Why are all of us who transmigrated at the same time demons?

That's abnormal!

The protagonist of Gou Shengliu's novels is well aware that his possession of a cheat-like ability will inevitably make him stand out, and this distinctiveness could very well bring him death. Therefore, he chooses to conceal his true strength and abilities to avoid attracting the attention of others.

However, this extreme concealment itself becomes an anomaly. After all, nothing in this world can be truly hidden. Especially for cultivators, their cultivation is inseparable from various worldly factors.

Wealth, companion, Dharma, and place—these are the four essential elements of spiritual practice, and each requires contact and interaction with the world. Whether acquiring wealth, finding a partner, learning magic, or seeking a suitable place for cultivation, one cannot completely escape the influence of the world.

Therefore, the protagonist of the "God of War" series doesn't completely isolate himself from the world, but rather uses clever methods to make most people overlook his existence and reduce his exposure. He might try to avoid participating in high-profile activities, limit his interactions with others, and maintain a low profile.

However, this method of concealment is rendered utterly ineffective against Loran's "Sheep-Dividing Technique" and "Nest-Building Technique." These two magical arts establish a massive big data model capable of analyzing and understanding a person's various behaviors and data.

In this model, the social interaction data of the protagonist, Gou Shengliu, presents an unusual fragmentation and scarcity. Although his cultivation level is constantly improving, his social activities are unusually low-key, forming a stark contrast with his cultivation growth.

At the same time, his status in the cultivation world is not commensurate with his cultivation level. For example, those Nascent Soul stage cultivators who have been in seclusion for a long time will naturally have abnormal social interaction data, but their status is consistent with their cultivation level.

Taking all these factors into account, it's easy to deduce that the protagonist of the "God of War" series harbors some little-known secrets.

For a protagonist like Li Minxiao, who embodies the "farming" genre, the anomaly is even more obvious. The fact that he could manage fifteen acres of spirit land normally for so long, with surplus resources for cultivation, despite the pressure from the powerful Spirit Farming Academy, is itself an anomaly.

After discovering the anomaly, Loran would then monitor him further and use mind reading to uncover his cheat code.

On this sunny day, with a gentle breeze, Li Minxiao stood in the spirit rice field in a particularly pleasant mood, skillfully harvesting the golden spirit rice with a sickle in his hand.

Spirit rice grows in a special environment and contains abundant spiritual energy. It has many benefits for the human body and is suitable for low-level cultivators and young children who are laying the foundation for Qi cultivation.

Now, it is the season for the spiritual rice to ripen, and the entire field is filled with a faint fragrance of rice.

Looking at the bountiful harvest before him, Li Minxiao was filled with joy. He knew that these spirit rice plants were the fruit of his hard work, each stalk embodying his heart and sweat.

However, he also understood one fact: if he really priced his rice according to the prices sold by the Spirit Farmers in the market, he would probably lose everything.

The Lingnong Institute has greatly reduced costs through large-scale and professional operations. How can an individual Lingnong with no technology, no scale, and no channels compete with them on prices?

Li Minxiao has basically lost money planting spirit fields in the past two years, but he still enjoys it.

Cultivation level +1 year, lifespan +3 months, comprehension points +1...

Ding ding ding ding, a multitude of system notifications rang in his ears as he harvested the loot. Listening to these heavenly sounds, Li Minxiao was somewhat intoxicated.

"What a great system! Without you, how would I survive in this godforsaken place?" Li Minxiao exclaimed.

After harvesting the rice, Li Minxiao gripped his sickle, shouldered his hoe, and prepared to return home to rest.

The journey home today seems exceptionally long.

Li Minxiao felt something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was, and for a moment he felt a little disoriented.

It wasn't until he suddenly came to his senses that he realized he had wandered into a completely unfamiliar place.

He was drenched in cold sweat. Where was he? How long had he been walking?

Suddenly, the ground beneath Li Minxiao's feet cracked open, and he fell into it.

"Who exactly is plotting against me?"

Li Minxiao reacted quickly, swiftly pulling out a silver cone from his storage bag. It was a high-quality magic weapon, a rare treasure for a mere Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator.

"In just two years, a rogue cultivator with a seventh-grade spiritual root has been able to advance from the Qi Refining stage to the sixth level of Qi Refining. This speed is not slow compared to the third-grade spiritual root cultivators of major sects. No wonder he has the help of a system."

A voice rang in Li Minxiao's ear, directly pointing out the biggest secret in Li Minxiao's heart.

"Who is it? Show yourself!" Li Minxiao was furious, his eyes bloodshot, and his voice echoed in the empty space, filled with endless anger and fear.

The system's secret must never be known to anyone; it's his lifeline, his only means of survival in this world. If it's discovered, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Suddenly, the cracked earth resembled a bottomless abyss.

From the abyss emerged massive black, muddy hands, unusually thick and covered in damp mud, as if they had come from hell itself.

Li Minxiao stared wide-eyed at the massive black, muddy hands, a nameless fear rising within him. His silver cone magic weapon, one of his trump cards, had been easily grasped by these hands and crushed as easily as tofu.

However, Li Minxiao did not give up; he was unwilling to simply submit to execution. He quickly pulled out a Heaven-Escape Crimson Fire Talisman from his robes, his strongest attack at the moment and his last hope.

The Heavenly Crimson Fire Talisman was a second-tier talisman with immense power. Li Minxiao activated it without hesitation, and the talisman instantly transformed into a long, crimson flame, roaring towards the black, earthen hand.

The flaming shuttle traced an arc in the air, appearing imposing and seemingly capable of incinerating everything. However, unexpectedly, this seemingly invincible flaming shuttle was easily crushed the moment it came into contact with the giant hand of earth, just like a silver cone-shaped magic weapon.

Li Minxiao's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his last glimmer of hope was shattered. He could only watch in despair as the large, black, earthen hands slowly closed in, enveloping him within them.

The earth quickly closed up, and everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened. The place remained desolate, with no indication that it had just swallowed a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator.

After a while, Loran looked at the illusory ball of light in his hand. Needless to say, this so-called "Shennong Immortal Cultivation System" was another fragment of a Dao Fruit.

Unlike the previous "Cultivation Proficiency System", the Dao Fruit fragments formed by this system carry different principles. From them, Loran comprehended a new Great Immortal Technique - "Killing and Absorbing Spirit Great Immortal Technique".

As its name suggests, this great immortal technique can absorb the spiritual essence, lifespan, and other fundamental elements of a living being by killing it. However, this great immortal technique limits the targets of killing to spiritual plants.

Monsters won't do, cultivators won't do either; it has to be a spiritual plant.

To be honest, Loran suspected that this "Great Immortal Technique of Killing and Absorbing Spirit" was incomplete. Could there be another fragment of a Dao Fruit that kills flesh and blood? The system it transformed into might be called the "Slaughter to Become Stronger System," where the host could quickly improve their cultivation and skills by killing.

Loran thought it was very likely, so he decided to adjust his target area and focus on those who had recently stirred up a storm in the cultivation world and whose cultivation levels had risen rapidly.

Such a being is either a true gem of the demonic path of slaughter, or the host of the so-called "Slaughter to Become Stronger System".

Chapter 164 Underworld Cultivation: The Three True Treasures

"Third Uncle, don't be too sad!"

The shouts echoed throughout the main hall of the Huixin Sect. Qianyang Zhenren Lü Sujun, the Supreme Elder and Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Huixin Sect, spat out a mouthful of blood. He trembled as he held a needle-shaped magic weapon that had lost its spiritual light. The mental state he had cultivated over a thousand years crumbled at this moment.

"Damn thief!" Lu Sujun was furious. This was his natal magic weapon, the Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle that had helped him establish his great reputation in the Tongming Realm! Now it had lost all its spirituality and its original essence, reduced to a mere broken needle.

The incident began like this: due to the recent escalation of the robbery incident, the Huixin Sect tried everything, but was led by the nose by the enemy, resulting in increasingly huge losses.

Lu Sujun could no longer suppress his inner turmoil, but he was well aware of his identity and status. As a Nascent Soul True Monarch, he was not only the greatest asset of the Huixin Sect, but also a key figure in the overall situation of the Qingyue Kingdom. His every move could have a huge impact, so he absolutely could not act rashly.

After careful consideration, Lü Sujun decided to bestow her natal magic weapon—the Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle—on Chairman Nian of the Demon-Slaying Peak. This divine needle is a peerless treasure in the field of pursuit and assassination. Its greatest strength lies in its tracking ability. As long as it obtains even a trace of an enemy's aura, it can follow them like a shadow, traversing thousands of miles to accurately pierce the enemy.

Back when Lü Sujun was merely the peak master of the Demon Extermination Peak of the Huixin Sect, she had already achieved remarkable feats with this divine needle. Countless demons who were enemies of the Huixin Sect perished under this needle, which made Lü Sujun famous far and wide.

At that time, Lü Sujun was merely a Core Formation cultivator, and this divine needle was only a high-grade magic weapon. However, time flies, and Lü Sujun has now been a Nascent Soul cultivator for many years, with greatly increased strength. He not only reforged the divine needle but also spent a great deal of time and energy nurturing it, making its power even greater than before.

Today, this Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle is in no way inferior to the so-called supreme treasure of the peak. Its power is enough to make any being below the Nascent Soul stage tremble with fear.

As a result, that sly cultivator somehow found out that Xi Nian was carrying Lü Sujun's magic weapon. After one of his robberies, he deliberately stayed behind to ambush Xi Nian. Just as Xi Nian took out the Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle to search for any trace of the cultivator's aura at the scene, the cultivator suddenly jumped out from the side and used a demonic spell that he had learned from who-knows-where.

This spell actually stole all the spiritual essence of the Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle from a distance, turning it into a top-grade Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle talisman. The enemy used this talisman to wreak havoc, causing the Huixin Sect cultivators to flee in terror.

As for Lü Sujun, she was also affected because her natal magic weapon was severely damaged, and her breakthrough to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, which was about to happen, is now temporarily hopeless.

With the blessing of this Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle Talisman, the frequency and scope of the opponent's robbery increased significantly. All these factors combined to break Lu Sujun's defenses, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood in anger.

Meanwhile, in his own secluded cave, Loran weighed the Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle, which had been transformed from a talisman, and felt a secret sense of satisfaction.

The reason why Luo Lan was able to steal the spiritual essence of Lü Sujun's magic weapon from a distance was because he was inspired by the "Great Immortal Technique of Killing and Absorbing Spirit" that he had recently acquired.

The so-called talisman treasure is a strange item that resembles both a talisman and a treasure, formed by cultivators at the Core Formation stage and above, who extract the essence of their magic weapon and use talisman techniques to carry it.

Such talismans possess power comparable to magical artifacts, but their use is limited, making them considered forbidden items.

These are usually bestowed by high-level cultivators upon juniors they highly value and are close to, since extracting the essence of a magic weapon damages it. Once the essence is damaged, it takes a lot of effort to refine it back.

However, Loran values ​​the method of talisman treasures absorbing the essence of magic treasures to become talisman artifacts. However, the formation of talisman treasures requires cultivators to actively extract the essence of their own magic treasures, and they cannot be forcibly extracted by enemies.

Loran then took the essence of killing and seizing spiritual energy from the "Great Immortal Technique of Killing and Absorbing Spirit" and combined it with the method of talisman treasures to form this minor immortal technique of seizing the essence of the enemy's magic treasures and turning it into a talisman artifact—"Three True Treasures Stealing Technique"... no, "Three True Treasures Borrowing Technique".

Once this technique is used, even a top-tier Nascent Soul magic weapon like the Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle will have its origin stolen by Loran and transformed into a talisman.

As a qualified thief, one must not only learn to rob cultivators, but also to rob magical treasures. There is nothing in the world that cannot be robbed.

Plundering the world is one of the supreme mysteries of the Heavenly Demon!

Well, Loran says his "Loran Technology 2.0" is finally here.

After obtaining the Qianyang Demon-Slaying Needle Talisman, Loran decided to find a different target to rob.

After all, we need to learn how to be sustainable. What if I take too much from Huixin Sect in one go and affect their enthusiasm for development? If they're not enthusiastic about development, will I take less next time?

We need to learn to rotate. Anyway, they've already robbed their Supreme Elder's magic treasures, so strictly speaking, there's nothing left for Loran to care about in the Huixin Sect.

Therefore, Loran set his sights on another of the three major Nascent Soul sects in Qingyue—the Danling Sect.

Chapter 165 Underworld Cultivation: Heavenly Demon Steals the Core

"The spiritual energy of the world, when gathered, becomes elixir; when dispersed, it becomes medicine. Using the principles of water, fire, yin, and yang, we extract the supreme, noble, and spiritual essence from the greatest medicines of the world and combine them into elixir. This is the essence of the alchemy of our Danling Sect!"

In one of the lower courtyards of the Danling Sect, the teaching elder Feng Lingzi was imparting the basics of Danling Sect's alchemy to newly initiated Danling Sect disciples.

"Therefore, for us Danling Sect alchemists, anything in the world with a spirit, whether it be plants, metals, stones, flesh, demon cores, or even strange and powerful things, can be used as medicine. It is this extraordinary concept that has allowed our Danling Sect to firmly suppress Qingyuan Valley, which only knows about the alchemy of plants, and become the number one alchemy sect in Qingyue Kingdom!"

Feng Lingzi stroked his long beard, clearly very proud of his family's alchemy skills.

With a wave of his long sleeve, an exquisite brass-colored alchemy furnace appeared in mid-air. Using his elder authority, he activated the earth fire veins that permeated the entire Danling Sect, and a dark red earth fire ignited in the earth fire array within the teaching building.

"If I only talk about it, you may not understand it deeply enough. When I actually refine a batch of pills, you can observe carefully and you will be able to understand a lot."

Feng Lingzi took out a series of medicinal herbs from his storage bag.

"Winter Fruit, Green Spirit Grass, Qi-Stopping Fruit..." It looked like the most basic Qi-Condensing Pill formula. Some top students quickly recognized the medicinal herbs and deduced from them that Feng Lingzi was refining the pill.

But soon, the disciples were confused again: "Azure wolf fangs, blood agar... wait, aren't these animal materials the raw materials for Qi Condensation Pills? What kind of pill is Elder Feng Lingzi going to refine?"

Feng Lingzi put the materials into the alchemy furnace in a certain order, and his operation was as smooth as flowing water. It was obvious that he was a top-notch alchemist.

"It really does seem to be a Qi Condensation Pill!"

As the alchemy process progressed, the disciples finally confirmed the elixir that Feng Lingzi had refined.

"Elder Feng Lingzi is truly a master; he can even improve upon basic pills that have been passed down in the cultivation world for so long."

Hearing his disciples' private praise and admiration, Feng Lingzi secretly felt smug. This was a Qi Condensation Pill that he had personally improved, replacing some of the herbs and spiritual plants with animal flesh and blood. In terms of yield, effectiveness, and cost, it far surpassed the Qi Condensation Pill that had been circulating in the market for a long time. It was also with this improved pill that he won first place in the Pill Spirit Sect's Pill Yuan Conference, won the heart of his senior sister, and became a winner in life.

"Ready to start the furnace!"

After collecting the pills, Feng Lingzi waited for them to cool down slightly before opening the furnace. A fragrant aroma of medicinal pills wafted out of the furnace.

The group of novice disciples clapped enthusiastically, showering the disciples with flattery, but Feng Lingzi, a seasoned alchemist, frowned slightly.

"Something about this tastes off."

Dan Lingzi had refined countless batches of Qi Condensation Pills, making him extremely familiar with this type of elixir. He had estimated that this batch should yield around thirty pills, all of them of superior quality. However, the aroma of these pills didn't match the expected quantity or quality.

Dan Lingzi took out the Qi Condensation Pill with some confusion, and after probing it with his divine sense, his old face darkened.

"What the hell? Half of these pills have lost their medicinal properties?"

"That shouldn't be the case. Could the alchemy furnace be broken?"

Feng Lingzi carefully examined the alchemy furnace but found nothing wrong with it.

Not only Feng Lingzi, but many alchemists in the Danling Sect are now questioning their existence.

"Damn it! Five of my Tai Ling Zhuan Tian Pills have seriously lost their medicinal properties. These are top-grade third-level pills! I have been saving up medicinal materials for a long time to accumulate enough for this batch. I was hoping to use this batch of pills to push my cultivation to the peak of the Core Formation stage, and then use it to compete for the Nascent Soul stage resources in the sect."

"It seems there's absolutely no hope now!" Inside a cave dwelling of the Danling Sect, an old man with crimson hair and beard lamented. His Daoist name was Chi Huozi, and he was an old monster in the Danling Sect who had been cultivating his core for many years. He was already quite old, and if he delayed any longer, his chances of successfully forming his Nascent Soul would drop even further.

Helpless, Chi Huozi looked at the five still intact Tai Ling Zhuan Tian Pills in the furnace and could only take out his savings to buy a few more pills from the sect leader, that skinflint, to make up for the shortfall.

At this moment, in the swarm of mysterious demons in the outer void, a group of mysterious demons were gathered together whispering.

"Brother, have you heard? It is said that a senior demon has created a method to steal pills, which allows one to descend to the mortal realm and steal the essence of pills by interacting with the qi of the pill-making process."

"Impossible! Alchemy isn't a breakthrough in cultivation, how could you possibly go in?" a mysterious demon retorted.

"Who said that?" At this moment, another demon jumped out to object, "Is internal alchemy alchemy alchemy not alchemy ...

"Is forming a core still a pill, but refining a pill isn't?"

"That's right, that's right. As long as we can sense the primordial energy, where can't we, the secret demons, go?"

"Senior, you are truly a genius! I have long coveted the fragrant elixirs produced by alchemists in the mortal world, but elixirs are ultimately different from those used for Core Formation and Breakthrough. The interaction of their energies is difficult to detect, and I have no effective method to obtain them!"

"If Heaven had not given birth to you, the Demon of Pills would have remained in eternal darkness!"

Soon, as the "Heavenly Demon Stealing Pill" method spread among the secret demons, a large number of secret demons transformed into pill demons and began to descend to the human world to steal pills during the extremely brief exchange of energy between the pill and the world at the time of pill formation.

The alchemists were happy, but the alchemists in the human world were miserable.

One day, the sect leader of the Danling Sect sneaked up to the vicinity of his alchemy room, made a small hole in the room's protective barrier, then transformed himself and slipped inside, quickly sealing the barrier. He carefully inspected the various barriers covering the alchemy room, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He skillfully took out his alchemy furnace, lit the spiritual fire, and began refining pills.

When the pill was ready, he opened the furnace and, as if sensing something, his face suddenly darkened.

"You wicked creature!" The sect master of Danling Sect was furious. He made hand seals and was about to cast a spell.