There were many principles in this world that weren't really principles at all.
Cui Hao had always firmly believed this.
Starlight and moonlight couldn't penetrate the dark clouds over Huaze Village at this moment.
As if endless, hazy black fog had swallowed this place entirely.
Cui Hao took a light breath and stepped decisively inward.
He could study Confucianism. His family was already a prominent local clan, and exceptional talent was something that could be seen from a young age.
And it shone far brighter than the sun.
Where ordinary children needed repeated teaching for one task, Cui Hao only needed a simple explanation, and he could apply the knowledge to similar problems with full comprehension.
A family that had risen to prominence would naturally pour everything into cultivating someone like Cui Hao, who only appeared once in generations when the ancestral graves emitted green smoke.
Regardless of whether Cui Hao was from a branch line, the moment he displayed such talent, he became the main line of the main line.
Surname Cui, given name Hao, courtesy name Puyu.
Cui Puyu of the Huan Cui family—his fame spread a thousand li.
From the moment Cui Hao had memory, he had been the treasure in his family's palm.
Apart from the elders, even peers older than him would bow to him first.
Pride and a sense of superiority ran through Cui Hao's childhood.
Especially after studying Confucianism, his outstanding talent was such that even the scholars teaching him would sometimes seek his guidance.
After all, Confucian scholarship was also something that relied heavily on talent.
At that time, Cui Hao truly felt the spirit of—all Confucian scholars in the world must lower their brows when they see me.
If things had developed normally, Cui Hao would likely have become one of the greatest Confucian scholars in the mortal world, simultaneously elevating his family to become the undisputed number one clan of Huan.
An upright, stern-faced great scholar.
But life always liked to play jokes on people.
Or perhaps he simply wasn't the type to become a serious person in his bones.
Cui Hao pushed open the door of Huaze Village's shrine and looked inside. He saw a middle-aged man in white robes, with slightly dark skin, boar-bristle-like facial hair, and a kindly expression.
His appearance had nearly shed all traces of the wild boar form. Clearly, he had put considerable effort into it.
The old woman who had been sunbathing at the village entrance earlier was also standing nearby, silently looking down at the ground.
The middle-aged man smiled and cupped his fists, his tone gentle:
"You must be the envoy from above?"
Cui Hao's brows drew together. He looked the man up and down, his tone slightly disdainful:
"Your cultivation is a bit low. Sure enough, what's left isn't anything good."
The middle-aged man kept smiling, bending even lower.
Cui Hao naturally stepped into the shrine, his gaze casually drifting to the middle-aged man's statue standing in the center.
His senior sister's purpose was pure—mission first.
She might have been somewhat moved by the plight of Yunmeng Marsh's ordinary people, but absolute rationality would keep her calm. She wouldn't get involved.
After all, provoking others' interests would naturally invite retaliation.
Besides, this place had probably been like this for hundreds or thousands of years. Why go to great lengths to change it a thousand years from now?
But Cui Hao didn't think that way.
Someone had to do the foolish things for this world to become a little better.
Even if his power was small right now and he couldn't do much, he shouldn't turn a blind eye. At the very least, he should leave something behind.
The Xuanqing Heavenly Sect's mission—his senior sister would handle it well even without him.
So Cui Hao wanted to do what his heart told him to do.
In this life, shouldn't you do the things you want to do?
Even if they seemed meaningless to others, the desire to do them itself had endless meaning.
Cui Hao lightly flicked his sleeve, looking at the humble middle-aged man with a casual expression:
"You've seen the item. We've also learned enough about you. Since you were willing to wait here, you must be mentally prepared, right?"
The middle-aged man immediately nodded:
"Naturally, I understand."
In his bosom was the crystal Chen Baiqing had given him…
The boar demon believed he had cultivated the Incense Divine Path to its limit, studied it to its limits. But seeing the crystal with his own eyes, feeling the trace of divine resonance emanating from within it—
Only then did he realize how laughable his cultivation of the incense path truly was.
A mayfly resting beneath a parasol tree, with the sky right in front of it.
Occasionally catching a gentle breeze and looking up at the jade heavens, only then realizing half a life had been spent trapped in shallow waters.
The boar demon had cultivated to late Golden Core and controlled this village in a marsh full of great demons—all for the sake of pursuing the boundless Great Dao. Otherwise, wouldn't it be more carefree to just be a boar demon outside Yunmeng Marsh?
Now, with the path to the heavens in his bosom, how could he resist?
Opportunity was also risk, but how could one reach the Great Dao by being afraid of death?
The boar demon held his breath and focused:
"What are your orders, Senior?"
Cui Hao glanced at him and spoke:
"Naturally, rapid expansion. What can you accomplish in such a tiny area?"
The boar demon's tone was helpless, yet carried a trace of hope:
"Envoy, there is no unclaimed land left in Yunmeng Marsh. With my cultivation alone…"
"You haven't accomplished anything, and already you're thinking about it?" Cui Hao looked at the boar demon with amusement.
The boar demon immediately bowed and cupped his fists:
"I wouldn't dare. It's just…"
"Truly a wild mountain spirit." Cui Hao sneered and interrupted. "Yunmeng Marsh is backed by Yunmeng Pavilion above. If we could just push through Yunmeng Marsh by force, why would we need to bother with a boar demon like you?"
"We'd have gone straight to the Eighteen Immortal Sects instead of coming to watch a stupid boar."
Hearing these belittling words, the boar demon naturally felt anger. No matter what, it was late Golden Core and had carved out a piece of territory in Yunmeng Marsh.
But it didn't dare show it on its face. It kept its head down, saying nothing.
Cui Hao waved his hand, his tone calm: "Your vision is shallow. You don't understand the principles. You think having cultivation means you can run rampant. But however rampant you are, can you be bigger than Yunmeng Pavilion?"
"The reason you demons can stir up waves here is simply because Yunmeng Pavilion turns a blind eye."
"Demon clashes—Yunmeng Pavilion can naturally ignore those. But if a major human case erupts, Yunmeng Pavilion can't just look away. With their reputation, even the Eighteen Immortal Sects have conflicts."
The boar demon was starting to understand.
What Cui Hao was saying wasn't about seizing territory through fighting.
"The people's hearts are like water. When the people move, it's like smoke." Cui Hao declared, gazing outward. "Within Yunmeng Marsh, if you want to accomplish great things, this is the principle you rely on. Where in Yunmeng Marsh is there pure land now? It's all great demons exploiting people, swallowing them without spitting out the bones."
The boar demon seemed to understand something, grasping what Cui Hao was trying to convey. Its tone was somewhat stuttering:
"B…but how would the great demons agree? Wouldn't it still come down to a fight in the end?"
Cui Hao grinned coldly: "Matters within Yunmeng Marsh should naturally be handled by Yunmeng Pavilion."
The boar demon answered carefully: "Yunmeng Pavilion hasn't interfered in these matters for a long time."
"That's because you're just not worth Yunmeng Pavilion's attention."
Cui Hao glanced at him disdainfully and drew Wanban from his waist.
The boar demon looked at him in confusion, watching Cui Hao draw his sword.
Cui Hao, seeing that Wanban wasn't cooperating at all, quickly sent a spiritual plea—Senior Wanban! Please! For Master's sake!
Perhaps it was Cui Hao's sincere tone, or perhaps what Cui Hao wanted to do had gained Wanban's approval.
The next moment.
Wanban's divine resonance fully manifested, its profound Dao resonance descending like heaven itself.
The boar demon felt its entire soul captured, as if facing a heavenly abyss.
It couldn't muster a single thought of resistance. Only submission remained.
It collapsed to the ground.
This kind of divine resonance…
Which immortal sect was planning to stir up a great wave in Yunmeng Marsh?
[
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Dear Readers,
I post multiple high-quality, human-polished chapters every day. If you enjoy the story, consider supporting the release schedule to unlock massive advanced chapter buffers!
Support Options:
$6 — Read 20+ Chapters Ahead (High-speed daily updates!)
$8 — Read 40+ Chapters Ahead + Exclusive Character Images
$10 — Read 60+ Chapters Ahead + Character Images + Patreon Community Chat
(Note: These chapter counts are guaranteed minimums. Because of my rapid update schedule, you will often get even more!)
⚠️ Apple Users: Please subscribe via your web browser (Safari/Chrome) instead of the Patreon App to avoid a 30% fee and massive payment delays.
Thank you for reading and keeping these daily releases going!
Support Here: patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
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