Chapter 130: Chapter 127: Xiao Chan Comes to the Door

Of course.

This was within Chen Che’s expectations. After all, news traveled too slowly here.

It was nothing like Earth Element Star, where a major event would happen one second and news would explode all over the internet the next. You could find stories from every perspective—the neighbors, relatives, and friends of those involved.

Some internet guru would even compile the entire sequence of events into a neat summary, making it easy for the public to grab their popcorn and watch the drama unfold.

’Using an Evil Artifact to steal someone’s Qi and Blood... could it be him?’

’Qi Refining Realm, Evil Artifact... That young man clearly fit Lu Yi’s description more closely...’

’But if it really was him...’

’Then I’m afraid he might come back for the Pill.’

"Chen Che, how dare you trick me!"

Just as Chen Che was pondering this, Meng Qingxuan stormed into the Pill Shop, furious.

She had gone to the Black Water River first thing in the morning and wandered around all day without seeing a hint of a Demon Beast. When she asked around, the people there said they had never seen one. Only then did she realize she’d been tricked.

"I remembered wrong. It was the Baishui River," Chen Che said coolly.

"...You."

Meng Qingxuan gritted her teeth in anger.

However, Chen Che paid her no mind and simply turned to leave.

Traveling between two worlds, all he had to do was follow his cultivation plan step by step. He figured he could reach the Ninth Layer Great Perfection within a year or two, and even Foundation Establishment wouldn’t be a problem.

’Evil Cultivators, Evil Artifacts...’

’Just stay away from me.’

He was extremely cautious on his way back, even taking a few detours to make sure no one was following him, before finally heading back to his Cave Mansion.

"CHIRP!"

Hearing the Little Chick’s cheerful sound, Chen Che let out a long breath, put away the Celestial Secret Umbrella, and began his cultivation.

"You all can fight your own battles; I’ll focus on my cultivation. First Foundation Establishment, then congeal a Golden Core, form a Nascent Soul, and then charge toward Divinity Transformation... Only when you’re strong enough will everyone around you seem like a good person!"

He activated the Energy-Introducing Technique. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

WHOOSH~

HAAAH~

His breathing was magnificent, like that of a great dragon. With each inhale and exhale, the wind howled.

...

...

Day after day.

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed since the discovery of the Evil Cultivator’s murders.

Hu Yao led patrols relentlessly every day.

But whenever he passed the Pill Shop, he would just shake his head: still no news.

Chen Che, however, paid it no mind. He let the storm rage outside while he focused solely on his own cultivation.

However, before he had a chance to choose which Tier Two Spell to learn, Wei He had already picked out a martial technique for him.

"*Nine Shocking Ape Strikes*? Middle Stage of Grade Two?"

Chen Che held a book as thick as a brick. On its cover was a photo of a man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in a white training uniform, exuding the air of a ’grandmaster.’ Judging by the cover, it looked more like a self-help book written by a celebrity. There was even a line of small print at the bottom:

[Warning: Do not study unless Qi and Blood have reached the Foundation Establishment level.]

Flipping it open, he saw it was indeed a martial technique, and one of the supreme, unyielding, and overwhelmingly ferocious types.

However, a third of the book was just the author boasting about his own achievements: which opponents he defeated in his youth and the story of how he created this technique. The color-photo section even had some pictures of him with celebrities.

That explained why it was so thick.

"This martial technique has only nine techniques, but each one has extremely high requirements for Qi and Blood. To perform all of them, your Qi and Blood must be at the level of a Foundation Establishment Second Layer, or even Third Layer, cultivator. With your current Qi and Blood, you can at most activate one or two techniques before you’re completely exhausted."

Wei He explained from the side, then pulled out several more books.

"I have a few other martial technique books here. They’re all collector’s editions I bought back in college, and a few I borrowed from classmates..."

Chen Che glanced at them.

Most were Tier Two Low Grade, though some were Middle Grade.

Unfortunately, they didn’t suit his needs.

"Thank you, Teacher Wei, but I’ll take this *Nine Shocking Ape Strikes*..." Chen Che said, shaking his head.

"As long as it meets your needs. I’ll teach you the basic movements once. You can study the book later for the rest, like how to circulate your Qi and Blood. If you don’t understand something, you can ask me directly."

With that, Wei He began his demonstration.

If the *True Martial Seventeen Scattering Hands* was just a part of the Immortal Sect’s basic education, then the *Nine Shocking Ape Strikes* was a true combat art.

Even though Wei He didn’t activate it with his Qi and Blood, his demonstration alone gave off an exceptionally ferocious aura. Watching him intently, Chen Che felt as if Wei He had transformed into a Demon Ape wielding a Thousand Jin Staff, sending an involuntary chill down his spine.

Thanks to his immense Divine Sense, Chen Che memorized the entire demonstration after Wei He performed it only once.

Of course, a complete martial technique was never that simple. This was just the most superficial set of movements. It also included breathing methods, Qi and Blood circulation methods, and more. Without those, even if he learned the moves, it would just be a shallow, skin-deep skill.

The difference in power would be night and day.

"For the rest, slowly familiarize yourself with the Qi and Blood circulation," Wei He slowly withdrew his stance and added a reminder, "The *Nine Shocking Ape Strikes* is immensely powerful. Each technique is stronger than the last, and every new technique requires several times the Qi and Blood of the previous one. If you force yourself to use the later techniques, you’ll cause irreversible damage to your body. It could even affect your Foundation Establishment!"

"I understand!"

After receiving a few more words of advice, Chen Che waited until class was over and returned to his Cave Mansion. The Little Chick wasn’t there; it had apparently gone out hunting again. It was still in its juvenile stage and had a massive appetite.

He cultivated for a while before heading to the Pill Shop.

Inside the shop, Ding Fei, Zhao Deyou, and Zhao Changping were busy as usual. Such was the life of a shopkeeper; whether there were customers or not, you had to man the store all day.

He had barely arrived when Hu Yao rushed through the door right behind him.

"What’s with you?" Chen Che asked, a little surprised.

"There’s news."

Hu Yao gave him a meaningful look. The two went to the backyard, and Ding Fei used the excuse of bringing tea to stay and listen in.

"Could it be news about the Evil Cultivator?" Chen Che reacted quickly.

"Mmm..."

Hu Yao drained his Spirit Tea, put the teapot to his lips, and gulped down a few more mouthfuls before holding up two fingers.

"That’s right. There are two pieces of news so far. First, the body in front of the ruined temple was removed last night. When we rushed over this morning, even the traces of the battle had been completely wiped away!"

"If I’m not mistaken, the Evil Cultivator must have come back last night..." Chen Che nodded.

He knew that even though Lu Yi had ordered his men to withdraw from the temple, he was still concerned about the matter.

"Killing to silence witnesses, destroying the body to erase all traces... This Evil Cultivator isn’t just bold, he’s meticulous." Ding Fei muttered, sneaking a sideways glance at Chen Che. ’By that logic, his own boss has a bit of an Evil Cultivator-in-the-making vibe.’

"What’s the second piece of news?" Glancing at Ding Fei, who immediately averted his gaze, Chen Che asked unhurriedly.

"It’s about the Evil Cultivator!"

Hu Yao lowered his voice and glanced around. Even though he had heard this information several times, it still shocked him every time he recalled it.

"According to public information, his name is Xiao Chan!"

"He was the son of a wealthy family at the foot of the Primordial Sect’s mountain and spent over ten years in the mountains apprenticed to a master. Later, for some unknown reason, he suddenly turned into a vicious killer. He killed his mother, then slew his younger brother. In a single night, he slaughtered his entire family, young and old. And after that, he actually..."

"Actually what?" Ding Fei asked hurriedly.

"Not only did this fiend not flee, but that very night, he laid a trap and ambushed his own master, ultimately killing him. And you have to understand, his master was a Foundation Establishment Ancestor!"

Hu Yao grimaced, unable to stop himself from exclaiming, "And that’s not all! The very next day, as if nothing had happened, he went directly to his master’s home and exterminated his entire family of forty-six, leaving no one alive—not even the dogs! Since then, he’s been hunted by the Primordial Sect, killing at least two or three hundred of their disciples and stewards along the way..."

"HISS~"

At these words, Ding Fei’s scalp went numb.

’What kind of monster is this?’

’If this had happened in Jinyun Valley, we would have all been wiped out by now.’

"So has that Evil Cultivator left..." Ding Fei asked nervously.

Hu Yao smacked his lips and chuckled. "In my opinion, he must be long gone. After something this big, the Primordial Sect will hunt him to the ends of the earth. No matter how gutsy he is, there’s no way he’d stick around after destroying the evidence..."

Hearing this, Ding Fei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Boss!"

However, at that very moment, Zhao Deyou called out from the front of the shop, "That cultivator from the other day is here to pick up his pill. He... he wants to see you."