Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Gu! Jiang! Ming!

It was unclear whether it was a problem with this world or a problem with 【Path of Ascension】, but the concept of cultivation in this world had always been very vague.

For now, Gu Jiangming had figured out the roles of the three main energy points: ‘momentum’, ‘Qi’, and ‘spells’.

Momentum was borrowed from the general trend of heaven and earth, a kind of power borrowed from the outside world, and also a kind of energy closer to nature.

Techniques like thunder spells all needed to use momentum for energy conversion.

Qi was a kind of power generated within the cultivator’s own body. It was like the martial arts Gu Jiangming first cultivated in this world, similar to the true Qi in mental cultivation methods, but Qi was a higher level of existence than true Qi, far surpassing true Qi in both purity and power.

As for the understanding of spells, Gu Jiangming believed that this was the understanding of the Great Dao. The deeper one’s understanding of the Great Dao, the more powerful the spells would be. Its role was equivalent to amplifying the power of one’s arcane arts.

The higher one’s attainments in spells, the greater the amplification of the power of techniques like 【Heavenly Stem Five Thunders】.

From the display of cultivation in 【Path of Ascension】, his master who taught him techniques in Longhu Mountain had a relatively balanced level in all three aspects, surpassing that of ordinary cultivators.

But now, Gu Jiangming’s attainments in ‘momentum’, ‘Qi’, and ‘spells’ had far surpassed Zhang Tianze’s indicators. From this point of view, his current strength should be above Zhang Tianze’s.

【After Foundation Establishment, you believe that human cultivators have already reached a level of mastery in using ‘momentum’, ‘Qi’, and ‘spells’, and even have a new understanding of ‘momentum’, ‘Qi’, and ‘spells’. And they need to further their cultivation in this regard. You name this stage the “Spirit Refinement Stage”, which means cleansing the spirit, a new stage to enhance the understanding of ‘momentum’, ‘Qi’, and ‘spells’.】

【And you know that your understanding of ‘momentum’, ‘Qi’, and ‘spells’ has far exceeded the level that the Spirit Refinement Stage should have.】

In Path of Ascension, the screen showed that Gu Jiangming’s cultivation realm had already reached the 【Spirit Refinement Stage】, but the experience bar here was still full for Gu Jiangming. Not only was it full, it was also overflowing.

This proved that Gu Jiangming’s strength had already far exceeded this stage.

And after Gu Jiangming set the tone for this realm division, Zhang Tianze’s cultivation level was revealed.

That’s right, Zhang Tianze was exactly at the Great Perfection level of the 【Spirit Refinement Stage】, while the other two cultivators who came together, Ma Yang from the Ma family of Dongyi and Mu Qing from the Mu family of Yunnan, hadn’t even entered the initial stage of the 【Spirit Refinement Stage】.

If the 【Spirit Refinement Stage】 could be compared to ordinary Great Demons…

Then the strength of the cultivators in this era was too weak.

After all, there were distinctions of noble bloodlines among Great Demons, and above Great Demons, there were ancient demons that had lived for more than a thousand years. If this kind of demon appeared, how could there be any place for humans to live?

Demons like the Paper Demon, born from strange events, were already enough of a headache for ordinary cultivators.

Therefore, Gu Jiangming could almost conclude that there must be some other cultivation method that he didn’t know about.

While he was pondering, he saw a golden value displayed on his character panel.

【Merit: 192】

【You are the ‘immortal’ of the Mount Shu Sect, admired by the people of Chuan Shu. Your disciples have gathered an excellent reputation for you in the land of Chuan Shu for many years. Their acts of punishing evil and promoting good have spread the name of Mount Shu.】

【Some people have started to worship Mount Shu in some dilapidated temples.】

【Mount Shu Sect Merit: 1738 (The merits of Mount Shu are continuously blessing your disciples. When encountering life-or-death tribulations, the accumulated merits of Mount Shu will be automatically consumed to offset the deadly tribulation for your disciples.)】

Gu Jiangming could see that the merit of the Mount Shu Sect was in a state of sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing.

The consumed merit meant that it was blocking disasters for his disciples. The rising merit meant that his disciples were following his instructions to go down the mountain and subdue demons, thus accumulating corresponding merit.

And Gu Jiangming checked the source of his own merit.

Killing the Hundred-Headed Demon directly earned him hundreds of merit points, and usually, when he taught his disciples to do good deeds in Mount Shu and often went down the mountain to find his wife, he did some good deeds effortlessly, and this merit slowly accumulated.

【Hint: You can use merit to increase the power of your offensive spells. Using merit against those demons with deep sins will have an additional enhancement.】

Seeing this hint, Gu Jiangming basically confirmed that his judgment was correct. There must be something that human cultivators could use to restrain demons. Otherwise, with such a huge gap in strength between the enemy and themselves, how could humans and demons achieve an ecological balance and coexist?

【Hint: The role of merit is diverse. It can bless your descendants and protect your disciples. The deeper your merit, the more outstanding your descendants will be in their cultivation talent, and the smoother your disciples’ cultivation will be.】

【The Heavenly Stem Five Thunders, when used with merit, will undergo new changes, and its power will be even more astonishing.】

This was what it meant to do good deeds without asking about the future!

Wasn’t this a blessing?

Because the name of the sect he founded was Mount Shu, Gu Jiangming certainly didn’t want to ruin the status and reputation of Mount Shu in his heart, so his idea was to try his best to be the kind of righteous sect he imagined.

With this merit value appearing, Gu Jiangming held his head higher.

He felt that he had more and more trump cards in his hand.

【Three parts of the world’s moonlight at night, two parts of which are in Yangzhou.】

【That night, you follow Zhang Tianze to Yangzhou and find an inn to stay in. The bustling night scene doesn’t seem to show any signs of the turmoil caused by demons in the human world.】

【You learn from Zhang Tianze that the government has tightly sealed off this kind of news to avoid chaos.】

【And basically, those demons with low cultivation levels don’t dare to do evil in densely populated areas, because the human cultivators living here won’t let them wreak havoc so rampantly.】

【In comparison, some counties and villages are more troubled. But for the government, such losses are still within an acceptable range.】

【As for those ancient demons with overwhelming strength, they won’t easily respond to the call of the Hundred Demons Night Parade. They have lived for thousands or even tens of thousands of years and mostly have their own set of rules. They won’t be swayed by the will of others.】

【Like the demon that caused the drought in Guanzhong last time, it was the ancient demon Hanba, who had lived for tens of thousands of years.】

【If she responded to the Hundred Demons Night Parade, just by walking around the human world, she could cause millions of people to be displaced.】

【And the drought in Guanzhong last time seemed more like an accident.】

【Zhang Tianze ponders for a moment and says, “This Hundred Demons Night Parade is orchestrated by some titled Great Demons. Although they are not as terrifying as the ancient demons, they are not something we can easily deal with either.”】

【”With the combined power of a hundred demons, it can also shake heaven and earth.”】

【You learn new secrets from Zhang Tianze.】

【Ancient demons are more like Hanba, Qiongqi, Baize, these mythical demons known for their individual strength. They are not a race, and their offspring will also become another new kind of demon.】

【Titled Great Demons are like the Nine-Tailed Fox, with a large clan that can be passed down through generations. Although their ancestors may have strength comparable to ancient demons, as it is passed down from generation to generation, the overall strength declines.】

【The origins of these two types of demons are ancient, both dating back to prehistoric times.】

【And now many new demons have been born. These demons don’t exist in the long river of history, but are more like demonic beings that coexist with humans, like inner demons.】

【In the inn, you hear some news from the guests, saying that many places in Yangzhou have been haunted recently, which is very strange.】

【You buy a few jars of fine wine from the shopkeeper and put them in your gourd.】

【”Brother Gu truly loves fine wine and never lets it go!” Ma Yang exclaims upon seeing this. “Come, come, come, let’s drink fine wine together. I don’t know if we can get out of this Yangzhou alive.”】

【When he says the last sentence, his voice gradually lowers.】

【The pressure brought by the demons entering the world is somewhat suffocating for these ordinary cultivators.】

【As humans, they have the fear of death.】

【Especially cultivators who have attained Dao. They understand death, so they fear it even more.】

【You rest for a night. The next day, Zhang Tianze takes you to search for strange and suspicious places in Yangzhou.】

【Your arcane art, Sword Control Technique, and your family’s sword technique, Heaven and Earth Concealing, have an excellent interaction.】

【You can use the Sword Control Technique to cast Heaven and Earth Concealing from a distance.】

【Heaven and Earth Concealing, driven by ‘momentum’, ‘Qi’, and ‘spells’, is more powerful than before.】

【Finally, Zhang Tianze stops at a tailor’s shop that makes shrouds and paper figurines for people.】

【”I sensed demonic energy here with my technique.” Zhang Tianze takes out a compass-like instrument.】

【This object is called the Demon-Pointing Needle.】

A prompt pops up on Gu Jiangming’s screen.

【Demon-Pointing Needle: Can point out the exact location of a demon through demonic power.】

【You follow Zhang Tianze into this shop and indeed find that this place is quite gloomy. There are neatly arranged paper figurines in the courtyard. They don’t have their eyes painted on, but they give you a feeling of being secretly watched.】

【A pale young man walks out, “Do you have a funeral at home? Do you want to buy a suitable shroud or take some paper figurines back to burn?”】

【As he speaks, he shows an inappropriate smile.】

【”He is a demon.” Mu Qing suddenly says with certainty, and Zhang Tianze immediately points both fingers to the sky, silently casting a technique.】

【A barrier-like formation envelops the courtyard.】

【The next second, the sound of bells rings out with the cold wind, ding-ling-ling.】

【The paper figurines lying flat in the courtyard suddenly all get up, staring ahead with murderous intent.】

【”That’s the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.” Ma Yang’s expression changes slightly. Seeing fellow cultivators lying on the ground turned into paper figurines, it’s hard for anyone to remain calm.】

【Especially since those people’s cultivation is not lower than his own.】

【And what’s even more frightening is that after these people turn into paper figurines, they can use demonic power to drive their arcane arts, thus making their power far greater than before.】

【The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou also have the Paper Demon’s help. In this way, the opponent’s strength is far greater than theirs. Even with the help of the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, it is feared that it will be difficult to overcome this tribulation.】

【The best-case scenario now is probably that Zhang Tianze has a secret method to escape.】

【At this time, Ma Yang hears the sound of someone drinking.】

【In such a dangerous situation, there is actually someone who can leisurely drink and enjoy themselves here?】

【Ma Yang’s heart is filled with despair.】

【He looks at Gu Jiangming behind him, who is still wiping the wine stains from the corner of his mouth, but sees an unforgettable scene.】

【He sees him raise his hand.】

【Softly whisper—Heavenly Stem Five Thunders.】

【The light shining from his fingertips blooms dazzlingly from his palm. A technique charged with the power of thunder pierces straight ahead.】

【The paper figurines transformed from the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou are swallowed by the thunder. The barrier released by Zhang Tianze is shaken, and a hole of unknown depth appears directly behind the wall.】

【An astonishing momentum surges from Gu Jiangming’s body straight into the clouds, his brows condensed with dazzling golden light.】

【From this moment on, you suddenly remember Mount Shu, remember Gu Jiangming.】

【And at this moment, even Zhang Tianze is stunned by this terrifying thunder technique, his mouth slightly agape.】

【Mu Qing, who is watching everything from behind, ready to use her escape technique at any time, also widens her eyes in disbelief.】

【Behind the veil, she senses the unfathomable momentum, the elusive Qi, and the awe-inspiring spells from Gu Jiangming.】

【Suddenly, he turns his head, and his eyes, enhanced by Cave Heaven Eye, seem to see through everything, making Mu Qing’s eyes burn as she stares at him.】

At the same time…

Jiujiu, who was manipulating her character to leave the valley and search for Gu Jiangming, smelled the aura that soared into the clouds.

Jiujiu had only felt this kind of aura once before, when she first went to Longhu Mountain and faced the Old Celestial Master’s scrutinizing gaze, feeling the overwhelming pressure like a mountain pressing down on her.

And this time, in this astonishing pressure, Jiujiu smelled an extremely familiar aura.

It was an aura she could never forget.

Gu! Jiang! Ming!

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