No Money to Cultivate Immortality? - Chapter 819 (Patreon)

Chapter 819: Starring Zhang Yu And Taizhen

The Labyrinth Realm Factory Zone.

Inside the Corpse Recovery Station, or rather, the original Spirit-Soothing Garden.

The several reeking mountains of corpses that had once stood there had already vanished completely. Every corpse, whether rotten, shattered, or damaged, had now been buried by Zhang Yu beneath the Steles Forest, becoming part of the artificial spirit vein and bringing an ever-denser flow of spiritual essence to the entire area.

Part of this spiritual essence passed through the grotto-heaven bridge and, along with the breathing machines’ inhalations and exhalations, poured into Zhang Yu’s immortal grotto-heaven.

At this moment, Zhang Yu’s immortal grotto-heaven was already covered in bloodstains and unknown fluids.

During the process of restarting the artificial spirit vein, large numbers of berserk corpse parts had swarmed toward him, and he had taken them into his immortal grotto-heaven to suppress them.

Throughout this suppression, Zhang Yu had also continuously gathered in the grotto-heaven power contained within these berserk corpse parts.

Each time he extracted grotto-heaven power, it seemed to add another layer to the foundation of the immortal grotto-heaven, expanding this space higher and wider. By now… its length, width, and height had all broken past five hundred meters.

Only, with all kinds of corpse parts piled up inside, Zhang Yu’s immortal grotto-heaven instead felt less empty and appeared extraordinarily lively.

Among the many corpse parts, the most eye-catching and also the most massive one was naturally the breathing-machine production line named the Hundred-Husk Furnace Lord.

Especially as one corpse part after another of the same type was loaded into it, its body expanded again and again, until it stood in one corner of the immortal grotto-heaven like a small mountain.

But it was precisely because of those same-type corpse parts being loaded that Zhang Yu gathered all the traits for the Hundred-Husk Furnace Lord.

Hundred Forms of the Furnace (8/8): Corpse-part decomposition efficiency increased by 100%; corpse-part reforging efficiency increased by 100%.

Hundred Forms of the Furnace (10/10): Extremely small chance of producing a Void Refinement-level breathing machine.

There was no need to say much about the second-layer special effect. Zhang Yu tested it and discovered that the Hundred-Husk Furnace Lord’s recycling efficiency had increased by quite a bit. With the same number of defective corpse parts, it could produce more breathing machines after recycling them.

The third-layer special effect gave Zhang Yu an even greater surprise.

“A Void Refinement-level breathing machine?”

After this period of subduing corpse parts and expanding his grotto-heaven, Zhang Yu had gained more and more experience in constructing his immortal grotto-heaven, and he had realized one thing…

“If I want to build things, energy is the foundation.”

Were he not worried about being discovered, Zhang Yu really wanted to drag a mana circuit and a spiritual essence circuit from the dorm into his own grotto-heaven, then steal and transport the sect’s spiritual essence and mana like crazy.

“I need breathing machines in sufficient quantity and quality, constantly drawing spiritual essence from the outside world, to keep providing energy for the entire immortal grotto-heaven.”

“Only then, whether I’m using production lines to manufacture things or fighting… will I get twice the result with half the effort.”

Aside from the Hundred-Husk Furnace Lord, during the process of subduing corpse parts, Zhang Yu had also assembled another breathing-machine production line, as well as a production line for mana circuits. Only, because energy was currently insufficient, they were still dormant.

Zhang Yu planned to wait until the spiritual essence was more abundant, then activate the breathing-machine production line among them and have it produce breathing machines together with the Hundred-Husk Furnace Lord, further increasing the spiritual essence inside the immortal grotto-heaven.

Aside from these three production lines, Zhang Yu had also taken control of two sets of combat-use corpse parts.

One set was the Sorting Demon, which he had already finished subduing before. It looked like a dark cloud formed from countless tentacles and possessed the Work Injury Curse trait.

The other set was the Light Cannon Array Dragon, which he had newly collected after careful selection.

There were a small number of production lines in the Factory Zone that produced combat artifacts.

After one of these production lines went berserk, it fused with the weapons it produced and then transformed into a combat corpse part. This was the Light Cannon Array Dragon.

On the flesh-and-blood production line that resembled a giant dragon, cannon barrels emitting dark red light surfaced one after another, releasing Divine Transformation-level power fluctuations.

Ever since the Labyrinth Realm formed, the light cannon production line, which no longer had any buyers, had been driven by its instinctive craving to produce and destroy. It had transformed into a flesh-and-blood dragon carrying eighteen light cannons, destroying its surroundings while producing new light cannons.

As for the Light Cannon Array Dragon’s trait, it was an ability called Bloodfiend Divine Light.

Bloodfiend Divine Light (6/6): Allows Bloodfiend Divine Light Cannons to completely decompose flesh and blood, making it difficult for targets to regenerate and heal themselves.

Bloodfiend Divine Light (8/8): Allows Bloodfiend Divine Light Cannons to corrode the primordial spirit, with the corrosive effect being difficult to dispel.

After a brief test, Zhang Yu knew this was a powerful weapon capable of threatening Divine Transformation cultivators, and even one that had a special attack effect against the primordial spirit.

And if there were enough energy, materials, and time, under Zhang Yu’s control, this Light Cannon Array Dragon could even produce new Bloodfiend Divine Light Cannons.

Aside from the corpse parts above, which Zhang Yu had subdued and put to use, the remaining corpse parts were temporarily being stored inside the immortal grotto-heaven as reserve supplies. Because there were too many of them, he had not had time to sort them yet, so they were piled up in somewhat chaotic fashion.

Only, Zhang Yu currently had no energy to bother with these things anymore. His gaze turned grave as he looked ahead, at a corpse, sensing the surging grotto-heaven power coming from the other party.

Zhang Yu knew this was the next predecessor’s corpse he had been searching for all this time.

But unlike in the past, after this predecessor’s corpse was taken into his grotto-heaven, it did not immediately complete its liberation and release its memory dream and grotto-heaven power.

Zhang Yu looked at the other party and said, “You… are awake?”

The other party nodded, looked at Zhang Yu, and said, “Ying Xintian told me he would choose an heir to inherit him, and inherit the ideals of the righteous path.”

“So… after sensing your arrival, I wanted to see for myself whether he had chosen the wrong heir.”

Zhang Yu asked, “So you deliberately led us here? Is this supposed to be a test?”

That true spirit snorted coldly and said, “That has nothing to do with me. It was merely Ying Xintian acting on his own, trying to introduce you to a few traitors, delusionally attempting to rely on the power of those demonic path elements to transform Kunxu.”

“What nonsense.”

As he spoke, the true spirit stepped forward and had already pointed a finger toward Zhang Yu.

“Now, this is my method.”

“I don’t care who you were before, who you were in the past, or what thoughts you have in your heart.”

“At this moment, inherit my will. Inherit the will of the righteous path. Resolve to exterminate all demonic paths under heaven…”

“If you can inherit these, it proves he did not choose the wrong person.”

“If you cannot, then die.”

…

When Zhang Yu came back to himself, what lay before him was a pitch-black prison with no visible bottom.

Zhang Yu felt that he could not see, could not hear, and had lost all perception of the outside world.

At the same time, his mana, his primordial spirit… all Immortal Dao power within his body had been completely sealed, leaving only dead silence.

“Who locked me up?”

“With such tight imprisonment, what exactly did I do?”

“I… I am…”

“I am… Myriad Laws Sect… Li Feng…”

At the same time, looking at Zhang Yu, or rather Li Feng, who was completely imprisoned within this memory dream, Fu Ji said, “Whoa. This time’s little movie is starring Zhang Yu himself?”

Zhanxian said, “Zhang Yu’s consciousness was dragged into the dream, and he is participating in this dream as the protagonist. It seems the owner of this dream wants to use his own memories to influence Zhang Yu and turn Zhang Yu into another version of himself.”

The Exam Sect clone burst out laughing. “Hahahaha, if he fails, does that mean we should all suppress him together? Then jointly take control of this body?”

Desolate Ox said, “If Zhang Yu changes, but changes into a better version of himself, I don’t mind continuing to assist him.”

Having experience with collective consciousness, Desolate Ox viewed this very calmly. “So-called intelligent beings are creatures that continuously receive external information and are changed by it step by step.”

“Whether one is changed bit by bit over several years or several decades of life experience, or forcibly changed all at once by a large number of memories, there is no fundamental difference.”

Desolate Ox said calmly, “The key… lies in what exactly he is changed into.”

With Zhang Yu absent, Fu Ji no longer had any intention of pretending to be friendly with these wills.

She only snorted and spoke in the tone of a senior veteran. “Based on my experience observing Zhang Yu up close from a third-party perspective over the past ten-plus years, he is not someone who can be changed that easily.”

…

Kunxu, within some unknown upper level.

Along with a soft sound of surprise, a woman’s voice rang out. “Li Feng? It’s actually him? How could it be him? Would this person help Senior Brother?”

“This guy wants to brainwash someone and turn the heir Senior Brother chose into someone just like him?”

Another voice, that of a young man, rang out. “If he can be brainwashed so easily, then it means this person is not worth our investment either.”

“Keep watching.”

“Let’s see, after he experiences everything Li Feng experienced… what choice he will make.”

“And whether he can truly bear the responsibility Senior Brother wants to entrust to him.”

…

On the other side, Zhang Yu, or rather Li Feng, remained within that endless darkness and dead silence. He did not know how long he had stayed there before finally, a voice entered his ears.

“Junior Brother, righteous use of the demonic path has already begun. I need your help.”

Hearing this, Li Feng trembled violently. Then a surge of wild fury rushed into his heart. “Ying Xintian! You people harmed your fellow sect members, fell into the demonic path, and you still have the face to come see me?!”

“Kill me, then. Just like you killed my master.”

The master he spoke of was Ying Xintian’s junior martial uncle.

Listening to Li Feng’s bursts of furious cursing, Ying Xintian sighed and said, “Junior Brother, since you are so angry and so worried that Myriad Laws Sect will fall into the demonic path, then you should understand… once the reform of righteous use of the demonic path begins, there will inevitably be people who cross the line.”

“For example, now that the sect has begun researching and using demonic path artifacts, Master and I are worried that during this process, some people will be unable to resist the temptation of demonic path technology. They will not only research and use it… they may even treat mortals as materials.”

…

Watching this conversation between the two, Zhanxian sighed and said, “Righteous use of the demonic path means applying demonic path technology through the methods and ideals of the righteous path.”

“For example, demonic path artifacts can be used, and demonic path cultivation techniques can be studied, but human souls cannot be collected, people cannot be eaten, and blood sacrifices cannot be carried out for the sake of advancing demonic path technology.”

Zhanxian lamented, “But the boundary in this is far too difficult to draw.”

Fu Ji curled her lip and thought, “What is there to draw? Doing this is purely putting shackles on yourself.”

The Exam Sect clone said, “Although my Myriad Laws Sect took a detour in history, in the end, it was still victorious. It still succeeded.”

…

Listening to Ying Xintian speak, Li Feng sneered and said, “Master told you long ago that once you changed, there would be no going back. Once you studied demonic path artifacts and operated demonic path cultivation techniques, did you think no one would do demonic path deeds?”

“There will definitely be people who, for convenience and for profit, eat people, perform blood sacrifices, extract souls…”

“This is how the bottom line is broken through, step by step!”

Ying Xintian said, “Then are we supposed to give up eating for fear of choking? If someone can use a knife to kill, should we gather up all knives under heaven?”

“The world needs the knife that is the demonic path. If someone uses this knife to kill people or perform blood sacrifices, then whoever commits the wrong should be punished, instead of thinking to remove every knife under heaven.”

Li Feng said coldly, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Just then, a woman’s figure appeared before Li Feng.

She said, “Junior Brother, we want to release you and have you monitor the inside and outside of Myriad Laws Sect together with me. Watch who crosses the line, and who uses demonic path technology to run wild.”

“Yun Taizhen…” Li Feng looked at the woman before him, seemingly a little surprised. But when he heard the second half of her words, he immediately swallowed the words “shameless couple” that had just reached his lips and said, “You want me to help you supervise everyone?”

Yun Taizhen said, “If demonic path technology is to be used with the ideals of the righteous path, naturally rules and systems must be established to prevent people from abusing demonic path technology and prevent those within the sect from becoming overly demonized.”

“If someone can use a knife to kill, what must be done is not to gather up all knives under heaven, but to establish laws and systems, take charge of punishments, and restrain those who wield the knife.”

Yun Taizhen looked at Li Feng and said, “Junior Brother Li, you have always followed Junior Martial Uncle and have always been irreconcilable with the demonic path. In our view… in the coming tide of righteous use of the demonic path, you are the most suitable person to monitor the sect inside and out.”

Li Feng said coldly, “Does this ‘inside and out’ include you?”

Yun Taizhen’s expression turned solemn as she said seriously, “Junior Brother Li, from the outer sect all the way up to the sect master, everyone is within your scope of monitoring.”

Seeing that Li Feng remained silent, Yun Taizhen continued, “Do you not want to see the result of righteous use of the demonic path?”

“If you truly inherited Junior Martial Uncle’s last wish, do you not want to contribute to righteous use of the demonic path and prevent all of Myriad Laws Sect from thoroughly stepping into the demonic path?”

“Or are you only willing to sit here wallowing in self-pity?”

In the end, Li Feng still left the prison and saw the light of day once more. Under the shocked, astonished, and suspicious gazes of countless fellow sect members, he became the vice hall master of Myriad Laws Sect’s newly established Demon-Monitoring Hall, assisting Yun Taizhen… in monitoring all matters related to the demonic path inside and outside the sect.

At first, Li Feng did not find any violations.

In the early phase of righteous use of the demonic path, at a time when the sect had just gone through a round of internal slaughter, one could say that the entire sect, from top to bottom, was trembling with caution. Everyone was reminding themselves not to fall into the demonic path, and not to let the fellow sect members who had died in the internal struggle die in vain…

Someone said to Li Feng, “Senior Brother Li, look. Now that righteous use of the demonic path has begun, no one in Myriad Laws Sect has crossed the line. Everyone can use the ideals of the righteous path to control demonic path technology!”

Li Feng did not speak, because he had followed that junior martial uncle in battles on the front lines. He had seen far too many demonic path disciples, and he knew that so-called demonic thoughts… were desires. They were something that existed in every person’s heart.

And as time passed, Li Feng gradually sensed that the atmosphere inside and outside the sect had begun to change.

Some demonic path artifacts gradually went from being researched with great caution to being placed out in the open as a matter of course.

Some corpses and yin souls also began to appear openly, no longer feared or rejected by others.

And the major event that made everyone in the sect realize that people’s hearts had already changed was the first major case Li Feng uncovered.

“Junior Martial Uncle Li…” Li Feng looked at the old man before him and said, “To defeat the Netherworld Sect’s disciples on the front line, you blood-sacrificed innocent civilians to increase the power of your artifact. Is this true?”

The old man before him snorted coldly and said, “If I had not done so, every disciple under me would have died in that battle long ago!”

“Besides, even if those mortals had not been blood-sacrificed by me, they would have been used by Netherworld Palace. They were blood food raised by Netherworld Palace to begin with!”

“If we are not even willing to commit this tiny violation, if we do not use every means to defeat the demonic path first, what future is there?”

“Or are you going to arrest me for the sake of a few mortals and ruin the battle situation on the front line?”

“Leave. From now on, do not interfere with matters on the front line.”

After saying this, the old man lightly tapped with his fingertip. A violent gale rose between heaven and earth, seemingly about to blow Li Feng beyond the ninth heaven.

Li Feng knew that what the other party said made sense. In a life-and-death battle… how many people would be willing to refrain from using demonic path technology to struggle a little and calmly face death?

It would be one thing if they had not mastered demonic path technology. But now that they had mastered more efficient demonic path technology, during a great war… who would willingly tie their own hands? Who would refuse to use demonic path methods to increase their own chances of victory?

But precisely because it made sense, precisely because the other party could so confidently treat mortals as materials and use them up… Li Feng understood that righteous use of the demonic path had already failed.

“The first major case… will end without result. Then next, Myriad Laws Sect will inevitably… become a new demonic path in its war against the demonic path.”

However, when Li Feng reported all of this to Yun Taizhen, she only said one sentence to him.

“Wait for me to come back.”

The next instant, rolling thunder rang out from the horizon. Lightning suddenly flashed in the air, and everyone inside the Demon-Monitoring Hall felt their scalps go numb. Then they saw Yun Taizhen transform into a bolt of heavenly thunder and shoot into the sky.

That very night, she returned to the mountain gate with that junior martial uncle from the front line and had him stand trial.

Looking at the wounded Yun Taizhen, Li Feng said in disbelief, “You went to the front line and dragged him back?”

Yun Taizhen smiled and said, “What? Are you scared?”

Li Feng said, “Junior Martial Uncle Li leads his disciples in fighting the demonic path on the front line. If you do this… what will those disciples under him think? Aren’t you afraid they’ll attack us?”

Yun Taizhen laughed loudly and said, “Righteous use of the demonic path is not permission for them to abuse demonic path technology and treat mortals like pigs and dogs. Whoever wants to turn Myriad Laws Sect into a demonic sect must first get past me, Yun Taizhen.”

“If they oppose righteous use of the demonic path, I will beat them. If they abuse demonic path technology, I will beat them too.”

“At worst, we will have another civil war.”

Li Feng looked into her eyes and seemed to see an incomparable determination. At this moment, Li Feng… suddenly gained a trace of confidence in righteous use of the demonic path.

He thought to himself, “If there were more people like Senior Sister Taizhen in the sect, perhaps righteous use of the demonic path might not be impossible…”

And this major case seemed to be only the beginning. As the intensity of the war continued to rise, Li Feng and Yun Taizhen were able to find more and more people constantly crossing the line.

At first, perhaps it was only slaughtering criminals.

Later, it began to be blood sacrifices of prisoners of war and blood sacrifices of demonic path disciples.

Later still, they began using mortals raised by demonic sects…

Especially after another elder, one who had once repelled demonic path experts and had worked hard with great achievements, was arrested over such a minor matter as extracting souls to refine treasures, even more people voiced their dissatisfaction toward the Demon-Monitoring Hall… especially toward Yun Taizhen.

“Yun Taizhen, everyone is risking their lives fighting the demonic path on the front line! And you’re back here going after your own people?”

“For the sake of a few measly mortals, how many sect members and disciples have you arrested?”

“Without us risking our lives against those demonic brats at the front, could you sit so peacefully in the back and supervise us?”

“Isn’t it just sacrificing a few mortals? Without us, they would have been captured by the demonic path long ago. So what if a few are sacrificed now?”

Faced with these questions again and again, these challenges again and again, Li Feng discovered with some fear… that even he himself was beginning to waver.

“Are we really supposed to go against those fellow sect members who are risking their lives to protect us… for the sake of those mortals?”

Yun Taizhen laughed openly and said, “Little Feng, this is the demonic path. It comes from the heart and follows the heart.”

“The distinction between righteous and demonic is precisely like this. It exists within a single thought.”

“What we must do is become that boundary, constantly reminding our fellow sect members to hold fast to the righteous path.”

Li Feng stared fixedly at Yun Taizhen. He only felt that she seemed forever so calm and reliable, so frank and bright, never discouraged by any problem and never retreating from one either.

But he knew that as the hall master of the Demon-Monitoring Hall, she endured pressure far beyond his own. Many elders were already impeaching her.

At this moment, an even stronger feeling rose in Li Feng.

“Compared with Master and the others opposing righteous use of the demonic path back then and ultimately setting off a civil war, righteous use of the demonic path itself… is a path a hundred times, a thousand times harder.”

“But as long as there are people like Senior Sister Taizhen and Senior Brother Ying Xintian… this path is not without hope.”

Beside him, Yun Taizhen patted Li Feng on the shoulder and said, “Junior Brother Feng, keep holding on. The sect master and the others are already doing everything they can to digest demonic path technology.”

“As long as we wait for the sect master and the others to take its essence and discard its dross, and complete Myriad Laws Sect’s own Immortal Dao technological reform, everything will get better…”

“By then, methods like blood sacrifices and soul extraction will all be eliminated. Perhaps the demonic path can even be transformed into the righteous path.”

Li Feng looked at her slightly protruding belly and said with concern, “Senior Sister, you should rest more lately.”

Yun Taizhen smiled as she touched her belly and said, “It’s just carrying a child. It’s not much harder than taking a dump.”

Li Feng said, “Senior Brother Ying is worried about you…”

Yun Taizhen waved a hand, and in the next instant, she had already transformed into a bolt of thunder and vanished into the horizon.

After this, Li Feng continued assisting Yun Taizhen in monitoring inside and out, but he only felt the situation becoming worse and worse.

The cultivators on the front line became less and less willing to cooperate with their work. The elders and disciples within the sect all began, intentionally or otherwise, to make things difficult for them. Investigations became more and more difficult.

Li Feng felt that inside this Myriad Laws Sect, where he had grown up from childhood, everything had somehow become so unfamiliar.

It was as if one invisible wall after another had closed in around him, squeezing the space around him bit by bit, pressing him until he had nowhere to go, pressing him until he could barely breathe.

Without realizing it, Li Feng already felt that taking even a single step inside the sect had become difficult. As for what kind of pressure Yun Taizhen, his immediate superior, had to face, it was even harder for him to imagine.

Just as Li Feng felt that everything was about to become impossible to endure, a revolutionary technological breakthrough occurred.

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