I Just Wanted to Live, but I Somehow Became Better Than the Main Character

Chapter 79: Teachings

While Yi Bai and the others were admiring Ye Yong’s clean and smooth fighting style, comparable to or even better than that of most early-stage Crystallization Realm cultivators, Ye Yong’s expression became somewhat strange.

First, Liang Xiao Rou’s affection for him inexplicably increased by 8 points, reaching 34, making Ye Yong suspect that she might be nearby. He had also just killed a bull.

Before transmigrating, Ye Yong had never killed even a chicken, let alone a cow.

However, it wasn’t to the extent of causing him psychological burden. After all, he had read so many novels, and after transmigrating to this world, he was mentally prepared for killing. At most, seeing blood made his heart race, and the heavy stench of blood made him uncomfortable.

Specter beast blood and flesh were considered great supplements, but if the specter beast’s residual specter energy hadn’t dissipated before the meat was cooked and consumed, then mortals might fall ill or even die. It was fine for cultivators as the spiritual energy can directly neutralize the residual demonic energy, as long as the cultivation level difference isn’t too significant, so most of the time, it was beneficial for them.

Ye Yong didn’t know whether or not the Black Armored Bull’s meat was tasty, but he knew it had many useful materials. For example, the hide could be made into armor with good defensive properties, and the bullwhip could be used as a material for refining pills.

After wiping the blood off his sword, Ye Yong stored the Black Armored Bull into his storage bag.

Seeing the once hill-sized demonic bull being dealt with by Ye Yong with a palm strike, a punch, and a sword in such a straightforward manner, the villagers were astonished.

Although they hadn’t witnessed the legendary celestial arts, this combat style truly broadened their horizons, as such feats were beyond ordinary people.

“Esteemed Immortal, may I ask if it’s safe now?” The village chief, having once aspired to become stronger as a warrior, felt his long-cooled warrior’s heart stir again upon seeing Ye Yong effortlessly slay the powerful Black-armored Bull.

It wasn’t that he had become enlightened; it was just that he had not encountered any danger since returning to the village as its chief. Without the pressure of danger, his heart had gradually become numb. Now that he was old and no longer suitable for cultivation, he could only pin his hopes on the younger generation.

“Yes, under normal circumstances, there shouldn’t be another Black Armored Bull, so you can rest assured. If other specter beasts appear, you know what to do.”

The village chief nodded repeatedly and took out a cloth bag from his bosom. “Thank you, Immortal, for your help. This is a small token of appreciation…”

“No need.” Ye Yong wasn’t Long Tian- he was quite well off, and the metallic sound coming from the cloth bag indicated coins were inside, which he didn’t need. “Save it to buy medicinal herbs for those two children. The path of cultivation is not easy. If they want to achieve something and change their fate, they need to persevere. Also, don’t become a bad person.”

“What the Esteemed Immortal said is very true. Did you two hear the Immortal’s teachings?”

The two children immediately knelt down. “Yes!”

“I have finished what I needed to do. If fate permits, we will meet again.” Ye Yong mounted his small magic carpet and slowly disappeared into the sky, with a group of villagers kneeling and respectfully seeing him off.

…

Ye Yong’s assistance in assessing aptitude and offering warnings wasn’t for show to Liang Xiao Rou and the others- it was simply a heartfelt action.

All sorts of things could happen in the cultivator world, and it was easy for one to go astray if their minds weren’t firm, especially for rogue cultivators who lack background and resources. It was way easier to be a bad person than a good one. Seeing other cultivators making quick money through robbery, it was difficult to maintain one’s convictions and not waver.

After all, it was a survival of the fittest. If others are doing it and you don’t, then unless you have exceptional talent, you will fall behind, and falling behind means getting beaten.

For rogue cultivators, maintaining good character amidst these pressures is challenging, but such cultivators do exist in the world. So even though their cultivation levels weren’t high, their reputation weren’t too low, either. Sometimes, virtue was also a form of strength.

Heading west, Ye Yong didn’t return to the Heavenly Luo Sect. As mentioned before, he was going to find material for the gift he intended to give Mu Qing Yin. Ye Yong held a map in his hand, and it appeared as if he was looking at the paper, but in reality, he was looking at the map in his head.

The map of the East Forest Continent in his head was more convenient and accurate than the paper version and included location features, all at a low cost of 100 transcend points. The only downside was that it didn’t have an enemy detection feature, but with his cultivation level, his divine sense had expanded enough to “See” everything nearby, so the enemy detection feature wasn’t really necessary.

Ye Yong was heading to Spirit Phantom Mountain, the very place where the protagonist of the novel met Qin Shi Meng. Uncle Liu, the benefactor who raised the male lead, Long Tian, lived in a nearby village.

Uncle Liu was once a martial cultivator, but he later sustained injuries to his foundation and could only return to his village to live out his old age. One day, he saw a basket with the cries of a baby floating down the river and rescued it. Inside the basket was a baby, with only a piece of jade pendant left beside the beast hide wrapping. The jade pendant was unremarkable and not valuable. Uncle Liu, who had no children, took the abandoned baby home and raised him.

Yes, this abandoned baby was the male lead, Long Tian.

Ye Yong remembered that shortly after Long Tian found the white jade fungus to alleviate Uncle Liu’s old injuries, he joined the Heavenly Luo Sect. Uncle Liu had only recently recovered from his injuries after consuming the white jade fungus when a few months later he and his village were wiped out by a rampaging demonic beast, leaving no intact remains.

Long Tian was deeply saddened by the news and returned to the village to set up a memorial for Uncle Liu, and inadvertently discovered some clues revealing that the beast rampage was not a coincidence but orchestrated by a demonic sect that controlled beasts.

As for what happened next, it was obvious that Long Tian eventually eradicated that demonic sect after growing stronger, but that all happened in the future.

Though Ye Yong knew roughly what would happen in the future, he didn’t dare to help the Long Tian even if he wanted to. What if the Long Tian treated him as a brother due to gratitude? Ye Yong’s greatest fear was being against the male lead or being considered a brother to the male lead. Neither scenario would end well.

There were just too few friends of the male lead who survived to the end like Li Jun Xia did.

In any case, Ye Yong did not dare to bet his life- he believed that the safest route was to become a bystander.

After flying for two hours, Ye Yong could see a range of mountains in the distance. Without a doubt, it was his destination, Spirit Phantom Mountain.

Spirit Phantom Mountain was an ancient mountain forest with abundant resources, supporting many commoners and rogue cultivators, and even some sect cultivators also entered it to search for needed materials.

Of course, more resources also mean more spiritual and specter beasts. The deeper one goes, the stronger these beasts become.

As someone familiar with the script, Ye Yong knew a secret that 99.9% of cultivators didn’t: at the deepest part of Spirit Phantom Mountain, an immortal beast, the Qilin, lay asleep.

The Qilin was an auspicious beast and could bring fortune to the land. Humans needed endless amounts of resources, and the Qilin was part of the reason why the Spirit Phantom Mountain has remained prosperous for so many years. Well, even if the Qilin were to leave, the mountain wouldn’t necessarily become barren; at most, the growth rate of spiritual plants would slow down and the yield would be lower.

Ye Yong currently had no intention of encountering the sleeping Qilin. Not only it would only appear in the middle stages of the novel, but he would also have to convince or defeat a series of powerful spiritual and specter beasts and then break powerful restrictions.

Those guardian spiritual and specter beasts were all beneficiaries of the Qilin’s auspicious aura, and besides, the Qilin was an immortal beast, so it deserved their respect, and thus they decided to protect the sleeping Qilin on their own.

Almost all of these guardian beasts were at the Void Realm, with a few Great Ascension Realms and Half Saints. It would be impossible for Ye Yong, who was at the Foundation Establishment Realm, to approach the Qilin. He would just get the gift material on the outer parts and leave. He had no intention of pursuing unrealistic goals.