Pillar of Killing Qi

The Demon Dragon moved through the demonic clouds, reflecting on the insights he had gained from battle.

Each time, he gained new insights, and new memories surfaced in his mind.

A vast mountain radiated strange fluctuations of power. Only when they drew near could they sense how powerful it was. Trees had somehow appeared on the mountain, which was covered with bare trunks, like tree fossils.

Jitian sensed the aura of the wood element, but it was violently unstable. Trees appeared and vanished in an instant, and when they perished, they unleashed enormous explosions.

This was a place where the elements of heaven and earth converged, where they ran rampant. The elements of heaven and earth were the fundamental components of spiritual energy, but these were the violent elements among them, difficult to control.

Jitian was astonished. How could such a place exist in the world? Could it be a natural Eight Trigrams formation? There had to be something strange in any unusual place under heaven.

They ran around the mountain to explore other directions, and found a different element in each one. The gathering of these elements of heaven and earth created terrifying destructive power.

The wind element gathered into a fearsome force. Every wisp could level anything in its path. Whirlwinds constantly formed, radiating powerful energy fluctuations as they tore at the hard ground, carving out deep ravines.

Even at the outskirts, they could feel the wind's sharpness. The Demon Dragon thought that if it struck him, his bones would turn brittle and crumble to dust.

The thunder element formed the power of thunder. Purple divine lightning struck down in bolts, pulverizing vast stretches of land into particles. Thunder roared, and the aura of destruction seemed to pierce straight through the soul, threatening to destroy it. The Demon Dragon crouched on the ground, without the slightest thought of resisting.

Then there was water. Rain appeared out of thin air and fell to the ground, forming a lake. In an instant, the water vanished and clouds rose.

Jitian studied the place carefully, lost in thought. There had to be something strange in any unusual place under heaven, but he was too weak and could only reach the outskirts. It was an excellent place to temper the body, but he was a ghost with no physical body.

The Demon Dragon sighed repeatedly, too. If only he had a powerful body that could withstand these violent places. The body tempered there would be a match for an innate magical treasure.

Jitian and the Demon Dragon lingered there for a while, but found no pattern to it. The elements appeared and vanished at will, containing immense power, so they had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

The Demon Dragon released the aura of his soul, making the undead creatures on the ground tremble in fear.

The Demon Dragon seemed to have regained the pride and innate majesty he had once possessed.

Jitian watched these changes.

Jitian sensed an evil force, exuding a bloodthirsty aura and intense killing intent.

Jitian cried out in delight, "Hurry to that place filled with killing intent! I want to comprehend it!"

A pillar of energy reached up to the heavens. Baleful energy roiled around its surface, and killing intent surged as countless purple bolts of lightning danced around it like dragons and serpents, or galloping steeds. Yet the moment the thunderbolts struck, the pillar of baleful energy absorbed them.

Jitian frowned again. There were countless strange things in this world, even in this sealed land, yet he couldn't collect a single one. He was too weak. But where in this sealed land could he find spiritual energy to rapidly increase his cultivation?

This world had plenty of demonic energy, formed from the killing intent, yin energy, and baleful energy of heaven and earth. But he had no way to absorb and refine it.

Was he truly doomed never to rise? The growth of his ghostly body faced all kinds of restrictions, and he didn't even have a suitable cultivation method.

The cultivation method the black bones had given him was only an outline. It had been compiled from Pangu's lingering memories by the remnant soul. Back then, he had even been delighted by it. Now everything was clear: it was a soul cultivation method for refining primordial chaos energy.

It followed the path of condensing the supreme Dao Fruit. But he hadn't even reached the Celestial Immortal realm, so how could he cultivate that supreme method?

Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!

No matter how difficult it was, he would still fight for a chance.

Jitian swept his sleeve, unleashing a tremendous force at the demonic mist around the pillar of baleful energy. Vast quantities of black mist were immediately swept aside, and the pillar spun wildly as boundless baleful energy gathered within it.

Could a treasure be taking shape inside?

Jitian said to the Demon Dragon, "Go on ahead. I'll cultivate here for a while. Do your best to find soul stones."

The Demon Dragon threw back his head and roared before disappearing into the demonic clouds.

Jitian sat cross-legged beside the pillar of baleful energy, repeatedly extending his divine sense to probe it little by little and comprehend its killing intent.

Killing intent surged, radiating a strange power.

Killing intent was a power formed from one's own intent to kill and driven by that intent. The killing intent within the pillar was power drifting through the world. It had no root or source. Though it could be gathered and used, it wasn't sharp enough, because it contained no intent to kill. That was a power originating from within oneself.

Jitian shook his head, rejecting his former ideas.

His own killing intent was vast and constantly changing, unable to take shape.

He could comprehend other people's killing intent, but it still wasn't his own power. He had been imitating the killing intent of others all along, possessing only its outward form.

His own Dao of Slaughter was just as hollow, nothing but a name without meaning. He knew he couldn't kill for the sake of killing. He had to kill for his convictions.

He was only deceiving himself.

Killing was merely a way for him to survive. He had chosen the Dao of Slaughter, yet didn't know what killing meant, whom to kill, or why he killed.

Jitian was in great pain. Twisting agony tore at his soul. This was another trial of the heart, the greatest tribulation faced by a ghostly body cultivating the soul.

Every insight was accompanied by a struggle against a trial of the heart. Such was the path, step by step through tribulation.

Waves churned through Jitian's sea of consciousness as painful forces tore at his soul. The turbulence within his sea of consciousness was completely beyond his control.

A strange force gathered in his sea of consciousness, gradually forming a blade that repeatedly hacked at it. With every strike, vast amounts of the sea vanished, and Jitian felt the pain ease.

Jitian seemed to have found a way through. He struggled to control the blade himself, bringing it down with all his strength each time. With a bewildered expression, he watched the black longsword repeatedly diminish his sea of consciousness.

Faced with the force of each descending strike, even the mountain formed from his fear sank beneath the sea.

Perhaps if his sea of consciousness were destroyed, he would finally be at peace. He wouldn't have to think, reflect, or suffer.

Just then, a divine thought arose in his sea of consciousness. It transformed into the tolling of a great bell, sending out circles of sound waves that slowed Jitian's soul.

Those in the world who deceived others for fame must be killed!

Those in the world who bullied the weak by relying on their strength must be killed!

Those in the world who betrayed their masters and ancestors must be killed!

Those who invoked the name of the Great Dao to commit acts of injustice and unrighteousness must be killed to uphold the Dao.

Those who invoked the name of the Great Dao to commit the ten unforgivable evils must be killed to uphold the Dao.

This was what killing meant: not killing to survive, and not killing for the sake of killing, but killing to uphold the Dao. The Dao of Slaughter was also meant to preserve the balance of heaven and earth and maintain its order.

Most killing in the world was for personal gain, for survival, for selfish reasons. To destroy the very foundation of countless living beings for one's own benefit was too narrow a path to stand firm between heaven and earth. There had to be a Dao of Slaughter between heaven and earth, one that acted in accordance with heaven and earth's will and upheld the Dao through killing.

A golden light rose within his sea of consciousness, supporting the black demonic blade. A vast power surged forth from within, stilling the restless sea of consciousness and forming a golden palace. Strange patterns appeared across the palace, resembling the purple patterns he had once seen on his core. The palace blazed with dazzling light, instantly drawing the black longsword inside.

The divine thought said to Jitian, "By relying on your convictions, I finally condensed the Hall of Conviction and brought the Sword of Killing Intent under control. This sword will be your instrument for upholding the Dao. It will grow alongside you and provide you with immense spiritual power. If your convictions stray and you can no longer suppress it, this sword will destroy you as well. Whether this is a blessing or a curse remains to be seen."

Jitian bowed to the divine thought. "I will never forget your kindness in giving me a new life."

The divine thought said, "We were originally one. My will has merged with the Hall of Conviction. As long as your convictions endure, I will live on."

Jitian gazed at the pillar of baleful energy, which continued to spin. He reached both hands into it and drew upon the muddled killing intent within, refining it bit by bit into the black longsword.

The black longsword gave off a faint mist of light, enveloping the influx of killing intent. The cold, sinister killing intent was continually refined into the power of slaughter.

Just then, the pillar of baleful energy shuddered. It seemed that something within had been drawn out by him.

Jitian was startled. A dark shadow merged into his sea of consciousness.

The shadow drifted within his sea of consciousness, gradually taking the shape of a humanoid creature. It had a horn growing from its forehead, six arms, and a pair of wings. It looked like a humanoid bat.

The black longsword, which had been suppressed by the golden palace, burst out and plunged straight to the bottom of the sea, forming a sword-shaped mountain. The shadow perched upon it.

A divine thought came from the palace. "Don't worry. It has only borrowed the longsword. It is the second deity within your body."

Jitian was puzzled. How had another strange creature appeared inside him? It was him, yet not him.

Perhaps because the God of Killing Intent had merged into his body, a strange connection had suddenly formed between him and the pillar of baleful energy. He could merge completely into the pillar.

Within the dense, liquid-like baleful energy, a strange creature was being nurtured—the very monster with a horn on its forehead. Its soul had merged into Jitian's sea of consciousness, but he could sense that the monster wasn't dead; it was still being nurtured. It was one with the shadow in his sea of consciousness, with the same breathing and life force.

Jitian casually waved his arm. A powerful force nourished his soul, imbuing his every movement with immense divine abilities. Haha, he had finally advanced another level! His cultivation had also increased considerably thanks to the power of slaughter, and he had reached the peak of the Refining Spirit, Returning to Emptiness realm.

Now he had reached the Earth Immortal realm. One more step, and he could Refine Emptiness and Enter the Dao, pursuing immortality and becoming one of the immortals.