lord had been a formidable figure.
A cave abode left behind by such a divine lord was bound to contain some fine treasures.
Accompanying the notes were several sheets of coarse draft paper with extremely crude maps drawn on them.
One glance told him they were the handiwork of the two female demonic cultivators.
Comparing the maps, Zhou Wuji could only vaguely make out a few mountain peaks.
The notes contained no detailed location of the cave abode. Judging from the maps, the two female demonic cultivators had likely been searching for it and keeping notes along the way.
It was very possible that the notes once had the abode's location, which the two women had destroyed.
Examining the maps left by the female cultivators, one could not decipher what place had been drawn.
Still, the appearance of the two female demonic cultivators in Siming County might not have been solely for him; perhaps helping the gang was just in passing?
Zhou Wuji's heart stirred as he thought of the Heavenly Puppet, and recalled Jin Chuan mentioning that they had caught grave robbers in Old Dragon Village.
After the red-furred monkey monsters of Lingming Peak were eliminated, that group discovered a mountain cave on Lingming Peak and found several treasures inside.
The Heavenly Puppet had been found in that very cave.
Regrettably, some unknown mishap occurred in the cave, causing it to collapse and killing all the villagers who entered.
Those left outside had been silenced by Jin Chuan and his men.
Jin Chuan had described the cave's location in great detail—on the mountainside of Lingming Peak's northern slope—so it should not be difficult to find.
A few other fellows in the Iron Clothes Guard also knew about it.
Fortunately, Wu Di was slain and Jin Chuan was dead, throwing the Iron Clothes Guard into chaos. Right now, those few fellows had no mind to pay attention to that cave.
Zhou Wuji felt that the cave was very likely Tianji Shenjun's cave abode!
He brought out the yellow jade gourd; the diminutive gourd was perfect to fiddle with in one's palm.
Though small, Zhou Wuji estimated it weighed at least a jin or so.
Nothing could be discerned from its exterior. Zhou Wuji sensed no danger from the gourd; if it were dangerous, the two female demonic cultivators would not have carried it against their persons.
If two demonic cultivators had nothing to fear, he had even less cause to worry.
Zhou Wuji slowly unscrewed the stopper atop the gourd. It was an exquisitely polished yellow jade stopper with spiral threading inside, fitting tightly against the gourd's mouth.
Upon opening the stopper, a cool draft of yin qi drifted out from within the gourd.
Gently shaking it, he heard what sounded like sloshing water. When he tried tilting it outward, an even purer yin qi flowed forth.
Through his Six Yang Dharma Eyes, he could see the pure, gentle state of the yin qi—like a stream of clear, glazed moonlight flowing slowly outward from the gourd's mouth like liquid nectar.
Though Zhou Wuji did not know what it was, he guessed it had to be some special, pure form of yin qi, and bound to be a fine treasure.
He hurriedly righted the gourd and tightened the stopper. Useful or not, he could not let it go to waste.
Senior Brother Wuzheng was quite knowledgeable; perhaps he ought to ask him.
Zhou Wuji immediately dismissed that idea. If the yellow jade gourd proved exceedingly precious, asking would be testing Wuzheng's integrity.
Even if Wuzheng promised not to leak the secret, Zhou Wuji still would not feel at ease.
Forget it; it was better to study this thing slowly on his own.
The lower courtyard possessed a vast collection of books, and Martial Uncle Yiping oversaw Feixuan Hall. Once he arrived at the lower courtyard and browsed through the classics, that would be far better than casually asking around.
Zhou Wuji stowed the yellow jade gourd back into the Five Yin Pouch and opened the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment.
Of the two female demonic cultivators, one had a destiny pattern of three liang seven qian, while the other was three liang eight qian.
Judging purely by destiny pattern, these two demonic cultivators were experts even among seventh-rank practitioners.
The remaining low-level demonic cultivators had destiny patterns of only one liang and change, worth very little.
However, each of those low-level demonic cultivators had provided one liang and change of primordial profound qi.
Having been refined through secret arts of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, these low-level demonic cultivators had actually been split into two portions: one of primordial profound spirit, and one of primordial profound qi.
With such a division, both the primordial profound spirit and primordial profound qi had become rather meager.
Zhou Wuji simply converted all the primordial profound qi.
When the faint golden light faded, his total qi had increased to seven hundred and forty points; the qi converted from the dozen-odd demonic cultivators had only raised it by ten points.
Fortunately, there was still that sixth-rank ghost soldier, which yielded a full four liang one qian of primordial profound qi.
Now holding three portions of primordial profound qi worth over four liang each, he could apply them all at once when receiving his transmission and ordination.
Perhaps he could open his Baihui acupoint directly, establish a resonance with the North Star, unify the seven apertures, and officially advance to the sixth rank.
Even if he could not obtain a sixth-rank ordination certificate, true qi cultivation at the sixth rank was more than double that of the seventh rank.
At that time, whether unleashing spells or controlling the Heavenly Puppet, he could do so with far greater ease.
With stronger true qi, the might of the spells he unleashed would naturally increase.
In particular, he still needed to learn the Big Dipper Tianshu Yin Thunder and the Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation; both spells were of high rank and consumed massive amounts of true qi.
Once he mastered those two spells, he could confront enemies with sorcery and would no longer need to draw his sword and risk his life in close quarters combat all the time. At that point, he would be a true mage—no, a true Daoist master!
Chapter 83