Chapter 17: Taking Zhang Peng as Master
"Pfft!"
Hearing Chen Ming's words, Zhang Peng could not hold it in and nearly choked on his own breath.
He had never expected that, when he was merely moved by his own past experiences and decided to show some kindness by giving Chen Ming the status of a named Disciple, it would somehow turn into accepting a godson on the spot.
Because Chen Ming had already kowtowed before speaking, even a Super Douluo like Zhang Peng had no way to stop those words from coming out.
Looking at Chen Ming's sincere face, the intense excitement in his eyes, and the faint tears at the corners of those eyes, Zhang Peng only felt a tightness in his chest.
If he refused now, it would feel rather awkward.
But as for accepting a godson... he truly had never intended that.
After nearly a minute of silence, Zhang Peng finally spoke with a pained expression.
"What I meant was... forget it. For now, you can stay by my side as my named Disciple. As for becoming my godson, not just anyone is qualified for that."
"Greetings, Master!"
Chen Ming answered shamelessly, his voice full of excitement.
Looking at Chen Ming's expression, Zhang Peng finally realized that this boy was not simply as stubborn and rigid as he had seemed before.
In truth, aside from a few bottom lines that he would never cross, this cheap Disciple of his might actually be someone whose thinking was very flexible and whose mind moved very quickly.
A person with bottom lines that had to be strictly guarded, but who was not blindly stubborn. Someone quick-witted, shameless enough when needed, and capable of acting flexibly within a certain range...
"An Evil Spirit Master is different from an ordinary Spirit Master. Being too unscrupulous is no good, but being too stubborn is no good either. This temperament... it looks like the kind that can achieve great things."
Zhang Peng secretly gave his evaluation in his heart.
"The path of an Evil Spirit Master is different from that of an ordinary Spirit Master. Being too extreme in any direction is undesirable. This kind of temperament seems more likely to accomplish something."
Zhang Peng thought silently to himself.
"This is my residence within the Holy Spirit Cult. Compared to Abomination's place, the environment here is not suitable for your cultivation."
"However, my environment is not bad either. When I was young, I deliberately gathered the skeletal remains of Dark Demonic Evil God Tigers and Spirit Beasts related to them. I used them to construct a training ground. Cultivating there can stimulate the growth of a Spirit Master's spiritual power and quietly purify their Spirit Power."
"Do not underestimate the purity of spiritual power and Spirit Power. For people like us, who are born with unique Martial Souls, the process of cultivating through the characteristics of our Martial Souls will inevitably contaminate both the Spirit and the Spirit Power. Only with sufficiently strong spiritual power and will can one maintain sanity and stability. Only with sufficiently pure Spirit Power can one continue advancing in cultivation."
"I do not know how many Evil Spirit Masters have ultimately fallen at these 2 hurdles, either completely losing their humanity and turning into malevolent ghosts, or finding that their Spirit Power was too impure and being unable to advance another step for the rest of their lives."
"Follow me."
Zhang Peng stepped forward and led Chen Ming deeper into the cave.
"This used to be where I stored miscellaneous items. But because I have a storage Spirit Tool, there is not much here anymore. Once it is tidied up, this will be where you usually sleep. I will give you a set of bedding later."
"This is the toilet..."
Zhang Peng brought Chen Ming to a metal door. Pressing the button beside it, the door opened directly, revealing a toilet that was surprisingly advanced and nearly modern in its arrangement.
"The water here is purified by a Spirit Tool, so you do not need to worry about poisoning. Though with your Martial Soul, you probably would not need to worry anyway. If you need to use the toilet, use this commode, then press here to flush."
"Remember to inject some Spirit Power into this metal button every so often. The Spirit Tool lamps here and the water heater are all powered by the stored Spirit Power inside. Also, clean the place regularly. I do not want to accidentally poison myself while using the toilet..."
"I understand."
Chen Ming nodded to show he had understood.
Zhang Peng then took Chen Ming around the various areas of the cave, giving him a basic explanation of what each place was used for while also strictly limiting Chen Ming's range of movement.
The room, the training ground, and the toilet were the only 3 places where Chen Ming could move around freely.
Aside from those 3 locations, Chen Ming had to report to Zhang Peng before going anywhere else. Especially the main entrance. Without Zhang Peng's permission, it was absolutely forbidden to be opened, and Chen Ming was absolutely not allowed to enter other areas of the Holy Spirit Cult.
The Holy Spirit Cult had been rooted in the Evil Demon Forest for hundreds of years. The terrain below ground was as complicated as a labyrinth. After repeated expansions and all manner of unauthorized modifications, countless narrow passages stretched deep into the earth like blood vessels.
Even the Spirit Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult themselves could not say exactly how many underground passages there were, nor how many secrets were hidden within them.
Some hidden and abandoned secret paths and caves had become home to monsters created from the failed experiments of Evil Spirit Masters. Some abandoned tunnels and caves had also been occupied by strange evil Spirit Beasts or certain special races that lived underground.
Once someone entered that kind of environment, even a Spirit Saint level Spirit Master could encounter life-threatening danger.
Every year, Spirit Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult disappeared completely within those passages. Every year, there were also records of various monsters and Spirit Beasts emerging to attack Evil Spirit Masters.
Logically speaking, if this were an ordinary organization, it would have long ago sent people to clear everything out.
But the Holy Spirit Cult followed a Gu-raising strategy. These "insignificant" dangers were seen as a way to stimulate the growth of Spirit Masters and eliminate the useless.
Unless some particularly important route was invaded, the Holy Spirit Cult usually maintained an attitude of pretending not to see those "tenants."
Even though Zhang Peng had lived within the Holy Spirit Cult for decades, he still was not sure exactly how many passages existed or where they all led.
After giving a rough explanation of the reasons and the environment, Zhang Peng finally led Chen Ming into the cultivation room.
Zhang Peng's cultivation room was an enormous cavern.
The ground of the cave was covered in a layer of black, crystal-like yin-attributed ore. On top of that ore lay various Spirit Beast skeletons, the largest number of them being the bones of different tiger-type Spirit Beasts.
One particular skeleton was especially eye-catching.
It had the shape of a tiger, but with bat-like wings growing from its back and a scorpion tail behind it. Its entire body radiated a dense evil aura.
No one knew how long it had been dead, and several bones were missing from the skull and chest, but the evil aura emitted by that skeleton still felt extremely ominous.
Chen Ming did not know whether it was the skeleton of a Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger or a Scorpion Tiger, but he was certain that even if it had been a Scorpion Tiger or some other tiger subtype carrying the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger's bloodline, then while alive, that Spirit Beast must have been extremely close to the true level of a Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger.
Simply by standing in this place, Chen Ming could feel his Martial Soul trembling instinctively.
It felt as though his mind had fallen into an icy cellar, while the Spirit Power in his body began to circulate instinctively under the pressure of the environment, maintaining his condition while faintly absorbing the evil aura in the air.
To cultivate in such an environment for a long time would either drive a person completely insane from the evil aura, or inevitably produce a peerless great evil.
There was no 3rd possibility.
Looking at the shocked Chen Ming, Zhang Peng revealed an expression that said this was only natural. Then he casually pulled out a massive corpse from one of the Spirit Tools on his person and threw it in front of Chen Ming.
Of course, unlike Hate Douluo, the corpses Zhang Peng stored were not human, but Spirit Beasts of species Chen Ming could not name.
This one was a gigantic Spirit Beast that overall resembled a stag, but its body was the size of a van. The entire corpse was extremely intact, with no visible wounds anywhere.
Even though it had clearly been dead for a long time, under the preservation of a special Spirit Tool, the Spirit Beast's corpse looked no different from when it had first died, radiating a pressure that made Chen Ming instinctively tremble.
"The talent of the Abomination Martial Soul is Corpse Consumption. By devouring flesh and blood, you obtain nutrition that can either rapidly restore your condition and injuries, or be used to strengthen your cultivation and physical qualities. I do not possess the Abomination Martial Soul, so I can only provide limited guidance on this talent. If you want to use it to its fullest potential, you will have to figure much of it out yourself."
"This is a 10,000-year Spirit Beast, a Mighty Deer. Its quality is average, but its flesh and blood are quite good. At my cultivation level, this corpse is not of much use. But for you, it will be a considerable help. Take it as my gift to you."
Zhang Peng spoke very frankly. Then he raised a hand and signaled for Chen Ming to sit down.
"Next, I will teach you about a Spirit Master's meridians and the various kinds of fundamental common knowledge. While devouring the Mighty Deer's flesh and dissolving the energy within it, remember to circulate your Spirit Power according to the methods and techniques I explain."
.....
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