I Swear I’m Not a Demonic Cultivator - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Everything Around My House Is Withered—Which Bastard Did This?!

Ice Heart Manual.

A basic mental cultivation technique every member of the Azure Cloud Sect possessed—as common as dirt.

Its sole purpose: to calm the mind.

But now, Fang Zheng needed it more than anyone.

His throat parched, he reached for the rough ceramic teacup on the table.

The moment his fingertips brushed the cup’s rim, a murderous intent surged straight into his crown chakra.

Crush it!

This wasn’t a thought; it was his body’s primal instinct.

Crack!

His fingers clenched uncontrollably, spiderweb-like fissures instantly spreading across the cup’s hardened surface.

Fang Zheng’s mind reeled as he jerked his hand back.

He rushed to the water basin. The reflection staring back at him revealed eyes bloodshot and overflowing with viciousness.

The power of the Myriad Souls Heart-Devouring Sword was terrifyingly dominant.

The so-called “Heroic Soul’s Will to Slaughter” was eroding his sanity.

If this continued, he would become a bloodthirsty madman, knowing only how to kill.

No, I have to stabilize myself!

“System! Optimize the Ice Heart Manual!”

Fang Zheng’s urgency had never been greater.

Request received.

Cultivation Technique selected: Ice Heart Manual.

Optimization plan generation in progress… Direction: Eradicate distracting thoughts, isolate external interference, achieve absolute focus.

The System’s voice remained ice-cold, yet it calmed Fang Zheng’s agitated heart.

If the System could optimize Vast Righteous Sword Qi into the Sword of Righteousness, surely the mere Ice Heart Manual would be child’s play.

Ding! Optimization complete!

The original Ice Heart Manual has been replaced with the ultimate optimized version: Quietus Non-Thought True Insight.

Technique Explanation: Quietus Non-Thought True Insight is an ancient method for cultivating spiritual clarity. It constructs an Absolute Stillness Field, eradicating all distracting thoughts and delusions from the sea of consciousness while isolating the Host from external sensory stimuli. This allows the Host to enter the Non-Thought Realm—a state of absolute focus and unwavering awareness. The heart becomes like a clear mirror, impervious to all external influences.

Quietus Non-Thought True Insight!

Absolute Stillness Field!

Non-Thought Realm!

As Fang Zheng stared at these terms, only two words echoed in his mind: Fucking awesome!

The Ice Heart Manual‘s mantra of “a heart like clear ice” had always sounded hollow.

Looking at the System’s explanation, it said to construct a “field” to block out all “interference” and enter a “state.”

Simple, brutal, and straight to the core!

The Great Dao is ultimately simple!

“System, you’re practically my real father!” Fang Zheng exclaimed sincerely.

Host can attempt cultivation to experience supreme tranquility.

“Alright!”

Fang Zheng immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began practicing the technique that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

The technique activated.

In an instant.

The world vanished.

His heartbeat, breathing, and the sound of blood flowing—all disappeared.

Fang Zheng’s consciousness was forcibly extracted and hurled into an endless, pure white space.

His mind felt exhilaratingly numb, as if an invisible giant hand were giving his soul a thorough cranial massage, repeatedly wiping away the dust from his spirit.

All the violent impulses, bloodlust, and unease that had festered within him due to the Myriad Souls Heart-Devouring Sword were completely purged in this supreme ethereal stillness.

He was in bliss.

But outside his small wooden cabin, a silent hell was unfolding.

Centered on the cabin, a ring of ghastly pale frost, visible to the naked eye, clung to the ground and silently expanded outward.

One inch, one foot, one yard…

Wherever the frost passed, all life withered and died!

The verdant vines clinging to the eaves instantly withered, crumbling into brittle ash at the slightest touch.

Grasshoppers crawling on the ground froze mid-stride, transforming into lifeless statues.

A moth chasing moonlight through the air froze mid-flight, disintegrating into swirling dust before it could even touch the ground.

Dead silence.

An absolute stillness that devoured all life force.

Just then, a hapless tabby wildcat, chasing a rat, crossed paths with the encroaching frost.

With lithe feline grace, it cautiously approached Fang Zheng’s wooden cabin.

The instant its paw neared the edge of the ghastly white frost…

“MIAOOOOW—!!!”

A scream so shrill it distorted, so utterly unlike a cat’s cry, tore through the night sky!

The wildcat’s fur bristled to its roots, its body arching into an unnatural curve. Its eyes bulged like copper bells, filled with pure, unadulterated terror.

It looked as if it had just glimpsed Death’s own father!

Scrambling backward in a panic, it turned tail and fled with such speed it left a fleeting afterimage. In an instant, it vanished into the forest’s depths, leaving behind only a series of hoarse, fading cries.

Three and a half hours later.

Inside the wooden cabin.

Fang Zheng slowly opened his eyes.

The world was clearer than ever before.

He could even see the finest cracks in the wood grain of the window frame.

But the next moment, he froze.

The surroundings… were too quiet.

At this time of day, there should have been the chirping of insects and the rustling of wind outside.

Now, there was nothing.

A deathly silence, so profound it made his skin crawl.

He walked to the window and looked out. Moonlight bathed the empty, deserted grass, not even an ant in sight.

Is this Cultivation Technique… not quite right?

Just as his doubts arose,

Ding!

The System’s notification chimed in his mind.

Congratulations, Host! The Absolute Stillness Field has successfully enveloped the surrounding area, forming a rudimentary Myriad Laws Impervious Domain!

Domain Effect: Any attempts to probe the Host’s voice, light, or divine sense will be distorted and annihilated!

This protective domain is essential for Ancient Great Powers during secluded cultivation. Host, press on with renewed vigor!

So that’s it!

Fang Zheng instantly understood.

It wasn’t that the Cultivation Technique was flawed, but rather that his Realm was too low, his vision too narrow!

This isn’t just about achieving inner peace! It’s creating an absolutely impenetrable fortress for cultivation!

“As expected of System-produced items—true masterpieces!”

Fang Zheng completely relaxed, utterly pleased with his latest “profound understanding.”

Meanwhile, on a small path not far from his wooden cabin, Outer Disciple Wang Er was returning with a jug of cheap wine, humming a little tune.

Suddenly, a dark blur flashed past him like lightning, accompanied by a pig-slaughtering shriek.

“Holy Mother of God!”

Wang Er’s legs buckled in terror, sending him crashing to the ground. The wine jug’s spout slammed squarely into his rear with a painful thwack.

Straining his eyes, he realized it was just a terrified tabby wildcat.

“Damn it!”

Wang Er cursed as he staggered to his feet, yanking the wine jug out of his backside.

Just as he was about to leave, a scene in his peripheral vision caught his eye, freezing him in place.

It was Fang Zheng’s wooden cabin.

Around the cabin, all life withered, enveloped by an unnaturally stark, deathly pale frost radiating bone-chilling cold.

Wang Er rubbed his eyes vigorously.

No mistake—it was frost!

But this was the height of summer! Where had this frost come from?!

A chill shot up his spine, racing to the crown of his head.

The dilapidated wooden cabin now resembled an ancient, slumbering beast lurking in the darkness, devouring the souls of the living.

In an instant, Wang Er’s mind flooded with every terrifying legend about ghosts and malevolent spirits that he’d ever heard in the Sect.

He swallowed hard, afraid to look again, and spun around to flee.

But the moment he spun around, he crashed headfirst into a solid wall of flesh.

“Ouch!”

Stars burst before Wang Er’s eyes. He looked up, and his soul nearly fled his body in terror.

It was Deacon Zhang, the Sect Elder in charge of night patrols!

Deacon Zhang was a towering figure with a ferocious face, who loathed Outer Disciples sneaking around after dark.

“Wang Er! Up in the dead of night, skulking around like a ghost—what panty raid are you planning now?!” Deacon Zhang roared.

Wang Er trembled violently, his legs turning to jelly again. He instinctively clutched his buttocks, pointing a shaking finger toward Fang Zheng’s wooden cabin, his lips quivering so hard he could barely speak.

“Dea… Deacon… Frost… Summer frost!”

“Nonsense!”

Deacon Zhang was about to explode in anger when he glanced in the direction Wang Er was pointing and froze in place.

The patch of ghastly white frost glowed eerily under the moonlight, radiating an unsettling aura of deathly stillness.

His brow furrowed, and he stepped forward to investigate.

Seeing this, Wang Er seemed to recall some unspeakable horror. He lunged forward, clamping his arms around Deacon Zhang’s thigh and letting out a pig-slaughtering scream.

“Don’t go! Deacon, don’t go there!”

“There… in Fang Zheng’s cabin… there’s something foul hidden! Even the cat’s gone mad! He’s not human!!”