The Killer, a Nameless Minion of the Golden Character Workshop (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

After one night.

At the entrance of a shack in the Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place's shantytown, two factions faced off in a tense standoff. The atmosphere was heavy and grim, as if tiny currents of electricity crackled through the air, ready to ignite at the slightest spark.

The many down-and-out residents living nearby had long since fled far away, fearing they'd be caught in the crossfire.

By now, the battered shanty door had been smashed open by brute force, splintered wood scattered everywhere.

On the wall inside the room, a line of crooked, bloodstained writing was clearly visible.

"The killer: an unknown nobody from the Golden Character Workshop!"

On the floor of the room lay a cultivator's head, eyes wide open, their gaze filled with disbelief—a truly chilling sight.

Anyone could see the victim's unwillingness and utter surprise before death.

The killer had struck without honor, ambushing his target. But just from the wound at the neck, it was clear the decapitation had been swift, ruthless, and precise—fast, vicious, accurate. A bold and reckless character!

And the kicker was, the bastard had left a note: "The killer, an unknown nobody." Yesterday, he'd personally been invited to a feast—who didn't know his name was Chen Dengming? This wasn't just a taunt.

The boss of Hutong Street was named Qian Yuan, a one-armed old man with white hair and beard.

His eyes now locked onto the head on the ground like two bolts of lightning. Slowly, he closed them and forced out a few words, one by one, cold and hard: "Good. Good. Good!"

Anyone could hear the fury packed into those three "good" words. The people around him didn't dare breathe, silent as cicadas in winter.

The opposing group was from the Golden Character Workshop. Their boss, Xu Ning, stood surrounded by his men.

He naturally had no fear of his old rival across the way. In fact, seeing the words on the wall, the head on the floor, and the sour look on his enemy's face, he felt like laughing.

He'd always been a man who followed his impulses, so he burst out laughing right then. The sound shook the roof tiles around them, drawing glares from everyone on Hutong Street's side and egging his own men into laughing along.

"Xu Ning! You've gone too far."

Qian Yuan's eyes snapped open, flashing a terrifying light. Spiritual energy rippled around him, radiating a powerful aura that turned the faces of all the Xiantian cultivators pale.

"Gone too far?"

Xu Ning's laughter subsided. He looked calmly at Qian Yuan, clapping with a smile. "Old Qian, we've been at each other's throats for years. A month ago, my man Old Lin died horribly outside. You said it wasn't your Hutong Street's doing. So what do you have to say about today?"

"You dared send people to poach my men. Lucky for me, this Brother Chen of mine is a real character—bold, loyal, and principled."

Qian Yuan roared in anger, "Now it's my man who's dead! Chen Dengming is just a mere mortal. How could he kill three people in such a short time, including a cultivator? I suspect you planned this all along."

"Ridiculous!"

Xu Ning snorted coldly. "That subordinate of yours was only at Qi Refining First Layer. He let his guard down, and Chen Dengming took him out—perfectly normal."

"Sure, True Qi is stronger than Xiantian energy, but if you don't set up defenses in advance, there have been cases of mortals killing cultivators. Besides, don't forget where he came from. And even if I did plan it, so what?"

At these words, the atmosphere grew tense again. Both sides glared at each other, some cultivators already forming hand seals, ready to start a fight at any moment.

Qian Yuan gritted his teeth, seething with frustration. His mind raced, and he felt a flicker of surprise.

He'd vaguely heard that the Eldest Miss of the Luo Family had recently taken part in a joint mission organized by the Wonderful Sound Sect and other immortal cultivation sects, and had brought someone back with her.

That someone was Chen Dengming.

He himself was also attached to a certain elder of the Luo Family.

But that elder was at odds with the man backing Xu Ning, which was why the two sides had been locked in conflict for years.

Seeing Xu Ning recruit Chen Dengming while he'd been a step too slow, he'd tried to poach him instead, hoping to sound him out and learn his background and his connection to the Luo Family's Eldest Miss.

His plan had been to use both threats and bribes. A mere mortal—surely he wouldn't dare resist.

He never imagined this mortal would be so audacious as to kill three of his men and then flee in the night. Now, not only had he failed to recruit anyone, but he'd lost men and face to boot.

The die was cast. To salvage his dignity, he'd first need to find that mortal. But starting a fight with Xu Ning now wasn't wise—it would only benefit the other factions watching from the shadows.

Qian Yuan's face darkened. With a cold snort, he ordered his men to collect their comrade's head for burial, spat out a harsh threat, and led his people away in a surging crowd.

Xu Ning rarely saw his old rival Qian Yuan suffer such a loss. The face he'd lost over Old Lin's death a month ago was now restored by the surprise Chen Dengming had delivered today. Overjoyed, he laughed heartily.

"Brothers, spread the word: Chen Dengming is a man I, Xu Ning, value highly. No one is to make trouble for him. If he comes back, I, Xu Ning, will reward him handsomely!"

Despite his words, few among the crowd felt envy. Instead, they felt admiration.

Offending Qian Yuan—that reward wouldn't be easy to claim.

More than just Chen Dengming's audacity, people admired his ability to read the situation and his cautious thoroughness. After killing Hutong Street's men, he'd quickly fled, leaving the Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place entirely instead of hiding in the Golden Character Workshop's territory.

This way, at least in the short term, it would be hard for anyone to find him.

In the long run, with demon beasts running rampant in the wild, his chances were grim.

Still, it was better than staying in the Gathering Place for now.

After all, with so many eyes on Hutong Street, there was no hiding. Even if the Golden Character Workshop's cultivators protected him, they couldn't guard a mortal around the clock.

In the end, a mortal's life was worthless.

When a mortal offended a powerful cultivator, the outcome was usually death.

When both Qian Yuan and Xu Ning—two cultivators at Qi Cultivation Sixth Level—had their sights set on Chen Dengming, it wasn't a blessing. It was a curse.

"Young Master Chen..."

In the corner of the shantytown, Xu Wei pressed her lips tightly, her expression tense, her eyes filled with worry and regret.

She truly hadn't expected that Chen Dengming, who was usually amiable and kept to himself, would suddenly act so recklessly—killing a cultivator. How could he even dare to think of it, and how had he actually managed it?

At this moment, Xu Wei felt that she still lacked an understanding of this neighbor of hers.

What a pity—it seemed they would never be neighbors again.

Now, in the wilderness outside the Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place.

Chen Dengming had already squeezed himself with extreme caution into a crevice in the mountain, eating dry rations to recover his strength while quietly watching an incense burner burning on the ground in the distance.

Since leaving the Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place last night, he hadn't immediately gone far. Instead, he waited until night gave way to day before fully departing the Gathering Place and finding this temporary shelter to rest.

He had set up quite a few traps around this area, and some pits were buried with Stone Gu and Bamboo Slice Gu.

The Bamboo Slice Gu harmed people by placing a single refined bamboo-slice gu secretly in a trap. When a passerby stepped over it, the slice would leap onto their leg, poisoning them and causing pain. Over time, the slice would jump into their knee, making their foot shrink like a crane's knee.

This kind of gu, after refinement, was as fine as ox hair and hard to detect—even cultivators could fall victim to it.

As for the incense burning ahead, it was a gu incense Chen Dengming had refined using the Gu Refining Art, capable of attracting venomous creatures like snakes, centipedes, and toads.

He planned to first cultivate some Snake Gu to scatter around as early warnings, then strive to break through to Qi Refining First Layer within the next three months and become a cultivator.

Only then would there be hope of returning to the Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place.

He had never intended to hide in the wild for long.

Because safety in the wild was hard to guarantee, and the spiritual energy there was far too thin for cultivation.

For this reason, he would also have to continue practicing the Life-Damaging Seedling Pulling Technique appropriately, to improve his spiritual root and speed up his cultivation.

"What a pity—after all, the tree wants stillness but the wind won't cease. Plans can't keep up with changes. I haven't even gathered all the materials for refining the Golden Silkworm Gu, and I'm not yet a cultivator, but I've already been forced to leave the Gathering Place."

Chen Dengming swallowed his last bite of dry rations, drank some spring water, and cast a glance at the mountain forest dyed in the sunset's glow in the distance.

The quiet dusk was slowly closing in around him from all sides, and the roars of beasts in the mountains rose and fell more frequently.

The wild was more dangerous than the Gathering Place.

Yet his heart was strangely at peace.

He supposed it must be because human hearts were more terrifying than beasts and demons.

If one wasn't afraid of fighting people, why fear Demon Beasts?

He got up to retrieve the incense burner, grabbed a few venomous snakes that had been attracted, and returned to the mountain crevice to refine gu and cultivate in silence.

The first round of recommendations has been received; the update time has been changed to around eleven or twelve noon. From now on, updates will be at this time, making it convenient for everyone to read after meals. Tonight, one chapter will be posted, and at noon tomorrow, another chapter will be posted, at least 3k words, to let everyone get used to it. I've been updating quite a lot during the new book period—basically 6k words these past few days—so everyone, please cast your votes.