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1.38% Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator! / Chapter 8: 8. Men are born of their human mothers, and demons are born of their demon mothers.

Chapter 8: 8. Men are born of their human mothers, and demons are born of their demon mothers.

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Men are born of their mothers, and demons of theirs; Tan Shuchang was naturally not born from the heavens and earth—he, too, was born of a human being... probably a human.

Before the age of five, Tan Shuchang was just an ordinary illegitimate child.

He had no idea who his real father was, nor what his mother's name was, only that she was likely not the simple farmer's wife she appeared to be. This was the conclusion Tan Shuchang had drawn from his observations.

After the age of five, events confirmed Tan Shuchang's conclusions, namely, that his birth mother's behavior was somewhat... odd.

"I have lived through nine lives, given birth to nine sons, and killed nine sons, all to perfect the Nine Infanticides Ghost Mother. I never expected to reap what I'd sown and be compelled to live an extra life, giving birth to yet another son, so I shall keep you…" she had said.

That was what his birth mother had told him.

Tan Shuchang still remembered how his mother, once mild and placid as water, suddenly appeared regal and exceptionally noble, yet also incredibly cold and indifferent, her gaze seemingly able to extinguish all life.

Then, as bandits arrived, she feigned a tumble down a cliff...

Because afterwards, Tan Shuchang saw her rise into the air, although strangely, he was the only one who could see his mother at that moment.

The bandits captured Tan Shuchang, who was just five years old at the time, but did not kill him. Instead, they took him with them. Eventually, soldiers arrived, drove the bandits away, rescued Tan Shuchang, and escorted him respectfully to Jingzhou.

It was then that Tan Shuchang learned of his true status.

At the feet of the Jingzhou Emperor, the son of Tan, the Imperial Teacher to two dynasties!

Although merely an illegitimate son, Tan had only four sons, including Tan Shuchang. And the three before him, apart from the eldest who inherited Tan's true knowledge, the other two were no smarter than pigs.

Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that pigs were more intelligent than those two.

Therefore, it was this Tan, the Imperial Teacher, who took an interest in Tan Shuchang, his out-of-wedlock son. A family as large as theirs could ill afford to have only one member holding the fort.

From ancient times to the present, having the right father has been key.

With such a father, it would have been difficult for Tan Shuchang not to succeed. There were a few whose literary works surpassed his, which he remembered well. Although he studied hard, such things are largely a matter of talent, and Tan Shuchang had only average talent for it.

However, the top student of the final imperial examination turned out to be him, and the Emperor himself recognized this first place.

During the celebration feast, Tan Shuchang was intentionally made drunk.

It was only after he sobered up that he learned he had beaten up the Emperor's three sons, because they looked too much like his own 'Second Brother and Third Brother'.

Tan Shuchang remembered that he probably hadn't laid a hand on them, he seemed to have only been beaten himself at the time, but everyone was saying so, and the Emperor as well, so the accusation stood.

However, because of his father, Tan Shuchang was merely stripped of his titles and sent home to reflect upon his actions.

Not long after this event, a cup of poisoned wine was delivered to the Tan household.

Learning that his favorite son would be spared if he ended his own life, the Imperial Teacher of two dynasties drank the poisoned wine without hesitation, thereby ending his illustrious life.

However, what the Imperial Teacher did not anticipate was that the Emperor had played a game of words with him.

The Emperor spared only Tan Shuchang.

The rest of the Tan family, as long as they were within the third degree of kinship, were all put to death without exception.

Tan Shuchang's eldest brother had already held a high official position and had vast connections of power and influence. Not only was he literate and martially skilled, having practiced for some time, but he also had enough influence in the military and among cultivators to summon considerable support.

However, Tan Shuchang's second and third brothers, don't be fooled by their seemingly scoundrel behavior, standard prodigals, but the fact is that their mother's family wielded great influence!

Their impact in the court was tremendous!

Although Tan Shuchang seemed much stronger than his second and third brothers, at the end of the day, he was merely a man of mediocrity. Just an ordinary person who, after being blessed with a powerful family background, could only display so much.

Moreover, he was an illegitimate child, and his birth mother had been killed by someone sent by Tan's main madam, who was dissatisfied with her, under the guise of bandits.

As for how Tan Shuchang became aware of the true identities of those bandits at the time, it was one of the eunuchs who came to confiscate the Tan manor, found him, and personally told him, then gave him some silver coins and drove him out of Jingzhou.

No sooner had Tan Someone left Jingzhou than the benevolent name of His Majesty spread throughout the twenty-five provinces.

One can only say that there isn't an emperor without deep scheming.

As for the special traits of Tan Shuchang...

This actually began when he was very young, and he who had lived two lives always concealed it, even before the age of five, never revealing it.

He feared his birth mother would see him as a monster and burn him alive.

However, after the age of five, Tan Shuchang understood that his abilities were likely influenced by his birth mother. He must have inherited some of her powers.

Black Heart Mountain.

This place did not become sunny and bright with the death of the Heartless Old Man, a demon.

The darkness here was caused by its unique geographical location.

It is said that a massive amount of malevolent energy is buried beneath the mountain, and Black Heart Mountain became such a ferocious place due to the influence of this malevolent energy.

At this moment, Tan Shuchang was refining the second fierce ghost.

Seated cross-legged, dressed in white clothing as pure as snow, Tan Shuchang was surrounded by blood flowing out, surreal yet palpable, and the darkness near Tan Shuchang seemed to diminish significantly.

As if the malevolent energy of this place had been absorbed in part.

Within the trickling streams of blood, two figures could be seen, one being a disheveled girl with excessively pale complexion. She was the one Tan Shuchang had captured from the dormitory building.

This fierce ghost harbored intense malevolence, with only chaotic evil in her eyes—clearly, an unrestrained killing ghost. In that bizarre survival game, encountering such a ghost meant one had to try to awaken its last shred of humanity, or meet certain death.

However, this ghost had already been refined by Tan Shuchang, so at the moment, she appeared quite calm.

Next to this unrestrained killing ghost was the ghost of a woman with long legs and a graceful figure, who could be considered a stunning beauty minus the head.

This female ghost's killings were limited by rules.

Yet now, as Tan Shuchang continued to refine her, the restrictive rules upon the female ghost were also disintegrating.

Suddenly, the female ghost let out a piercing wail, then dissolved into a pool of blood, attempting to escape amidst the omnipresent flowing blood, but she failed to get away.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the female ghost settled down as well.

This meant that Tan Shuchang had successfully refined her.

Then, Tan Shuchang's expression turned somewhat peculiar, "So this female ghost can be used like this..."


next chapter

Chapter 9: Ghosts lift lotus, twelve years of effort

From the moment Tan Shuchang began his cultivation, he knew that refining ghosts was highly beneficial for him, allowing him to further develop his unique abilities.

It was like how certain wild animals, such as dogs and cats, instinctively knew which herbs were good for them.

It was a kind of unspoken heritage of ability.

However, the extent to which his uniqueness would evolve depending on the level of the ghost was unclear to Tan Shuchang, as there had never been a suitable ghost before. He had attempted to make do with lesser spirits, but each act of refining only diminished his own spiritual cultivation.

Once, he chanced upon a relatively powerful spirit, already giving rise to malevolent energy. Refining it did not diminish his power, but the stream of blood that flowed from it simply made him vomit what he had eaten.

It wasn't until a few days ago that he captured his first ghost from that bizarre game, and the issue did not arise.

He had finally succeeded in refining one!

At that moment, as Tan's thoughts shifted, the stream of blood reappeared, but this time, apart from the blood, a phantom Lotus Platform also emerged.

Due to its ethereal nature, the exact appearance of the Lotus Platform remained indiscernible.

But what he could confirm was that sitting on this Lotus Platform just once would increase Tan Shuchang's spiritual cultivation by twelve years. However, the prerequisite to sitting on this Lotus Platform was refining two more ghosts, totaling the power of four to jointly elevate this platform and solidify it.

After using it, the Lotus Platform would revert to being ethereal, and to increase his cultivation again, he would need eight ghosts.

Twice as many as the first time.

The third time, he would need twice the initial amount, which would be twelve ghosts.

Then the number would continue to increase progressively.

Each time the ghosts elevated the Lotus Platform, Tan Shuchang could gain twelve years of spiritual cultivation.

"Finding ghosts doesn't seem too hard…"

Tan Shuchang calculated the time he had entered the bizarre game twice.

In the past, he would have been distressed because in the Jiawu Realm, there is a Land of Yin and Darkness that occasionally sends creatures to capture lingering spirits and bring them back.

The well-known methods of capturing and subduing ghosts in the Jiawu Realm also originated from the Land of Yin and Darkness.

Because these creatures would come to "recycle" the spirits.

In exchange, they would offer rewards like "Yin virtue," "elixirs," "magic artifacts," among others, where "Yin virtue" was the currency of the Land of Yin and Darkness.

If the spirits handed over reached the level of a ghost, they could even retrieve information regarding the whereabouts of a psychic treasure.

A psychic treasure was something countless cultivators dreamt of obtaining.

However, most cultivators, even when encountering a psychic treasure, were not destined to acquire it.

Just like what had happened to Tan Shuchang before.

The Chaotic Life Dharma Bead had simply slipped away; even if he had wanted to stop it, he couldn't have.

Although the psychic treasures chose their owners, and the cultivators had no active role in it, it did not detract from the treasures' value. Thus, even just a clue to its location was incredibly valuable.

Even most of the time, unless it's a deep grudge like the killing of one's father or the stealing of one's wife, an effective clue to a spirit-communicating treasure could directly negate any resentments between two people.

"Previously it was two days, so in about another day or two, it will be my time to enter the bizarre game..."

"As for these two days, I need to find the little thief who stole my diary!"

Immediately after, Tan Shuchang descended from Black Heart Mountain and made his way to Qinghe City.

This was the only city in the nearby area.

After all, Black Heart Mountain was in a very remote place, and apart from the neighboring sect of Jiuxiao Sect, it could be said that within ten miles, there was not a soul to be seen.

This city, where cultivators and mortals lived together, was very different from other cities inhabited by mortals.

Firstly, there was no county magistrate or county office here.

After all, establishing such institutions would not only make the imperial court uncomfortable but also the Jiuxiao Sect. As a righteous and evil power that intermingles and is unchallenged, Jiuxiao Sect's influence was not merely due to familial relations.

Although many cultivators admired the female sect leader of the Jiuxiao Sect, and most who were ambiguously associated with her held high positions, whether as sect leaders or elders on the righteous path or as renowned figures within the evil sects.

But the cultivation of this female sect leader was not low.

Moreover, her disciples were known as the Seven Fairies, which meant that these seven disciples were not only beautiful in appearance but also top-notch in their cultivation and abilities.

The eldest disciple of the Jiuxiao Sect, Li Luoxia, was the oldest at just over twenty, belonging to the younger generation. But her strength had already reached that of the more mature generation.

Even some loose cultivators with over thirty years of cultivation were far from her match.

At this moment, this Li Luoxia was in Qinghe City.

Since the people from Mount of Swords had been in this city for so long, and also sent batch after batch of people here, it was somewhat essential for the Jiuxiao Sect to send a disciple of some stature.

As for sending an elder, that would seem like accusing Mount of Swords, so someone like Li Luoxia was just right.

Li Luoxia, having just sent away the delegation from Mount of Swords and feeling relieved, saw her maidservant hurrying over, so she couldn't help but cover her forehead and said in agony, "Xiangxiang, you're not going to tell me another major righteous sect has sent someone, are you?"

"No, miss. Tan Shuchang wants to see you," the maidservant hurriedly said.

"Tan Shuchang? The Tan Shuchang who killed the Heartless Old Man?" Li Luoxia was instantly startled, then felt some tingling in her scalp, as this was even more troublesome than a disciple from a major righteous sect coming over.

The first and most important point was that she felt she might not be a match for this Tan Shuchang.

Although the Heartless Old Man had greatly weakened in strength after the battle a few years ago, as long as he had the Chaotic Life Dharma Bead, his strength wasn't much diminished.

At least if she were to face such a spirit-communicating treasure, Li Luoxia believed she would undoubtedly die.

"Yes, miss, it's the Tan Shuchang who wrote that cultivation diary!" The maidservant had followed Li Luoxia for many years, and her family had been servants in the Li family for generations, so Li Luoxia trusted Xiangxiang deeply, and often shared many things she knew with her.

When Li Luoxia heard Xiangxiang mention the cultivation diary, her expression shifted slightly because she remembered her little junior sister who seemed to have a somewhat unclear relationship with this Tan Shuchang. A few years ago, when her junior sister created a disturbance on the Cliff of Contemplation, it was Tan Shuchang who went to persuade her to come down.

So, Li Luoxia said, "Please ask him to come over quickly, and ah, don't mention anything about the cultivation diary."

"Don't worry, miss. Haven't I been with you long enough to know what can and cannot be said? And isn't it because I'm very discreet that I could come to the Jiuxiao Sect to cultivate with you!"


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