Necropolis Immortal

"The Boneforge Pill can temper my body and grant me the physical prowess of a martial cultivator Yushi Moli was in fine fettle on his way home. “Long Qianjue must have taken similar pills like this back in his day!”

The boy’s lips turned upward and he smiled easily. His uncle had said that the pill was the equivalent of a year’s hard work. Then the pills in his hand were ten years’ worth!

As mature and steady as he might be, he couldn’t help but grow excited at the implications. He’d always craved to rapidly grow and develop his strength so he could complete something he was very anxious about. It was a goal he highly desired to achieve, so he inwardly thanked Yuqing Yang for the favor.

"But there’s only ten of the pills. I’ll have to buy them for one thousand gold coins each after ten days. One thousand gold coins Yushi Moli sent his horse into a moderate trot as he rapidly considered various plans. “And five hundred thousand more in three years!”

His sights were also set on the Origin Elevation Pill.

"I’m a poor soul right now, so I’ve got to figure out a way to make money… My options are to either hunt monsters in Qingqiu Mountain or become an assassin at the Sanguine Dusk Tavern.

"Well, I can forget about becoming an assassin. It’s not like they’ll accept me with my level of strength. Therefore, my only way to earn money is to kill low ranked monsters in the mountain!

"My Qingfeng Sword can deploy the might of upper human rank. I shouldn’t have a problem killing human rank monsters.” Yushi Moli thus decided on his next course of action.

For some reason, thinking of Qingqiu Mountain nearly made his heart burst with yearning. But since his memories were sealed away, he couldn’t remember who it was he missed.

Two faint figures steadily revolved around his heart.

"Ten days! I’m going to use these pills over the next ten days to temper my body and grow stronger! After that, I’ll head into the depths of the mountain to hunt beasts! That’s what I’m going to do!”

Yushi Moli beamed with excitement. “I’ll hunt monsters for a while and also temper myself, raising my strength. Then I’ll go apply for missions at the Sanguine Dusk Tavern and become an assassin! Low ranked monsters aren’t worth much—a couple dozen or hundred gold coins at best. If I want to earn five hundred thousand in three years, taking on missions is the fastest way!ee.

He’d read everything he could about the assassin organization, learning that the bounties posted for their missions were enormously high. They were a few hundred gold coins at the least, with some reaching a million!

"I need to get back to Clearsnow Estate as soon as possible. I need to train and see how well these pills work for me! Giddy up!” Yushi Moli cracked his whip out of excitement, sending the horse beneath him into a gallop of lighter gait.

He quickly left the city’s vicinity and neared Qingqiu Mountain. The trees began to forest the side of the road more thickly.

"Oh?” The boy abruptly yanked on the reins with a smirk. Someone’s trying to ambush me? “Woahhhhh.”

The white horse kicked up its front hooves and came to a standstill.

"What’s that??” He saw a rope tied parallel to the ground. A tripwire? Well read in assorted subjects, Yushi Moli quickly recognized what he saw.

Whoosh!

He narrowed his eyes as an impulse of violence rose from his heart. If it wasn’t for the twinge of a sudden internal warning, he would’ve fallen into the trap without question. His horse had been traveling at high speed and once it threw him after tripping, he’d break at least a few ribs in the fall.

"Why is there a horse trap here?” Yushi Moli jumped down from his steed, immediately grasping what was at hand. “Hmph! I spend my days in quiet cultivation and never provoke trouble. To think I’d attract this kind of attention today because of a few pills!”

He sneered inwardly to himself, knowing that one did not reveal the silver in one’s pocket when traveling. It was just that he hadn’t thought much of this level of wealth in the first place; his only thoughts were that he owed the grandmaster a favor.

"Oh? So you were lucky enough to discover the trap?” came a voice from the trees by the side of the road. A middle-aged man in green robes and a ruthless expression on his face walked out.

"It’s you!” Yushi Moli was surprised, but the reveal made sense. He tightened his grip on his sword, recognizing the man. This was the first person to stop him and his uncle at the Nineheavens Inn.

Here he was again—did he mean to kill Yushi Moli for his goods? His outfit didn’t indicate that he lacked money, but his character…

"Hahaha! You’re a lucky kid to get a Boneforge Pill from Grandmaster Yuqing Yang! It’s worth ten thousand gold coins! Hand it over and I’ll leave you an intact corpse!” The man—Luo Qing—threw his head back with laughter.

"You’ll still want to kill me after taking my pill?” Yushi Moli responded with flippant amusement, like he was watching a clown. Being threatened by death seemed like such a familiar, yet removed sensation. He viewed it almost with… nostalgia.

Yushi Moli shook his head, halting his strange thoughts.

"You’re the son of the Aurora city lord. If I rob you, but don’t kill you, that would just be letting you go tattle to your father. Do I look like I want the city lord to come for me? I, Luo Qing, am not fool enough to think I can withstand the fury of a celestial rank powerhouse!” Luo Qing leered. “Killing and looting! How can I loot if I don’t kill?”

He darted forward and grabbed Yushi Moli by the neck; he couldn’t be bothered to waste more time in idle talk. “Die!”

Luo Qing was a mid human rank cultivator. Yushi Moli was an ordinary child who couldn’t cultivate, so he didn’t think much of the boy. His strength was sufficient to crush an ordinary boy’s neck!

Whoosh!

Sword light appeared in front of Luo Qing. Yushi Moli had unsheathed his sword and brought it down on his attacker’s right hand.

"Hmph, of course. Trash that can’t cultivate wields the most ordinary qingfeng Sword. You dare attack me? You can die now!” Luo Qing sneered. In his eyes, this was just the dying struggles of a child.

"AHHHHH!” he screamed in the next second. His right hand had been cut clean through with that stroke!

A horrifying killing intent approached him before he had a chance to react. At the same time, a bleak and desolate air rose in his heart. Was that the autumn wind blowing over him? Why did the gust of wind come with such an awe-inspiring, cutting edge?

"Upper… human rank!” Luo Qing abruptly realized. This wasn’t wind, but Yushi Moli’s sword qi! It was the equivalent of an upper human rank cultivator!

Pfft!

Intangible sword qi cut through his throat. Luo Qing gurgled and bubbled out sounds, his wide eyes full of incredulity. He couldn’t get any words out before he toppled over, dead, on the ground.

Yushi Moli stood with his head cocked to the side, sizing up his dirty sword. A faint smile curved his lips.

"Oh dear, I’ve killed someone!” he shrieked performatively. He didn’t feel anything, much less the disgust the books said he should feel. It was… an interesting feeling, like he’d opened the door to a new world. Like it wasn’t wrong to kill.

Without a doubt, Luo Qing had been a martial cultivator and Yushi Moli an ordinary person. He’d executed a cultivator? Although it made perfect sense, he couldn’t help but ponder—am I really this strong? It looks like my previous training was good for something after all!

"I got lucky just now!” Yushi Moli murmured as he looked at the dead man. “A cultivator like him has plenty of fighting experience. I was able to catch him off guard because he didn’t think anything of me.

"If he’d known of my strength beforehand and my trump card, I would be the one dead!” Though Yushi Moli came to a rational conclusion, he found the explanation a bit odd.

It was almost as if… he would’ve still easily killed Luo Qing had the man been combat ready and brought his full strength to bear.

"When did he start following me? Oh… he left the inn when we left too. He probably noticed my expression then. I only said the word ‘bone’ at the inn, but that was enough for him to guess it was the Boneforge Pill. He set up an ambush and waited for me here after that.

"This is what uncle means by the human heart can be malicious. I need to learn to conceal my thoughts!” He reflected over the lessons taught by his first ambush. “Would I never understand this if I hadn’t undergone this experience? But why do I feel like I’ve gone through this plenty of times? What’s happening to me?”

Confusion swirled in Yushi Moli’s mind, but he couldn’t think things through.

Forget it, he wouldn’t bother trying to get to the bottom of it then.