I just want to kill you all, or be killed by you all.

Tianling County.

Unlike the fortified passes of Panshi County, this place is inhabited by a large number of ordinary people, and there are bustling cities everywhere.

Although there were also attacks from the demonic army, the Soul Devouring Cult was not as large as the Myriad Poisons Dynasty, and was only attacked occasionally.

Therefore, the crisis in Tianling County lies not outside, but inside.

The prefect of Tianling County is named Lan Yue, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Inside the prefectural government building.

"Mother, more than a thousand households in Huangniu Village were all killed. It was the work of the Soul Devouring Cult."

They feed mortals special Gu worms, piling their cultivation to the first level of Qi Refining, then let them kill each other to cultivate Gu worms at the Foundation Establishment stage, and then kill them.

It's utterly despicable to use mortals as victims in this deadly competition!

After reading the information in the jade slip, a young girl cursed indignantly.

On the prayer mat behind the altar, a female cultivator in a blue robe sighed.

There is far too much of this kind of intelligence piling up in the case files.

"The whole world is in chaos. Countless outsiders are pouring in, and local cultivators are finally seeing the world beyond the Nascent Soul stage. They are all going crazy."

Our strength is limited; all we can do is protect this small piece of land, and hopefully we can hold out for as long as possible.

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in the girl.

Even a mother in the Nascent Soul stage said so, let alone himself who was only in the Foundation Establishment stage.

She harbors the ideal of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path, and also possesses great talent.

She was initially very confident.

However, a few days ago, he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a trial participant, and was beaten without any chance to fight back.

The other person's arrogant and condescending attitude completely shattered her pride.

"By the way, how is Father doing? It's said that a large number of outsiders joined the Ten Thousand Poisons Dynasty, so it's probably already collapsed, right?" the girl asked worriedly.

"Your father held out. I heard it was a righteous Foundation Establishment sword cultivator from elsewhere who single-handedly turned the tide of the battle."

Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in the girl's beautiful eyes:

"There really is such an extraordinary person?!"

"The outside world is far more vast than we imagine, so it's not impossible for such a monster to appear."

The girl suddenly asked:

"Mother, you said that ghost cultivators, sword cultivators, and even Gu cultivators exist in our world, but why are there no sword cultivators? What exactly is a sword cultivation system?"

Lan Yue looked at the sword behind the girl and said, "Mother doesn't know either. When our world merges with the outside world, you can join the Sword Dao Sect and perhaps then you'll know."

Just as the mother and daughter were talking, a strong spiritual energy fluctuation came from within the city of Tianling County.

"Here we go again." Lan Yue sighed and stood up.

"It must be those trial participants again. They don't respect the rules of the Tianyuan Dynasty at all!" the girl gritted her teeth.

Just a few days ago, she tried to teach a trial participant who was bullying the weak in the county town a lesson, but she was easily defeated instead.

If his mother hadn't appeared in time, he would have been in grave danger.

……

A street in the county town.

Most of the people coming and going were cultivators, and they were all gathered around a stall watching the excitement.

"How dare you! Do you know that I, the Demon Prince, am from the Blood Refining Demon Sect of Kanzhou? You dare to steal from me!"

"You saw it first? So what if you saw it first! I've also taken a liking to it, so you'll have to hold it up to me with both hands and kneel down to give it to me!"

"Breaking your cultivation is just a lesson. If this happened anywhere else, I'd have to drain all your life essence to wash your hands!"

The speaker wore a blood-red robe, and his eyes were cold and sharp.

At this moment, he was stepping on the abdomen of a Foundation Establishment male cultivator, whose dantian was leaking spiritual energy outwards.

The man's dantian was crushed by a single stomp, and he groaned in pain.

The stall owner nearby, a female cultivator, couldn't stand by and watch:

"You're going too far! If you want it, just give it to me; why cripple my cultivation?!"

However, the young man in the blood-red robe turned his red eyes.

Are you questioning me?

next moment--

This female cultivator, who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, began to have her flesh and blood begin to writhe strangely, and fine blood mist seeped from her pores.

Blood began to flow from her seven orifices, her eyes turned bloodshot, and she was filled with terror.

"This is Tianling County...you...you're not going to kill me, are you?!"

"Hehe~" The blood-robed youth chuckled indifferently, "So what if I kill you? Your rules can only restrain yourselves, but if you dare to touch me, I guarantee that your entire Tianyuan Dynasty will be buried with you!"

My Blood Refining Demon Sect has always been protective of its own members, and even our weakest elders are at the Nascent Soul stage.

You may not have heard of the Nascent Soul stage; it's a realm above the Spirit Transformation stage.

And my Blood Refining Demon Sect's ancestor was a Mahayana stage cultivator! The Nascent Soul stage is four major realms above that.

You can calculate it yourselves.

Upon hearing this—

The onlookers were scared away.

He was afraid that this person would target him next.

"stop!"

The girl drank coquettishly.

Lan Yue waved her hand, rescuing the two Foundation Establishment stage native cultivators from the blood-robed youth's hands and feet.

She didn't look well.

Such incidents have occurred many times in Tianling County.

If even the city of Tianling County, which he was guarding, was in such a state, he couldn't even imagine what kind of disasters were happening in other counties and villages.

Now that even the righteous path is busy fighting, who cares about the safety of mortals and low-level cultivators in the cultivation world?

"It's you again." The blood-robed youth smiled when he saw the girl. "What? Didn't you get enough of a lesson last time? If you want to spar with me again, I'm happy to oblige, but you'll have to gamble with your body so I can drain your essence."

Don't worry, I won't use you as a vessel. I'm just a demonic cultivator, not an evil one. I simply crave your virginity.

The girl's face turned red with anger.

"How dare you!" Lan Yue was also enraged, and the pressure of the Nascent Soul stage descended.

However, the blood-red demonic pattern between the youth's brows glowed, easily dispelling the oppressive aura.

"Don't be angry, I was just teasing you. But I'll remember you. Once the secret realm is over, I'll definitely get you into my bed." The blood-robed youth stared at the girl, licking his lips, his lewdness undisguised.

"Get out!" Lan Yue said grimly. "You injured someone in my Tianling County, the evidence is conclusive, and I must expel you!"

However, the blood-robed youth stared at the male cultivator whose cultivation had been crippled, his eyes filled with a chilling light.

"Hurt someone? Did I hurt you? Or did you get hurt yourself?" His tone was filled with undisguised murderous intent. "You'd better think carefully before answering the Prefect. Otherwise, you know what I'm capable of."

The male cultivator felt as if all the blood in his body was about to leave him, and he was terrified.

"No, no!" He endured the pain and kowtowed repeatedly to Lan Yue. "Your Excellency, I injured myself; it has nothing to do with him!"

Lan Yue dared not attack the blood-robed youth; as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, he dared not offend him even more.

Cultivation can be restored even if it's destroyed, but once life is gone, it's truly gone.

"Sigh~"

Lan Yue had sighed countless times.

"Tell the truth! What are you afraid of him for!" the girl said anxiously.

However, no matter how she tried to persuade him, the male cultivator just kept kowtowing, not daring to offend the blood-robed youth any further.

"Shuang'er, forget it."

Lan Yue held the girl's hand.

It's not that the other party is afraid to identify them; the only one to blame is yourself for not daring to really do anything to them.

"Mother……"

Ling Shuang also understood something.

There are some things you can't do, and some people you can't offend.

But she was confused.

If cultivating immortality creates a shackle on oneself, then what is the meaning of cultivation?

"You're smart to know your place."

Upon seeing this, the young man in the blood-red robe nodded, his face filled with smugness and arrogance.

He raised his hand towards the female cultivator.

The female cultivator had just recovered from her death.

But he still gritted his teeth:

"This vial of beast blood is mine, I won't sell it to a beast like you!"

The young man in the blood-red robe laughed instead of getting angry.

"You're braver than them. But brave people don't live long."

As he spoke, his eyes flashed with a blood-red light.

The female cultivator was suspended in mid-air without any power to resist. Her body and internal organs were being squeezed, especially her heart, which was experiencing intense cramping pain and felt like it was about to burst!

Lan Yue was about to intervene.

A voice came from above the blood-robed youth:

"I'm pretty tough too, let me see how you're going to make sure I don't live much longer."