High Martial World: I Gain Passive Skills Daily-Chapter 180 - 121: Xu Ni’s Allure, The Tenacity of Life and Death (Double - ) (Part 2)

Chapter 180: Chapter 121: Xu Ni’s Allure, The Tenacity of Life and Death (Double Chapter) (Part 2)

Therefore, the hawkers below naturally listen to stories meant for them.

Although this is a world full of spirits and ghosts, since they actually exist, few dare to use them as their subject matter. What gets passed around are mostly real events.

After all, no one knows whether they might offend some cultivator big shot while writing a particular story.

At that time, what’s demanded won’t be compensation for copyright infringement, but one’s life.

The spirit and ghost-themed story that Chen Kuang spoke of so exquisitely could be said to be rarely seen worldwide.

Yet, Chen Kuang did not intend to finish it all at once; he planned to let it unfold slowly.

When he felt it was about time, he said, "If you want to know what happens next..."

Lianmi immediately handed over a gold leaf eagerly and said, "Here you go."

Chen Kuang: "..."

How many rounds of storytelling have you listened to, to be this familiar?!

But Chen Kuang was not the kind of man that could be swayed by money.

He slapped Lianmi’s hand away with a "clap," and said seriously, "Jianghu rules dictate that I can only speak up to here—if you want to know what happens next, you’ll have to wait for the next segment!"

Lianmi puffed up her cheeks, mumbling, "I haven’t heard of such Jianghu rules..."

Chen Kuang confidently said, "My rules."

Lianmi curiously asked, "What’s your name, and where do you perform storytelling? I haven’t heard of you before."

The courtyards are places for listening to music and watching performances. Those Jianghu performers and storytellers often gather there.

Of course, storytellers with slightly better skills usually go to teahouses and restaurants to work with the shop owners, avoiding having to compete with the acrobats for space.

She no longer regarded Chen Kuang as a wealthy young master running away from home, but as a professional storyteller from some courtyard, perhaps someone who had fallen into the water by accident.

Chen Kuang shook his head and said wryly, "I’m not a storyteller."

"You speak so skillfully, how could you not be?"

Lianmi was skeptical but, after looking at his face, hesitantly asked, "So what do you actually do?"

Suddenly, a gentle and clear female voice came from behind her.

"I’m also very curious, who exactly are you?"

"Ah!" Lianmi was startled, stood up quickly, and turned around, exclaiming, "Lady! Why have you come!"

Chen Kuang raised his head to look, and before him was a slender and beautiful woman dressed in light green.

The woman had black hair that was casually tied into a falling raven style. Her attire was adorned with green and red, lazily arranged, yet not vulgar. The simplicity of her brows and eyes instead provided her a cold and glamorous appeal.

Her outer garment was light green, paired with a white inner cross-collar shirt. Inside, a hint of peacock blue from an ornate bandeau was visible. Only two thin strings hung from the neck, seemingly weighed down by something, leaving a faint red mark on the slender and white neck.

This woman could only be the courtesan Liu Qingcheng, whom Lianmi had been thinking about.

She walked gracefully into the room, and Chen Kuang noticed that she was holding a long-haired cat.

This cat was quite peculiar, with four legs shorter than those of an average cat, appearing quite adorable.

Liu Qingcheng glanced at Lianmi reproachfully and said, "You, if I hadn’t come, you might have been deceived along with your money!"

Lianmi quickly shook her head and said, "I gave the money willingly, not deceived! His storytelling is good, which is why I gave money!"

Liu Qingcheng was both amused and angry: "So what you’re saying is, you paid someone who sold you and even counted the money for him?"

Lianmi opened her mouth, muttering in confusion, "I’m not sold... I’m clearly still in my own room."

Liu Qingcheng sighed and turned to look at Chen Kuang:

"Sir, can you answer my earlier question? If you can’t, I’ll have to report to the authorities."

In the mouth of a courtesan from the state, reporting to the authorities doesn’t simply mean reporting.

It might even alert the cultivators...

Chen Kuang shrugged, "I was just about to say."

He stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "I am Chen Ruogu, a musician, drawn here by admiration for Lady Liu’s talents. I came to Xuni Pavilion seeking a livelihood, resorting to this plan to approach you through the water, without any ill intentions."

At any rate, "Chen Kuang" had already died in front of everyone, killed personally by Martial Saint.

No one would think of him as resurrected in a short time.

As long as he’s not too conspicuous, there’s no need to change his fake name.

But out of caution, Chen Kuang still used this more familiar pseudonym.

Lianmi widened her eyes upon hearing.

This guy... does he not need to draft his lies?

He obviously didn’t even know where this place was earlier, and the name Xuni Pavilion was told to him by her. Yet now it became his purpose for coming here through falling into the water.

Lianmi couldn’t help but question.

But Chen Kuang glanced at her, and she closed her mouth again.

She still wanted to hear the rest of the story... and this guy, though silly and daft, certainly didn’t seem like a bad person.

If he were truly a bad person, why would he spend so much effort narrating a long story for her?

Liu Qingcheng took this scene in, unable to help but smile bitterly, while also genuinely curious.

What kind of story did this person tell to enchant her maid so much...

She had just arrived, only caught the ending, vaguely sensing some interest, but didn’t know the specifics.

Liu Qingcheng was silent for a moment, then stroked the cat in her arms.

"I don’t lack musicians here."

Chen Kuang laughed and said, "That’s because you haven’t encountered a good one, Lady Liu. Wouldn’t you listen first?"

This person... is truly arrogant beyond measure.

Xuni Pavilion is a place where almost all slightly famous literati in Zangfeng State must come.

The musicians here are naturally top-notch and refined.

Some of these musicians have retired from their roles as court musicians in the Imperial Palace. Unless a musician is extremely famous, not just anyone can scorn them.

Yet he dares to boast they aren’t good?

So self-righteous!

Liu Qingcheng chuckled lightly, about to refuse, when suddenly she felt a tug on her sleeve, turning to see her little maid looking at her pitifully.

...

Chen Kuang’s unconventional audition didn’t gain HR’s approval.

Even Liu Qingcheng didn’t really let him play a tune; instead, she took him in as a servant for odd jobs.

Chen Kuang was placed in the servants’ quarters, although narrow and simple, it was at least a private room, not communal bedding.

Certainly, it was quite a distance from Lianmi, the personal maid’s quarters.

Perhaps they wanted to prevent him from continuing to deceive the little maid.

Chen Kuang also realized that Xuni Pavilion differed considerably from the brothel he had known.

For instance, the entire Xuni Pavilion hosts only one courtesan, Liu Qingcheng, and no other women, everything serves her.

Ordinary literati find it difficult to meet Liu Qingcheng even once, at most they muster a tea gathering below, and only those who earn praise may have a cup of tea through the curtain.

To date, it’s said that only one Cultivator in the Tower Ascension Realm has ever sat face to face with Liu Qingcheng.

No one has yet become an intimate guest of Liu Qingcheng.

But this is understandable; an excellent commodity must be extensively marketed to maximize its value.

"Speaking of which, today not only did I see Liu Qingcheng’s face, but also saw Liu Qingcheng seemingly just waking up, isn’t that quite profitable?"

Chen Kuang chuckled mildly, adjusted his bedding, sat cross-legged on the bed, and exhaled deeply.

The status bar in his view had long refreshed during his drifting.

It added a new passive.

[You survived under the Martial Saint with Tower Ascension Realm cultivation, gaining the passive "Life and Death Root": Each person you kill or save allows you to accumulate one karma point.]

"Karma..."

Chen Kuang squinted his eyes.

He heard the name ’karma’ only from one person.

Huo Hengxuan once told him that Buddha’s Son "Lion Heart" tried to accumulate karma through mundane transformation, to cross the bitter sea and achieve the Saint Fruit Position.

"In other words, karma might be the key to becoming a Saint!"

Chen Kuang felt fervent within.

What he feared most was his cultivation advancement stagnating one day.

Cultivation can progress to higher levels, but what about state of mind? Or are there other requirements?

If future cultivation advancement requires a matching state of mind or special conditions, then "breaking and rebuilding" won’t work.

Even plentiful cultivation can’t support an empty shell.

But with this passive, it indicates that in his future pursuit of becoming a Saint, he may face fewer obstacles.

But that future is merely future...

What Chen Kuang currently cares more about is actually the cultivation technique from the Merfolk Race, and the two divine powers.

The cultivation technique is named "Transformation Diagram of the Harmonious Dragon."

The two divine powers are "Divide River into Land" and "Hold Pearl to Transform Azhure Pearl"!