The Scum Is Battered

Don't kill me off. Let's go back to one hour earlier –

Dongxin Town, one hour earlier.

"Let's first rest." Ming Ye said, panting. They just finished killing off the strange corpses. Even if they looked like they were in their prime age, who would say they are still young when they're at the level of Immortalization Stage? So, they are older than what they looked like. Their age won't be disclosed, though.

"Yes. Yuan-er. Find us a place to rest." Luo Shi told Wu Yuan. Like Chen Jing, Chen Han doesn't want to be the sect leader of the Youxiwang Sect. Thus, the next sect leader will be from the Wu family again – Wu Yuan.

"Yes." Wu Yuan said and checked the houses.

"The demonic qi dissipated." Cheng Sheng said as he looked at the Cleansing Talisman in his hand.

Hearing this, they all sighed in relief. They are more tired of fighting since they can't use their qi. Thus, Ming Ye and Luo Shi were the ones who were the most tired. They also can't keep up with the youngsters. Hehe.

Cheng Sheng sheathed his sword. Despite he was only at the fifth level of Qi Condensation Stage, he is one of the best fighters right now. His skills with the sword are on par with Wu Yuan and Sun Yi. He even bested Chen Han. Right now, he is protecting Li Tian who is average in martial arts.

They entered a house and let themselves take a break. "I'll guard." Cheng Sheng said. There's not much to guard since the strange corpses were gone. However, it was after a time when he sensed something strange. He took out his Cleansing Talisman and, as he suspected, there was a demonic qi present in the air. "Tch." He clicked his tongue and watched the talisman burn. Then, he felt the skin on his chest sting. He felt his clothes take out the sachet where the crushed jade talismans were and turn it into a powder. Then, he noticed that the demonic qi didn't dare come near it and made a turn in the air. He felt his brain became clearer. He noticed he had become muddled earlier. He turned and looked at the others. Then, he saw Li Tian's face looked dazed.

He made a decision –

Xinfaxian.

"You set up a Teleportation Array outside the house where we stayed?" Cheng Sheng asked in the air. When no one answered, he chuckled. The strange corpses slowly appeared when they heard his voice. However, Cheng Sheng didn't panic. He raised his hand in the air. From the heart of the north mountain, a small object flew and landed on Cheng Sheng's palm. Cheng Sheng watched as the strange corpses gathered, running towards him. Then, as they were only a meter away from him, he played his short panpipe. He personally made it for his own use.

But, what should be a beautiful melody became a shrill tune coming out from the instrument. The strange corpses stopped growling and they covered their ears, groaning as if in pain. Cheng Sheng continued to play until the corpses were on their knees. Then, he stopped. He immediately cut down their head. This is effortless since his martial arts skill is one of the best. However, he needed to keep himself away from the demonic qi. This made this difficult. Just as he was about to cut the head of the last corpse, the corpse suddenly moved. It swung its arm, trying to reach Cheng Sheng.

Cheng Sheng's eyes went wide and he gasped. "Shit – " he cursed as he jumped back. However, his foot hit a fallen pot and he stumbled. He stared, his eyes wide as the claw of the corpse reached his face. Cheng Sheng's sleeves fluttered, and then something flew in the air coming from his sleeves. They were specks of white powder. They stuck on his sleeves earlier. The white powder scattered and corroded the corpse's skin. The corpse screamed in pain as it held its corroding hand and backed away from him. "What?!" he exclaimed as he fell on his back. A sudden realization hit him. "Pure qi…" he muttered.

"So you noticed." A man's voice said. "As expected of a prodigy."

Cheng Sheng turned and saw a tall man emerge from the darkness. Suddenly, an indigo glare came from the darkness and hit the corpse. The corpse's head was cut. "Who are you?" Cheng Sheng asked as he stood on his feet. He patted off his robes.

"Who am I doesn't matter." The man said. "I need you to come with me." He told him.

Cheng Sheng can only see the hem of the man's black robes. "Black robes… a demonic cultivator!" he exclaimed.

"Why are you all associating the black color with demonic cultivators?!" the man said, a frown in his voice.

"Are you the one who arranged all these?" Cheng Sheng asked.

"Would I help you if I did?" the man asked.

"You might be playing the hero saves the beauty act." Cheng Sheng said.

"Please, you're not even as beautiful as my lover." The man said.

Cheng Sheng gasped. "You're spoiling us that you have a lover this early in the story!?" he exclaimed.

"Enough." The man said. Cheng Sheng shut up. "Come with me." He said.

"That sounds ambiguous – " Cheng Sheng said.

"I really need to watch my phrasing. Go with me." The man said.

"No." Cheng Sheng said.

"Are you acting out the justice of the hero right now? Won't be bought by a villain?" the man said. "I don't buy it."

"I'm not selling anything yet." Cheng Sheng said.

The man sighed and took out his sword. "Let's talk through our fists." He said.

"Uhm, we're using our swords?" Cheng Sheng said, then drew his sword and blocked the man's attack. As he expected, he isn't the man's opponent. He was forced to his knees, and the ground under his knees cracked from the man's force. He coughed out blood.

"You should've known." The man said as he pressured Cheng Sheng of his aura. The man is at the peak of the Immortalization Stage. "Even if you borrowed the music's power, you still have to use that sliver power within your body to make the corpses muddled." He explained. "You won't win against me." He said and kicked Cheng Sheng in the chest.

"Puh!" Cheng Sheng spat out blood as he flew in the air and landed on the ground on his back. The back of his head hit the ground and he cried in pain. He felt like all of his bones were broken and crushed like the jade talisman. Speaking of –

The man saw a speck of the powdered jade talisman floating in the air and he pinched it. "Pure qi." He said. "But a fake one." He said.

"What?" Cheng Sheng asked, his voice rough. He can't move his body. He felt like he had been stepped on by a raging elephant.

The man's body turned to Cheng Sheng. Cheng Sheng still can't see the man's face because it is dark and the man's voice is unfamiliar. "This positive qi you have learned is nature's qi." The man said. "This qi is from the cultivator's aura." He said and rubbed the powdered jade in his fingers. "Have you heard of the modified qi?" he asked Cheng Sheng.

"Modified… qi?" he asked and slowly sat up.

The man nodded. "In the beginning, there is only nature's qi." He said. "This demonic qi – " he turned to Cheng Sheng. " - is a modified qi." He said.

"That's not… what… sect leader Wu…" Cheng Sheng said and groaned in pain when he heard his bones crack. His muscles felt sore.

"Ah. Wu Fan." The man said, his tone bleak. "What do they know?" the man said and walked towards Cheng Sheng. "There's only one qi. All the qi that you know originated in one qi – the nature." He said and squatted down Cheng Sheng. He saw a white jade talisman and a white tassel on the man's waist. "In the beginning, nature has its own consciousness. The plants, the animals, the mountains, the river – " he said. "They also cultivated and finally created a spiritual body to match their spiritual consciousness. Then, they interacted with each other. However, some cannot leave their domain while some can freely roam. For example, the animals. They can freely move since they don't need a spiritual body and they have their own body instead to use. They also have their own consciousness, unlike the plants and the river." He explained. "And so, the plants, the rivers, and the mountains began to envy the animals. They resented this unfairness. Their resentment grew when the humans inhabited the land." He said. "The humans, like the animals, also have their own consciousness and can leave their domain. The plants and the rivers and the mountains can't leave their domain since they are bound. And so, they had their heart demon, and the demonic qi was created." He looked at Cheng Sheng who was starting to fall asleep. "Listen. This is where Wu Fan's dark fairytale entered." He sighed when Cheng Sheng just closed his eyes. "I'll tell you something interesting, genius." He said. When he saw Cheng Sheng opened his eyes, he smiled. "If what I said was true, then where did the spirit of the river, mountain, and the plants go?" he asked.

"They were still where they are." Cheng Sheng answered. "They can't leave their domain since they are bound. Only, they became stronger. Thus, they started to emit qi that was used by the cultivators." He explained and looked at the qi from the mountains floating in the air and gathered. Then, they rushed toward his battered body.

"Bingo." The man said and looked at Cheng Sheng, amused. He watched as the qi entered Cheng Sheng's body.

Cheng Sheng's eyes went wide and he spat out a mouthful of blood when he felt a surge of heat in his dantian. His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth when he felt his bones cracking and the qi repaired them. His muscles contracted. Cheng Sheng screamed and his body arched on the ground.

The man chuckled as he stepped back, watching Cheng Sheng writhing in pain as the qi reformed his body. "What… did… you do - ?" Cheng Sheng asked as his nails dug on the ground. Cheng Sheng is like he's gonna die. This is fine – he thought. I can go to the next world –

The man laughed. "I didn't do anything." He said. "Do you know?" he leaned down to Cheng Sheng. "One way to cultivate… is to open up your spiritual and mental awareness, hm?" he said and walked away as more qi gathered around Cheng Sheng's body.

"AAAAAHHH!!!!" Cheng Sheng screamed as he floated in the air by the qi.

"Jiayou!" the man called out as the strange corpses appeared. "Don't die now." He smiled as he swung his sword, killing the corpses while Cheng Sheng curled up his body in pain while the qi reformed it.