This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 198 When One Acts Without Restraint, at the Peak of the Golden Core Realm

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Unfortunately, Zhong Bai had absolutely no goodwill towards any of the creatures on the Eastern Sea...

"No need, just be careful in your next life."

As soon as Zhong Bai finished speaking, he unleashed a burst of Samadhi Fire from his palm, instantly engulfing the shikigami along with the Hundred Green Flower Vine.

As expected, moments later only ashes remained, drifting away in the wind.

A short while later, above this Japanese town, Zhong Bai stood on his spirit sword, watching the Soul Devourers return after they had devoured all the living souls. He was somewhat surprised. Before him, these Soul Devourers were filled with the karma of slaughtering ordinary people, but when they flew into the Soul Devouring Banner, the so-called karma vanished. Clearly, the reason why the Soul Devouring Banner could kill people without incurring karma was because it could shield the heavens from investigating karma.

"That's rather peculiar. Logically speaking, a natal spiritual treasure refined by a Nascent Soul Dao Lord shouldn't have such an effect..."

Zhong Bai muttered to himself, clearly not knowing enough about the Soul-Devouring Banner. Perhaps even the founders of Maoshan had never truly known the origin of the Soul-Devouring Banner.

Of course, this was a good thing for Zhong Bai. He didn't dwell on it. After recalling the Soul Devourers one by one, he looked at the desolate town below and calmly flew away on his sword.

Zhong Bai was very satisfied with the first test of the Soul Devouring Banner, especially since its aura had significantly improved after the Soul Devourer returned, leading Zhong Bai to guess that the Soul Devouring Banner was likely a growth-type spiritual treasure.

......................................................

From the moment he landed in Japan, Zhong Bai headed straight for Mount Fuji, the sacred mountain of Japan. Along the way, whenever he encountered a large group of Japanese people, the Soul-Devouring Banner in Zhong Bai's hand would not miss its mark, taking away the lives of thousands or even tens of thousands of Japanese people each time.

Even so, Zhong Bai understood that his abilities were limited. Of course, the killing would not stop, but Zhong Bai's heart remained as firm as a rock!
Kyoto, Japan.

Inside a pavilion.

A renowned Onmyoji from Japan was currently sipping tea, displaying an air of arrogance and disdain for others. This was the state one was in after living a comfortable life for too long.

He slowly raised his teacup, about to drink it all in one gulp, when suddenly, with a loud bang, the Onmyoji froze on the spot, slowly looking down at the hole in his chest, from which blood was gushing out.

Immediately afterward, the shikigami inside him let out a scream and turned into white smoke, while he himself became numb and felt dizzy.

He fell heavily to the ground, his eyes slowly closing...

In the void, Zhong Bai sneered, flicked his finger, and the flying sword landed in his palm, beginning its journey towards the next target!
He had limited time and no time to linger; he killed almost everyone he encountered, and if he met an Onmyoji family, he would simply cover them with Samadhi Fire.

As for ordinary Japanese people, they were naturally handed over to the Soul-Devouring Banner for disposal...

The Onmyoji of Japan are generally not very strong. After all, they are a group of people who rely on the power of ghosts. How could they possibly withstand the murderous Zhong Bai?

Unsurprisingly, Zhong Bai arrived in Kyoto, the capital of Japan!
This is the headquarters of Japanese Onmyoji, and there are even Onmyoji who can form contracts with Demon Kings.

When Zhong Bai stepped into Kyoto, Japan, all the Onmyoji in the city were visibly panicked.

This was the oppressive aura emanating from the Taoist sages; the demons within them were terrified…

Even the Yin-Yang Master Ancestor, who was stationed in the Japanese Imperial Family and was comparable to a Golden Core True Monarch, had his eyelids twitching wildly. The Demon King within him was trembling, as if some terrifying being was about to appear!

"The Ghost King's unusual movements, could it be..."

Just as this Yin-Yang Master was wondering, Zhong Bai had already begun his massacre!

Before countless Onmyoji could react, Zhong Bai snapped their necks, annihilating the ghosts within them. They were reduced to ashes before they could even send out a message.

By the time the remaining Onmyoji in Kyoto, Japan, became aware of this, Zhong Bai had already moved to the outside of the Japanese Imperial Palace.

The Japanese imperial palace in front of me was no match for the capital of China, and its defenses were also very weak.

Zhong Bai approached slowly, and with a casual wave of his hand, all the guards were sent flying backward.

Meanwhile, the long-dormant patriarch of the Japanese Onmyoji sect appeared before Zhong Bai in a flash.

The two looked at each other, and Zhong Bai gave a cold smile.

The old man's heart was pounding wildly. He sensed a terrifying aura emanating from Zhong Bai, something he couldn't handle.

"The Daoist sect of the Nine Provinces, the Golden Core True Monarch...!"

Hearing this fluent Chinese, Zhong Bai was somewhat surprised, but considering that the other party was an old monster who had existed for hundreds of years, it was not surprising.

After all, a century can encompass a vast amount of knowledge, and the Onmyoji and the Yin-Yang School of Chinese Buddhism have a deep historical connection, which is quite normal.

"Sir, what wrong have we Japanese Onmyoji committed to provoke such rage and slaughter in you?"

Zhong Bai smiled faintly.

No longer cold, just looking at each other.

"I simply feel that one day you Japanese Onmyoji will have ill intentions and invade Kyushu..."

Is this reason enough? As soon as he finished speaking, the old man felt a sudden sinking feeling, as if he had fallen into an abyss. He knew that Zhong Bai clearly had no intention of letting them, the Japanese Onmyoji, go.

He decided to stop worrying about it and unleashed the ghost king within him, which roared out, blotting out the sky and exuding a chilling aura.

The entire Japanese imperial palace was instantly transformed into a ghost realm.

Zhong Bai, on the other hand, watched all of this with indifference.

The opponent's methods were far too weak; Zhong Bai truly couldn't understand how these Japanese Onmyoji had managed to survive until now.

However, it doesn't matter anymore. With Zhong Bai's arrival today, these Japanese Onmyoji shouldn't even think about surviving.

Zhong Bai will carry out a bloodbath, including on the Japanese Imperial Family and throughout Kyoto!
Crimson lightning flowed continuously from Zhong Bai's fingertips. In an instant, Zhong Bai rose into the air, activated the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique, and unleashed a single punch.

The old Yin-Yang Master was devastated. His contracted Ghost King was severely injured by the heavenly lightning and had no power to fight back. As the second heavenly lightning struck, the old man spat out a mouthful of blood.

A person's overall condition is aging rapidly...

If you contract a ghost and the ghost dies, the contractor will also die.

Even without Zhong Bai making any further moves, the old man was like a candle flickering in the wind, merely a faint wisp of lightning power.

Just blast them to pieces!

The cleaning continued until the setting sun painted the sky red before Zhong Bai stopped what he was doing.

In a single day, almost all the Onmyoji from Japan were killed by Zhong Bai, and even the Japanese imperial family could not escape Zhong Bai's grasp.

"The cultivators are gone, but there are still ordinary Japanese people. Perfect, night is about to fall..."

Soul-Eating Banner, come out! "

As the Soul-Devouring Banner appeared in the void from Zhong Bai's dantian, countless Soul-Devouring Banners instantly rushed towards the entire capital city, and in an instant, wails of agony rang out from all directions.

As the Soul Devourer continued to devour living souls, the Soul Devourer Banner in front of Zhong Bai flashed with black light, and a black stream of light landed on Zhong Bai. Zhong Bai felt his true essence rapidly increasing.

In this state, Zhong Bai looked at the Soul Devouring Banner with a puzzled expression, but soon the true essence growing in his body was refined by the lightning in his dantian, turning from black to gold.

"Is this... giving back?"

Zhong Bai could only think of this one possibility. At this moment, Zhong Bai seemed to understand why the evil cultivators of the demonic sect were hated by everyone. Who could let such a cultivation speed go unchecked?
Ahem, of course, Zhong Bai wouldn't covet this little bit of energy feedback.

Just kidding, why would Zhong Bai, who has a demon-slaying panel, need to rely on such low-level methods to improve his cultivation level?

Shaking his head, Zhong Bai felt a surge of excitement as his golden core rapidly absorbed true essence, a sense of impending breakthrough welling up within him.

"They really shouldn't be underestimated..."

Since he felt he was about to break through, Zhong Bai didn't intend to suppress himself. This was Japan, and Zhong Bai could recklessly use the Demon Extermination Points to devour the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of hundreds of miles. Anyway, Japan was about to become the past, so keeping the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was useless. He might as well use it to break through.

[Consume 100 million Demon Extermination Points to exchange for 100 million days of Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique cultivation]

boom!
In an instant, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around Zhong Bai surged towards him like a tornado, while Zhong Bai calmly sat cross-legged in the void and began to refine the spiritual energy into true essence to break through to the peak of the Golden Core stage.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the area within a thousand meters of Zhongbai was filled with clouds and mist formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

On the land that Zhong Bai hadn't noticed, array patterns that originally possessed spiritual energy were quietly emerging. The array patterns were drawn with spiritual energy, but Zhong Bai's domineering nature caused the array patterns to be consumed at a rapid pace until more than half of the array patterns dissipated.

boom!
With a deafening roar, the earth beneath Zhong Bai, the land of Kyoto, Japan, began to tear apart. Earth dragons surged, and the ground shook violently, with countless cracks extending into the distance...

Wherever it went, all the houses and buildings that stood in its way collapsed and slid into the abyss.

In an instant, the people of Kyoto, Japan, suffered a double blow. Soul Devourers were tearing at their souls, and the earth was crumbling. This apocalyptic scene was truly terrifying!
And this is merely a prelude...

The rumbling sound of the earth grinding against each other resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and the land of Kyoto, Japan, which was already torn apart and crisscrossed with ravines, began to shake incessantly.

Zhong Bai remained suspended in the void. At this moment, a pill pattern appeared on his golden core. Sensing the situation below, Zhong Bai was somewhat surprised. After all, he had only killed some Yin-Yang Masters. He had never expected this apocalyptic scene to appear.

"The earth is turning upside down... It's only right that the Japanese are destined for this calamity. Never mind, breaking through is the most important thing."

A faint smile appeared on his lips. This earthquake came at just the right time; it was exactly what Zhong Bai wanted.

His original plan was to destroy the Japanese Onmyoji and the Japanese Imperial Family, then go to the number one sacred mountain in Japan and detonate it to solve the problem once and for all.

Little did they know that this earth-shattering event was just a prelude, adding to the Japanese people's fear as they faced death.

With no time to spare, Zhong Bai, who already possessed the seventh level of Danwen, needed to focus on strengthening his Golden Core foundation.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhong Bai's golden core now had nine pill patterns. With nine pill patterns, becoming a Nascent Soul Dao Lord was a piece of cake!
(End of this chapter)