Am I the only good person in this cultivation world?

Yao Han returned to the room, but instead of immediately putting the box into his storage bag, he temporarily placed it on the table.

In the past, he definitely wouldn't have agreed to Old Man Jiang's request.

His cultivation has not yet recovered, and he can barely protect himself, so how can he take care of a mortal girl?

Although one could travel with merchant ships from Jiangjia Village to Ziqiu City, the journey was not without its risks.

He couldn't guarantee Jiang Xiaolu's safety should they encounter any danger.

I shouldn't have agreed.

But when he saw Old Man Jiang's longing expression, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Well, I've been eating and drinking at their house for so long, I can't just accept their kindness for nothing. Consider this my way of repaying them."

For Yao Han, settling Jiang Xiaolu in Ziqiu City was not a difficult task.

Although he wasn't the son of a high-ranking official or a powerful figure, as Old Man Jiang had guessed, he was still a cultivator.

He only needs to show off a few skills and demonstrate his status, and countless high-ranking officials will come to flatter and fawn over him. At that time, he won't need to do much to ensure that Xiao Lu can live a respectable life in the city.

As for having her as his maid, Yao Han had no interest in that.

He's old enough to be her grandfather.

In a sense, Yao Han was an ascetic. Even after spending a long time in the demonic sect, he never sought out any potential sexual partners, let alone servants or concubines...

He only found it troublesome, complaining that too many people were noisy and interfered with his spiritual practice.

From Qi Refining to Core Formation, the only thing that stayed by his side was his carefully nurtured spirit pet, a silver-ringed spirit snake.

Unfortunately, the spirit snake that had accompanied him for many years had long since died under the palm of that unknown Nascent Soul cultivator, its soul returning to the Western Paradise along with the cave.

Ugh, I don't want to think about it anymore, it makes me so angry!

Leaving aside Old Man Jiang's instructions for now, he was quite interested in another matter.

Monkey plague.

According to the old man, the monkeys in the mountains are usually gentle and even a little shy, but they become extremely agitated every summer solstice, a phenomenon that has lasted for twenty years.

Moreover, only these monkeys become ferocious; the other livestock and wild animals remain the same.

Perhaps they are not ordinary wild monkeys, but a group of monkey-like monsters.

The heavens are vast and full of wonders, with countless monsters and spirits of all shapes and sizes. It makes sense that a group of monkey-like monsters would live together here.

The summer solstice is the time of year when yang energy is at its peak. According to common knowledge in the cultivation world, it should be the time when all evil spirits and demons are at their weakest. However, these monkeys seem to have been corrupted by evil energy and have their minds polluted.

There's something strange about this.

Yao Han shook his head. Thinking about it was pointless; he had to see it for himself to know the truth.

In the days leading up to the summer solstice, perhaps we could explore the habitats of these wild monkeys before making any further plans.

He made up his mind, made an excuse to go for a walk outside the village, greeted the grandfather and grandson, and headed towards the village entrance.

After passing a grove of willow trees, Yao Han followed the directions given by Old Man Jiang and ventured deep into the mountains to the north.

The further away from the riverbank you go, the denser the vegetation becomes. These ancient trees, which have lived for countless years, stretch across the mountains, blocking out the sun and making it impossible to see the sky when you look up.

As Yao Han walked through the woods, he suddenly stopped, a strange look on his face.

Why should I meddle in these other people's business?

Ultimately, what do the lives and deaths of these mortals have to do with him?

In the past, he would never have gone to such lengths.

After surviving a life-or-death ordeal, he felt that his mindset had indeed changed.

Well, since we've come this far, it's good to explore what dangers are nearby. Consider it preparation for the journey ahead.

The path ahead was overgrown with weeds and impassable. Yao Han made a hand gesture, casting a lightness spell on his feet, and with a whoosh, he leaped up and landed on a nearby branch.

In other words, he has now reached the second level of Qi Refining and has many methods at his disposal. As long as he doesn't rush around recklessly in this Ancient Barrier Mountain Range, he can be more than capable of protecting himself if he is cautious.

Otherwise, if he didn't have any magical powers, Yao Han would never have done such a foolish thing as risking his life alone.

Yao Han changed his hand seals again, casting a concealment technique on himself, making his aura almost imperceptible, as if he had merged into the entire jungle.

Unless deliberately searched by humans, ordinary wild beasts and mortals would have no way of finding him.

These are all common spells in the cultivation world, and almost everyone knows them. However, Yao Han is very precise in controlling the amount of magic power he uses, striving to do the most with the least amount of magic power.

Since we don't know what might happen, it's always good to be prepared.

With the combined use of lightness and breath concealment techniques, Yao Han leaped and bounded on the branches, covering more than ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) in just a few breaths.

Before long, Yao Han discovered traces of the wild monkeys' presence:

The leaves on the nearby branches had become sparser, and fruit pits and gnawed melons and fruits were scattered on the ground, along with messy monkey paw prints in the soil.

He had even seen them—not far away, on a giant tree, three or four yellow-haired monkeys, each about half a person's height, were swinging on vines, seemingly playing.

Yao Han could tell at a glance that these were just a few ordinary wild monkeys, with no magical fluctuations on their bodies.

"I don't see anything wrong with it."

He muttered to himself, deciding to stay here and observe for a while longer, since it was still early.

The movements of these wild monkeys quickly caught his attention.

They wandered around the area a few times, as if searching for something. After about half an incense stick's time, with a whoosh, they all jumped to a pile of rocks.

Several monkeys bared their teeth and claws, frantically digging at the pile of stones, revealing a hole about two feet square. Then, with all their might, they pulled out a wounded black wild boar from inside.

The wild boar was covered in blood and had a broken leg; it looked like it was on the verge of death.

It roared and tried to scare the monkeys away, but they ignored it. They grabbed the boar by the head and the feet, and in no time they had hoisted it onto their shoulders and ran off in another direction, yelling.

Yao Han raised an eyebrow.

Wow, they're quite well-trained.

Although he knew that monkeys could eat meat, this was the first time he had ever seen a monkey that ate such a large wild boar.

interesting.

With a quick glance, Yao Han concealed his presence even more deeply and followed them at a distance.

Unexpectedly, as they ventured deeper into the forest, the woods ahead became increasingly sparse. With nowhere to land, Yao Han had no choice but to continue on foot. Fortunately, thanks to his lightness technique, his speed was not too slow, and he didn't lose his way.

The number of wild monkeys around him increased, and it seemed that he had entered the heart of their territory.

Looking up, a small rocky hill appeared not far away.

There is a dark cave entrance on the rocky mountain, from which a chilling wind seems to howl, sending shivers down one's spine.

The cave entrance was directly opposite where Yao Han was hiding. The two were separated by a grove of trees and a spacious open space. Wild monkeys would occasionally pass by him or come from other directions, carrying blood food in their hands, and walk into the cave.

Yao Han frowned.

He smelled an extremely strong stench of blood.