Subduing the First Demon Soul!

[After a simple yet far-from-simple master-recognition ritual, you became the Myriad Souls Banner's new owner.]

[You felt that this thieving thing hadn't been honest enough with you, its belly full of bad water.]

[But no matter. Use it for a lifetime first and see whether it would ultimately help or harm you.]

[For you, improving your cultivation was certainly important, but drawing traits was even more crucial.]

[Old Liu from the last simulation had risen from the Ninth Stage of Body Refining to the Soul Tempering Realm in six years, but judging by how he looked, he did not have long to live.]

[Improving your cultivation that way meant spending an entire lifetime to advance only one realm. It was not worth it.]

[For you, the best solution was to accelerate your cultivation as much as possible while ensuring you lived long enough.]

[This area was a mass graveyard, with plenty of banners, paper money, and the like.]

[You casually picked up a tattered black Soul-Summoning Banner from the ground and had the Myriad Souls Banner's Artifact Spirit temporarily reside within it.]

["Ah! Brother! This thing is way too shabby!"]

["Make do with it for now. Later, I'll find an Artifact Refiner and forge you a Spiritual Artifact body."]

["You're a real brother!"]

["But my resources are limited. Maybe I can only forge something low- or mid-grade."]

["How are your resources limited? Go rob someone!"]

["Your way really is wild..."]

[As an Immortal Artifact, the Myriad Souls Banner had endless wondrous uses. Growing larger or smaller, merging into the body, and such were all basic operations.]

["Will others detect you with their Spiritual Sense?"]

["No! I'm an Immortal Artifact. If just anyone could casually discover me, would I still deserve to be called an Immortal Artifact? Don't I have any dignity? Unless you pull me out right in front of them. Then pretend I said nothing."]

["Brother, I hope you understand that in the eyes of the world, you are unquestionably the number one Evil Artifact—the sort everyone would love to destroy. So you absolutely cannot be exposed."]

["Prejudice! This is downright prejudice! It was my masters who strayed from the righteous path and committed evil. What did that have to do with me?

If a butcher used a kitchen knife to kill someone, did that make the kitchen knife evil?

Hm? Answer me!"]

["Did you forget that you just told me to kill people and rob them?"]

["Did I say that? Fine, I've turned over a new leaf now."]

[After obtaining the Myriad Souls Banner, you chose Hongtong County for your first battle of vanquishing demons and exterminating evil.]

[With the "Has Demonic Aura" trait, you could judge a demon's strength by the depth of its demonic aura.]

[Pick the soft persimmons first.]

[Inside a Mountain God Temple in Laogou Village, Hongtong County.]

[A group of villagers were praying to the Mountain God here.]

[Some prayed for children, some for marriage, and some for favorable weather and abundant harvests.]

[At last, they placed a child still wrapped in swaddling clothes beneath the statue.]

[Having lost the warmth of her mother's embrace—or perhaps sensing some sort of danger—the child burst into loud tears.]

[The villagers present remained unmoved by her crying.]

[Suddenly, the statue's eyes lit up. The infant slowly rose into the air and landed in the crook of the statue's arm.]

["Oh! Folks, the Mountain God has accepted our offering. All our wishes will come true!"]

["Hahaha, wonderful, wonderful..."]

["Next year will definitely be another year of bumper harvests!"]

[Just as the villagers rejoiced, you walked in from outside the temple.]

["Demon! Let that child go!!"]

[You carried a spear in one hand and a longsword on your back. Your jet-black hair danced in the wind, and your fitted battle attire snapped loudly.]

[Without another word, you hurled out your spear. Your figure flashed, and with one thrust, you blew apart the so-called Mountain God's stone statue.]

[The infant fell into the crook of your arm, and you gazed gently at her.]

[The child stopped crying and smiled.]

[Seeing this, the villagers were greatly enraged.]

["Where did this madman come from? How dare he offend the Mountain God!!"]

["Drive him out!"]

["Give our offering back!"]

[Your fierce gaze swept across these ignorant villagers as you shouted sternly.]

["Fools! There has never been any savior, nor can we rely on gods or emperors! To create a happy life, we can only rely on ourselves!"]

[You nearly sang it aloud.]

[Suddenly, a gust of sinister wind blew into the temple.]

[A blurry figure, within a cloud of white mist emitting holy light, sat upon the shattered stone statue's pedestal.]

["You brazen madman! You destroyed my incense-offering statue. Do you know your crime??"]

[The moment the villagers saw this display, they all dropped to their knees.]

["The Mountain God has revealed himself!"]

["Mountain God, spare us! This despicable outsider was the one who destroyed your statue. We of Laogou Village have always revered and feared you!"]

["Mountain God! Please calm your anger!"]

[You shot the so-called Mountain God a sidelong glance.]

["Playing god and fooling people!"]

[In your eyes, this fellow was the source of a mass of demonic aura—demonic to the core—yet it had impersonated a god to deceive the villagers.]

[It deserved to die!!]

[Your fighting spirit soared as the Alien Father trait's power was pushed to the limit!]

[You cradled the infant in one arm and thrust out your spear with the other!]

[The Mountain God probably had not expected you to start fighting without a word, and instinctively retreated.]

[After a brief exchange, you used martial arts to disperse the holy white mist around it.]

[When a filthy, emaciated gray wolf with a one-eyed wolf's head was exposed before everyone, terror appeared on the villagers' faces.]

["Th-this is the Mountain God?"]

[You declared loudly.]

["Nonsense! What Mountain God? This is a Wolf Demon!"]

[The Wolf Demon flew into a rage from shame, its eyes bloodshot as it charged at you.]

[The Wolf Demon opened its blood-filled maw and snapped at you again and again, while its sharp claws lashed out in a frenzy.]

[You stood immovable, focused only on protecting the infant in your arms. You even found time to stroke the child's cute little nose.]

[With Blood Qi enhanced a hundredfold, coupled with attacks from Alien Races weakened a hundredfold, the result was:]

["Trash! Other than covering me in drool, what else can you do?"]

[The Wolf Demon was dumbfounded.]

[After struggling for so long, it had done nothing but tear your clothes. It could not even break your skin!]

["Die!"]

[With an angry roar, your spear pierced through the Wolf Demon's abdomen and lifted it into the air!]

[The sight was utterly shocking in the villagers' eyes.]

[The being they worshipped as a god had actually been skewered on your spear!]

[And you had even protected a frail infant at the same time without suffering the slightest injury!]

[After the Wolf Demon died, the villagers knelt toward you.]

["An immortal has descended to the mortal world!!"]

[You were speechless at these ignorant villagers. Was there nothing in their heads besides immortals?]

[You returned the infant to the villagers and warned them never to conduct human sacrifices again, or you would flood their farmland!]

[The villagers were terrified and repeatedly promised they would not dare.]

[You drove the villagers out of the temple, shut the doors, took out the Myriad Souls Banner, and collected your first Demon Soul!]

[You would not be able to get the full-attendance bonus this month, so there would temporarily be two updates a day. Starting next month, there would be three.]

[You begged for continued reading! On Tomato now, continued reading determined life or death. Liu Zi offered ten thousand thanks!]