Chapter 119

When a tall woman with purple hair shows up, walking ahead of three blue-skinned men with innocent-looking expressions, how do you think people would react?

Here’s what happens:

“It’s the vengeful spirit of someone eaten by beasts! A ghost!”

“Namu Amitabul, Guanyin Bodhisattva!”

“In the name of the Primordial Celestial Being, I command you to retreat, monster!”

People hide behind buildings like they’ve seen some kind of ghost, pointing all sorts of tools at us. At least those with religion start chanting spells… though judging by their lack of effect, these aren’t exactly powerful incantations.

I looked around the village—it’s nothing special, just full of mediocre folks who are neither sages nor villains. If this were a more advanced society, these types might be true human-eating fiends, but here they’re just common folk.

The most they could manage is ruining a family together… but that lacks warmth. If they’re gonna do something, they should aim for a bigger town.

From what I recall, there’s another city not too far away. So, passing through the murmuring crowd, I headed straight toward it—a place under the jurisdiction of the government, unlike this backwater.

Without lingering in this village, I continued onward. The three men stopped here and started discussing their next move. Since I was keeping an eye on them in real-time, our paths parted here.

They decided to return to their respective sects to report that the Deputy Sect Leader stole a treasure and fled, intending to hold him accountable. Swearing vengeance for their fallen comrades, they filled themselves with hatred.

To me, though, they seem pretty unreliable. Judging from their decision to head back, it seems they want to return to safer ground first.

Unfortunately for them, attacking will likely be easier than returning. Why do they think they can go back to their sects when their skin has turned blue and their hair purple? Up until now, only the Heavenly Demon Cult members had blue skin—so while they might not be labeled as “demon cultists,” people will surely question if they’re even human.

Still, after deciding to return, they discussed how best to get back. Agreeing it’d be wise to avoid public attention, they checked each other’s skin before parting ways and heading into the forest.

It’s disappointing they didn’t immediately chase after the Deputy Sect Leader, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Right now, his status is higher. Even if these blue-skinned guys confronted him, it wouldn’t amount to much—they’d probably just end up dead, dismissed as nonsense from the demon cult.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter to me whether they pursue the Deputy Sect Leader or return to their sects. The farther they stray, the better. As more people gather, larger movements will form. Though I may not fully grasp where these trends lead, I know people will congregate.

I’ll think about the details later. With my plans sorted, I left the village entirely and climbed a long hill. Once I descend, there’ll be vast rice fields and a large city with stone walls ahead.

Though Kunlun is still far off… let’s keep going.

***

I arrived at the big city.

But trouble arose—I was denied entry. They said outsiders like me aren’t allowed in casually. It wasn’t just rudeness; the soldiers guarding the gate clearly worked for the authorities.

Since they have no interest in me right now, I’ll need to take a detour. According to the light-faded man’s memory, this isn’t just a small settlement with a few buildings—it’s practically a district, so the detour will take quite some time.

Still, I walked around the perimeter. Outside the city walls, there’s a sprawling slum made of tents, but it’s a dangerous area where anything could happen.

If I weren’t me, I’d avoid it altogether. Instead, I wandered down grimy, crooked alleys almost devoid of straight paths.

Surprisingly, despite expecting trouble, the locals merely muttered and stepped aside without trying to harm me. That works for me.

By evening, as the sun set completely, hunger struck. There was no food on me, so I searched for somewhere to eat. Eventually, I caught a faint scent of cooking and followed it.

Between two buildings lay a spacious clearing. Crude tents surrounded it, and dim campfires flickered where people sat drinking. On one side, someone sold questionable food.

“What’re you selling?”

“There’s nothing here fit for a martial artist like you…”

The woman hesitated and took a step back. Though she looked old enough to be called a hag, her actual age wasn’t that high—just the hardships of life had aged her face prematurely.

“I don’t care what it is… oh wait, I don’t have money.”

“Who uses coins out here? You’d better leave unless you fancy rats or scorpions.”

“Scorpions? Those are edible enough.”

If I don’t have money, I’ll just make gold. Sure, it’ll cause chaos, but that suits my purposes.

Picking up a rock from the ground, I crushed reality and transmuted it into gold.

Crack.

A faint fissure appeared in the air. This method will work fine moving forward.

I handed the gold to the woman.

“It’s gold.”

“Are you… a divine immortal?”

She stared at the gold in shock, running her fingers over it as if unsure whether it was real. Around us, the lively chatter of drinkers fell silent. Countless eyes now fixed upon me.

“No, I’m no immortal.”

I grabbed some edible portions and ate. Human bodies need calories, and though the nutrition here is lacking, it’s enough to satisfy immediate needs.

“Care for a bottle of liquor?”

“No thanks. Do you have water?”

As the woman nodded, people began creeping closer.

“Hey, if you’re handing out gold so easily, why not bless us too? Huh?”

Most were short and thin, though a few bulky ones had bloated bellies due to malnutrition.

“You want gold?”

“Yeah!”

So I picked up another rock and placed it in his hand.

Whish, thud.

“Are you messing with me?!”

The man glared, throwing the rock and stepping forward threateningly. Threat displays are universal.

In this world, I don’t need to worry too much about creating gold. So I transformed his limbs into gold.

Crack.

Dark cracks spread across the area. Pushing further might break reality, but this is sufficient.

“Aaahhh!!!”

“This is the gold humanity craves.”

The man screamed and collapsed, unable to balance without arms and legs. Seeing this, I decided to stir things up further.

Gold is softer than expected. Twisting off one of his golden fingers, I tossed the chunk into the center of the crowd. Everyone went berserk, screaming and clawing at each other for it.

Watching this, I said aloud,

“There’s plenty of gold here. Why fight over it?”

The pale face of the man whose limbs turned to gold reflected the sharp gazes of the others. In times like these, human life means little.

But look—there’s convenient gold ore right here!

Soon, the man became shredded like prey torn apart by wolves.

After bidding farewell to the shop owner, I approached the dying man, whose eyes rolled back and blood pooled beneath him.

“If this gold belongs to you, why let others take it? Let me help ensure it goes to the rightful owner.”

Simple enemy identification. It’s a foolish tactic, but effective in madness like this.

“But if you give me permission, I’ll finish the job for you. Then you can claim everything afterward. Deal?”

I immediately recited the contract.

Even in his impaired state, the contract binds.

The man agreed instantly, his skin cracking like porcelain before revealing fresh blue skin underneath. His lost limbs regenerated.

He stared up at me in terror, unsure what I’d do next—but his consciousness was already ripe for use.

So I told him simply,

“Go ahead and do what you want.”

With that, I left him there and walked away.

Moments later, cries erupted behind me: demands for gold, refusals, and the sounds of violence.

Ideally, he’ll survive long enough to reveal himself widely before catching up to the others who returned to their sects.

CRACKLE

Sure enough, a fire broke out behind me. When valuables like gold are involved, who cares about putting out flames?

Wouldn’t it be a shame to extinguish the fire and lose the gold?

Or perhaps someone will seize the opportunity to steal during the chaos?

Let someone else handle it. Someone else will put it out.

But the fire will grow, becoming uncontrollable. Eventually, even those inside the city walls will have to intervene.

Even if the flames can’t breach the walls, toxic fumes certainly can.

Tap tap.

I continued toward Kunlun Mountain.

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