The Great Tearer nodded lightly and smiled, “I understand why you killed Black Monarch, but why did you go to such lengths to save the people of those dozen cities? Though they number in the billions, compared to the countless lives across the entire Heart Realm Continent, they are but a drop in the ocean. As long as it doesn’t affect the overall reproduction of life on the continent, there’s no need to risk so much. Like this time… after slaying Black Monarch, you still ventured to save them and were intercepted by the Primordial Night Ancestor. Thankfully, your avatar dissipated quickly. Had you been captured alive and sealed, your identity would have been exposed. Do you really have the confidence to protect the ‘Voidfire Lotus’ in a direct confrontation with the Primordial Night Ancestor?”
Survival and protecting one’s weapon are two entirely different matters.
At Dongbo Xueying’s level, with nine avatars hidden across different source worlds, even invincible beings cannot truly kill him.
But the avatar carrying his weapon is the most crucial. Once slain and the weapon seized, his strength would suffer greatly!
Thus…
Take the ‘Lord of Southern Cloud’ for example—though formidable, he is only at his strongest within the capital. Without its enhancements, his power diminishes significantly.
“I have some confidence,” Dongbo Xueying replied with a faint smile, though he remained somewhat modest.
“Oh?” The Great Tearer studied Dongbo Xueying, sighing inwardly. He had witnessed the rise of this ‘Yingshan Xueying’—from a Chaos Realm cultivator participating in the three-clan conflict of the Xiafeng Ancient Kingdom as a guest elder, to now being capable of slaying a Sovereign-level powerhouse like Black Monarch in mere moments. At this point, he likely even has the means to survive against invincible beings. His strength has reached the same tier as the Great Tearer and Fuyi.
Fewer than ten on the Heart Realm Continent stand at this level.
“Don’t be overconfident,” the Great Tearer cautioned. “Invincible beings wielding Supreme Treasures can unleash Supreme-level power. No matter how strong you are now, if you’re countered just right, your avatar could still perish, and your treasures seized. It’s better to be cautious. For the sake of a few small cities’ inhabitants, it’s truly not worth the risk.”
“To the Heart Realm Continent as a whole, those cities are indeed insignificant,” Dongbo Xueying said. “But to the people within them, their deaths mean the end of their lives. The vastness of the world no longer matters to them.”
“Treading the path of cultivation,” Dongbo Xueying continued, “is to temper oneself between life and death. Dying is nothing extraordinary. The Heart Realm Continent is boundless, and countless perish every moment—I cannot possibly intervene in all cases. But what happened to those nineteen cities… mass slaughter, extinguishing billions of lives in an instant—that is no longer the tempering of a cultivator’s path. It is sin, it is evil! Even the strong were once weak. Had they faced such slaughter in their youth, they too would have perished. Now that they are powerful, they treat the weak as ants, slaughtering billions without batting an eye. Such beings are no longer cultivators—they are demons.”
“And demons must be slain,” Dongbo Xueying said coldly.
The Great Tearer was slightly startled.
He sensed Dongbo Xueying’s unshakable will, sharp as a blade—to eradicate all demons!
Many powerful figures, including the Great Tearer, do not overly concern themselves with the weak, yet they would never indulge in wanton slaughter. Still, hearing Dongbo Xueying’s words sent a faint chill down his spine.
“You’ll make many enemies this way,” the Great Tearer warned.
“I simply cannot stand mass slaughter. Those I provoke will only be demons. Of course, my strength is still lacking. Were I at the level of ‘Meta,’ I would have long since rewritten the rules of the entire Heart Realm Continent,” Dongbo Xueying said. With greater power comes greater responsibility.
In his weaker days, he could endure and watch events unfold. But as his strength grows, he naturally seeks to change things. Even now, however, many on the Heart Realm Continent surpass him. At most, he can confidently survive against any invincible being!
Only when absolute self-preservation is assured can one act freely.
My heart is the heart of heaven—once my Dao-heart is set, none can shake it!
“Then you must be careful,” the Great Tearer sighed.
“Rest assured, I’m no fool,” Dongbo Xueying smiled.
The Great Tearer nodded slightly, gazing at the white-robed youth before him. He faintly understood—this young man would likely soon unleash a storm of ‘demon-slaying’ across the Heart Realm Continent. Just how far would this peerless genius of the Southern Cloud Kingdom go?
—
After slaying Black Monarch and saving the cities, Dongbo Xueying’s main avatar, carrying the Voidfire Lotus, continued his travels. The sinister force capable of commanding both the Ancient Sky Alliance’s leader and Black Monarch—two figures from entirely different factions—suggested a far-reaching conspiracy. Yet no matter how he searched, he found no further traces. Thus, he tasked the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect’s intelligence network with monitoring similar incidents.
Any large-scale slaughter or man-made calamities were to be reported to him immediately.
The Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, ranked among the Heart Realm Continent’s top ten sects, permeated every corner of the land, making their intelligence-gathering far superior to his solitary efforts.
The very next day after his order, the sect delivered a report.
“Since ascending to the throne, the ruler of Chenfan Kingdom decreed a law: any citizen failing to reach the Deity Realm within twenty years of birth is to be captured and sent to the ‘Dark Prison.’ Those failing to reach the World God Realm within ten thousand years suffer the same fate. Only the most exceptional within the Dark Prison are ever released. Over the eons, few have emerged alive… According to our intelligence, nearly ninety-nine percent of those sent are slaughtered outright. The Chenfan ruler deliberately spares a handful of ‘lucky’ survivors, subjecting them to brutal trials, forcing them to fight and kill one another until only the most outstanding few are freed. This pretense of hope keeps the populace docile.”
The report was exhaustive.
The more Dongbo Xueying read, the colder his expression grew.
In the Heart Realm Continent, all are born as Transcendents. Many reach the Deity Realm within twenty years, but a significant minority do not.
The ten-thousand-year deadline for the World God Realm further condemns countless more.
These two laws ensure roughly half of all newborns are eventually sent to the Dark Prison—where almost all perish.
Half a nation’s people, doomed to slaughter?
“Powerful bloodlines ensure elite families easily meet the ten-thousand-year requirement. This cruel law doesn’t threaten them. The weak, unable to resist, cling to the faint hope of emerging from the Dark Prison…” Rage simmered in Dongbo Xueying’s chest.
Such atrocities are hidden from the masses, but the continent’s top Cosmic Gods are aware.
“The Chenfan ruler is a guest elder under the Annihilation Divine Emperor, one of the Five Ancestors of the Myriad Realms Ancient Kingdom. Chenfan obeys the Divine Emperor’s every command.” Now Dongbo Xueying understood why no one intervened.
Such horrors are not uncommon.
Take the ‘Flamebright Kingdom’ of the Four Black Demon Nations—a hunting ground for the Black Demon Abyss, periodically subjected to blood sacrifices. The Abyss carefully regulates these to avoid exhausting their ‘resources.’
But figures like the Abyss’s ‘Yama Demon Patriarch’ are unkillable even by invincible beings, leaving others powerless.
Thus, only those who are either unkillable or backed by formidable patrons dare commit such atrocities—and they operate discreetly.
“Chenfan’s ruler…” Dongbo Xueying’s killing intent surged, his eyes icy.
*Thud.*
He slammed his cup onto the table, startling a nearby attendant.
“I need the most detailed intelligence on the Chenfan ruler and the Dark Prison,” Dongbo Xueying ordered. Though familiar with the ruler, he sought every possible detail before acting.
The Southern Cloud Sacred Sect swiftly delivered comprehensive reports.
The more Dongbo Xueying read, the greater his fury grew.
He even employed his Void Piercing technique to peer across vast distances into Chenfan, observing the Dark Prison firsthand. The sect’s reports had understated its horrors—the reality was far bloodier and more brutal.
“Chenfan’s ruler.” Dongbo Xueying rose.
An attendant hurried over.
Dropping payment for his meal, Dongbo Xueying turned and strode out.
The attendant watched, puzzled, as the white-robed youth exuding Unity Realm aura departed. Little did he know—a Cosmic God was about to fall.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage