In The Cultivation World, Are There Only Demonesses Left?

Chapter 1: Fallen Immortal Maiden

Night.

With a muffled clap of thunder, a violent downpour came uninvited, pouring fiercely from the sky and striking the earth.

Accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Lu Changyuan put away his umbrella and walked into the old temple on the mountain.

The rain was too heavy.

Even with the umbrella, his entire body was soaked.

The straw sandals on his feet absorbed so much water that when he stepped into the ruined temple, he left behind a trail of wet footprints.

Placing the umbrella at the temple entrance, Lu Changyuan patted his clothes, smelling the dusty air inside the dilapidated temple.

He paid it no mind.

Instead, he stepped forward, pressed his palms together, and bowed.

“Since the rain is too heavy, I shall borrow fellow Daoist’s temple of incense for a while to rest my feet.”

Boom!

A violent thunderclap roared, as if to pierce through the earth, while also illuminating the ruined temple within.

In front of Lu Changyuan was a dust-covered altar table, on which sat a small four-cornered brass cauldron.

No incense was burning in it; it was already coated with ash.

Looking further up, he saw a statue of the Thousand-Hand Guanyin carved from pure white jade.

The merciful figure of the Bodhisattva was already shrouded in cobwebs, as if draped in a layer of gauze.

Through the hazy veil of cobwebs, the Guanyin statue almost resembled a many-legged spider, its slender hands twisted into spider legs, pressing suffocatingly against one’s chest.

Lu Changyuan did not linger his gaze on the statue.

Instead, he found a worn-out prayer cushion, patted away some of the dust, and sat down.

The ruined temple was without light, and Lu Changyuan seemed almost like a dead man, eyes closed while seated upon the cushion.

After a while.

The stench of blood suddenly spread.

Someone staggered into the temple.

It was a woman.

Her skin was delicate and fair, her plain gauze garments light as mist, a crimson flower ornament at her brow.

Her otherworldly bearing was like pristine snow atop a mountain peak, making it impossible for anyone to look away.

Yet at this moment, the immortal maiden was clearly injured.

Her face was pale, with almost no trace of blood.

A few strands of dark hair clung to her cheeks, blown loose and dampened by the rain.

Rain mixed with blood ran down her fair fingers onto her sword, dripping from the blade onto the floor.

When she spotted Lu Changyuan, she cried out in alarm: “Someone!?”

Lu Changyuan politely replied, “I was gathering herbs on the mountain and encountered this sudden rain. I only came here to shelter for the night, you need not mind me.”

The woman’s expression turned slightly cold, her willow brows furrowed tightly, as if weighing her options.

After a pause.

She bit her lip, leaned on her sword as a crutch, and slowly bent down to sit at the doorway.

Lu Changyuan knew this immortal maiden’s identity.

She was Qiu Yuehan, the foremost true disciple of the Jade Palace, one of the Twelve Palaces of the Nine Orthodox Gates.

A month ago.

When Lu Changyuan was washing his face in the morning, he casually recalled the memories of his past life.

He had transmigrated into the world of a VR cultivation game he once played, called Immortal Path of Severed Emotions.

This so-called “second life” game boasted extremely high freedom and realism.

Not only were the NPCs lifelike, even the food had real flavors.

As for cultivation, the paths were countless.

Players could choose from calligraphy, puppetry, sword cultivation—countless ways all leading toward the immortal path.

Among them, Lu Changyuan had always chosen one of the more crooked and sinister routes.

In the game, under the name Daoist Chang’an, he cultivated both the Ruthless Path and the Killing Path.

His playthrough could be summarized with one word: kill!

Matters of romance, chivalry, or righteous heroics—none of these compared to killing.

Whoever it was, wherever, for whatever reason—Lu Changyuan cared not.

He killed and killed again!

He slaughtered both righteous and demonic sects alike, plunging the world into chaos, severing its strongest battle force.

Later on, he even went so far as to support a demoness to rise and become the sect master of one of the world’s greatest powers.

Who would have thought that the sins he created would one day have to be repaid by himself? Who could have imagined that with one blink, he would transmigrate here?

As he slowly integrated the memories of both lives.

Lu Changyuan discovered something truly sinister.

He had arrived too late.

The time he now lived in was five hundred years after Daoist Chang’an—his in-game self—had cleared the game and ascended.

【The Body of Five Deficiencies Cannot Cultivate】

Before Lu Changyuan could think further, strange words appeared before his eyes.

He quickly examined himself.

This body looked as though it had been struck by heavenly tribulation—missing everything.

The five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were absent.

His meridians’ spiritual apertures were not merely sealed, but blasted away entirely, leaving him incapable of ever opening them.

In cultivation, aptitude was everything.

Lu Changyuan had undoubtedly drawn the worst possible lot.

Spiritual energy entered his body only to flow right back out, unable to be retained.

He struggled for a month, but could not even reach the first stage of cultivation.

This broken body used up all its strength just staying alive, let alone cultivating.

To cultivate, he first had to repair his body.

To repair his body, he needed strength enough to seize heavenly treasures capable of such repair.

A deadlock.

As if knowing his thoughts, the words before his eyes kindly presented him with a solution.

【One month later, on a stormy night, in the Cihang Temple upon this mountain, Jade Palace’s Immortal Maiden Qiu Yuehan and Heart-Eating Monk of the Food-Buddha Sect will both suffer grievous wounds.】

【Immortal Maiden Qiu Yuehan, regarded by Jade Palace’s disciples as the one most likely to become the next palace master, possesses within her sect an item capable of repairing the Body of Five Deficiencies.】

Hundreds of years ago, Daoist Chang’an ascended to the Immortal Realm, plunging the mortal world into chaos for a full century.

The so-called Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces were the twenty-one great sects that rose afterward.

And now, Qiu Yuehan, foremost true disciple of Jade Palace and future palace master, just so happened to be gravely injured—right nearby.

This was truly good news.

Lu Changyuan’s lips curled into a gentle smile as he looked at the clear and ethereal immortal maiden.

“Young lady seems to be injured?”

The youth’s warm smile, despite the raging storm outside, carried with it a gentle warmth, as if softening the rain.

Coupled with his naturally good looks, his presence only felt more amiable.

Qiu Yuehan pressed her cherry lips tightly shut, saying nothing.

Lu Changyuan continued, “I am a physician. Would young lady like me to examine your injuries?”

“No need.”

Her tone was cold beyond measure, yet Lu Changyuan still smiled, thick-skinned despite her indifference.

“Young lady ought to come closer. Sitting at the doorway, you’ll be splashed by the rain. From what I see, you are injured. If you get wet and your wounds worsen, it will be most unfortunate.”

This ruined Cihang Temple no longer had doors.

As the rain outside grew heavier, droplets were blown inside, disturbing the stillness and splattering onto Qiu Yuehan.

Perhaps feeling that his words made sense, and seeing a peeling pillar not far away, Qiu Yuehan moved closer, half her figure concealed in darkness.

Lu Changyuan could hear her breathing—rapid and uneven.

She was clearly racing against time to recover her injuries, for another battle surely awaited.

As if to confirm his thoughts.

Hurried footsteps splashed through the water outside.

A stronger stench of blood overpowered the rain’s freshness.

At the temple entrance, a huge black shadow appeared.

Then came a grumbling voice: “Damn it, what a vicious sword… Huh, there’s actually a Cihang Temple here. Tch, this Black Region’s Cihang Temple even collects incense in such shabby villages.”

Lu Changyuan remained seated, calmly watching the newcomer.

It was a burly monk, one leg severed, blood mixing with rainwater as it dragged along the ground like a snail’s trail.

“And… a mortal? Who are you?”

Lu Changyuan, ever polite, answered every question.

“A rustic physician, gathering herbs in the mountains. I was caught by the rain and sought shelter here. May I ask who Master is?”

The monk also smiled.

His smile was kind.

Using his staff as a crutch, he hobbled step by step toward Lu Changyuan, then clasped one hand in greeting.

In the darkness, his bald head was illuminated by flashes of lightning.

“Amitabha. This humble monk hails from the Food-Buddha Sect, Dharma name Heart-Eating. Benefactor may call me Heart-Eating Monk.”

So it was Heart-Eating Monk.

Lu Changyuan quietly cast a sidelong glance at Qiu Yuehan, only to find that the immortal maiden had hidden herself completely in the darkness, her presence entirely unseen.

“I happen to have some hemostatic herbs. Master Heart-Eating may take them to stop the bleeding.”

The monk narrowed his eyes, carefully probing Lu Changyuan.

After much consideration, he found him to be nothing more than a mortal.

Yet he still remained wary.

“You mean to say, young benefactor, that you do not know of my Food-Buddha Sect?”

Lu Changyuan shook his head.

“I do not.”

The Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces had been founded after his time.

None of them were familiar to him.

The cultivation world he once knew had long since changed.

Heart-Eating Monk was greatly astonished.

The monks of the Food-Buddha Sect were infamous everywhere.

If not enough to silence a crying child, at the very least enough to send men fleeing three streets away.

For someone not to know them—could he truly be a mortal?

Lu Changyuan took out an herb from his basket and handed it to the monk, appearing every bit the kind-hearted rustic physician.

“Perhaps Master encountered a mountain tiger, which is why you lost a leg. The tigers on this mountain are known to eat men.”

Heart-Eating Monk ground the herb into paste and smeared it on his wound, but it had no effect.

He cursed angrily: “Looks like a celestial maiden, yet wields such a vicious sword. This Jade Palace is even more loathsome than my Food-Buddha Sect!”

Lu Changyuan followed along, feigning surprise.

“Swordsmanship?”

The monk let out a sinister chuckle, but did not answer.

“There is indeed a tiger on this mountain. And it’s a tigress—ferocious beyond measure.”

Lu Changyuan laughed as well.

“And how did Master determine it was a tigress?”

“That beast was so vicious, it was clear it lacked a male tiger’s suppression—lacked the harmony of yin and yang. Thus, its beastly nature ran rampant.”

Lu Changyuan could not help but smile.

“Master is truly a witty man.”

He thought to himself, that ethereal immortal maiden, lofty as clouds and moonlight, being likened to a tigress—if Jade Palace’s Qiu Yuehan, now hidden in the dark, overheard this, would she not be fuming inside?

“Amitabha.”

“Why has Master come to such a remote mountain village?”

Heart-Eating Monk was forthright in explaining, “Young benefactor, surely you know that not far from here lies the capital of the Glazed Dynasty.”

This, Lu Changyuan did know.

The Glazed Dynasty was a kingdom where immortals and mortals coexisted.

Its royal family bore the surname Su, and its founding had lasted over a thousand years, steeped in long history.

“Word has it that the ancestors of the Glazed Dynasty had some connection with Daoist Chang’an, so Daoist Chang’an left behind a Heaven-Mending Pill for this dynasty.”

Lu Changyuan feigned ignorance.

“Heaven-Mending Pill?”

He certainly had not left any Heaven-Mending Pill for the Glazed Dynasty.

A trace of desire flickered in Heart-Eating Monk’s eyes.

“Yes, the legendary Heaven-Mending Pill that can seize the fortune of heaven itself.”

Among all pills, the Heaven-Mending Pill was one of the most precious.

Reviving the dead, cleansing the marrow, any beneficial effect one could imagine—this pill could achieve.

Thus, when this news spread over a month ago, the entire cultivation world was set ablaze.

Countless righteous and demonic sects flocked to the Glazed Dynasty in search of the pill’s whereabouts.

Naturally, Heart-Eating Monk was no exception.

“This poor monk was unlucky. While seeking the pill, I was discovered by a meddlesome woman. We fought all the way until half an hour ago, when the storm broke. Otherwise, I could have slapped her to death long before.”

Lu Changyuan looked at him in surprise.

Qiu Yuehan had only injured her arm, yet this monk had lost a leg.

Hard to say who would have killed whom.

“Master’s methods of subduing demons are truly formidable.”

Heart-Eating Monk seemed to find Lu Changyuan amusing, especially with his flattering words.

He said, “I see that benefactor also has great spiritual roots.”

Lu Changyuan shook his head.

“I am but a simple rustic fool. Yet Master is so compassionate as to enlighten a villager like me. This shows that Master’s Buddhist dharma is truly profound.”

“Do you know why this poor monk wishes to enlighten you?”

Lu Changyuan shook his head again.

“So that you may die knowing, and this poor monk may offset his sins!”

The monk’s grin stretched unnaturally, almost splitting to his ears.

His face looked terribly grotesque.

Heart-Eating Monk was not a good man.

By now, he had already caught his breath.

He planned to devour Lu Changyuan to replenish his strength and prepare to face Qiu Yuehan.

Besides, he had examined and tested Lu Changyuan carefully.

This was clearly just a rustic villager, ignorant of the world, without the slightest ability to resist.

What was there to hesitate for?

Yet Lu Changyuan showed no fear.

“I already treated your wound, Master.”

Heart-Eating Monk’s face twisted hideously.

“Since you’ve sent Buddha to the West, why not treat me a bit more? Besides, the heavens’ storm led you here for this very purpose—that I may eat you to regain my strength.”

With those words, Heart-Eating Monk suddenly struck.

“Blame that wretched Qiu Yuehan of the Jade Palace instead!”

The Buddha Sect’s so-called Merciful Palm swept toward Lu Changyuan’s face, reeking with a foul stench.

Lu Changyuan shouted sternly, “Immortal Maiden, will you not act!?”

That strike was aimed at Lu Changyuan, and the monk’s back was turned directly toward the pillar—where Qiu Yuehan was hiding.

Boom!

A lightning bolt split the heavens.

The flash lit up Lu Changyuan’s face, as well as Heart-Eating Monk’s twisted visage.

In that instant, sword light flashed.

For a fleeting moment, the lightning glinted across the smooth, flowing blade, reflecting Heart-Eating Monk’s panicked expression.

“You wretched woman! Despicable and shameless!”

Lightning and sword—two lights, fleeting as an instant.

The temple soon returned to darkness.

Lu Changyuan’s breathing was as calm and steady as the rain outside.

Bang.

Dust flew up.

Heart-Eating Monk staggered back several steps before collapsing to the ground.

A bronze-like radiance briefly covered his body, but quickly faded away.

The Food-Buddha Sect’s Ghost Gate Barrier.

Qiu Yuehan said coldly, “Your barrier is broken. You’ve already lost.”

Blood gushed from Heart-Eating Monk’s mouth, yet he sneered.

“You exhausted your strength, drained all your spiritual power just to unleash the Jade Palace’s Sixth Sword. And you’ve been struck by my Awakening Curse. For now, you can’t move either!”

Lu Changyuan noticed that Qiu Yuehan remained silent, only focusing frantically on regulating her breath.

That confirmed the monk’s words.

She had gambled everything in that strike, but though she shattered his barrier, she had not slain him.

Now she was shackled by the curse.

The monk was suffering backlash, the immortal maiden bound by a spell.

Neither could move.

How interesting.

Lu Changyuan couldn’t help but think so.

So, he calmly dusted off his legs and stood up.

“The two of you, if you don’t mind, may I say a word?”

Only then did both Qiu Yuehan and Heart-Eating Monk jolt in realization.

Right.

Both were gravely wounded, immobile.

The one who could now decide the outcome—was Lu Changyuan.

Heart-Eating Monk hurriedly said, “Young benefactor, quickly help me slay this demoness! I shall guarantee you entry into my Food-Buddha Sect. From this day, you will be my personal disciple, and your path to immortality will be smooth.”

His words carried with them the subtle cadence of the Buddha Sect’s Universal Salvation Mind-Beguilement Chant.

Qiu Yuehan’s heart sank.

For a mortal, merely hearing this chant was enough to instantly submit to the Buddha Sect.

Lu Changyuan strolled leisurely to Qiu Yuehan’s side.

Her hair, soaked by the rain, clung to her upright back, tracing its graceful curve.

“Master, Buddhism has strict precepts, does it not? No meat, no wine, no marriage. I cannot endure such a rigid life.”

Heart-Eating Monk grew anxious.

“Nonsense! In my Food-Buddha Sect, wine and meat pass through the bowels, while the Buddha stays in the heart. We need not observe the precepts.”

Lu Changyuan replied evenly, “But then I’d have to recite scriptures daily. My memory is poor; I cannot remember sutras.”

“Scriptures are only for others to hear! Only the bald donkeys of the Myriad Buddhas Palace chant scriptures. In my Food-Buddha Sect, true Buddhas recite none!”

Lu Changyuan grinned.

“Interesting. So in your Food-Buddha Sect, those who chant are monks, while those who don’t are Buddhas.”

Heart-Eating Monk nodded frantically.

“Exactly, exactly! Benefactor, you have extraordinary wisdom! Monks can never become Buddhas!”

Qiu Yuehan said coldly, “Utter nonsense!”

Lu Changyuan turned his head and looked at Qiu Yuehan. “Immortal Maiden, you heard him. His offer to me is very generous. What about the terms from your side?”

The rain kept falling.

The Cihang Temple remained pitch-black inside.

Two of the cultivation world’s most renowned practitioners were being threatened by a mortal.

Whoever offered worse terms would die.

Lu Changyuan stepped forward two paces, took the sword from Qiu Yuehan’s hand, and lightly weighed it in his palm.

“Such a light sword.”

Qiu Yuehan’s face was pale.

She stared at Lu Changyuan without speaking.

“If the Immortal Maiden refuses to make terms, then I will…”

Before he finished, the immortal maiden spoke calmly: “You will not.”

Lu Changyuan asked in puzzled tones: “I will not?”

Qiu Yuehan bit her lip.

Strands of dark hair clung to her cheek, making her appear pitiful.

“You were helping me from the start. Helping me kill him. Therefore, you will not.”

“Then you are mistaken. I, Lu—have always looted, burned, killed, and done every evil thing.”

Lu Changyuan held the sword and turned toward Heart-Eating Monk.

“Master, it seems your terms are the better ones.”

A glint sprang to Heart-Eating Monk’s eyes—he believed his beguiling chant had taken effect.

“You wretched woman, you didn’t expect this, did you! Today is your calamity! This monk—”

He had not finished speaking when his vision spun wildly.

Clang.

It was his head that fell to the ground.

Impossible!

The last thing Heart-Eating Monk saw was Lu Changyuan lightly flicking the blood from his blade and saying, “Good sword. If not for this blade, this head would not have come off so cleanly.”

Qiu Yuehan exhaled relief, but her heart tightened again in an instant.

Although Lu Changyuan had killed Heart-Eating Monk, that did not mean he would not kill her as well.

If she were Lu Changyuan, she would have slain them both, taken all their treasures, and cultivated in secret.

Treasures belonging to two major sect figures would sustain a wild cultivator for a long time.

“Why do you look at me like that, Immortal Maiden?”

Lu Changyuan smiled faintly.

“Do you think I would also kill you? The customs of the cultivation world are as simple and honest as ever.”

People were people, hearts were hearts.

Just like going home.

Qiu Yuehan did not speak.

She collapsed to the ground with a thud and leaned against the pillar, looking pitiable.

Feign weakness to buy time.

At least—at least regain enough to strike once, however strong that strike might be.

Lu Changyuan squatted and used the sword to lift Qiu Yuehan’s chin.

“By the way, I have something I’d like to ask of the Immortal Maiden.”

Qiu Yuehan’s breathing was rapid; her clear eyes blinked.

“Speak. If it is within my power, I will do it.”

“I would ask the Immortal Maiden to bring me into the palace to cultivate.”

“Agreed!”

Qiu Yuehan answered almost at once.

“I did not lie. As a true disciple of the Jade Palace, I may bring one person into the palace to cultivate. Anyone is acceptable. I can even inquire about all the cultivation methods available within the palace for you.”

Fearing Lu Changyuan might not know the Jade Palace’s status, Qiu Yuehan explained while hastily recovering her energy: “The Jade Palace is a leading one among the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces. Our Palace Master is a grand cultivator at the Seventh Realm of Jade Radiance, one step away from ascension!”

Another Jade Radiance cultivator had arisen.

The cultivation world truly produced new talent in turn—like chives: cut one patch down and another would grow.

Lu Changyuan nodded with satisfaction.

“Then I entrust this to the Immortal Maiden.”

Qiu Yuehan rejoiced inwardly, but then she saw Lu Changyuan extend his hand and lightly press it onto her left shoulder.

A scalding heat surged and swallowed her in an instant.

“What… did you do?”

“I have humiliated the Immortal Maiden, and I presumed you would be resentful.”

“I am not resentful!”

Lu Changyuan did not look at Qiu Yuehan and merely said, “I think you are.”

After a moment, Qiu Yuehan finally regained some mobility and quickly turned away, lifting her collar to inspect the hot surge.

A blood-red pattern had already appeared on her pale, tender skin.

The Devour-Heart Demon Mark.

A minor technique many cultivators learned before departing—no need for spiritual power, only a mindset strong enough to crush an opponent’s heart.

It was one of the fruits of Lu Changyuan’s month of scheming.

He was of the Five-Deficiencies body.

Naturally, he could not enter the first stage of cultivation and could not practice offensive techniques that required channeling qi into the body.

But offensive methods were one thing; mental techniques were another.

Being unable to draw qi in did not mean one could not achieve perfect communion of mind!

Daoist Chang’an had perfected the Supreme Pure-Spirit Forget-Immortal Technique.

Lu Changyuan’s heart method was naturally maxed out.

Thus, Heart-Eating Monk’s beguiling chant had no effect on him, and using this heart-technique to trigger the Devour-Heart Demon Mark was effortless—especially while Qiu Yuehan could not counter.

It was that much easier.

Outside, the rain had lessened.

Dawn rose not far off; sunlight broke through the clouds, bringing gentle warmth.

“You!!!”

“If you bring me into the sect to cultivate, I will, of course, remove the curse mark from you.”

Qiu Yuehan quickly calmed down.

“Who exactly are you? Such a curse mark should not be something an ordinary person could use.”

Lu Changyuan remained silent and simply returned the sword to Qiu Yuehan.

Dawn was approaching.

Lu Changyuan said, “Just an ordinary rustic physician.”

Qiu Yuehan sneered, but Lu Changyuan had already slung his herbal basket onto his back and lifted her at the waist.

“What are you doing!?”

Too weak to struggle, she did not resist.

“Return to my place to rest first. Otherwise, with your heavy injuries, you will likely be eaten by the mountain tigress.”

Qiu Yuehan gasped in surprise, “You!!!”

The Immortal Maiden’s body was cool and smooth as jade, full and yielding.

Lu Changyuan adjusted his hold and said, “Save your strength. Also, do not try to kill me yet. After all, if I die, you will die as well.”

Suddenly, blood-red words flashed in his eyes again.

【There were three days left until Qiu Yuehan died by the sword of her junior sister Xia Lianxue.】