Cultivation Starts from Killing Pigs

Dianzhou, where the mountains are steep and major cities are scarce.

Even the canal network, it was only a hundred years ago that the Qian Dynasty extended it here. Most people are scattered across the countryside, with villages scattered like stars, paths crisscrossing, and wheat fields in patches.

In front of a stretch of lush green rice fields, Uncle Awa held his grandson tightly, watching the blue-clad, black-faced man ahead with some fear.

"Sir... Sir, this is the old man's field."

The black-faced man nodded expressionlessly, then looked towards the rice field, which was crawling with hopping locusts, munching on the rice with a rustling sound.

The black-faced man sneered coldly, then took out a bone flute from his bosom and slowly began to play an ear-piercing and unpleasant tune.

Buzz... buzz... buzz...

Soon, a massive roaring sound came from afar, resembling a dark cloud of huge tiger striped beetles, each as thick as an adult's thumb.

A swarm of tiger-striped beetles whirled in, landing on the wheat fields under the black-faced man's command, and quickly devoured the locusts in no time.

"That will do, put the silver on account for now."

The black-faced man nodded coldly, then turned and left.

Uncle Awa wore a bitter expression, bowing to see him off.

The grandson in his arms widened his eyes, "Grandpa, is that Insect Master from the Colorful Cloud Cave?"

"Shut up!"

Uncle Awa suddenly turned pale and shouted sternly, hurriedly covering his grandson's mouth tightly, nervously looking around, relaxing slightly only when he saw no one was around.

In Dianzhou, Colorful Cloud Cave is a taboo word.

Colorful clouds, colorful clouds, those who don't know might think it's a good place, but the locals often get so scared their hearts and souls tremble.

There are indeed colorful clouds there, covering hundreds of miles, dazzlingly beautiful, but if an ordinary person encounters them, they will soon suffer decaying skin, crumbling bones, and their soul scattered to the winds.

Because in the Colorful Cloud Cave, there's an evil spirit forbidden land,

Chai Kingdom.

And in Dianzhou, aside from monks and Taoists, people mostly deal with three kinds of people: Curse Witches, Ghost Witches, and Insect Masters.

Curse Witches cast curses and play with Gu, Ghost Witches raise little ghosts, and Insect Masters command poisonous insects.

Talking about these people, most are difficult to distinguish between righteousness and evil; the Nine-Child Ghost Witch comes from among them, giving a hint of their character.

But as the saying goes, the mountain is high and the Emperor is far away, Dianzhou is located in the Southern Border, the Astronomical Bureau's influence is weak, and in the mountains and wild lands, there are many poisonous insects and ghosts; the people can only seek help from these individuals.

Nowadays, locust plagues spread throughout the Central State, Uncle Awa's son and daughter-in-law died in the fields from blood-sucking insects, leaving only the grandson to rely on. Fearing the locust plague will ruin the crops and starve them, he had no choice but to borrow money to seek help from the Insect Master.

Thinking about the difficulties in the coming year, Uncle Awa's face grew more bitter, picking up a small basket and smiling at his grandson:

"Nuwa, come, we must keep an eye on the crops, don't let bugs from elsewhere come and cause trouble."

The grandson happily took the small basket,

"Oh, catching bugs..."

Watching the joyful figure of his grandson, Uncle Awa's lips trembled, and he let out a long sigh towards the sky.

He suddenly remembered the wooden bell and divine tablet a villager secretly brought to him a few days ago, saying they were the human race's sacred artifacts, the "Divine Court Bell," along with three True Gods.

The villager was full of excitement, saying these were not those Ghost Witches and Insect Masters worshipping the Insect God, but the True Gods of the human race. It was said that in other places, sincere prayers had already dispelled the locust plagues.

Will it work?

Uncle Awa didn't know, he only knew that if they couldn't survive this calamity, he and his grandson might not live.

Meanwhile, after the black-faced man went down the mountain, he quickly came to a dense forest, where another man was squatting in front of a large dirt pit observing.

"How's it going?"

The black-faced man asked nervously.

"Tsk tsk, this thing seems pretty ordinary..."

The companion looked disdainful.

The black-faced man chuckled darkly, "What do you know, the superior said that whoever can cultivate this thing will be immediately taken in."

In the dirt pit, locusts viciously bit at each other, some had already grown wings and red bellies...

......

Deep in the night, all was silent.

In a wild temple amidst the desolate mountains, a faint firelight emerged, and the crackle of wood in the fire pile echoed. A wild goat, its skin red and meat bright, was continuously dripping fat into the coals with a sizzle.

Sitting in front of the fire was Zhang Kui.

He controlled his sword and traveled through the clouds, chasing the moon. To his surprise, he arrived in Dianzhou so quickly, yet the agreed meeting time with others was two days later.

The National Guardian True Man of Dianzhou was named Chu Pengshan. His family had lived here for generations, and he was always mysterious, rarely interacting with other National Guardians. Plus, this was the territory of the Chai Kingdom, and even a fool would know what that meant.

Unlike other places, the officials of the Astronomical Bureau here were all appointed by him. To avoid unnecessary complications, Zhang Kui didn't enter the city but camped out in the wild.

Zhang Kui took a sip of wine and glanced sideways at the stone statue covered in cobwebs.

The statue wore a strange official robe, with a human body but a head full of compound eyes and a pair of large mandibles.

He had long heard that Dianzhou was filled with improper worship, a trend that had lasted for hundreds of years, and didn't expect to encounter a broken household right upon arrival.

What is improper worship?

In his previous life, it would have meant rituals not conforming to the rites. Even if someone had a far-reaching reputation, without formal recognition by the Court, it was regarded as improper worship.

In this world, the definition of improper worship is very simple.

Yin Ghost Demon Souls usurp divine positions. They lack the Divine Strange Pearl and cannot cultivate the Divine Path. In the folk, males are often called "General," while females are referred to as "Madam."

What's more despicable is that these entities cannot aid believers and instead use fear and threats, often performing human sacrifices, bringing disaster to the land.

An Insect Demon wearing an official robe?

Zhang Kui couldn't help but think of the "Chai Kingdom." Being called a kingdom, could it be that there are kings and Ministers of the Six Departments within that Colorful Cloud Cave?

Just then, faint black smoke floated up from the dark corner of the temple. Zhang Kui pretended not to see it, squinting as if in a light sleep.

He had noticed something was off here earlier and had long since sealed his Qi mechanism with the Qi Prohibition Skill. Now, he appeared as an ordinary person.

Pa-ta, pa-ta.

Footsteps suddenly echoed, and a pair of tiny black footprints slowly emerged from the dark corner, heading towards Zhang Kui's back.

Zhang Kui suddenly sighed, then looked at the statue, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"What a cowardly bastard, sending a little ghost to scout!"

Zhi-zhi!

The shadow cast by the firelight behind the statue suddenly expanded, transforming into a large, twisted spider shape.

The little ghost also revealed itself, appearing as a ragged boy with deathly pale skin and pitch-black eyes, its mouth opening bizarrely to reveal jagged teeth, pouncing straight for Zhang Kui.

Zhang Kui didn't turn around. Just as the little ghost approached, it was turned into black smoke by a burst of golden light.

Dianzhou cultivators loved to refine little ghosts, torturing these children into fierce ghosts. Having no escape, they were better off being released early.

The evil spirit hidden within the statue was also startled by Zhang Kui's revealed aura, rapidly retracting and sinking into the ground, trying to escape.

"Get over here!"

Now that it had been lured out, there was no way Zhang Kui would let it escape. With a casual gesture, the Qi Prohibition Skill was activated, and a cloud of black smoke rolled a few times on the ground, kneeling before him.

"Spare me, True Man!"

The black smoke dispersed, revealing a phantom clad in a red robe. Indeed, as carved in the statue, its lower body was human, topped with a head full of compound eyes and large teeth.

This evil spirit trembled on the ground. Despite its terrifying appearance, it was cowardly to the extreme.

Zhang Kui looked at it coldly,

"Where do you practice? Is it the Chai Kingdom?"

The Insect Demon Evil Spirit quickly nodded,

"Reporting to the True Man, I originally practiced in the Upper Cave, but after my death, I could only possess a mountain dweller, building a temple here to cultivate a Yin body…"

This Insect Demon Evil Spirit was terrified and Zhang Kui's overwhelming Sword Qi felt like it was slicing its Divine Soul into pieces. The pain was excruciating, and it answered Zhang Kui's questions without reservation.

However, Zhang Kui felt somewhat disappointed.

It turned out the Chai Kingdom was an endless abyss. The deeper underground one went, the higher the rank. Clearly, this was just a Little Demon, with its highest contact being a Grain Avoidance Realm Cave Master. As for generals and kings, it was said they all resided deep in the subterranean darkness.

Expressionless, Zhang Kui casually released a Sword Light, completely dispersing the evil spirit. The moment he saw it using little ghosts for dark rituals, he could hardly suppress his killing intent.

Just then, he frowned suddenly, looking outside the temple. Several Celestial Tribulation Realm auras had just flashed quickly down the mountain.

Because he had sealed his Qi mechanism, he hadn't been detected, but he could sense them.

Among them, one was very familiar…

It was the Yellow Eyebrow Monk!