Killing the Man, Breaking His Spirit, Seeing Blood! A Massive Cultivation Feedback

Inside the rear hall of the Rong Residence.

Starlight and moonlight slanted down. One real, one fake—impossible to tell apart. Both fell silent at the same time.

Rong Yidao's heart pounded like a drum.

The man before him had a face identical to his own! Yet those eyes were utterly empty, showing not the slightest emotion.

If he had come to seek revenge and kill him, why was he standing there in a daze, unable to even speak properly...? But if he had not come to kill him, then appearing outside the gate in the dead of night surely did not mean he had come for a friendly visit?

What should he do?

He was an Agricultural Path Field Steward, not skilled in combat. Other than a physique far beyond ordinary people and Earth Escape for fleeing, he was good for nothing. If they truly fought, he would gain no advantage. Even if the other side was an idiot, who knew what killing move he might be hiding?

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing was the best!

"Where are the guards?! Where are the Rong Residence guards—?!"

He called out as a pretense. Though he had not held much hope, when he truly received no response at all, his resolve to flee became even firmer.

This was not a place to linger!

The safest course now was to escape immediately and report to the Daoist Sect people in the city for aid!

No matter who this person was, he could not stay in the same room with him! It was fatal!

He sneered, lifted his chin, and said, "Hm... This Daoist master will not lower himself to the likes of you, but do not let this Daoist master see you in Welcoming Wind City again! Every time I see you, this Daoist master will make sure you never see me again—!"

Bang!

He stomped his foot!

Whoosh!

Green light appeared, and his body sank swiftly into the earth.

The instant his Earth Escape activated, Rong Yidao breathed a sigh of relief. The Agricultural Path's Earth Escape was exceptionally powerful for fleeing. Even Daoist Sect inner disciples who had undergone a Second Dao Reception would struggle to catch him with their spells. Once he entered the earth, he would be safe!

But he quickly learned a truth: once you entered the earth, you were not far from being buried in it.

Crushing!

The intense pressure and suffocation made his entire body turn cold!

When he normally used Earth Escape, the soil flowed around him like water. But now it squeezed in from every direction, closing tighter and tighter as if catching a turtle in a jar! Earth and stone crushed wildly against his chest, abdomen, limbs, and face, making his bones creak.

He could not breathe!

The entire earth was madly rejecting him, driving him out!

"What is going on...? Wh-what kind of demon art is this?!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

He desperately activated the Earth-Moving Technique, trying to push aside the heavy soil surrounding him. But he had long neglected cultivation and was not proficient in the technique to begin with. The surrounding earth was as firm as green steel; it merely wriggled twice before becoming completely unmoved.

Tighten! Keep tightening!

It was going to seal him alive beneath the ground! Was an Agricultural Path Cultivator actually going to die at the hands of the earth?! How the hell was that possible?!

Rong Yidao's pupils shrank sharply. His entire mentality shattered!

Could this also be... the Earth-Moving Technique?!

But his Earth-Moving Technique was like brandishing a broadsword before Guan Gong—utterly insignificant! The other side was using an Earth-Moving Technique ten times more profound than his to crush him to death!

Every hair on his body stood on end. He frantically activated Earth Escape, trying to break free, but he had no chance.

Bang!

A pale, chubby little foot suddenly stretched out from the darkness before him and planted itself solidly on his face.

The savage force was like an entire tower crushing down on his face. In an instant, his mouth twisted, his eyes skewed, and blood poured from all seven orifices!

That little foot was tiny, yet its force was absurdly immense. It kicked him flying on the spot!

Boom!

The earth exploded, scattering stones everywhere.

In the courtyard of the Rong Residence, Rong Yidao burst out of the ground. His spine nearly dislocated, and he vomited blood wildly in midair. Broken teeth and fragments of organs scattered across the ground in a sparse, disordered mess. He rolled more than a dozen times before crashing heavily onto the ground, collapsing into a heap without moving for a long while.

"Hah... hah..."

He lay prone on the ground. There was not a single place on his body that did not hurt, yet he struggled to lift his head.

Whoosh!

A black shadow flickered before his eyes. Black-robed Rong Yidao had appeared before him at some unknown time. That identical face looked down from above, its gaze still dull and hollow. He said nothing, yet concealed an immense pressure.

Blood tears streamed from Rong Yidao's eyes. Terror grew wildly within him. Even as fear reached its utmost limit, he found it impossible to believe.

"You know the Earth-Moving Technique too...! This is not a Daoist Sect spell. You are an Agricultural Path Cultivator too?!"

"How could there be such an overwhelmingly powerful Agricultural Path Cultivator in this world?! Could it be that you... you are the unprecedented Third Realm?!"

The Daoist Sect's Agricultural Path had been trapped at Eighth Grade for more than a decade, never once touching the Third Realm. It had been thought an unattainable realm, yet the person before him had clearly surpassed the scope of a Field Steward!

In a daze, he actually felt some regret. What had he been doing all these years? Squandering his years without striving forward, he had abandoned a great road that led straight to heaven!

No, even if there were such a great road, what then?

Under the Daoist Sect's crushing oppression, they were nothing more than cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered!

Even if he had grown stronger, there would have been no path to survival! Better to enjoy the blessings of having both women before he was harvested, blessings he had once sought but never obtained...

Smack!

The Snow Owl on his shoulder slapped black-robed Rong Yidao again.

Only then did the black-robed man seem to remember something. His lips moved, and he slowly spoke, one word at a time.

"You... are unworthy... of being called... an Agricultural Path Cultivator."

"Agricultural Path Cultivators revere the earth, love farming, study diligently, and work tirelessly. They do not indulge in pleasure alone, prey upon the common people, or act cruelly and without mercy."

"Rong Yidao, you deserve to die."

"Do you still remember the people of Welcoming Wind City outside the Rong Residence, pleading day and night with no gate open to them? Do you still remember the innocent people forced to relocate because of you? Do you remember Zhou Ning'e, whom you harassed with your words? Do you still remember Big Household Zhou, whom you had thrown out the door?"

"They... have come to take... your life."

He slowly raised a hand and pointed at Rong Yidao, as though passing sentence of death upon him—

His words were not fluent at all, broken and intermittent like a small child learning to speak. Combined with that vacant expression, he should have seemed entirely unthreatening. Yet it was strangely absurd, chilling, and terrifying!

Rong Yidao trembled all over, tears and snot streaming down his face as he forced himself to kneel and kowtow. "Spare me! Spare me, sir! I-I-I have received the Daoist Sect's holy decree. From now on, I will certainly restrain myself and never again act arrogant or indulge in pleasure! My crimes do not warrant death!"

Black-robed Rong Yidao's hand stopped, as though he had truly been deceived by that display.

Smack!

The Snow Owl helplessly slapped him again. Silly child, could you stop being so naive?! You believed everything?

If you believed he could turn over a new leaf, you might as well believe I was Qin Shi Huang!

Rong Yidao knelt on the ground with blood covering his face, looking like a dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy. Yet his hand was secretly inching toward his waist. What lay hidden there was naturally not his troublesome root... but his final trump card!

"Even... even if you intend to kill me, please listen to my final words first!"

Black-robed Rong Yidao and the Snow Owl both tilted their heads as they watched him.

Rong Yidao suddenly raised his head. His face twisted with savagery, his eyes nearly splitting apart, as if he had gained the strength to fight for his life. "You should have cut off my hand first!"

He reached beneath his waist, and then... grabbed nothing!

Nothing.

Where was his trump card?! Where was his precious treasure?!

Gone?!

Rong Yidao's savage expression froze on his face. The bloody courage of his final desperate gamble collapsed on the spot. His face became blank and dazed, a perfect replica of black-robed Rong Yidao.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a chubby little girl appeared at some unknown time. She was dainty and adorable, with two little buns on her head bobbing back and forth. Sitting cross-legged with her tiny legs folded, she hugged a brocade pouch and began taking things out, tossing them before him one by one.

Clink!

Daoist Sect Secret Whistle.

Clatter!

Several pill bottles bearing Daoist Sect symbols.

Tap.

Three stacked talismans: a Five-Thunder Talisman, a Flying Sword Talisman, and a Void-Escape Talisman.

The little girl shook the brocade pouch to make sure nothing remained, then covered her little mouth and giggled endlessly. She even patted her little bottom and stuck out her tongue. She was clearly provoking him!

There was no greater way to kill a man and break his spirit!

Rong Yidao's vision went dark. "..."

That was everything he owned to save his life! When had it been stolen?!

When had this child appeared?!

What normal person brought a child along when going out to kill someone?! Was that something a human could do?!

And this child looked so adorable—how did she behave like a little demon king?!

He suddenly gathered the last of his strength and lunged forward, trying to grab the talismans!

Whoosh!

Green light flashed, and every item vanished into thin air.

He missed and fell flat on his face like a dog eating shit, his movements freezing for a moment.

"Please, I-I-I know the Daoist Sect's secrets. Everything I am today was caused by the Daoist Sect, it was all—" He trembled, his voice full of tears, wretched beyond measure.

This time, no one listened to him speak again.

The Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure leaped high into the air. Its little foot landed steadily on the back of his head, bouncing merrily several times and stomping his skull straight into the stone paving.

Crack! Crack-crack-crack!

The stone slabs shattered, sending chips flying.

Immediately afterward.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp earthen spikes burst violently from the ground. Blood sprayed as they severed both his arms cleanly at the roots.

"Aaaaaaah—!"

His miserable scream echoed through the courtyard night sky.

The Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure crouched beside the severed hands and tilted its head for a look, then giggled. Its expression clearly said: Look! I cut off his hands first!

Close behind—

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

One earthen spike after another burst from the ground, piercing through Rong Yidao's entire body. Dazzling bloody holes exploded open one after another.

A chill through the heart, and the heart took flight.

Blood dripped and splashed down the stone spikes, leaving a thick, crimson mess.

Rong Yidao only had time to let out a muffled groan. His eyes opened wide, and then his soul scattered into the darkness, his life extinguished and his Dao dispersed.

The Snow Owl flapped down, and with a sweep of its wings, deep black medicinal powder scattered over his body.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

Flesh dissolved into water, and white bones melted away. In only a few breaths, nothing remained on the ground but a pool of dark red blood seeping into the earth, leaving no trace behind.

This was Corpse-Melting Powder refined by Jiang Tu from the only fine-breed poisonous herb in the underground farmland—a necessary miracle medicine for killing people and traveling the world.

At this moment, only one Rong Yidao remained in the courtyard, and everything returned to silence.

But the instant the bloodwater flowed into the earth, a strange tremor surged up from beneath their feet.

The three Straw Figures froze at once.

A glimmer of light suddenly flashed through Rong Yidao's hollow, vacant eyes. In the blink of an eye, they visibly gained several traces of life.

The Snow Owl suddenly flapped its wings in excitement, circling twice in the air. Specks of spiritual light rose around it, and a faint halo appeared along the edges of its feathers.

The Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure sat cross-legged as green spiritual light flickered around its body. Vaguely, it seemed to have... grown a tiny bit taller?

The three Straw Figures looked at one another, all completely baffled.

A moment later.

Locust Tree Village, Jiang Residence.

A hundred li away, Jiang Tu, who had killed from behind the scenes, suddenly opened his eyes after a brief delay caused by time and distance.

A dense, heavy cultivation feedback surged from the depths of the earth, flooding straight through his limbs and bones! The feeling was more than ten times stronger than his usual feedback... enough to equal at least two years of diligent cultivation!

Cultivation: Seventh Grade · Herbal Scholar (1184/15000) → (1491/15000)

Jiang Tu froze abruptly, his pupils contracting!

Killing Rong Yidao had actually brought such violent cultivation feedback?! And it seemed he was not the only one to benefit. The three Straw Figures who had participated in the operation had each received varying degrees of enhancement. Everything proved this was no coincidence!

Rong Yidao was an Agricultural Path Cultivator! Because of Cultivation Persistence, his cultivation had not dispersed after his death. Instead, it had been intercepted by Jiang Tu, another Agricultural Path Cultivator!

This seemed to be another manifestation of the Reverse Inheritance Method!

After tonight, the old Rong Yidao was dead, and Welcoming Wind City welcomed new life...

He had arrived, and the clear blue sky had arrived with him!