But soon, Li Yin spotted a purple stream of light streaking across the sky, too far away, with faint, illusory bell chimes.
Suspecting it was Valley Master Ci Yuan, she held still for a moment. Once the light passed, she set off again.
After another hundred li, she suddenly heard commotion on the mountain path—screams and cries.
Li Yin caught a whiff of blood. She paused briefly, then used Silent Step to approach and check. She saw one group chasing another.
More precisely, a group of demonic cultivators was pursuing mortals.
Those men, women, elderly, and children dressed plainly, fleeing desperately forward. But they couldn’t match the demonic cultivators’ methods and speed. In just a few breaths, like cats toying with mice, the mortals’ bodies fell one after another.
The demonic cultivators had summoned several blood-red pearls nearby. The flesh and blood from the fallen bodies and ground drifted bit by bit toward the vivid red pearls, turning into blood food.
This time, the main force of demonic cultivators attacking the major sects’ disciples had at least Body Integration Stage cultivation.
The remaining demonic cultivators at Body Integration Stage or below scattered everywhere, raiding mortal cities and villages, slaughtering and plundering. It forced the Dao Sect to choose: protect the elite disciples or rush to save the mortals.
Seeing the scene nearby, Li Yin froze for a moment.
The next second, a demonic cultivator suddenly spotted her.
“There’s another one over there!”
She was in Breath Concealment state, with no spiritual or demonic qi on her. The distant group clearly mistook her for a mortal and casually unleashed a magic artifact, attacking carelessly.
As the magic artifact reached her, the demonic cultivators saw the girl in the woods suddenly move, dodging it.
The leader was an Orifice Exit Stage demonic cultivator. Realizing she was a cultivator, before he could warn others, he felt a chill at his back and dodged sideways.
A strand of high-grade sword qi narrowly grazed him, leaving several bloody gashes from Body Integration Stage power.
He reacted. Among his companions, the lower-cultivation demonic cultivators didn’t. The sword qi curved, striking like lightning, piercing the hearts of two demonic cultivators in succession.
Two screams rang out, but the next second, the floating red blood pearls nearby moved instantly, plugging into the hearts of those two, sealing the wounds and saving their lives.
The leading Orifice Exit Stage demonic cultivator paid no mind to his companions’ injuries. He grinned ferociously. “A Dao Sect disciple! Delivered right to us—I’ll gladly accept!”
He could tell the sword qi wasn’t her own power, so he was confident of victory.
Everything happened in a few breaths. The demonic cultivators’ attention shifted to the suddenly appearing female cultivator, giving the mortals a chance to breathe and flee.
The girl hid in the woods with Breath Concealment, not responding to expose her position.
Li Yin inwardly cursed her luck—the sneak attack hadn’t killed them, and she’d witnessed the demonic cultivators’ bizarre methods.
Her game panel was ready long ago. Before she could use an item, the demonic cultivators couldn’t pinpoint her location and simply set the mountain ablaze to force her out.
Flames closed in. Two streaks of spiritual light broke through the air.
“Cease your arrogance, fiends!” A female voice scolded. A man and woman landed and immediately engaged the rampant demonic cultivators, tangling in combat. The pair were cultivators from a nearby city, responding to the village’s call for aid.
They arrived just in time. The Player suppressed her impulse to use an item and controlled sword qi to assist from the side.
The male and female cultivators quickly realized there was another fellow Daoist hiding here. It was she who had just bought time for the mortals. They immediately coordinated with the sword qi.
The female cultivator was at Orifice Exit Stage, the male cultivator at Nascent Soul Stage. Li Yin watched them secretly from the shadows. When they attacked, their targets were precise. They shattered several bright red blood pearls right from the start—far more experienced than her.
Before long, they eliminated the demonic cultivator together. Only then did Li Yin reveal herself.
The two took a pill and adjusted their breathing right there on the spot. When they saw her, they nodded slightly in greeting.
Li Yin returned the same gesture.
Soon, the fleeing mortals noticed rescuers had arrived. They came running back. After thanking the two cultivators, they turned to thank the girl as well.
“Thank you, Immortal Master, for saving our lives.”
The Player showed little expression but helped each of them to their feet one by one.
After expressing their thanks, these people supported one another as they went to retrieve their scattered belongings from earlier. They also checked the corpses on the ground. The demonic cultivator’s blood food method had mangled the bodies of their unfortunate companions beyond wholeness. Cries rose and fell in the air.
“Thank you, fellow Daoist, for helping to eliminate the demon.” The female cultivator finished adjusting her breathing and thanked the girl, who stood silently without a word.
Li Yin gazed at those people. Hearing this, she turned to the female cultivator and asked, “Those demonic cultivators have come to the Cultivation World. Is the situation like this elsewhere too?”
The female cultivator answered, “They’re scurrying all over the place, but with advance warnings, the losses shouldn’t be too severe.”
It was quite a coincidence. The demonic qi incident at the Pill Cauldron Sect—a whole sect sealed off for investigation—was big enough to serve as an early alert for the entire Cultivation World.
The Player’s supplementation at the Pill Cauldron Sect had accidentally done a good deed.
The female cultivator added, “Fellow Daoist, no need to worry. We’ll escort these people to South Stream City shortly. South Stream City has a protective city array, much safer than out here. Why not join us?”
“Demonic cultivators often have ways to send messages to each other. We’ve just killed this group, so nearby demonic cultivators will likely rush over. It’s best to leave quickly.”
Li Yin shook her head. “Thank you for the kind offer, but I have other matters to attend to. I can’t travel with you two.”
The female cultivator didn’t press the issue. She simply said, “Take care, fellow Daoist,” then turned to urge the villagers to pack their things quickly. They shouldn’t linger.
That male cultivator ran over too. He picked up several mustard seed pouches from the demonic cultivators and casually pocketed a few magic artifacts. He only took those from the higher cultivation ones. The rest, from the lower cultivation demonic cultivators, were picked up by the villagers.
Demonic cultivators’ items were dangerous, sure, but they could fetch some money once brought to the city.
Li Yin went over as well. She picked up a sword from one of the dead demonic cultivators. With its owner gone, the sword was now ownerless. Anyone could use it.
Before they left, a child ran out from among the villagers. Li Yin looked down at her. The child held up a mustard seed pouch, offering it to her.
Li Yin shook her head. Seeing that she didn’t want it, the child rummaged in her pocket and hesitantly held out a fruit, gazing up at her.
Li Yin accepted the child’s thank-you gift.
Only then did the child run back with quick steps. The leading female cultivator summoned her magic artifact. She nodded farewell to Li Yin, then led the group of villagers away toward the city for refuge.
Li Yin watched them leave. She rubbed the fruit in her hand. Its temperature was uneven—the warm spot must have come from the child’s body heat.
She stood there stunned for a moment before snapping back to her senses. She glanced at the messy pile of corpses nearby.
So it’s not a game, after all.
The thought suddenly struck Li Yin.
She weighed the fruit in her hand, took a bite. It tasted pretty good. After two bites, demonic qi approached from afar without any attempt to hide.
The Player quickly finished the fruit, wiped her hands, and made a selection on the game panel.
The spiritual energy around her body vanished. She dropped the disguise and reverted to her demonic cultivator appearance.
Not quite.
This was her game.
A golden game panel unfolded before her eyes.
–
Their companion had died, so nearby demonic cultivators received alerts from the magic artifacts. They hurried over quickly. At a glance, besides the corpses on the ground and the nearby battle traces, there was actually a low-cultivation little demonic cultivator standing off to the side.
“Hey, you! Which team’s are you from? Where are those villagers?” The Body Integration Stage demon lord didn’t speak. One of his followers barked first.
The girl put on a terrified expression. “I don’t know about those mortals. Maybe they ran off. Things were already like this when I got here.”
She held a sword in her hand—one clearly picked up from the ground. These demonic cultivators saw it wasn’t anything top-quality and said nothing. They bent down and started looting the belongings of their dead comrades.
This was a glimpse into the customs of the Demon Domain.
After looting, they began examining the traces nearby.
“These people seem to have headed north. There’s probably a city there, though we don’t know the cultivation levels of the city guards.”
One demonic cultivator carefully inspected their companion’s corpse. “Orifice Exit Stage. Dead not long ago. Judging by the residual spiritual power, the attacker was likely Orifice Exit cultivation too. Following Dao cultivators’ habits, they probably came from a nearby city to rescue people.”
“Then it’s simple. We’ve got a demon lord here. Let’s go pay them a visit.”
Li Yin stood obediently to the side without acting rashly.
They discussed methods for attacking the city. Meanwhile, they sacrificed blood pearls and began absorbing the corpses on the ground.
Whether demonic cultivator corpses or mortal ones, everything was used fully. That magic artifact alert about a companion’s death probably wasn’t for revenge—it was to recover the body.
The girl clutched her sword and asked softly, “Is this the Calamity Birth Mansion’s Blood Food Cultivation Method?”
The Calamity Birth Mansion held a prominent position as the head of the Demon Domain Three Sects. One demonic cultivator glanced at her and said proudly, “Of course.”
“Cultivators’ flesh and blood are the best. Mortal flesh lacks spiritual power but makes up for it in purity. If they’re alive, the effect on nourishing blood souls is even better.”
Pale sunlight sprinkled down, illuminating the girl’s skin to a translucent glow. Her crow-black eyelashes cast shadows over her eyes. No one knew what she was thinking.
“I see,” she said.
The Player made her choice.
【Directed Random use successful!】
【A crowd of demonic cultivators appears in your view. Strangely, these demonic cultivators suddenly lose all their power. They can’t cast spells, and their protective spiritual items all fail… Their success rate in harming you: 0】
【Defying the heavens, this strange state can only last—】
【1 minute】
As soon as the girl finished speaking, some subtle change seemed to occur in the area. The heavens and earth shifted. Before the demonic cultivators great and small could react, a high-grade sword qi streaked across the sky, heading straight for the leading Body Integration Stage demonic cultivator.
The sword qi had been used not long before, so its power had worn down somewhat. Still, it had plenty left to deal with a minor demon lord.