Demonic Cultivator

Chen Nianzhi's pupils contracted as he secretly connected with the Green Leaf Sword, ready to strike at any moment.

He carefully crept forward. Before he had gone far, he saw a group of corpses clad in black armor.

There were ten bodies in all. Their expressions were blank, as though they hadn't even realized what was happening before being killed in a single blow.

"Not demon beasts."

The thought flashed through Chen Nianzhi's mind, and he immediately reached a conclusion.

The Black-Armored Cavalry were warriors painstakingly trained by the Chen Clan. Clad in heavy armor, each possessed the strength of a thousand jin. If a hundred joined forces, they could stand against a Tier 1 Low-grade demon beast.

Ordinary demon beasts couldn't possibly kill them in one blow before they could react. Besides, Human Race flesh and blood was a great tonic to demon beasts, yet these Black-Armored Cavalry bore no signs of having been bitten or torn apart.

"It's a Demonic Cultivator."

"The clan leader has been wounded for three years. Has the Demonic Path finally been unable to resist coming up to take a bite?"

Chen Nianzhi's gaze turned cold, killing intent flashing through his eyes.

But he quickly suppressed it deep within his heart. The great formation protecting Peaceful Reach Town had already been breached. The guarding cultivators and the Black-Armored Cavalry were most likely doomed.

Looking at Peaceful Reach Town so close at hand, Chen Nianzhi hesitated for a moment before preparing to return and call for reinforcements.

But just then, he heard cries and wails coming from within the town, and his footsteps involuntarily stopped.

"There are still survivors."

In only an instant, he stepped forward and entered Peaceful Reach Town.

Throughout the vast town lay corpses with blackened foreheads. Their souls had clearly been devoured.

By the time he reached the center of town, Chen Nianzhi could no longer suppress the killing intent in his eyes.

The central training ground was piled high with the corpses of Chen Clan members. On the raised platform, an old man in black robes was refining a black banner.

Seven fiendish ghosts danced around the banner, ceaselessly devouring the souls of several thousand mortals.

"Hahaha, my Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner."

"It is finally nearly complete."

The old man revealed an ecstatic expression as he looked at the black banner.

The Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner was an exceptionally vicious Demonic Path artifact. It could nurture seven evil ghosts, which could continuously devour mortal souls to advance.

Once this Demon Treasure was completed, it would become a top-tier Tier 1 artifact. Each of the seven fiendish ghosts it released would possess the strength of the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

With the old man's Late Stage of Qi Refining cultivation and the Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner, he could likely contend against several ordinary Late Stage of Qi Refining cultivators.

By then, even a Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator like Chen Nianzhi would be no match for him. Aside from the Chen Clan leader, perhaps no one could restrain him.

"If he succeeds in refining such a Demon Treasure, it will surely become a grave calamity."

Chen Nianzhi's gaze turned icy from afar, and he decisively made his move.

The Green Leaf Sword transformed into a dazzling streak of sword light and shot through the air, stabbing directly toward the old man.

The Demonic Cultivator had dared to refine a Demon Treasure on Chen Clan territory, so he was not wholly unprepared. Chen Nianzhi's ambush caught him off guard, but a green shield at his side bloomed with a curtain of light, blocking the Green Leaf Sword.

The man first showed a trace of surprise. Then he glanced at Chen Nianzhi and quickly understood.

"I wondered who it was. I never expected a little brat to show up."

"Is your Chen Clan truly out of people?"

As the old man spoke, he brought out a Black Shuttle artifact, which transformed into a streak of black light and flew at him.

Chen Nianzhi's brows drew together as he sent a streak of golden light flying out. It was the Tier 1 High-grade Golden Light Blade, a reward bestowed upon him by Clan Leader Chen Changxuan when he broke through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.

The Golden Light Blade was a metal-attribute flying sword. It was slower than the Green Leaf Sword, but its power surpassed the Green Leaf Sword's by three parts. The instant Chen Nianzhi activated it, it knocked the Black Shuttle artifact flying away.

In the first exchange, Chen Nianzhi gained the upper hand. Using his mind for two purposes, he wielded two artifacts at once and forced the Demonic Cultivator back.

He was, after all, a Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator with two Tier 1 High-grade artifacts. The Demonic Cultivator was merely at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. His only Tier 1 High-grade artifact was that Azure Light Shield, while the Black Shuttle Demon Treasure was only Tier 1 Mid-grade.

Though the Chen Clan had declined, it was still a Foundation Establishment lineage, one of the overlords within tens of thousands of li around Yu Commandery.

If not for his desire to refine the Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner, this Demonic Cultivator might not have dared to be the first bird to stick its head out and test the Chen Clan's foundations.

The gap in cultivation and artifacts made sweat pour down the old Demonic Cultivator's forehead. He finally couldn't bear it any longer and activated the Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner, commanding the seven fiendish ghosts to fly toward Chen Nianzhi.

These seven fiendish ghosts had not yet completed their advancement. Apart from the leading two, which had reached the Late Stage of Qi Refining, the rest were only at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. Even so, if all seven pounced on someone, even a Peak of Qi Refining cultivator would likely be sucked into a withered skeleton.

At the critical moment, Chen Nianzhi remained exceptionally calm. He first activated a Golden Armor Talisman to protect himself, then used a Swift Movement Talisman to greatly increase his speed. Dodging the fiendish ghosts' pounce, he unleashed the Fireball Technique and instantly burned one of the weaker fiendish ghosts into green smoke.

But that alone was not enough. In the span of lightning and flint, he used the Golden Light Blade to knock aside the Black Shuttle, then sent it stabbing straight toward the Demonic Cultivator's true body.

Seeing the Golden Light Blade fly toward him, the old man couldn't help but panic. The fiendish ghosts of the Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner were powerful, but their weakness was obvious: their speed was no different from cultivators of the same rank.

With Chen Nianzhi's speed, as long as he wasn't surrounded, he could easily evade most of the fiendish ghosts' attacks. And under the protection of the Golden Armor Talisman, they couldn't break through his defenses anytime soon.

But his opponent's flying swords were swift as lightning. Though his Azure Light Shield was a fine treasure, because of the difference in cultivation, it might not be able to withstand Chen Nianzhi's relentless attacks with two flying swords at once.

In his panic, he summoned the fiendish ghosts back to his side, intending to have them entangle the Golden Light Blade.

At that very instant, Chen Nianzhi leaped into the air and unleashed his trump card.

"Scarlet Flame Talisman!"

The Scarlet Flame Talisman was an exquisite treasured talisman left behind by Seventh Granduncle. Even Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivators would pale upon seeing it. As Chen Nianzhi activated it, the battle was decided in an instant.

Crimson flames scorched the heavens, burning the fiendish ghosts until they fled in all directions. In an instant, they shattered the Azure Light Shield's radiance, and then the Green Leaf Sword flashed with a clang, severing the old devil's head.

"Phew..."

With the battle won, Chen Nianzhi couldn't help taking a deep breath.

The battle had seemed easy, but it had been somewhat perilous. Had he arrived half a day later and his opponent completed the Seven-Soul Evil Ghost Banner, even he would have been unable to fight him and could only have turned tail and fled for his life.

After the battle ended, he stripped the old devil of all his treasures, then began inspecting the situation in Peaceful Reach Town.

This demonic calamity had nearly wiped out all three thousand-plus inhabitants of Peaceful Reach Town. He searched the town and ultimately found only two children of five or six in the guard hall behind the center of town.

The two children were fraternal twins. The moment they saw Chen Nianzhi, they threw themselves into his arms and burst into tears.

He comforted them for a long while before finally confirming that the boy was named Chen Ling and the girl Chen Yan. Both had just turned six this year. In the entire town, only these two children had survived.