I died young at the start, but I'm reincarnated with unlimited skill points!

It rained heavily for a whole day and night.

The next morning, the dim light of dawn shone into the streets and alleys of the outer city.

Everything that happened in the square yesterday has spread like wildfire throughout every corner of the city.

From the inner city to the outer city, from taverns to slum shacks.

Whether it's the servants of high-ranking officials or the old woman selling pancakes at the alley entrance.

Everyone was talking about the same thing in extremely subtle ways.

The rebel leader who was hung on the execution platform.

That roar pierced through the demonic fire.

And those demons that fell from the sky.

No one dared to speak loudly.

But in everyone's eyes, there was something they had never seen before.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's just different from what it was before yesterday.

……

Evening, the inner city of the capital.

The black iron spire at the highest point of the inner city is the lair of the Blood Crossing.

Inside the stone hall at the top of the spire, a dozen or so demons sat on either side.

Xue Du sat in the main seat, his face extremely grim.

On the stone table in front of it lay a secret report that had just been delivered by spies from the city.

The contents of the secret report were very simple.

From last night to today, at least seventy-three locations outside the capital city have shown signs of mortals gathering and whispering the same incantation.

This is only what the undercover agents can detect.

The actual number is likely to be several times higher.

"waste."

Xue Du crumpled the secret report into a ball and threw it on the table.

It did not fly into a rage, but a hint of extremely instinctive disgust flashed deep within its vertical pupils.

It saw everything that happened in the square yesterday clearly.

When that mortal leader died, the demonic energy within a radius of several miles was purified for a while.

Purification.

These two words are no small matter for any evil spirit.

The reason they invaded this world tens of thousands of years ago, the reason they spent tens of thousands of years polluting the spiritual energy into demonic energy, and the reason they sealed off the boundary to isolate the outside world.

Ultimately, there is only one reason.

Pure and ethereal energy is deadly poison to evil spirits.

Pure spiritual energy can scorch a demon's body and corrode its demonic essence.

They can only breathe, cultivate, and survive in demonic energy.

Therefore, anything that can purify demonic energy, no matter how small, is essentially digging into their lifeblood.

Xue Du understood this point very clearly.

A mortal purified the demonic energy of the three miles and recovered in less than an hour.

This magnitude is indeed negligible.

But the problem isn't that he's just an ordinary person; it's that the secret formula has already been spread.

How many ordinary people are there?

Billions.

Therefore, this matter must be suppressed as soon as possible.

"Summon the emperor of the Great Li Dynasty."

Xue Du picked up the bone cup in front of him, his tone icy.

Half an hour later.

Emperor Zhao Chengqian of Dali knelt on the stone floor tiles of the palace, his forehead pressed tightly against the stone surface, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Xue Du didn't look at him, but said casually.

"You must have heard about what that mortal recited before he died in the square, right?"

"Yes, sir. I have heard about it."

"I don't care what method you use."

Xue Du put down the bone cup and looked at Zhao Chengqian with icy eyes.

"Within a month, completely eradicate this thing from the minds of mortals."

"Every single word that has been read, passed on, or heard will be recorded without exception."

Zhao Chengqian's body trembled violently, but he dared not raise his head.

"If, a month from now, I can still hear any mortal recite that incantation..."

"Then I'll get a different dog to do this."

Zhao Chengqian kowtowed three times and swore an oath while trembling.

"Yes, sir! I will certainly handle this matter properly!"

Xue Du ignored him and waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

Zhao Chengqian scrambled out of the stone hall.

Watching the Emperor of Dali disappear like a stray dog.

Xue Du knew that this matter could be resolved quickly and cleanly.

Although this method of mortal self-mutilation does indeed touch upon the demon's Achilles' heel and thus poses a real threat.

However, when it comes to methods of "livestock management," Xue Du believes he has extremely rich and perfect experience.

It knows these two-legged sheep too well.

Humans are, in the end, just fragile social creatures, inherently conditioned to depend on order and to obey the powerful.

As long as we control their food supply, bloodline, and living space, and then use sufficiently severe deterrent measures to make an example of them.

The vast majority of ordinary people will fall silent on their own within ten days.

As for the remaining hard-working, fearless individuals?

It's even simpler to deal with; you can clean it up by using guilt by association and reporting.

The thing mortals are best at is betraying their own kind.

Offer them a generous reward and the lure of immunity from death, and they will work harder than any spy to loot everything for you.

Blood Crossing has used this method for over a thousand years and has never failed.

After this major purge is over.

Even if two or three escapees remain in this world, they won't amount to much.

……

The Imperial Palace of the Great Li Dynasty.

Emperor Zhao Chengqian sat on the dragon throne, his face ashen.

He had grown accustomed to being treated like a servant by demons.

In the face of evil, he was never some supreme ruler.

He was just a dog dressed in a dragon robe, guarding the gate and managing the chickens and ducks in the yard for his master.

Occasionally, when the owner is in a good mood, he will throw down a bone.

If you're in a bad mood, getting a new dog is just a matter of saying a few words.

Zhao Chengqian was well aware of his situation.

Therefore, he never dared to have any thoughts of overstepping his bounds, nor did he dare to neglect any task assigned by the evil spirits.

"Send word to the Grand Commander of the Garrison Command."

The fear and humility on Zhao Chengqian's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold and ruthless killing intent, as if he were looking at pigs and sheep.

He is a dog in the presence of his master.

But when facing his own kind, he was an emperor wielding a butcher's knife.

A moment later, the Commander-in-Chief of the Garrison, dressed in dark red armor, quickly entered the hall and knelt on one knee.

Without uttering a single wasted word, Zhao Chengqian directly hurled down three extremely bloody imperial edicts.

"First, seal off all nine gates of the capital, both inside and out, allowing entry but not exit. Arrest people at the seventy-three locations listed in the secret report."

"For any courtyard involved, no interrogation or evidence is needed. Everyone inside, along with their neighbors from the surrounding three streets, shall be executed by slow slicing, their bodies hung on the city wall to dry in the sun until they rot into bones!"

"Secondly, from this day forward, the capital will implement the 'ten-household collective punishment' system. If even one household utters half a word of that incantation, the ten households to its left, right, above, and below, regardless of age or gender, will all be skinned alive and sent to the Blood Refining Workshop!"

"Third, proclaim this throughout the city. Anyone who reports the recitation of the incantation will be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver. If the report is verified, the entire family will be granted an 'Exemption from Tribute Iron Plaque,' exempting their descendants from the blood tribute for three years!"

Upon receiving the three imperial edicts, even the Grand Commander, who was accustomed to life and death, couldn't help but gasp in shock.

That's too cruel!

As the saying goes, killing someone is no more than a matter of beheading them.

But once this decree is issued, anyone who dares to utter a single word about the self-mutilation method for mortals will be punished.

That would not only be courting death, but also dragging dozens or even hundreds of innocent neighbors down to hell with them!

Moreover, the "Exemption from Tribute Iron Plaque" was an extremely malicious and treacherous act.

Living under the shadow of death, where they could be captured at any moment and have their blood and marrow drained.

A metal plaque that supposedly guarantees three years of peace for the whole family is practically a death warrant that drives people crazy.

It is enough to distort human nature, turning the most honest and simple mortal into a vicious wolf that bites its own kind.

Use the fear of ordinary people to strangle their backbone, and let the people deal with themselves.

This is absolutely amazing!

The Grand Commander dared not hesitate for a moment, kowtowed heavily to receive the decree, and strode out of the main hall.

"Your subject obeys!"