220: Dead End

Great Jiang Imperial Dynasty, Capital Region.

Jiang Yezi gathered a group of Great Love Sect members, and with the help of a Magic Treasure, he managed to establish a foothold.

One day, he was leading his people to besiege a city, intending to capture it as a new stronghold.

However, an Immortal Foundation Cultivator from within the city stepped out into the air, clad in a sky-blue Magic Robe with a hawk emblem on his chest. He exuded an ethereal aura, and his every move displayed extraordinary Divine Abilities. He was clearly an old Senior of the Cultivation World.

Jiang Yezi showed no fear. He flipped his hand and unleashed the zhentian jade. The first strike missed, but the second struck directly on the opponent's chest, forcefully knocking him to the ground and causing him to spit out blood.

At the Foundation Establishment Realm, regardless of whether one possesses an Immortal Foundation or a Mortal Foundation, once a Magic Treasure is acquired, the combat power undergoes a qualitative change.

Jiang Yezi held an extraordinary position in the Great Love Sect, and after the split, many players followed him. His reliance was precisely on this "zhentian jade."

Just as he stepped forward, intending to kill the city-guarding Immortal Foundation, a Blazing Fire suddenly flashed in the distance, transforming into a Phoenix. It deflected the zhentian jade with a single strike, then, still wreathed in fierce flames, continued to pounce towards Jiang Yezi.

Jiang Yezi was greatly startled. This was clearly the method of a powerful expert. Although not yet at the Golden Core Realm, it was definitely a renowned Immortal Foundation expert of long standing. A substandard rogue Cultivator like him was absolutely no match.

He quickly formed hand seals and cast a spell, wanting to recall the zhentian jade and escape.

But the Blazing Fire Phoenix was even faster, crashing into his head in an instant. Its wings spread and then closed, embracing Jiang Yezi completely.

"Ahhh—!"

Jiang Yezi was scorched by the fierce flames, immediately letting out a shrill scream.

The surrounding Great Love Sect players were successively shocked. Their first reaction was to turn and leave; not a single one was willing to help Jiang Yezi, all fearing that they would be the next to die.

Soon, Jiang Yezi's flesh and blood were burned to ashes, followed by his bones. Finally, he turned into flying dust, leaving behind only the Magic Treasure, storage ring, and other artifacts he carried.

Only then did a man in red, with firebirds embroidered on his cuffs, float down, collect the spoils, and then float away...

"Damn it, I was careless!"

After Jiang Yezi's death, he fell into darkness, awaiting Reincarnation. He was so annoyed that he wished he could punch himself.

His current character's talent wasn't particularly good, and the Cultivation Technique he practiced was also trash, but he possessed a Magic Treasure of extremely high value.

In his plan, after plundering enough resources and exhausting this character's Lifespan, he would hide the items, then Reincarnate and use a new character with a full set of talent Golden Fingers to wield the Magic Treasure, becoming a true Prodigy.

Yet, he never expected to suffer a setback in an unexpected place, being instantly killed by an Immortal Foundation who appeared out of nowhere, and his Magic Treasure was also taken.

"That was definitely not an accident. They must have been watching me for a long time, only making their move after I had used the Magic Treasure multiple times and consumed a lot of spiritual Qi. Moreover, that strike had extraordinary power, so it must have been brewing for a long time, perhaps even with the help of some secret art... Damn it, I was set up."

The more Jiang Yezi thought about it, the more he felt wronged, and the angrier he became.

He found the most infuriating thing was that he didn't even know if the opponent was a player or a native, and their origin was completely unknown. Whether he could find them to take revenge in his next life was a question mark.

Since things had come to this, Jiang Yezi had no choice but to return to the Reincarnation interface, preparing to choose his Golden Finger for his next life.

But just then, he suddenly saw that a new status bar had appeared on his character:

【Blazing Heart Fire】

【A fire-attributed Divine Ability specifically targeting rogue Cultivators. After burning the rogue Cultivator's Physical Body, it continues to burn the Soul. Even Reincarnation cannot escape its entanglement, unless a secret art is used to dispel it.】

【*Affected by Blazing Heart Fire, your character's Lifespan -80, and there is a risk of Blazing Fire burning your body with every major Realm Breakthrough*】

Jiang Yezi stared blankly at the prompt, only reacting after a long time.

"No... what is this?"

..."Kumu Daoren" was an Immortal Foundation player of the Great Love Sect.

Immortal Master is an honorific for Golden Core Experts, and some Golden Cores in the path of Cultivation refer to themselves as Daoren. In any case, both titles refer to Golden Core Experts.

Therefore, many players directly added Immortal Master or Daoren to their names when creating them, and Kumu Daoren was one such player.

He practiced the Righteous Aura Scripture, broke through to Immortal Foundation early, and with good fortune, obtained some Medicinal Pills in Mingshui Heaven, subsequently smoothly breaking through to the Peak of Immortal Foundation.

At this Realm, it was impossible not to have thoughts of the Golden Core. Kumu Daoren also felt he could attempt to reach Golden Core. Even if he failed, it wouldn't be a big deal; he could just Reincarnate.

However, just as he was gathering resources and preparing for secluded cultivation, he suddenly saw a post published by Jiang Yezi.

【Death and Reincarnation have penalties】

Kumu Daoren frowned; he had never heard of such a thing.

After carefully reading the post, Kumu Daoren breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out that not just anyone who died incurred a death penalty, but rather, it was due to special methods applied by others, which then affected Reincarnation.

Being at the Peak of Immortal Foundation, Kumu Daoren understood after a moment of careful thought:

"Although players can Reincarnate, their essence is the same Soul constantly undergoing Reincarnation. Therefore, methods applied to the Soul will also accompany Reincarnation and attach to the next life."

"Jiang Yezi must have been unlucky, caught by some Righteous Path Cultivator, and his Soul was affected by their methods."

"Now he either has to Reincarnate with the Blazing Fire, for the sake of reincarnation points, and then find a way to resolve this matter."

"Or he gives up the reincarnation points and directly Reincarnates a completely new character..."

Kumu Daoren felt that Jiang Yezi was truly miserable. What had these Immortal Foundation players been striving for all this time, if not to make Reincarnation in the next life easier and more convenient?

But with Jiang Yezi's situation, not only did he lose his Magic Treasure, but his Soul was also affected, and whether he could even use his reincarnation points to exchange for Golden Fingers became a problem.

"It seems Midnight Gao Sou is gone, and some Righteous Path Cultivators have set their sights on our Great Love Sect..."

Kumu Daoren's brows furrowed tightly. This was a very dangerous signal, meaning he could die suddenly at any moment, or even have special methods applied to him, affecting his next life.

After some thought, Kumu Daoren directly prepared all his resources, then self-destructed his Immortal Foundation in a safe place, choosing to Reincarnate immediately.

While players like Kumu Daoren in the Great Love Sect were not numerous, considering the base number of Immortal Foundation players, the total count of those who self-destructed to Reincarnate was alarming.

As these Immortal Foundation and even Mortal Foundation players successively Reincarnated under pressure, the remaining Foundation Establishment Cultivators also became fearful for their own safety, not daring to venture out easily. The Great Love Sect, already beginning to split, collapsed even further.

Without the combat power of the Foundation Establishment layer, relying solely on Qi Refining rogue Cultivators was not enough to form a significant force.

Just as the Great Love Sect was in turmoil and its strongholds were being breached one after another, someone suddenly stepped forward, declaring that he would turn the tide and prevent the Great Love Sect from completely collapsing.

This person was also familiar to many players: it was the Mage, who had not released a video for a long time.