Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

“Really? How come I’ve never heard of such a person in our Yanjiang County?”

“I kind of remember this name, but he doesn’t seem to be a good person.”

“Everyone quiet down, let the young man speak. What happened with Qin Yuanhao?”

Lu Yang paused for a moment before continuing: “This hero, Qin Yuanhao, is not only highly skilled with a cultivation level at the Foundation Building stage, but he is also known for his righteousness and wide network of friends. Those who know him are willing to call him ‘big brother.’”

Hearing that Qin Yuanhao had reached the Foundation Building stage, the customers’ eyes lit up, finding the news to be quite a novelty.

Usually, the martial arts legends they talked about, how top-notch martial artists had such thrilling experiences, sounded impressive and exciting, but upon reflection, they realized that the actual strength of these top martial artists wasn’t very high.

It’s commonly accepted that top martial artists in the martial world correspond to the eighth or ninth level of Qi cultivation, which is considered the limit for martial artists.

Now that there was a rumor about a Foundation Building stage expert, they were all ears, ready to boast about it in the future.

“One day, Qin Yuanhao and a close friend attended an auction. The friend took a liking to an item and borrowed several thousand low-grade spirit stones from Qin Yuanhao. Qin laughed heartily, saying that talking about money cheapens our friendship. Here’s eight thousand low-grade spirit stones for you, no need to pay me back. His friend was deeply touched.”

“Eight thousand low-grade spirit stones?!” A bystander, Meng Jingzhou, exclaimed, “Spirit stones are the hard currency of the cultivation world. Eight thousand low-grade spirit stones are enough to buy a large mansion in the county center and a stunningly beautiful maid to serve you for life!”

With Meng Jingzhou’s explanation, the customers finally understood the significance of eight thousand low-grade spirit stones.

This Qin Yuanhao was incredibly generous, giving away eight thousand spirit stones just like that!

“After his friend won the auction item, he was targeted by a demonic cultivator who also participated in the auction. Caught off guard, the demonic cultivator successfully ambushed the friend and Qin Yuanhao. Unwilling to give up the item, the friend resisted fiercely and was killed by the demonic cultivator who then stole the treasure. Qin Yuanhao wanted to pursue, but alas, the demonic cultivator had already escaped.”

At this point, Lu Yang pointed to his throat, and the customers, understanding his hint, eagerly offered him drinks.

Lu Yang asked for a cup of grain alcohol, took a sip to clear his throat, and continued.

“On his deathbed, the friend entrusted his wife and daughter to Qin Yuanhao. Qin, with tears in his eyes, promised to take good care of the mother and daughter.”

“The mother and daughter were both rare beauties. The wife had the art of keeping her youth, graceful and elegant, and the daughter was lively and cute, charming and delightful. Faced with such stunning beauty, Qin Yuanhao remained unmoved.”

“Without any support, the mother and daughter felt that Qin Yuanhao was a man they could entrust their lives to and attempted to seduce him with their beauty. Qin Yuanhao candidly said he practiced celibacy as part of his cultivation and could not break his vow.”

“Qin Yuanhao kept his promise, taking care of the mother and daughter without losing propriety, eventually finding a good man to take them in.”

“There is such a righteous hero in the world, wealthy but not greedy, seeing beauty but not being tempted!” Meng Jingzhou’s lament resonated with the people around him.

“Qin Yuanhao is truly a great man.”

“What a pity I don’t know Qin Yuanhao, otherwise I would definitely borrow some spirit stones!”

“Who says heroes can’t resist the allure of beauty? Didn’t Qin Yuanhao just do that?”

In the corner, Barbarian Bone watched the amusing Lu Yang and the supportive Meng Jingzhou, thinking they were quite impressive, able to make up a story on the spot without needing a script.

When would he ever possess such talent?

The customers loved to boast, especially about things others didn’t know.

They had drunk quite a bit while listening to Lu Yang’s story, not remembering some details clearly, which they discovered when boasting while drunk.

Since they couldn’t admit to forgetting the latter half of the story, they couldn’t let it drop and so continued to embellish it with their own imaginations.

Everyone forgot different parts and made up different content, leading to various rumors about Qin Yuanhao.

…

“Have you heard about that great philanthropist named Qin Yuanhao?”

“Is he the one who secretly discovered a spirit stone mine, becoming the wealthiest cultivator in the area overnight, the Qin Yuanhao who lends money without expecting it back?”

“That must be him, but what I heard is that Qin Yuanhao is not interested in women but prefers men?”

“Yes, yes, yes, I heard Qin Yuanhao practices celibacy and loves little boys the most!”

“Really? Is that how you practice celibacy? Isn’t it said that you must consume chicken to practice celibacy?”

“All of you are wrong. I heard that Qin Yuanhao accidentally obtained the legendary Merit Ledger, recognized it as its master with his blood, and became the true owner of the Merit Ledger. The more good deeds he does, the more merit he accumulates, which can be exchanged for rewards, including spiritual treasures, immortal weapons, and even cultivation levels!”

“I also heard he is the destined Lord of the Nine Nethers, in charge of life, death, and merit. Don’t be fooled by his current low strength; he is just accumulating power in secret, waiting for an opportunity to ascend to the heavens and become an immortal ancestor!”

“He joined the demonic sect to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens, intending to infiltrate the higher ranks and take down the demonic sect, viewing it as his own source of merit!”

“Considering the demonic sect as something within his grasp, what a bold spirit!”

…

Regular meeting of the Yanjiang Rudder of the demonic sect.

The demons respectfully lined up in two rows, with the rudder master sitting on a chair carved from a single piece of crimson agate, with dragon and tiger heads carved into the armrests, symbolizing his authority as the rudder master.

This chair was a filial gesture from Qin Yuanhao.

Qin Yuanhao was in a foul mood, his forehead darkened, and his mouth occasionally twitched, revealing beast-like teeth.

His colleagues didn’t mind his state, as everyone’s cultivation level and status were more or less the same; his anger couldn’t possibly affect them.

That’s just how it is in the demonic sect, the life or death of others has nothing to do with me, the misfortune isn’t mine.

No wonder Qin Yuanhao was in a bad mood; before the meeting, he had already been asked:

“Can I borrow some spirit stones? It’s okay if I don’t return them, considering you own a spirit stone mine.”

“Do you know any sisters or mother-daughter pairs? Introduce me to one.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have taken you to the brothel to listen to music before. It must have been painful for you, right?”

“Big brother Qin, I’m going to follow you from now on. The Merit Ledger and all that isn’t important; what matters is I value you as a person.”

“Generous to a fault, not interested in women, Qin Yuanhao, you’re really bringing shame to our demonic sect. You couldn’t possibly be an undercover agent sent by the righteous path, could you?”

Qin Yuanhao clenched his fists in secret, determined to chop up those who slandered and gossiped about him and feed them to the dogs!

How did he, a notorious villain, end up being labeled a good person?

Who are they calling a good person? (TL Note: The “called” here is more akin to scold/insult)