Chu Liang found himself in a very sticky situation.
Xu Ziqing wasn't a child, so she obviously wouldn't believe Chu Liang's excuse that it was for a friend. She stared at Chu Liang with a judgmental gaze that seemed to say: The friend you're talking about is obviously you!
With Xu Ziqing's eyes focused on him, Chu Liang couldn't come up with a proper excuse, so he just left like a fleeing criminal.
Sigh.
After returning to Silver Sword Peak, Chu Liang calmed down and opened up the book Yin and Yang Fusion Technique.
Before reading the book, he hadn't known this was such an ancient technique. The technique had existed even before the Mount Shu Sect had been established and could be considered one of the oldest dual-cultivation techniques in the mortal realm.
Unlike the cultivation techniques that were developed later, this dual-cultivation technique didn't involve any intricate methods. It only utilized the basics of the Great Dao of Yin and Yang, making this dual-cultivation technique relatively straightforward.
There was one challenging thing though. It seemed that all the qi-circulation routes recorded in the manual had been formed with the base concept that the two parties performing the technique would work together to circulate using the same qi-circulation route.
However, Chu Liang wanted to attempt fusing the foundational qi in the Golden-Core Puppet with the foundational qi in his body. The Golden-Core Puppet could copy the qi-circulation method and cultivate continuously with that, but it could not be expected to act exactly like an actual person and change its qi-circulation route to match Chu Liang's. Chu Liang only had control over his own circulation... so that made things extremely difficult for him.
There were other dual-cultivation techniques that required just one person to circulate their qi, but only that person would benefit. Such techniques were normally referred to as Yin-Taking and Yang-Supplementing Techniques and were practiced only by those following the diabolical path.
Chu Liang had already been caught red-handed purchasing a normal dual-cultivation technique. If he were to get caught buying a Yin-Taking and Yang-Supplementing Technique too, his excellent reputation would likely be ruined forever.
This is tricky.
Nevertheless, as Chu Liang deepened his understanding of the technique, he realized that this was not an unsolvable problem. The Yin and Yang Fusion Technique did not actually require any alteration of the qi-circulation route. All it required was for one party to connect their circulation route to the other party's. That was why both parties needed to work together.
If that was the case, Chu Liang might be able to control the flow of the foundational qi since the Golden-Core Puppet's foundational qi was actually his.
Chu Liang considered this idea carefully for a while more. Then he let his consciousness sink into the White Pagoda's space.
The two Large-Headed Dolls were sitting side by side. One was shrouded in a haze, while the other was radiating golden light; both were selflessly working hard on Chu Liang's behalf.
Chu Liang sat cross-legged in front of the Golden-Core Puppet and placed his hands on its shoulders. He closed his eyes and focused, channeling his foundational qi into the Golden-Core Puppet according to the method he had just memorized.
Boom!
An explosive rumble reverberated from the Sea of Qi inside his Dantian.
The Golden-Core Puppet's meridians had been duplicated from Chu Liang's body, so Chu Liang was undoubtedly very familiar with them.
He ordered the foundational qi in the puppet to continue circulating. As he'd expected, the foundational qi in the puppet complied without any resistance.
Chu Liang's and the Golden-Core Puppet's Minor Qi-Circulation Routes merged to become a shared Major Qi-Circulation Route. The two kinds of foundational qi—one with the yin attribute and the other with yang—fused. In this fusion state, the two kinds of foundational qi no longer depleted each other; instead, they boosted each other.
With the two complementing ultimate-tier Golden Cores, the pair's cultivation speed skyrocketed, and foundational qi surged wildly into them.
Chu Liang concentrated on this process for more than an hour until he was interrupted by a bit of noise from outside.
"Phew..."
He slowly withdrew his foundational qi from the Golden-Core Puppet, concluding his first dual-cultivation session with one of the Large-Headed Dolls.
Chu Liang had to admit that it had been a wonderful experience. When he opened his eyes, his gaze was much brighter, and he seemed very full of life.
After a while, he stood up and pushed open the window. That's when he found a crane-delivered letter on the table outside.
Chu Liang opened it and read its content. It was from the Sword Exchange Pavilion.
...
"Elder Shen, I've had a lot going on lately. It's been such a long time since I last visited you... Please don't hate me for that," Chu Liang said cheerfully when he arrived at a quiet office in the Sword Exchange Pavilion.
On Chu Liang's first visit to the Sword Exchange Pavilion to take on missions, he had been unfamiliar with how everything worked. Elder Shen had helped Chu Liang out a few times and selected good missions for him.
Since then, Chu Liang had gotten a lot busier, so he hadn't come visit Elder Shen for some time. The letter he'd received earlier had been from Elder Shen.
"At your age, this is the time when you should be putting in full effort and being a go-getter, so it's normal to be busy," Elder Shen voiced with a beaming smile. "I heard that in the short time I've not seen you, you formed a Golden Core. Moreover, it's an ultimate-tier Golden Core! That's truly amazing."
"Hehe, I just got a little lucky," Chu Liang replied.
"I heard about you from someone earlier, and it just so happens that there's a mission that requires a disciple at the Golden Core Realm," Elder Shen said. "So, I thought, why don't I just ask you to do it? You can use it as a chance to test out your Golden Core. If you do well, I'll frequently recommend you to the elders ranked above me."
Chu Liang smiled. "I definitely will not let you down, Elder Shen."
This was a pretty common occurrence. When a disciple that was highly regarded by one of the higher-ups in the sect made a breakthrough in their cultivation, the elder would assign the disciple a mission that would allow them to gain experience. It would also serve as a test of their abilities.
If Chu Liang were to perform well on this mission, he would become one of the first disciples that the Sword Exchange Pavilion considered assigning to important missions.
Most core disciples did not need to go to the Sword Exchange Pavilion to choose missions. Instead, when the sect had some important tasks that needed to be resolved, the Sword Exchange Pavilion would summon a few suitable core disciples to do the job.
This was the case for Jiang Yuebai, Xu Ziyang, and some other disciples at the Golden Core Realm.
It appeared that Elder Shen intended to give more guidance and support to Chu Liang in the future, which was why he assigned a mission to Chu Liang. So, of course, Chu Liang wouldn't say no to that.
Elder Shen handed Chu Liang a mission slip. "Here."
The slip said: A request for help from the Tree Demon Mountain.
"Although the Tree Demon Mountain is inhabited by demons, they're a peaceful bunch, and they have a good relationship with our sect," Elder Shen explained. "Since they've requested we send someone over to help, it must be a rather urgent matter. If you're not busy with anything else right now, you should depart immediately."
"Will do!"
Chu Liang stood up and immediately set off.
Contrary to his actions, Chu Liang had actually wanted to stay put on Mount Shu for a period.
The sudden appearance of that masked assassin in the Immortals' Marsh had left Chu Liang feeling uneasy. He had no idea where the assassin was from or why the assassin had targeted him. Chu Liang should be safe if he stayed on Mount Shu, but if the assassin was targeting him, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be another assassination attempt once he left the mountain.
Nevertheless, it was like how the saying went, "Thieves can rob others for a thousand days, but you can't stay at home and guard against them for a thousand days."
Trouble had found its way to Chu Liang, and he couldn't keep avoiding it. All he could do was prepare himself to face it.
After returning to Silver Sword Peak and picking up the Golden-Furred Hou, Chu Liang set off for the Tree Demon Mountain.
...
Despite being a demon clan, the Tree Demon Clan had always been loving and peaceful. They had long life spans, and their good relationship with humans stemmed as far back as the era of the demon gods. Some time after that era, the Tree Demon Clan settled in the Tree Demon Mountain and ceased all relations with the other demon clans. Instead, the Tree Demon Clan got quite close with the nearby Mount Shu Sect.
Chu Liang urged the Hou to speed up, and they arrived at the destination soon after.
The Tree Demon Mountain was vast, with towering mountains and a deep valley. It was filled with verdant pines and ancient trees, presenting a lush, deep green when viewed from above.
However, Chu Liang saw an astonishing scene amid the green mountains. A raging fire was blazing out from the depths of the valley and spreading outward!
Is this the reason the Tree Demon Clan requested for help?
Upon seeing the gravity of the situation, Chu Liang hurriedly pressed the Hou's head down.
At the next moment, they landed at the mouth of the valley like a gust of golden wind. However, all Chu Liang saw around him were trees; there were no people.
What's going on? Where is the legendary Tree Demon Clan?
Chu Liang was not familiar with the Tree Demon Clan, and there were no buildings in the mountains to indicate where the clan members were living. He had no idea where exactly they were situated on the mountain.
As he was contemplating what to do, Chu Liang heard the voice of an old man ask him, "Are you the young hero from the Mount Shu Sect?"
Chu Liang was startled by the voice. He sensed a rise in demonic qi, and figures appeared around him one by one.
The lofty ancient trees surrounding him suddenly emitted a bright radiance and turned into green figures! One, two... In total, two hundred green figures had appeared!
It turned out that the Tree Demon Clan lived in the mountains in their tree form. Chu Liang thought about it and realized that made sense.
The first person that appeared earlier was an old man with the air of a dignified elder and a long fluttering beard. He seemed to have a high cultivation level.
Chu Liang turned to greet him. "I'm Chu Liang, a disciple of the Mount Shu Sect."
"Young hero Chu, thank you for coming," the old man said. "I am an elder of the Tree Demon clan. You may call me Qinghuai[1]."
"Elder Qinghuai," Chu Liang replied, greeting the elder with a bow. Then he asked, "What has happened to the Tree Demon Clan? What is the cause of this wildfire?"
"Haaa..." Elder Qinghuai sighed. He explained, "One day, a ball of fire shot over from the west and suddenly landed on our Tree Demon Mountain. After that, this raging wildfire came into existence. We don't know what happened exactly. We tried to extinguish the fire with spells from a distance, but we couldn't put it out no matter what we did. Several warriors from our clan went further in to investigate, but none of them returned..."
Chu Liang frowned. "Oh?"
"We have powerful people in our clan, but this wildfire limits us severely. In the face of the fire, we become so weak that we may not even be able to use thirty percent of our power. That's why we turned to the Mount Shu Sect for help," Elder Qinghuai continued. "All we need is for you to go further inside and investigate to see what happened. Then we can prepare our next steps. Tree Demon Mountain is where our ancestors lived. If it is destroyed by this fire, we will be homeless!"
"Elder, don't worry," Chu Liang said. "I'll go in right now and investigate."
1. His name means "green Chinese scholar tree". ☜
Chu Liang found himself in a very sticky situation.
Xu Ziqing wasn't a child, so she obviously wouldn't believe Chu Liang's excuse that it was for a friend. She stared at Chu Liang with a judgmental gaze that seemed to say: The friend you're talking about is obviously you!
With Xu Ziqing's eyes focused on him, Chu Liang couldn't come up with a proper excuse, so he just left like a fleeing criminal.
Sigh.
After returning to Silver Sword Peak, Chu Liang calmed down and opened up the book Yin and Yang Fusion Technique.
Before reading the book, he hadn't known this was such an ancient technique. The technique had existed even before the Mount Shu Sect had been established and could be considered one of the oldest dual-cultivation techniques in the mortal realm.
Unlike the cultivation techniques that were developed later, this dual-cultivation technique didn't involve any intricate methods. It only utilized the basics of the Great Dao of Yin and Yang, making this dual-cultivation technique relatively straightforward.
There was one challenging thing though. It seemed that all the qi-circulation routes recorded in the manual had been formed with the base concept that the two parties performing the technique would work together to circulate using the same qi-circulation route.
However, Chu Liang wanted to attempt fusing the foundational qi in the Golden-Core Puppet with the foundational qi in his body. The Golden-Core Puppet could copy the qi-circulation method and cultivate continuously with that, but it could not be expected to act exactly like an actual person and change its qi-circulation route to match Chu Liang's. Chu Liang only had control over his own circulation... so that made things extremely difficult for him.
There were other dual-cultivation techniques that required just one person to circulate their qi, but only that person would benefit. Such techniques were normally referred to as Yin-Taking and Yang-Supplementing Techniques and were practiced only by those following the diabolical path.
Chu Liang had already been caught red-handed purchasing a normal dual-cultivation technique. If he were to get caught buying a Yin-Taking and Yang-Supplementing Technique too, his excellent reputation would likely be ruined forever.
This is tricky.
Nevertheless, as Chu Liang deepened his understanding of the technique, he realized that this was not an unsolvable problem. The Yin and Yang Fusion Technique did not actually require any alteration of the qi-circulation route. All it required was for one party to connect their circulation route to the other party's. That was why both parties needed to work together.
If that was the case, Chu Liang might be able to control the flow of the foundational qi since the Golden-Core Puppet's foundational qi was actually his.
Chu Liang considered this idea carefully for a while more. Then he let his consciousness sink into the White Pagoda's space.
The two Large-Headed Dolls were sitting side by side. One was shrouded in a haze, while the other was radiating golden light; both were selflessly working hard on Chu Liang's behalf.
Chu Liang sat cross-legged in front of the Golden-Core Puppet and placed his hands on its shoulders. He closed his eyes and focused, channeling his foundational qi into the Golden-Core Puppet according to the method he had just memorized.
Boom!
An explosive rumble reverberated from the Sea of Qi inside his Dantian.
The Golden-Core Puppet's meridians had been duplicated from Chu Liang's body, so Chu Liang was undoubtedly very familiar with them.
He ordered the foundational qi in the puppet to continue circulating. As he'd expected, the foundational qi in the puppet complied without any resistance.
Chu Liang's and the Golden-Core Puppet's Minor Qi-Circulation Routes merged to become a shared Major Qi-Circulation Route. The two kinds of foundational qi—one with the yin attribute and the other with yang—fused. In this fusion state, the two kinds of foundational qi no longer depleted each other; instead, they boosted each other.
With the two complementing ultimate-tier Golden Cores, the pair's cultivation speed skyrocketed, and foundational qi surged wildly into them.
Chu Liang concentrated on this process for more than an hour until he was interrupted by a bit of noise from outside.
"Phew..."
He slowly withdrew his foundational qi from the Golden-Core Puppet, concluding his first dual-cultivation session with one of the Large-Headed Dolls.
Chu Liang had to admit that it had been a wonderful experience. When he opened his eyes, his gaze was much brighter, and he seemed very full of life.
After a while, he stood up and pushed open the window. That's when he found a crane-delivered letter on the table outside.
Chu Liang opened it and read its content. It was from the Sword Exchange Pavilion.
...
"Elder Shen, I've had a lot going on lately. It's been such a long time since I last visited you... Please don't hate me for that," Chu Liang said cheerfully when he arrived at a quiet office in the Sword Exchange Pavilion.
On Chu Liang's first visit to the Sword Exchange Pavilion to take on missions, he had been unfamiliar with how everything worked. Elder Shen had helped Chu Liang out a few times and selected good missions for him.
Since then, Chu Liang had gotten a lot busier, so he hadn't come visit Elder Shen for some time. The letter he'd received earlier had been from Elder Shen.
"At your age, this is the time when you should be putting in full effort and being a go-getter, so it's normal to be busy," Elder Shen voiced with a beaming smile. "I heard that in the short time I've not seen you, you formed a Golden Core. Moreover, it's an ultimate-tier Golden Core! That's truly amazing."
"Hehe, I just got a little lucky," Chu Liang replied.
"I heard about you from someone earlier, and it just so happens that there's a mission that requires a disciple at the Golden Core Realm," Elder Shen said. "So, I thought, why don't I just ask you to do it? You can use it as a chance to test out your Golden Core. If you do well, I'll frequently recommend you to the elders ranked above me."
Chu Liang smiled. "I definitely will not let you down, Elder Shen."
This was a pretty common occurrence. When a disciple that was highly regarded by one of the higher-ups in the sect made a breakthrough in their cultivation, the elder would assign the disciple a mission that would allow them to gain experience. It would also serve as a test of their abilities.
If Chu Liang were to perform well on this mission, he would become one of the first disciples that the Sword Exchange Pavilion considered assigning to important missions.
Most core disciples did not need to go to the Sword Exchange Pavilion to choose missions. Instead, when the sect had some important tasks that needed to be resolved, the Sword Exchange Pavilion would summon a few suitable core disciples to do the job.
This was the case for Jiang Yuebai, Xu Ziyang, and some other disciples at the Golden Core Realm.
It appeared that Elder Shen intended to give more guidance and support to Chu Liang in the future, which was why he assigned a mission to Chu Liang. So, of course, Chu Liang wouldn't say no to that.
Elder Shen handed Chu Liang a mission slip. "Here."
The slip said: A request for help from the Tree Demon Mountain.
"Although the Tree Demon Mountain is inhabited by demons, they're a peaceful bunch, and they have a good relationship with our sect," Elder Shen explained. "Since they've requested we send someone over to help, it must be a rather urgent matter. If you're not busy with anything else right now, you should depart immediately."
"Will do!"
Chu Liang stood up and immediately set off.
Contrary to his actions, Chu Liang had actually wanted to stay put on Mount Shu for a period.
The sudden appearance of that masked assassin in the Immortals' Marsh had left Chu Liang feeling uneasy. He had no idea where the assassin was from or why the assassin had targeted him. Chu Liang should be safe if he stayed on Mount Shu, but if the assassin was targeting him, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be another assassination attempt once he left the mountain.
Nevertheless, it was like how the saying went, "Thieves can rob others for a thousand days, but you can't stay at home and guard against them for a thousand days."
Trouble had found its way to Chu Liang, and he couldn't keep avoiding it. All he could do was prepare himself to face it.
After returning to Silver Sword Peak and picking up the Golden-Furred Hou, Chu Liang set off for the Tree Demon Mountain.
...
Despite being a demon clan, the Tree Demon Clan had always been loving and peaceful. They had long life spans, and their good relationship with humans stemmed as far back as the era of the demon gods. Some time after that era, the Tree Demon Clan settled in the Tree Demon Mountain and ceased all relations with the other demon clans. Instead, the Tree Demon Clan got quite close with the nearby Mount Shu Sect.
Chu Liang urged the Hou to speed up, and they arrived at the destination soon after.
The Tree Demon Mountain was vast, with towering mountains and a deep valley. It was filled with verdant pines and ancient trees, presenting a lush, deep green when viewed from above.
However, Chu Liang saw an astonishing scene amid the green mountains. A raging fire was blazing out from the depths of the valley and spreading outward!
Is this the reason the Tree Demon Clan requested for help?
Upon seeing the gravity of the situation, Chu Liang hurriedly pressed the Hou's head down.
At the next moment, they landed at the mouth of the valley like a gust of golden wind. However, all Chu Liang saw around him were trees; there were no people.
What's going on? Where is the legendary Tree Demon Clan?
Chu Liang was not familiar with the Tree Demon Clan, and there were no buildings in the mountains to indicate where the clan members were living. He had no idea where exactly they were situated on the mountain.
As he was contemplating what to do, Chu Liang heard the voice of an old man ask him, "Are you the young hero from the Mount Shu Sect?"
Chu Liang was startled by the voice. He sensed a rise in demonic qi, and figures appeared around him one by one.
The lofty ancient trees surrounding him suddenly emitted a bright radiance and turned into green figures! One, two... In total, two hundred green figures had appeared!
It turned out that the Tree Demon Clan lived in the mountains in their tree form. Chu Liang thought about it and realized that made sense.
The first person that appeared earlier was an old man with the air of a dignified elder and a long fluttering beard. He seemed to have a high cultivation level.
Chu Liang turned to greet him. "I'm Chu Liang, a disciple of the Mount Shu Sect."
"Young hero Chu, thank you for coming," the old man said. "I am an elder of the Tree Demon clan. You may call me Qinghuai[1]."
"Elder Qinghuai," Chu Liang replied, greeting the elder with a bow. Then he asked, "What has happened to the Tree Demon Clan? What is the cause of this wildfire?"
"Haaa..." Elder Qinghuai sighed. He explained, "One day, a ball of fire shot over from the west and suddenly landed on our Tree Demon Mountain. After that, this raging wildfire came into existence. We don't know what happened exactly. We tried to extinguish the fire with spells from a distance, but we couldn't put it out no matter what we did. Several warriors from our clan went further in to investigate, but none of them returned..."
Chu Liang frowned. "Oh?"
"We have powerful people in our clan, but this wildfire limits us severely. In the face of the fire, we become so weak that we may not even be able to use thirty percent of our power. That's why we turned to the Mount Shu Sect for help," Elder Qinghuai continued. "All we need is for you to go further inside and investigate to see what happened. Then we can prepare our next steps. Tree Demon Mountain is where our ancestors lived. If it is destroyed by this fire, we will be homeless!"
"Elder, don't worry," Chu Liang said. "I'll go in right now and investigate."
1. His name means "green Chinese scholar tree". ☜
