Chapter 3: Helplessly Becoming a Disciple

  "Young man, we have no grudge or feud, why did you deal such a vicious hand to me? At such a young age, how can your heart be so ruthless and cruel!" The old man said in a gloomy tone, his weak and frail body contrasting with the eerie glint in his emerald green eyes.

  Ding Hao's hands were caught and he was in extreme pain, but his expression didn't change at all, his eyes were abnormally cold.

  "In the dead of night, in the desolate mountains and wild ridges, you appear and disappear like a ghost. Your movements are mysterious and your whole body is shrouded in black mist. Who knows whether you're human or demon? If you're a malevolent spirit, I wouldn't want to fall into your clutches. Of course, I'll take the initiative to strike first!" Ding Hao said calmly, his eyes fixed intently on the old man, ready to prevent him from making another move.

  "What a joke! According to what you said, why did you sneak out at midnight and move stealthily? You're not like that too, with your whole body shrouded in black mist, it's too arbitrary to categorize me as a ghost."

  The old man's anger turned to laughter, and the strength of his hands increased greatly. Ding Hao's wrist felt like it was being clamped by two iron hooks, and even the flow of blood seemed to be cut off.

  "I'm just a hunter from nearby, chasing after my prey and got lost. I heard the noise inside the cave and came to take a look. What brings you here? Sir, can you please release your hands? Since I know you're human and not a ghost, I won't harm you!" Ding Hao thought for a moment before speaking slowly.

  "You're quite cunning, little one. But even if I let you go, what can you do to me? It's laughable that a mere mortal like you could harm me!" As he spoke, he released his grip, and his green eyes stared at Ding Hao, constantly shifting as he thought about something.

  Ding Hao moved a short distance away from the old man, slowly rubbing his wrists to get the blood flowing, his eyes fixed on the exit but his attention remained focused on the old man, ready for any unexpected situation.

  A moment later, the old man seemed to have thought of something and made a decision. He stood up from his cross-legged sitting position, and after standing up, his body was exceptionally tall and majestic, only slightly shorter than Ding Hao. When he walked, he was full of vigor and energy, completely unlike someone of his age who should be frail and weak.

  Look at the skin on his hands, no wrinkles, black and shiny, exceptionally smooth, muscles developed and powerful, looking at his body in its prime, absolutely not the state that a fifty-year-old should have!

  He stopped in front of Ding Hao, five feet away, and stared at him with his eyes fixed on him: "Are you willing to worship me as your master?"

  The atmosphere was abnormally solemn, and as he approached, a massive pressure came rushing over, Ding Hao felt that the space around him seemed to have suddenly solidified, and even the flow of air could not be felt. This was an aura of death, and at this moment, Ding Hao felt like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, with no chance of resistance!

  What kind of power was this, completely beyond Ding Hao's imagination!

  It's a fear that comes from the soul, with heartbeats much faster than usual, thumping sounds are clearly audible!

  "What can you teach me? What do I need to do?" Ding Hao replied in a relatively calm tone.

  The pressure on his body suddenly disappeared, as if everything that had just happened was Ding Hao's own illusion, but Ding Hao was certain that it was absolutely not an illusion. At this time, the beating of his heart had not yet fully recovered to normal.

  At this time, Ding Hao found that the old man's eyes had returned to normal black and brown, and suddenly felt that the dangerous aura on the old man's body had weakened a lot.

  "I can let you fly through the heavens and escape to the ends of the earth. Although I don't dare promise you eternal life, I can give you more than ten times your current lifespan, granting you unimaginable power! This world has many things beyond your imagination. You're young but extremely cold-blooded, ruthless, and cunning - it's a shame you didn't join our demonic path earlier. Your body is strong, with a superior skeletal structure. Moreover, the thing you just swallowed was the 2,000-year-old inner core of an Eight-Winged Purple Python, one of the top-tier spiritual creatures in the world, from the ancient era of chaos. Even we cultivators rarely encounter such a creature, and if we do, it's not easy to come out unscathed. This creature is extremely violent, bloodthirsty, and poisonous - even we would retreat three steps back if we encountered one that wasn't mature. A fully grown Eight-Winged Purple Python can fly through the heavens and traverse the nine underworlds with ease. Although this python was only 2,000 years old, its inner core is not something an ordinary person could handle. The Eight-Winged Purple Python is extremely toxic and hot, but its inner core is non-toxic, just extremely hot. You've already experienced one episode of its effects - how did it taste? An ordinary person would have died from exhaustion by now, but you managed to survive, which makes you an anomaly. Don't think this is the end, though - every three days, another episode will occur, each more severe than the last, until the 81st time, when it will finally stop. Each time you survive, your body will gain some benefits. If you can make it to the 81st time, the benefits you'll receive will be immeasurable. Without my help, next time would be your death sentence. That's all I have to say - whether or not you want to acknowledge me as your master is up to you."

  The old man's first few words made Ding Hao's heart race, but as he continued to speak, his tone became increasingly calm. Although Ding Hao didn't know whether the old man was telling the truth or not, the old man's expression and fluent narration made him dare not to take his own life lightly.

  As soon as he made up his mind, he immediately took action. With a thud, Ding Hao knelt down in front of the old man and kowtowed three times with a loud "thump", "thump", "thump".

  "Ding Hao is willing to worship his predecessors as teachers, and will never leave or abandon them. If he violates this oath, heaven and earth will be destroyed!" Ding Hao grew up in the mountains, but still read a few days of books in the village's private school, recognizing words, these few sentences were said quite fluently, but whether it was true only he himself knew!

  "Alright, you get up first. Since you've already acknowledged me as your master, there are some things you must know. Our sect is called Wuji Mozong, specializing in the cultivation of demonic dao. There are four generations of disciples in our sect. The Sect Master Li Nan Tian and the Four Great Elders are the first generation. The Four Great Elders are Zhang Heng, Li Zheng Fei, Wang Quan De, and Ma Feng. I am Chen Ling, a second-generation disciple who learned from Ma Feng. As for the third and fourth generations, I won't introduce them to you now; we'll talk about it in detail when we arrive at the mountain gate.

  In this world, cultivators are divided into two paths: the Orthodox Dao and the Demonic Dao. The goal of both is to ascend to a higher realm. Those who cultivate the Orthodox Dao enter the Realm of the Gods, while those who cultivate the Demonic Dao enter the Realm of Devils. Whether one cultivates the Orthodox or Demonic Dao, it's all an act against heaven. Cultivation ultimately leads to ascension, but before that, there is always a calamity to overcome. If you can overcome this calamity, you'll ascend to the Realm of the Gods or the Realm of Devils; if not, your soul will scatter.

  The essence of cultivating the Orthodox Dao and Demonic Dao is no different; only the methods differ. Whether one cultivates the Orthodox or Demonic Dao, it's divided into thirteen stages: Qi Refining Stage, Embryonic Breathing Stage, Rotating Light Stage, Valley Closing Stage, Opening Illumination Stage, Merging Stage, Heart Movement Stage, Yuan Ying Stage, Exiting the Body Stage, Separation of Spirits Stage, Union of Bodies Stage, Calamity Crossing Stage, and Great Vehicle Stage.

  The Qi Refining Stage, Embryonic Breathing Stage, and Rotating Light Stage are considered one stage in the Orthodox Dao, which is the foundation for truly entering the realm of cultivation. After the Valley Closing Stage, each stage can be further divided into three sub-stages: early, middle, and late. By now, you should understand that the process of cultivating the Orthodox Dao is long and arduous. Don't think that cultivators only face danger during the calamity; every stage of cultivation is fraught with peril. A single misstep can lead to walking into demonic fire or losing one's cultivation, resulting in death or even soul scattering..."

  Chen Ling didn't realize until the sky outside was slightly bright that he had been talking for three or four hours. Cultivators have almost infinite lifespans, so their concept of time is relatively vague. But Ding Hao was just an ordinary person, yet Chen Ling found that no matter how long he listened, Ding Hao showed not a hint of impatience, and instead asked questions from time to time with great interest. Chen Ling nodded secretly in his heart, extremely satisfied with Ding Hao's performance!

  "Master, what brings you here? You're not just idly wandering into this cave to collect the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, are you?"

  Because he had already started to get familiar with him, and Ding Hao also knew that he would be with him day and night in the future, so his tone was no longer as calm and indifferent as it was at the beginning. Ding Hao had always made a living by hunting in the forest, and he was also stained with blood all over his hands, but he only hunted animals after all. Although Ding Hao was usually cold and didn't say much nonsense, looking more mature than his peers, he was still just an eighteen-year-old kid, and some of his youthful nature couldn't be changed.

  "Fart, who would have thought that someone as idle as you would come here to collect the spiritual energy of heaven and earth? I was the one who discovered this eight-winged purple python more than a year ago. Although it only had two wings at the time, it wasn't something I could handle, but it was about to give birth, which would greatly weaken its abilities. I waited for an opportunity to snatch away the young eight-winged purple python. For over a year, I've been waiting for the right moment. I discovered that this eight-winged purple python often fought with a giant eagle, which is also a rare species, but seemed to be raised by someone. Although the eight-winged purple python only had two wings, it was evenly matched with the giant eagle in battle. However, when it was about to give birth, it stopped fighting the giant eagle. Seven days ago, I found that the eight-winged purple python went into its cave and didn't come out to hunt for food, so I confirmed that it was hiding inside to give birth. After giving birth, it would be weak and no match for the giant eagle, and I could take advantage of this to snatch away the young eight-winged purple python. But unexpectedly, just as we were about to leave, the young eight-winged purple python let out a sharp cry, which prematurely led the eight-winged purple python back into its cave. Luckily, it was already heavily injured at the time, so I could kill it. However, I also got hit by its powerful venom. Luckily, I had prepared for this and used an antidote to slowly expel the poison over the course of an hour. Who would have thought that after a year of hard work, you would be the one to benefit? You even ate the eight-winged purple python's inner dan! And as soon as I finished treating the poison, I discovered that you had the audacity to try and take my life! This is outrageous!" Chen Ling cursed.

  Ding Hao didn't feel a bit awkward, haha, he smiled straight away!

  "Alright, things are settled here, let's pack up and head back to the mountain. Take this flying sword, and leave that hunting knife behind. Although this flying sword is of inferior quality, it's still made from gold essence mixed with golden aura, forged from mysterious iron, and is much sharper than your broken knife. Use it to cut off the twin horns, eyes, teeth, and scales from the Eight-Winged Purple Python's head for me!" Chen Ling ordered.

  Holding the flying sword in his hand, Ding Hao couldn't help but play with it lovingly. The flying sword was nearly twice as heavy as the hunting knife, and its entire body emitted a faint white gold light. The hilt was made of some unknown wood, and the dark wood gave off a faint sandalwood fragrance. It seemed that this too was extremely valuable. Ding Hao couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

  It took Ding Hao nearly half an hour to remove the items Chen Ling had instructed from the Eight-winged Purple Python's body, and it was only then that he realized Chen Ling's words were not in vain. This flying sword was absolutely the best weapon he had ever used!

  It wasn't long before Chen Ling cleaned up the spoils of war. Ding Xuan now knew that cultivators had something called storage bags and storage rings to store items. The storage bag used by Chen Ling was relatively ordinary in the cultivation world, while the storage ring was more rare. Generally, those who wore storage rings were either highly accomplished or had a strong background, and not every cultivator had the opportunity to obtain one!

  Chen Ling handed a smaller storage bag to Ding Hao and instructed, "I've already explained how to use the storage bag. I've also sealed the Eight-Winged Purple Python meat with a Mystic Ice Symbol, so it won't spoil. You'll put the Eight-Winged Purple Python meat in the storage bag and feed the young Eight-Winged Purple Python every day. Since you swallowed the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner dan, the young one will instinctively consider you its kin. It's best that you're the one to raise it. Remember, no matter what, never let the young Eight-Winged Purple Python be seen by cultivators. Humans are greedy, and if they discover this heavenly beast, they'll definitely try to seize it. If that happens, you won't even know how you died!"

  Storage bags are the most basic items for cultivators, and Chen Ling had also explained their usage earlier. As long as one picks up an item, concentrates their mind, and imagines it, they can put the item inside.

  Effortlessly, he put the pieces of Eight-Winged Purple Python meat into his storage bag. Only then did he discover that this small storage bag was actually three to four times larger than the space in the cave. His heart couldn't help but feel even more astonished at the wonders of a cultivator's abilities, and his determination to cultivate became even firmer!