Cultivation Starts from Killing Pigs

It's this evil spirit!

Zhang Kui was in shock, standing frozen on the spot.

The stone coffin from the Nether Soil originally didn't have a lid. When he was traveling from the Capital City to Jiangzhou, he passed by Nine Bends Gorge, where an old ghost ferrying a boat claimed to be delivering a sheepskin map under his master's orders, helping him find the coffin lid.

And he saw the last words left by the original owner of the Nether Soil stone coffin: Do not go to the Underworld!

The matter was eerie and full of fog, and Zhang Kui, having other concerns, gradually pushed it out of his mind.

Unexpectedly, he encountered that "master" here,

Even more unexpected, it turned out to be a Mahayana Realm evil spirit...

At this time, the Water Mansion had begun to riot. The old demons in the Celestial Tribulation Realm were awakening one by one, emerging with rolling black smoke from the stone towers. Even those in the Mahayana Realm stone towers had terrifying auras beginning to revive...

"Leave quickly!"

The voice in Zhang Kui's mind appeared again. He gritted his teeth and manipulated the stone coffin to quickly leave.

Behind him, a magnificent and dignified voice echoed through the water: "Stand down, it's just a little Drought Fiend; I've already eaten it, it won't disturb the Great King..."

Another Great King?

Zhang Kui felt a heavy heart and quickly left the Water Mansion...

......

On the barren mountain, the bright moon rose in the east.

Captain Yuankong paced back and forth in a panic, the corpses of locusts making a crunching sound underfoot.

After these days, even a fool would know that Zhang Kui was the key to overcoming this locust plague disaster.

Yuankong couldn't help but feel a bit frightened.

"Can you stop moving around!"

Fatty Tiger lying nearby grumbled impatiently.

"My Taoist has seen all kinds of storms and waves, even having visited the Stone Man Tomb, while you..."

Just as he was saying this, a plume of black smoke arose, and Zhang Kui strode over.

Fatty Tiger immediately ran over eagerly,

"Taoist, are you alright?"

"Hmm..."

Zhang Kui nodded calmly, then turned to Yuankong and said, "The Drought Fiend has been destroyed, quickly go and provide disaster relief. There may be those in the city taking advantage of the chaos."

Yuankong breathed a sigh of relief, "Understood, I will comply."

"Oh, tidy up that courtyard outside the city; I'll be staying outside again..."

Indeed, although the other party hadn't said so, Zhang Kui knew they would surely come looking for him.

...

The night was particularly silent.

After the locust swarm passed, not only were the leaves eaten clean, but even the bark, and the small insects in the grass were consumed entirely.

Zhang Kui sat on the rooftop, looking at the desolate and dead world before him, his expression grim as he took a deep swig of old wine.

He could already imagine that when summer comes, flash floods will occur, and this once picturesque place would turn into a desert in a few years.

In this world, life is hard...

A stench-ridden wind blew through, and suddenly a scholar appeared in the courtyard, dressed in a jet-black robe, with long jet-black hair flowing, and a face as sharp as a knife with blood-red pupils in his eyes.

A spirit cultivating in human form...

Zhang Kui took a deep breath, nodding:

"You've arrived."

This was his first time facing someone in the Mahayana Realm directly, and although the other party had suppressed all their aura, Zhang Kui could still feel a chilling presence overwhelming enough to cover the sky.

The black-robed scholar suddenly laughed, revealing a row of sharp teeth, "Are you not afraid of me?"

Zhang Kui snorted,

"I can't run, and I can't fight, so what's the use of being scared?"

"Hehe... a bit of courage... good."

As he spoke, the black-robed scholar appeared on the rooftop naturally, as if he had been there all along.

Inside the room, Fatty Tiger, despite having been briefed, bristled all over, both frightened and angry, frozen immobile with claws digging deep grooves.

"Oh..."

The black-robed scholar glanced down casually and said, "This beast does have some opportunity, being from the Stone Man Tomb's Stone Ganoderma... Unfortunately, its bloodline is humble, and its potential overused; it will halt at this life stage."

So that's it...

Zhang Kui's eyes narrowed slightly, "Is there a solution?"

He asked casually, not expecting an answer since the other party's intentions were unclear.

Unexpectedly, the black-robed scholar smiled slightly,

"There is a solution; cultivating bloodlines is all about the law of the jungle. Find a peer with the same bloodline and devour them."

Zhang Kui was taken aback, "Where can I find one?"

The black-robed scholar smiled amusingly,

"In the Underworld!"

The Underworld, the Underworld, again the Underworld!

Zhang Kui took a deep breath, "What exactly is your meaning, say it straight."

The black-robed scholar chuckled,

"If an ordinary human spoke to me this way, even your State Preceptor would have been devoured by me, but you're different."

Zhang Kui sneered,

"Do I, Old Zhang, have a horn growing out of my head?"

The black-robed scholar laughed heartily,

"What's so strange about having a horn? The fact that you can drive that Divine Coffin is your fortune."

Zhang Kui's pupils contracted slightly,

"The Nether Soil stone coffin, what is special about this ancient artifact?"

"You call it the Nether Soil stone coffin?"

The black-robed scholar nodded slightly, "Nether Soil...Nether Soil...fitting name, seems it truly is fated with you."

"As for what makes it special..."

The black-robed scholar chuckled,

"It's because it's not meant for people to rest in."

"Three thousand years ago, your human dynasty, hmm, called the Qi Dynasty, used it to steal a Divine Corpse from the Underworld; not some Incense Fire God, but a True God from ancient times, the kind humans loved to blood sacrifice."

Saying this, he suddenly chuckled, his eyes full of mockery, "Speaking of it, you humans are truly interesting."

"Bringing back such a thing from the Underworld and attempting to resurrect a god through blood sacrifice, it ruined the country and brought misfortune for nearly a thousand years."

"Later, that Great Zhou Dynasty tried experimenting again, messing with various things, and turned that slumbering Divine Corpse into a monster."

"But now, Emperor Qianyuan is a ruthless person, building the capital on top of the Divine Corpse, using arrays and Divine Souls to suppress it, negotiating with all Forbidden Lands, threatening to drag them to death with a random unlucky person if they don't give humanity a lifeline."

So that's it...

The connection of events explained by Manzudia—Qi finding gods, the darkness instigated by Square Immortal Road, the arrangements beneath Haojing City, the State Preceptor's seclusion suppressing national luck...

Zhang Kui was stunned as everything clicked together, and then came overwhelming anger, a fierce glint in his eyes:

"But wasn't it you all; if humanity weren't struggling for survival, how would so many things happen!"

At this moment, he could already imagine the chaos of the world, humans constantly on the brink of peril; generations of outstanding geniuses striving to carve out a path for human survival, each step deeper into madness, each attempt plunging into despair.

"Hahaha... Why are you so angry?"

The black-robed scholar smiled with sarcasm:

"The Immortal Path broken, Divine Path destroyed, the world in chaos, all beings struggle to stand out, using all means to survive. Humanity is weak, do you still wish to rule this world?"

"What's the use of being angry? If you were ruthless enough, a word from you and all Forbidden Lands would obediently relocate, but you're not ruthless enough, so don't speak harshly."

Zhang Kui gradually calmed down,

"The Underworld... what exactly is there?"

The black-robed scholar's smile faded as he looked up at the bright moon in the sky, sighing,

"The Immortal Path, Longevity, opportunities, truths... it depends on what you seek. Go, and you'll find out. In this world, aren't all beings attempting just to survive?"

Zhang Kui remained silent for a moment,

"Why tell me all this?"

"Simple. Next Mid-Autumn, a few of us will venture to the Underworld. The Nether Soil stone coffin is very important."

As he spoke, the black-robed scholar slightly smiled, his gaze turning cold, "Last time, that coward wasted our millennia in vain. If you behave the same, we don't mind returning humanity in Central State to darkness."

Zhang Kui sneered, taking a sip of wine,

"Do not threaten me; that doesn't work. I can go with you, but I want to make a deal."

The black-robed scholar's brow furrowed slightly,

"You want me to solve the locust disaster? If it were ordinary, fine, but this 'Disaster Beast' is a nuisance from the Underworld, not killing it will make it disgustingly persistent."

Zhang Kui nodded,

"No need for you to worry about that; I just want to know, where in this world can I find a Karmic Fire Red Lotus?"