A Puddle of Demonic Cultivator Makes Its Debut

"What advice do you have, Brother Qiu?"

Tan Shuchang smiled faintly, his expression easygoing, as though he were very approachable.

"Brother Qiu? Are you, Tan Shuchang, worthy of calling me that? What is your status, and what is mine?" Yet the moment Qiu Junlin heard this, arrogance and defiance flashed across his face.

"Then... Qiu the Bootlicker?" Tan Shuchang remained mild-mannered, showing not the slightest anger, though the look in his eyes toward Qiu Junlin became somewhat subtle.

Qiu Junlin was no insignificant nobody.

After all, relying on one's father had always been the mainstream since ancient times. Being the son of Heavenly Wonder Pavilion's Grand Pavilion Master carried even more weight than "my father is Zhang Erhe."

Even the supreme ruler of the Zixuan Dynasty had to give him some face.

Even the name Qiu Junlin had been bestowed by His Majesty himself, giving the Qiu family tremendous prestige.

Because of this, any news related to Qiu Junlin spread like wildfire.

Thus, Tan Shuchang had heard no shortage of Qiu Junlin's exploits. The most famous of them all was this man's "deep devotion." Even after being rejected more than ten times by An Yunxin, the young mistress of Luojia Mountain, his infatuation remained unchanged.

And An Yunxin possessed the peerless reputation of being the second Poet Fairy!

She was acknowledged as the foremost beauty among the current younger generation.

The only one in the entire cultivation world who could eclipse her was the Jian Gorge Sect's sect leader, the Poet Fairy. After all, though An Yunxin was beautiful, she was ultimately still somewhat young and immature.

"Bootlicker? You dare call me a dog?" Qiu Junlin roared.

But after shouting in anger, Qiu Junlin became somewhat confused and asked the attendant beside him, "What is a bootlicker?"

"Young Master, I'm only a servant. How would I know..." The attendant was a young man. Upon hearing Qiu Junlin ask this, his expression immediately turned strange. Though this was the first time he had heard the term "bootlicker," he could guess that it was certainly not a good word.

However, he did not dare say such words aloud. Though he was Qiu Junlin's servant, he was a servant with thoughts of his own. Otherwise, he would not have gritted his teeth and cultivated a low-grade technique into seven or eight years' worth of cultivation.

If anyone else had his position, they certainly would not cultivate so diligently, because being Qiu Junlin's attendant was far more useful than possessing a body full of cultivation.

Even local county magistrates of the imperial court had to specially host banquets for him and address him as brother.

"Useless trash! What use is there in keeping you?" Qiu Junlin immediately cursed the young man, then looked at Tan Shuchang and said, "You are forbidden from writing diaries ever again!"

This was the main reason he had specifically come here. Since he did not know what a bootlicker was and wanted to avoid exposing his ignorance, Qiu Junlin simply got straight to the point.

Tan Shuchang naturally found this baffling.

At the same time, however, he realized that this should be related to the stolen volume of his diary.

So, after putting himself in Qiu Junlin's shoes and pondering for a moment, Tan Shuchang said as though he had seen a ghost, "That little thief who stole my diary took it to Luojia Mountain?"

Ordinary people had no qualifications to enter Luojia Mountain, while Miss Dong was naturally no ordinary person.

No matter how ancient Luojia Mountain was, no matter how many myths and legends it possessed, when facing Heavenly Sword Manor, one of the two great sword cultivator holy lands of the present age, it still had to receive it with courtesy and treat it as an equal.

"How would I know? In any case, you are not allowed to write anymore! If you obey, I will not mistreat you! If you are ever captured by Heavenly Wonder Pavilion, so long as you are not thrown into Boar Tower, I will guarantee that you do not die!" Qiu Junlin said coldly.

"Boar Tower?"

Tan Shuchang was surprised. Heavenly Wonder Pavilion's places of imprisonment were arranged according to the twelve zodiac animals. Boar Tower, ranked last among them, was undoubtedly the most perilous in terms of imprisonment level.

"It is discourteous to come without returning the favor. Since Brother Qiu is being so courteous, I shall return him a courtesy as well. Has Brother Qiu ever heard this saying? If the person you admire never responds to your devotion, or responds only rarely, then they must be looking down on you."

Qiu Junlin's expression changed several times in an instant, yet he unusually did not refute him. He merely snorted coldly, then turned and left.

The young attendant glanced at Tan Shuchang before hastily following his young master.

Tan Shuchang watched the two leave, then said blandly, "Your young master has already left. Why are you still not leaving? Are you planning to stay on Blackheart Mountain for a meal?"

"As expected of someone capable of slaying his master. It seems Blackheart's fall at your hands was not entirely due to carelessness." An aged voice sounded, and an old man's figure appeared in the distance at some unknown moment.

He was an old man dressed in magnificent golden robes, his beard and hair streaked with white, a high crown atop his head. He looked every bit the elegant scholar of ancient times.

Tan Shuchang looked at him but said nothing.

Tan Shuchang's silence made the old man believe that he feared him, so the old man smiled and said, "Rest assured, you are the whetstone personally designated by Sword Disciple Mountain. No matter how displeased I am with you, I will not kill you. However, while the death penalty may be spared, living punishment cannot be escaped. My nephew Qiu did not say one thing wrong: what is your status, and what is his? Are you worthy of calling him brother?"

After saying this, the old man took out a long staff. "Kneel on the ground yourself. I will break both your legs, and this matter shall be considered settled. My nephew Qiu's promise to you will remain valid as well."

Listening to the other party speak as though he were bestowing a favor, Tan Shuchang's expression became rather subtle. He could not help saying, "Is fifty-odd years of cultivation the confidence behind those words?"

As his voice fell, blossoms of white, jade-like lotuses bloomed in the air.

For a moment, it was as though a beautiful firework had exploded here.

And at the heart of that firework came the old man's shrill screams. Blackheart Mountain, marked by lotus seals, could be said to be Tan Shuchang's home ground.

Upon Blackheart Mountain, he could manifest the Blood Refining Grand Formation at any time.

"Damnable little thief! This old man swears to kill you!" The old man fell, drenched in blood. Like Blackheart Elder back then, half his blood had been refined away, leaving his body shriveled and withered.

Then, the staff in his hand suddenly lengthened, becoming like a pillar that propped up the heavens, before crashing heavily down upon Blackheart Mountain.

Bang!

The mountain split open directly. Great quantities of rolling stones tumbled down, and even the ground shook.

This was an upper-grade magical artifact. Driven by more than fifty years of cultivation, its power was terrifying beyond measure.

After missing with the first strike, it immediately changed direction and locked onto Tan Shuchang's figure from afar, preventing him from escaping at once.

Boom!

The staff descended. This time, it was a killing blow.

Yet though the staff's might was terrifying, when it came down upon Tan Shuchang, who stood there unable to flee and could only take the blow, his entire body suddenly transformed into a puddle of thick blood that flowed without end.

The staff came down and directly smashed the puddle of viscous blood into two halves.

But after the staff returned to the old man's hand, the two halves of blood squirmed and merged back together.