Volume 1, Chapter 59: I Want to Descend the Mountain

"Besides, why can't you see the good in righteous cultivators?"

With that, Lin Yang pointed to the cabinet inside Zhou Yao's (Zhou Xiao's) cave dwelling, which was filled entirely with items previously given to Zhou Xiao by members of the sect.

Seeing these items, Zhou Xiao was briefly stunned.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Task One!]

[Rewards: Forsaking Demon and Following Goodness Technique, Outer Realm Avatar.]

Seeing this reward, Lin Yang could not help but nod. Excellent, it fit the situation perfectly.

No matter what, Lin Yang had finally managed to change Zhou Xiao's prejudice against the righteous path. Although the change was very slight, Lin Yang was still delighted, as it proved Zhou Xiao was not beyond redemption.

He sighed, then turned to the dazed Zhou Xiao and said,

"Alright, I've delayed your cultivation enough by saying so much to you."

"Since that's the case, I will pass down a cultivation technique to you, and I guarantee it is the most suitable one for you."

Without waiting for Zhou Xiao's consent, he held up two fingers like a sword and directly transmitted the *Forsaking Demon and Following Goodness Technique* straight into Zhou Xiao's mind.

"Ouch!" Zhou Xiao instantly felt a sharp pain, followed by the realization that a completely new set of cultivation techniques had appeared in his mind.

After finishing all this, Lin Yang stood up, stretched lazily, and said in a casual tone,

"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. I won't disturb your cultivation any further."

With that, Lin Yang walked straight out of Zhou Xiao's cave dwelling.

Zhou Xiao curled his lips in a sneer. Although he scoffed at most of what Lin Yang had said, he had to admit that a small part of it had actually touched him.

Immediately afterward, he began to probe the cultivation technique Lin Yang had imparted to him.

"What kind of technique could this guy possibly give me... It couldn't possibly be a demonic technique, could it?"

With that, Zhou Xiao directly examined the technique taught by Lin Yang: the *Forsaking Demon and Following Goodness Technique*.

However, after reading how the technique was meant to be practiced, Zhou Xiao's face turned green with anger.

"Good grief, this is targeted right at me," Zhou Xiao gritted his teeth and said.

Without a doubt, this technique was simply the righteous-path version of the Divine Grudge Physique.

The Divine Grudge Physique required the collection of resentment, which meant one had to commit evil deeds.

As for the *Forsaking Demon and Following Goodness Technique*, it required the collection of goodwill and benevolence in order to cultivate, which meant—without a doubt—that one had to perform good deeds.

Setting everything else aside, Zhou Xiao had to admit that the grade of this technique was utterly peerless throughout the Central Province, and placing it in the cultivation world would undoubtedly stir up bloody storms.

Yet, asking Zhou Xiao to go out and perform good deeds was more agonizing to him than death itself.

"Damn it! If I don't cultivate this technique, the day I recover my cultivation base is nowhere in sight. But if I do cultivate it, it forces me to do good deeds. This is simply more painful than killing me..."

Zhou Xiao gritted his teeth, but ultimately decided to submit.

Lowering his gaze and biting his teeth, he muttered,

"Fine! At worst, I'll just perform good deeds to recover my cultivation base. At least my inner heart remains demonic—yes, I am still a man of the demonic path!" Zhou Xiao said, filled with bravado.

Yet he completely forgot Lin Yang's earlier words: judging a person by their actions rather than their intent.

Having settled everything, Lin Yang returned to the tea room and began to explore the usage of the Outer Realm Avatar.

He snapped his fingers, and instantly, a figure appeared that looked identical to Lin Yang, with no discrepancies whatsoever in build or expression.

Lin Yang stood up and inspected it, discovering that apart from the eyes appearing slightly lifeless, there was literally no difference between the avatar and himself.

"Could it be that even the cultivation base is identical?" Curiously, Lin Yang probed the avatar's cultivation level and was left momentarily speechless to find that its cultivation realm matched his own.

"Good grief, how is this any different from handing me an Eternal Realm peak-stage helper for free?"

The sole flaw was that this Outer Realm Avatar lacked independent thought and was merely a puppet; everything it did had to be strictly manipulated by Lin Yang.

He nodded in satisfaction and then put the Outer Realm Avatar away.

Just at that moment, the door to the tea room was knocked upon. Lin Yang asked in puzzlement,

"Who is it?"

"Bang!"

An oppressive aura of the Eternal Realm peak-stage swept inward, instantly blasting the tea room doors open.

Lin Yang felt a sudden premonition of disaster, and predictably, the person stepping into the tea room was none other than Zhang Xianfeng.

Zhang Xianfeng's expression was so gloomy it looked as though water could be wrung from it. He stared at Lin Yang, then forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes and said,

"Peak Master Lin, you sure made me wait long enough."

Lin Yang gave an awkward chuckle, hurriedly picked up the Enlightenment Tea from the table, and tossed it toward Zhang Xianfeng.

"Sect Master, please don't be angry. I have plenty of this Enlightenment Tea right here, take it and enjoy," Lin Yang said with a flattering grin.

However, Zhang Xianfeng completely ignored the Enlightenment Tea, merely smiling as he said,

"Lin Yang, a few days ago you made me lose an enormous amount of face in front of all the disciples. Tell me, how should I repay you for that?"

Lin Yang broke out in a cold sweat, his smile stiffening as he spoke,

"Sect Master, I hardly think that's necessary, right?"

...

Outside the martial arts training ground, Lu Chen was practicing his sword techniques when he suddenly heard a heaven-shaking roar.

"Boom!"

He looked toward the direction of the sound, which was coming from the tea room.

A streak of white rainbow light directly shattered the roof of the tea room and shot into the distance, followed immediately by another thunderous explosion as a second streak of white light soared forth.

Lu Chen watched and realized with a start that the two racing beams of light were none other than Lin Yang and Zhang Xianfeng.

The two of them chased one another in a game of pursuer and pursued, vanishing from sight within moments.

...

Three days later, Zhou Xiao stepped out of his cave dwelling.

He had cultivated for a full two days, yet had only managed to break through to the first level of Qi Condensation. To outsiders, this speed might seem respectable, but to him, it was completely unacceptable.

Therefore, after a full day of mental preparation, he ultimately decided to venture outside to perform good deeds and collect goodwill to boost his cultivation.

Lin Hongye, who had been outside practicing the Immortal Fire Great Dao, saw Zhou Xiao emerge and immediately greeted him with a smile:

"Little Xiao, you've finally snapped out of it?"

Zhou Xiao originally wanted to ignore her, but the moment he remembered he had stepped outside to gather goodwill, he forced an awkward smile.

Instantly, he felt his cultivation base increase by the tiniest fraction.

Although the gain was minuscule, he genuinely felt it take effect, however slight.

Zhou Xiao was momentarily dumbfounded. Good grief, just smiling at someone could directly grant an increase in cultivation?

Did cultivation really come this easily?!

Zhou Xiao arrived at the martial arts training ground. Lu Chen was there practicing his sword, but upon seeing Zhou Xiao, he stopped swinging his blade and laughed,

"Well, well, Junior Brother, you finally decided to step outside?"

Zhou Xiao offered an awkward smile, then asked with a puzzled expression,

"By the way, Senior Brother, how come I don't see Master?"

"The old man had an epic battle with the Sect Master a few days ago and is still recovering in his cave dwelling. Why, do you need something from him?"

Facing Lu Chen's inquiry, Zhou Xiao nodded.

"I plan to wander down the mountain, so I'd appreciate it if Senior Brother could inform Master for me."

Hearing that Zhou Xiao was heading down the mountain, Lu Chen's eyes lit up. "You're going down the mountain? Awesome, let's go together."

"Ever since I came up the mountain, I haven't had a chance to go down and look around. I've just been practicing my sword every single day. Going out for a stroll will be a nice way to unwind."