The Saint's Grand Ambition

Chu Shaoqiang left Sage Peak, but the Sage was still pacing back and forth in the garden, while his disciples stood quietly to the side.

The sage stopped and surveyed his disciples. "What do you all have to say?"

This is a difficult problem to handle. If everyone remains silent, the sage will surely get angry and might even kill someone.

One must be careful with one's words and know what the sage wants to hear.

A disciple named Song Deke stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Master, I suspect there is a trap involved. We should send someone to monitor Chu Shaoqiang."

Another disciple, Du Xiangwen, felt that Song Deke's idea was wrong. "Junior Brother Song, if we do this, I'm afraid it will discourage Lord Chu. Among these people from Inner State, Lord Chu has never been disrespectful to our master."

"That's his duty as a subject!" the emperor roared. "If he doesn't even understand basic etiquette, what right does he have to stand here and speak to me?"

The disciples lowered their heads in silence, while the Sage gritted his teeth and said, "To ensure Chu Shaoqiang's safety, I've spent so much effort, used so many connections, and taken on so many responsibilities for him."

Now you're telling me you lost the Heaven Heart Stone on the way? You dare to try and fob me off with this nonsense!

Song Deke said, "Chu Shaoqiang has betrayed his promise; we should take this villain's head to avenge our master!"

"Absolutely not," Du Xiangwen advised. "This is a golden opportunity for Master to reclaim our lost territories. We must not let a temporary setback ruin this important matter."

The sage sighed deeply and said slowly, "Wait three more days, and see what explanation Chu Shaoqiang has!"

At the foot of the mountain, Li Banfeng repeatedly instructed Old Cow: "Have the brothers patrol the foot of the mountain and do not allow anyone to go up. The Local Earth God rewards them handsomely, but if anything goes wrong, the punishment will be severe!"

Old Cow repeatedly agreed, "Seventh Master, don't worry, whether it's for you or for the Local Earth God..."

We will certainly do our best.

After packing his bags, Cui Tike said to Li Banfeng, "It's about time, let's go up the mountain."

"Us?" Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "I don't want to go up this mountain again."

Looking at the dense forest and the mountain mist, Cui Tike said sincerely, "I know nothing about Knife Ghost Ridge, I can't even find a suitable route up it. If I die on this mountain, do you know what the consequences will be?"

Li Banfeng said, "You will become DaoLao Ghost."

Cui Tike nodded. "Do you know what happens when a Disease Cultivator turns into DaoLao Ghost?"

"The consequences will be severe, you will bring disaster," Li Banfeng weighed the options and came up with a better solution, "If I kill you now, you won't become DaoLao Ghost."

Cui Tike sighed, "What you're saying is hurting our friendship. My suggestion that you come up the mountain was entirely out of goodwill."

If I truly become DaoLao Ghost, even if you can't stop me, at least you'll be prepared. When I unleash my killing spree, you might still have a way to deal with it.

After careful consideration, Li Banfeng said, "I think the best course of action is to kill you before you become DaoLao Ghost'."

Cui Tike sighed, "Our friendship comes from Sea Eat Ridge, when we worked together..."

Fighting the disaster together, from that moment on, I knew you had a special feeling for Pro State.

Now we've joined forces again, again to stop the disaster. In a sense, it's all for DaoLao Ghost.

"You're considered my fellow disciple, so you should know how Disease Cultivator treats his fellow disciples."

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and nodded slightly. This was indeed a possible solution.

After killing all the DaoLao Ghost), the problem was indeed largely solved.

The two went up the mountain together. To be honest, even without Cui Tike's request, Li Banfeng would have gone up Knife Ghost Ridge on his own. Hong Ying was right; the temptation of cultivation was just too great.

"The aura of Dark Energy," Cui Tike, his steps faltering as he walked through the forest. "The Dark Energy here is too intense; I might not be able to withstand it."

Hong Ying once said that thirty-three Daoist sects could clearly benefit from Knife Ghost Ridge, but she did not mention the Disease Cultivator.

Because she didn't know what "Disease Cultivator" was.

Cui Tike's deduction is probably correct; Knife Ghost Ridge may be the origin of the Disease Cultivator, which explains Cui Tike's strong reaction.

"There's no need to go any further. Let's start our first round of exploration here." Cui Tike sat down under a tree, a swollen bump occasionally appearing on his face, moving back and forth near his cheekbone.

"DaoLao Ghost's lesions are becoming somewhat uncontrollable," Cui Tike rubbed his cheek. "This is quite different from what the Ancestor experienced. The Ancestor's lesions mostly existed in the form of bacteria and viruses. To explain it using the science of Outer State, the lesions that the Ancestor could control were all based on deoxyribonucleic acid life. Am I being too technical?"

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Isn't what you're talking about just genes? What's so complicated about that?"

Cui Tike continued, "What's really complicated isn't the concept, it's the principle. Nucleic acids encode proteins, which is a life principle that everyone can accept. But what if there were no nucleic acids? Could proteins replicate themselves?"

The Ang Virus has accomplished this process, which challenges the principles of life: which came first, nucleic acid or protein? Which one is the dominant factor in life?

Like you and me, we are both Dark Energy User; Dark Energy is altering the protein structure of our bodies.

If Dark Energy grants us extraordinary abilities, is it also altering the very nature of our lives?

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "You're using science to study cultivation?"

Cui Tike laughed and said, "Countries in Outer State are all engaged in relevant research, because science and cultivation are not inherently contradictory."

Every practitioner of Daoism is influenced by Dark Energy, giving them exceptionally strong perception during cultivation. This is the orderly change that Dark Energy brings to their bodies, and this is the significance of Daoism.

As for DaoLao Ghost, they also accepted the impactful, destructive, and chaotic changes brought about by Dark Energy. These changes were not only physical but also perceptual.

What kind of impact would disordered change have on DaoLao Ghost's perception? I've thought about it for a long time, and I even experimented on myself yesterday.

Why do the DaoLao Ghost always appear during thunderstorms? Everyone says it's their habit, but where does this habit come from?

I was infected by the ailment of the DaoLao Ghost, and only then did I truly understand that the Ang Virus damaged a part of my nerves, causing problems with my senses. I would feel extremely thirsty.

However, my eyesight was also affected by the Ang Virus; I couldn't tell which was the kettle, or even what water was.

Without access to water, I had to endure extreme thirst, and at that moment, the sound of thunder was extremely important to me.

Thunder means rain, and when it rains, I can drink water just by opening my mouth. Therefore, during thunderstorms, the DaoLao Ghost will definitely appear.

The sounds of thunder and rain are their lifeline, which excites them and makes them highly aggressive; this is the origin of what is known as habit.

As for where the DaoLao Ghost is when it's not raining, we still need to continue our research.

Li Banfeng exclaimed in admiration, "To be able to explain your research findings in such an accessible way, how much effort have you put into the origins of Daoism?"

Cui Tike gave a wry smile, "All roads lead to Provence, but some people are born in Pro State. I have to make up for my innate disadvantages through hard work."

He took out two seeds and sprinkled them into the soil.

"This is a crop with the ability to spy on plants; I bought it from a friend nearby."

These seeds clearly came from Zhang Wanlong. Cui Tike is a connoisseur; he knows who he can buy good stuff from.

After the medicine was applied, the seeds grew rapidly, and two minutes later, a morning glory bloomed before their eyes.

Cui Tike pressed his ear to the mouth of the trumpet, listened for a moment, and said to Li Banfeng, "There's a DaoLao Ghost down there. Judging from his breathing and heartbeat, he should be fast asleep."

Li Banfeng asked, "Are you trying to dig him out?"

"That's too barbaric. It's like pulling someone's blankets out and digging them out. He'll inevitably be very irritable, which will be very detrimental to subsequent communication." Cui Tike spoke into the megaphone, his throat trembling, making a strange sound.

Hululu~

It was as if an unknown liquid had been pushed up into Li Banfeng's throat by the airflow, making him want to cough.

Cui Tike explained, "I'm imitating thunder."

Li Banfeng thought it didn't sound like thunder, but Cui Tike said, "To DaoLao Ghost's hearing, this sound is exactly the same as thunder."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "You talk as if you're some kind of 'DaoLao Ghost'."

"I can be!" Cui Tike's forehead and cheeks swelled up, and his features became blurred.

He roared a few more times at the trumpet-shaped opening of the morning glory, and the soil on the ground stirred.

Li Banfeng quickly walked away, and Cui Tike also kept a certain distance.

After a while, a DaoLao Ghost emerged from the soil, tilted its face up to the sky, and opened its mouth.

She was collecting rainwater to drink.

It was her. This DaoLao Ghost was a woman, and her features were quite distinctive.

After waiting for a long time without receiving any rain, her thirst and disappointment led her to look at Cui Tike.

Li Banfeng stood at a distance, eager to know what method Cui Tike used to fight DaoLao Ghost.

If Cui Tike can truly find a way to eliminate DaoLao Ghost, the threat of Knife Ghost Ridge will be greatly reduced, Li Banfeng have more options in dealing with Knife Ghost Ridge.

Cui Tike's swollen face had some effect; the DaoLao Ghost opposite him didn't rush to look at the poison spray, seemingly mistaking him for one of their own.

Cui Tike didn't rush to use his techniques; instead, he took out a painting from his pocket.

To be precise, it wasn't a painting, but rather a geometric shape formed by arcs of varying lengths.

At first glance, it appears to be a still image, but after looking at it for a while, you'll feel as if something is moving in the image.

This is an illusion caused by the lines; Li Banfeng had been exposed to the relevant knowledge at school.

He observed DaoLao Ghost's reaction.

DaoLao Ghost walked closer to the image and began to rub the image incessantly with his fleshy, segmented arms.

After rubbing for a while, DaoLao Ghost opened and closed his lips, wiped his mouth, and then returned to the soil.

Cui Tike breathed a sigh of relief; the swelling on his face disappeared, and he returned to normal.

Li Banfeng was very surprised. How did Cui Tike subdue DaoLao Ghost?

Holding up the drawing, Cui Tike asked, "If I said I was a Painting Cultivator, would you believe me?"

Judging from the frequency with which he updates his chest tattoo, this might actually be true.

Cui Tike put away the scroll and laughed, "I'm not Painting Cultivator; I just painted some water on the DaoLao Ghost from earlier."

"Are those things you drew water?"

"It's definitely not what you see, but in DaoLao Ghost's eyes it is water. DaoLao Ghost's visual system has been damaged by the Ang Virus, so he sees things differently than we do."

Li Banfeng still didn't understand. "Those lines you just drew are like water in DaoLao Ghost's eyes."

Haven't they seen real water? How could they mistake those lines for water?

Cui Tike took out a piece of paper, pulled a pen from his jacket pocket, and drew several gentle wavy lines on the white paper. "This is the simplest way to draw a river. Why would we use such lines to represent water?"

Li Banfeng had no answer.

Cui Tike collected the hundred sheets of paper and laughed, "The DaoLao Ghost's vision is different from ours. Just like we can see lines as river water, other creatures can't do that."

When these lines travel through our vision to our brains, our brains produce corresponding amines and enzymes, as well as corresponding proteins. These proteins solidify in our perception, making us perceive the lines as water.

But if I told you it's a disease, would you believe me?

"What illness?"

"A contagious disease," Cui Tike said, pointing to the lines on the screen. "People from different places, with different languages, cultures and customs, all treat these lines as water. Isn't that a plague?"

Proteins have infected all of humanity with the same plague, so I've always believed one thing: proteins are the true masters of life.

Li Banfeng racked his brains for a long time, but couldn't come up with a reason to refute him.

As dusk fell, the two descended the mountain. Li Banfeng asked Cui Tike, "How confident are you?"

Cui Tike smiled and said, "Faced with this special type of life, I dare not say I have a chance. I can only do my best. Killing all my fellow disciples is a tradition of Disease Cultivator, and it is also my personal wish."

That night, Cui Tike spent the entire night preparing a potion.

To be precise, this is not a medicine, but a lesion, Cui Tike is very confident in the lesions he has created.

He slept for two hours before setting off, and then followed Li Banfeng up Knife Ghost Ridge again.

In the same open space, Cui Tike poured the potion into the washbasin and placed six pictures around it.

Each picture was composed of fine lines. Li Banfeng didn't look at the specific patterns; he didn't even want to glance at those pictures.

He gradually came to understand Cui Tike's thought patterns, some of which stemmed from visual perception and were themselves a form of illness.

Having made preparations, Cui Tike gave Li Banfeng a simple explanation. "These six paintings form a layout with a three-dimensional perspective. For DaoLao Ghost Gui, this is equivalent to letting them see a flowing spring. The pathogens I created will be drunk by them as spring water."

"Will you die if you drink it?"

Cui Tike shook his head and said, "A pathogen that kills quickly is not suitable as a carrier of plague."

If a DaoLao Ghost ingests the potion and dies within an hour, it will be difficult for him to pass the pathogen on to the next target.

Even if the transmission is successful, the chain of transmission can easily break. The infected DaoLao Ghost must survive for a period of time, giving it ample time to spread the plague.

Li Banfeng said, "If it doesn't rain, the DaoLao Ghost are all sleeping underground, and they don't have any contact with each other."

In other words, for your plan to succeed, it must rain before the infected DaoLao Ghost dies.

Cui Tike shook his head. "I never gamble. I've made much more thorough preparations."

He made bubble sounds towards the morning glories on the ground.

"Hululu~"

The ground was loosened, and the female DaoLao Ghost, who they had woken up yesterday, crawled out of the soil.

She came to the washbasin and crawled around it with her fleshy limbs.

"Waaah~"

She made a sound unlike any she'd ever made before. Cui Tike lowered his voice and said, "Did you hear that? She's delighted. She's found the water!"

I have successfully changed her perception; I have made her understand that she can find other water sources besides rainwater.

DaoLao Ghost lay on the ground and took a big gulp of medicine. Li Banfeng said, "You only have this much medicine. Be careful she doesn't drink it all by herself."

"No!" Cui Tike said confidently. "The potion contains special ingredients that can quickly suppress her thirst and increase her feeling of fullness. See? She's not drinking it anymore."

DaoLao Ghost was full after just one sip.

Cui Tike smiled, "She now wants to contact her kind; she has a desire to communicate with her kind, and that's the key to the potion."

"Chirp chirp~" DaoLao Ghost squatted on the ground and howled repeatedly.

Not long after, the surrounding bushes began to rustle.

A number of DaoLao Ghost were approaching, and Li Banfeng reminded them, "Shouldn't we leave?"

Cui Tike said, "Don't rush, we need more time to observe. I can't determine the infection rate yet."

The supply of medication is limited, and not many of the initial infected individuals will have taken it. From now on, they will have to rely on infecting each other.

A dozen or so DaoLao Ghost darted out of the bushes and quickly drank up the potion in the basin.

They crouched on the ground and howled together, and at their call, hundreds of DaoLao Ghost gathered together.

Li Banfeng urged again, "We should go."

With so many DaoLao Ghost), each of them could kill Li Banfeng with a single breath of black mist.

Cui Tike remained calm. "Don't rush, let's wait a while. After taking the potion, they shouldn't notice us. They just want to communicate with each other. They shouldn't use their poisonous fog on their own kind."

"What will they do?"

"Let me guess, they'll argue with each other because they both want to know where the water source is."

Cui Tike's assessment was accurate; the DaoLao Ghost were roaring and arguing incessantly.

"They would fight, they were all thirsty for water, and those who didn't get water must have been angry."

That wasn't wrong; some of the DaoLao Ghost had already started fighting, all part of the infection process that Cui Tike had planned in advance.

"They will also—." Cui Tike was stunned.

A male and a female, the two DaoLao Ghost) embraced each other.

Cui Tike thought they were locked in combat, but then he discovered that they were partially connected.

"I didn't expect that their life forms have changed so much, yet they still retain this instinct."

Next, a large number of DaoLao Ghost) hugged each other, their joyful roars rising and falling.

Cui Tike pursed his lips and said, "Li Qi, it seems that Ping has overdosed on a certain ingredient in the potion. They are too excited right now. I think we should leave."

Li Qi, Li Qi—.

Cui Tike looked around.

Li Qi was not by his side.

Li Qi has already left; he's been gone for quite a while.

Awakened by the morning glory DaoLao Ghost came to Cui Tike's Cui Tike, crawling around him.

Cui Tike sensed hostility from her; the DaoLao Ghost saw signs of an alien in Cui Tike.

She opened her mouth, possibly to spray poison or to roar. If it was just spraying poison, Cui Tike might be able to barely hold on. But if she summoned her other companions to spray poison together, it would be fatal for Cui Tike, as he could not control such a large number of pathogens in a short time.

In the critical moment, Cui Tike relaxed his suppression of the pathogen in his body, and his face quickly swelled up, his features became blurred, and his body was covered with viscous fluid.

Seeing Cui Tike in this state, DaoLao Ghost's hostility gradually disappeared.

But she did not leave.

She went around behind Cui Tike and slowly hugged Cui Tike.

Cui Tike had a lot to say, but at that moment, he didn't know which language to use to express it.

After a night, Cui Tike arrived at the foot of the mountain and glared angrily at Li Banfeng: "You left me alone on the mountain; this behavior has seriously damaged our friendship."

Li Banfeng asked a serious question, "How did you escape?"

Cui Tike did not answer directly, "I saved your life, and this is how you repay me?"

"Repaying a debt of gratitude and going along with your suicide attempts are two different things."

"How can this be called death? We are working together to avert a disaster!"

"Has the disaster been averted?"

After a moment of silence, Cui Tike said, "The process was a bit tortuous. I didn't expect the DaoLao Ghost to be so resilient. The lesions I created couldn't kill them, but we still achieved some results."

"What were the results?"

Cui Tike said, "In the past, whenever there was a thunderstorm, the DaoLao Ghost would appear because they needed to drink water."

Now, due to the effects of the lesions, their physical characteristics have changed to some extent; they are able to actively search for water sources through visual perception.

This means that in the future, when thunderstorms occur, we won't have to worry about being ambushed by the DaoLao Ghost.

The actions of Raiden and the DaoLao Ghost are no longer necessarily linked.

Li Banfeng's mind went blank for a moment, and he asked in a low voice, "Could you be more direct?"

After a moment's thought, Cui Tike said, "They can come out now even without thunder."

A cold wind blew by, and Li Banfeng looked up at Cui Tike and said, "I should have killed you before I even came up the mountain."

Cui Tike sighed and said, "Don't be so pessimistic. I will make some improvements to the lesion, and I promise there will be better results next time."

"When is the next time?"

Cui Tike looked at Knife Ghost Ridge and said, "This doesn't depend on me, it depends on them. The lesions are giving them some excitement."

After all, being able to find water on their own is something to be excited about. As things stand, I don't know when they'll calm down, or perhaps they never will.

Li Banfeng looked at Knife Ghost Ridge, unsure of what to say.

Cui Tike returned to his camp, Li Banfeng prepared to return to Portable Abode. On the way, a man in a gray trench coat blocked his path.

Chu Shaoqiang walked up to Li Banfeng with a smile and said, "I don't like to think the worst of people, but there's something I really don't understand: why are you involved in every single mess I've encountered lately!"

Li Banfeng asked, "You came here because of Knife Ghost Ridge?"

"Yes!" Chu Shaoqiang did not deny it.

"Did you bring Knife Ghost Ridge here?"

"Inaccurate," Chu Shaoqiang shook his head and said, "On the way I delivered Knife Ghost Ridge, the Heaven Heart Stone that I used to guide the way disappeared. There were five in total. You might know their whereabouts."

Li Banfeng did not answer, but continued to ask, "Where do you want to send Knife Ghost Ridge?"

"I can't tell you this."

"If you want me to help you, you have to tell me the truth."

Chu Shaoqiang hesitated for a moment and said, "This is the Peddler's order, to move Knife Ghost Ridge to another location. I don't know the specific purpose—"

Chu Shaoqiang stopped mid-sentence.

He was blowing soap bubbles, which smelled of roses.

He couldn't understand this matter. On Sage Peak, he had told the Sage many lies. When the people from the Inner State questioned him, he also told many lies. He never showed any abnormality on any of these occasions.

But whenever he saw the Peddler or Li Qi, he would blow soap bubbles whenever he told a lie.

He didn't know when the piece of pancreas the Peddler had given him would be completely digested.

Li Qi saw the soap bubbles and naturally didn't believe his lie, so Chu Shaoqiang came up with a more tactful explanation:

"This matter actually has nothing to do with the Peddler, but I did it because of Prulluluo Prefecture—"

When he said the word "Pu," he spat out a series of soap bubbles, which made him cough.

Li Banfeng was very disappointed in Chu Shaoqiang: "Make up a more plausible excuse."

Chu Shaoqiang wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. "Fine, I'll tell you the truth. I'm going to send Knife Ghost Ridge to Sage Peak. The sage on Sage Peak wants Knife Ghost Ridge."

"What do you need Knife Ghost Ridge for?"

"He wants an army to restore his former status."

"What is his identity?"

"He was the last emperor of the Former Dynasty. Because he lost the war, he lost his country. His country was divided into two parts. One part was controlled by the royal family and became today's Inner State. The other part is today's Pro State."

This time, Chu Shaoqiang didn't blow soap bubbles; he was telling the truth.

But Li Banfeng didn't understand. "The Inner State is controlled by the royal family, so why doesn't the Sage return to the Inner State? Isn't he the emperor?"

Chu Shaoqiang said, "I don't know much about his past. He did live in Inner State for a period of time, but he left Inner State because he couldn't stand the oppression of the royal family. He then occupied Sage Peak and even the entire Bastard Slope."

"The royal family is oppressing the emperor?" Li Banfeng was even more confused.

"Because the royal family is completely controlled by the people of the Inner State, and as for the origins of the people of the Inner State, I cannot say for sure."

All I know is that I didn't originally belong to this world.

Li Banfeng roughly explained the logic behind it, "The sage wants to Knife Ghost Ridge DaoLao Ghost on Dao Gui Ridge into his own army, so as to conquer Pro State?"

Chu Shaoqiang nodded.

"You were sent by the Inner State, why should you obey the sage's orders?"

Chu Shaoqiang said, "Actually, this is also the fate of Inner State— "

The soap sprayed out again; Chu Shaoqiang had lied again.

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "This is not an order from the Inner State; this is a deal between you and the Sage."

Chu Shaoqiang nodded and said, "Yes, Ge Jun is dead. He was from Inner State, and this is a consequence I cannot bear."

If I want to survive, someone has to take the blame for me.

The sage took the blame for me; in return, I must deliver Knife Ghost Ridge to Sage Peak.

"The minds of DaoLao Ghost are completely different from those of humans. How can a sage control them?"

"The sage has mastered the means to control thunder and rain within a certain range, which is equivalent to mastering the basis for the advance and retreat of the DaoLao Ghost."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "Just with this? You think you can control the DaoLao Ghost with just thunder and rain?"

Chu Shaoqiang said, "I told the Sage that this is still a long way from being a true army."

But the sage believed that by mastering thunder and rain, he had already grasped the foundation for taming the DaoLao Ghost, and he considered this the beginning of his grand ambitions.

Li Banfeng pursed his lips, his nose twitching incessantly.

Chu Shaoqiang said, "I know the Sage's idea is somewhat unrealistic, and the chances of him being able to control DaoLao Ghost aren't very high, so I agreed to hand over Knife Ghost Ridge to him."

And Heaven Heart Stone was lost here, and you just happened to be here too. If you say you have absolutely nothing to do with this, I certainly won't believe you.

But if you're willing to offer some help and retrieve the Heaven Heart Stone for me, I'll give you a generous reward.

After thinking for a long time, Li Banfeng said, "It's not that I can't help you, but you've lost five Heaven Heart Stones. It's too difficult to find them all."

Chu Shaoqiang said, "We need to find at least two pieces, otherwise we can't move Knife Ghost Ridge."

Li Banfeng said, "Two dollars might be possible, but it depends on how high a price you're willing to pay."

PS: What exactly did Cui Tike experience that night?