Martial Cultivator

The heavy rain still did not stop. Chen Chao stood in the rain in silence for a moment before walking over to retrieve the broken saber he had thrown earlier. He tied it back around his waist and then turned to glance at the corpse of Daoist Sage Tianyi. He briefly considered taking his head away, but in the end, he shook his head. If Xie Ying, that little girl, saw this guy's severed head, she would probably cry in fright. Even though the little girl was already dead, Chen Chao still did not want her to be disturbed even in death.

"Come out."

Chen Chao looked in a certain direction, his voice cold.

Earlier during the battle with Daoist Sage Tianyi, he had known that there was a spectator to their fight. It was just that this spectator's cultivation realm was not high. It was likely some cowardly Clearwater Mountain cultivator who did not follow Daoist Sage Tianyi's orders to intercept him on the mountain path.

As expected, after Chen Chao finished speaking, a little daoist boy immediately ran out from under a distant tree. Within a few steps, he came to Chen Chao and knelt down with a thud, repeatedly kowtowing. "Immortal Master, please spare my life! I've only been on the mountain for a short time and absolutely haven't done anything that went against heaven and reason!"

In the pouring rain, the little daoist boy's kowtowing was sincere, leaving behind a pool of bright red blood on the ground.

Actually, the little daoist boy had no choice but to be sincere. He had seen from afar when his senior brothers tried to intercept Chen Chao on the mountain path. The scene was horrifying. This young martial artist of unknown origin showed no mercy when killing. The senior brothers he had seen before were now just piles of dismembered corpses on the mountain path.

As for Daoist Sage Tianyi, whom he regarded as a deity, was he not lying in the distance?

In addition to the Dao ancestor hall that was a frightening sight to behold, the little daoist boy had no doubt that this young martial artist in front of him would immediately kill him.

Chen Chao glanced at the little daoist boy and said calmly, "I heard that you have the so-called medicinal fruits at the back of the mountain, where is it?"

Just as the little daoist boy was about to speak, he heard this god of killing in front of him say calmly, "Think carefully before you speak. If there's any lie, you can die right now."

The little daoist boy had intended to pass off his lack of knowledge about the medicinal fruits at the back of the mountain because he only joined recently. But upon hearing this, he immediately became said timidly. "I heard from my senior brothers that halfway up the back mountain, there's an immortal grotto where the Mountain Lo-... where this scoundrel keeps medicinal fruits he refined. I've only heard about it and haven't been there."

Without hesitation, Chen Chao said, "Lead the way."

The little daoist boy had a mournful expression, but he quickly got up and led Chen Chao towards the back of the mountain.

With one in front and the other behind, the little daoist boy walked cautiously, while Chen Chao behind him walked even slower. Although he had slain Daoist Sage Tianyi, his injuries were not light. Being able to walk at this moment was already remarkable.

Soon, the two arrived at the halfway mark at the back of the mountain. Sure enough, there was a cave not far ahead.

Normally, there should be someone guarding this place. But now, there was only the little daoist boy left on Clearwater Mountain, so there were naturally no guards.

The two entered the cave.

The little daoist boy stopped, becoming somewhat hesitant.

Chen Chao made a nonchalant grunt.

Only then, did the little daoist boy whisper, "Reporting to Immortal Master, there may be some traps in this cave. If we proceed recklessly, I'm afraid..."

Chen Chao was expressionless, just uttering one word.

"Go."

The little daoist boy did not dare to disobey the command of the killing god behind him. He gritted his teeth and moved forward. But fortunately, the journey was uneventful. After a while, they could see some light inside.

They entered, where large cauldrons were displayed. Above each cauldron, various spiritual medicines were suspended, with drops of their essence occasionally falling into the cauldrons.

Chen Chao walked to one of the large cauldrons and bent down to look inside, only to see a horrifying sight. Inside the cauldron were the bodies of several children, all pure white, with even their bones and veins visible. They were soaking in the essence of the medicinal herbs, their eyes tightly closed. They had likely been dead for a long time.

Chen Chao was silent, but his expression was ugly.

The little daoist boy knelt down again, sobbing, "Master, I really just arrived at the mountain. I have never done those atrocious things!"

Chen Chao ignored him and just looked into the distance. There was a small cave entrance; only about a person's height.

"What is that?"

Chen Chao pointed and asked.

The little daoist boy hastily replied, "That's where that scoundrel usually cultivates. There should be some treasures. I'll go get them for Immortal Master."

Chen Chao shook his head. "Wait for me here."

Then, Chen Chao ignored that little daoist boy and walked straight into that cave.

As Chen Chao's figure disappeared from view, the little daoist boy wrestled with conflicting thoughts, wondering whether he should just run away. But after thinking carefully, he could only stand there with a mournful expression, not moving an inch.

Chen Chao entered the cave. The interior was simple, with only a meditation cushion and a bookshelf containing some daoist spells, presumably those studied by Daoist Sage Tianyi.

After glancing around, Chen Chao lifted the cushion and indeed found handwritten notes underneath.

These were the so-called new ideas of Daoist Sage Tianyi over the years.

As Chen Chao flipped through the pages, he furrowed his brows. Daoist Sage Tianyi could be considered an ambitious person of his time. As a martial artist, he sought to find a path that allowed martial artists to cultivate daoist techniques. Although he took an unorthodox approach and created these harmful things, judging purely from Daoist Sage Tianyi's ideas, he was no ordinary person.

After a few glances, Chen Chao turned and walked out of the cave.

The little daoist boy was still standing there, eagerly waiting for Chen Chao.

Chen Chao glanced at him and instructed, "Go dig some holes."

The little daoist boy understood what Chen Chao wanted to do and trembled with fear as he reminded, "Immortal Master, once these medicinal fruits leave the medicinal cauldrons, they lose all effect within half a day..."

Without waiting for him to finish, Chen Chao just gave him a cold look.

The little daoist boy immediately changed his tune, "I will obey Immortal Master's orders."

Chen Chao remained silent, watching as the little daoist boy dug the holes. Afterward, Chen Chao helped bury all the deceased children.

After completing everything, Chen Chao came to the cave entrance and gazed into the distance.

There had been a Dao ancestor hall on the peak over there, but now it was nothing but ruins.

The little daoist boy stood beside Chen Chao, not daring to lift his head.

Chen Chao suddenly said expressionlessly, "When cultivating your sect's technique, you have to consume a medicinal fruit on the first day, and then one each month. How long have you been on the mountain?"

Hearing this, how could the little daoist boy not know what Chen Chao meant? He knelt down with a thud again, begging for mercy, "Immortal Master, spare my life! I've been on the mountain for less than a month. In the beginning, I was forced by them..."

Before he could finish his words, Chen Chao had already grabbed the little daoist boy by the neck. He looked at the boy whose face was gradually turning red and said calmly, "Do you think I can't see the greed in your eyes? "If I let you go, perhaps in less than half a day, you'll dig up all those so-called medicinal fruits and devour them all."

The little daoist boy's eyes were filled with fear. He wanted to plead for mercy, but now he could not say a word.

Chen Chao could not be bothered to say any more. He just exerted a little force, snapping the boy's neck, and then casually threw his body down the mountain.

After he was done with these things, Chen Chao glanced back at the cave. As a pure martial artist, he could not discern much about the cave. If a buddhist monk had arrived at this moment, they would probably sigh with sorrow and then start performing rituals to help transcend the deceased spirits.

This so-called immortal grotto was destined to be filled with resentful spirits.

Chen Chao did not know if he should rejoice that he would not see this sight, or lament that he was powerless to save these children who were already dead, yet their resentful spirits lingered.

With complicated thoughts in his mind, Chen Chao descended the mountain alone.

……

……

The heavy rain gradually subsided and the sky began to brighten.

In Clearwater Commandery's commandery city, many cultivators and commoners who were slow to react only now realized that the Clearwater Pavilion in the city had turned into ruins. Amidst their shock, many were still in a daze, unaware of what had happened last night. As for the commandery government, they had actually received news early on. Almost at dawn, they had quietly sent people to investigate the situation. Upon seeing the corpses of many Clearwater Mountain cultivators in the ruins of the Clearwater Pavilion, they returned to report. The commandery prefect who usually dared not speak up when oppressed was actually somewhat agitated for a moment. He almost burst into laughter right there.

After calming down, he simply instructed his subordinates to act as if they knew nothing about the matter. Whether Clearwater Mountain had provoked a formidable foe, he did not want to get involved. He did not care about how Clearwater Mountain would retaliate or whether they would succeed or not. After all, whether Clearwater Commandery changed hands in the future was not something an ordinary prefect like him could meddle in.

Since it was a fight among immortals, all they could do was stay as far away as possible.

As for the local warden, when the magistrate sent someone to inquire earlier, he was surprised to hear that the martial artist had already gone out late at night to eliminate demons in a county city belonging to Clearwater Commandery.

This made the prefect quite emotional. Who said martial artists were just brutes? Our warden had such meticulous thoughts.

In the bookshop, the owner stayed awake all night, looking at the corpse of the young girl placed there. This scholar could not help but sigh repeatedly. Hating evil and removing harm for the people was a principle mentioned in the classics of sages, but the sages also said, "When poor, be virtuous alone; when wealthy, benefit all under heaven."

Now, he was truly unsure which sage's advice to follow.

However, seeing the rain stop and the sky gradually clear, and with the young martial artist not yet returning, the bookstore owner sighed and prepared to leave the city with his collection of books and the corpse of the young girl.

As he opened the door of the bookstore, he happened to see the young man in black returning to the bookstore.

After a night's absence, the young man's complexion was incredibly pale.

But since he could leave the city and return, it seemed to indicate something.

The bookstore owner was truly shocked this time.

Clearwater Mountain was no less dangerous than a den of dragons and tigers. The fact that the young man before him could return unharmed was not easy, right?

Or perhaps the young martial artist before him had ultimately made peace with Clearwater Mountain?

Without waiting for him to speak, Chen Chao entered the bookstore and placed something next to the corpse of the young girl.

It was a grasshopper woven out of weeds.