Chapter 60: " Harvesting the Dead"

As Jiang Cheng and Liu Ying soared through the sky, the dense forest below gradually thinned, giving way to rolling hills and winding rivers. The journey had been quiet, with only the sound of the wind whistling past their ears.

However, as they neared Puchan Town, an unsettling sight came into view.

Thick, dark smoke curled into the sky like writhing serpents, staining the horizon with an ominous black haze. The town, which should have been bustling with cultivators and merchants, now lay in eerie silence. From their vantage point, they could make out collapsed buildings, scorched rooftops, and scattered debris.

Bloodied bodies littered the streets, their lifeless forms barely visible amidst the destruction. Even from a distance, Jiang Cheng could sense the lingering remnants of battle—spiritual energy fluctuations distorted the air, and the metallic scent of blood carried on the wind.and the streets painted in streaks of red stained the streets. The monstrous attack had left nothing intact.

Liu Ying's eyes darkened as she took in the sight. "So this is what those beasts did…" Her voice was quiet.

Jiang Cheng's expression remained calm. "They didn't just kill. They destroyed everything."

As they descended, the scene only grew more gruesome. The town's entrance, once marked by sturdy wooden gates, had been reduced to splintered wreckage. Corpses of monks and common cultivators alike were strewn about, their bodies torn apart with savage brutality. Some bore deep claw marks, others had been crushed outright. Blood pooled in the cracks of the stone roads, seeping into the earth.

Liu Ying landed lightly beside Jiang Cheng but immediately staggered, covering her nose as the rancid smell of death overwhelmed her. Her stomach twisted, but she forced herself to endure it. "It's worse up close," she muttered.

While Liu Ying was disgusted by the scene, Jiang Cheng exhaled slowly. Then, without a shred of shame, he began rummaging through the corpses, looting their belongings.

Liu Ying was stunned, completely speechless. She stared at him in disbelief as he casually went about his task.

Noticing her reaction, Jiang Cheng glanced up and said matter-of-factly, "Hurry up and take any storage bags you find on the corpses. This is their legacy, their hope for the future. We should cherish their belongings and continue their journey on their behalf."

His expression was utterly righteous, as if he were carrying out some noble duty.

Liu Ying looked at the bodies scattered across the streets, her eyes softening with sympathy. "Shouldn't we respect them? Bury them and maybe offer a prayer for their well-being?"

When Jiang Cheng heard her suggestion, he almost laughed. "Prying my ass," he muttered under his breath, then looked at her. As he continued searching through the corpses with a serene expression, he said, "We're taking their belongings so we can fulfill their dreams and become immortals in their place." His tone was as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

When Jiang Cheng saw Liu Ying still standing there, he frowned and scolded her angrily, "Hurry up! If we wait any longer, other casual cultivators will come, and then we'll have to share the spoils—eh, I mean, the legacy and Dreams of our seniors!"

Liu Ying subconsciously shrank her neck at his reprimand. After a brief hesitation, she endured her discomfort and reluctantly followed him.

After an hour, they finally finished their "business," having harvested countless resources. Although all of them were low-grade, it was still better than nothing.

Jiang Cheng dusted off his hands, feeling rather satisfied. Having tasted the sweetness of looting corpses, he was now completely hooked. Turning to Liu Ying, he grinned excitedly.

"Now it's your turn to shine, my little tool man," he declared with righteous enthusiasm.

Liu Ying's eye twitched, but before she could protest, Jiang Cheng pulled out a map and scanned it carefully. His gaze landed on the nearest town, and his eyes lit up.

"Alright! Next stop—Kinzo Town!" he announced confidently.

Liu Ying was already numb to his shamelessness at this point. She sighed and asked flatly, "Which direction?"

Jiang Cheng looked down at the map again, frowning slightly before mumbling, "Uh... I think it's southeast of Puchan Town."

Then, as if inspired, his expression turned solemn. "Let's grab our seniors' legacy before someone else does!"

Liu Ying stared at him in silence for a long moment before finally letting out a deep sigh. Without another word, she grabbed his wrist, mustered all her strength, and activated her teleportation technique.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the horizon, heading toward their next "inheritance."

Half an hour passed as they traveled at full speed. Finally, they arrived at Kinzo Town.

Upon landing, they found that several casual cultivators had already gathered, all here to "inherit" the seniors' belongings. Without wasting any time on conversation, Jiang Cheng and Liu Ying quickly joined in, searching through the corpses and ransacking the ruined buildings.

After a few minutes, they managed to find a few storage bags. With their loot secured, they moved on without hesitation.

Jiang Cheng looked at Liu Ying and said eagerly, "Let's go to the next one. Moon Town is further southeast of Puchan Town, near Kinzo Town."

Liu Ying remained silent, already resigned to her fate. Without arguing, she grabbed his wrist and teleported once again.

And so, their journey continued.

Repeating the same routine, they visited all four surrounding towns one after another. Each time, Liu Ying sighed but still carried out her "duty" without complaint, while Jiang Cheng looted with increasing enthusiasm.

By the time they were done, the so-called "inheritance" of their seniors had been thoroughly "taken care of."

As evening approached, Jiang Cheng and Liu Ying finally concluded their little "adventure."

...

Without delay, they set off toward Pingyuan Immortal City, which lay to the southwest of Puchan Town.

As they left the ruined towns behind, Jiang Cheng noticed something odd. Though the destruction was severe, patches of land showed signs of careful repair—freshly laid stone pathways, areas where the earth had been subtly reinforced. He didn't think much of it at first, but the further they traveled, the more traces of intervention appeared.

Then, as they approached Pingyuan Immortal City, the full scale of the restoration revealed itself.

they expected to see only more devastation—scorched earth, shattered mountains, and the lingering scars left by the monstrous battles. However, as they flew across the vast landscape, they quickly realized that the scene before them was far different from what they had anticipated.

Golden light flickered across the land as dozens of Golden Core cultivators stood at various points along the ruined roads, using their vast spiritual power to shift massive chunks of earth, mend cracked ground, and reinforce key locations with formation arrays.

Their robes fluttered in the wind as they chanted in unison, their energy weaving intricate patterns into the land itself.

Further ahead, hundreds of Foundation Building cultivators worked tirelessly, their hands glowing as they cast spell after spell.

Some floated mid-air, using spiritual techniques to move boulders and reshape hills that had been torn apart in battle.

Others stood by the rivers and lakes, guiding streams of water to refill dried riverbeds and purify stagnant pools left tainted by the destruction.

Some worked in groups, carefully replanting destroyed forests, their spiritual arts accelerating the growth of newly sprouted trees.

But what truly shocked Jiang Cheng and Liu Ying was the sight of thousands of Qi Training monks diligently planting herbs along the roadsides.

These monks moved in perfect harmony, carefully embedding glowing seedlings into the soil. Each herb radiated a faint silver light, and as Jiang Cheng focused on them, he finally understood why.

The Moonlight Herbs.

Under the darkening sky, these mystical plants absorbed the gentle radiance of the moon, drawing in its light like a sponge. Within moments, that celestial energy was refined and converted into strands of pure spiritual qi, which then dispersed into the surrounding air.

The entire region was slowly being revitalized—not by brute force or direct cultivation but through nature's own subtle restoration.

Liu Ying's red eyes gleamed with astonishment. "These herbs… they absorb moonlight and transform it into spiritual energy," she murmured.

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, observing the way the herbs pulsed with soft light, their energy spreading across the land like an unseen tide. "No wonder they're planting them everywhere. This isn't just recovery—it's a long-term restoration plan," he muttered.

As Jiang Cheng watched the cultivators rebuilding roads, reshaping mountains, and planting Moonlight Herbs to restore spiritual energy, he felt his worldview crack.

"Who said cultivation worlds were just about killing and destruction?" he thought, his expression twitching. "Barbarians? Plunderers? If they were truly like that, how the hell have they survived for thousands of years?"

He cursed the novels from his past life.

"Damn lies! They made it seem like cultivators only knew how to destroy, but look at this! They're literally rebuilding the world!"

Shaking his head, he let out a dry chuckle. "So much for my expectations of endless chaos…"

As they continued flying, they saw even more cultivators, were hard at work—raising mountains, filling in massive craters, and carving out spiritual formations to stabilize the land. The aftermath of the battle with the monsters had left the region in ruin, but step by step, cultivators were reversing the destruction.

For the first time since leaving Puchan Town, Jiang Cheng and Liu Ying weren't just witnessing the scars of war. They were seeing the world rebuild itself.

As Jiang Cheng looked at the scene before him, another thought surfaced in his mind.

"Why are they doing this?"

Restoring the land, replanting forests, reinforcing formations—none of this was simple work. It required time, effort, and immense spiritual energy. But what puzzled him the most was the presence of Golden Core cultivators. These were figures of high status, revered by millions in their sects.

how can they be willing to work like this without any benefit, Jiang Cheng will definitely not believe it if they said that they do it for justice or some kind of bulshit reason.

Jiang Cheng scoffed internally. "There has to be another reason. No way they'd be doing this out of pure goodwill."

The thought nagged at him, but he had no answers for now.

Even if they have their own motives, at least they're doing something good for the world," Liu Ying murmured, watching the Moonlight Herbs take root.

Even if they had their own motives, even if this was just a means to some greater end—at least they were rebuilding, not just destroying.

She glanced at Jiang Cheng, who was still deep in thought, and smiled. 'So? Still think cultivators are just mindless plunderers?'

Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue, pretending to ignore her.

Hours later, as they continued on their way, a colossal city came into view in the distance. Even beneath the night sky, it glowed with brilliance, as if daytime still lingered within its towering walls.

Jiang Cheng's eyes widened in shock.

"What a majestic city… It's far bigger and grander than any town near the Endless Mountains."

As they flew closer, the towering walls of Pingyuan Immortal City loomed before them, bathed in a soft golden glow that defied the darkness of night. The sheer size and brilliance of the city stirred a sense of anticipation in their hearts. What kind of place could command such grandeur in the wake of destruction?

Liu Ying was the most excited, her red eyes shining with curiosity as she took in the towering city ahead. She had always been eager to explore new places, and this time was no different. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng, though just as curious, maintained a calm and indifferent expression, as if the grand sight before them was nothing special.

But despite his act, his gaze lingered on the glowing cityscape, and his mind raced with questions. What kind of people would they encounter inside?

With anticipation building, they soared forward, closing the distance to Pingyuan Immortal City.

.