Chapter 1352: 1004: Are You Even Worthy to Be on My Level?

Jiang Yuan listened and was speechless as well. Using deception like this? These three are also kind-hearted; how come they didn’t kill you!"Senior, listen to this. Is it even human speech?" The three Demon Cultivators were also furious. If not for the two influential figures of unknown origin standing here, they’d really want to go up and punch him to death.

Shi Hu looked at Zhou Jian with a gaze filled with not only disdain but also a hint of sympathy—turns out, without the Power of Heaven and Earth Blessing, advancing in cultivation becomes so difficult that one has to resort to thick-skinned deception and trickery!

It’s merely a herb; drinking two cups of Spiritual Wine with the master has more kick than this. This Elder Dragon truly hasn’t seen good things.

"Zhou Jian, you are indeed excessively deceitful." Even Jiang Yuan didn’t expect the Elder Dragon’s reasoning to become increasingly stubborn and odd.

The first signs were evident when he stubbornly chose to abandon the Cyan Dragon Divine Power despite warnings.

Perhaps benefiting from the Divine Power, he encountered no obstacles except for Xuanyuan Yangguang, stayed in high positions for too long, and became arrogant.

He firmly assumes platform endorsement as personal strength, truly believing that without the Power of Heaven and Earth Blessing, he can remain impressive as ever.

"Daoist You is also speaking for them?" Zhou Jian felt irritated in his heart, stubbornly arguing: "An ownerless item belongs to whoever’s pocket it ends up in; this simple logic is clear. As for how it gets into the pocket, that’s up to one’s abilities. They were foolish to trust outsiders; it’s only right they learn a lesson!"

"Then being chased and killed, having your life taken, is equally justified." Shi Hu angrily retorted, "One must bear the consequences of one’s actions; it’s the simplest of logic.

I thought it was about standing against injustice; that’s why the master got involved, but turns out it’s entirely your own fault. I’ve meddled too much; everyone, do as you please!"

"Wait!" Zhou Jian saw the reinforcements about to withdraw, clenched his teeth, and said coldly, "I merely snatched a single Jade Hua Grass; even if sold, it’s only worth two or three thousand Spirit Stones. Killing for such money, isn’t that typical Evil Cultivator behavior? Fine, I’ll admit defeat and step back; let’s split the proceeds..."

"So you’re saying you can deceive, steal, and snatch, but if the money isn’t much then you’re guilt-free? We have to swallow our anger?"

The three Demon Cultivators were furious, their faces turning green. The leader didn’t wait for him to continue arguing and cut him off, "Clearly you’re untrustworthy, yet in front of the two senior figures, you pretend we’re persecuting you, even labeling our brotherhood as ’Evil Cultivators’ to disturb our Daoxin; what are your intentions?"

Shi Hu was frustrated; knowing beforehand, he shouldn’t have meddled!

Though it liked being lazy and avoiding cultivation, staying at the courtyard exposed it to many truths. It deeply resented Zhou Jian, gritting its teeth in anger, while regretting that its laziness implicated the master, realizing it truly shouldn’t have.

Jiang Yuan watched with a cold eye, feeling exceedingly fortunate in his heart.

Fortunately, Elder Dragon Zhou Jian voluntarily abandoned the Cyan Dragon Divine Power; otherwise, if he were to ascend as the Divine Beast Cyan Dragon, he’d be a ticking time bomb for the entire Wilderness World.

It’s hard to change one’s nature despite different circumstances, and the Elder Dragon has existed in the world for too long; his temperament is settled, it’s tough to alter with mere trials. Once a seed of disaster is planted, his stubbornness and flawed reasoning could bring immense calamity to all living beings.

Yan Xuan and Huo Jun have lived long as well, but their basic values remain; at least they wouldn’t harm all beings for selfish reasons.

Both Shi Hu and Lark are still young, previously growing unchecked, but now within the courtyard interacting with Righteous Cultivators, even with minor faults, their core values wouldn’t go astray.

Today’s encounter, however, resolved the regret in his heart.

"Intervening carelessly with your karma, let’s make it a Good Karma." His dwindling sympathy for Zhou Jian completely vanished. From the storage bag, he took out three pieces of Immortal Jade, tapped to gift them, and flew them to their front, "These three pieces of Immortal Jade compensate for your loss. Today’s matter ends here; deal with future entanglements yourselves."

Though unable to reclaim the Jade Hua Grass, a piece of Immortal Jade for each was certainly a significant gain!

The three Demon Cultivators were overjoyed, receiving the Immortal Jade with both hands and bowing in gratitude.

Jiang Yuan looked at Zhou Jian, sighed, "Back then we knew each other, and there’s some sentiment between us. Unable to change your mind, yet unwilling to see you beaten to death for a mere herb, I’ve paid to settle this matter, take care from now on."

The brotherhood were Righteous Cultivators, initially pursuing out of anger for deception; now receiving the senior’s gift, naturally no longer pursued the herb, respectfully taking their leave.

"Shi Hu, let’s leave as well." Watching the three figures disappear over the sky, Jiang Yuan patted the silly little tiger’s head, smiled, "Your task is challenging, can’t waste time on these sidetracks."

The cold wind of early winter morning slapped against the face.

Zhou Jian’s increasingly dull intuition suddenly sparked, realizing how much he had lost!

From losing the Cyan Dragon Divine Power, losing the Power of Heaven and Earth Blessing, even if the attributes remained Earth, standing on the ground no longer provided a continuous source of power;

Losing the protection of good fortune, the frequent encounters and thrilling adventures during past wanderings, those joyous times were gone, life became mundane and dull; often times he struggled to earn even a few Spirit Stones, fighting bitterly;

Losing innate charisma, once wherever he wandered, High Level Cultivators and favored ones of heaven rushed to make connections, now those lofty cultivators couldn’t be bothered to glance at him;

Losing the Yellow Dragon Ridge he had occupied for years, along with the Underground Palace, being forcefully taken over by powerful Demon Beast...