The wealth and status of the mortal world are not my desire; I wish to reside in the immortal sect, far from rogue cultivators.

With dust settled and misfortune ceased, I leisurely watch the sun and moon, enjoying my carefree life.

Worldly riches and honors are not my desire; I wish to reside permanently in the Immortal Sect, unlike those Rogue Cultivators.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The entire heartland of the Eastern Region was as if lightning had swept away Demonic Evils spirits, leaving no trace or movement of any demons from the Western Regions causing trouble.

It is said that a Golden Core Cultivator from the Longevity Sect captured a Foundation Establishment Devil Cultivator on his way back from the Battlefield.

Chen Dengming had inquired and found that the Foundation Establishment Devil Cultivator who had been captured was the Blood Ghost Daoist had escaped.

If you calculate it this way, and adding the last Devil Cultivator found and killed along the Mist River Beach that day, it seems that all the Devil Cultivator who infiltrated the heart of the Eastern Region have truly been completely eliminated.

Unless someone chooses to be mediocre, hides in the mortal world, and disappears without a trace.

Otherwise, it would be very difficult to completely escape the inescapable web of searches by numerous Immortal Sect Inner Domain the Longevity Sect's territory.

For the past two weeks, he finally had time to cultivate in peace. So he devoted himself to cultivation and secluded himself for half a month, allowing his restless and murderous State of Mind, which had been fighting for so long, to slowly calm down, like a glass of cool water placed on a table. Many impurities in the water sank to the bottom, and he regained the feeling of peaceful cultivation.

After half a month of cultivation, his progress in cultivating the Evergreen Merit was also gratifying. Since the affinity of his Spirit Root increased again, his daily proficiency in cultivating the Evergreen Merit has reached as many as 52 points.

Therefore, in just half a month, the proficiency level of the Cultivation Method had increased by nearly 800 points.

Including previous cultivation accumulation, the current progress of the second level of the Cultivation Method is about one-sixth complete.

"Evergreen Merit (Level 2, 1057/6000)"

"At my current cultivation speed, I should be able to complete the second level of the Evergreen Merit in a little over three months, at which point my Law Power will increase once again."

Chen Dengming's gaze lingered on his lifespan limit. After considering it for a while, he gave up the idea of continuing to cultivate the <Life-Damaging Seedling Pulling Technique>.

He originally intended to continue increasing his investment in Spirit Root.

However, given the recent series of events and the fact that he had just passed the sect's renewed identity verification, he decided that as a young man in his eighties, he had a long future ahead of him and shouldn't rush things.

There's no need to rush to invest in and obtain the remaining 20% cultivation speed bonus, lest you lose sight of the bigger picture. It's better to have a long-term perspective.

Just half a month ago, after Liang Yunsheng stabilized his cultivation level, he restarted the investigation into his identity.

After all, although Chen Dengming's process of joining the sect was formal, one particularly important step, the identity verification, was not so formal.

Even if he has made great contributions and cleared his name of all suspicion, one thing is one thing. Even if the Evergreen Sect can choose to turn a blind eye, as Chen Dengming's strength grows stronger in the future, the Longevity Sect will still discover the suspicious points when reviewing the identity records and reopen the investigation.

At that time, it will likely be even more rigorous than the internal investigation by the Evergreen Sect.

Therefore, Chen Dengming was very understanding and willing to cooperate, and at the time he had also made the worst-case scenario plan and preparation.

As a result, after explaining in detail that he came from the Ten Thousand Mile Frontier and gave examples of his past life in various places in the Ten Thousand Mile Frontier, as well as his experience coming from the southern region to the eastern region, Liang Yunsheng directly declared that his identity verification had been completely passed.

From now on, Longevity Sect will no longer question him on this matter.

This process was so easy that even Chen Dengming was surprised.

He had originally planned to reveal his identity as someone from Nanxun, but he got away with it easily.

Afterwards, Liang Yunsheng acted as if he couldn't be bothered to ask any more questions, and with a smile let him leave. After receiving a new wave of Sect Contribution, he settled down in the sect with peace of mind.

This made Chen Dengming somewhat suspicious.

They speculated that Old Liang might have received some information and already knew the secret of his origin from Nanxun.

After all, judging from the game between Li Yue and Lao Liang, Lao Liang is definitely not a simple person. His seemingly casual attitude suggests that he is up to something.

Chen Dengming had considered various conspiracy theories, wondering if it was possible that Lao Liang also wanted to observe him secretly, just as he had observed Li Yue.

Don't rush to do anything to him; just observe what he plans to do in the future and what his true purpose is.

However, after these conspiracy theories flashed through his mind, he dismissed many of them and focused on cultivating in peace, not wanting to waste his mental energy on some temporarily unfounded ideas.

Anyway, he was upright and honest, and his purpose in joining the sect was very simple.

If you ask him what he's after, he'll be very straightforward: he just wants to get free access to Spirit Vein and a comfortable cultivation environment.

Which disciple who joins a sect doesn't come for these reasons?

If you want to observe, then observe.

Centuries later, he lived to become the patriarch of the Longevity Sect, and he refused to believe that anyone could keep an eye on him.

And then, let's keep enduring and see who can last the longest.

The reason for not continuing to practice the "Life-Damaging Seedling Pulling Technique" is quite simple.

It seems that when he is about to break through to the Golden Core stage in the future, he has a good chance of using the Evergreen Sect as a stepping stone to join the Longevity Sect and become True Disciple directly.

At that time, they will also be taught the sect's Daoist teachings.

However, the "Life-Damaging Seedling Pulling Technique" does indeed severely deplete one's lifespan, and continuing to practice it will cause his bone age to become extremely abnormal again.

Now, he is still slowly bleeding himself dry by harvesting the black leeks, cultivating his Blood Sha Qi, and restoring his bone age.

If your bone age hasn't fully recovered to under 40, you shouldn't try anything more until you join the Longevity Sect.

"I still have a long lifespan. I will proceed with my future plans gradually. My Spiritual Root Potential is already excellent. But too much of a good thing can be bad, and too much of a good thing can be bad. I cannot be too hasty."

The glint in Chen Dengming's eyes faded, and he got up and went to his room in the cave abode.

"Oh--"

A startled cry suddenly came from inside the cave abode, followed by a powerful mental wave.

A glint flashed in Chen Dengming's eyes as he focused his Divine Sense, dispelling the wave of spiritual energy. He himself felt slightly dizzy and saw only a white shadow drift by before quickly hiding behind the bed curtains, revealing only a small head – it was none other than the Little Array Spirit.

However, compared to before, the Little Array Spirit now appears to have a much more solid spiritual body.

Her skin no longer appeared as ethereal and transparent, but rather possessed a texture and rosy hue reminiscent of skin, though she still exuded a Spiritual Qi, like a small luminous being.

Chen Dengming was already used to this.

Since consuming the pure spiritual power of the Nightmare Demon from the Nightmare Country, the Little Array Spirit seems to have broken through once again.

Chen Dengming could not determine the breakthrough standard of a spirit body; he could only judge it from its changes and the strength it displayed.

If the Little Array Spirit were to unleash a mental attack similar to Divine Sense at full power, it could even pose a threat to him, at least causing him to fall into a state of dizziness for a breath or two.

This is especially deadly in battle, meaning that from now on this spirit will no longer be without the ability to protect itself, and its use will not only be for dancing, but also to assist in battle.

However, after the breakthrough, the intelligence of this spirit seemed to have returned to that of a girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old, making her rather unruly and often causing headaches.

"What are you doing?" Chen Dengming frowned, about to lift the curtain.

The Little Array Spirit, however, had already pouted and floated down from the bed.

She was dressed in a loose-fitting blue Daoist robe that covered her entire body, even her feet. She stood gracefully, her dark, intelligent eyes, beneath her slightly furrowed brows, held a hint of helplessness. She sighed softly and said, "I... I just wanted to try on your clothes to see if I could wear them. Do you think they look good on me?"

As she spoke, she hovered in mid-air and spun around once, with ethereal rain swirling around her, and several adorable toes, like magnolia petals, could be vaguely seen beneath her hem.

Chen Dengming shook his head inwardly, but smiled and praised, "Ling'er is so beautiful, she looks good in anything."

After appeasing the Little Array Spirit to its satisfaction, he approached and said, "Alright, it's time for review. Today it's your turn to continue teaching me Yin Language."

Since the Little Array Spirit's strength broke through again, she has also regained some of her memories.

This time, however, it concerns certain memories related to the Cultivation Method of the Yin Ghost Sect.

This includes, in particular, the method of refining the spirit.

However, the text recording the method of refining the spirit was a bunch of 'Yin Language' that Chen Dengming couldn't understand at all.

After understanding its meaning, one must then condense and visualize it one by one with one's Divine Sense consciousness.

Therefore, Chen Dengming is still in the foundational stage.

Although the Little Array Spirit's intelligence had jumped to that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old, it had an extremely deep understanding of the Cultivation Method restored from its memories, as if they were innate, and thus it could be taught with great skill.

According to him, what he recovered from his memory should be the method of spiritual Body Cultivation, which is the fundamental method of the Yin Ghost Sect.

This surprised Chen Dengming when he first heard about it.

According to the first generation of the Little Array Spirit who often referred to herself as "this humble servant," she was captured by the Yin Ghost Sect cultivators after her death and thus refined into the spirit within the array plate.

Therefore, it should have nothing to do with the Yin Ghost Sect.

But now it seems that the Little Array Spirit actually knows the Yin Ghost Sect's fundamental sect-protecting technique.

This is quite intriguing.

During this time, Chen Dengming also took advantage of the time he was secretly learning the Yin Ghost Sect's Daoist techniques to ask the Little Array Spirit many times, but he couldn't get any answers at all.

At present, he can only understand it as the Little Array Spirit possibly having a limited brain capacity.

When some memories are restored, others are sealed away, such as intelligence.

Furthermore, their wisdom allows them to make accurate judgments on how to rationally utilize their brain capacity, enabling them to survive when their strength is low and they do not need to cultivate.

After breaking through to a higher level, and when the surrounding environment is safe enough, one will suppress intelligence and use more brain capacity to improve strength and cultivate Daoist techniques.

Chen Dengming strongly suspected that the Little Array Spirit might have been True Disciple or steward of the Yin Ghost Sect.

However, the first generation of the Little Array Spirit might not have known about this.

The memories of related Technique Method may have been sealed away due to the power they possessed.

Or perhaps they chose to conceal it in order to protect themselves.

Everything will only be confirmed when we meet the first generation of the array spirit who often refers to himself as "this humble servant."

"How do you understand this 'Yin Language? How do you pronounce it?"

"It is pronounced 'gui'. Gui is a type of ghost, and it has also appeared in the Hundred Ghosts Banquet Travel."

Its shape is very special; it can quickly regenerate after being destroyed.

Therefore, when you understand and visualize '', your spiritual consciousness can recover quickly even if it is injured."

Oh~~~

"You are not a spirit, so you cannot cultivate our sect's fundamental technique. Spirits like us can passively or actively absorb the essence of moonlight, or the spiritual energy from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and Seventy-two Earthly Fiends, to strengthen our souls and enhance our divine power."

Upon reaching a certain level, one can even directly absorb the essence of the blazing sun to refine their soul; at that point, one has truly stepped into the threshold of becoming a Ghost Immortal. Unfortunately...

"What's a pity?"

"Huh? I forgot, it seems to be something important, but I can't remember. But it doesn't matter, since you can't cultivate anyway, you can just cultivate the auxiliary Dao techniques chapter for now."

"Who said I can't cultivate? Have you forgotten? I can actually manage to leave my body under certain circumstances, and once, you even gave me a straight look."

"Which time? You're slandering me! I don't remember."

"Speaking so rudely? You think learning Daoist magic makes you so powerful, huh?"

"Then let's go out and try again tonight, and you'll remember."

Chen Dengming gave a soft hum, ending today's lesson in Yin Language.

He glanced at the progress of the Daoist techniques he had secretly learned.

"<The Hundred Ghosts Yin Record Spirit Refining Method> (Beginner 28/100)"

Good.

I learned another Yin word - ""!

In just over ten days, he has already learned twenty-eight Yin Language, averaging two a day.

However, for now, he has only learned it; there is still a long way to go before it can truly unleash its power.

Now, half a month later, he has mastered both the "Substitute Peach Tree Technique" and the "Golden Gang Spirit Venerable Technique" to the Proficient Level, and can now cast them instantly.

As a result, his Lifespan Limit was extended by another ten years, reaching a total of 639 years.

Theoretically, he still has 296 years of life left, and he's living longer and longer, which even Yama, the King of Hell, finds annoying.

"If there really is a King of Hell in this world, he probably wouldn't mind personally strangling me, the one who broke the rules of the Book of Life and Death, right?"

Chen Dengming made a self-deprecating remark, leaving the Little Array Spirit at home and instructing it not to be naughty and run out of the cave abode before leaving.

I rode the Black Cloud Leopard to visit some of my Senior Brother classmates, freeloading on food and drinks and strengthening our bonds.

In just half a month, Black Cloud Leopard has already gained quite a bit of weight.

This guy was quite cunning. He often visited the sect's dining hall. At first, he would scare the chefs and waiters, but after visiting so often, they became familiar with each other.

Because of the two rows of characters on its belly, the canteen chefs would often give it special treatment.

Besides, this black-haired fellow was also quite popular among the disciples.

Especially the twenty-odd demon-slaying disciples led by Chen Dengming, whenever they met, they would bring Hei Zi some food and drink. He had clearly transformed from the blood-selling Black Whirlwind into the sect's Black Overlord, and was extremely popular.

"Hei Zi, eat more, eat well. Look how round you are now, I love it when you're round."

Chen Dengming Black Cloud Leopard's neck with a smile.

The Black Cloud Leopard's fur stood on end, and its tail stood up like an iron pestle, resembling an old cat with its fur standing on end.

"Don't be nervous, Master, I just want you to be well!"

At this moment, upon arriving at the cave abode ahead, Chen Dengming saw that Guan Le and the other two Senior Brothers, who were chatting together, were about to leave. He quickly called out to them.

"Hey! Fellow Senior Brother, please wait!"

Guan Le and the other two exchanged glances and sighed inwardly.

I wonder whose magical tea and fruits are going to suffer next. I'd better pretend I didn't hear that.

Ever since Chen Dengming's reputation as a penniless wretch spread among Foundation Establishment cultivators, Guan Le and the others have made fun of him quite a bit.

As a result, Chen Dengming gave up all hope and frequently visited other people's homes, ostensibly to learn about Daoist practices and gather information, but in reality, he was just freeloading.

The first few times, the Foundation Establishment Senior Brother were very hospitable.

Later, I gradually realized that something was wrong.

That rascal, could it be that he knows they make fun of him behind his back and gave him nicknames, so he's deliberately coming to retaliate?

After a while, he now gets a headache whenever Chen Dengming comes to his door.

"Hey? Fellow Daoists, please wait!"

From behind, the shouts grew louder.

Guan Le inwardly cursed himself for his terrible mistake.

I shouldn't have been so talkative and spread Junior Brother Chen's embarrassing story.

He also admitted that he had a slight element of jealousy at the time.

Why should I?!

Why should he feel embarrassed even when he wants to give Spirit Stone Master Crane a gift?

How could Junior Brother Chen still have the audacity to borrow Spirit Stone from Master Crane He?

Even if Junior Brother Chen is my savior, that won't do. One thing is one thing, and matters of love have nothing to do with life and death!

Thinking about this made him so angry his heart ached. He really had the ability; he didn't have that ability to live off a woman.

At this moment, Guan Le had no choice but to take responsibility for his actions. He turned around and laughed heartily, "Ah, Junior Brother Chen, what's up? Got some free time to go for a stroll today?"

"No, that's not it. I don't have that kind of free time. I just happen to have something I'd like to ask you, Senior Brother. Oh? Do you have time? Let's go to your cave abode and sit down to discuss it in detail."

"No need, no need, we actually have something to do."

Guan Le had a headache and waved his hand hastily. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he said with a smile, "That's right, you're here just in time. Why don't you come with us? I think Senior Brother Liang will definitely inform everyone about this."

Chen Dengming was taken aback; he was still planning to shamelessly try to scam Guan Le out of a meal.

It must have been that old bastard who spread the embarrassing story of him borrowing money, which has led to even the disciples in the sect knowing about it now.

Last time, that Niece Yue even sent him fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stone, saying it was a token of gratitude from his Lineage, the Yue family, for taking care of Yue Yue when he was exorcising demons, which almost embarrassed him to death.

"Senior Brother Liang, is there something important? What is it?"

Chen Dengming was suspicious and didn't quite believe it.

"Junior Brother, you'll find out when you come with us. It's about the incident where the Turtle Snake Bee was breached by an unknown Nascent Soul Cultivator. Now that the Nascent Soul Cultivator's identity has been confirmed, can you guess who it is?"

Chen Dengming rolled his eyes, looking at Guan Le's mysterious and suspenseful expression, and could only put on a smile and say, "Senior Brother Junior Brother, hurry up and tell me, I really can't guess. How about I invite Senior Brother to my cave abode to sit down and talk in detail?"

Guan Le choked slightly.

Go to your cave abode dwelling, it's so bare, you can't even get a cup of spiritual tea to drink. What are you going to do, just chat?

Guan Le lowered his voice, "Listen, that Nascent Soul Cultivator is said to be the Moon Reflection Sect Supreme Ancestor Moon Reflection Sect disappeared a hundred years ago."

"What?"

Chen Dengming frowned. "The Moon Reflection Sect Supreme Ancestor? The one who disappeared a hundred years ago?"

"Junior Brother, have you heard of it?"

"I've heard that a lot. I came from there myself. Wasn't it said that the Moon Reflection Sect Supreme Ancestor offended some powerful figure and then disappeared along with him?"

Besides, he's considered a native of the Eastern Region, and the Moon Reflection Sect is a prestigious sect in the Eastern Region. How dare he?"

"Junior Brother Chen, we don't know either. Senior Brother Liang summoned us over to discuss this matter. Since you've come from that area before, why don't you come along?"

"Well, that's not a good idea. Senior Brother Liang didn't call me."

"Are you being too polite? No, you're not!"

Senior Brother Liang has always been like this: he first holds a small meeting with two people, and then holds a large meeting. I've long disliked this old habit of his.

"Come on, Senior Brother, I'd like to invite you to a small meeting today!"

"Hehe, Senior Brother, you're so generous! I'll come over to your house for a drink another day to thank you!"

"Alright! Wait, isn't that right? Junior Brother Chen, Senior Brother trying to trick me again."

The two Foundation Establishment Deacon, Snake Dweller and Bian Chen, exchanged glances, then smiled at each other. This Junior Brother Chen was truly a shrewd and worldly-wise person.

However, he is quite an interesting person, and having such a Junior Brother in the Evergreen Sect certainly brings a lot of Life Force.

The four of them invited each other to fly to the Evergreen Hall.

Chen Dengming's mind was in turmoil, filled with various speculations and doubts.

The Moon Reflection Sect Supreme Ancestor had been missing for a century, has reappeared, but has betrayed the Eastern Region. Could this be related to the Sha Star?

(Bonus chapter complete, just a small transition. Tomorrow, I'll still add one more chapter on top of the guaranteed minimum of 200 monthly votes!)