Vampire Cultivation Notes

The clouds linger, and the rain falls softly.

Without dwelling on the past, Li Jieqing headed straight for the back mountain as soon as he left Weize Township Wubao.

The yellow worm was summoned from the ground, swishing its tail and tilting its head back to catch Li Jieqing as he fell, its body heading towards the outside of the mountain.

In the blink of an eye, the yellow worm's body carved out a wide mountain path, carrying Li Jieqing to a river valley.

On the opposite bank of the valley, a white-bearded man landed on a yellow crane. He was dressed in a tall hat and wide belt, exuding an air of refinement, as if he had just come from a banquet.

The man held a wine cup in his hand, one hand covering his sleeve, and the other hand offering the wine forward. As he fell, the yellow crane transformed into a paper talisman hanging outside his sleeve, and he stood still on the opposite side of the valley.

"May the Heavenly Venerable bestow boundless salvation upon all beings!"

Li Jieqing called out, forming a Taoist seal in front of him with one hand, and swept his whisk: "A devout believer has come from afar, this humble Taoist bows in gratitude."

Seeing that Li Jieqing did not accept the wine cup, and unable to discern Li Jieqing's cultivation level, the man was still taken aback by the sight of the enormous moon-gazing eel on the opposite bank.

He smiled, finished his wine, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, fellow Daoist. I have moved to this prefecture and am grateful for the local Daoists' appreciation. I have been given the title of Golden Wutong Master and have been recommended by them for many years to mediate in this prefecture and protect the region, preventing demons and heretics from causing trouble."

Upon hearing this, Li Jieqing laughed and said, "This humble Taoist priest gazes at the moon; I wonder if I could be considered a member of the demonic and heretical sects?"

Master Jinwu looked again at the ring of scales on the back of the yellow worm, pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and chuckled.

"Of course not..."

Originally, the Golden Wutong Master had heard that there was chaos in the county of Weize Township and that some so-called Moon Gazing Immortal had appeared, so he came to make an appearance and test the waters.

Gazing at the moon... Is he truly an immortal?

That's quite intimidating.

Unexpectedly, the other party was also highly skilled and had already noticed him spying on him. He then led him to this place to talk.

"It is good that Fellow Daoist Wangyue intends to stay in this county. I am just worried that there are few fellow Daoists to visit and discuss the Dao, which makes it difficult to overcome the obstacles in my cultivation."

After chatting for a while, Venerable Jinwu's attitude became increasingly kind.

If it were a few years earlier, and someone suddenly came to seize his territory, he would naturally have to drive them away, otherwise it wouldn't be enough to deter other rogue cultivators in the surrounding area.

But things are different now. With the demon tiger driven away, the Ruyi Sect has returned.

This worldly territory is useless to me.

Master Jinwu will eventually return to the sacred land to cultivate again.

While the Golden Wutong Master was assessing Li Jieqing, Li Jieqing was also carefully observing the man.

Judging from his appearance and bloodline, he is quite young, and his cultivation level seems to have reached the late stage of Qi Refining. No wonder he was able to earn the nickname of Golden Wutong Master in seven years in the mortal world.

I just can't recognize who this person is.

Although he was a veteran cultivator in Taipingfang City, Li Jieqing couldn't possibly recognize all the late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Firstly, it's possible that when the Golden Wutong Demon Tiger broke through the market, it had only recently broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining and wasn't qualified to leave an impression on the then-high-grade alchemist, Ancestor Fengxin.

Secondly, it's possible that this Venerable Jinwu is actually a cultivator from outside Taiping Market.

After all, Xiaoxin Island used to be home to more than a dozen cultivators of varying sizes.

Besides the largest one in Taiping Market, there are also two spiritual veins hidden in the mortal world of the Great Xin Dynasty, but the spiritual energy is not strong enough to sustain a few people's cultivation.

Over the past seven years, the White Tiger has wreaked havoc, and demonic beasts have caused chaos, ravaging many cultivator settlements in the north.

A large group of cultivators suffered a collapse of their Daoist resolve and fled to the mortal world for refuge.

For the sake of those two mere minor spiritual veins in the mortal world, the cultivators who fled south fought each other to the death over the past seven years, fulfilling the common people's saying of the chaos of the Hundred Immortals.

However, the chaos among the immortals has now ended.

During the months he spent cultivating his golden body, Li Jieqing carefully circled around Jinwuzhou and saw fewer and fewer cultivators each day, as they all went back to find spiritual places to cultivate.

Even the news of the near-third-tier spiritual vein in Wangyue Valley has spread, causing cultivators whose Dao hearts had collapsed to howl in despair and regain their enthusiasm for cultivation.

"I heard that the upper sect has returned and eliminated that demonic tiger. I wonder... why are you still living in this mortal world at this time, Fellow Daoist Wangyue?"

Across a river valley, the Golden Wutong Master looked puzzled.

Li Jieqing then said, "In the past, it was difficult to cultivate magical powers amidst the chaos. I, however, spent several years chasing this monster all the way to Jinwu Prefecture and finally subdued it, making it my servant."

As Li Jieqing spoke, he sat cross-legged on the scales on the top of the yellow worm's head.

This was a reason I had already come up with.

He then laughed and said, "As for why I haven't returned to the Upper Sect's territory yet... Fellow Daoist Jinwu, why you don't go is the same reason I don't go."

Let's find some peace and quiet in the valley.

The next moment, two bursts of laughter rang out simultaneously, echoing loudly.

After laughing, Venerable Jinwu nodded in agreement.

"Although the demonic beasts have been eliminated, the upper sect has arrived, and it is said that there are several Foundation Establishment cultivators among them. We rogue cultivators are not sure if our spiritual land is stable. If the upper sect brings new rules, how dare we go back?"

"Let those blind fools head north first, they can scout out the way."

Master Jinwu waved his sleeve, speaking with arrogance, secretly despising those mindless cultivators who flocked to the spiritual land.

He had heard that when Taipingfang City was destroyed, many people took advantage of the chaos to loot, and a forbidden foundation-building technique was also spread.

What if I rush back like this and get punished by the Ruyi Sect?

"That's right. Since we share the same idea, we can make more contact in the future, find out about the situation of the Upper Sect, and then make plans," Li Jieqing said, preparing to set up a proper intelligence network.

Master Jinwu nodded: "I have several good friends who have already gone there, and I know where their homes are. They certainly can't escape. We're just waiting for news to come."

Are they really your friends?

The thought crossed Li Jieqing's mind, but he was in no hurry to investigate. Instead, he said, "Fellow Daoist Jinwu, as for the matters in this county, the previous time..."

"Fellow Daoist Wangyue, you are overthinking this. How could mere mortals be worthy of our discussion?"

"Fellow Daoist, you may decide for yourself."

Master Jinwu was completely unconcerned.

After discussing it further and agreeing to meet again another day, he inquired about the arrangements made by the sect. Then he opened the paper crane and rode it away once more.

A conflict vanished without a trace.

Seeing the spiritual light disappear into the sky, Li Jieqing put down his whisk, patted Huangchong's head, and turned around.

Jin Wu is quite a talent.

Knowing when to advance and when to retreat, being ruthless when necessary and letting go when appropriate, and being young yet patient enough to continue spending time in the secular world, only emerging from seclusion after clearly understanding the general trend of the return of the Ruyi Sect.

"Unfortunately, if those seven Foundation Establishment cultivators decide to continue sealing off Xiaoxin Island, all of this will be in vain."

Li Jieqing didn't mind the rise of young people. In any case, he would encounter countless passersby in his long life, and in the end, no matter how talented a person was, they would all become fleeting clouds.

For example, if the Ruyi Sect continues to restrict rogue cultivators from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, then no matter how fast Venerable Jinwu cultivates, he will probably only live for a little over a hundred years.