Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Gu Changjin did not move immediately. He sat cross-legged in the courtyard, letting the thread of fate intercepted by the Dao Fruit continue to unfold.

What we saw before was merely the ultimate trend of this world.

Demons rose, and humanity perished, but the truly useful things in a world never end.

The cultivation system, power structure, key moments, and the original fate of this other self are all hidden deeper in the river of destiny.

A moment later, a flood of fragmented information rushed into my mind.

The demons in this world are not the same as monsters, nor are they the demon race he had seen in the main world.

Most beasts rely on instinct, while the demon race cultivates along the lines of bloodline and inheritance after gaining intelligence.

But the demons here, from the moment they are born, are a completely new race.

Even the lowest-ranking first-order demons possess intelligence no less than that of ordinary people.

They can communicate, reproduce, and establish cities, armies, and their own power structures.

Powerful demons occupied mountains and rivers, calling themselves demon kings and demon lords.

Above that lies the Great Sage of Demons, who rules over vast territories.

Later in the Destiny Line, a true demon kingdom even appeared.

Their cultivation method is also very simple: they eat people, use human flesh and blood as medicine, and use human essence and soul as fuel to cultivate the so-called blood refining method.

Ordinary people can fill their stomachs, but the stronger a martial artist's blood and energy, the higher their value.

To demons, a powerful martial artist is both an enemy and a top-quality cultivation resource.

Demons are divided into nine ranks.

Human warriors are also divided into nine ranks.

The core of the martial arts taught by the Demon Suppression Division is to temper the physical body, strengthen the blood and qi, and then use the blood and qi to break through the barriers of the human body.

Gu Changjin's expression turned somewhat strange upon seeing this.

"This cultivation system is really quite abstract."

Demons grow stronger by devouring blood and vital energy.

In order to fight against demons, the human race desperately strengthened their own blood energy.

Isn't this just resisting while simultaneously making yourself more tender and delicious?

The higher one's cultivation level, the greater their attraction to demons.

No wonder the human race, despite possessing a complete martial arts system, ultimately suffered such a complete defeat.

Gu Changjin looked up at the gray sky.

"The laws of this world are far too biased towards demons and monsters."

It turned almost every path to survival for humanity into nourishment for the growth of demons.

Unfortunately, the Fate Line did not tell him why the will of Heaven was so.

This only shows that this bias has existed for countless years.

Gu Changjin continued to sort through the memories of this body.

He and I were both born in Heishi Town. Our parents died early, and we survived until we were sixteen, relying on a small courtyard and a few acres of meager land that they left behind.

Later, he was selected by the town's martial arts academy, which discovered that he had good talent in qi and blood, and that made him qualified to learn the basic body-forging method passed down by the Demon Suppression Division.

After four years of arduous training at the academy, he finally condensed his first wisp of true martial arts blood energy a few days ago and stepped into the first rank.

According to the rules of the Blackrock Town Demon Suppression Division, only one new Demon Suppression Guard will be recruited from the academy each year.

This spot had long been reserved for someone else. Although that person had not yet broken through to the first rank, his family had a very close relationship with an old Demon Suppression Guard surnamed Wang in the Demon Suppression Division.

The original plan was to recruit people first, and then gradually use resources to build them up to level one.

No one expected that Gu Changjin's body would break through ahead of schedule.

The rules have been set, and many eyes in the town are watching.

The Demon Suppression Division couldn't openly renege on its promise, so it had no choice but to give him the spot.

So, just three days after he put on these clothes, he received a mission to go to Xiahe Village.

One person, without seeking help, is tasked with investigating a village that has lost contact with others. If any demons are found, they must be eradicated on the spot.

"I see."

Gu Changjin looked at the mission document in his hand, his eyes calming down.

This is hardly a mission.

It's clear that someone wants to make room for the new spot.

The fate line quickly provided the answer.

I didn't see the problem with him originally, or rather, even if I did, there was nothing I could do.

Upon receiving the order, he rushed to Xiahe Village with his standard longsword.

Upon entering the village, the entire village was eerily quiet.

The door was wide open, the food smelled foul, but there wasn't even a corpse on the ground.

He had just reached the village ancestral hall when a second-tier demon wearing human skin fell from the roof.

There was no hard-fought battle or breakthrough in the face of the enemy; he didn't even have time to fully draw his sword.

The demon smashed his chest with a claw and dragged him into the shrine.

Before my consciousness faded, I only heard one sentence from him.

"The meat Old Wang brought this time is really tender."

The thread of fate breaks completely here.

Gu Changjin slowly opened his eyes.

The old Demon Guard surnamed Wang, the reserved position in the Demon Suppression Division, and the old Wang mentioned by the demon at the end.

There's nothing left to guess; the Demon Suppression Division of Blackstone Town has long been in cahoots with the demons in the vicinity.

They sent disobedient people to be fed to demons, who then took care of their troubles.

As for whether the Demon Suppression Division above was clean, Gu Changjin didn't hold out much hope.

If even the lowest-level town's Demon Suppression Bureau is so corrupt, it would be hard to believe that those above were completely unaware.

"It's better not to rely on these people to suppress the demons."

Gu Changjin was not worried.

He was very familiar with the matters of blood and qi.

The physical cultivation of the Devouring Heaven Serpent, the blood energy method of the Blue Star Federation, the bloodline accumulation of the World-Ringing True Dragon, and the body cultivation foundation deduced from the main world—any one of these is far superior to the basic body tempering methods of this world.

Moreover, the Void Realm and the Dao Fruit also descended together.

If things really get out of control, we might as well just flip the table.

Gu Changjin closed his eyes.

A wisp of Dao Yuan fell from the Dao Fruit.

The originally crude basic body-forging method was quickly disassembled in his mind.

Breathing, blood circulation, muscle and bone strengthening, and internal organ nourishment—all unreasonable aspects were eliminated one by one.

He then incorporated many of the body-refining techniques he had previously mastered into it.

A few breaths later, a brand new blood and qi technique took shape.

This technique has no bloodline requirements and does not require a special physique.

As long as a person is alive and has blood in their body, they can cultivate.

The speed of cultivation may vary, but there is no problem of not being able to get started.

As for why the deduction was so universally applicable, Gu Changjin had his own reasons.

Without much thought, he immediately activated his cultivation technique. The spiritual energy in the courtyard trembled slightly, and the sound of blood flowing emanated from his body.

At first it was just a trickle, but after a few breaths it became like a surging river.

The skin, muscles, bones, and internal organs are simultaneously cleansed and refined by blood and qi.

In less than ten breaths, his aura, which was originally only at the initial stage of the first level, suddenly surged.

Second order!

But this is not the end; it is merely the beginning.

Gu Changjin stood up, picked up the long sword at his waist, and pushed open the courtyard gate.

He didn't ride a horse; instead, he walked along the dirt road outside the town towards Xiahe Village, which was sixty miles away.

With each step you take, your blood and energy within your body grow stronger.

Second-order initial stage.

Second-order mid-stage.

Third order.

Fourth order.

Occasionally, pedestrians would pass by, feeling the growing oppressive aura emanating from the young man in black, but they couldn't discern what was happening.

As the sun set, the crooked stone tablet of Xiahe Village appeared at the end of the road.

Gu Changjin stopped in his tracks, his blood energy burning like a raging furnace.

Fifth order.

He looked up at the silent village. There was no smoke from the chimneys, but a dozen or so greedy auras emanated from the village, landing on him through the doors and windows.

Gu Changjin gripped the hilt of the knife, a slow smile spreading across his face.

That smile didn't escape the eyes of the demons lurking in the shadows.

They were even more like demons than they were.