Lord Shenxiu-Chapter 959: Demons and Fiends (4800 Supplement)

Doing something monotonous makes time pass quickly.

Lu Wen Yuan practiced, performed alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman crafting almost daily, rarely stepping outside.

With the foundation of the 'Secret History Golden Chapter,' he was willing to spend various spiritual medicines on experiments, and his alchemy skills improved rapidly.

However, he kept a secret hand and didn't let the sect know.

Thus, he handled the sect's alchemy tasks with ease, sometimes producing a few extra pills, which he could deduct for himself, exchange for resources, and support his cultivation.

It's a common unspoken rule among alchemists to skim a little off the top, like plucking feathers from a passing goose.

Other alchemists might secretly take one or two pills at most, but Lu Wen Yuan, due to his superior alchemy skills, had a pill production rate one or two percent higher than usual, which was his 'share.'

And if he encountered a bottleneck, he would use various rare Spirit Pills to forcefully break through.

Unknowingly, ten years passed by in a flash.

One day, Lu Wen Yuan finally left his cave residence.

He looked indifferent on his face, as if he hadn't shown any other expressions for a long time, shielding his eyes from the sunlight with his hand, resembling a zombie that just came back to life.

"Although one must cultivate diligently, it's also important to occasionally communicate with fellow disciples and attend Golden Core Elder lectures, or else you'll end up becoming like a block of wood..."

Lu Wen Yuan rubbed the muscles on his face, stiffly smiled a few times, finally making his expression a bit softer.

At this point, the mana fluctuation on his body had already reached mid-stage Foundation Establishment!

After ten years of hard cultivation, he had finally reached the peak of early-stage Foundation Establishment the day before yesterday. Lu Wen Yuan decisively broke through with the aid of various elixir pills, and succeeded in one go!

However, he thought for a moment, took out a bottle of 'Hidden Spirit Pill' from his pocket, and swallowed one.

This pill is especially good at hiding mana and concealing one's cultivation level. Instantly, the surging mana on his body diminished by half, making him appear to be at early-stage Foundation Establishment again.

Moreover, even a Golden Core Ancestor would find it difficult to detect without carefully using their Divine Sense.

Only then did Lu Wen Yuan contentedly pat his storage bag, releasing a silver leaf magic artifact, and flew to a mountain peak.

Today was the Dan Ding Sect's Golden Core lecture day.

On the mountain peak, many cultivators had already gathered, most of whom were at the Foundation Establishment level.

"Junior Brother Lu, over here!"

A Foundation Establishment disciple waved his hand. He was dressed in white robes embroidered with clusters of flames, adorned with mysterious restrictions.

"Senior Brother Tang!"

Lu Wen Yuan walked over, bowing and smiling. This Senior Brother Tang Buhuan was a direct descendent of Tang Yong, the Golden Core Supreme Elder of the Tang Family, far superior to outsiders like Xu Chang who married into the family.

Moreover, he himself had already reached mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and with the support of a Golden Core Supreme Elder, he had a promising future for a Golden Core, being a Golden Core seed of the sect!

Therefore, Lu Wen Yuan was very courteous.

"Haha, I've heard that Junior Brother Lu is a diligent cultivator. Ever since reaching Foundation Establishment, you've been practicing in seclusion, which isn't good. Cultivation requires a balance between work and rest..."

Tang Buhuan reminded, "But it's wise of you not to participate in the recent Foundation Establishment outing mission."

"Oh? What happened?"

Lu Wen Yuan asked in surprise.

"Sigh, it was said that Junior Sister Dongfang and her group initially did some good deeds by punishing evil and promoting good, but Junior Brother Wang was a bit impulsive and somehow provoked the Feiyun Sect..."

Tang Buhuan shook his head.

"Our Dan Ding Sect and Feiyun Sect are both lower sects of Wu Shi, even if there's some competition, it shouldn't cause any trouble, right?" Lu Wen Yuan frowned.

"The Feiyun Sect didn't do anything, but Junior Sister Dongfang's group later encountered Devil Cultivators! After a fierce battle, one disciple died, Junior Brother Wang was seriously injured, reportedly severely damaged his vitality, and almost fell in cultivation..."

Tang Buhuan spoke in a tone of sarcasm, "Hehe... in all my years, I have never heard of Foundation Establishment Devil Cultivators in Liang Country!"

'Could it be... that someone from the Feiyun Sect disguised themselves? Has the competition between these sects become so vicious?'

Lu Wen Yuan felt fortunate, "Luckily I didn't foolishly follow them out, or else I would have surely gotten caught up in the trouble..."

He believed that he wouldn't be killed by a Foundation Establishment Devil Cultivator, but he might expose his trump cards.

If he could cultivate and advance steadily, who would want to live a life of constant fighting and being on the brink of life and death?

"By the way, Junior Brother Lu, are you engaged? Coming from the Lu Family?"

Senior Brother Tang asked.

"No, but I don't fancy a Dao companion!"

Lu Wen Yuan guessed what Tang Buhuan wanted to say and blocked it immediately.

Tang Buhuan was a bit speechless, having never heard a male cultivator say they didn't like women before.

He was a bit annoyed and frustrated internally, but he forced a smile on his face, "No matter... but in a month, there's an exchange meeting for the sect's Foundation Establishment disciples. You must attend, Junior Brother."

"Of course!"

With a chance for freebies, Lu Wen Yuan naturally wouldn't miss it, but he sighed inwardly, knowing that by borrowing the power of the Tang Family to establish his Foundation, these troubles were unavoidable.

...

Inside the Secret History Golden Chapter.

"Devil Cultivator... or Demon Beasts?"

Zhong Shenxiu pondered.

If this world's ruling realm is the Too High Heavens, then there must be a supreme contention, and if it's determined to be a battle of Tao traditions, one side is undoubtedly the ancestor of the mortal flow.

And the other side left him marveling, as it seemed to have been mostly eradicated in the lower realm.

However, based on Lu Wen Yuan's experiences in the Dan Ding Sect over this time, Zhong Shenxiu could roughly speculate.

One suspected target was Ancient Demon Practitioners, and the second was monsters.

Supposedly, in ancient times, demons and monsters crossed over into this realm, leaving Demon Cultivator and Demon Beast Tao traditions, allowing human cultivators to cultivate demon skills, and demon beasts to self-cultivate, becoming a major threat to humankind.

But later, ancient cultivators paid a heavy price, and possibly with assistance from upper realm cultivators, barely quelled the demon chaos, keeping this realm predominantly human.

However, a dying centipede still wriggles, and though the Demon Path is destroyed, its inheritance still exists, occasionally producing a Devil Cultivator or two, and even some renowned righteous cultivators coveting the power of demon skills, willingly practice them!

As for demon beasts?

They thrived even more, reportedly establishing a Demon Country outside human territories, guarded by great monsters comparable to Nascent Soul Ancestors, and not afraid to rival top human sects.

"Demon Cultivators and Demon Beasts, these are the two major enemies of cultivators..."

As for which side is his own, Zhong Shenxiu truly didn't know.

After all, no one stipulated that the highest existence from the transmigrators' side had to be righteous.

"But judging from this lower realm, mortal cultivators dominating is undeniable. Does that mean this battle for Tao traditions is about to reach its conclusion?"

"However, this is merely a lower realm. Without venturing to the rumored Spirit Realm or Immortal Realm, it remains uncertain..."