Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

On the mountainside.

A desiccated corpse lay beside a round boulder.

The crowd of Cultivators surrounded the desiccated corpse, whispering amongst themselves.

”Someone else has been killed!”

”This will never end until the real killer is dealt with. But given the current situation on Yunjing Island, it’s unlikely we’ll see any results anytime soon.”

”...”

”Brother Yuann!”

”Fellow Daoist Zhu.”

”Senior!”

Seeing Yuann Mo and Zhu Ju, the crowd of Cultivators greeted them one after another.

Chen Tong was already at the scene. When he saw the two arrive side-by-side, a peculiar look flashed across his face.

”Fellow Daoist Yuann.”

He straightened up from beside the corpse and cupped his hands.

”You’re here.”

”Mm.” Yuann Mo nodded. He strode over to the corpse, his expression darkening.

”Which fellow Daoist was killed?”

The familiar scene was almost identical to last month’s, making him think another Dao Foundation Cultivator had been murdered.

”It was a junior,” Chen Tong said, shaking his head.

”One of Fellow Daoist Tong Jiao’s disciples. He was found dead here not long ago.”

”That’s right.” A heavily made-up Female Cultivator gritted her teeth and nodded.

”Guiyuan was my most beloved disciple. He had already opened the Innate Eight Acupoints and had a good chance of advancing to the Dao Foundation.”

”I never imagined...”

”I will definitely avenge him!”

Yuann Mo wore a strange expression.

’This Fellow Daoist Tong Jiao was naturally flirtatious and had over a dozen disciples, each one a handsome young man.’

’They were called disciples, but in reality, they were her boy toys.’

’This Guiyuan was her favorite. She’d hold him in her arms every day, unwilling to let go.’

”It wasn’t the same person,” Zhu Ju said, looking at the body on the ground and shaking his head gently.

”The one who killed the Dao Foundation Cultivator was clean and efficient, their strength unfathomable. This is different.”

”This body shows clear signs of a struggle before death. The killer couldn’t even completely overpower an Innate Qi Refiner. It’s definitely not the one who killed Fellow Daoist Zhuang.”

”Is that so?”

As he spoke, other nearby Daoists arrived one after another. Yu Lou, swishing his long sleeves, pursed his lips.

”I don’t see any difference.”

”Fellow Daoist Yu,” Chen Tong frowned.

”Fellow Daoist Zhu is right. I also find it strange. Even if one were cultivating a Demon Skill, they shouldn’t lower their standards.”

”Could it be...”

”Someone’s trying to fish in troubled waters?”

Zhu Ju rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought. The corpse before him felt strangely familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

But when he tried to recall, he drew a blank.

”What do we do now?”

Yu Lou spread his hands.

”Report it to the Yunjing Commerce Association?”

This was clearly a joke. The Yunjing Commerce Association was in complete chaos; who would come to deal with something like this?

”Let’s just burn it,” someone suggested.

”Clean and simple.”

”No!” Tong Jiao’s eyes flew open. She stretched out her arms to block the way to the corpse, shouting angrily,

”My disciple is barely cold in his grave! How can you be so hasty? At the very least, he should be buried.”

Before she could finish speaking, the desiccated corpse behind her suddenly twitched.

”Watch out!”

Zhu Ju, who had been watching the corpse intently, let out a low cry. With a flick of his finger, he sent several streams of Profound Light slashing toward the body.

SWOOSH!

GRRR...

The desiccated corpse suddenly sprang up, opening its mouth wide to reveal fangs as it lunged at Tong Jiao, a ferocious aura erupting from it.

It transformed from an unmoving corpse into a man-eating monster in a single instant, leaving no time for anyone to react.

At that very moment, the Profound Light struck, forcing the lunging corpse back step after step.

WHOA...

The expressions of everyone present changed dramatically. The Innate Qi Refiners, in particular, were so frightened they stumbled backward.

Many of them had been near the corpse. ’If it had reanimated back then...’

The consequences would have been tragic!

”It reanimated?”

Chen Tong’s face darkened. He thrust a hand forward, and his True Essence and Spiritual Qi converged in the air, forming a giant palm that shot toward the desiccated corpse.

The giant palm spread its five fingers like a cage, suddenly clamping down on the corpse as a vast and mighty power erupted from within.

BANG!

The desiccated corpse was crushed directly into a pulp of flesh.

Innate Qi Grand Capture!

This was one of the most common techniques for a Dao Foundation Cultivator, but when wielded by him, its power was terrifying.

A reanimated corpse that could threaten a Dao Foundation Cultivator had been squeezed to death.

Such profound strength... ’He must be not far from advancing to the Late-Stage Dao Foundation.’ This observation also caused the watching Yuann Mo’s eyes to narrow.

”Excellent!”

Yu Lou clapped repeatedly.

”Fellow Daoist Chen, what a fine technique!”

”These are the methods of a Demon Cultivator,” Zhu Ju said, his expression grave.

”The Netherworld Sect and the Celestial Corpse Sect excel at this kind of Method: killing people and turning their corpses into Walking Corpses.”

”No wonder!”

”No wonder it felt so familiar.”

’Long before I had even become an Innate Qi Refiner, I had encountered a Demonic Disciple from the Netherworld Sect.’

’Back then,’

’the situation was almost identical to this.’

’The only difference was that the Netherworld Sect disciple was merely at the Innate realm, yet he still managed to turn an entire county into a Ghostly Realm.’

’Now...’

’The perpetrator must be a Dao Foundation Demon Cultivator!’

’And this fog!’

’How could I have forgotten? Back then, Leping County was blanketed in a dense fog. The Zhou Family had fallen into the Demon Dao practicing the Silent Extinction Path of Evil Death, turning the hundreds of thousands of people in the county into their prey. How is today’s situation any different?’

”A Demon Cultivator?”

Chen Tong’s expression changed.

”This is trouble!”

’The problem isn’t the Demon Cultivator itself, but that the Yunjing Commerce Association is in no position to spare anyone to deal with it.’

”There’s no need to worry,” Yuann Mo said, his eyes glinting.

”The East Sea is vast; there are quite a few people who secretly practice Demonic Cultivation Techniques, but most of them never amount to much.”

”This person attacked an Innate Qi Refiner, so their strength can’t be that great. Even if we were to encounter them, we should be able to handle it.”

”That’s right,” Chen Tong said, snapping back to his senses.

”Fellow Daoist Yuann has a point. As long as we band together, we can solve any problem.”

Zhu Ju remained silent.

’The East Sea Cultivation World knows little about the Demon Dao, and they lack a proper fear of Demon Cultivators.’

’He was different.’

’He was once trapped for many years in the Wind Moon Valley of the Joyful Sect, and his own Sect was driven into the Ten Thousand Mountains by Demon Cultivators.’

’He knew very well the terror of the Demon Dao.’

’Given the right environment, a Demonic Cultivator’s strength could advance by leaps and bounds in a short time.’

’If they aren’t eliminated early, they will surely become a major disaster in time!’

’Moreover...’

’This time, it was the work of a Demon Cultivator. What about the murder of Fellow Daoist Zhuang last time?’

’If it was...’

’Then what level of strength did the Demon Cultivator who struck last time possess?’

The thought that such a Demon Cultivator was hidden on the island made his mood turn grim, his brows knitting tightly.

”So, you see,”

Yu Lou said, still clapping.

”Fellow Daoist Chen’s proposal to form an alliance was truly brilliant! It’s to ensure that no matter what happens, we can all survive.”

”Alright.” Chen Tong smiled and waved his hand.

”Now that we know there’s a Demon Cultivator hiding on Yunjing Island, we should be even more cautious. The body must be burned.”

”Fellow Daoist Tong.”

”You have no objections, right?”

Looking at the pile of pulpy flesh that was once the desiccated corpse, Tong Jiao’s expression shifted, and she finally nodded helplessly.

”I have no objections.”

”Then let’s disperse!” Chen Tong called out to the crowd.

”The matter is resolved. There’s no need for everyone to keep gathering here. Spread the news about the Demon Cultivator first, and tell everyone to be careful.”

”Yes!”

”As you say, Senior.”

”...”

The crowd voiced their agreement and was about to disperse.

”Wait a moment.”

Just then, Zhu Ju suddenly spoke up, pointing a finger at a person behind Yu Lou.

”You, stop right there!”

”Senior?” The man was tall. He froze upon hearing the command, an imperceptible trace of fear flashing in his eyes.

”Is there something you need?”

”...” Zhu Ju scrutinized him carefully, a divine light flickering in his eyes. Then he snorted coldly.

”It was you!”

”During those few days I was away, you went to my estate and stole my things, didn’t you?”

Ah!

The man’s face changed at these words, and he instinctively looked toward Yu Lou.

”You, Zhu.”

Yu Lou’s eyes widened in a glare.

”What is the meaning of this?”

”I know you’ve never liked me, but there’s no need to frame one of my men for stealing from you, is there?”

”Frame him?” Zhu Ju raised his hand, and a wisp of Qi floated in mid-air.

”This is a wisp of Qi I captured from my estate. It is identical to this man’s. We’ll know if it’s a frame-up or not with a simple test.”

”A test just because you say so?” Yu Lou shouted.

”Who knows when you collected that? For a Dao Foundation Cultivator, capturing someone else’s aura is a trivial matter.”

”What?” Zhu Ju’s expression darkened slightly.

”Are you going to stop me, Fellow Daoist?”

”Stop you?” Yu Lou rolled up his sleeves, a cold smile spreading across his face.

”You, Zhu, I think you don’t know what’s good for you. Did you really think that just because I’m usually all smiles, I don’t have a temper?”

He was a Mid-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivator!

And his techniques were not weak; it was just that his usual demeanor made people subconsciously overlook this fact.

”I’ve disliked you for a long time. A junior who’s only been at the Dao Foundation for twenty years, and you’re always putting on a sour face in front of me.”

”Today, I’ll show you what I’m made of!”

”Fellow Daoist...” Someone tugged at his sleeve.

”What?” Yu Lou frowned, looking over with displeasure.

”Fellow Daoist Yu.” The person leaned in close.

”Don’t be rash.”

”Rash?” Yu Lou laughed out of sheer anger.

”Brother Zhao, are you trying to stop me?”

”No.” The other person shook his head and spoke in a lowered voice.

”A few days ago, Fellow Daoist Zhu...”

His voice was so low that even those standing right next to him couldn’t hear clearly, only vaguely catching words like ”Mid-Stage Dao Foundation” and ”Talisman Treasure”.

But Yu Lou’s expression grew uglier and uglier.

”Fellow Daoist Yu.”

Zhu Ju summoned his Flying Sword and spoke again.

”Are you sure you want to stop me?”

”...” Yu Lou opened his mouth, then looked back at the Dao Foundation Cultivator who had spoken to him. The man nodded.

”Well...”

He scratched his head, gave an awkward smile, and retracted the aggressive aura that had been roiling around him.

”A misunderstanding!”

”This is all a misunderstanding.”

”This junior, surnamed Li, has always had sticky fingers. It’s possible he really did go to your estate, Fellow Daoist.”

”Senior!” Xiaoli’s face paled.

”But didn’t you...”

”Shut up!” Yu Lou’s expression darkened.

”Fellow Daoist Zhu says there’s something wrong with you, so you just answer him honestly. Do you think he would frame you for no reason?”

”You...” A conflicted look appeared on Xiaoli’s face, his eyes darting back and forth. He suddenly dodged and bolted toward the crowd.

WHOOSH!

His speed was extremely fast. Like a slippery loach, he dove into the crowd and rushed toward the dense fog.

With the cover of the fog, even a Dao Foundation Cultivator would find it difficult to lock onto him if they weren’t close enough.

And with the crowd as cover, many techniques were difficult to use.

”Hmph!”

Zhu Ju snorted lightly through his nose, and his eyes suddenly glowed with Spiritual Light.

Two beams of faint light shot out from his eyes, landing on Xiaoli as if by Instant Teleportation.

Soul-Stabilizing and Soul-Slaying Divine Light.

THUD!

Xiaoli’s body stiffened, his eyes instantly losing their focus. He trembled once, then the life went out of him and he collapsed.

Utterly silent.

Dead.

Back when Zhu Ju was still an Innate Qi Refiner, he had relied on this very Magic to slay a Six Acupoints Innate.

Now.

He was a Dao Foundation Cultivator who had already connected two of his earthly souls. With his immense Divine Soul Power, even a Nine Acupoints Innate would find it difficult to resist this technique without the protection of a Divine Soul Secret Technique.

SWISH!

With a single beckoning motion of his hand, he pulled Xiaoli’s storage pouch into his grasp. A simple rub between his palms broke the Restriction on it.

He swept his Divine Thought inside, and the contents of the storage pouch were all revealed to his senses. Then, with a deadpan expression, Zhu Ju put it away.

”Just as I thought!”

”It was this little thief!”

”Heh heh...” Yu Lou scratched his head.

”I told you there was something wrong with him.”

He had completely forgotten that just moments ago, he had been the one stopping Zhu Ju from taking action. Such shamelessness was a rare sight, even among Dao Foundation Cultivators.