Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

Chapter 24: The Great Terror

Shang Zhongtian, spoke in a low voice, “I tiptoed through the cold, dry tunnel, illuminated only by fist-sized night pearls that had been shining for countless years. The dim blue light barely revealed my silhouette, let alone my facial features. I always felt like someone was watching me, making my hair stand on end, but when I looked back, there was nothing, so I thought it was just an illusion.”

“I followed the light through the rough passage to the central chamber of the main tomb.”

“The grandeur of the main chamber was astonishing, momentarily making me forget I was in a dark, frightening crypt.”

Shang Zhongtian paused, seemingly recalling every detail of what he had seen in the tomb. After a moment, he continued, “I had never seen such a large-scale tomb chamber. The ceiling was as high as the sky, and under the dome, terracotta warriors with sharp bronze spears loyally guarded their master. The burial goods, displayed in an Eight Trigrams formation, were in perfect harmony with the order of heaven and earth.”

“The ancient corpse had been dead for hundreds of years, yet the terrifying vibrations emanating from the coffin still made my heart palpitate. It was as if the Nascent Soul old monster wasn’t dead, just asleep, and could wake up at any moment.”

“Hesitation isn’t my style. I decisively took half of the burial goods. Just as I was about to leave, I heard footsteps nearby, echoing in the empty chamber, chilling to the bone.”

“Then I encountered a horror I had never faced in my years of tomb raiding.”

Lu Yang and Peach Blossom Leaf leaned forward eagerly, wanting to hear what happened next.

Shang Zhongtian’s expression was one of intense pain, and his voice trembled as he spoke, “I ran into the descendants of that Nascent Soul cultivator coming to pay respects to their ancestor!”

“Those people, carrying offerings and treasures, were paying homage to their ancestor, praying for the longevity of their family and the emergence of prodigies. On their way to pay respects, they noticed me in the crypt and captured me. It was terrifying. Even now, just thinking about it makes me sweat coldly.”

“…I think their reaction was pretty normal,” Lu Yang honestly remarked, surprised that they didn’t kill Shang Zhongtian on the spot for his actions.

“Is that the great terror you mentioned?” Peach Blossom Leaf asked.

“Yes, what could be more terrifying than encountering the descendants of the tomb’s owner while robbing it?”

“And then?”

“Then I was beaten up, my cultivation fell from the peak of the Qi Refining stage to the mid-Qi Refining stage. I was thrown into prison by the authorities, had to compensate for all the items I’d stolen before, and spent ten years in jail. After my release, I decided to wash my hands clean of this business and start a new life.”

“Honestly.”

“I couldn’t face my fellow tomb raiders.”

“…”

Shang Zhongtian’s earnestness left Lu Yang and Peach Blossom Leaf unsure of how to respond.

After properly burying the remains of the painted skin ghost, Shang Zhongtian invited Lu Yang and Peach Blossom Leaf to stay another night, but Peach Blossom Leaf declined. Had it not been for drawing out the painted skin ghost, she would never have chosen to stay overnight. Traveling at night was not difficult for two cultivators at the Foundation Building stage.

Before leaving, Lu Yang sought out Shang Yuan and petted the parrot’s head. Had the parrot not been mistaken for a demon in the village, they would not have had the chance to resolve the painted skin ghost issue at the Shang residence.

“This parrot is not bad; it might really be a demon. Nurture it well.”

Shang Yuan was startled and eagerly asked why.

“Demons in their early stages are vague and hard to distinguish from wild beasts. I can’t differentiate them either,” Lu Yang explained. “But since Little Green didn’t flee far from your house and knew there was danger but didn’t approach, it might be a coincidence or a sign of awakening intelligence. It’s hard to say.”

Lu Yang smiled and said no more.

Shang Zhongtian felt he hadn’t hosted them properly; after all, they had saved the lives of twelve people in the Shang family. The best he could offer was his story of retirement.

“I’ve written a book on my tomb raiding experiences. If you don’t mind, please accept it. It might come in handy someday.” Shang Zhongtian pulled out a blue-threaded book from his robe and offered it to them.

Lu Yang politely accepted the book, and then they waved goodbye and left.

On their way back, Lu Yang asked, “Do you want this book on tomb raiding?”

Peach Blossom Leaf shook her head. She wasn’t into tomb raiding, so the book was of no use to her.

Lu Yang also felt it wasn’t very useful, but he kept it anyway.

“Why didn’t you tell me in advance when you were poisoning my room?” Peach Blossom Leaf still harbored some resentment about that.

Thankfully, her status as a Feathered Immortal gave her high resistance to all poisons, otherwise she would have suffered the same fate as the painted skin ghost and contracted athlete’s foot.

Lu Yang shrugged, clearly having ensured the poison would not harm Peach Blossom Leaf before using it. “I did tell you.”

“When?”

“With a look during dinner.”

“So you weren’t just trying to get me to pass you the dish because you couldn’t reach it?”

“I’m not that superficial.”

Upon their successful return to the Dao Seeking Sect, they coincidentally encountered Meng Jingzhou, who had just completed his task and was complaining to the senior brother who had assigned the task.

“Meng Jingzhou, your task was quite simple, how come the fox demon complained about you, saying you had an attitude problem and weren’t cooperating with her?” The senior brother was puzzled, providing a dual cultivation technique should have been straightforward, so where could the attitude problem arise?

“Senior brother, you should investigate that fox demon, there’s definitely something off about her. All I had to do was provide a dual cultivation technique, but she actually demanded to ‘test the product’ and insisted on practicing the technique with me to verify its authenticity,” Meng Jingzhou said indignantly.

“If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t break my Pure Yang state, I would have practiced with her!”

It was unclear whether he was angry about being a Pure Yang body and missing a romantic encounter or about the fox demon’s disregard for his pursuit of the Dao.

Lu Yang, seeing the senior brother in charge of task assignments also helpless, stepped forward to intervene. “Senior brother, we have completed the task involving the demon beast.”

Lu Yang detailed how the people of Taiping Village mistook a parrot for a demon capable of speech, and how he and Peach Blossom Leaf revealed the painted skin ghost’s flaws and dealt with it.

At the end, Lu Yang handed over the ashes of the painted skin ghost to the senior brother.

“Completing your first task so brilliantly, you’ve done well,” the senior brother commended Lu Yang. He had thought the task would be simple when assigning it but hadn’t anticipated the underlying complexity.

Particularly impressed by Lu Yang’s targeted poisoning and rapid resolution of the fight, the senior brother had newfound respect for him. If Lu Yang hadn’t poisoned the ghost, subduing it would have been a tough battle, and it might even have escaped.

Most importantly, this junior brother carried a toxin that could induce athlete’s foot, a fact that made the senior brother discreetly move a bit further away.

“You two exceeded the task requirements. Your original contribution points are quadrupled, making it 120 contribution points for you, and Peach Blossom Leaf, as you played a supporting role in this task, you get 90 contribution points.”

Peach Blossom Leaf had no objections. Lu Yang played a crucial role in this task, and she was merely bait.

(End of the chapter)