Chapter 13: Gu! Jiang! Ming!

I do not know if it is a problem with this world or a problem with 【Mie Changsheng】, but the concept of cultivation in this world has always been very vague.

As of now, Gu Jiangming has already figured out the functions of the three main energy points: "Momentum," "Qi," and "Law."

Momentum is borrowing the great momentum of Heaven and Earth; it is a power borrowed from the outside world, and it is also a type of energy that is relatively close to nature.

Technique formulas like the Thunder Method all require borrowing Momentum to carry out energy conversion.

Qi is a type of power generated within the cultivator's own physical body, just like the martial path Gu Jiangming first practiced in this world; it is similar to the true Qi in heart cultivation methods, but Qi is an existence one level higher than true Qi, far surpassing true Qi in both purity and power.

As for the understanding of Law, Gu Jiangming believes this is the cognition of the Dao. When your cognition of the Dao is more profound, the might of the Law is more powerful; its function is equivalent to amplifying the power of your Esoteric Arts.

The higher your attainment in Law, the more the power of, for example, 【Heavenly Gang Five Thunders】 will be greatly amplified.

From the display of cultivation in 【Mie Changsheng】, his master from Longhu Mountain who taught him technique formulas has three indicators that are relatively balanced, all above those of ordinary cultivators.

But Gu Jiangming's current attainments in "Momentum," "Qi," and "Law" have already far exceeded Zhang Tianze's indicators; from this point of view, his current strength should be above that of Zhang Tianze.

【After Foundation Establishment, you believe that human cultivators have already attained a standard of mastery for "Momentum," "Qi," and "Law," and even have a brand-new cognition of "Momentum," "Qi," and "Law," and that further cultivation is needed for this; you name this stage the "Spirit Cleansing Period," meaning to cleanse the spirit, a brand-new stage for increasing understanding of "Momentum," "Qi," and "Law."】

【And you know yourself that your cognition and understanding of "Momentum," "Qi," and "Law" have already far exceeded the attainments that should be had in the Spirit Cleansing Period.】

In Mie Changsheng, the screen shows that Gu Jiangming's cultivation realm has already reached the 【Spirit Cleansing Period】, but the experience bar here is still full for Gu Jiangming; not only is it full, it has overflowed.

This proves that Gu Jiangming's strength has already far exceeded this stage.

And after Gu Jiangming set the tone for this realm division, Zhang Tianze's cultivation was revealed.

That is right, Zhang Tianze is exactly at the level of 【Spirit Cleansing Period】 Great Perfection, while the other two cultivators who came together, Ma Yang of the Dongyi Ma Family and Mu Qing of the Yunnan Mu Clan, have not even entered the threshold of the 【Spirit Cleansing Period】.

If the 【Spirit Cleansing Period】 can be benchmarked against ordinary Great Demons.

Then the strength of cultivators in this era is too weak.

After all, among Great Demons there is a distinction of noble bloodlines, and above Great Demons there are even more Primordial Great Demons that have survived for over a thousand years; if such demons appear, where could there still be a place for the Human Race to inhabit?

Demons like the paper-clipping demon, which was born due to strange people and strange events, are already enough to give ordinary cultivators a headache.

Therefore, Gu Jiangming can almost determine that there must be some other cultivation method existing here that he does not know about.

While he was deep in thought, he saw a golden numerical value displayed on his character panel.

【Merit: 192】

【You are the "Immortal" of the Shushan Sect revered by the people of Chuanshu; your disciples have gathered an excellent reputation for you in the land of Chuanshu for many years, and they have gone down the mountain to punish evil and promote good, allowing the name of Shushan to be spread far and wide.】

【Some commoners have begun to worship Shushan in some dilapidated temples.】

【Shushan Sect Merit: 1738 (The Merit of Shushan is continuously protecting the disciples under your sect; when they encounter a life-and-death tribulation, the Merit accumulated by the Shushan Sect will be automatically consumed to offset the death tribulation for your disciples.)】

Gu Jiangming can see that the Merit of the Shushan Sect is in a state of sometimes increasing and sometimes declining.

The consumed Merit indicates it is blocking disasters for his disciples, while the rising Merit indicates his disciples are following his instructions to go down the mountain to subdue demons, thereby accumulating corresponding Merit.

And Gu Jiangming checked the source of his own Merit.

Slaying the Baishou Yao directly gained him over a hundred points of Merit, and in his daily life, while teaching his disciples to do good and accumulate virtue at Shushan and often doing some small favors while going down the mountain to search for his wife, this Merit slowly accumulated.

【Hint: You can amplify the might of your offensive spells through Merit; using Merit against those demons with deep sins will have an additional amplification.】

Seeing this hint, Gu Jiangming basically confirmed that his judgment was not wrong; there must be something that human cultivators possess to restrain demons, otherwise, in a situation where the gap in strength between the enemy and himself is so large, how could the Human Race and the Demon Race have an ecologically balanced coexistence effect?

【Hint: The functions of Merit are diverse; it can bless your descendants and protect your disciples. When your Merit is more profound, your descendants will be more outstanding in cultivation talent, and your disciples will be smoother in their cultivation.】

【The Heavenly Gang Five Thunders that you apply Merit to in your Esoteric Arts will produce new technique changes, and its power will be even more astonishing.】

What is meant by "just do good deeds, do not ask about the future"!

Isn't this the karmic reward arriving?

Because this time, opening the gate and establishing the sect, the sect name decided upon was Shushan, Gu Jiangming of course does not want to ruin the status and reputation of Shushan in his mind, so his train of thought is to do his best to be the way he imagines a famous righteous sect should be.

With this Merit value appearing, Gu Jiangming straightened his back even more.

He feels he has more and more trump cards firmly in his grasp.

【Three parts of the world on a moonlit night, two parts of the rogue are in Yangzhou.】

【That night, you followed Zhang Tianze to Yangzhou and found an inn to stay in; in the bustling night view, it seems one cannot see at all the turmoil of the human world being harassed by demon things.】

【You learned from Zhang Tianze's mouth that the government has already tightly sealed such news to avoid a chaotic situation.】

【And basically, those demons with low cultivation also dare not do evil in densely populated places, because the human cultivators living here will not let them act so rampantly.】

【Relatively speaking, some county towns and some villages are instead more troubled, but for the government, such losses are still within an acceptable range.】

【As for those Primordial Great Demons with overly tyrannical strength, it is impossible for them to easily respond to the call of the Hundred Demons Night Parade; they have lived for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, and most have a set of rules for their own actions and cannot be swayed by the will of others.】

【Like the demon that caused the Guanzhong drought last time, it was the Primordial Great Demon Hanba that had survived for ten thousand years.】

【If she had responded to the Hundred Demons Night Parade, she would only need to walk through the human world once to cause the displacement of millions of people.】

【And the Guanzhong drought last time looked more like an accident.】

【Zhang Tianze pondered for a moment and said: "This Hundred Demons Night Parade is being bridged and connected by some Named Great Demons; although they are not as terrifying as Primordial Great Demons, they are not something we can easily fend off."】

【"Gathering the power of a hundred demons is also enough to make Heaven and Earth shake."】

【You learned brand-new secret news from Zhang Tianze's mouth.】

【Primordial Great Demons are more like mythological demons known for their individuality, such as Hanba, Qiongqi, and Baize; they are not a tribe, and the descendants they derive will also become another type of brand-new demon.】

【Named Great Demons are Demon Race like the Nine-Tailed Fox, possessing a massive tribe and capable of being passed down through generations; their ancestors certainly could possess strength rivaling Primordial Great Demons, but passed down generation after generation, the overall trend is sliding downward.】

【The origins of these two types of demons are long-standing, and both can be traced back to the ancient era.】

【And now many new demons have been born; these demons do not exist in the long river of history, but are more like demon-strange things that exist alongside the Human Race like Inner Demons.】

【In the inn, you heard some news from the mouths of the guests inside, saying that recently many places in Yangzhou have been haunted for no reason; this is truly too evil.】

【You bought a few jars of fine wine from the shopkeeper and put them in your gourd.】

【"Brother Gu truly cannot keep his hands off fine wine!" Ma Yang said with a sigh after seeing this, "Come, come, let you and I drink together; I do not know if we can walk out of this Yangzhou alive."】

【Speaking the last sentence, his voice gradually lowered.】

【The urgent pressure brought by demons and evil entering the world is somewhat suffocating for ordinary cultivators like them.】

【Being human, one has the psychology of fearing death.】

【Especially for cultivators who have attained the Dao, they understand death, and therefore fear it all the more.】

【You rested for a night, and the next day, Zhang Tianze took you to search for strange and suspicious places in Yangzhou.】

【Your Qimen Imperial Sword Technique and the family-inherited sword art Zhetianbir produced an excellent synergistic reaction.】

【You can use the Sword Control Technique to cast the sword art Zhetianbir in a long-range manner.】

【Zhetianbir, operated using 'Momentum', 'Qi', and 'Method', is even more powerful than it was in the past.】

【In the end, Zhang Tianze's footsteps stopped at a tailor shop that made burial clothes and paper effigies for others.】

【"I sensed demon aura here using my arts." Zhang Tianze took out an instrument resembling a compass.】

【This object is named the Demon-Pointing Needle.】

A prompt popped up on Gu Jiangming's screen.

【Demon-Pointing Needle: Can indicate the exact location of a demon through Demon Power.】

【You followed Zhang Tianze into this shop and truly found the place to be quite chilly; neatly arranged paper effigies were placed in the courtyard, and although they had no eyes dotted on them, they gave off a feeling of being secretly watched.】

【A young man with a pale complexion walked out, "Do you have a funeral in your family? Are you looking to buy suitable burial clothes, or take a few paper effigies back to burn?"】

【As he spoke, he revealed an inappropriate smile.】

【"It is a demon." Mu Qing suddenly spoke with certainty, and Zhang Tianze immediately pointed both hands toward the sky, unfolding his arts in a muffled voice.】

【A manifestation resembling a barrier shrouded the courtyard.】

【The next second, the sound of bells rang out, ding-a-ling, against the cold wind.】

【The few paper effigies lying flat in the courtyard all suddenly rose, staring ahead with murderous intent.】

【"That is the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics." Ma Yang's expression shifted slightly; when seeing fellow cultivators lying on the ground turned into paper effigies, it is hard for anyone to keep their emotions stable.】

【Especially when those people's cultivation levels were not lower than his own.】

【And what was even more terrifying was that after these people turned into paper effigies, they could use Demon Power to drive their own Esoteric Arts, and as a result, the power was far greater than before.】

【The Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics also have paper-clipping assistance; as such, the strength the opponent has placed on the table already far exceeds their own side, and even with the help of a Celestial Master from Longhu Mountain, it is feared that it will be difficult to survive this tribulation.】

【The best-case scenario at present might just be that Zhang Tianze has a secret method to escape.】

【At this moment, Ma Yang heard the sound of someone drinking alcohol.】

【Having fallen into such a dangerous situation, how could there still be someone who could leisurely drink and make merry here?】

【Ma Yang's heart sank into a state of utter despair.】

【He looked toward Gu Jiangming behind him, who was still reaching out to wipe wine stains from the corner of his mouth, and saw a scene he would never forget.】

【He saw him raise his hand.】

【He whispered softly—Heavenly Gang Five Thunders.】

【Light shining like the tips of fingers bloomed dazzlingly from his palm, and a strike of arts fully charged with thunderous power pierced straight ahead.】

【The paper effigies transformed from the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics were swallowed by the thunder, the barrier released by Zhang Tianze trembled because of it, and a hole of unfathomable depth appeared directly behind the wall.】

【A heaven-shaking Momentum surged from Gu Jiangming's body straight into the clouds, and dazzling golden light condensed between his brows.】

【From this moment on, you suddenly remembered Shushan deeply, and remembered Gu Jiangming.】

【And at this moment, even Zhang Tianze was so surprised by this terrifying Thunder Method that his mouth opened slightly.】

【Watching everything from behind, Mu Qing, who was ready to leave at any time using an escape secret method, also widened her eyes in disbelief.】

【Behind her veil, she felt the unfathomable Momentum, the elusive Qi, and the awe-inspiring Method coming from Gu Jiangming.】

【Suddenly, he turned his head, and those eyes enhanced by the Cave Heaven Eye seemed to see through everything, making Mu Qing, who was staring fixedly at his eyes, suddenly feel a heat.】

At the same time.

Jiu Jiu, who was operating her character to leave the valley to find Gu Jiangming, smelled that momentum surging straight into the clouds.

This kind of momentum, Jiu Jiu had only felt once before when she first went up to Longhu Mountain, facing the pressure from the Old Celestial Master that felt like a mountain pressing down on her head.

And this time, in this astonishing air pressure, Jiu Jiu smelled an incomparably familiar aura.

It was an aura she could not forget.

Gu! Jiang! Ming!

Seeking recommendation votes! Seeking monthly votes!

(End of this chapter)