Martial Cultivator

For Chen Chao, killing demons was an everyday occurrence.

Especially when it was just a few young demon cultivators with low cultivation realms. Even though his injuries had not fully healed, it was not difficult for him to kill these demon cultivators. So, when the last demon cultivator fell, Chen Chao waved his hand, signaling Liang Jinjin to come over.

Liang Jinjin frowned as she looked at the bodies scattered on the ground, feeling a bit disgusted.

Chen Chao, on the other hand, was used to this sight. He even squatted among the corpses with interest, searching for the demon beads. After all, he was just a martial artist. If he were a qi refiner, he probably would have stripped these demon cultivators of every useful thing they had.

For qi refiners, demon race cultivators absorbed the essence of heaven and earth in their cultivation, making their bodies full of treasures. Demon bones, demon blood - these could all be used in medicine. Just like Yuan Ling, whom Chen Chao had previously killed. If a qi refiner had seen his corpse, nothing would have been left untouched.

Even that green ape fur, which Chen Chao could not easily cut through, would be enough for those qi refiners to craft a decent robe artifact.

However, Yuan Ling had only been so difficult to deal with because of his bloodline advantage and cultivation realm. If either of those had been lacking, he would not have caused Chen Chao such a headache.

”Is there anything you want? I can get it for you,” Chen Chao suddenly turned his head to look at Liang Jinjin.

He did not have anything he wanted, but that did not mean Liang Jinjin did not. Although, seeing her reaction, it seemed she would not get her own hands dirty.

Liang Jinjin shook her head.

Chen Chao did not say anything more and was about to leave.

After thinking for a moment, Liang Jinjin started her usual cleanup routine.

Chen Chao had no choice but to stand there and wait, remaining silent.

An hour later, Liang Jinjin had finished cleaning up. Seeing that the man in front of her still showed no signs of impatience, she said softly, ”When we’re out in the wild, we have to be cautious about everything. You might not care if our tracks are exposed, but I’m afraid.”

Chen Chao teased, ”Afraid I’ll ditch you and run for my life?”

Liang Jinjin did not speak.

Since she did not want to continue the conversation, Chen Chao did not press the issue. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, ”What’s the name of the sect ruins we’re heading to this time? My injuries are almost fully healed.”

Thanks to the white mist in his body, Chen Chao’s recovery was far faster than the average cultivator. As long as he kept circulating the white mist within, it would heal his wounds for him.

Liang Jinjin seemed doubtful and asked suspiciously, ”Really?”

Chen Chao nodded with a smile. ”At this point, I could take down any young demon prodigy. Even if a prince or princess of the Demon Emperor came, I can take them down with a single saber strike each.”

Liang Jinjin furrowed her brows, clearly not fully convinced. But this time she did not contradict him. After thinking for a moment, she said, ”It’s a sect called Small Hill Sect. The name sounds small, and in reality, it was never very large. However, this sect was once a part of the qi refiner lineage, and it’s said that there was a long-lost qi refining technique within the sect. I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but my senior brothers and sisters and I are here for that technique. Whether we can find it or not is up to luck, but even if we don’t find the technique, we might come across something else.”

”Some sects have grand-sounding names, like they’re heaven-shaking or world-annihilating, but they’re often just minor, insignificant sects. Look at the top-tier sects of today, like the Infatuation Daoist Temple and Deercry Monastery, they have any grandiose names? Especially that Sword Sect, they didn’t even bother with a name and just called themselves the Sword Sect. If you ask me, the more impressive a sect’s name sounds, the less reason we have to visit. On the other hand, this Small Hill Sect sounds modest. It might just hold something extraordinary. We might even have a pleasant surprise on this trip.”

Chen Chao asked with a smile, “Don’t you think it makes sense?”

Liang Jinjin nodded, ”It does make some sense.”

Chen Chao did not say much more, he just stepped back to let Liang Jinjin lead the way. “Your turn to guide us. Should you use that Qi Observation technique? Want me to look away?”

Liang Jinjin shook her head. “Once this technique is mastered, you can sense things just by lightly activating it in your eyes. No need for extra preparation.”

She stood still. After a moment, she said, “Southeast.”

Chen Chao nodded and followed behind her. At this moment, he could see more clearly how slender and graceful her figure was. However, Chen Chao did not pay it any mind. He was just thinking about the girl who loved to eat sweet potatoes, wondering how she was doing now.

……

……

The two continued heading southeast. Along the way, they occasionally encountered demon cultivators or other cultivators. Encounters with demon cultivators were straightforward - fight and kill them. Fortunately, besides running into one demon cultivator at the Great Beyond Realm, the remaining demons they met were of lower realms, and none were as difficult to deal with as Yuan Ling. Most of the demon cultivators were easily dispatched with a single strike, and Chen Chao collected a considerable number of demon beads. After counting, he realized that the value of these demon pearls had already exceeded the total amount he had earned during his two years as warden in Tianqing County.

However, Chen Chao did not develop any thoughts of having come to the Northern Frontier earlier. Given his previous realm, coming north would have been akin to courting death.

As for Liang Jinjin, she continued her meticulous clean-up work with the same diligence as always, without complaint.

There was nothing inappropriate about this, as it was for her own benefit as well.

Thanks to this woman’s efforts, Chen Chao did not encounter any demon cultivators pursuing him along the way. Those that they encountered were not targeting him.

Along the way, Liang Jinjin even suggested scouting the route in advance to avoid the demon cultivators, but Chen Chao refuted it. Representing Great Liang, he believed that killing one more young demon genius on the desolate northern plains would reduce future pressure on Great Liang. Moreover, his injuries had improved significantly, it would not be easy for the average demon cultivator to kill him. Even if there were many opponents, Chen Chao was confident he could retreat safely with Liang Jinjin.

However, they soon stopped in front of a snowbank. The night was deep, and two groups of cultivators were confronting each other. After watching for a moment, they understood the situation. Coincidentally, this was similar to Liang Jinjin’s previous encounter; both parties had their eyes on the demon corpses on the ground.

But while the previous encounter had ulterior motives, this one was clearly different.

Chen Chao smiled and asked, “Does this look familiar?”

Liang Jinjin frowned and asked with some anger, “Aren’t you going to take action?”

Chen Chao looked puzzled and replied, “Why should I? They haven’t started fighting yet.” ”Maybe the two sides will talk it out and shake hands. Why should we go out there?”

Liang Jinjin could not believe it and asked, ”Is it really that simple?”

Chen Chao did not answer this question. He just raised his hands and placed them behind his head, looking relaxed as he said, ”If our identities get exposed after we step out, and they start shouting to kill me, should I fight back and kill them? But if we let them go and rumors about our relationship spread, how will you explain yourself when you return to Pinecreek Mountain? It’s too much trouble, why didn’t you consider all these?”

Liang Jinjin became hesitant after hearing this but still said, ”What if they’re scared that news will leak and want to silence them? We clearly have the power to save them.”

Chen Chao sighed and gently replied, ”If I weren’t here, would you still rush to help if you were alone? You should know that you could very well lose your life.”

Liang Jinjin remained silent, unsure of what she was thinking.

In the distance, the two groups of cultivators faced off for a long time until suddenly, someone from one side made a move, instantly sparking a battle. Liang Jinjin watched the scene unfold and looked at Chen Chao with a bit of anticipation, saying softly, ”People are going to die.”

Chen Chao also glanced at the distant fight but was not in a hurry to respond.

This trip to the desolate north, as the Lord Warden Commander had mentioned earlier, was a three-way struggle. These cultivators might not be interested in him, but if people with ulterior motives found him later, there would surely be those who wanted to kill him. He hoped that when that time came, Liang Jinjin would not be around, as this woman might become even more disappointed with the world.

Chen Chao had once been incomparably disappointed with the world, only to find hope again. However, he still had no fondness for foreign cultivators, and he really did not want to get involved in such messy affairs.

Liang Jinjin was a bit angered by Chen Chao’s indifference, but soon one of the groups in the fight began to beg for mercy, offering to give up all the demon corpses to stop the battle. Fortunately, the opposing side did not press the issue, and the two groups separated and went their own ways.

This made Liang Jinjin, who had originally intended to intervene no matter what, stand there in a daze, somewhat lost.

Only then did Chen Chao speak, ”Those were just some insignificant demon corpses. Even if they were stolen, it’s not worth killing over. It’s not like their sect would go out of their way to seek revenge over something like this. You probably haven’t been out much, so you don’t understand that the world isn’t always about fighting and killing. The one who started the fight likely acted out of hot-blooded impulsiveness. Once they realized they couldn’t win, of course, they knew to back down.”

“There aren’t that many things in life worth a fight to the death.”

Chen Chao tapped the absent-minded Liang Jinjin with his saber’s scabbard and smiled, ”Let’s go.”

It took a moment for the latter to snap out of it, and then she nodded, deep in thought.

The two continued heading southeast. After only half a day, they crossed a rare snowy mountain and encountered another group of cultivators. These cultivators were surrounded by several demons, and it appeared that several of their comrades had already fallen in battle. The remaining few were all injured, barely holding on.

This time, Liang Jinjin did not hesitate. Without even asking Chen Chao, she used a qi refiner’s technique to form a snowman in the snow and sent it charging into the battlefield.

Chen Chao was at a loss whether to cry or laugh, as the snowman was only slightly taller than a person. Compared to the already deceased senior brothers and sisters of this female qi refiner, her abilities were indeed far inferior.

Even with such meager skills, she dared to intervene and save people, perhaps it was just her naturally kind heart.