A Choice Between Two

"From latent qi in the womb, the fetus formed; from the fetus's existence, qi found rest..."

"When the spirit moved, qi moved; when the spirit rested, qi rested. If one wished for longevity, spirit and qi had to flow into each other..."

Lu Bei flipped through the Fetal Breath Qi Replenishing Art while nodding thoughtfully. He understood the words, yet had absolutely no idea what they meant, much less how to cultivate it.

Conclusion: it truly was a strange book.

After hitting a wall once, Lu Bei decisively chose to lie flat. To hell with self-study and comprehending the Dao—his Personal Panel was far more reliable. Every time he opened it, he could see his own "astonishingly gifted" exceptional aptitude.

[You have come into contact with the Fetal Breath Qi Replenishing Art. Spend 80 Skill Points to learn it?]

[You have come into contact with the Demon Slaying Scripture. Spend 80 Skill Points to learn it?]

"The Demon Slaying Scripture?!"

Lu Bei's eyes widened. He picked up the booklet in his hands and examined it over and over, picking through every line and every word, yet he could not find a single mention of demons.

Ridiculous!

"What Demon Slaying Scripture? Where did a Demon Slaying Scripture come from? Did I open it wrong, or did it bug out?" Refusing to believe it, Lu Bei fiddled with it several more times. He even randomly selected several pages and tore them open, confirming there was no hidden layer inside.

"Could it be..."

Lu Bei took out a bottle of Qi Ling Pills from his robe, swallowed two to calm himself, and suddenly his eyes lit up. Based on the tropes from all those wuxia dramas he had watched over the years, the Demon Slaying Scripture had to be hidden in the book. To reveal it, he either needed to soak it in water or burn it with fire.

The scene shifted. Lu Bei stared at the booklet reduced to ashes in the fire pit, lowering his head in silent despair.

He had been careless. He had not expected the fire to be so fierce.

"No Big Problem. Looking on the bright side, Master told me before he passed away not to reveal the Fetal Breath Qi Replenishing Art to anyone. Now that the book is gone, no one will ever know."

Lu Bei sighed twice. In truth, it really was no big problem. The book was gone, but the prompt on his Personal Panel remained. What he needed to consider now was which cultivation technique to learn.

A dilemma that could drive anyone with choice paralysis to death: one of two, the Fetal Breath Qi Replenishing Art or the Demon Slaying Scripture?

Judging by their names, both techniques belonged to Dao Cultivators. One focused on defense and healing, while the other focused on offense. Considering that he lacked everything, Lu Bei decided to trust his luck for once.

The reason he had stood out from a crowd of colleagues, won his boss's favor, and earned a chance at a raise and double year-end bonus was precisely because he had good luck.

"Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, whichever one I pick, I'll learn... this... one."

He landed on the Fetal Breath Qi Replenishing Art. Lu Bei immediately stopped hesitating, spent 80 Skill Points through his Personal Panel, and learned the Demon Slaying Scripture.

It was not that the Fetal Breath Qi Replenishing Art was bad, nor was he denying his own luck. It was simply too balanced. By comparison, the Demon Slaying Scripture sounded just a tiny bit cooler.

Just as Lu Bei expected, with his earthshaking aptitude granted by the Personal Panel, he mastered the Demon Slaying Scripture in an instant. The cultivation technique interface refreshed and displayed a new line of information.

Cultivation Technique: Demon Slaying Scripture Lv1 (0/5000)

"Five thousand experience points at just Level 1. As expected of a strange book from the Far West Land."

Lu Bei nodded to himself. Out of respect for immortality cultivation, he decided to meditate for five minutes first.

If he remembered correctly, Mo Buxiu had said before leaving that the Fetal Breath Qi Replenishing Art was a strange book he had obtained from the Extreme West of Kunlun. The Demon Slaying Scripture had been hidden inside it, so rounding up, it also came from the Extreme West of Kunlun.

Speaking of the Far West Land, one had to mention the four extreme regions of Kyushu World. When Lu Bei had first encountered the game, he had crammed some geographical knowledge from its official website.

Kyushu had three mountain ranges, while heaven and earth had four extremes.

The three mountain ranges of Kyushu were Buzhou, Kunlun, and Mangyin, stretching east to west and cutting across the Kyushu Continent. North of the Buzhou Mountain Range lay the Great Wilderness, said to be the Place of Origin of the Demon Race. Farther north was the Extreme North, a land of frozen earth for ten thousand years, where gale winds flayed flesh from bone. Even Demon Cultivators with powerful bodies did not dare venture deep inside.

South of the Mangyin Mountain Range lay the Ten Thousand Li Dead Sea, where yin energy was incredibly dense and spiritual qi did not exist. It was said that after living beings died, they entered the Extreme South, another world entirely.

The Kunlun Mountain Range stood between the other two. It lacked the dangers of the Buzhou Mountain Range and the bone-chilling cold of the Mangyin Mountain Range, and immortality cultivators called it the Place of Origin of Immortal Gates beneath heaven.

East of the Kunlun Mountain Range, immortal islands lay hidden within the Vast Ocean; further details would unlock in Version 3.0. To the west was the Far West Land, where Demonic Cultivators clustered together, universally acknowledged as the Place of Origin of Demonic Cultivators. Calling its customs and public safety chaotic would already have been praise.

A Demon Slaying Scripture from the Place of Origin of Demonic Cultivators sounded like it had plenty of potential.

As an aside, Wu Zhou, where Ning Province was located, sat somewhat close to the Buzhou Mountain Range. As a result, there were rather more Demonic Creatures, though the government officially protected both life and property. Anyone with household registration could not only join a sect to cultivate, but also enter the imperial court as an official.

The "Zhou" in Wu Zhou also borrowed the fortune of the Buzhou Mountain Range, hoping the nation, like Buzhou Mountain, would stand unfallen for eternity.

As for Nine Bamboo Mountain, it was not an extension of the Buzhou Mountain Range. At most, Buzhou Mountain had shivered, leaving a wrinkle in the ground ten thousand li away.

Nine Bamboo Mountain could not claim that relative.

It was unworthy!

Five minutes later.

Cultivation Technique: Demon Slaying Scripture Lv1 (1/5000)

"Too slow. At this rate, it'll take at least half a month without food or sleep to raise the Demon Slaying Scripture to the second level." Lu Bei frowned in silence. Ever since discovering that he possessed an NPC panel, he had had several questions.

Could he take quests? Could he gain experience?

If not, then once players entered the game, surpassing his level would be as easy as playing around. If he could, then what was he—a player with an NPC panel?

Lastly, would he revive if he died?

This bit was truly important.

"Should I... give it a try?"

Trying it meant dying. Lu Bei decisively abandoned the suicidal idea, got up, dusted off his backside, and headed toward the backyard.

A red shadow flashed through the woods. Lu Bei stopped, knowing it was the little fox demon drawn by the Qi Ling Pills. He called toward where it was hiding, "The sect is being renovated for about two or three months. Don't come over during that time. They're all bad men bursting with energy. If they catch you, your fate will absolutely be Life Worse Than Death."

"..."

Nothing moved in the grass. The little fox demon seemed to have run far away.

"Remember that!"

Lu Bei called out again. "If you're still thinking about Qi Ling Pills, come find me after the sect renovations are done. I'll leave a back door open for you. Don't worry, I'm different from those bad men."

Bad in a different way!

"What? You said you already have a cultivation technique?!"

That night, Bai Jin returned from Dasheng Pass and sought out Lu Bei. When she learned that he had formally embarked on the path of cultivation, her face turned icy with anger.

"Was it Ding Lei? Did he sell you that cultivation technique?"

Bai Jin's eyes gleamed—a cold gleam, the kind filled with killing intent.

Cultivation techniques used by immortality cultivators were not impossible to replace. After all, techniques varied in quality and had differences in realms. Cultivating for a while and then switching to a better one was Not Surprising.

It was surreal, a little makeshift in an oddly fitting way, but that was simply how immortality cultivation worked.

All cultivation techniques in the world had been created by those who founded sects and schools. Every step forward required exploration. When these geniuses died young before reaching the end, the cultivation techniques they left behind lost their continuation as well. Later generations either supplemented them or chose anew.

The reason Bai Jin was angry was that Lu Bei had only just begun on the path of cultivation and needed a good technique to lay his foundation. This would directly affect the height he could reach in the future.

Would he shine forever as a genius, or fade into the masses and return to yellow earth?

The cultivation techniques Ding Lei sold...

It was not that Bai Jin looked down on Ding Lei. She simply did not consider Ding Lei worth looking at in the first place. Among the hundred or so people in the entire Emei Sect, not even one was able to fight. If Lu Bei cultivated a technique Ding Lei provided, at least half his aptitude would be ruined.

She was furious. She wanted to slaughter Ding...

No, killing someone would get Huangji Sect to invite her over for tea.

Still furious, she wanted to dislocate Ding Lei's arms to vent her anger.

"Senior Sister, calm down. It has nothing to do with Sect Leader Ding."

Lu Bei hurriedly spoke up, saving Ding Lei's wives and concubines in the nick of time. He told Bai Jin, "After Senior Sister left, I pondered those twelve Daoist scriptures some more and sorted them out in my mind. Then I suddenly realized how unfathomable the Dao scriptures' profound essence was, and I comprehended them."

"What did you comprehend?" Bai Jin swallowed saliva.

"I comprehended several cultivation techniques Most suitable for me."

Lu Bei scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. But there was no way around it. It was all his talent's fault.