Coming to the Door, Hiding the Truth

Li Qing arrived before the street stall, looking at the five books and then at the cultivator selling them.

The other party was also shrouded in a black robe, making it impossible to see his true face.

"What are these books?"

The man looked up at him, his gaze piercing through the holes in the black robe—a pair of sinister, ruthless eyes.

"Those are the diaries of mutated cultivators."

"Give me any price, and you can take them."

Hearing this, Li Qing was taken aback.

Diaries? What I lack most right now is an understanding of this world.

Perhaps these diaries can tell me something.

After a moment of thought, he fished a Jade Talisman from his bosom; it was the only thing he had left that could be used for trade.

"I have a Jade Talisman here. It should be enough to trade for these five diaries, right?"

The man seemed somewhat surprised and let out a "hehe" chuckle.

"Of course, no problem. Take them."

Li Qing took the five books in his hand and turned to leave.

He bundled all his belongings into a pack, and soon, he vanished into the shadows of the night.

He headed toward the All-Under-Heaven Escort Agency, returning to his small courtyard a quarter of an hour later.

The moment he vaulted over the courtyard wall and entered the premises, a chill of horror surged into his heart.

He cast his gaze toward the source of the danger; a figure was standing in the courtyard.

On the man's shoulder sat a small yellow mouse, its eyes glowing with a pale green light as it stared right at him.

The little mouse squeaked and chattered, seemingly whispering something into the man's ear.

The man raised his hand slightly and tapped the mouse on the head, causing it to fall silent and lie motionless on his shoulder.

Li Qing remained shrouded in the shadows, his right hand resting silently on the hilt of the blade at his waist.

His left hand had already gripped his Spirit Summoning Tablet, and a hazy aura of killing intent began to permeate his body.

The person opposite him stood in the center of the courtyard, bathed in moonlight—a man of about thirty years old.

With thick brows and large eyes, he possessed an air of righteousness, and his gaze was locked firmly upon Li Qing.

"Who are you, and why have you trespassed into my home in the middle of the night?" Li Qing asked in a low voice.

"Hehe, last night, a semi-mutated cultivator's corpse was dumped on the street not far from here."

"You were the one who killed him, weren't you?"

Hearing this, Li Qing felt a jolt of alarm; he hadn't expected someone to track him down so quickly.

His eyes darkened slightly as he replied calmly, "You have the wrong person, sir. I did not kill anyone."

"Since you have trespassed into my home, you had best leave quickly, or I shall call for help."

"Under the laws of the Great Tang Dynasty, trespassing into a private residence is a serious crime."

"Hehe, the laws of the Great Tang? I represent the law!"

As he spoke, a pitch-black token suddenly appeared in his hand.

"I am Wen Taiquan, a Demon Extermination Captain of the Great Tang's Demon Extermination Hall."

"I am responsible for investigating the case of this semi-mutated cultivator's death."

"My Tracking Mouse is a small spirit beast, born with the ability to track all manner of scents."

"That man carried your scent, which is how I found my way here."

Li Qing's expression tightened upon hearing this.

Since things had reached this point, there was little use in hiding, though he certainly wouldn't confess.

"Hehe, even if you are a Demon Extermination Captain, you have no right to arrest anyone without solid proof, do you?"

Wen Taiquan looked at Li Qing and suddenly smiled.

"Actually, you don't need to be nervous, because I am not here to arrest you."

"The moment I saw you, I knew your aura was pure; you are not a mutated cultivator."

"It seems you must be a Rogue Cultivator."

"Are you interested in joining the Demon Extermination Captains?"

"Behind us Demon Extermination Captains stand the Hundred Schools of Thought and the Great Tang Dynasty. When you reach a higher realm of cultivation in the future, there are certain resources you simply cannot obtain on your own."

"The blockade on power enforced by those above is far beyond what you can imagine."

"Why?" Li Qing asked, looking at him with curiosity.

He did not understand why this man did not arrest him, but instead extended an invitation.

Wen Taiquan knew what he was thinking. "It's simple. Recruiting a qualified individual into the Demon Extermination Hall earns me quite a few rewards."

"Besides, the one who died was merely a semi-corrupted cultivator; he was of no importance."

"Not only is it not a bad thing, it's actually a good one, because people like that would sooner or later turn into anomalies and cause endless trouble."

"Better to die early and be reborn."

As he spoke, he turned and walked toward the wall beside him.

With a single leap, he vaulted up. "If you're interested, come find me at the Demon Extermination Hall. I'd be very interested in being your guide."

"The Demon Extermination Hall is right next to the Government Office!"

Wen Taiquan was as agile as a flying ape; with a few flickers, he vanished over the rooftops in the distance.

Only then did Li Qing let out a slight sigh of relief.

The other party had brought immense pressure upon him; he was undoubtedly a master of Body Strengthening at the perfection stage, well-versed in combat.

He exhaled a deep, murky breath. "From now on, I must be even more cautious."

"This world is full of unfathomable methods; there's no telling when I might reveal my true colors."

He shook his head slightly and turned to enter the room.

He took off his pack and spread it out on the table, then Li Qing sat cross-legged on the bed.

Focusing his mind on the Jade Tablet, he began to examine the changes that had occurred this time.

First, his gaze fell upon the information regarding the five diaries.

Diary One

Diary Two

Diary Three

Diary Four

Diary Five

Diary - Wang Dexiu

(Note: False and True Memories)

True Diary (The truth hidden within the false and the true; Note: Fragmented)

"The truth of the false and the true? Fragmented?"

Interest stirred within his heart as the Jade Tablet displayed the contents of the new diary information.

At the beginning, there were various life logs belonging to six different people.

They came from all corners of the world, recording their life stories.

Li Qing read through their records with great relish, as if he were reading a novel.

For instance, one of them was named Fang Tangjing, who appeared to be a practitioner of the Demonic Path.

The dynasty he lived in was called the Wu Dynasty.

He seemed to be a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment level as well.

The diary recorded many of his experiences, such as encountering a Bride Anomaly on a certain mountain, from which he had barely managed to escape.

Or, for example, while passing through a mountain path, he entered an unknown residence and encountered a group of Family Anomaly, escaping with his life by the skin of his teeth.

There were also some myths and legends from their time, such as a great war between the Demonic Path and the Daoist Sect that seemingly destroyed an entire city.

From these fragmented records, a vivid and concrete world of cultivation gradually reconstructed itself for Li Qing.

Threats were everywhere; whether in the wild mountains or within the cities, as long as one was a practitioner, they would frequently encounter all sorts of anomalies.

It was as if some mysterious force was guiding them to cross paths.

The more he read the contents of the diaries, the more solemn Li Qing's expression became.

All the content seemed to have been corrected in some way by the Jade Tablet.

The stories of the six individuals were constantly interwoven according to their respective eras.

Vaguely, he felt an inexplicable web connecting every single practitioner.

A chill ran down his spine.

"This is just too terrifying!"

The bookshelf grouping function has been added, allowing multiple books to be added to groups (categorized). If you have any suggestions after using it, please feel free to bring them up, and we will make further modifications.