Asked About The World Of Mortals

Chapter 17: Unexpected Changes

Seeing Li Qinglin suddenly return to normal, the young master's expression changed slightly. "How...how are you fine?"

Li Qinglin spewed out a mouthful of water and said, "I wrapped the wine in True Qi in my throat, so it didn't go down my stomach. Pretending to be poisoned was just to see what truth the monster could spit out while I was confused..." He paused for a moment and continued with some regret, "I didn't expect this jade pendant to be so effective against the monster. The commotion was too big, which was not what I wanted."

The nun outside pursed her lips, unable to anticipate these twists and turns.

"No wonder my master said to seek enlightenment in the mortal world. This person's heart is deceitful and not something that can be seen by a hidden cultivator in the mountains." She thought for a moment and muttered to herself, "Li Qinglin's scheming, it's highly likely that he was behind this."

As if responding to the nun's thoughts, voices came from outside the manor as several horses rushed in.

Seeing the leader, the young master was greatly surprised and bowed, saying, "Greetings, County Governor Wang."

County Governor Wang hurriedly dismounted and pushed the young master aside, kneeling on one knee. "I am Wang He, paying respects to the Second Prince and Princess Zhao Yang."

The entire manor was stunned, and the young master's face turned pale.

Li Qingjun sneered, "Could it be that this person came to support the people of this farm? This guy can actually make you, County Governor, personally come. Impressive!"

Wang He wiped his sweat and said, "Princess, you misunderstood. I don't know this person. I only heard from others that they saw the two of you at the city gate in the evening. I happened to have urgent matters and came specifically to find you."

"Oh?" Li Qinglin said, "What urgent matter?"

"The Crown Prince..." Wang He paused and bowed, "The Crown Prince was assassinated last night."

Li Qinglin's pupils slightly contracted, and Li Qingjun's face turned pale.

In the face of such a major event, the matters of the farm naturally became insignificant. The young master didn't wait for the County Governor to exert his authority and spilled everything like pouring beans.

The farmhand who died inexplicably before was killed by the corpse worm demon sucking away his essence. The master of the manor had posted a reward to catch the ghost, but he never thought it was his own wife who did it.

So the master of the manor was not supposed to die...but unfortunately, he had a wayward son.

In other words, the strange occurrences here involved both demons and humans, and everyone's previous judgments were wrong.

Of course, this matter was no longer within the scope of the Li siblings' concern. Their thoughts had already been occupied by the major event of the Crown Prince's death, and they hurried back to the capital overnight. Along the way, they were no longer just three people, as the county sent a military escort. Obviously, the Southern Li, which had lost the Crown Prince, couldn't afford any more accidents with the Second Prince.

Because the king only had these two sons.

This was no longer the time for adventures. It was likely that Li Qinglin would never have the opportunity to travel alone again.

The expressions of the Li siblings were very serious all the way, devoid of any frivolousness. From a broader perspective, Southern Li was about to undergo a change, and from a smaller perspective, they had lost their elder brother.

Especially for Li Qinglin, it must be particularly complicated to have these two emotions mixed together.

Qin Yi rode alongside them, also silent.

Unlike the Li siblings, the Crown Prince was too far away from him, and he didn't even know what it felt like to lose someone. However, the matters of the farm had a great impact on him.

Such a beautiful woman, but just a facade. In her bones, she was a disgustingly vile corpse worm. This was what cultivators saw as a beautiful skeleton. No matter how much of a disaster she was, she was just a skin.

To be able to abandon appearances and not be deceived by appearances, that was the necessary process of the Great Dao.

But for the sake of fighting over such a skin, there was even patricide...and in the end, even the most tender feelings couldn't resist the temptation of a piece of jade.

So, in the end, are monsters more malicious, or is it human nature?

He hung back far behind the team, quietly talking to Liu Su.

"Your cultivation is not enough to participate in such puzzles. You think you have understood it all, but when faced with a calamity or a beautiful woman, can you truly resist being attracted? This is what we call knowing it is easy, but doing it is difficult," Liu Su said leisurely. "In any case, after seeing such things many times, it becomes like that. When you live for thousands of years, you won't be affected by such matters anymore. You can understand without participating."

Qin Yi asked in a low voice, "If we don't participate to understand, then what is the essence of cultivating immortality?"

"Simply put, it is to examine one's own heart," Liu Su replied.

"Why examine one's own heart?"

"After experiencing the mortal world, you will know," Liu Su said leisurely. "You have hidden in the Immortal Trace Mountain your whole life, thinking you have transcended the world, but in reality, it is a great mistake. Without entering the world, how can you claim to have transcended it?"

"So, you were actually encouraging me to pursue romantic relationships back then?"

Liu Su laughed, "Without experiencing anything, don't speak recklessly about the Great Dao. It's just that. Even if some things don't require personal experience, you should at least have seen them. Do you think I have malicious thoughts about everything? It's just that I have seen too much. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years pass in the mortal world. What's the point of arguing about the trivialities of the mundane world?"

Qin Yi, unusually, didn't argue back and instead said seriously, "I will take your teachings to heart."

Liu Su was taken aback for a moment, then changed the subject, "Since you have encountered a monster that can change its appearance, aren't you curious about the common knowledge of Monster Cultivators?"

"Because I know you can't resist telling me yourself."

"..." Liu Su was annoyed, "I won't tell you even if I die."

"Oh." Qin Yi casually said, "Since being manipulated by a jade pendant has turned me into something neither human nor ghost, maybe Lady Zhang isn't as formidable as that monster tiger."

Liu Su sneered, "You know nothing!"

After cursing, it spilled out all the common knowledge of Monster Cultivators like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

The lowest level of Monster Cultivators is called the Spirit Communication stage, which is when animals, plants, and other beings have just gained basic spiritual intelligence and acquired some strange abilities. This stage corresponds roughly to the Qi Refining stage of humans and is also divided into nine levels of cultivation. When the Spirit Communication stage reaches its peak, the spiritual intelligence is no different from that of humans, and it is called Spirit Communication.

"Of course, most Spirit Communication monsters are self-taught. Compared to humans, they lack the diverse methods and overall inheritance of Qi Refining cultivators. Even Martial Artists who are more powerful than them are not afraid of them. They can only scare ordinary people," Liu Su added, "Take that spider monster as an example."

"Um..." Qin Yi scratched his head, "Has Lady Zhang surpassed this stage?"

"No, she is stuck at the peak of this stage," Liu Su sneered, "Don't underestimate monsters at this stage. Just like humans at the peak of Qi Refining, they can often call themselves immortals. Lady Zhang's current state was actually caused by a jade pendant manipulated by Li Qinglin. That jade pendant is quite extraordinary."

Qin Yi nodded thoughtfully.

When the Spirit Communication stage is complete, one can attempt to break through to the Body Transformation stage, which is when one can transform into a human form. There are countless little monsters stuck at this bottleneck, each trying various methods to break through. Lady Zhang's method of using human skin to disguise herself is one of them. This is a last resort when one has not yet broken through to the Body Transformation stage during the Spirit Communication stage.

"You can also see those who have peeled off human skin to refine themselves, or those who have tried to transform but ended up looking strange, with blue faces and fangs. It's obvious that they are monsters," Liu Su added, "Lady Zhang's method is relatively mild. She absorbs human vitality in the hope of completely solidifying her form. Unfortunately, her methods are too crude, as most self-taught methods tend to be."

"I see," Qin Yi sighed, "So, if we see a monster that truly looks like a human, that means it is a more formidable monster?"

"When one truly breaks through the Body Transformation stage, they will indeed have no obvious differences from humans. However, they often retain some characteristics that are difficult to conceal, such as leaving a tail. Or their Monster Qi is very strong and requires many methods to conceal. When faced with certain stimuli, they may still reveal their true form," Liu Su said, "But even with some hidden features, they can still blend into the human world and are rarely exposed. Compared to your full focus on Qi Refining and Foundation Building, this can also be called laying the foundation."

"What comes after that?"

"What comes after that?" Liu Su sneered, "With your current abilities, encountering one means you won't survive. What's the point of asking?"

"..."