Chapter 229: The Righteous Qi of a Mount Shu Disciple
The next morning, the brilliant rays of sunshine casted a warm glow over the room.
Chu Liang woke up early, washed, and tidied himself before heading out to clean the surrounding areas, trimming any unruly vegetation.
Two of his friends were visiting the Silver Sword Peak today.
After their discussion in the interdimensional soul domain within the Soul Subjugator Token, Chu Liang sent a letter to Luo Yao and Pushan to arrange for a visit here. They had previously agreed that if there were any major issues, their team of undercover agents would gather at the Silver Sword Peak of Mount Shu for the discussion.
The Mount Shu Sect and the Valley of the Three Absolutes were both located in the Southern Regions, conveniently accessible for cultivators. In contrast, the Buddhist Cloud Monastery resided near the heavens.
However, the Valley of the Three Absolutes was in a desolate and eerie area within the Southern Regions, making it the more remote location. In comparison to the other two, Mount Shu Sect emerged as the most suitable gathering place.
Chu Liang took the initiative to clean up the place before their companions' arrival, aiming to leave a good impression.
By noon, Luo Yao had arrived first.
Dressed in her usual black attire, Luo Yao landed on the Silver Sword Peak. Her glossy white hair and icy gaze were unmistakable. Carrying three umbrellas on her back, she remained silent until Chu Liang spotted her standing there and greeted her.
"Miss Luo, you are here! It's been a while! How are you?" Chu Liang waved.
"Mm." Luo Yao nodded gently in response.
Chu Liang didn't find her response impolite either, knowing well that she had always been this cold-faced.
"How have you been lately?" Chu Liang asked again.
"Fine," replied Luo Yao.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Chu Liang ushered her to the table, where he presented a plate of Golden Vein Berries and poured some tea—a gesture of proper hospitality.
Still, the atmosphere remained awkward.
Being in the same room with a fierce person who didn't speak much brought a certain amount of stress, and Chu Liang couldn't help but hope that Pushan would arrive soon. At least with him around, the atmosphere wouldn't feel so cold.
As he pondered this, he heard a voice outside chanting a Buddhist mantra, "Sadhu sadhu sadhu. It's my first time at Mount Shu. The atmosphere on the thirty-six peaks is quite remarkable!"
Chu Liang rushed outside and immediately spotted the handsome bald figure. A warm smile graced his face as he stood clad in a white monk's robe.
"Master Pushan, we've been waiting for you," Chu Liang greeted with a smile.
"Oh, Young Hero Chu and Miss Luo, it's been too long! I've missed you both dearly!" Pushan's smile grew even brighter upon seeing them, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth that had clearly always been exposed to the sun[1]
He pulled out a box, saying, "These are specialties from the Buddhist Cloud Monastery called the Buddha's Blessed Fruits. I brought some for you to taste."
"Haha, you're too kind. You've come all this way; you didn't need to bring anything," Chu Liang said, taking the box. "You should learn from Miss Luo here; it's nice to come empty-handed."
"Huh?" remarked Luo Yao.
Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Chu Liang continued firmly, "As a disciple of Mount Shu, I uphold righteousness. How can I be one of those people who deceives innocent girls? You have to believe me!"
Before he could finish his sentence, a voice called from afar, "Chu Liang, my best bro! Please save me! Let me hide here for a while!"
Like a streak of black smoke, Lin Bei appeared and dashed into Chu Liang's house.
Lu Ren appeared behind him and landed slowly.
Chu Liang had met Lu Ren before. He was a senior brother from the Jade Sword Peak.
"What's going on?" Chu Liang asked with a frown.
"Don't even get me started. This dude deceived an innocent girl and got caught!" Lu Ren, who followed after, said indignantly. "While he was distracting and luring the Baize youngling yesterday, he met this junior sister from the Bamboo Sea Peak. He refused to take the junior sister's money and wanted to arrange a secret meeting with her at night. The senior brothers and sisters of that girl found out about it. Since last night, they have been trying to seize him. And now, they are all causing a scene at the Jade Sword Peak so he escaped here for a while."
While Lu Ren was talking about Lin Bei, Chu Liang felt the weight of Luo Yao and Pushan's gaze on him growing heavier.
Luo Yao sneered as she asked, "Aren't you Mount Shu disciples supposed to be righteous?"
Pushan turned to look inside the room. "You are his best bro..."
"Actually, I don't know him very well..." Chu Liang said with a solemn expression. "In fact, I strongly condemn such behavior. He's the exception, a disgrace to Mount Shu! He does not represent the general populace of Mount Shu. I am not like him. My reputation in Mount Shu has always been good."
While he was talking, another beam of sword light descended from the distant sky.
As he spoke, another sword light fell from the distant sky.
It turned out to be Shang Ziliang. However, the expression on Shang Ziliang's face was really gloomy. He looked really sad and carried a small bundle on his back.
"What's up with you now?" Chu Liang asked.
"Our business has grown so big that my father found out about it," Shang Ziliang lamented. "My father said that the members of the Silver Sword Peak are all shameless and scrupulous people. He criticized me for befriending you. He wants to disown me. Big bro, I just ran away from home!"
What the heck is going on today... Chu Liang thought as he smacked himself on the forehead.
Luo Yao and Pushan, who were behind him, became even more certain as they stared at him.
Pushan said, "Righteousness, huh?"
Luo Yao said, "Good reputation, huh?"
Chu Liang: "..."
1. It's saying that he never keeps his mouth shut. ☜
2. This should be talking about the righteous qi used when practicing the techniques of Mount Shu. ☜
3. Hi friends. Let me explain. In the Mount Shu Sect, disciples would start cultivation by using this technique to absorb righteous qi to build up their dantian and Sea of Qi. With their Sea of Qi being filled with righteous qi, it is more difficult for them to practice techniques of eerie nature. Take Luo Xiaoyong, the disciple of the Greater-Yin Cult, as an example. He takes in qi of greater yin, which is why it is hard for him to practice other techniques too. Also, sidetracked a bit. There's an interesting thing that I noticed about the cultivation system in this world: It was mentioned that when cultivators die, they give back the spiritual energy that you have accumulated during your lifetime as a cultivator back to the world, starting the whole cycle of the next generation of prodigies/monsters appearing. That's why there were mentions of the Hallowed Ones appearing once every thousand years and the karmic cycle. It is also the reason why people want the demon god to be killed so that the spiritual energy that the demon god had accumulated in its lifetime can be released to the world, giving humans a chance to reach the level of Hallowed Ones. These were the little details I put together when reading this novel and I thought it was pretty cool. ☜