Slaughter, Return to the Sect

"Haha, kid, didn't expect you to be an expert. You know quite a lot."

"Since that's the case, hand over everything valuable on you, then kill yourself. I'll let you suffer a little less."

"Otherwise, looking at how soft and tender you are, us brothers have recently been wanted and hunted, hiding all over this wilderness. We've already forgotten what women taste like..."

The fat highway robber cultivator leader looked at Zheng Yi. Thinking of something, he laughed with a gloomy expression.

Yet he failed to notice that Zheng Yi seemed not to have heard him at all. With a gesture of his hand, the Fine Iron Flying Sword in his Storage Bag suddenly shot forth.

"I did indeed advance only recently, and I haven't had the chance to test my current strength. Since you delivered yourselves to my doorstep, I'll use you for a simple trial."

Zheng Yi pointed ahead, and the Flying Sword shot from its sheath, streaking straight toward the fat man.

"Damn, he actually dares resist."

"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

"Once we capture you alive and break both your hands and feet, you'll make a fine bit of entertainment for the brothers..."

Though the fat highway robber cultivator leader kept talking, he had actually remained sufficiently cautious, secretly watching Zheng Yi's every move. Seeing this, he hurriedly activated his Flying Sword and met the attack.

When dealing with these wilderness bandits, they had to be treated like the infamous anus-ripping hyenas. One could never show weakness.

Throw one punch to clear the way, lest a hundred punches come after.

Once prey showed weakness, this pack of hyenas would all pounce, tearing out its tendons and bones, drinking its blood and eating its flesh until not even dregs remained.

The Flying Swords collided, becoming two bolts of lightning in midair as they tore ceaselessly through the air.

Sharp clangs erupted, trailing long sparks through the sky like darting fish.

The highway robber cultivator leader's Sword Control Technique was unexpectedly seasoned and ruthless, every move a desperate, life-or-death strike.

Sword moves meant for killing were forged through battle after battle.

But Zheng Yi had also risen from among Rogue Cultivators.

Back in the Immortal Domain, he had fought over scraps of profit at the bottom of Profound Sky City. The tempering he had received in battle was not necessarily any less than the fat man's.

The Fine Iron Flying Sword under his control moved as swiftly as lightning, yet with the elusive grace of an antelope's horn hanging from a tree, as unconstrained as a Heavenly Steed soaring through the sky. No one could fathom its trajectory.

"Compared to sect disciples, these wild cultivators lack a solid foundation. Their methods are simple, and their flaws are enormous."

"Still, though they aren't particularly strong, these people are extremely slippery and experienced in battle. It's difficult to find an opportunity for a single fatal strike."

After fighting for a while, Zheng Yi had already grasped the highway robber cultivator leader's strength and tested his own current abilities.

He no longer held back and directly activated the Soul Devouring Banner.

With a wave of Zheng Yi's hand, the Soul Devouring Banner, its surface covered in dense crimson patterns, abruptly appeared in his palm.

He still had a journey to hurry along. Whether these people were wild cultivators or highway robber cultivators was of little importance to him.

In any case, their hands were stained with blood. Killing them was simply enforcing justice on Heaven's behalf.

The Soul Devouring Banner swept through the air, and boundless black mist immediately surged forth. The other highway robber cultivators who had been quietly closing in changed expression dramatically.

As the black mist spread, forty-nine Malevolent Ghosts silently appeared around them.

Ghostly qi churned around these Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits. They held ritual blades condensed from black Sha Qi, their pairs of scarlet eyes fixed unblinkingly upon the highway robber cultivators.

The fat highway robber cultivator leader had originally been certain of victory, but his face changed when he saw this scene.

The Soul Devouring Banner in Zheng Yi's hand, in particular, placed immense pressure on him.

"A sect disciple?! Damn it!"

"We've kicked an iron plate..."

Staring at the Soul Devouring Banner burning with Cyan Flame, the fat man suddenly seemed flustered. He had never expected to rob a sect disciple.

The auras pouring from these Malevolent Ghosts were surging and their Sha Qi terrifying. They were no longer ordinary Malevolent Ghosts, but Guardian Netherworld Soldiers.

Especially the Red-Clothed Vengeful Spirit at their head—its vicious aura made the highway robber cultivator leader's heart pound and his courage shatter.

This time, Zheng Yi did not waste words.

He shook the Soul Devouring Banner in his hand, and an endless stream of black mist had already silently blocked off the highway robber cultivators' escape routes.

Yin winds gusted as ghosts wailed and spirits howled.

"Screech!"

"Screech!"

"Screech!"

Piercing Soul-Capturing Demonic Sounds rang from the mouths of the Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits, forming waves that struck directly at the soul.

Several highway robber cultivators swayed on the verge of collapse. Their leader's face was even paler; under Zheng Yi's special attention, he had endured the greatest soul impact.

"Brothers, let's risk it all."

"At this point, killing him is our only way to live."

"Kill this sect disciple, and we'll have enough to eat well and drink well for the rest of our lives..."

The fat highway robber cultivator leader's expression flickered uncertainly. He roared and seemed to use some desperate technique, blood qi coiling around his body as he forcibly raised the spiritual power within him.

He controlled his Flying Sword and lunged at Zheng Yi while calling for his companions to assist him.

But Zheng Yi gave him no opportunity at all.

Standing behind the mist, Zheng Yi shook the Soul Devouring Banner, and black fog concealed his figure.

At the same time, shadowy figures stood before him. Several Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits guarded him so thoroughly that not even a drop of water could slip through.

Seeing this, despair filled the fat highway robber cultivator leader's eyes. He let out an unwilling roar.

"You're good. I admit defeat..."

"Please..."

Then his Flying Sword was caught in one claw by the Red-Clothed Vengeful Spirit, the main soul of the Soul Devouring Banner.

Cyan Flame spread out, taking over his Flying Sword.

It then spread across his entire body. Amid miserable screams, the highway robber cultivator leader turned into a dried corpse.

"Spare me!"

"Please spare me!"

Seeing their leader's miserable end, the remaining highway robber cultivators were frightened out of their wits and turned to flee in every direction.

Unfortunately, within the Soul Devouring Banner's range, their speed could not compare to that of the Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits. In the blink of an eye, they were caught and killed.

The highway robber cultivators only had time to let out desperate cries.

Having dozens of Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits surround and kill these Rogue Cultivators was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.

Even their remaining Divine Souls were torn apart and devoured clean by the Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits within the Soul Devouring Banner.

After searching their bodies, Zheng Yi found that they did not possess many items.

As for the corpses, he simply set them ablaze.

The road had not been peaceful. Aside from encountering several groups of ruthless men who murdered for wealth,

Zheng Yi finally witnessed firsthand how Foundation Establishment Realm grand cultivators of the Demon Domain fought.

That terrifying might, along with the spell fluctuations that radiated crushing pressure at every moment, made Zheng Yi's scalp tingle and his soul tremble without end.

Even though he had done everything possible to conceal his aura and had remained far from where those two high-level demon cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Realm were fighting, that terrifying power still left him drenched in sweat, cold sweat pouring down his back.

Battles in the Cultivation World were this direct. High-level grand cultivators unleashed indiscriminate bombardments, while Rogue Cultivators below them were as insignificant as ants.

If one was carelessly caught in the aftermath, one could only blame one's own bad luck for dying an unjust death.