4: Chapter 4 Sacrificing Stone Village, Breakthrough, Our Karmic Bond is Now Formed

As his words fell, a dazzling red glow erupted in the sky, enveloping the entire Shi Village.

The ten thousand soul banner stood tall above the village, its wicked aura permeating the surroundings.

Seeing that something was wrong, the scrawny man hurriedly retreated from the wooden hut, and the rest of the villagers followed closely behind him.

One by one, they looked up toward the sky.

"What is this thing?"

"An immortal! This is an immortal's method!"

"It's over, it's all over. We've angered an immortal. This must be a divine punishment sent by the immortal. It's all Wang Hu's fault! If it weren't for his rotten idea, how could we have offended an immortal?"

The people of Shi Village began pointing their fingers at the scrawny man.

Chu Chen walked out unhurriedly, dusting off his sleeves.

Seeing this, Wang Hu knew he had provoked a tough character today—a legendary cultivator who seemed even more powerful than his distant cousin.

Wang Hu immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Great... no... Immortal, I have eyes but failed to see Mt. Tai. I have offended you, Immortal. I can give you all the treasures I've plundered over the years, I only beg you to spare my life!"

Wang Hu's voice trembled as he spoke, his heart filled with immense regret.

If he had known, he wouldn't have stayed in this village for so long.

He had originally been hunted by enemies and was coming to seek protection from his distant cousin. However, while passing through this village, he discovered it didn't have a single martial arts expert.

Coupled with the fact that it was secluded and suitable for healing, he hadn't expected that after only two months of living comfortably, he would run into a legendary cultivator. It was truly the worst luck.

After all, he was someone who had seen a bit of the world and knew that cultivators existed.

"Spare your life?" Chu Chen said with an amused smile. "No, no, no... Right now, I am stronger than you, so I am the one who has the final say over your lives."

Chu Chen raised his hand and pointed a finger downward.

Instantly, the red glow in the sky turned into thin beams of light, piercing through every person in Shi Village.

Every person struck by the red light saw their flesh crumble and turn into wisps of black smoke, leaving behind their dazed living souls hovering in place.

*Swoosh!*

From within the ten thousand soul banner, red threads shot out at high speed, weaving through these living souls.

The moment they touched the red threads, the souls' faces twisted in agitation. Accompanied by a chorus of miserable screams, they were all sucked into the ten thousand soul banner.

Wang Hu had never seen such a method. He pleaded desperately, "Immortal, please spare me! My cousin is an Outer Sect Disciple of the Xuanming Sect. Please spare my life for his sake! If I find my cousin in the future, I will surely have him give you a generous reward!"

However, the only answer Wang Hu received was a red beam of light that instantly pierced through his chest.

"No... I'm not reconciled!..."

Chu Chen's brow furrowed slightly. "That's not right, there's still one person missing."

He tapped his finger again. As if receiving a summons, the ten thousand soul banner fired countless red beams of light indiscriminately across the entire Shi Village.

Sure enough, a figure bolted out at high speed.

Chu Chen had seen this person before; it was the child who had stopped him just before he entered Shi Village.

The child spoke with a calm expression, "Fellow Daoist, I can choose not to pursue today's matter. If you open this formation of yours, we can act as if we never met."

"Spare you? So you can come back for revenge later?"

Chu Chen shook his head. "I still understand the principle that one must pull up the weeds by their roots."

In the child's eyes, countless red beams of light were now sweeping toward him.

Seeing this, the child's eyes filled with murderous intent and ferocity as he said to Chu Chen, "I will remember this. Kid, I will surely kill you in the future."

With that, a dazzling white light erupted from the child's body, punching a small hole through the red barrier the ten thousand soul banner had cast over Shi Village, and he fled toward the horizon at extreme speed.

Chu Chen watched the receding child with confusion. Could it be that this child had been possessed by some old monster?

Unfortunately, he was currently only at the second layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm, and controlling the ten thousand soul banner was already his limit. Otherwise, no matter what, he would have made sure that child stayed.

Chu Chen recalled the ten thousand soul banner and immediately flew away from Shi Village on his sword. Although Shi Village was remote, it was inevitable that cultivators might fly over. If they happened to see him like this, it might be disadvantageous for him.

In a mountain range, Chu Chen carved out a simple cave dwelling.

After setting up a simple formation, he took out the ten thousand soul banner.

The ten thousand soul banner in his hand trembled slightly, as if something was about to come out of it.

Sure enough, a second later, a red orb of source energy gushed out from the banner and floated before Chu Chen's eyes.

The power contained within it made Chu Chen feel a sense of physical and mental delight.

Could this be the benefit the ten thousand soul banner was feeding back to him? The system had said that sacrificing others to the banner could increase his cultivation, so this must be it.

To be safe, Chu Chen asked the system. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, he finally swallowed it.

In an instant, Chu Chen's cultivation began to soar rapidly, breaking through to the third layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm and only stopping when he reached the fourth layer.

No wonder demonic cultivators were hunted by everyone like rats crossing the street, yet so many people still chose to follow the demonic path.

Just by sacrificing these mortals, his cultivation had skyrocketed. If he sacrificed cultivators in the future, wouldn't his journey on the demonic path be smooth sailing?

A greedy light flashed in Chu Chen's eyes. "Tianxuan Sect, I, Chu Chen, will be coming back very soon."

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission. You have obtained one top-grade spirit gathering pill. Consuming it will allow you to increase your cultivation by one minor stage within the Spirit Gathering Realm without any side effects.]

Chu Chen looked at the top-grade spirit gathering pill in his hand and swallowed it in one gulp.

In just a few breaths, his cultivation broke through to the fifth layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm.

The fifth layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm was enough to be an Inner Sect Disciple even in the Tianxuan Sect.

Chu Chen prepared to consolidate his realm. Although the top-grade spirit gathering pill had no side effects, the cultivation fed back by the ten thousand soul banner was different and still needed to be refined and polished.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Shi Yu spoke with murderous intent, "That damned brat. this Saint finally accumulated some Saint Source, only for a third of it to be used up like this. If I hadn't just awakened, this Saint could have killed that brat with a single breath."

"This karma is now set between us. Once this Saint recovers a little, I will find you and kill you, even if I have to search to the ends of the earth."

The person speaking was the child who had escaped from Shi Village.

For three consecutive days, Chu Chen completely finished polishing his realm and practiced the techniques he had learned at the Tianxuan Sect. As they say, one can never have too many skills.

[Ding! The host sacrificed Shi Village, yet no one knows about it. As a rookie who has just entered the path of a demonic cultivator, it is essential to first make a name for yourself.]

[Ding! The system has issued a mission: Sacrifice ten villages. Reward: One top-grade spirit gathering pill.]

Hearing this, Chu Chen was unhappy.

"System, are you kidding me? I sacrificed one village and you gave me one top-grade spirit gathering pill, which was fine."

"But now you want me to sacrifice ten villages for just one pill? Aren't you just treating me like a slave laborer?"

[Ding! The host's cultivation has already reached the fifth layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm. This kind of thing is just a trivial matter for the host. You can also choose to refuse; this system is not mandatory.]

"Fine, for the sake of the reward, I won't argue with you."

Chu Chen left his cave and sped toward the horizon on his falling snow sword.

By now, Chu Chen had tasted the sweetness of power. He felt a deep attraction to the feeling of being able to decide the fate of others at will, and he felt a faint sense of excitement.