Chapter 8: Old Lu, Please Listen to the Question! (Thanks to cklyt, the alliance leader!)

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[Year one, you stared at the text of the Soul Searching Technique like it was a Heavenly Book, fully aware of your rare comprehension ability, you could only sigh.]

[Year eleven, you gazed intently at the cultivation technique, suddenly a light seemed to illuminate in your heart.]

[You had an epiphany, so that was it, the Soul Searching Technique wasn't a Heavenly Book. If you wanted to master this secret technique, you only needed to do this and that…]

[Soul Searching Technique. Dark Rank Lower (Entry-level)]

[Year forty-five, you attempted to make greater progress in the Soul Searching Technique, but your talent continuously hindered your ambition; the complexity of the Soul Searching Technique far exceeded your imagination.]

[Year five hundred twenty-eight, you racked your brains, yet still couldn't figure out how to advance the cultivation of the Soul Searching Technique any further.]

[You began to doubt life, feeling this secret technique must be some boring trick of a boring person. Such an evil technique wouldn't be worth cultivating! But at this moment, you remembered the woman who haunted your dreams, and suddenly, there was a new understanding in your heart.]

[Soul Searching Technique. Dark Rank Lower (Small Accomplishment)]

[Year one thousand four hundred fifty, you were exhausted and helpless as you looked at the Soul Searching Technique secret manual in your hands, feeling that even reaching Small Accomplishment was already your limit.]

[Year two thousand three hundred forty-three, with a head full of white hair, looking like a beggar, you sat in the wilderness deep in thought, trying to grasp that glimmer in your mind.]

[Your life was nearing its end, but your heart seemed to have comprehended something.]

[Soul Searching Technique. Dark Rank Lower (Great Success)]

[Time left in Refining Time: Nine hundred ninety-nine years]

…

"Phew…"

Ning Daoran took a deep breath, his mind still very chaotic, like having undergone a brain storm, and the understanding and comprehension of the Soul Searching Technique still needed to be digested.

But he knew now wasn't the time to digest. Should someone find Old Lu's corpse, it would put him in danger.

"Soul Search!"

He immediately performed the Soul Searching Technique on Old Lu's corpse. Driven by powerful mana, spiritual power surged, forcibly capturing Old Lu's soul from his body!

"Uh…"

The soul of Old Lu, with eyes rolled back, still looked somewhat bewildered, unaware of what had just happened.

"Hehe…"

Ning Daoran smiled slightly.

"You… you…"

Enraged, Old Lu flailed about, struggling: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Soul Searching Technique that I haven't managed to learn in half a lifetime of cultivation, how did you master it instantly?"

"Enough of your nonsense, don't worry about the affairs of a genius!"

Ning Daoran didn't bother with his nonsense; he soul searched Old Lu right away, instantly uncovering the secrets of Old Lu's lair's location!

In an instant, he stopped the Soul Searching Technique, produced a fireball, and turned Old Lu's body into a pile of ash. With a flick of his hand, a strong gust of mana wind blew away Old Lu's ashes.

…

"Hmm…"

Ning Daoran first took Big Stupid Deer and left the area, then thought it over and decided to return to Yellow Dragon Square once more to plunder Old Lu's lair, to avoid the risks of a long night.

After all, the network related to robbery cultivation was quite dense, and mostly involved not-so-good people.

He quickly descended the mountain but didn't take the same path. Under Ning Daoran's lead, the two took a roundabout route and appeared on the other side of the Yellow Dragon Square, then entered a narrow alley.

After dispelling three disguises with his mana, a rotten door appeared ahead.

Pushing the door open, the inside was surprisingly spacious and clean. This place was Old Lu's residence. According to the memories obtained from the Soul Searching Technique, Ning Daoran easily found a small pile of Spirit Stones and some Spirit Herbs stored by Old Lu.

This was all the possessions of Old Lu, who was at the Mid-stage of Qi Refining in robbery cultivation. Of course, actually, the most valuable thing on Old Lu was the green small sword, a genuine First-tier Middle-grade Magic Artifact, tragic that it got shattered during the fight.

However, there were a total of seventy-three Spirit Stones on old Lu, which was already enough.

Ning Daoran somewhat lamented; indeed, no horse gets fat without nights, he had earned so many Spirit Stones in one go, far exceeding the income he made from harvesting Spirit Rice in the mountains!

Of course, this kind of thing was also risky; it was better to avoid such encounters if possible.

Ning Daoran quickly left with Big Stupid Deer, turning back into Yellow Dragon Square.

He suddenly had a whim and turned into a shop selling Spiritual Medicines, but he didn't buy Spiritual Medicines, just some seeds of Spirit Herbs such as Yan Ling Grass, Spirit Stream Grass, Blood Transformation Ginseng, and other low-level Spiritual Medicines, spending over twenty Spirit Stones in total.

…

After this tiresome ordeal, by the time they returned to Chaotic Sect, it was already dark.

In the early spring season, the mountain wind was cold, the sides were still snowy, the forest quiet, only the sound of flowing water in the mountain stream was endless.

"Ow?"

Suddenly, Big Stupid Deer halted, its large deer eyes looking into the distance.

"What is it, Old Lu?"

Ning Daoran crouched down, looking in the direction Big Stupid Deer was looking: "Is there something?"

"Ow!"

Big Stupid Deer sniffed, then nodded heartily and strode forward; Ning Daoran hurriedly followed.

"This doesn't feel right."

Ning Daoran suddenly felt a surge in his heart, a Flame power spreading continuously ahead. The stream sides were supposed to have snow and un-melted ice, but the ice and snow here had already completely melted.

A few steps further, they saw a person lying in the stream.

It was a young man, and he was wearing a white vestment robe of the Chaotic Sect, with red borders embroidered finely on the edges. Even the robe itself was a Magic Artifact with certain protective and Spirit Gathering effects.

He was gravely injured, a greenish wound on his chest likely poisoned, and his whole body seemed to be entangled with a sinister aura.

If not saved, he might die.

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However, Ning Daoran had a fleeting thought to strip off the vestment robe and leave unnoticed, a thought both despicable and shameful, yet realistic and logical.

"Ao~~~"

Big Stupid Deer called out softly, wanting to save this person.

Ning Daoran's brow furrowed, caught in a moral dilemma.

The first rule of survival in the Cultivation World: reduce the involvement in karma as much as possible for a longer life; logically, he should have avoided the situation entirely.

But now that he was here, forget it, let's make an exception this time!

He immediately stepped forward, pulling the young disciple out of the frigid stream.

Upon contact, he was shocked; the young disciple's body was as hot as a burning coal, unbearably hot! Left with no choice, Ning Daoran had to use the mana from the Third Layer of Qi Refining to cope.

…

After entering the Sect, Ning Daoran handed the injured disciple over to an Outer Sect deacon and then returned to the Spiritual Field with Big Stupid Deer, a bit of karma already attached to him, needing to be even more discreet moving forward.

Spiritual Field Courtyard, No. 77.

"Old Lu, it's class time!"

The moment he stepped into the Small Cloud Mist Array, Ning Daoran felt uneasy and immediately decided to teach Big Stupid Deer a lesson.

For the path of longevity in cultivation, for the well-being of the duo, this lesson was necessary!

With a "clap," a homemade blackboard was set up in the courtyard by Ning Daoran.

"Ao~~~"

Big Stupid Deer sat attentively, pulling up a stool and sitting upright like a student.

"Hmph!"

Ning Daoran, a bit irritated, used a homemade charcoal pencil to expertly draw a circle on the blackboard.

"Old Lu, listen to the question!"

"Ao~~~"

Big Stupid Deer straightened even more!

"Please answer!"

Ning Daoran lightly tapped the circle on the blackboard and said, "If you see a frail woman lying on the roadside, barely alive, do you save her or not?"

"Ao!"

Old Lu replied loudly, of course he would save her!

"Wrong!"

The answer was immediately denied.

"Listen, Old Lu!"

Ning Daoran said, "Saving this woman isn't wrong, but what if she harbors a deep hatred and seeks revenge after learning skills once she's recovered?

The enemy indeed deserves to die, but she will also kill his wife and children, who are just about to enroll in school, cutting off promising young lives. Can you truly say you made the right choice? Are you not involved in the deaths of those two children?"

"Ao…"

Big Stupid Deer's spirit visibly faltered.

Ning Daoran slightly raised his eyebrows: "I told you before, never easily get involved in others' karma, because every person you save entangles you in myriad incidents, both good and bad. How can you be sure it won't affect your own path?"

"Ao~~"

Big Stupid Deer straightened up, letting out a clear response, it understood and from now on, it would follow Big Brother's advice!

After class, Ning Daoran collapsed into a chair, lost in thought.

He began to replay all of today's events; he had gone out to sell Spirit Rice and buy seeds very discreetly, yet somehow, he had still attracted trouble.

Fortunately, during the Soul Searching process, he learned Old Lu's life story; Old Lu had no friends in the Cultivation World and belonged to those who took risks as their life neared its end. The Liuxi Square boss was only in the Early Stage of Qi Refining and was unlikely to seek revenge.

What's done was done, there likely won't be any repercussions this time.

Although Liuxi Square's boss clearly marked a boundary with robbery cultivation… forget it, just note it down for now; there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

As for saving the Inner Sect disciple, that would still need to be assessed as the situation unfolds.

In any case, he had to keep an even lower profile in the Sect moving forward, making his and Old Lu's presence less noticeable!

…

The next day, it was spring and flowers were blooming.

Pretending as if nothing had happened, the duo resumed their joyful life.

Spiritual Field No. 77 naturally needed tending—loosening the soil, weeding, etc. Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer, now experts, even progressed to the Second Layer of Rain Transformation Technique and started using it to nourish the growth of the crops.

In the evening, as Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer played around on the ridges of the field, a figure appeared; Old Lu was back.

"Fellow Taoist Ning, looking good!"

Ning Daoran turned to greet him: "Fellow Taoist Lu, have you returned from exploring the Secret Realm?"

"Yes, I'm back!"

Old Lu beamed, sliding a purple small knife from his sleeve, smiling, "After cooperating with a few fellow Taoists and spending several months, we finally broke the prohibition left by that deceased cultivator, and I got a First-tier Lower Grade Magical Artifact; certainly not a wasted trip."

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

Ning Daoran's face was full of radiant smiles, but inside, he was green with envy; having seen the power of that green small sword, he was extremely eager to possess a Magic Artifact!

However, if anyone else invited him to a Secret Realm, he would naturally decline; the risks were too high, totally unnecessary!

He just needed to quietly cultivate his Spirit Rice; time was on his side.