Chapter 138: The Demon Cultivator from Five Hundred Years Ago

"If a person is not a person, and a demon is not a demon..." Lin Qiu murmured as he stared at the stone stele.

Immediately after, he watched as the ape—the little monkey—let go of his hand, turned to face the stele, knelt, and kowtowed three times. To Lin Qiu's surprise, the little monkey then looked up at him. Lin Qiu was not one to kneel, so he simply offered three deep bows toward the stele. The little monkey’s face, which seemed remarkably human, lit up as if it were very pleased by Lin Qiu's action.

The monkey then began to walk forward, and Lin Qiu followed. The oppressive pressure he had felt earlier seemed to have vanished, or perhaps the monkey had signaled to the formation guarding this place that he was permitted to enter.

Entering the depths of the cave, he found what appeared to be a natural limestone cavern, yet it functioned as a cultivation sanctum. The floor was covered in intricate talismans and arrays, and even the smooth rock walls were carved with mysterious scripts. These characters resembled scriptures or incantations, each one radiating a palpable power. It was not like magic, nor was it any energy Lin Qiu recognized; it felt like a primordial force born from nature itself.

As Lin Qiu brushed his fingers over the carvings, he could feel them tugging at the true essence within his body. However, since his power did not come from traditional cultivation but from his system, the energy remained unmoved by the inscriptions. He scanned the texts with the system, but the results indicated they were merely archaic religious scriptures—chants used in ancient sacrificial rituals. The system could not provide further insight, suggesting that even this all-encompassing tool had its limitations. Lin Qiu wished Wang Xiaomeng were here; no one was more professional when it came to archaeology.

The little monkey scurried to the center of the room, where a platform made of piled black stones stood, topped with a lotus pedestal. Lin Qiu watched the little creature pace around the pedestal, seemingly anxious, letting out low, distressed whimpers.

Lin Qiu approached and realized this was indeed a lotus seat, like those upon which statues of Bodhisattvas sat in temples. The stone, however, was no ordinary material; it was black water mysterious ice. He could even see undried black water trapped within it. Such a substance could only form deep underground, where it had soaked through the corpses of countless subterranean creatures and rested in a naturally occurring site of concentrated yin energy for over a thousand years.

Given its location, there was no doubt this belonged to the "demon cultivator." Seeing the monkey’s agitated behavior, Lin Qiu asked, "Little monkey, have you lost your master or your teacher? Did he sit here before?"

The monkey stopped, scratched its face, looked around, and then locked eyes with Lin Qiu, nodding with slight hesitation. Lin Qiu understood: the true mastermind behind this place was here, and if the monkey's behavior was any indication, this demon cultivator was still alive.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Lin Qiu manifested a three-foot-long stone sword, condensed from the debris on the ground. His ability was consumption—the power to devour all things and make them his own. He gripped the sword, a gesture that clearly displeased the monkey. It began waving its arms at him, gesturing frantically while crying out, "Wuwuwu, haha-ah-ah..."

Lin Qiu struggled to interpret the creature's frantic pantomime. Just then, a strange, low male voice drifted from behind him.

"It is telling you not to provoke me, and to put down that ridiculous weapon."

Lin Qiu froze, his expression locking into place as a drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead. Someone had appeared without a sound, without a trace. How had he failed to notice? Even now, he could detect no aura behind him—not from a living soul, nor even a hint of malice or movement.

Hearing the voice, the little monkey became ecstatic, leaping past Lin Qiu toward the person behind him, letting out joyful chirps.

The man’s voice spoke again. "Drop the weapon. I have no desire to kill you. Your abilities are quite peculiar; among the human cultivators I have known, there is not one whose true essence remains unmoved by my scriptures. Your essence is not stored within your body’s soul, is it? It is tucked away somewhere else."

A single sentence, and Lin Qiu was struck with terror. He slowly turned around, his stone sword dissolving into dust—he had no intention of threatening a being who could approach him so effortlessly. He was no match for such a person, but he was already prepared to vanish. He was confident that even a Great Golden Immortal could not stop him from escaping. Yet, he was overwhelmed by curiosity about who stood behind him.

When Lin Qiu turned fully and saw the man, he was truly shocked. It was not that he recognized the figure, but rather that this creature—if one could still call him human—had half his face stripped of skin, revealing the bone beneath. The other half was human, but the remaining eye was no different from a snake's—a crimson, slit-pupiled, double-pupiled eye. His lower half was even more grotesque; he dragged a tail resembling that of a tiger, and while he had human feet, the right one was nothing but bone. His robes were nothing more than tattered, filthy rags.

Seeing Lin Qiu’s stunned expression, the man stroked the little monkey’s head and said, "I am human, yet five hundred years ago, I ceased to be. As for why I am here, I can tell you this: to survive."

Simple words, yet profound in meaning. Lin Qiu asked, "Five hundred years? Senior, you are certainly no ordinary man. May I ask your name and origins?"

"I have no name and no origin. I am but a lonely traveler between heaven and earth—a cultivator who took a wrong turn, yet still dares to struggle against fate."

"This..." Lin Qiu was speechless. He had hoped to fish for useful information, but this strange being clearly had no intention of answering. It seemed everything that had occurred here was indeed linked to him.

Thinking of this, Lin Qiu had to admit that he still had a duty to the Exotic Beast Management Bureau. After all, he was on the clock.