This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

Under the leadership of the middle-aged man, Lu Qingshan swaggered towards the village.

Along the way, villagers kept stealthily sizing up Lu Qingshan, but as he observed the complexions of these villagers, he felt increasingly uneasy.

Why did every one of them look so strange, with purplish-blue lips, as if they were poisoned, and why did each of them emit a faint fragrance of flowers that all smelled identical?

However, judging by their behavior, they seemed perfectly normal, not at all like there was something wrong with them.

The middle-aged man led Lu Qingshan directly to a wooden building in the village where the spiritual energy was most abundant.

Strangely enough, although this wooden building wasn't far from where the ordinary people lived, and there were no spirit veins underground, the spiritual energy here was much more abundant than elsewhere.

Moreover, here the strange fragrance that could be detected on the villagers' bodies, indeed became a few notches richer.

For cultivators, the more abundant the spiritual energy, the more beneficial it is for cultivation.

"Village chief," called the middle-aged man from outside the wooden building.

"What is it?" came an elderly voice from within the wooden building.

"A cultivator from outside the mountains has come to visit," the middle-aged man said respectfully.

Although the middle-aged man was just an ordinary person, he was quite perceptive; as soon as Lu Qingshan had introduced himself as coming from beyond the mountains, he had realized that Lu Qingshan's true identity was probably that of a cultivator.

No sooner had the middle-aged man finished speaking than Lu Qingshan heard the sound of hurried footsteps from within the wooden building.

With a creak, the wooden door was opened.

Lu Qingshan narrowed his eyes slightly, taking in the so-called village chief who had just emerged.

He was an old man over seventy, with white hair and a slightly stooped back, also wearing a black cloth wrapped around his head.

He was also the cultivator with the highest level of cultivation in the village, at the tenth level of Qi Refinement.

Upon seeing Lu Qingshan's youthful appearance, the village chief was unconsciously taken aback at first, but he quickly recovered, cordially inviting, "A distinguished guest has arrived, please come in to talk."

Lu Qingshan, without any formality, stepped into the wooden building.

However, as soon as he entered the wooden door, the sight in the great hall also made him pause.

In the center of the wooden building, there was a small black pool of earth, within which lay many dark crystal stone fragments.

Dozens of flowers with black petals, a strange kind of plant, were growing amidst the crystal stone fragments in the earth pool, emitting a peculiar scent along with a faint spiritual energy.

That scent was exactly the fragrance Lu Qingshan had smelled. Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

What truly amazed Lu Qingshan was that these strange flowers were identical in shape to the Blooming Spirit Flowers!

However, the petals of the Blooming Spirit Flowers were pink and looked very beautiful, while the flora in front of him had black petals, even the buds were black, making them look extremely eerie.

Despite his astonishment, Lu Qingshan didn't show it and after a glance, did not look again.

The village chief asked Lu Qingshan to sit down and offered him a cup of clear tea, "This is Biyun tea; it has the effect of calming the mind and nurturing the spirit."

Lu Qingshan took the clear tea, but only held it in his hand without drinking.

"May I ask how the fellow daoist addresses himself?" the village chief asked. "My name is Sang Ku."

"Lu Qingshan."

"Fellow Daoist Lu," Sang Ku immediately corrected himself, "I heard that you come from beyond the mountains?"

"Indeed," Lu Qingshan nodded, "By a misstep, I ventured deep into the Three Thousand Great Mountains and now am lost, not knowing the way out. I wonder if Village Chief Sang has a map of this place? If you could provide me with one, I would be most grateful."

Sang Ku's eyes flickered.

Their village was located deep in the Three Thousand Great Mountains; unless by intention, how could one casually stumble upon this place?

The reasoning was simple, could you accidentally walk from Qing State to Ning State?

But even though he understood this well, he was very sensible and said nothing more, instead, he took out a piece of sheepskin paper from the storage bag hanging at his waist and handed it to Lu Qingshan without hesitation.

"This is the map of the Three Thousand Great Mountains. Although it's rudimentary and rough, it should be no problem helping my fellow Daoist to leave this place," Sang Ku stroked his beard and said.

Lu Qingshan's heart leapt with joy, and he quickly took the sheepskin paper. He saw that it was crudely marked with several points, outlined the terrain of the mountain ranges, and finally, a route leading out of the Three Thousand Great Mountains was indicated with a red line.

After memorizing the map carefully, Lu Qingshan asked again, "Sang Daoist, have you seen a little demon deer recently, with two golden antlers..."

Lu Qingshan went on to describe the appearance of the yellow deer in detail.

Sang Ku pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I have not seen it."

Seeing the disappointed expression on Lu Qingshan's face, Sang Ku immediately added, "However, someone in the village might have seen it; I can gather all the villagers and ask around for you."

Lu Qingshan was delighted and expressed his gratitude, "Then I will trouble Sang Daoist."

Sang Ku waved his hand, "It's a small matter."

"Sang Yin." Sang Ku called out.

The middle-aged man who had been waiting outside immediately walked in, respectfully saying, "Village Chief."

"Gather all the villagers here; I have something I need to ask them."

"Understood." Sang Yin quickly withdrew.

......

Soon thereafter, the sound of footsteps rustled outside the wooden building, and more and more villagers began to gather.

"Village Chief, all the people in the village are outside now," Sang Yin walked in soon and reported to Village Chief Sang Ku.

Sang Ku nodded, "Fellow Daoist Lu, let's go outside."

Stepping out of the wooden building, they saw the clearing in front of the building was already bustling with noise and activity.

Since Sang Ku had called for all the villagers, even young children had come.

Standing at the forefront were a dozen cultivators from the village.

Upon seeing the village chief come out, the crowd, which had been buzzing with conversation, immediately fell silent, their attention fixed on Sang Ku.

This scene somewhat surprised Lu Qingshan.

It appeared that Village Chief Sang Ku commanded great respect.

"Villagers, this esteemed guest is looking for a demon beast. The beast resembles a small deer, with a white body and two golden antlers on its head. In recent times, has anyone seen such a creature?" Sang Ku's voice, infused with spiritual power, reached the ears of every villager.

About a thousand villagers looked at each other, but none stepped forward to speak for quite a while.

After a long wait, Sang Ku's face showed disappointment, and he apologized to Lu Qingshan, "Fellow Daoist Lu, it seems there is no news."

"Sang Daoist not only gave me a map but was willing to go through so much trouble for me; my gratitude is boundless," said Lu Qingshan, waving his hand to show that it did not matter; after all, he had not expected it to be so easy.

Yet, after a brief pause, a glint of sharpness flickered in Lu Qingshan's eyes, and he spoke again, "I wonder, Village Chief Sang, what troubles you might have encountered? Just tell me, and if it is within my power, I will do my best to help."

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

He clearly had no prior acquaintance with Sang Ku, yet Sang Ku was so enthusiastic towards him; either Sang Ku had other schemes in mind, or he needed his assistance.

Considering the gap in their cultivation, the latter seemed more likely.

Lu Qingshan's directness caught Sang Ku off guard, his eyes flickered for a moment, and he no longer beat around the bush, frankly admitting, "Indeed, there is a matter for which I would like to request Fellow Daoist Lu's assistance."

Lu Qingshan remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Sang Ku collected his thoughts and then said, "Fellow Daoist Lu must be curious how such a small and weak village like ours can survive in a place teeming with demon beasts?"