In my twilight years of cultivating, I became a Supreme Daoist of the Longevity Path

After one night.

In the slum of a Loose Cultivators gathering place, two groups of people stood facing each other at the doorway of a house, their confrontation was tense and the atmosphere was incredibly solemn. It was as if there were minute electrical currents flowing through the air which could explode at the smallest spark.

The poor residents in the vicinity had already avoided the area from afar, worried about getting involved.

By that point, the run-down shack door had been broken open by sheer force, with fragments of splintered wood scattered around.

Emblazoned on the wall inside the house were blood-stained letters, their crooked characters clearly visible.

"Killer, an unknown pawn of the Gold Word Workshop!"

On the ground inside the house, a cultivator's head lay with its eyes wide open. The disbelief in its stare was quite disconcerting.

Anyone could detect the surprise and reluctance at the moment before this cultivator's death.

The killer had not fought with integrity, but from the cut at the neck, it clear that the beheading was ruthless and determined. Executed swiftly, viciously, and accurately by a daring and audacious character!

The key element was that the killer had left a note; an unknown pawn who killed, whoever you were Chen Dengming to entertain yesterday. Isn't this a mockery?

The leader of Hutong Street was a one-armed old man named Qian Yuan with gray hair and a beard.

At that moment, his eyes were like two flashes of lightning as he stared down at the head on the ground. Slowly closing his eyes, he slowly squeezed out a few words from his mouth, "Good! Good! Good!"

Anyone could hear the anger contained in these three 'good'. The people surrounding him dared not breathe, falling silent as cicadas in winter.

The group opposite them were the men of the Gold Word Workshop, and the boss Xu Ning was among the crowd.

He was naturally not afraid of his opponents. In fact, when he saw the words on the wall, the head on the ground, and the dour face of his enemies, he wanted to laugh.

He was a man of his nature, so he really did burst out laughing at that moment. His laughter shook the tiles on the roofs around him, causing the people from Hutong Street to be enraged and his subordinates beside him to join in the laughter.

"Xu Ning! You've gone too far."

Qian Yuan's eyes suddenly opened wide, his eyes flashed with horrifying light, and his Spiritual Energy fluctuated, emitting a powerful Spiritual Might, leaving all Innate experts around him pale.

"Too much?"

Xu Ning's laughter subsided slightly. He looked at Qian Yuan and laughed, saying, "Old Qian, we've been fighting for so many years. A month ago, my man, Old Lin, died tragically outside. You said that it wasn't Hutong Street's doing, so what about this incident today?

You dare send someone to steal my people. Fortunately, this brother Chen of mine is a capable man. He's bold and loyal…"

"Now it's my man who's dead," Qian Yuan retorted angrily. "Chen Dengming is nothing more than an ordinary person. How could he kill three people, including a cultivator, in such a short time? I suspect that you had everything meticulously planned."

"Ridiculous!"

Xu Ning scoffed, "The strength of your man, isn't it just the strength of the first heaven of Qi Cultivation? It's normal for him to be killed by Chen Dengming if he wasn't on guard.

Although Spiritual Energy is stronger than Innate True Qi, there are cases of Innate killing cultivators if they don't prepare in advance.

Moreover, don't forget where he came from... and even if I did meticulously plan this, so what?"

At these words, the atmosphere once again became tense. Both parties glared at each other, some cultivators were already making hand signs, indicating an imminent battle.

Qian Yuan gritted his teeth, extremely annoyed, his mind racing and also somewhat surprised.

He had also vaguely heard that Miss Luo from Luo family seemed to have gone on a mission organized by the Miaoyin Sect and other Immortal Sects some time ago. She then subsequently brought a person back.

And this person was Chen Dengming.

He was also originally attached to a certain adult of the Luo family.

However, that adult did not get along with the person behind Xu Ning, hence the two sides have been against each other for many years.

Seeing that Xu Ning had recruited Chen Dengming, he was a step slower, hence he wanted to poach Chen Dengming, and at the same time probe his background, trying to learn about his history and relationship with Miss Luo.

He also planned to use both threats and temptations, a mere mortal, for certain, would not dare rebel.

Unexpectedly, this mortal was so bold and reckless, he actually killed three of his men and ran away in the night. Now he didn't manage to recruit him and moreover lose a few men, losing face on top of that.

At this point, the situation was unchangeable. If he wanted to regain his face, he would have to find this mortal first. however, it was not to his advantage to engage in a war with Xu Ning at this time, lest it benefit other watchers waiting to seize the moment.

Qian Yuan's face looked ugly as he coldly huffed. He ordered someone to collect and bury his subordinates' heads, dropped a harsh remark, then left with his crowd.

Xu Ning rarely saw his old rival Qian Yuan lose face. The loss of face he suffered a while ago from Old Lin's death had been made up today by the surprise Chen Dengming gave him. He felt extremely pleased and began to laugh.

"Brothers, pass this on. Chen Dengming is a person who is under my Xu Ning's protection. No one is allowed to bully him. As long as he comes back, I, Xu Ning, will reward him handsomely!"

Despite the gravity of the situation, many present didn't feel envious, but rather, they were struck by admiration.

Offending Qian Yuan made this reward a difficult one to accept.

What was admired the most about Chen Dengming was not merely his audacious deeds, but his judicious assessment of the situation and meticulous carefulness. After eliminating the people in Hutong Street, he swiftly fled, directly leaving the Loose Cultivator gathered areas rather than hiding in the Gold Word Workshop territory.

Consequently, for at least the short term, others would have a hard time finding him.

In the long term, with the rampant demonic beasts in the wilderness, it was full of dangers rather than opportunities.

However, it was still temporarily safer than staying in the gathering area.

After all, with so many people and so many pairs of eyes in Hutong Street, there was no place to hide. No matter how much the cultivators of the Gold Word Workshop tried to protect him, they couldn't possibly stand guard around a mortal all the time.

Simply put, the life of a mortal is cheap.

A mortal who offends a powerful cultivator often has only one fate: death.

When Qian Yuan and Xu Ning, two cultivators at the sixth level of Qi cultivation, simultaneously targeted Chen Dengming, they brought not blessings, but calamity.

"Mr. Chen..."

In a corner of the shanty town, Xu Wei bit her lip tightly, with a tense look on her face and a mixture of worry and regret in her eyes.

She never imagined that Chen Dengming, who was always peaceable and kept a low profile, would suddenly act so rashly. Killing a cultivator—how could he even dare to consider it, and how did he manage to do it?

At this moment, Xu Wei felt that she still knew too little about her neighbour.

Regrettably, there was little chance they would be neighbours in the future.

...

Meanwhile, in the wild mountains outside the gathering area of the Loose Cultivators...

Chen Dengming was hidden extremely carefully within a mountain crevice, quietly watching a cauldron of incense burning on the ground in the distance as he ate his dry food and regained his strength.

After leaving the gathering area of the Loose Cultivators the previous night, he didn't immediately venture far. Instead, he waited until daybreak to completely leave the gathering area, and found his temporary refuge in these mountains.

He had already set up numerous traps around this area, burying Stone Gu and Reed Beetle Gu in some of the pits.

Reed Beetle Gu is malicious. Crafted from refined bamboo splints, once residents stepped in the trap, the Reed Beetle would jump onto their legs, causing a painful poisoning. Eventually, the Reed Beetle would even burrow into the knee, causing the victims' legs to become as thin as a crane's knee.

This Gu, as thin as a cow hair after fabrication, is hard to detect. Even cultivators could be its victims.

As for the burning cauldron of incense in front of him, Chen Dengming created it using the formula from Gu Refinement Secret, which would attract poisonous creatures like snakes, centipedes, and toads.

His plan was to first raise some Snake Gu for the early warning system around the perimeter. Later, he would try to break through to the first level of Qi Cultivation within the next three months and become an actual cultivator.

Only then would he stand a chance to return to the gathering area of the Loose Cultivators.

He never considered hiding in the wilderness long-term.

Because it was too hard to ensure safety in the wild, and moreover, the spiritual energy in the wild was too sparse to be suited for cultivation.

Therefore, he still had to keep cultivating the "Life-Shortening Cultivation Enhancement Skill" to enhance his spiritual root and speed up the cultivation process.

"What a pity. After all, 'the trees long for peace, but the wind will not cease', and my plans haven't kept up with changes. I have yet to collect all the materials to refine the Golden Silkworm Gu, nor have I become a cultivator, yet I was forced to leave the gathering area..."

After swallowing the last bite of his dry food and sipping spring water, Chen Dengming glanced at the woods in the distance, which were tinted by the sunrise under the setting sun.

The tranquil twilight was slowly closing in on him from all sides, while the howls of beasts gradually increased in the wilderness.

The wilds were even more dangerous than the gathering area.

However, he felt inexplicably tranquil.

Perhaps, it was because humans were more terrifying than wild beasts and demons.

If he didn't fear fights with humans, why would he fear wild beasts?

He got up to collect the incense burner, picked up a few poisonous snakes that had been attracted, returned to the crevice of the mountain to refine Gu, and settled into a quiet cultivation...

...

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