What Shit Core Formation Cultivator Dares Call Himself a True Person?

Not long ago, Jiang Cheng had followed the Fang siblings from a distance and watched them enter a secluded farmhouse. Its wattle gate stayed firmly shut, and no one came or went for a long while.

Suspicious, he quietly crept closer. Before he even reached the foot of the wall, he heard Fang Yuan's voice from inside, recounting every detail of the strange happenings in the capital.

The more Jiang Cheng heard, the more alarmed he became. The brat really had discovered the palace's secret.

How could he allow that!?

If this spark were allowed to spread, the lie his master's sect had painstakingly maintained for over ten years would crumble overnight.

The Devil Cultivation Method his master's sect practiced required martial artists brimming with Blood Qi as a medicinal catalyst. A hundred mortals could not compare to a single grandmaster martial artist.

In the mortal world, many common people could hardly bear to spend enough to feed themselves, and top-tier martial artists were rare. If word got out that Devil Cultivators were about, even fewer would practice martial arts.

They had poured enormous effort into the Ning Kingdom and could not let anyone expose them.

Thus, their master had instructed them that, under special circumstances, his disciples could deal with matters directly. But if their target was a grandmaster, they were to bring him to the palace to refine pills, so he would not go to waste.

Jiang Cheng was fairly cautious. He had deliberately observed from outside and only burst through the door after confirming there was not the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Qi. Inside, he found seven people.

Though there were seven grandmasters, the difference between immortals and mortals was as great as that between clouds and mud. Jiang Cheng could handle them all by himself.

Ordinarily, once he released his spiritual pressure, even grandmasters would be cowed into prostrating themselves. Today, however, his spiritual pressure seemed to have lost some of its effect.

Of the seven, only the Fang siblings showed any reaction, but something soon enveloped them, shielding them from the terrifying spiritual pressure.

"This... what's going on?"

Jiang Cheng froze on the spot. The seven simply looked at him without a trace of fear.

The young man in the moon-white robe seated in the middle even had a hint of amusement in his eyes, as though he were watching a wild dog that had blundered into the main room.

Something's wrong!

Alarm bells exploded in Jiang Cheng's mind. He kicked off the ground, intending to pull back and retreat.

But before his body could rise, a mountain seemed to bear down on his shoulders. The next instant, his legs could no longer support him, and he crashed to his knees amid the shattered door panels.

At some point, two figures had appeared behind him.

Neither showed any fluctuation of Spiritual Qi either, but their faces were stern and resolute, their physiques sturdy and powerful. Standing there like two iron towers, they sealed off every avenue of retreat.

Jiang Cheng struggled to raise his eyes and finally saw an ancient-looking Law Bell suspended above his head.

"Cu... cultivators!"

"There are cultivators here! And I didn't notice a thing when I arrived!"

He could not see through these people's cultivation, but he had enough discernment to recognize the bell's power. It was no weaker than the soul banner his master had poured his heart into nurturing for years!

Jiang Cheng's face turned deathly pale. Knowing he had kicked an iron plate, he abandoned his earlier arrogance and hastily prostrated himself and knocked his head against the ground, his voice on the verge of tears:

"Spare me, senior! Spare me, senior!"

He wished he could slap himself a few times on the spot. Why had he gone out to patrol the city today of all days? Why did he have to be the one to run into this?

Li Zhengjun, seated above him, ignored his wailing and calmly gave an order:

"Dongping, confiscate everything he has. See if he has anything for sending messages."

Li Dongping stepped forward to obey and took a bronze mirror from his robes.

The mirror looked utterly ordinary, but when he infused it with a trace of Law Power, a pale golden ripple spread across its surface. At once, every spiritual item on Jiang Cheng's person was laid bare.

Li Dongping took every one of Jiang Cheng's spiritual items, not even sparing a tiny Law Artifact hidden in his mouth.

Jiang Cheng lay slumped on the ground, the Law Bell hanging high above him, its pressure so great that he dared not move a finger.

He had lived for more than half his life, but this was the first time he had seen a Law Artifact like this, and the first time he had been stripped of his weapons so thoroughly.

Yet it was not over. Jiang Cheng saw another man bring out several talismans.

The talismans looked light as feathers, but the moment they touched Jiang Cheng, they sank into him like red-hot branding irons into fat, burrowing straight into the depths of his bones.

Jiang Cheng immediately understood. They were something like a devilish curse, capable of deciding a person's life or death.

Cold sweat streamed down him, but in his terror, his mind instead began racing.

No, if these powerful cultivators wanted my life, they would have slapped me dead long ago. Why would they bother disarming me and planting talismans in me? They must be keeping me alive for questioning.

Jiang Cheng immediately cried out:

"I am Jiang Cheng. Before this, I had no choice but to stray onto the devil's path..."

Buzz-

Before he had finished speaking, a shrill buzz rang through Jiang Cheng's head. His whole body jerked as though struck by lightning, and he nearly lost consciousness on the spot.

Li Zhengjun's calm voice came from above him:

"These talismans do more than simply control your life and death. They have entered your sea of consciousness. What you just said went against what you truly believe, so they attacked you. This time was only a minor punishment. If you utter so much as half another lie, the consequences will not be something you can brush off after a little pain."

Jiang Cheng lay slumped on the ground, gasping for breath.

I'm doomed! These cultivators have an endless succession of methods. Could they be cultivators from Listening to Thunder Island?

But the facts were already plain. There was no way Jiang Cheng could bluff his way through, so he said:

"Spare me, senior! If you have need of me, I will tell you everything I know and hold nothing back. I beg you, immortal, spare my life!"

Li Zhengjun nodded slightly. "Tell me about the imperial palace in the capital, and the master you mentioned just now."

Beside him, Li Yuankai discreetly took out a piece of lustrous white jade. It was a recording stone.

True Person Yuhong was still waiting in the Yuyu Realm. Every word spoken here had to be faithfully recorded and taken back for the True Person to assess.

Trembling with fear, Jiang Cheng began:

"My master's name is Daoist Lu. He has more than thirty disciples. Nineteen years ago, Listening to Thunder Island and the Zhulu Immortal Alliance joined forces to purge the Zhulu Sea of Devil Cultivators. Master led us south all the way until we finally fled here."

He paused, seemingly weighing his words, or perhaps still dwelling on the sorry state they had been in back then.

"The spiritual vitality here is thin, and the place is remote. Even in the outer seas, it's somewhere birds wouldn't bother to shit. Those great sects wouldn't deign to spare it a second glance. That's why Master brought us here to settle down, using a mortal dynasty as cover while secretly refining blood pills."

Thin spiritual vitality?

The Li Household's disciples were all struck by those words.

They had repeatedly tested it and found that the spiritual vitality here was fairly good even by the standards of the Yuyu Realm, enough to support a small Lineage's cultivation.

Yet this Devil Cultivator described it as a remote place with thin spiritual vitality.

Most importantly, Li Zhengjun had sent Lineage disciples out from Subduing Tiger Pass. They had found no immortal cultivators in any of the surrounding prefectures or counties; only in the capital had more than thirty cultivators arrived over time.

In other words, this vast cultivation ground had been a last resort in the eyes of dogs that had lost their home?

At that moment, a thought arose in the minds of all the Li Household cultivators:

What must those places said to have abundant spiritual vitality be like?

Li Zhengjun suppressed the thoughts churning in his mind and continued:

"What is your master's cultivation? What Law Artifacts does he have? Does he possess any Divine Abilities?"

Jiang Cheng dared not conceal anything and answered in full:

"Master is now at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. He was gravely injured by a Thunder Method in his early years, damaging his foundation and leaving him no hope of Foundation Establishment. Only then did he turn to gathering blood pills to temper his body. I've heard my senior brothers say that his physique is already close to the Foundation Establishment level. He also has a soul banner. Each time he refines blood pills, he gathers the martial artists' souls into it. He has repeatedly refined it for nearly twenty years, and its power is considerable."

He cautiously raised his eyes. Seeing no change in Li Zhengjun's expression, he could only steel himself and continue.

"As for Divine Abilities... those are methods only Core Formation Cultivators have, aren't they? The only things Master knows now are a few devil-path Law Techniques, though they are quite powerful."

After hearing this, Li Zhengjun asked another question:

"Does your master have anyone backing him? Are there any reinforcements nearby?"

Jiang Cheng smiled bitterly and shook his head. "We're Devil Cultivators. Where would we find backers or reinforcements? We'd sooner rob one another and have our fellow Daoists help us cultivate."

Several Li Household cultivators looked at the Heart-Questioning Talisman at once. It remained as still as water, showing no reaction. Clearly, he was telling the truth.

The taut atmosphere in the room suddenly eased somewhat. Li Yuankai could not help laughing. He cupped his hands to Li Zhengjun and said:

"My lord, I thought we were dealing with some great and formidable power. It turns out he's just a minor cultivator who hasn't even reached Foundation Establishment, with a damaged foundation and no hope of breaking through. Sorry to trouble you, but please go back and ask the ancestor for a few Thunder Talismans. We can kill them all in one stroke. The sooner we clear out this bunch of Devil Cultivators, the sooner we can establish a foothold here."

Jiang Cheng sucked in a cold breath.

A minor cultivator?

Kill them at will with a few Thunder Talismans?

He could no longer hold back and asked in a trembling voice:

"Could it be that you seniors come from Listening to Thunder Island, where a Core Formation True Person holds the fort?!"

Li Zhengjun smiled without answering, but Li Dongping, standing beside him, looked as though he had suffered a grave insult. His thick brows shot up, and he snapped:

"What shit Core Formation cultivator dares call himself a True Person? Ask more questions at random and watch your head!"