Several days later, the rain finally let up.
But the air carried none of that fresh, clean scent. The ground was covered in mud, and countless displaced refugees trudged along the main road, giving off strange, foul odors.
Lu Wangchuan emerged from his meditation and opened his eyes, faint flashes of lightning glimmering within them.
The further one advances in the Dantian Realm, the purer the body becomes. It almost seems as though one is transforming into an entirely new lifeform. Could cultivation itself be another path of life's evolution?
Lu Wangchuan pondered for a moment, then opened the Light Screen.
Name: Lu Wangchuan. Cultivation: Dantian Realm. Vitality: 1402. Cultivation Methods: Dao Embryo Breathing Method (Seventh Layer), Limitless Sword Dao (Fourth Layer), Heavenly Dipper Eight Steps (First Layer)
Without hesitation, Lu Wangchuan added points directly to the Limitless Sword Dao, raising it to the fifth layer.
The vitality within his body boiled over. Lu Wangchuan felt the sword intent within him grow deeper and stronger. With the fifth layer of the Limitless Sword Dao, its power was boundless when unleashed.
He tried using the Godslayer Sword to strike. With one slash, a branch one foot beyond the blade's edge—its bark gnawed away and covered in bite marks—snapped apart on the spot.
"I can actually unleash a trace of Sword Qi already."
Lu Wangchuan was somewhat surprised. He had not struck the branch directly. This meant that Sword Qi had already formed beyond the blade's edge, causing the branch to break.
"Normally, those in the Dantian Realm can at most attach True Qi to their weapons. They cannot release it beyond the body—that is something only experts of the Celestial Human Realm can do. Yet I can already manage a little of it. It should be related to both my cultivation method and this sword."
Under normal circumstances, ordinary people might not necessarily be able to cultivate both internal arts and combat techniques to a relatively high level.
Their time was limited. Unlike Lu Wangchuan, they could focus on cultivating only one cultivation method. Moreover, the Limitless Sword Art was unlike the Mountain Splitting Fist; techniques of the Transcendent Tier were far more difficult to cultivate.
To cultivate the Limitless Sword Dao to the fifth layer while also cultivating internal arts, even someone with decent comprehension would likely need ten or twenty years to accomplish it.
Yet he had used less than a tenth of that time. His speed was nothing short of a rocket shooting into the sky.
On top of that, the Godslayer Sword his master had given him was made of extraordinary material and incomparably sharp. That was why he had been able to forge Sword Qi!
With satisfaction, he patted the Godslayer Sword, sheathed it, and began making his way toward the Divine Water Sect at an unhurried pace.
The reason he was not rushing there was that he had discovered quite a few migrating merchant caravans along the way. He could take the opportunity to buy some materials and store them in his Storage Bag.
These merchant caravans were busy hurrying along. They already found carrying their goods troublesome, and they also had to worry about being robbed. They could not have been more eager for someone to buy their wares with gold and silver. Lu Wangchuan took the opportunity to make a sweep, purchasing quite a few materials at discounted prices.
By his estimate, once he reached the Divine Water Sect, he would be able to raise his cultivation by quite a bit again.
Competition within a sect was fierce. The stronger he became, the safer he would be.
After traveling for only a few minutes, Lu Wangchuan encountered a little girl walking toward him on the main road. She was around ten years old, dressed in rags, and looked pitiful beyond measure.
"Uncle, please, can you take me to find my mother? Wuwuwu... I got separated from them."
"Auntie, please."
But the refugees hurrying along could barely protect themselves. Who would help her look for her parents?
Soon, she came to Lu Wangchuan's side. Before her filthy little hand could touch his clothes, Lu Wangchuan shot her a cold glance.
"Get lost!"
The faint killing intent radiating from him made her shudder. She collapsed onto the ground in fright, splashing mud all over herself.
Just then, two plainly dressed women who clearly knew some martial arts came up from behind. One of them said irritably,
"Why are you being so harsh to her? She's just a child."
"You're a grown man. Can't you show even a little compassion? Come, little sister. We'll take you to find your mother."
"Th-thank you, sisters."
The little girl climbed to her feet and pointed ahead.
"My mother should be up ahead."
Lu Wangchuan offered a warning.
"You'd better not meddle in other people's business."
At those words, the two women looked at him with even greater contempt.
"You have no compassion yourself, and you won't allow others to have any either? Are you even fit to be called human?"
Lu Wangchuan shook his head and said nothing more.
Good words could not persuade a ghost bent on dying.
Although the girl was dressed in rags, her figure was rather plump. Though her hair was messy, it was thick and luxuriant. She did not look malnourished in the slightest, utterly out of place among the refugees of these troubled times.
And her slightly yellow irises were not a color normal humans should possess.
At that moment, the little girl turned back and shot Lu Wangchuan a vicious glare before quickly vanishing into the crowd ahead with the two women.
Lu Wangchuan continued onward with his sword on his back. His clothes were rather neat, making him stand out sharply from the ordinary disaster victims. Naturally, some people in the crowd harbored ill intentions and tried to draw near him.
But Lu Wangchuan showed no mercy. Anyone who approached was killed without exception. Over time, no one dared come near him carelessly anymore.
In troubled times, playing the saint would only invite greater trouble. Decisive slaughter was the only way to avoid it.
After traveling another twenty or thirty li, Lu Wangchuan purchased enough materials from two more merchant caravans to brew two pots of Spirit Elixir. As evening approached, he prepared to find somewhere to brew it.
He left the main road and came across a ruined temple. Just as he was about to enter and start a fire, his keen sense of smell caught a thick aroma of meat.
"Someone's here?"
He grew somewhat more vigilant and moved closer to investigate, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Inside was a large pot still giving off steam.
A half-naked woman lay on the ground, her body covered in wounds.
Lu Wangchuan glanced at the woman and found her somewhat familiar. Wasn't she the woman who had taken that little girl to find her mother during the day?
The other woman was nowhere to be seen...
It seemed his guess had been mostly correct. That little girl was no good thing.
He sighed, shook his head, and turned to leave.
This place was too disgusting. He decided to find somewhere else to brew the Spirit Elixir.
But his sigh clearly woke her.
"Who's there?!"
The woman cried out, scrambling to her feet and staring warily at Lu Wangchuan outside the door. When she saw his face clearly, her eyes instantly turned bloodshot. She clenched her silver teeth so hard they creaked.
"It's you! You're with them?"
Lu Wangchuan shook his head.
"I have no taste for something that low. I just happened to pass by."
"You knew that little bitch was a bad person. Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you make it clear to us?"
Lu Wangchuan said nothing more and simply turned to leave.
He had already warned the two women not to meddle in other people's affairs, yet they had mocked him then. And now they wanted to blame him for not telling them? What a joke.
In troubled times, why spread sympathy around for no reason?
Better make sure you can keep your own life first.
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