Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

On the scroll, each and every Sword Artifact, spurred on by Magical Power, began to move rapidly as if they had come to life.

It was accompanied by a melodious sword hum.

Flying Swords soared up from the scroll one by one, converging into a sky full of sword shadows that shot out in every direction.

They appeared chaotic, yet moved with a distinct order.

Ten Thousand Swords Technique!

Zhu Ju’s eyes flickered.

The feeling of truly activating the Ten Thousand Swords Map with Magical Power was completely different from merely perceiving the Sword Control Method from a distance.

Once the Sword Artifacts on the scroll began to move, the many variations hidden within were all revealed.

This map...

It didn’t just contain basic Sword Control Methods.

Only when a thousand swords emerged at once did its true form reveal itself; it concealed an exceptionally profound Sword Control Method—the Ten Thousand Swords Technique.

A Sword Control Method formed from the convergence of a thousand Basic Methods!

However, this technique clearly had extremely high requirements for a Cultivator. Even a Great Mage would likely find it difficult to sustain for long.

Its power...

was even more terrifying!

PFFT!

PFFT! PFFT!

Sword Qi filled the sky, its sharp edge glinting. One by one, the fleeing crows were pierced through, falling to the ground with strange cries.

As Zhu Ju swept his Sword Pointing gesture, the men from Black Cloud Manor who had regained their senses were also caught up in the Sword Qi.

"Mercy!"

"No, don’t!"

"Mage, please spare us!"

"..."

The Sword Qi ignored the men’s pleas, leaving a trail of corpses wherever it passed.

BOOM!

A ball of Fierce Flame exploded in midair, forcing Spiritual Crow Master, who had been hiding among the many crows, to reveal his true form.

He held a Red Gourd, its mouth spewing fire. Balls of flame floated around him as he watched the incoming Sword Qi, his face deathly pale.

"Fellow Daoist, spare me!"

"I won’t report you! The toll money is all yours, I just hope you’ll stop now!"

Zhu Ju turned a deaf ear, his Divine Thought completely immersed in controlling the Ten Thousand Swords Technique. Following the technique’s operational path, the Sword Qi strafed about madly.

PFFT!

PFFT! PFFT!

Spiritual Crow Master desperately tried one technique after another.

Spirit Talismans, Fierce Flames, Magic...

But it was no use.

Faced with an endless barrage of Sword Qi, all of his defenses collapsed one by one, until he was run through, screaming in agony.

"Return!"

Zhu Ju retracted his Sword Pointing gesture, and the sky-spanning Sword Qi returned to the scroll in an orderly sequence.

’I’ve been tricked!’

Gazing at the Ten Thousand Swords Map, its Spiritual Light now dim, the corner of his mouth twitched. He subconsciously wanted to go find Miaoran and settle the score.

’She said it could be used three times! How could it be so depleted after just one use?’

’It’ll probably be scrap after one more use!’

However, he seemed to have forgotten that his "Magical Power" was different from others; it was the Five Elements Evil Qi of a Qi Refiner.

Compared to the Magical Power of this world’s Mages, it was far more tyrannical and savage.

This was why the Sword Qi he unleashed with the Ten Thousand Swords Map was so immensely powerful, and in turn, why the consumption of its Spirituality was naturally so much greater.

Just as Zhu Ju stepped forward to collect Spiritual Crow Master’s "inheritance," a series of shouts echoed from the mountain above.

"Mercy!"

"Mercy!"

"Mercy!"

Each cry was like a sob of blood.

They were laced with anger, resentment, and despair.

No one knew what the shouter had experienced, but from the sound of their voice alone, one could hear boundless hatred.

The great Bamboo Mountain...

seemed to tremble amidst the mournful cries.

A thousand pines and cypresses seemed to bow their heads, and countless leaves drifted down from their branches.

Wild beasts roared and birds circled overhead. An air of desolation and utter sorrow permeated everything, so thick that it caused ripples in even a Mage’s heart.

Zhu Ju’s head snapped up.

The others, too, finally recovered from the shock of the ten thousand swords flying in unison and looked toward the mountain’s peak.

’What happened up there?’

*

*

*

Bamboo Mountain Temple.

All the monks walked out of the main hall together.

After several days of "deliberation," they had finally reached a decision.

Over twenty monks, led by the "Buddha’s Son" Kongjue, were pushed forward. They were to be handed over to General Wan for punishment as "Demon Monks" who had committed numerous grave sins.

This was the price for the entire temple’s peace and safety.

As a show of sincerity.

Bamboo Mountain Temple’s Spiritual Light was dimmed, and all its defensive measures had been lowered.

The temple gates stood wide open. The "Buddha’s Son," Kongjue, walked ahead of the other monks with his palms pressed together, his face radiating a holy light as he proceeded toward the steps leading down the mountain.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

Nun Ming Jing whispered:

"My Buddha is merciful!"

"Kongjue, although you have the body of a Half-Demon, you were born with a Buddha Heart. Today, you go forth on behalf of all the monks of Bamboo Mountain Temple. If there is reincarnation, you must enter the Buddhist Sect again in your next life."

"Reverend Nun." Though he was walking to his death, Kongjue’s face showed no fear. He turned back and bowed with his palms pressed together.

"The Buddhist Sect offers salvation to all with affinity; this humble monk is merely one among them."

"If this humble monk’s death can extinguish the fire of General Wan’s rage and convince him to withdraw his army and spare Bamboo Mountain Temple, then what is there to fear in death?"

"Besides!"

He turned back around and strode forward.

"This affair was started by this humble monk to begin with. To involve the innocent would be the true sin."

Hearing this, the monks’ expressions grew solemn. Many had tears in their eyes, chanting Buddhist scriptures and whispering prayers for him.

"Mercy!"

"Virtuous, virtuous!"

"..."

Abbot Yuanye’s expression was complex. He gave Kongjue’s departing back a long, deep look, then slowly closed his eyes.

’What a pity!’

"This humble monk has been plagued by evil karma since birth." Kongjue walked out of the temple gate, leading the twenty-some unwilling but silent monks toward the army, which looked like a forest of blades and pikes.

He recalled his past, but it felt hazy and unclear. He couldn’t help but murmur:

"I was fortunate to receive the patriarch’s blessing and be taught the Buddhist Technique. My master’s love and my peers’ protection have made me who I am today."

"How lucky I am to have been given a human form."

WHOOSH...

A cold wind suddenly gusted over the stone steps.

Wan Zhengyang was held aloft in midair by a blood-red ghostly creature. Holding a long spear, he pointed down from afar.

"You are Kongjue?"

"I am," Kongjue replied, then added:

"General, your Evil Qi is overwhelming and your bearing is extraordinary, but the way of Soul-Devouring Ghosts is not a righteous one. I hope you will use it with caution."

"Hmm?" Wan Zhengyang’s furious brows shot up.

"A mere Demon, daring to lecture this General on his methods?"

"This humble monk may be a Half-Demon, but I possess a human heart." Kongjue looked up, his clear eyes full of sincerity.

"The General should embrace compassion—"

PFFT!

An arrow shot out from an unknown location, piercing Kongjue’s chest and cutting his words short.

Looking down at the arrow in his chest, blood soaking his clean white robes, Kongjue felt no fear in his heart, only a vast blankness.

’I’m going to die!’

’Death!’

’Is this what it feels like?’

HSSS...

An instinctual reaction caused the suppressed Demon Qi in his body to stir. Wisps of Demon Qi began to emerge from him, and ripples disturbed the placid lake of his mind.

’Unwilling!’

His demonic nature had not been entirely extinguished.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

Kongjue pressed his palms together and silently recited scriptures. The Great Nirvana Heart Technique circulated rapidly, suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind.

PFFT!

Another arrow struck him.

Kongjue’s body swayed. A scene from his childhood seemed to appear before his eyes.

The former abbot of Bamboo Mountain Temple was holding him as a baby, his wrinkled face crinkled into a smile as he playfully teased him.

"Good boy!"

"Good little child!"

Kongjue smiled, feeling that he had no regrets in this life.

In the next instant,

the scene in his consciousness suddenly changed.

The former abbot was holding a Talisman Paper covered in scripture, slapping it onto his body with a ferocious expression.

’This is to suppress the Demon Qi inside me.’

’The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma suppresses my demonic instincts, and the Great Nirvana Heart Technique restrains the desires in my heart.’

’It’s all for my own good,’ Kongjue thought.

"Come."

Abbot Yuanye brought him to the back mountain.

"Kongjue, you are a Parasitic Demon Bee. From now on, you will take care of the bee swarms on the back mountain. Nurture them daily with your demonic blood, and the honey they gather will transcend the Mortal Grade."

"What would be a good name for it?"

"Let’s call it Buddha’s Heart Dew!"

"With this, our Bamboo Mountain Temple is sure to become famous!"

His vision blurred.

A dozen or so monks were sitting in a circle around him, silently chanting scriptures.

"Kongjue, you shouldn’t have these memories. As your master, I will help you wash them away, only then can you continue to possess a Buddha Heart."

"You are..."

"The Buddha’s Son of Bamboo Mountain Temple!"

Another vision surfaced.

"Don’t you guys know?" a monk whispered in the Zen courtyard.

"Kongjue is a demon. The former abbot sealed it inside a baby’s body to make it help Bamboo Mountain Temple manage those venomous bees on the back mountain."

"The honey produced by a Parasitic Demon Bee is greatly beneficial for Cultivation."

"And when needed, they can activate its demonic nature, making it kill opponents under the abbot’s control. It’s a Demon at the peak of the Mage level, just short of being a True Man Level Great Demon. What a waste it would be to kill it, right?"

"How could that be?" a monk asked, aghast. "Won’t it find out?"

"It won’t!" another monk said, waving his hand dismissively.

"It has the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma on it, and it’s stupidly cultivating the Great Nirvana Heart Technique itself. Every so often, a monk casts a spell to wash away its memories. Haven’t you noticed how, despite being a grown man, he’s as simple-minded as a child?"

"Even if it does find out, the Abbot has placed several measures on it. He can take its life anytime he wants!"

"What are you all talking about?" A monk wearing a Purple Gold Kasaya ran over, scattering the whispering group. He then dragged Kongjue out from the corner where he was hiding.

"You heard that?"

"Looks like we’ll have to wash his memory again. What a pain!"

The scene changed again.

A blood-soaked Kongjue was hunched over a corpse, gnawing at its flesh. The setting was a Daoist Temple, and his usually benevolent martial brothers were laughing maniacally as they plundered its treasures.

"Kongjue, you’re up. Make this lady pregnant..."

"AH!"

"URGH..."

"NO!"

Riddled with arrows like a porcupine, Kongjue’s body swayed. Panic filled his eyes as he let out roars of defiance and anguish.

The shock of death shattered the seals on his body. A flood of memories surged forth, revealing the true faces of the "High Monks" before his eyes.

Master Yuanle of the Scripture Pavilion cultivated the "Skinning Charm Technique." He loved to collect the Skin and Flesh of beautiful young women. His Kasaya, which he called the Hundred-Faced Bodhisattva Temple, was sewn together from the refined skins of a hundred women using a Secret Technique.

Yuanchen was the most bloodthirsty.

Who knows how much blood stained his Demon-Subduing Pestle.

Because of his Cultivation Method, he would often become a Fallen Demon and need to vent his rage. Sometimes he would descend the mountain at night to slaughter entire villages, earning him the secret moniker "Asura Evil Star."

Abbot Yuanye, the High Monk and master he had respected and worshipped, would regularly hold an "Uncovering Assembly," gathering pious men and women to fornicate in the Great Heroic Hall.

Any who were unwilling were fed to the Parasitic Demon Bees.

All of this and more...

flooded into his Sea of Consciousness!

"URGH..."

Kongjue’s hands flew to his own throat. A torrent of demonic energy erupted from him as his skin and flesh began to twist and deform.

He collapsed to the ground, convulsing wildly, allowing the rain of arrows to submerge his body.

The torrent of complex emotions drove him to the brink of madness, making him seem like a demon incarnate.

"Mercy!"

"Mercy!"

"MERCY!"

Amidst his furious roars, a bizarre Demon Bee appeared on the field.

The Parasitic Demon Bee had a twisted, deformed human face where its head should be, and human limbs protruded from beneath its abdomen as it roared ceaselessly.

Red and green blood flowed over its body.

"Mercy!"

CRACK!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky. In an instant, dark clouds gathered, and a downpour fell like arrows, as if weeping for someone.

"Haha..."

"My Buddha is merciful!"

"Master, such mercy!"

"Demon," Wan Zhengyang declared from his perch on the cloud, pointing his spear down. "Kill it!"

His gaze shifted, landing on the assembled monks of Bamboo Mountain Temple. A cold sneer touched his lips.

"Kill them all!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Killing intent shot to the heavens.