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Chapter 44: Everyone Loves Little Immortal Mushroom (II)

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Shang Ke used the time to make a pot of mushroom soup to confirm that Yan Lu lost his memories.

With the failure of his tribulation, his past memories vanished like smoke as if he was born anew. To Shang Ke, this was undoubtedly a pretty good start.

While Yan Lu drank his soup, he stared at Shang Ke.

Shang Ke didn’t understand, if he’s going to drink soup, he should drink it., Why must he stare at him so intensely at the same time?

After finishing an entire pot of mushroom soup, Yan Lu slowly spoke, “I think, that you would taste better.”

No matter how tasty this senior is, this senior will not let you taste him! Turning into a mushroom was already miserable enough alright? While by his side was another guy who was thinking of eating him at any moment, and this guy really could!

Shang Ke felt that if he wanted to cultivate this guy into a God Lord, then he has to make this guy, with zero grasps on emotions, know all the beautiful things in this world and thus, correct his twisted life and world view.

As such, Shang Ke determinedly decided to take him out on a journey. While they searched for the path of correct immortality, they can experience life, uphold virtue and condemn evil, and light up the glory of human nature.

Several days later, after Shang Ke had packed up everything into his storage ring, and bid farewell to all the mushrooms in the cave, he left with Yan Lu following.

“Hurry up, we’re almost at Xialiang City.” Shang Ke turned his head and called out to Yan Lu.

Yan Lu slowly followed him, silently staring at Shang Ke’s lively figure. Although he didn’t remember anything, he was very familiar with this person’s presence, as if once upon a time he had spent unfathomable days and nights by his side.

Yan Lu thought, could it be that this mushroom was planted by him before? Perhaps he was actually quite good at planting mushrooms? To actually plant out a mushroom that could transform into human form… (Shang Ke: Hehe, you’re overthinking.)

Yan Lu’s right leg took a step forward and he appeared by Shang Ke’s side in a flash. While he scented the fragrance of the mushroom, he stayed and walked with him.

Although Shang Ke’s current cultivation level wasn’t high, he was still able to fly for short distances. But with Yan Lu, he could only walk. After Yan Lu failed his tribulation, he lost all of his cultivated energy. But because his physical had already been tempered by eight of the tribulation strikes, his body was entirely different from before. Once his previous devil cultivation was destroyed and adding in how Shang Ke used all sorts of methods to clean out the devil qi, the new spiritual qi that formed within his body was full of righteousness. 

In other words, Yan Lu had the physical body of a Devil Lord while he had the spirit roots of an immortal. With his aptitude, no matter what kind of cultivation he practiced in the future, he would make great progress.

It looks as if Shang Ke only needed to find him a first-class martial arts instructor and he would be able to walk upon the clear road of a God Lord. But thoughts are thoughts, reality is always cruel.

Xialiang City was a small remote town, the population didn’t even hit fifty thousand. But because it was located between nature, it was full of spiritual qi and there would often be villagers that picked up immortal spirit herbs. As such, there were immortal cultivators that would come by occasionally to obtain treasures.

The disguised Shang Ke walked amongst the crowd and slowly acclimated to Xialiang City’s situation. Yan Lu was indifferently looking around and taking things he liked from the vendors around them. By the time Shang Ke noticed, this guy’s left hand was holding a fan while several tassels and other hanging decorations hung on his arm. His right hand held a fruit and he was still chewing on it happily. 

Shang Ke asked, “Have you paid money for any of those things?” 

“What’s money?” It wasn’t that Yan Lu didn’t know what money was, it was that he simply did not care. To him, as long as he had the ability to obtain something, it was his.

“Buying and selling, you can buy you can sell, you can barter. Only then is it fair. How could you selfishly take without payment?” Shang Ke pulled him and walked back the way they came from, “Let’s go back and pay for all of those things.”

Yan Lu declined to comment and followed behind Shang Ke, watching him patiently looking for the stall-keepers of everything he had taken and paid for them one by one.

Shang Ke looked at his own purse. Those things had actually used up half of his wealth.

He said to Yan Lu, “We need to find ways to earn money later, or we’ll end up just eating air.”

“That won’t happen, we can just steal from a couple people.” Yan Lu’s gaze lingered on a few people dressed in lavish clothing and dully said, “These men are fat and prosperous and the qi within them is sluggish. They are greedy for riches, so taking away their wealth might actually let them live longer.”

Shang Ke was somewhat speechless, “…That is still the other people’s money, stealing it isn’t right.”

“You’re a mushroom, so why do you follow the rules of society so strictly as opposed to me, an ordinary person?” Yan Lu tilted his head and asked.

What the heck does that have anything to do with him being a mushroom? Also, in what way, shape or form are you ordinary? The whole point of your freaking birth was to topple the world, alright? 

Shang Ke was struck speechless again, “These are things that you can obtain honestly, why must you do it the lawless way?” 

“Because that’s the simplest and most direct way.” Yan Lu replied as if it was a matter of fact.

Shang Ke was finally aware of just how misconstrued this guy’s three views are. He believed from the bottom of his heart that doing things by force is the right way, to steal and take was the right way… 

The two did not stay long in the city, instead, they found a place outside the city to sleep.

Shang Ke, who had turned back into a mushroom, needed to absorb plant essence from what they had on hand. Grain, beans, nuts, white cabbage and foods like that. Using another worlds’ way to put it, he needs to replenish vitamin B1.

And Yan Lu was neither human nor devil, he did not need to eat anymore. If he wanted to eat he could, if he didn’t he didn’t need to. Recently he only wanted to eat mushrooms and asked Shang Ke to keep making him mushroom soup.

At night, Shang Ke found a wild mushroom group and turned into a mushroom to camouflage himself amongst them, his appearance exactly the same as them. That kind of hiding place can save space, be convenient for cultivation and would even act as good protection. 

However, Yan Lu could find him with a look. The moment he found him, he liked to stare at him without even blinking.

Mushroom Shang Ke shook a bit and inched behind a bigger mushroom, hiding in its shadow.

Yan Lu was a bit unhappy and reached out to pluck out that big mushroom. So Shang Ke was once again exposed to someone’s hungry gaze.

Shang Ke: “……”

Yan Lu seems to feel that it was not enough and then plucked all the surrounding mushrooms, leaving behind a single mushroom on the tree trunk.

Shang Ke: “……”

Just how bored was this guy?! Can’t he just let him quietly act as an unremarkable little mushroom?

Shang Ke couldn’t take it anymore and once again transformed into a human. Yan Lu immediately picked up the clothes on the ground and wrapped him in them. After that, he placed him into his arms and rubbed a bit. Hn, as expected, this is better. Not only does it smell nice it’s also good to the touch.

“What is your hand doing?” Shang Ke asked.

“Rubbing mushroom.”

A vein popped on Shang Ke’s forehead, “What is there to rub? I am the same as you when I turn into human form.”

“It’s completely different.” Yan Lu started to list his comparisons as he rubbed him, “Your hair is softer than mine, your body thinner than mine, your skin paler than mine, your legs more slender than mine. That… is also smaller than mine.”

Yan Lu stared at the object between Shang Ke’s legs and said with a certain tone, “It’s almost the same as your true form…” 

Shang Ke was truly angered! As if it’s almost the same! It’s very different, alright!?

He broke out of Yan Lu’s arms and angrily jumped onto a tree, turned into a mushroom and turned his nose up to the starry sky.

Yan Lu caught the clothes that floated down and sank into contemplation. Should he pluck him off, or should he pluck him off?

Right at this moment, the sound of battle and angry cursing could be heard from the distance.

Shang Ke followed the sound and saw the light of a sword flashing from afar. The spiritual qi was in disarray, as if a cultivator was currently fighting.

Yan Lu also heard the sound and leaped onto the tree, crouching by Shang Ke on his trunk and looked at the distant fight.

It looks like five cultivators were chasing and trying to kill three other cultivators. The three were clearly no match for the five and were quickly at a disadvantage. One of them defended himself with his sword and abandoned his two companions, escaping in another direction. Besides one that was seriously injured, among the five cultivators, the other four all chased after the one that ran.

“Let’s go, let’s go take a look.” Shang Ke transformed back into a human and dressed quickly before running over to the battle scene.

Yan Lu followed closely behind.

There were only three people left at the battle scene. One had already died while the other two were seriously injured.

Shang Ke walked over to one of the injured ones and asked, “Are you alright? Do you have any medicine on you?”

A trace of shock flashed through that injured man’s eyes for a moment before he came back to his senses and took out a medicine bottle with much difficulty.

Shang Ke took it and removed a pill from within, then helped him swallow it. He then turned around, prepared to help the other injured man, but what he saw was Yan Lu crouching there, his expression indifferent without any emotions.

Shang Ke did not think much about it and walked over to look at the situation of the other man, but the man had already taken his last breath.

Yan Lu took off the storage ring from the dead man then used his spirit sense to check it before putting it into his bag.

Shang Ke gaped and was just about to educate him until he thought of how this was a cultivation world. Even if they did not take the dead man’s belongings, someone else would. Although he wished for Yan Lu to walk the righteous path, he also cannot be too inflexible at times.

Shang Ke did not notice that the dead man’s neck had a needle-leaf. This man did not really die from serious injury, but from after Yan Lu punctured his windpipe with a needle-leaf he picked up.

“Cough cough, many thanks for you two’s help.” The man who Shang Ke helped feed a pill to held his chest as he sat up. His face was already gaining back some of its color.

“Don’t worry about it, it was just a small thing.” Shang Ke smiled at him.

That man’s expression went slack. The youth before him had white hair and wore purple, his clear and attractive face also had a pair of conspicuous languid eyes. The corners slightly slanted up, giving him a somewhat comforting air. When he smiled, it was as if colors filled the sky, so very dazzling to the eyes.

“This one is Yu Wenjie, can this one know how to address you two?” Although he asked about the two of them, his gaze never moved away from Shang Ke.

“This one is Shang Ke, this is Yan Lu.” As for why Shang Ke did not fear to announce the name “Yan Lu”, it was because the current cultivation world had long forgotten this monster of the olden days. Even if there were people that remembered, most of the only remembered his nickname “Devil King Yanluo”.^[1]

Shang Ke then asked Yu Wenjie what happened.

Yu Wenjie came from Flying Star Sword Sect. His group had received orders to escort a treasure to Yunxiao City. However, they didn’t expect the information to be leaked and midway there, were attacked by other cultivators. Four famous brothers died 

Shang Ke asked, “Your team’s treasure was already stolen? Do you need our help?”

Yu Wenjie bitterly smiled, “The mission failed while my sect members all died tragically. I’m afraid that by myself, I am powerless to investigate the whereabouts of the treasure. So I would like to ask you two to send me to the nearest town, to allow me to notify my sect to come help.”

“That’s fine.” Shang Ke revealed a bright smile.

For the sake of correcting Yan Lu’s three views^[2], let’s start by helping this unfortunate cultivation friend.

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Footnotes:

[1]Yanluo = Yama who is the king of hell.

[2]Three views – world, values and life

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