Chapter 178: Chang Kun

“When did I become a traitor to the Demonseed Sect?” Chen Luo thought. Despite his changed appearance, he instantly recognized himself in the portrait.

Seeing the bounty amount above it, Chen Luo muttered under his breath.

Another reason for me to hate the Demonseed Sect, he thought. I haven’t even gone after that black-robed old man yet, but now he’s coming at me first.

After passing the wanted signboard, Chen Luo entered Five Creek City.

Unlike other places, here the five Foundation Establishment cultivators’ training grounds were open to the public. Anyone who wished to apprentice could visit them, paying only a small fee of spirit stones. If accepted, they’d even get their fee back and become one of the ‘Five Immortals’ last disciples.

Walking down the street, Chen Luo pondered the information he’d just learned.

The ‘Five Immortals of Five Creek’ were actually monster cultivators: a pig, deer, monkey, sheep, and dog. This surprised him; he expected human cultivators, not monsters. Since arriving in this land of evil cultivation, this was his first encounter with such beings.

Recalling the divine crane from the Sacred Lake Immortal Sect, Chen Luo felt intrigued once again.

Monster cultivators might not advance as quickly as humans in cultivation, but they have a natural advantage when it comes to mastering single divine abilities. For example, Master Chengfeng of the celestial crane excelled at aerial flight techniques, while the tortoise monster cultivator specialized in iron carapace magic.

Water, fire, lightning, wind, earth… I can’t believe these five elemental spirits correspond to the major monster cultivators, Chen Luo thought, reading through the information about each Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Each “Immortal of the Five Creeks” had mastered one divine ability that matched perfectly with the five elements prevalent in today’s cultivation world.

I’ll go with lightning magic then.

Based on his previous combat experience, Chen Luo felt more confident than ever in choosing lightning magic.

Baiyang Immortal.

Following the description provided, Chen Luo headed towards the residence of Baiyang Immortal. After passing the main street, he turned into an old alleyway lined with dilapidated storefronts.

Small vendors carrying poles across their shoulders sold handicrafts along both sides. Bamboo figurines looked so lifelike that children gathered around them. Freshly baked mantou steamed in the air as the shopkeeper called out to attract customers. The bustling scene reminded Chen Luo of his hometown back in Yue Country; it was hard to imagine a Foundation Establishment cultivator living in such a place.

After walking for a while, Chen Luo suddenly came across a large red door.

Two stone statues of standing goats flanked either side of it. Each held a three-foot-long dagger with lightning symbols etched on their blades.

“The Goat Immortal still hasn’t come out yet?” Chen Luo muttered to himself.

Several people were already waiting by the door when he arrived.

These individuals were scattered cultivators from the area around Five Creek Mountain. Most of what they knew had been taught by ‘Immortal Five Creeks’. Whenever they encountered something they didn’t understand, they’d pay some spirit stones to learn more here.

Immortal Five Creeks’ reputation was excellent; as long as you could afford it, he’d definitely help solve your problems.

“Who knows? The Goat Immortal is a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator,” said the bored-looking child guarding the gate with a yawn. “The divine abilities he’s studying are naturally much deeper than ours. It makes sense that it would take him longer.”

“Ah, another one,” someone remarked upon seeing Chen Luo approach.

As more people gathered, the wait grew longer.

At this place, no one cared about who arrived first or last. This so-called ‘Goat Immortal’ believed in fate. If you grabbed your chance, you got right in. If not, you might end up waiting for days or even weeks.

“New guy, stand at the back,” someone told Chen Luo.

Because Chen Luo was concealing his cultivation level, no one could tell how strong he really was. They just assumed he was a Qi Refinement cultivator like themselves. Many wandering cultivators used this trick to hide their true abilities.

“How long will we have to wait?” Chen Luo asked.

“I don’t know!” the gatekeeper snapped impatiently. “I’m just here to watch the door.” He had to answer the same question over and over every day, and it didn’t help that the ‘Goat Immortal’ kept telling him to be more polite.

After years of dealing with this crap, it would be stranger if I still had a good attitude.

Chen Luo sent out his divine sense, which immediately passed through the gate and into the courtyard beyond.

“Still not awake?”

Pulling back his divine sense, Chen Luo quickly assessed the situation in the courtyard. The ‘Goat Immortal’ was still in seclusion, his aura completely motionless. It looked like he wouldn’t wake up anytime soon.

Once he confirmed this, Chen Luo turned on his heel and left. Rather than wasting time here, he might as well check out some other places. His goal wasn’t to find a master anyway; learning lightning techniques was just something he’d do along the way. If he could learn them, great, but it wouldn’t make much difference if he couldn’t.

An hour later, Chen Luo arrived at the entrance of another immortal—the ‘Pig Immortal’.

Just like with the Goat Immortal, a big crowd had gathered outside the Pig Immortal’s place.

Chen Luo sensed with his divine consciousness and found that the Pig Immortal was also in seclusion. Unable to wait any longer, he flew directly through the side wall.

“Foundation Establishment spirit artifacts!” Chen Luo exclaimed upon entering. “Those are Foundation Establishment spirit artifacts. If that old thing is willing to help, shouldn’t they be easy to get? Once we have one of those artifacts, won’t we have a chance to stabilize our own Foundation Establishment and become carefree ‘immortals’?”

As soon as he entered, Chen Luo heard a voice. Following the sound, he saw a young man with eyes shining brightly.

“It’s not that easy!” another person interrupted. It was a woman dressed in a long scarlet gown. Her aura was subdued, indicating her cultivation level was much higher than the young man’s. “Anyone chosen by the Demonseed Sect for their demonic seeds isn’t an ordinary opponent. And this one is even a Foundation Establishment cultivator. You might as well stop daydreaming.”

“So that’s why I said we should ask the old thing for help,” the young man persisted. “He’s a late-stage Foundation Establishment powerhouse! Dealing with someone at early Foundation Establishment should be child’s play for him. Hong Rui, why don’t you go beg the old fellow? He always dotes on you.”

“Hong Rui sighed in disappointment. “I think the bounty has blinded your judgment beyond repair.” She turned and walked towards the inner courtyard.

The young male cultivator immediately followed, still trying to persuade her.

“Hong Rui, you’ve got to help me. If I get that Foundation Establishment spiritual object, I’ll treat you right. Our kids will—”

The two figures disappeared near the courtyard wall as they spoke.

Chen Luo emerged from the shadows.

He couldn’t believe he’d overheard information about himself by chance. The Demonseed Sect’s bait was too tempting—it served as a warning for Chen Luo. As a lone cultivator facing sect power, he was at a disadvantage.

You can kill your enemies, but greed is never-ending.

The only way to solve this is at its source.

Following the path through the courtyard, Chen Luo once again spread his divine sense. He quickly found where the ‘Pig Immortal’ was in seclusion. Hiding his presence, he prepared to enter when suddenly another figure appeared before he could even approach.

“That old man must be crazy,” muttered the shadowy figure at the door. “Why give up being the Five Creeks Immortal to study some ‘Monster Immortal Technique’? If you die, how am I supposed to live well in the future?”

The person spoke loudly, showing no fear of alerting the ‘Pig Immortal’ inside the house.

Chen Luo realized what was happening instantly. These five Foundation Establishment experts on Five Creek Mountain were likely cultivating a special technique. While doing so, they would have cut themselves off from sensing the outside world.

“Relying on heaven or earth is no match for relying on oneself,” he growled. “Once I kill you, I’ll feast on your fat flesh. By borrowing your body for Foundation Establishment, I’ll inherit the title of ‘Pig Immortal’.”

From the shadows emerged a young man with a cold, sinister face.

In his hand was a gray cloth doll. He placed it on the ground, then set up an altar beside it and dripped a drop of blood onto the doll.

Seeing his practiced movements and the time written in blood on the altar, Chen Luo knew at once how long this person had been preparing for this day.

Shhhk!

After reciting an invocation, the cold-faced youth bit his tongue and spat out a stream of blood onto the doll. A flame flared up, and a burst of spiritual energy rose from between the youth’s eyebrows.

A curse spell.

The sight of this scene triggered a sudden thought in Chen Luo’s mind.

His original plan had been to approach the Five Creek Immortal to exchange resources, hoping to obtain materials needed for the Spiritgathering Pill. But now, seeing what this cold-faced youth was doing, he changed his mind.

His current status was unique—he was being hunted by the Demonseed Sect. If the Five Creek Immortal wasn’t someone who played fair, wouldn’t walking boldly up to their door just invite certain death? Facing five late-Foundation Establishment cultivators alone—just thinking about it made Chen Luo’s heart race.

He decided to take a different approach.

For example, by borrowing his opponent’s disciple as a decoy.

After that one experience, Chen Luo had become decent at curse magic. He watched the energy radiating from his opponent and suddenly reached out from where he was hiding. His right hand twisted for a moment as spiritual energy gathered in his palm. Then he pinched at the cold-faced young man’s drifting soul power. When the two powers touched, the young man’s spirit crumbled like dust.

There was a pop, and white smoke flashed.

The cold-faced young man, who had been casting spells just a second ago, rolled his eyes back in his head and fell over onto the ground. With his soul destroyed, he was dead beyond death.

To Chen Luo, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, squashing a Qi Refinement seventh-layer cultivator was child’s play. He could do it so quickly that the victim wouldn’t even feel pain or have time to scream.

“Goodbye, friend! From now on, I’m you.”

Chen Luo walked over and put an end to the altar spell. In his eyes, trying to ambush a Foundation Establishment cultivator with this kind of trick was like playing a game. If he hadn’t acted, the ‘Pig Immortal’ inside would have woken up.

Skin Stripping Transformation can completely change your appearance.

By crushing bones and blood into a paste and applying it to your body, you can change your scent.

Soul too can be disguised.

Han Lin, Lin Feng, Wan Ming, and other top rogue cultivators’ minds were racing. These rogues had no scruples; they’d often switched identities before. In terms of experience with such things, among all the Foundation Establishment brains Chen Luo controlled, these rogues were the best.

“Let’s combine our ideas. Each plan has its flaws, so we should take the good parts and fix the bad ones.”

Chen Luo checked on the ‘Pig Immortal’ inside the house, then set about ‘reforming’ himself while sitting on the grass pile by the door. A moment later, a cultivator with a cold expression emerged from the bushes.

It was the young cultivator who had been setting up an altar at the gate just moments ago.

“My name is Chang Kun,” he said.

A chilly smile played across Chen Luo’s face, his demeanor now identical to the original ‘Chang Kun’.

To ensure everything went smoothly, Chen Luo even took control of ‘Chang Kun’s’ mind. Now, except for some missing memories, he had all of Chang Kun’s habits down perfectly.

After getting used to his new identity, Chen Luo first took a stroll around the outer courtyard.

“Senior Brother Chang.”

“Big Brother Chang.”

When the others in the courtyard saw ‘Chang Kun’, they bowed their heads in greeting. From their reactions, it was clear that Chang Kun had been the highest-ranking disciple of the ‘Pig Immortal’—like a direct successor.

It was hard to tell how this Pig Immortal had managed things. Even his most trusted disciple wanted to betray him. Chen Luo also recognized the man and woman he’d seen earlier. The woman, Hong Rui, was the second disciple of the ‘Pig Immortal’. The man clinging to her, Chi An, was the third disciple.

These were all the disciples left: just three close apprentices. Everyone else was either outer or named disciples. This made Chen Luo realize even more how poorly the Pig Immortal had fared.

Out of these three disciples, aside from the female disciple Hong Rui, the other two both wanted to use him for their own gain. The youngest, Chi An, wanted Chen Luo as his muscle, while the eldest, Chang Kun, wanted to eat his flesh outright.

Time passed like water flowing downstream, and before Chen Luo knew it, two days had gone by.

Two days later, the Pig Immortal emerged from seclusion. As soon as his late Foundation Establishment aura spread out, the entire courtyard fell silent. Even Chen Luo suppressed his presence, not daring to let his divine sense roam freely.

Even now, he probably couldn’t beat a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“Come here,” the Pig Immortal’s voice echoed in his disciples’ minds.

Chen Luo and Hong Rui quickly rushed into the secluded cultivation room where the Pig Immortal had been training.