The Cruelty of the Cultivation World

The Three Absolute Sect was gone, but the Zhou Family remained!

The great Jing Kingdom cultivation sect, Green Lotus Temple, had split up the Three Absolute Sect, but it had not taken things to the bitter end.

The dismantled Three Absolute Sect had become four factions: the Pill Li Family, the Talisman You Family, Spirit Beast Manor, and the Spirit Beast Zhou Family.

Among them, the Li Family and You Family were the original Li and You clans of the Three Absolute Sect. Both had become Cultivation Families of Jing Kingdom, and quite a few of their disciples were even preparing to join Green Lotus Temple, one of Jing Kingdom's great sects.

Spirit Beast Manor, meanwhile, was a sect founded by Zhou Jinghua, the former Golden Core stage cultivator of the Zhou Family. Most of its disciples were former Three Absolute Sect disciples from outside clans.

Of course, this former Zhou Family son-in-law had now reclaimed his original name. From now on, he should be called Yu Jinghua.

The Spirit Beast Zhou Family, on the other hand, was a Cultivation Family formed from most of the former Zhou Family clansmen within the Three Absolute Sect.

The reason for saying most was that Yu Jinghua, that Golden Core stage cultivator, had also won over quite a few Zhou Family members and brought them into the so-called Spirit Beast Manor.

At the same time, having lost Yu Jinghua, its Golden Core stage cultivator, the Spirit Beast Zhou Family had only a single Violet Palace cultivator holding up the roof beams. It had thus become the weakest of the four factions formed after the Three Absolute Sect was divided.

Therefore, Zhou Chun actually had two possible paths before him. One was to head for the so-called Spirit Beast Manor and become one of its members. The other was to return to the Zhou Family and travel the Cultivation World in the future as a Zhou Family clansman of a Cultivation Family.

Zhou Chun scarcely needed to think about which of these two paths to choose.

Since Yu Jinghua had abandoned the Zhou Family to establish some Spirit Beast Manor, it was clear that he wanted to completely erase the Zhou Family brand from himself.

If a descendant of the Zhou Family orthodox lineage like Zhou Chun went to seek refuge with Spirit Beast Manor, he would absolutely find it difficult to receive any important position.

The Spirit Beast Zhou Family, however, had been established by descendants of the Zhou Family orthodox lineage. If Zhou Chun returned to the Zhou Family, then so long as he possessed the strength to rise above the crowd in the future, gaining the Lineage's favor would not be difficult at all.

With the difference so obvious, there was no need to give the choice any further thought.

With that in mind, after the table of Rogue Cultivators dispersed, Zhou Chun also left the teahouse. He stopped the mustached man midway and asked him where the Spirit Beast Zhou Family had settled.

But to his disappointment, the mustached man had merely heard that the Three Absolute Sect had been split into four factions. He did not know where those four factions had specifically established themselves.

Still, Zhou Chun learned from him the location of a Cultivator Market within Misty Prefecture, and he planned to go there to continue seeking further information.

Thus, Zhou Chun soon retrieved the three Spirit Coin deposit he had paid and left Azure Cloud Valley.

However, not long after leaving Azure Cloud Valley, Zhou Chun frowned, and his gaze abruptly darkened.

He lifted a hand, and a sharp-beaked bird the size of a fist landed on his wrist, chirping noisily.

This bird, known as the Red-beaked Sparrow, was extremely intelligent. It also possessed exceptional eyesight, was small in size, and was an ordinary bird, so cultivators did not easily take notice of it.

Thus, it was often raised by low-level cultivators who understood the Beast Taming Arts, serving as their eyes and ears for tracking and keeping watch.

While recuperating in Cangyun City, Zhou Chun had discovered this Red-beaked Sparrow during one of his strolls through the city's bird market. It had been caught by a hunter and put up for sale, so he had purchased it and trained it.

Now, under the Beast Taming Arts he had acquired from his memories, the little bird had become quite perceptive and could keep watch for him.

Zhou Chun had been able to discover the Rogue Cultivator who led him through Cloudmist Mountain earlier because this little bird had spotted the man first.

Just now, the bird keeping watch for him from the air had suddenly informed him that someone was following him—and there was more than one person.

Who could be following him?

Zhou Chun recalled everything he had experienced during this trip to Azure Cloud Valley, and he quickly had a likely target in mind.

As for whether things were truly as he suspected, he would soon find out.

At once, Zhou Chun swiftly hid in the grass at the side of the road. Forming hand seals with both hands, he cast the First-grade Mid-tier spell, the Wood Concealment Technique, which allowed him to borrow the aura of grass and trees to conceal both his presence and body.

After some time passed, a man in yellow robes and a black-clothed young man entered Zhou Chun's field of vision.

It really was him!

When Zhou Chun saw the yellow-robed man with the drooping mustache, his guess was immediately confirmed.

The black-clothed young man beside the yellow-robed man was also one of the Rogue Cultivators Zhou Chun had seen earlier in the teahouse.

Clearly, the yellow-robed man was cautious. Even after harboring ill will toward Zhou Chun, he feared that he might not be able to take him down alone, so he had deliberately found the black-clothed young man as a helper.

"Where is he? Where did that brat go? How did he suddenly vanish without a trace?"

Within the forest, the yellow-robed man looked around in alarm. His words came quick and urgent, brimming with anxiety.

The black-clothed young man also watched their surroundings warily as he said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid he has already discovered that we were following him. Cultivators from those sects and families always manage to grasp spells that ordinary Rogue Cultivators like us find difficult to learn!"

His words were filled with envy and resentment.

Listening to the two men, Zhou Chun immediately understood why they had come.

He had been too eager to inquire about the Zhou Family's circumstances back then, arousing the yellow-robed man's suspicion and bringing this danger upon himself.

But it also gave him a direct understanding of the danger lurking within the Cultivation World.

Just because he had asked about one piece of information, he had drawn jealousy and a murderous ambush. Was this the cruel danger of the Cultivation World?

Zhou Chun stared darkly at the two men in the forest, anger rising within him.

Since you want to kill me, then let us see who kills whom!

With malice in their hearts, murderous intent arose in his own.

Zhou Chun reached into his sleeve and drew a black iron awl from the pocket within.

Then, fixing his target in place, he flung it with a wave of his hand.

In an instant, a streak of black light flew from his hand, pierced through a large tree, and struck the black-clothed young man squarely in the chest just as the tree had blocked his line of sight.

"You scoundrel!"

The yellow-robed man shouted in fury. He hurriedly slapped a talisman onto himself, forming a round, earth-yellow shield around his body.

Then he slapped the Storage Bag at his waist and immediately sent a purplish-red bronze hammer artifact smashing toward where Zhou Chun had hidden.

But since Zhou Chun had chosen to strike first, he had naturally fled from his original position the moment he attacked.

By the time the bronze hammer artifact struck empty air, he had already sent out another pale-golden flying dagger artifact and slit the throat of the heavily wounded black-clothed young man lying on the ground.

Having seized the initiative and dealt with one enemy, Zhou Chun looked at the panic-stricken yellow-robed man in the forest, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

With a cold smile covering his face, he said, "Isn't this Fellow Daoist Dai? You secretly followed I from behind. Could it be that you wished to invite I for tea?"

As he spoke, Zhou Chun formed hand seals and recalled both artifacts that had killed the black-clothed young man.

The yellow-robed man grew even more panicked upon seeing this.

He furtively glanced at the corpse of the black-clothed young man, who had already fallen silent, and his eyelids twitched slightly. He hurriedly cried out to Zhou Chun, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, let us talk this over. Dai only harbored ill will toward you because I was briefly blinded by greed. Now that I have come to my senses, I ask Fellow Daoist Zhou to give me a chance to atone for my sins!"

But Zhou Chun said coldly, "There is no need for atonement. After all, once a person dies, their sins are wiped away. No matter how great your wrongdoing, death will settle it all!"

As he spoke, he formed hand seals and sent both artifacts into a fierce assault against the yellow-robed man.

In terms of cultivation, the yellow-robed man's Level Seven Qi Refining cultivation was only one level higher than Zhou Chun's.

But in the quality and quantity of their artifacts, Zhou Chun, having obtained Li Han's belongings, completely overwhelmed him.

Moreover, the yellow-robed man had lost his nerve before the battle even began. His courage had already collapsed, so naturally he found it difficult to unleash his full strength in combat.

After a fierce battle, Zhou Chun finally broke the yellow-robed man's spell shield by force before his own spiritual power was exhausted, piercing the man's brow with the pale-golden flying dagger artifact.

"The strong devour the weak; the fittest survive. This is the Cultivation World!"

Looking at the yellow-robed man's corpse, its eyes still wide in death, Zhou Chun murmured softly. He raised a hand to retrieve the flying dagger artifact, then quickly began cleaning up the battlefield.

Half an hour later, after searching both corpses, Zhou Chun set the bodies ablaze and burned them into ash. Then, carrying his spoils, he swiftly departed.

Good morning, fellow readers,