Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

Master Sun's pupils contracted slightly, and he forced an even more insincere smile: "Oh, young master, you jest! This monkey is my livelihood, my means of livelihood, how could I sell it?"

"The price is negotiable," Lin Yu said calmly. "I think it's quite intelligent; I'll offer ten taels of silver."

He casually quoted a price, trying to pry the other party's words with promises of profit, or to observe their reaction.

Master Sun's facial muscles twitched, and a glint of greed flashed in his eyes, but more so, surprise and suspicion.

He looked Lin Yu up and down: "Young master... you're putting me in a difficult position. This monkey has been with me for many years, and I've grown attached to it. I really can't sell it."

As they spoke, Lin Yu's [Heavenly Eye] keenly detected that Master Sun's lowered hand secretly made a strange hand seal, and a faint, eerie energy carrying a seductive and spying connotation drifted towards him.

Lin Yu sneered inwardly. With a slight movement of his internal magic power, the wisp of probing energy vanished instantly, as if it had hit an iron wall.

Master Sun's expression changed drastically. Although he recovered quickly, the shock he felt in that instant did not escape Lin Yu's eyes.

"Fellow Daoist, why pretend to be confused?" Lin Yu's voice was low and carried a hint of coldness: "We both know the origins of this 'beast' perfectly well."

I have no interest in your business. I just want to ask you a few questions. Answer them to my satisfaction, otherwise…”

He directly exposed the other party's identity as a cultivator, and the threat in his tone was undisguised.

Master Sun's face darkened completely, the shrewdness in his eyes vanishing instantly, replaced by a venomous, sinister glint. He stared intently at Lin Yu: "Who exactly are you? What do you want to know? In the ways of the underworld, there's a price for asking for information!"

"Rules?" Lin Yu scoffed. The muzzle of [Azure Rose]'s gun was already pressed against Master Sun's waist, and a chilling killing intent instantly locked onto the other party. "My rules are: I ask, you answer. If you talk nonsense or lie, you will bear the consequences."

Master Sun's body stiffened abruptly. Although he didn't know what weapon Lin Yu had taken out, the cold touch and Lin Yu's condensed killing intent made him have no doubt that if he made the slightest move, he would die the next moment.

"You...you asked..." Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his voice hoarse.

"What's the name of the cultivation technique you practice? Where did it come from?" Lin Yu asked coldly.

"...The Animal Husbandry Law... was... was 'invited' from a dying old beggar..." Master Sun answered with difficulty.

"How exactly is this method of 'creating animals' performed? What are the... unique aspects of cultivating this technique?" Lin Yu carefully chose his words, avoiding directly mentioning "taboos" or "problems" to prevent revealing his differences in understanding.

Master Sun's eyes revealed a hint of doubt and arrogance: "Special features? Hehe, of course. This is a true immortal technique that can transform foolish people into spiritual beasts for us cultivators to drive. Furthermore, it can use their spirituality to temper oneself and embark on the path to immortality. This is an unparalleled and wonderful method."

His tone was filled with superstition about his own power, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with the technique or the spiritual energy in his body.

Lin Yu understood immediately; it was just as he suspected.

This guy probably has no idea that there's something wrong with his technique.

"During cultivation, is there anything unusual about the spiritual energy?" Lin Yu asked in a different way.

"Strange phenomenon?" Master Sun was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Fellow Daoist, you mean the 'innate divine power' in the spiritual energy, right?"

Haha, it seems you've listened to the cholera-like rumors left behind by those ancient cultivators a thousand years ago, and are avoiding "divine power" like the plague.

His tone was slightly sarcastic, and the way he looked at Lin Yu was as if he were looking at a fool.

Lin Yu sneered inwardly. Innate divine power? More like a death warrant.

However, the ancient cultivators who avoid divine power like the plague? It seems this world wasn't always like it is now. If that's the case, perhaps if we could find the cultivation methods of these ancient cultivators, we could easily complete the mission.

Lin Yu remained expressionless and asked, "How many cultivators like you are there in this town? Are there any stronger ones?"

"No...no, it's just me. Everyone in town is just an ordinary person," Master Sun said hastily, but his eyes flickered. "The stronger ones...I've heard there's a true immortal master in the county who has obtained a 'Celestial Register,' capable of summoning wind and rain, but...how could a rogue cultivator like me possibly aspire to such a high position?"

His words were filled with awe and longing for the so-called "immortal master".

Just then, the "monkey" that was chained up seemed to understand their conversation and realize that this was the only chance. It suddenly made a series of rapid "ho ho" sounds and struggled to kowtow to Lin Yu, its eyes filled with pleading and despair.

Upon seeing this, Master Sun's eyes flashed with ferocity. He instinctively formed a hand seal and uttered a low growl: "You beast! How dare you cause trouble!"

The "monkey" was instantly struck as if by lightning, curling up in pain and letting out a mournful cry.

Lin Yu's eyes turned cold.

This heretical cultivator dares to be so presumptuous even when he's about to die.

He stopped talking and tightened his grip on the trigger slightly.

The threat of death instantly snapped Master Sun to his senses. He quickly said, "Fellow Daoist, calm down! Calm down! This beast is ignorant..."

However, the instant he spoke, a flash of desperate madness suddenly appeared in his eyes.

Taking advantage of Lin Yu's slight distraction, he suddenly bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence, and his meager evil magic power erupted recklessly.

"Bloodstained Curse! Bind!"

The blood essence transformed into a foul-smelling, blackish-red mist in the air, lunging towards Lin Yu's face like a living thing.

At the same time, he grabbed Lin Yu's wrist holding the gun with his other hand, his nails instantly turning black and sharp, whistling through the air.

Judging from Lin Yu's words, he felt that Lin Yu was at most a novice cultivator, and his strength shouldn't be that great, which was why he suddenly made a move.

"court death!"

Lin Yu reacted extremely quickly; he didn't even dodge the oncoming Bloodstained Curse.

The [Heavenly Cloak] moved without wind, and with a slight ripple of dark red light, the filthy blood curse was as if it had hit an invisible wall of fire, making a "hissing" sound, and was instantly evaporated and purified.

At the same time, Lin Yu flicked his wrist, slightly adjusting the muzzle of the [Azure Rose] gun.

boom!

The bullet accurately pierced the wrist that Master Sun had grabbed, taking away a large amount of blood, flesh, and bone fragments.

"Ah—!" Master Sun let out a piercing scream, and his attack instantly collapsed.

But Lin Yu's attacks did not stop.

As he fired the shot, lightning flashed in the palm of his other hand!

【Five Thunder Orthodox Method - Palm Thunder】

Without holding back at all, a dazzling white arc of lightning struck Master Sun's chest.

boom!

The extremely powerful and yang-like Thunder Magic is a natural nemesis for someone like Master Sun who practices evil arts.

The lightning exploded, and Master Sun's screams came to an abrupt halt.

His body was convulsing violently, his chest was charred black, and his eyes were bulging.

He flew backward like a rag doll, crashing heavily into the earthen wall of the alley before slid softly to the ground, his breath quickly fading away; it was clear he was not going to survive.

Just as Master Sun breathed his last—

The "monkey" next to it, which was chained up, suddenly jolted.

Beneath its grayish-brown fur, countless gray rune chains seemed to be breaking inch by inch.

Its body began to convulse and deform violently, emitting a sickening sound of bones dislocating and flesh writhing.

Its body shrinks, its hair disappears, and its limbs and facial features quickly return to human form...

In just a few breaths, a naked, emaciated, and deathly pale young man collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his eyes filled with bewilderment and the ecstatic joy of surviving a catastrophe.

The sorcery dissipated on its own upon the death of the caster.

Lin Yu glanced coldly at Master Sun's still slightly twitching corpse, confirming that he was completely dead.

Then they turned their attention to the young man who had regained his human form.

He wasn't interested in saving people, but this guy was now the only source of information.

He walked over, tore a relatively clean coat off Master Sun's body, and threw it to the young man to cover himself.

"Name? How did it end up in his hands?" Lin Yu's voice was devoid of warmth as he asked directly, "How much do you know about 'cultivation' in this world? Tell me everything of value you know; this is the 'life-saving money' you paid."

The young man was stunned for a moment, seemingly shocked by Lin Yu's coldness and the ruthless way he had killed someone in an instant. But his survival instinct kicked in, and he struggled to wrap his body in his clothes, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing. His voice was hoarse and urgent: "Thank you so much for saving my life, my benefactor! I am Zhao Ergou, a woodcutter from the neighboring town... I went up the mountain to chop wood a month ago and was kidnapped by this monster..."

He began to recount his experiences and some folk tales he knew, including his vague reverence for the "county shaman" and some rural legends, trying to prove his worth.

Lin Yu listened expressionlessly, quickly filtering out the useful information.

After a while, the young man finished speaking, and Lin Yu roughly figured out his current location.

The country he is currently in is called Qian Kingdom, and the region he is in is Qian Kingdom - Huangzhou - Yueshan County - Tieshu County - Heize Town.

The place he was in was Heize Town, and the county that Master Sun mentioned was Tieshu County. According to the young man, there were indeed legends of immortal masters in Tieshu County, and there was more than one; he had heard of three.

One was a celestial master worshipped in the county government office, another was the abbot of the Black Buddha Temple, and the third was the abbot of the Tiger God Temple on Tiger Tooth Mountain.

"Alright, you can go now."

After understanding the general situation, Lin Yu nodded and waved to the young man.

"Thank you so much for saving me!"

The young man was moved to tears, kowtowed three times to Lin Yu, and then hurriedly turned and ran away.

Lin Yu then went to Master Sun's corpse, searched it, and finally found three taels of silver and some copper coins, a book called "The Art of Animal Creation", and a bottle of dark, unknown pills.

Lin Yu glanced indifferently at Master Sun's charred corpse, and after confirming that it was no longer of any value, he ignored it.

He tucked the three taels of silver and copper coins he had looted into his pocket, his gaze falling on the thin booklet bound in some kind of rough leather and the inconspicuous little black porcelain bottle.

[Livestock Creation Method]

[Category: Knowledge]

[Grade: Bronze (Incomplete)]

[Effect: It describes how to use rituals and specific spiritual energy to transform living beings (usually humans) into "animals" controlled by the practitioner.]

This method requires the practitioner's own essence and resentment as a guide to communicate with the power of heaven and earth and reshape the target's form and spirit.

Note that those who practice this method will gradually have their minds eroded by "beastly" instincts and resentment, and may eventually become monsters who only know how to kill and enslave. Please practice with caution.

This book is only a fragment, recording only the methods of "creating livestock" and preliminary livestock control, without any further cultivation content.

【describe:……】

"It's really weird." Lin Yu curled his lips and casually threw the evil martial arts manual into his storage space.

This thing is completely useless to him; he finds it disgusting even to look at. But perhaps he can use it to exchange for something in the future, or as a sample for studying this bizarre world system.

He picked up the small black porcelain bottle again, uncorked it, and an indescribable, strange smell, a mixture of fishy, ​​herbal, and some kind of putrid odor, wafted out.

Inside were several pills, each about the size of a longan, with a rough surface, a dark color, and no luster.

【Animal Essence Pill】

Category: Consumables

[Grade: Black Iron]

[Effects: This product is crudely refined from animal essence mixed with spiritual energy. Consuming it may temporarily and slightly enhance one's blood and qi or impure magical power, but it is more likely to cause severe discomfort, poisoning, or accelerate physical and mental degeneration.]

[Description: This is a crudely made, evil elixir, worthless and fraught with risk.]

"Trash." Without hesitation, Lin Yu threw the entire bottle of pills, along with the bottle, on the ground and stomped on it until it was smashed to pieces.

This kind of thing is pollution if it stays in the world.

After dealing with the spoils, Lin Yu quickly cleaned up the scene, dragged Master Sun's body to the deepest part of the alley, and then used the Refining Technique to burn it directly to ashes.

He didn't want to cause a commotion in the town, although the disappearance of a traveling performer might not make much of a splash in a place like this.

After doing all this, he calmly walked out of the alley as if nothing had happened, and rejoined the growing crowd on the street.

He needs more information and a more systematic understanding of the "cultivation" system in this world, rather than just the one-sided account of a low-level evil cultivator and a victim.

Lin Yu left the place and wandered around the town twice.

He noticed a small teahouse in the center of town, where several elderly people were sitting and chatting over tea.

Such places are often good for gathering information.

Lin Yu walked into the teahouse, ordered a pot of the cheapest coarse tea, found a corner to sit down, and casually listened to the conversations around him.

At first, the old people talked about trivial matters such as family affairs and farm life.

Lin Yu was not in a hurry and patiently drank his tea while waiting.

Finally, the conversation gradually shifted to the world outside the town and some strange and unusual things.

"...I heard that Blackwater Town next door has embarrassed itself again? How many times is this now?" an old man with a missing front tooth said in a low voice.

"Shh... Keep your voice down, or those 'immortal masters' will hear you and you'll be in big trouble." Another old man nervously looked around.

"What's there to be afraid of? Our Heize Town is far from the reach of the emperor, and those officials are too lazy to care about our poor place. But speaking of which, the shameful thing is really weird. Everyone says... it was kidnapped by 'things' in the mountains."

"What is it? I think it's those..." The first old man made a strange gesture, indicating the cultivators: "...they're up to something! They talk about offering sacrifices to the mountain god, offering young boys and girls, ptooey! It's just to satisfy their wicked desires!"

"Alas, the world has changed... Looking at the books left in the ancestral hall, the immortal masters of the past, although they were also high above, at least followed some rules, and would occasionally perform magic to pray for rain or drive away plagues or something."

These things nowadays... they're all incredibly creepy! Look at Master Sun, the monkey trainer in town, did you see the way his monkey looked? It gives me the creeps!

Lin Yu's heart stirred, and he listened carefully.

The elderly people spoke amongst themselves, their words vague and filled with fear and speculation, but Lin Yu gleaned several key pieces of information from them:

It seems that there was a "normal" era of cultivation in this world before. Although the cultivators back then were also high above others, they seemed to be more "upright" and would fulfill certain duties.

Cultivators in the "present" era are generally considered to be "evil".

The elders mentioned "the immortal masters of the past," which confirms Master Sun's words before his death that there was indeed an era with a cultivation system different from the present one.

"Old man," Lin Yu interjected at the opportune moment, his face displaying just the right amount of curiosity and a hint of awe, "You just said that the immortal masters of the past... are very different from those of today? What's going on? I'm young and don't know much about these things."

The old men glanced at Lin Yu and, seeing that he was dressed and had an extraordinary air about him, and didn't seem like a bad person, lowered their guard. In addition, Lin Yu was quite perceptive and immediately told the waiter that he would pay for the tea at this table after he spoke up, so they didn't hide anything from him.

The old man with the missing tooth sighed: "Young man, it's normal that you don't know. We old men only know these things from the ancient books left in the ancestral hall. The books say that it wasn't like this a thousand years ago."

There were also immortal masters back then. Although we mortals could not reach their level, we heard that they followed the rules, upheld the laws of heaven, and would occasionally protect the local area.

They cultivate legitimate immortal techniques, including flying swords, talismans, and cloud-riding!

A hint of longing appeared in his eyes, then dimmed again: "But somehow, probably starting a few hundred years ago, things slowly changed."

The immortal masters of the past are becoming increasingly rare; what's emerging now are these...evil ones, practicing bizarre and strange techniques, constantly demanding virgin boys and girls or rare and unusual materials, and they all smell terrible—they don't look like good people at all!

Another old man added, "Yes, everyone says that the current immortal techniques are the 'authentic' ones, while the old ones are all 'outdated' and 'crude arts,' and have been eliminated. But we ordinary people know perfectly well who is good and who is bad, can't we tell?"

"Sigh, you can't say such things carelessly..." another old man reminded him.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Lin Yu stopped asking questions and simply drank his tea in silence, his mind racing.

"Ancient cultivators," "old methods"... these might be the key.

Although the spiritual energy in this world has been polluted, it may have been normal during the time of the ancient cultivators. Therefore, the cultivation techniques they practiced must have been normal as well. In this way, if we can find the inheritance of the ancient cultivators, the risk of completing the main quest will be greatly reduced.

According to the elders, the tradition of ancient cultivators seems to have declined and been replaced by modern "evil arts".

Finding it would probably be quite difficult.

Therefore, only two paths remain:

One option is to try to join a current faction and acquire their cultivation techniques, but this is risky because the techniques are inevitably deeply bound to polluted spiritual energy. Even if there is pure spiritual energy in your apartment, you may not be able to cultivate them.

Secondly, we should try our best to find any remaining clues to the inheritance of the "ancient cultivators". This is undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it is relatively safe.

Lin Yu preferred the second option.

Now that everyone knows there's a problem, there's no need for him to risk being completely contaminated.

Of course, if the second path is truly impassable, he will consider the first path as a last resort, but he will always be fully prepared.

Having made up his mind, Lin Yu paid for the tea and got up to leave the teahouse.

He needs to go back to the "apartment" first.

On one hand, we need to organize the intelligence we've gathered, and on the other hand, we need to check our friend list to find out about Phantom and other members of the Heroes' Gathering, and see if they've made any discoveries.

Soon, he returned to the seemingly dilapidated mud-brick house.

Pushing open the door, the familiar modern apartment furnishings eased his tense nerves slightly.

He first sent a message to the Phantom:

"Preliminary investigation has been conducted. Location: Heize Town, Tieshu County, Yueshan Prefecture, Huangzhou, Qian State."

The local cultivators practice bizarre cultivation methods that are deeply intertwined with strange powers within the spiritual energy, which may lead to mental health issues during cultivation.

I've heard of the existence of the "ancient cultivator" lineage, which might be safer, but it's already in decline.

How's the situation on your end? Do you have any leads related to the 'ancient cultivators'?

Lin Yu didn't consider this information important at all. Other players could find out about it with a little investigation, so Lin Yu had no intention of hiding it. It was also necessary to maintain good relations with the Heroes' Guild, since the power of a group is definitely stronger than that of an individual when it comes to intelligence.

After sending the message, he went to his study and respectfully bowed to the statue of the [Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun].

After doing all that, he sat down on the sofa and began to carefully sort through all the intelligence he had obtained, while waiting for Phantom's reply.

This world of "seeking immortality" is far more complex and dangerous than he imagined.

About ten minutes later, the friend list flashed, showing Phantom's reply.

Phantom: "Witcher, you're quite efficient. I just checked, and most of our guild members are in Qian Kingdom. We do have some companions in Huangzhou, but I've never heard of Yueshan County, Tieshu County, or Heize Town. It seems you were born in a rather remote place."

The situation on your side is very similar to ours. Everyone has discovered the 'dirty stuff' in the spiritual energy, and the guild leader has strictly forbidden anyone from easily attempting to cultivate the techniques of this world.

"The clues about ancient cultivators... there are indeed similar rumors. Some of our brothers here have found out that the current cultivation system is called the 'New Method' or the 'True Method'."

The old methods were dismissed as "outdated" and "crude techniques," supposedly inefficient and ill-suited to the current environment, and had long been eliminated, with their transmission almost completely cut off.

However, some unofficial historical accounts mention that the inheritance of some "old methods" may be hidden in those "abandoned spirit lands" or "ancient ruins" that are regarded as barren, impoverished, or ominous by "new method" cultivators.

However, such places are often fraught with danger, and finding a needle in a haystack is like searching for a needle in a haystack.