A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

In the central pavilion of Cuishui Town, Zhou Ping's figure, like a gecko, lay motionless on a roof beam.

He secretly reached into his robes with one hand, where a small, emerald-green sword, shimmering with a faint green light, was completely hidden within his clothing, not revealing a trace of light, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

This item was a mid-grade flying sword magic weapon that he had obtained from the two calamity cultivators of the Crimson Robe Society a few months ago. Now, he had already erased the original owner's divine consciousness imprint and refined it into his personal possession.

The attic was now filled with crystalline powder made from Poria cocos seeds. Due to Zhou Ping's special treatment, its concentration was several times higher than outside.

In such a dense toxic fog, Zhou Ping didn't detect a single person, let alone any movement.

Zhou Ping tentatively spread his divine sense around, and his figure slowly began to move. After some investigation, he finally confirmed that there was indeed no one there, so he had no choice but to retreat reluctantly and flash away to other parts of Cui Shui Town.

It seems that the two ladies of the Three Flowers Gang are not in town now, otherwise they would not have stood by and watched the members of the Three Flowers Gang die tragically without doing anything.

Zhou Ping moved in the shadows of Cui Shui Town. Whenever he saw a fish that had escaped his net, his silver needles would shoot out like a venomous snake's tongue, killing the fish with a swift, accurate, and ruthless blow, without the slightest hesitation.

At this moment, Zhou Ping was filled with hatred, which he had nowhere to vent. So he could only keep attacking these scumbags of the Three Flowers Gang. His ruthless methods were hard to reconcile with his previous taciturn and dull image. It was as if he had become a completely different person.

"Huff huff..."

After a fierce battle, Zhou Ping tried to calm his restless killing intent. Looking at his hands, which were trembling slightly with excitement, he fell into deep self-doubt.

"What's wrong with me? Even if all these people deserve to die, I shouldn't have lost my mind. If I were ambushed, wouldn't I be doomed?!"

A cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead, instantly bringing him to his senses. He then found a corner and began to meditate and circulate the Qingyuan Gong.

After a full cycle of Qi circulation, Zhou Ping, feeling clear-headed and bright-eyed, slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Could it be an effect of breaking through the body refinement barrier?

Recalling his experiences over the past few months, Zhou Ping immediately focused his suspicions on body refinement cultivation, believing it to be a possible aftereffect of such practices.

This is understandable, since in the mainstream cultivation world, those cultivators who claim to be detached from worldly affairs have always looked down on body-refining martial artists, and have more or less prejudice against body-refining cultivators. They believe that these people are the epitome of crudeness and brainlessness, who only rely on brute force to charge around, completely contrary to the uprightness, purity, and tranquility that cultivators respect.

Zhou Ping stood up and shook his head, clearing his mind of distracting thoughts. He secretly warned himself that he must never let his emotions control him again, as this state was too dangerous.

"Since those two wicked women aren't here, let's keep one alive and question her."

Taking advantage of the darkness, Zhou Ping lightly leaped into the sky and summoned the Lotus Leaf Flying Boat. The flying boat hovered above Cui Shui Town like a shadow, and a cold gaze swept over the chaotic and screaming crowd below.

Not long after, just when he thought that the Three Flowers Gang bandits were almost all dead and was about to find a 'lucky one' from the few remaining survivors, a dark figure successfully caught Zhou Ping's attention. At the same time, a faint magical fluctuation emanated from the figure, which made Zhou Ping's expression tighten and he secretly scrutinize it.

He was dressed in black, short in stature, and surrounded by a faint spiritual light. He was moving cautiously toward the gate, glancing back every few steps, as if he were afraid of something.

"what?"

Zhou Ping looked surprised, gazing at the cautious figure, a hint of realization appearing in his eyes.

"No wonder they were able to escape from the poisonous fog; it turns out they relied on a water shield talisman."

With a thought, Zhou Ping slowly moved the flying boat in the direction it had left, silently landing in the sky not far behind it.

The town of Cuishui behind them grew farther and farther away, and the screams gradually faded into the distance.

Zhou Ping stood calmly on the flying boat, not glancing back again. He knew very well that, apart from the figure below who had escaped using a talisman, no one else in Cui Shui Town would be spared from the poisonous fog.

Before leaving, he deliberately spread his divine sense to carefully investigate the situation in the town.

Apart from the person with the talisman, no other magical power fluctuations were emitted, suggesting that the remaining people were all mortals and powerless to resist the poison of the Poria cocos.

However, this place will temporarily become a dead end, and any living creature that appears within a few miles of Cuishui Town will be at risk of being poisoned and killed.

Fortunately, it is now midnight, and there is a high probability that no more merchants or travelers will arrive here. After one night, the poisonous fog will be dispersed by the night wind until it is thin enough that there is no longer any risk of poisoning.

Whoosh!Whoosh!

After running for about ten miles, the dark figure finally stopped, panting heavily. After looking around and seeing that there was nothing unusual, it sat down on the ground with a sigh of relief and rubbed its sore and numb legs.

High in the air, Zhou Ping calmly watched the other party's every move. Although his expression was calm, he was still slightly shocked by the speed at which the other party escaped.

This person was clearly a martial arts master, and his speed was quite fast. Even Zhou Ping, who used the Floating Shadow Step, knew that without the aid of magic, he probably couldn't run as far as the other person in such a short time.

This alone was enough to greatly surprise Zhou Ping.

Finally, after resting for a while, the figure stood up again, turned around and gazed in the direction of Cui Shui Town for a few breaths before reaching into his robes and taking out another talisman that contained a dark spiritual light.

"A message talisman?"

Upon seeing this, Zhou Ping narrowed his eyes, a look of curiosity on his face.

The former clumsily made a few hand seals, muttered a few words to the talisman that was glowing yellow, and then suddenly flung it into the air.

After circling in the air once, the yellow talisman suddenly burst into flames at its tail, and then it darted off towards Sanhua Town.

But Zhou Ping had been waiting there for a long time, so how could he let it leave so easily? He curled his lips into a cold smile and uttered a low shout, "Hurry!"

A beam of emerald light suddenly shone from the sky, and then, to the horrified gaze of the figure in black, it shot towards the yellow talisman that had only fled a few feet away, and in an instant, it pinned the latter firmly to the void, preventing it from moving an inch, no matter how much firelight lashed out at its tail.

"Huh!? Who are you?!"

At this moment, the figure in black suddenly noticed that a dark shadow was silently floating high above him, and a similarly blurry figure stood on it, silently watching his every move.

Zhou Ping remained unmoved by his questioning, raised his hand to summon the emerald green flying sword back, and with a gentle pinch between his two fingers, the yellow talisman with its 'tail' obediently appeared between his fingers.

Then, a surge of azure light appeared in his hand, and his azure magical power enveloped the communication talisman. With a slight exertion, the flickering flames on it were extinguished, and a trembling voice emanated from it, entering Zhou Ping's ears with crystal clarity.

"Second Majesty! Something terrible has happened! A demon has attacked Cui Shui Town! Our disciples have suffered heavy losses! Please return immediately with the other immortal masters and join us to vanquish the demon!"

puff!

As soon as he finished speaking, a ball of crimson flame suddenly appeared from Zhou Ping's fingertip, burning the communication talisman to ashes in the blink of an eye.

ridiculous!

The fact that the other party mistook him for a demon causing trouble really left Zhou Ping both amused and exasperated.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Without knowing the reason, seeing familiar people around them dying tragically from poisoning, it's understandable that people would be terrified and immediately associate it with monsters.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be thinking about how to escape right now; I'd be thinking about how to save my own life first."

Seeing his figure moving furtively backward while constantly observing his surroundings, Zhou Ping coldly warned him.

Its sound, like a resounding bell, suddenly rang in the black-clad man's ears, startling him so much that he nearly collapsed to the ground again, daring not to move an inch.

"My esteemed master, I am but... a lowly servant of the Three Flowers Gang. I beg you... please show mercy!"

After the figure in black finished speaking, he knelt down on the ground with a thud and began kowtowing repeatedly.

"snort!"

Zhou Ping slowly floated out of the flying boat, landed, let out a cold snort, and carefully examined the person.

He lay prostrate on the ground, his thin, small figure barely five feet tall. When he saw him approach, he looked up and stole a glance at him, his triangular eyes gleaming with cunning.

"A mere servant can wield a water shield talisman and a communication talisman? A mere servant actually possesses spiritual roots? Are all the servants of the Three Flowers Gang this astonishing?"

A glint flashed in Zhou Ping's eyes, and he immediately used his Heavenly Eye Technique to examine the other party closely. He discovered that the other party was actually a low-level cultivator who had just entered the Qi Refining stage. His expression darkened, and he cursed the other party's sweet talk in his heart.

"My lord, please...please hear my explanation! You don't understand...you...you should just die!"

The man in black was speaking when he suddenly raised his ferocious head, his eyes flashing with malice. A short, gold-inlaid dagger appeared in his hand, and he stabbed towards Zhou Ping's chest with lightning speed.

The man in black, named Fei Tu, possessed spiritual roots, but due to the lack of a master, his cultivation could not be improved. Fortunately, he was originally a martial arts master, and his movement techniques and martial arts were not weak. This allowed him to join the Three Flowers Gang and become the second steward of the gang, only slightly lower in status than Lu Jun.

Seeing that Zhou Ping had no spiritual light protecting him at such close range, Zhou Ping saw an excellent opportunity to strike. He decisively used his signature swift movement technique and thrust out instantly.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Ping sneered, as if he had already guessed the other party's intentions. He then imitated Qin Changqing's previous tactics in dealing with the enemy.

A whisper sounded in Fei Tu's ear.

Rashomon Shield!

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I thought about it today, and maybe I should try harder and update two chapters a day, two thousand words a chapter. I feel like I'm losing out by updating three thousand words a chapter... What do you guys think?

I'll try my best this weekend and aim for two chapters a day next week. Anyway, let's get this awesome out of the way first!