"Me?"
Li Wentian was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "Master has shown me profound kindness; if there is anything I can help with… please feel free to speak."
"It's just that this Disciple is foolish, and I don't know what use I could be?"
"Hahaha."
Devouring Heaven Old Ancestor laughed heartily, saying, "My good Disciple, you only need to cultivate in peace. You can use any resources within the Sect as you please."
"Although the strong individuals of the Nine Heavens are formidable, this Old Ancestor is not to be trifled with either."
"Hmm?"
Li Wentian suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and a hint of an ominous premonition, but he still respectfully said, "Thank you, Master."
…
On the other side.
While the fame of Demon-Slaying Sword Immortal spread throughout the Nine Heavens, Han Xuanji had already quietly left the Nine Heavens and arrived above the endless sea.
His Taixu Nine Steps had now reached Major Achievement.
Each step he took could cross countless miles, and combined with the Nine Heavens Star-Treading Boots, traversing the Spirit Realm was but an instant.
However, the consumption was naturally not small.
"Almost there."
Han Xuanji stood with his hands behind his back, his heart stirring slightly.
With the memories from the soul search and the locked aura, it wasn't long before he crossed countless islands and arrived at the Lin Yuan Continent.
Devouring Heaven Old Ancestor was also the type to develop covertly, and Han Xuanji naturally didn't want such an enemy to continue hiding. Resolving him sooner rather than later made him feel more at ease.
The most important thing was that this Cultivation Technique was too sinister.
"Although Devouring Heaven Old Ancestor's true form aura is powerful, it has not exceeded the scope of the Ascension Realm."
"The Cultivators on this continent are truly unlucky."
Under Han Xuanji's double pupils, he could see how miserable the Mortals and ordinary Cultivators on this continent were.
Lin Yuan Continent, Black Stone City.
The sky was dim, and a cold wind blew ceaselessly.
The air was filled with a pungent smell of blood and an indescribable scent of decay.
A middle-aged man with a decaying aura was being dragged by two law enforcement Disciples in standard black robes from a dilapidated courtyard. The iron collar around his neck was particularly conspicuous.
The middle-aged man's face was ashen like a dead person, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken.
"Cough cough… Spare… spare me…"
The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse and weak,
"My cultivation has already been taken away… Give me a little more time."
"Bah!"
The black-robed man spat fiercely, then kicked the man's leg, angrily saying,
"Useless trash!"
"You only surrendered your cultivation once and you're already in this state. You only reached the Foundation Establishment Realm by borrowing cultivation back then. Now, extracting your cultivation can't even form the lowest-grade 'Demonic Origin Pill'!"
"What use are you then?"
"Might as well use you to make up the numbers and add some material to the 'Demonic Blood Pool'!"
Hearing 'Demonic Blood Pool,' fear surged in the middle-aged man's eyes:
"No… don't…"
He struggled, pleading,
"Let me live, I'm still useful… I can still cultivate…"
"You, in this state, can still cultivate?"
Another tall black-robed man impatiently drew the demonic whip from his waist and lashed it fiercely across the middle-aged man's body.
"You say you have at least a Profound-grade Spiritual Root, how can you be so useless?"
Crack!
A crisp sound.
The corrosive Devilish Qi attached to the whip instantly tore open a deep, bone-visible gash on the man's skin.
The middle-aged man let out a shrill scream, his body convulsing violently, and his aura instantly weakened further.
"Take him away!"
The black-robed man said coldly. Then they dragged the middle-aged man, who was like a broken sack, towards the city center square, which exuded a strong bloody smell.
The Cultivators along the way watched numbly, their eyes devoid of sympathy, only deeper fear and a hint of… relief that they hadn't been taken away.
Han Xuanji quietly watched this scene.
"Is this… the world under the rule of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Sect…?"
Han Xuanji muttered in his heart, his eyes as cold as ten thousand years of profound ice.
In his double pupils, the man's already riddled Origin was clearly reflected, as if devoured by countless woodworms.
His Dantian Qi Sea was withered and shrunken, and his Divine Soul was dim, like an oil lamp about to burn out.
The iron collar around his neck was even more like a maggot attached to bone, greedily sucking his last bit of remaining vitality.
This person was originally just an ordinary person whose Cultivation Aptitude had been detected. Under the Devouring Heaven Demonic Sect's system, it could be said that his fate had already been clearly arranged.
What awaited him was to have his cultivation stolen, then become nourishment for the Demonic Blood Pool, and completely perish in endless pain.
Such people were the epitome of most Cultivators on this continent.
"Devouring Heaven Old Ancestor… you… deserve to die ten thousand times over."
Han Xuanji sighed slightly.
He did not draw his sword, nor did he make any extra movements.
He merely focused his gaze slightly on the two fierce-looking Cultivators.
An invisible force instantly descended upon them.
The malevolent grins on their faces instantly froze.
Like two lifelike statues, they were fixed in place, unable to move their eyeballs an inch.
The middle-aged man stared blankly at the bizarre scene before him, not understanding what had happened.
Han Xuanji slowly stepped forward, walking to the man's side.
He looked down at the ominous-looking iron collar, frowning slightly.
Then, he extended his right index finger and lightly tapped the iron collar.
Pfft!
A soft sound.
The iron collar, forged from special metal and inscribed with complex demonic patterns, instantly shattered into dust.
The suction force that had bound the man's body abruptly disappeared.
The man felt his whole body lighten, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.
Although his body was still extremely weak, the terrifying feeling of his life being continuously drained finally disappeared.
He looked up blankly at Han Xuanji, his eyes filled with unbelievable shock.
"Thank… thank you… Immortal for saving my life…"
He choked, his voice hoarse.
Upon seeing Han Xuanji, he only thought he had seen a true Immortal.
Han Xuanji did not reply, only a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.
Although this light could not fully repair his riddled Origin, it was enough to sustain his last trace of vitality, preventing him from dying in a short time.
The middle-aged man bowed and thanked him, while saying,
"Immortal, you should leave quickly. If the people of the Sacred Sect find out, they will not spare you."
"It's fine."
Han Xuanji's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable power,
"You, however, should find a place and survive first."
"Everything will pass soon."
…
Devouring Heaven Sacred City.
In stark contrast to the desolation and despair of Black Stone City, this was the core of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Sect's rule, a place where the essence of myriad spirits converged.
Inside the city, magnificent buildings and vast palace complexes stood in orderly rows.
Countless powerful Demonic Sect Disciples with surging Devilish Qi moved about, dressed in luxurious attire and arrogant expressions. Their minimum cultivation was above Soul Transformation.
Here, Void Returning Realm powerhouses were everywhere, and occasionally, the figures of Body Integration and Undergoing Tribulation Realm powerhouses could be seen flashing by.
This was a paradise for the strong and a Hell for the weak.
Every Demonic Cultivator who could establish themselves here had climbed up over countless corpses.